swodog94

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After dinner we decided to kill some time in the casino. The slots were not good to me, but my wife played a game where you drop quarters into the machine in an attempt to move a pile of coins over the edge. There a various prizes laying on these coins and the idea is to move enough of the pile to get these prizes to drop over as well. She managed to win a couple of ball caps and a drink token, which she selflessly gave to me!

We headed back to our room pretty early, because we knew we would be getting up early for the arrival at Half Moon Cay. We found that the Room Steward had once again left us a gift, this time courtesy of the casino: cookies!

Well, at least I have something to show for all the money I've been losing! Our newest towel critter silently laughed at me!

Grand Turk (Cont.)

For our entrees I chose the beef spare rib, while she ordered the meat lasagna. This was the second cruise she's ordered this, and she quickly remembered why she had not liked it the previous time. I tried it too and I have to agree with her...there is too much ground beef in the lasagna and it's poorly constructed.

Tonight was one of the nights that the wait staff put on a show. This time it was them dancing and lip synching to Gangnam Style

I can't say enough good things about our wait staff. They work hard to make sure they get your food to you quickly and accurately. And then they're expected to be entertainers, too! Our team of Dickson and Rebecca were awesome!

Grand Turk (Cont.)

We headed down to dinner and were soon joined by two of our tablemates. We compared notes about that day's activities. They had gone on the ATV excursion and had a blast!

My wife started out with the asparagus vichyssoise, while I got the pumpkin soup.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

As we got close to sunset I headed up to deck ten to try and get some cool sunset pics. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to get a clear shot of the sun going down, but I did still manage to get some nice visuals.

As I headed back down to my stateroom to get ready for dinner, there were folks hanging out watching that night's Dive In Movie. I think it was "Beauty and The Beast". Here's my gripe about the movies: they are poorly scheduled. They start at 7pm, which if you eat dinner early (like kids and seniors early) you'll be able to finish eating and get up there to watch the movie. But if you do the late seating, you can watch part of the movie, but you'll have to leave before it's over to eat dinner. And there's no late showing (10 pm, or for that matter midnight), which I for one would gladly attend.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

I also found the food for the Camp Ocean kids. From what I've read, many of the kids participating in Camp Ocean quickly make friends and as with most tweens and teens, they would rather hang out with friends than be seen with their parents (who are, apparently, the font of all embarrassment). So they can opt to eat with their friends under the supervision of the camp counselors. An area on the Lido is roped off for them and they even get their own food: chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, hash browns and corn.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After a fun half day in Grand Turk, we needed a nap! [Note: we've been back from our cruise now for three weeks, and my wife still bemoans the fact that she misses her daily nap!] After a solid nap I got up and walked around the ship for a bit, killing time until dinner. I stopped by the specialty coffee bar on deck 2 and decided to get a frozen coffee drink.

By now it was early dinner time so I headed up to the Lido to see what kind of things they were serving for dinner that night. As I've mentioned, this was our 4th time on this ship, and I'm still discovering new things every time. In this I discovered that they put out cheese and charcuterie in the evenings!

I made us a small plate with some cheese and cold cuts to take back to my room, as our dinner time was still a couple of hours away.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

We got back to our stateroom and found the Room Steward had left us some gifts.

One was a gift certificate to use at Pixels for pictures. We had already bought the pics we wanted and didn't buy any more after that, so we didn't use that cert.

We were also given a $200 gift certificate to use at an art auction. We have always steered well clear of those things. For starters, not really a fan of the style of artists they push, and secondly, all I've ever heard about these art auctions is that they are pushy, hard sell events. We chose not to use it, and my worst fears were reinforced later that day when we got a call from some guy pushing the art auction. He urged to "not be suspicious" of the gift and come use it...I'm sorry, when you have to specifically ask folks not to be suspicious, you look especially shady!

Grand Turk (Cont.)

Soon it was time to go. The on board time was listed as 2pm, so we settled the tab with our server using a credit card and she gave us back our S&S card. We headed for the pier, making a couple of stops in the shops on the way through to buy a couple of things. Having seen them the last time, we did not make it over to see the NASA Mercury Program display, or the large whale statue, although I was able to snap a quick pic from the pier.

As stated, the on board time was supposed to be 2pm, so we were in line by about 1:45. It was a long line, and there were still some folks shopping, or even still on the beach or in the water! Security guards were going around hurrying those folks up.

The line was moving pretty well, though, and we started chatting up some of the other folks in line with us, so things moved along. We were walking across the brow about fifteen minutes later, or so.

