beach at Grand Turk

[beachbum53]

One of the ports on our upcoming cruise is Grand Turk. This will be our fourth time there. Previously, we've gone to the beach that's to the left of the pier as you're walking towards the Welcome Center. However, to avoid the aggressive vendors and the fact that there will be two ships that day (which will make the beach even more crowded), we're considering the beach area to the right of the pier. How's the area below the water? Rocky? Smooth? Are water shoes recommended? Any helpful information would be appreciated. Thanks. (We might even consider walking down to the beach area in front of Jack's Shack).

[pacruise804]

We liked Jack's Shack.  $10 for 2 chairs and an umbrella and it wasn't very crowded.  There was some crowd at the bar area, but even it wasn't too bad.  There is a restroom in the store so we really had all we needed.  The beach area was kept very clean (employees were raking when we got there) and we did not wear water shoes into the water.  We did bring our snorkels and masks and there was a surprising amount to see for as soft as the sand was.  There are some occasional hard rocks, so if you have very sensitive feet you may want water shoes.

 

There are local dogs in addition to Topher and Calypso, but the do mostly keep to themselves.  I did have one burrow itself under my lounger for some shade, but it didn't really bother me.

 

There is a coupon on their website for a free shot of rum - it's about what you would expect for free, but still a nice part of the experience.  We split a menu drink too which was pretty good.  We didn't get any food and we brought our own water.

[beachbum53]

Thanks for the info pacruise804. We've only been to Jack's Shack once, for lunch. Never made use of the beach area there. However, we're strongly considering it so we can get away from the aggressive vendors along the beach there by Margaritaville. Plus, the day we'll be there, the Carnival Conquest will also be there. The beach is going to be super crowded that day. 

[WashCoCruisers]

Dumb question............how do you know how many ships are in port at the same time as yours?

[beachbum53]

54 minutes ago, WashCoCruisers said:

Dumb question............how do you know how many ships are in port at the same time as yours?

 

Very easy. Go here, and click on "Port Schedule".

https://www.grandturkcc.com/

 

Find the date when you'll be there and you'll see which, if any, other ships will also be there. Add this web site to your "favorites" list so you can refer to it any time. 

[fatcat04]

On 1/17/2019 at 11:26 AM, WashCoCruisers said:

Dumb question............how do you know how many ships are in port at the same time as yours?

And check the times of arrival too if you have another ship in port with you. We are sharing out GT day with a Carnival ship but it doesn't arrive until 11am and our ship gets in at 8am so we figure we will get our beach going done early and head back to the ship for late lunch and a nap before sail away. Also note the size of the ships in port so you will know the port load.

[marc_b2001]

On 1/17/2019 at 12:26 PM, WashCoCruisers said:

Dumb question............how do you know how many ships are in port at the same time as yours?

Also, if you want the Port schedules from all around the world, go to http://ports.cruisett.com/. And for all ship schedules, go to http://ships.cruisett.com/

 

 

[SCAnthony]

Cruising in March with a stop at Grand Turk. Saw where they have had bad sargassum/seaweed for a few months. Anyone been lately to give an update? Is it clearing up? 

[fatcat04]

We were just there 2 weeks ago and the seaweed was NOT an issue for us at all. The water looked nice. I'll attach some pics.

 

The beach chair situation however was a mess. Grand Turk used to be one of our favorite beach days. We would spend hours in the free chairs getting snacks and beers or tropical drinks, letting the kids play in the water. Now the local chair vendors have all the space near the water covered in ramshackle chairs and umbrellas or tent like awnings almost literally to the water line. The chairs the locals put out look suspiciously like the old ones the Grand Turk Cruise Center USED to set up prior to the last big hurricane season. Hmm.

 

If you are in a free Cruise Center chair, you couldn't see your kids in the water past all the stuff the locals set up. It was very disappointing. Grand Turk and Carnival who built and leases out the Cruise Center should do something about this. In the US, beach chair vendors can't just set up shop anywhere on public beaches and charge admission.  You would think Grand Turk would have a similar policy or at least police/regulate/license chair vendors.

