Best thing to do in Turk? April aboard Carnival

[Fourseventeen]

Coming into port at Grand Turk in late April aboard Carnival Glory. Looking for some of the best ideas of things to do while we are in port. 11am-5pm in port with one other ship that day (emerald princess). My wife and I are both real active people. We are open to low pace or high paced activities. Just would like to hear about some of your favorite things to do while in this port so we can start working on some ideas of what to do. Heard Gibbs Cay is a nie place. Thinking we may do some snorkeling and some beach time but we are open to hear what everyone enjoys doing out there. Thank you.

[Fourseventeen]

No ones been to Turks huh?

[skipsjean]

We are going to Grand Turk April 2, never been there, never been on a cruise either. We just booked a golf cart for the three of us to use all day for $80. If you go to somw of the threads talking about golf carts they give you the e-mail adress, if not, I can get it for you. The island looks good to explore on our own, and the cart will let us get to places a car could not. Also look into Jacks Shack. Like I said, we have never been, but now we are looking forward to exploring on our own!

Good luck!

[Fourseventeen]

I have the guys contact info for carts...thank you. Not sure thats something we want to do though. I am thinking something more adventurous like scuba or snorkeling.

[seaweavers]

Sorry not many replies. Well, we were there last April, but it was still in shambles after a hurricane. No excursions allowed. The port has a Margaritaville and a few shops, but it was just a beach day for us.

[alphakitty]

Grand Turk has Margaritaville right off the ship. There is a beach with lots of chairs, a beautiful pool and a flow rider available for rent. There are several shops there too. We looked around there and then grabbed a taxi to Pillory Beach at the Bohio Dive resort. Crowds are not our thing. The snorkeling off the beach at Pillory was really nice and the place was very laid back. Facilities, gear rentals, bar are available there. We saw a few wild horses. Our taxi driver gave us a mini island tour through the very small downtown area.

 

We saw a few who rented golf carts to drive around the island, there is a lighthouse you can get to with the carts.

 

Here's a few pics of Margaritiville and Pillory Beach. :)

 

The beach at the port:

Margaritaville pool:

Bohio:

Pillory Beach:

[Fourseventeen]

How was the snorkeling there at the dive resort? We were thinking of checking out Gibbs Cay to snorkel over there. I think snorkeling or a dive is a must in Turks

[Toddy709]

My sister and I went to Grand Turks in November of '08. We booked a snorkeling excursion. It was very soon after the devastating hurricane and the snorkeling was awful. In fact our excursion was cut short by a medical emergency due to the rough sea conditions.

 

When we got back to the dock we wandered over to Margaritaville and ended up having a blast! When we reminisce about our cruise, Margartiaville is always the best part!!

[alphakitty]

How was the snorkeling there at the dive resort? We were thinking of checking out Gibbs Cay to snorkel over there. I think snorkeling or a dive is a must in Turks

 

The snorkeling was pretty good if you swam out about 400 yards off shore. There is a shelf there with some nice coral and a great drop off. :) Seas were calm for us, so an easy swim.

 

We were there in Feb 09 and though there was still a lot of damage evident from the hurricane, lots of work was being done to rebuild. There was some junk in the water, I do recall seeing a bit of sheet metal swimming out.

[KSCPA]

I contacted Blue Water Divers. They have snorkeling/scuba.

They were listed in the Froder's book as a BEST.

There prices seem reasonable.

grandturkscuba.com

Tell them Kris sent ya (they couldnt certify my diving but have snorkeling/diving trips)

[Fourseventeen]

I am a PADI cert diver but my wife is not. So if its scuba we do it needs to be with someone willing to offer a discovery dive and a stadard single tank dive. I am still looking into the option of diving though it may be easier to just snorkel since im not sure how the wife will do.

[KSCPA]

I am a PADI cert diver but my wife is not. So if its scuba we do it needs to be with someone willing to offer a discovery dive and a stadard single tank dive. I am still looking into the option of diving though it may be easier to just snorkel since im not sure how the wife will do.