Amazingly, the ship was ready to get underway just after 2:30. The Captain took in all line, backed away from the pier and then put a wicked port twist on the ship. Grand Turk was soon behind us.

Loving the review swodog94

Having not cruised before and going on the Freedom in Feb 2018 I have a question about the clamshells in Serenity. Are the clamshells chairhogged or can one reserve them ?

 

TIA

Sadly there's no way to reserve any chair on the ship, clamshells included. You have to either be very lucky, or get out there very early and chair hog with the best of them.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After an hour or so in the water, I was getting pretty hungry. We headed back to the cabana and ordered some food. We got the appetizer platter and some sliders.

This turned out to be more food than we needed, but it was pretty good. We spent some time hanging out in the cabana, catching up digitally since we had good cel reception here. There is wifi at Margaritaville, but it's not very good. We kept getting kicked off because there are just too many folks trying to use it. [Note: We use AT&T as our cel phone carrrier, and it was very easy to turn on our International Plan while we were on cruise. If you use your phone in a foreign country, AT&T will charge you $10 for the day and you'll use data and minutes just as if you were at home.]

After a while I went and hung out in the pool for a bit. It's actually three interconnected pools. One has a zero entrance, then you go under a footbridge to the pool with the swim up bar, then under another footbridge to the "deep" pool...it's not that deep, maybe 4ft.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

After snorkeling around for a bit I decided to head over to the other side of the pier. It's very rocky there so be careful when getting in to the water. Last time I was in Grand Turk I found a conch over here, but no such luck this time.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

While there isn't any pretty reefs or anything like that, you do see some live things snorkeling just off the beach. Here's a fish!

There are some items that have clearly been placed there for snorkelers to see. Also, as you swim near the edge or the roped off swimming area, there's a huge drop off and the most interesting stuff can be found there.

Loving this. The anticipation is killing me. We leave this coming Sunday. I'm hoping you get through the rest of the review by then (but I know you have work, too, so I totally understand if it doesn't happen before our cruise).

Glad you're enjoying it! I'm trying to finish this up in the next couple of days. Either way, have fun on your cruise next week!

Hi - I'm looking to take the Pride in March 2018, with my 2 boys (10 and 14). I've cruised once before (2012) on a Celebrity cruise with my now ex-husband - we had splurged on a nice room with balcony. I'm not wanting to be cramped and my boys can get on each others nerves :evilsmile: but there's a $1500 difference between Extended Balcony 8J and Ocean Suite. Is it worth that price to get OS? I'm not sure if they'll abandon me for the activities etc. :') and if so, which room do I want to hang in? Are any of the Extended Balcony rooms updated? It seems the OS are but I'm unclear on the 8J.

 

Another question... did you go on the slides? I read a review stating it doesn't end in a pool and sometimes it's not open. I'm all about amusements and the slide is part of my draw to the Pride. Any comments on it? How does it end if not in a pool?

 

Thanks!

None of the rooms on Pride look updated (i.e. modern). We like the OS rooms because they do provide a good bit of room, but I agree that a $1500 delta is tough to swallow.

I did not go on the slides this time, but have in the past, with my most recent time in Oct 2016. They end in a "water brake". I took my GoPro with me for one of them...go on you tube and look for "Green Thunder Water Slide Carnival Pride 2016".

I'm enjoying your review!

We will be on the Pride in April, and will be renting a cabana at Grand Turk. Do you happen to remember what number cabana is closer to the zero entry part of the pool, and also, would that be closer or further away from the DJ?

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

All of the cabanas are clustered around that end of the pool, so any of them would be good. As to the DJ, I'm not sure.

Swodog, that used to be a casino. The small Santa Maria Casino, shaped like a pirate ship, closed it's doors in 2013. I don't ever remember it being open the many times we were there.

Thanks for the info! Good to know.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

As mentioned, the beach by the cruise center is very convenient, but it is right next to the ship. It's not a very vibrant reef area there, but there is some things to see there in the water. I brought my mask and fins with me and went snorkeling.

Despite being close in to shore, there are some cool things to see in that area.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The beach right outside the cruise center is pretty busy, but it's not too bad as long as there's only one ship in port.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

Once we relaxed for a bit we decided to head down to the beach. It's a very short stroll from the cabana. You walk by the Flow-rider and there's a gate that let's you out onto the sand.