 

To say the free Grand Turk Cruise Center chairs are crowded together is an understatement. More like crammed into as a small a space as possible and very uninviting. We just picked up a few free chairs all the way in the back since they seemed less crammed together and our daughter really wanted to play in the sand. This was about the only sand available that wasn't a hike past the Cruise Center area, which too was crammed with ramshackle chairs and umbrellas. The problem there is you have to listen to the Margaritaville music the whole time, and it is loud. Sometimes it's good (Jimmy's music), sometimes it is really bad (vulgar rap and dance music) and the dj can get vulgar talking about ladies body parts etc. After hours, fine. At 10:30 am, please spare me. Not family friendly. Dh and I packed up our kids and our moms who were also cruising with us and headed back to the ship after buying 1 drink each and sitting out/walking the beach for maybe 2 hours.

 

Dh and I walked down to Jack's shack just to get an idea of the distance as we had never thought of going there until this trip. It is an easy walk for those without mobility issues (my mother in law could not have made the walk this trip due to her mobility issues or else we probably would have just headed there this trip). I got to love on Topher. What an adorable pooch!! There were about 5 dogs there that day, all snoozing except for Topher who was being a dogfish, he loves the water! All the pups had collars so I am guessing locals brings their pups there for fun. They seemed to enjoy staking out space under the beach chairs Jack's rents.

 

Obviously Grand Turk Cruise Center doesn't want our revenue. We will probably go to Jack's Shack next time or else not even get off the ship.

Edited February 20, 2019 by fatcat04

[SCAnthony]

Thanks for the pictures. Had heard about the chair situation and we are planning on skipping all that and going on down to Jacks shack. 

[aaalynn1]

Is Jacks Shack to the right as your looking at the island? 

[marc_b2001]

Jack’s Shack is to the left of the pier as you get off the ship. See picture.

[cruisetexas]

Just returned from a stop in GT.  The 'free' chair area was crazy busy with the water being full of people and the chairs in great demand.  Especially the free chairs.

 

Do yourself a favor and walk down to Jack's.  We got there about 9:45 and were the fourth people there.  Chairs at the water's edge (NO seaweed) and the water was perfectly calm and beautiful.  It was early, so had a Diet Coke ($2).  Calypso the doggie was out romping and it was a perfect day. 

 

Walk along the water's edge from the ship, easier than walking in the dry sand.  

[HappiestWhenCruising]

On 2/11/2019 at 12:28 PM, marc_b2001 said:

Also, if you want the Port schedules from all around the world, go to http://ports.cruisett.com/. And for all ship schedules, go to http://ships.cruisett.com/

 

 

Should I be concerned if the cruise I booked in November is going to places that do not match what is shown at cruisett.com?  It shows us going to Cuba, and we aren't going there!  Have you ever seen where this website isn't up to date this far in advance?

[luv2trvlnow]

On 3/15/2019 at 11:03 PM, HappiestWhenCruising said:

Should I be concerned if the cruise I booked in November is going to places that do not match what is shown at cruisett.com?  It shows us going to Cuba, and we aren't going there!  Have you ever seen where this website isn't up to date this far in advance?

I wouldn't be concerned as that site has been very inaccurate for quite a few years.  It is very rarely updated. 

 

I use the following site: https://www.cruisetimetables.com/. 

It isn't always correct but they do update it regularly.  Last week we received a letter from Carnival telling about an itinerary change and it is been corrected on their site.  

Edited March 21, 2019 by luv2trvlnow

[CJDepew]

On 1/16/2019 at 2:59 PM, beachbum53 said:

One of the ports on our upcoming cruise is Grand Turk. This will be our fourth time there. Previously, we've gone to the beach that's to the left of the pier as you're walking towards the Welcome Center. However, to avoid the aggressive vendors and the fact that there will be two ships that day (which will make the beach even more crowded), we're considering the beach area to the right of the pier. How's the area below the water? Rocky? Smooth? Are water shoes recommended? Any helpful information would be appreciated. Thanks. (We might even consider walking down to the beach area in front of Jack's Shack).

We were there a month ago today. Because the weather was kind of crazy, we decided to just walk the beach, and ended up turning right at the end of the pier. The beach is somewhat rocky in places so I'd recommend water shoes. There were plenty of seating and clam shells available, but we were the only ship in port that morning. There are restrooms available on that side of the pier, and you can purchase food and drink as well.