Jamman54

Patti heads into the Margaritaville Restaurant….. Patti decides to walk down the beach to Jack’s Shack. Here are some views as she heads down the beach….. To be continued…….

As Patti heads towards the beach, she passes the Flowrider building….. Here’s the Grand Turk Weather Station….. Here are a few views of the Mardi Gras and Freedom docked in Grand Turk….. Here are a couple of beach views…… The Beach Bar and Beach Shop….. To be continued…..

Patti heads out to explore and take more pictures. I pour my beer into a plastic cup and head to the pool! Patti begins with the cabana and pool area. It’s still nearly completely empty since they haven’t let anyone from either ship disembark yet… Here are a couple pictures of the swim up bar. This area will be packed later on….. To be continued…..

We rent them online under shore excursions, as soon as they become available which is about 10 months out. Most times they will sell out prior to the cruise. You can choose the cabana you want when you check in at Margaritaville, or they will assign one for you.

Patti meets me at Pool Cabana # 8, and she is shocked! We have never been in any other cabana except # 9. I wanted # 9, but I was told that #’s 9 & 10 weren’t being rented today. That’s okay, as # 8 will do just fine…… Views of cabana # 8….. Here are the food menus. The menu is very limited, as there have been many supply issues here on Grand Turk. We won’t go hungry….. We meet our server Loretta. She would take great care of us all day….. Loretta gets a bucket of Landsharks for me, and some water for Patti….. I’m enjoying my first beer of the day….. To be continued…..

The Poolside Retreats for Two are right next to the bathroom. A month ago they rented for $105, now they are $150 for the day….. Here are some pool and swim up bar views…. This is the sidewalk to the Pool Cabanas….. This is a beautiful view of the Mardi Gras from the pool area….. This is the walk in section of the pool. With my bad legs I appreciate the pools that have these sections….. The Flowrider will be in operation later in the day….. To be continued…..

Patti checks out the Craft Market….. We are here! Patti is in heaven! She loves taking pictures when there only a few or no people in them. She is approaching Margaritaville….. This is the porch of indecision….. Margaritaville Trading Post….. To be continued……

As the Carnival Freedom approaches, security quickly clears the pier of guests….. We are walking on the pier towards the Cruise Center. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost exactly four years since we’ve been here. We’re used to being here two or three times a year! The Whale Exhibit is off to the right….. We are glad to be back! At this point, I will head over to Margaritaville to get our Pool Cabana. Patti knows where to meet me, so she begins her picture tour by strolling across the nearly empty Plaza. With the Freedom currently docking, no one will be getting off the ship for at least a half hour….. To be continued…..

Have a great flight! Looking forward to your review of the Radiance and your time in California!

Here are some beach views all the way down to Jack’s Shack…… The excursion boats are anchored offshore….. There’s a U.S. Coast Guard boat docked in the distance….. They started letting people off the ship at 7am. There is only one gangway open today, and that’s on Deck 3 forward. We are going to skip breakfast today, as we have rented a Pool Cabana, so we want to get off the ship as soon as possible to pick our cabana and get settled in. As we were in the elevator lobby waiting to board an elevator down to Deck 3, our Cruise Director Lee made the announcement that the gangway was going to be closed in about five minutes, because the Carnival Freedom was about to arrive and the pier had to be cleared. We were one of the last few to get off the ship before they closed the gangway. After this picture was taken, security made the photographer and us, clear the area….. Here comes the Carnival Freedom…… To be continued…..

Day # 6 (April 28th) - Grand Turk (7am – 4pm). We were up at 6:30am just as the Mardi Gras was pulling into Grand Turk….. It’s going to be a beautiful day. The sun is rising in the east….. Here are today’s “Fun Times”…… Here are some views of the Cruise Center and Margaritaville taken from our balcony….. To be continued…..

That places qualifies as a Husband Daycare Center!

Thanks for reading and your kind words! We love Lee Mason. He is one of the best cruise directors in the fleet. We had the pleasure of sailing with him on the Splendor, Panorama, and now the Mardi Gras. Very high energy, friendly, and approachable. I'm sure that you'll like him. I believe he will be leaving on vacation some time in July.

Thanks for following along once again! Much more to come!

That's where Serenity used to be until they moved it to the back, which was a good move! 😎

Thanks for reading. I believe that if your cruise was switched from San Juan to Nassau, it will remain that way. Our cruise was never switched. 😎

I started with the pot stickers….. For my main I had the Kung Pao Chicken with green beans….. For my dessert I had the Chibang chocolate….. The chefs are working hard in the kitchen….. Goodbye to whatever the heck this thing is….. We didn’t really like Chibang. The food wasn’t really served that hot, and in all fairness, it doesn’t come close to comparing with JiJi Asian Kitchen. We decided right there and then that this was a one and done for us. After walking the ship a bit we watched a little bit of Vegas Nights, but we were tired and decided to call it a night…… But not before stopping at Cherry on Top for a snack! Back at the cabin we found tonight’s towel creature….. Coming up next: Our long awaited return to Grand Turk!

We decide that tonight we are going to try Chibang for dinner. We request a table for two on the Hub App, and in less than ten minutes our table is ready….. We have made it to Chibang, and here is the menu….. This is our table, and the service team assigned to it….. We are being attacked by some sort of hairy creature….. Patti starts off with the Mandarin crunch salad….. For her main she has the sweet and sour shrimp and Hakka noodles….. For dessert she has the Crema Catalina…….. To be continued……

We are leaving the Freedom behind….. Here are some views of the coast as we sailed away from Amber Cove….. Goodbye Amber Cove until next time! To be continued…..

The Mardi Gras sailed promptly at 6pm. Patti and I went up to the Tides Pool on Deck 16 aft for the sail away…… Here are some views of Amber Cove as we sailed away….. To be continued……

The officers on the pier seem to be keeping an eye on the passenger count….. Everybody’s back on board so the crew breaks down and brings in the remaining gangway….. To be continued……

Around 4:30pm we decided to head back to the ship. We paid our bill which was $92, and gave Nataly a large, well deserved tip. Once we got to the pier we grabbed a pedal cab to take us the rest of the way….. Here are some views of the Mardi Gras and Freedom as we were pedaled back to the ship….. Once on the ship we went back to our cabin and out on the balcony to check out the views. Here’s a view of the Freedom and her funnel, which sadly, doesn’t look quite as good as I write this today….. Our Cruise Director Lee is out on the pier welcoming guests back to the ship….. Here are a couple more views of the Freedom…. These four guys over on the Freedom seem to be having a good time….. To be continued…..

Here is some unusual artwork….. This is the much photographed Amber Cove sign…. Pretty artwork….. There is a small beach that is just off the property….. Patti meets me back at the cabana, and Nataly takes our food and drink orders. Here are the drink and food menus….. I ordered the pork belly sampler, and Patti ordered the chicken tenders. We shared an order of fries. Here is a picture of Nataly and me. She took great care of us all day!….. After this, the camera pretty much got put away. We spent the rest of the afternoon sunning on our deck, cooling off in the pool, having a few drinks, and relaxing. To be continued…….

Patti now heads over to browse some of the shops….. Here is a display of Dominican Republic information and history….. To be continued…..

If I were booked on the Freedom anytime in June, I would be making alternate plans just in case!