Margaritaville cabana rental or Jack's Shack?

[coevan]

whatever, we agree the place is a zoo. Loud, overpriced and mediocre food. Our trip to GT involved and early dive or snorkel and back to the ship for a quiet lunch and an empty Serenity area

[3smithboys]

37 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

Jacks takes Visa and MasterCard for sure. Never tried Amex or Discover

 

Perfect! Thanks! Just trying to figure out how much cash we need to bring with us. I’m sure we can always get more, but being able to charge is easier for sure. 

Edited July 15, 2019 by 3smithboys

[3redheads]

Does anyone know where we can find a map of the island since we will be driving?  I googled and couldn't find one.  It would be great if I could find one with the resorts/beaches listed.  Any suggestions?  TIA

[coevan]

17 minutes ago, 3redheads said:

Does anyone know where we can find a map of the island since we will be driving?  I googled and couldn't find one.  It would be great if I could find one with the resorts/beaches listed.  Any suggestions?  TIA

 

 

driving what? they rent golf carts, Google is your friend:

[3redheads]

33 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

driving what? they rent golf carts, Google is your friend:

We will be driving a golf cart. I did Google and I saw this map, but wasn't sure if it had the resorts mentioned in this thread.  Thank you for posting.

[coevan]

can't miss them, it's a very small island

[AAAAmerican]

5 hours ago, 3redheads said:

Does anyone know where we can find a map of the island since we will be driving?  I googled and couldn't find one.  It would be great if I could find one with the resorts/beaches listed.  Any suggestions?  TIA

 

At Jack 's Shack they have his dogs : Calypso ( The Youngest, and Topher.

 

If you go right (Starboard) from the Ships Pier it goes to Booby Rock where you may sun, bring a towell.. and take back any Conch Shells too.

 

A map like for Jacks Shack:

 

[3redheads]

7 hours ago, AAAAmerican said:

 

 

At Jack 's Shack they have his dogs : Calypso ( The Youngest, and Topher.

 

If you go right (Starboard) from the Ships Pier it goes to Booby Rock where you may sun, bring a towell.. and take back any Conch Shells too.

 

A map like for Jacks Shack:

 

Perfect.  Thank you!

[purplephenom]

I really wanted to stay away from Margaritaville, so I went to Jack's.  The jerk chicken was good, but I'm not sure I'd eat there again.  I think if I go back, I'll do a snorkel excursion, then just walk over to Jack's for maybe a drink and to play with the dogs for awhile. 

 

Generally, the further away you go from the ship the less crowded it gets.  But, as the day goes on, if there are 2 or 3 ships in port, it does get crowded even further down the beach.  

[RRLLAL]

[kctwinmommy]

This was what it looked like when we were there in 2016.

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

On ‎7‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 11:53 PM, kctwinmommy said:

For us, and this is a personal opinion, we enjoyed having the cabana last time we were there. We had 2 families, 7 people between us. So we did split the cost, which made it nice too. Us 2 moms and the adult daughter hung out at the cabana, going back and forth to the pool and beach. But the 2 dads and teen sons spent a lot of time at the beach.

 

And for us, it turned out to be a blessing because the other wife had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, so she was a little more limited in what she could/couldn't do. So she had to really limit her sun exposure and couldn't go in the water past her waist. The cabanas provided the shade we really needed and the ability to relax with the waitress service right to our front door.

 

But, if it was just the 3 of us going again, not sure we'd get it for just us. It was a nice thing, a little bit of luxury in a way. Not saying it's luxurious, just a little extra thing to have which was nice.

 

We have been to Grand Turk 5 times (enjoyed both Margaritaville & Jack's). Our upcoming cruise we have booked a cabana for the first time because my DH & BIL both have some health issues and we felt it would be a great base for them to enjoy the air & shade, while us girls head down to Jack's to pick up food -their jerk chicken is the BEST I've had -even better than Rick's Café in Jamaica. But your right with 8 of us the cost is a lot lower than if it was DH & I only (plus we used the Carnival credit card to get it even lower )

Edited July 16, 2019 by Buffalofirsttimer4

[Warm Breezes]

We did the Cabana when we were there in May on CCL Magic.  I just happened to see it come up on Carnival's excursions about a week and a half before we sailed and booked it.  Yes it was expensive.  But I was glad I booked it.  If it had just been DH and myself I would not have booked it but we had DS(25) and DD(22) with us.  DD and I love the warmth and spent most of our time outside.  DH and DS do not like the heat so much and spent a lot of time relaxing inside.  DD and I were able to do some shopping and check out the beach without the guys complaining about how hot they were.  We liked the fun atmosphere at Margaritaville while having privacy of our own space and we enjoyed a great lunch and a couple of cold drinks brought to us by our own personal waitress.  This was our splurge of our cruise and I don't regret it all.

[Joebucks]

I don't care for Margaritaville. Most of them are bland and overpriced. There's one by me, and I almost never go there. With that said, the Grand Turk location was the best I have went to. I had a great time there. The pool is HUGE, it's mostly outdoors, and there is a lot going on. It's not your quite place to relax though. 

 

With that said, next time we will give Jack's a try. I love me some jerk chicken! 

