Watch your bag in Grand Turk

[shipty2]

I know this could happen anywhere but since this incident seemed to be well rehearsed maybe by having a heads up someone else could avoid being a victim.

 

We were on the Destiny 12/27 cruise that stopped in Grand Turk. We have been to Grand Turk 5 times prior to this stop and have found the beach area to be quite safe.

 

While walking along the beach looking for an available chair DH came upon a 2 ft length of black rubber. So he picks it up. Being a health care professional I was a little disgusted and told him to leave it on the beach as it could have been used by a drug user to tie off their arm. Of course he did not put it down and off we went. There were no chairs so we rented a clamshell with a floaty mat and put our bag inside the clam on the mat so we would not have sand on our towels when the time came to use them.

 

Fast forward a couple hours and we were swimming out by the buoys looking at fish. I am always checking the spot where we leave our bags. So I look over and there was one person (teenager)pawing at things in our clamshell and two others standing in front of him blocking my view.

 

So I shout "hey someone's in our clamshell". DH immediately swam back to shore but by the time he got there they had quickly dispersed. In fact they left so quick it made me dizzy because all three went in different directions. I was watching them but their clever deking caused me to lose track of all of them.

 

Luckily DH had used that black rubber thing(unbeknownst to me) to tie our beach bag to the pole in the clamshell and nothing was lost.

 

Of course we did not have the crown jewels in that bag but would have felt violated had these kids taken our bag.

I use my Carnival water wallet in carry our ship cards,cash,and credit card and I.D. anyway so they would have only got my camera.

[ucmom3]

Thanks for the heads up. I will keep this in mind when we travel there in March. This does sound like something these kids do often.

[Bo Didly]

Never ,ever take a purse off a cruise ship.

The minute you leave the ship there will be eyes on your purse.

 

The island is still recovering from hurricane Ike.

Island people are still in need and they look for people with purses.

The port area is OK, the pool area etc.

[smallworldtraveller]

there is what they are called beach chair safes. Little box that will hold camera etc. it attaches to your lounger and it is a combination lock to open them. If they want it bad enough they will take the whole chair. I belive cruise critic sells them or look on the web. i think they are about $25.

[LHP]

there is what they are called beach chair safes. Little box that will hold camera etc. it attaches to your lounger and it is a combination lock to open them. If they want it bad enough they will take the whole chair. I belive cruise critic sells them or look on the web. i think they are about $25.

 

I wonder also, if there are lockers at Grand Turk??

 

We have never checked because I don't get in the water...so I am the locker. LOL

[mcwebber]

there is what they are called beach chair safes. Little box that will hold camera etc. it attaches to your lounger and it is a combination lock to open them. If they want it bad enough they will take the whole chair. I belive cruise critic sells them or look on the web. i think they are about $25.

 

Is this the item you mean?

 

[dallas52]

good idea not to leave anything on the towels or anywhere while you arent there.

[waterwatcher]

We were going to reserve a golf cart to tour the island on our own, but after reading this I don't think it would be a safe thing to do.

[DEBnGAB]

We were going to reserve a golf cart to tour the island on our own, but after reading this I don't think it would be a safe thing to do.

 

 

Why not? Theft happens everywhere..just keep your personal items close.

[wildeklave]

when on various islands I prefer private beaches vs. public for that very reason. In a private resort beach you do not have the locals and don't have everybody and his brother trying to sell their goods. The worst was in Grenada back in the late 90s. You could not sit for more than a minute without a local person coming to you to try and sell something.

 

When in Nassau this year I will be probably getting a day pass to one of the hotel's beaches.

[allenee]

Thanks for the heads up. We cruise in 3 weeks and one of the ports is Grand Turk.

[shipty2]

Never ,ever take a purse off a cruise ship.

The minute you leave the ship there will be eyes on your purse.

 

The island is still recovering from hurricane Ike.

Island people are still in need and they look for people with purses.

The port area is OK, the pool area etc.

 

 

This is good advice. My bag was just a beach bag not a purse and really didn't have anything in it I couldn't afford to lose. We usually tie our beach bag to the chair with one of our lanyards. I figure you only need something to slow the thieves down enough that they don't bother.

[quickrate]

We were going to reserve a golf cart to tour the island on our own, but after reading this I don't think it would be a safe thing to do.

 

We rented a golf cart the beginning of Jan. and had a great time driving around the island. One of the highlights of the trip! As was said before, there is theft everywhere-don't miss this beautiful island where most of the people are wonderful[just like anywhere else you go] because someone else had a bad experience. Just take this as a warning to keep an eye on your stuff which you should do anywhere you go-even on the cruise ship!

Pat