There are tons of chais available on the beach for free. The closer to the pier you are, the more crowded it is. My recommendation is to head down a ways and you will find many open chairs.

The vendors on the beach are prolofic, and pushy! Don't let them intimidate you.The chairs and umbrellas at the cruise center are free...if they try and charge you, blow them off. If you've gone so far down the beach that you've ended up in a not-free area, move back down a little. Don't pay for chairs and shade unless you want to!

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The cabana also has a tub, that can hold drinks and ice. Last time we were here, I ordered a bucket of the local beer (Turks Head) and the server brought me a bag of ice, so I was able to ice the beer down in the tub.

This time I ordered the same beer again. Turks Head beer is brewed in the Turks and Caicos Islands; however, it's brewed on a diffrent island, so you don't get to take a tour of the brewery while in Grand Turk. Sadly, our server didn't bring me ice, so I had to chill the beers in the mini-fridge that's provided in the cabana.

The beer, by the way, is an ale and it's very good! It's not available outside of the Turks and Caicos, so if you like beer, I highly encourage you to try it while you're there!

The cabana is a right next to the pool so you can cool off there and buy drinks from the many bars available, one of which is a swim-up bar. The ship towers over everything!

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The cabana has two very important features which are crucial in the summer months, because it is HOT and the help keep you cool. There's a ceiling fan, and more importantly, and air conditioner!

Inside are some very comfortable couches with throw pillows and a wicker coffee table.

On the coffee table are some menus. One is a food menu while the other is a drink menu. [Note: I took pictures of every page in the food menu and if you really want to know everything you can order, let me know, I'll post them].

Basically, a server is assigned to the cabanas, and if you want anything to eat or drink, you press this call button, and she'll come out and take your order.

Margaritaville is an independent restaurant, so your S&S card does not work there. You will have to pay using cash or a credit card, but the server will hold one of your S&S cards as collateral. You'll get it back after you settle your bill.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

If you rent a cabana in Grand Turk, it's at the cruise center, and they are administered and run by Margaritaville. You check in with the hostess, just as if you're asking for a table. They'll run you out to your cabana, give you they key, and walk you through the amenities.

As we followed our hostess around the pool to our cabana, I noticed something I had not seen the previous time I'd been here. There were some alcoves next to a building that provided some shade and privacy, as well as some cooling. These apparently are first-come-first-served, so if you want one, try and be one of the first off the ship.

There are a limited number of cabanas, 10 I think, and we had cabana number 5.

Each cabana has an outdoor shower(you can see our next door neighbor's cabana behind our shower).

As you can see from the pictures, each cabana has two loungers on the front porch.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

As I mentioned earlier, we had rented a cabana at Margaritaville, so we headed that way. We had received our excursion ticket in our mailbox on day one.

When you walk down the pier, the first thing you come to (and the last thing you'll see on your way out) is the duty free shop.

Once you get through that, you'll emerge into a courtyard where all the day's excusrions are gathering.

If you don't have an excursion, such as snorkeling or manta ray encounters, you keep going. There are many shops here, including jewelry stores, surf shops, a Harley Davidson store, and several others selling assorted bric-a-brac. We had been here before, so we knew to bypass all this chaff and head for the waitress stand at Margaritaville to claim our cabana. If front of Margaritaville is a huge, colorful parrot that I couldn't resist taking a picture with!

Grand Turk (Cont.)

We moored just before 8am. Once we were moored we waited for the word to be passed that the brow was open. Folks started to get off around around 8:15.

Once we saw that folks were headed off we grabbed our stuff and headed to A Deck. That's where the debark hatches are located. We got in line and waited to bebark. Despite what seemed like lots of folks (including crew going on liberty) it only took a few minutes.

We headed off the ship and towards the

cruise center!

One of the sad facts of cruises is that not everyone has a great time. Some times folks get hurt (on our first cruise I had a first hand experience with a lady who broke her ankle!), get sick, or in the worst case, pass away. I'm not sure what happened in this case, but as we walked down the pier, an ambulance was evacuating one of our unfortunate shipmates. I hope everything turned out ok.

At the entrance to the cruise center is a turks head cactus. This native plant is why the Turks and Caicos Islands got their name, because when the first Spaniards discovered these islands, they thought the red top to the cactus looked like the fez's that Turks wore.

Grand Turk (Cont.)

The water at Grand Turk is so blue and clear, even right by the pier!

After two visits to Grand Turk, we have yet to leave the cruise center and Margaritaville area...does anyone know what building this is? Looks fun!