[hotsauce126]

21 hours ago, Fla Senior said:

IMHO, if you like loud blaring rap crap music, then Margaritaville is for you.  If you want a quiet lay-back beach day with good drinks, good company, excellent jerk chicken and a show (Topher), then Jack's is for you.

I had no interest in Margaritaville until now 😀

[kctwinmommy]

5 hours ago, Buffalofirsttimer4 said:

 

We have been to Grand Turk 5 times (enjoyed both Margaritaville & Jack's). Our upcoming cruise we have booked a cabana for the first time because my DH & BIL both have some health issues and we felt it would be a great base for them to enjoy the air & shade, while us girls head down to Jack's to pick up food -their jerk chicken is the BEST I've had -even better than Rick's Café in Jamaica. But your right with 8 of us the cost is a lot lower than if it was DH & I only (plus we used the Carnival credit card to get it even lower )

 

Yep! We booked it early on, and our friend was diagnosed like 2 months before the cruise. So we got lucky by choosing to do so. And yes, when you have a slightly larger group, as long as there aren't 10 of you hanging there, getting drunk the whole time, they don't seem to notice or care. I'm sure if there was a large group there, acting up, they might say something then.

 

I guess the big thing is that it's up to each person to pick what they want to do. 😃 I mean, they have 10 of them there and they seem to be always booked, so people like them. I'm sure they could add 20 more and sell those out too.

[AAAAmerican]

On 7/16/2019 at 8:36 AM, 3redheads said:

Perfect.  Thank you!

Dear 3 redheads,

 

Your welcome.

[MrsGrohl]

Is Jack's more for adults? Do  people with kids (teenagers to be exact) tend to go there or just stay at Margaretville? 
 

[AAAAmerican]

16 hours ago, MrsGrohl said:

Is Jack's more for adults? Do  people with kids (teenagers to be exact) tend to go there or just stay at Margaretville? 
 

Dear MrsGrohl,

Yes the children do go , teenagers like the other teens and animals too.

 

[MrsGrohl]

On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 1:51 AM, AAAAmerican said:

Dear MrsGrohl,

Yes the children do go , teenagers like the other teens and animals too.

 

Thank you! I think we will give it a try in August.

[Patty Eudy]

On 7/14/2019 at 2:48 PM, coevan said:

I had a bum hip before surgery, now alls well. We just took a taxi to Jack's, no problem. 

How much was the taxi?

[BeachDiva101]

October 2018 Carnival Conquest - Margaritaville was very packed and extremely loud.  We walked thru Margaritaville and then  walked down to Jack's Shack.  The water was much better down at Jacks Shack - no seaweed.   The water in front of Margaritaville had a lot of seaweed.  Jack's Shack was packed by the time we left to go back to the ship at 3 pm.  Walked back down the beach to go back and we walked back thru Margaritaville to go on ship and we wanted to check out the pool to take a dip, and someone working there was fishing out a used tampon from the pool.  Needless to say we did not go in the pool. Yikes!  We had a fun day at Jack's Shack.  There is a guy with a bunch of different kinds of inflatable mats and you pay $10 and you can use any of the mats or toys all day.   Happy Sailing everyone!!

[Stmar]

I see two Jack's Shacks on Google Maps. Is that correct and if so which one is best? How far a walk is it from the cruise port, to both?

Also do they have good conch chowder and fritters? Conch is something I have not had in many years so I may make that my goal for Grand Turk.

[Surrealistic]

On 7/14/2019 at 9:13 AM, Butterbean1000 said:

On 7/14/2019 at 10:26 AM, teknoge3k said:

 

It's changed tremendously since 2018. The whole "no crowds" thing is long gone. Too many people know about Jack's and its way beyond crowded no

 

Personally I'd go down to Governor's Beach if you want a nice beach day. Less people than Jack's. 

We were underwhelmed with Jack's Shack.  We didn't eat there, but had a couple of drinks.  But it is worth it to walk further down the beach from the pier to get away from the crowds. 

It depends on what you are looking for.  If quiet, take a taxi to a less crowded beach up by Cockburn town or if you don't want to spend cash, walk to the right after the pier. Margaritaville is where the action is for sure if that's what you're wanting....a cabana is distancing yourself a bit but not completely.  Understand there are other beach bars/chairs/umbrellas between Margaritaville & Jack's.  Maybe keeping things open till you get there and experience the vibe will be of help.  Whatever you do, enjoy your cruise.  Grand Turk is a great port.

[Butterbean1000]

1 hour ago, Surrealistic said:

It depends on what you are looking for.  If quiet, take a taxi to a less crowded beach up by Cockburn town or if you don't want to spend cash, walk to the right after the pier. Margaritaville is where the action is for sure if that's what you're wanting....a cabana is distancing yourself a bit but not completely.  Understand there are other beach bars/chairs/umbrellas between Margaritaville & Jack's.  Maybe keeping things open till you get there and experience the vibe will be of help.  Whatever you do, enjoy your cruise.  Grand Turk is a great port.

We bought a pass for Bohio Dive Resort.   You get loungers,  umbrella, lunch and a bucket of beer a piece.