I am sure they will do both. When I spoke with them they told me they have boat trips to accompany Divers and non divers. You probably know more about this then me....but it sounds like the snorkelers would stay up top and the diviers cruise through the wreck!! LOL

[topspot]

Fourseventeen, We dove with Blue Water Divers in Nov. They also had a group doing a discover scuba that went out separately from our group of certified divers, so they do both. They were great with us, very patient as we were all new divers. Have a great time :D

[Fourseventeen]

thx topspot.

[SeaYa52]

We've booked with Blue Water Divers.....the reviews and posts about them have been excellent.....they were very easy to book with - excellent customer service....of course - haven't tried them yet - cruise in three weeks - but I like what I have read - and experienced with them so far. I tend to do a lot of research and book our oown tours.:D

[cruznsuzn89]

We are going to be in Grand Turk from the Glory in May. We would enjoy snorkeling off of the beach and the pictures look great! Can you tell me if you can rent snorkel equipment there, or do you need your own? Thanks

[Fourseventeen]

We own all of our own gear. I am also a diver so I have a bunch of stuff. I did buy nice snorkel gear for my wife too. The rental stuff tends to be a little beat up and on the cheap side PLUS all kinds of people use that same snorkel...thats just gross LOL.

[abaci]

Not that I can help much, but we will be on the Glory on April 25th also. Looking forward to my 1st on Grand Turk

[Fourseventeen]

Abaci...

check the roll call forum and post up there if you have not already. I am working on a meet and greet on the ship so all of us from cruisecritic.com can get together and meet onboard.

[cruznsuzn89]

Thanks, I will probably buy my own snorkel stuff as I plan to snorkel off the beach in another port too and am booking a snorkel excursion in St. Thomas. The pictures of the beach and pool are nice by the way!

[pabeachie]

If you are going to snorkel more than one port, I would suggest buying your own gear before you leave. Most of the beach spots will rent you snorkel gear ranging from about $12 to $24 for all the gear, snorkel, fins, mask, and life vest. Jack`s Shack has rental gear and will give you tips on the local snorkeling sites nearby.

 

 

island nurse, how long of a walk is it to your place? can we take a taxi?

[wikiwiki1]

Just got back from the best port of our 7 day cruise. We spent the day at the Grand Turk Inn. We took a cab from the port ($5. each) and in about 10 minutes were at this lovely restored old Methodist MAnse on Front St. Katrina Birt, the owner welcomed us and gave us a room in which to change. We toured this quaint and private facility before heading across the street to our own private beach. We could see all the others from our ship passing by in their vans and taxis as we enjoyed complete privacy with the use of beach "toys", mats and cold water. We spent an hour on the beach - sun was hot - but that beautiful blue sea was cooling. We recrossed the deserted road to enjoy a private lunch on the delightful breezeway. Katrina brought out some delicious appetizers for us and joined us in conversation. She is a very interesting and amazing person. We had fried fish, conch fritters and cracked conch and drinks for lunch followed by homemade key lime pie. It was the most relaxed I felt on the cruise. We then walked up the road by the few buildings that comprise the center of town. The post office has a neat gift shop on the 2nd floor. We bought some tee shirts and gorgeous stamps ( the Caribbean was always known for thier colorful stamps). We continued on by a beautiful red and white church and visited the library ( I am a librarian) - we used the computers for internet access for $3. for 30 minutes. I perused their British reference books. We then headed back to the Inn and visited the beach again. At about 3:45 we washed off at the outdoor shower and Katrina called a cab for us. Our driver Cliff gave us a running commentary on the return to our ship. He also gave us a DVD about the Turks & Caicos and a bag of salt - the industry that once was key to this island. The cost for our day trip was $40. each - so worth it for a once in a lifetime Caribbean experience. You can email Katrina: katrinabirt@yahoo.com or check out their web site. You won't be disappointed!

[madge57]

whats the website or did I miss it??

[erin_cruisers]

whats the website or did I miss it??

 

I think this would be it: http://www.grandturkinn.com/

 

Looks very interesting.

Thanks for the info on your very pleasant day Wikiwiki1 :)

[Fourseventeen]

still trying to decide what we are going to do in Turk.