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You’ll be outfitted with a helmet and goggles and your own four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle. Starting from the Cruise Center, you’ll board a catamaran and set sail for a dreamy deserted beach. If you love to shop-until-you-drop, the Cruise Center is a convenient location with many unique offerings.
Grand Turk Cruise Port: Things to Do
If you don’t want to do a sightseeing tour, you can catch a cab straight to Cockburn Town Beach, about a 10-minute ride from the Cruise Center. If you want the magic of snorkeling with a little more speed and adventure, power snorkeling is an exciting excursion available in Grand Turk. In the Cruise Center, near Margaritaville, you’ll find a self-contained water attraction called the FlowRider. High-pressure water jets shoot a thin layer of water moving over a cushioned surface creating an artificial wave perfect for surfing, bodyboarding, or kneeboarding.
Try Conch Fritters at Jack’s Shack
This beach is home to many surrounding restaurants, hotels, and shopping. Cockburn beach spans far and sections into smaller beaches due to seawalls. Mainly, the waters are calm, but when the tide is high, you may catch some waves.
Try Power Snorkeling
Ft. of high-end jewelry stores, unique apparel and t-shirt stores, locally crafted souvenirs and gifts, and food & beverage facilities. To the north side of the pier, you’ll see a stand for beach rentals. While loungers are first-come, first-served, anything else that you need can be rented. This includes snorkel gear, foam mats, clamshell loungers that offer shade, and you can also buy sunscreen and water.
No matter which direction you head, you’ll always be within a few steps of the beach that runs the entire length of the cruise port. And the ship overlooks the entire area making for a one-of-a-kind scene. Just know that some areas of the water have a rockier bottom (more details in the tips section below).
Carnival Corporation invested $50 million in the cruise port and has pledged a further $73 million in investments in the future. While the arrival of Carnival Freedom was reason enough to celebrate, she was not the first cruise ship to return to the islands. That honor befell Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam on her cruise from Fort Lauderdale.
Although this is no longer an active lighthouse, for only $3 per person, it’s a perfect spot for tourists and locales to spend the day and catch some sights. Aside from the Caribbean’s largest Margaritaville, the Grand Turk cruise port is home to a handful of other restaurants and food shacks. It is also easy to walk to a couple of other casual eateries along the beach. The best opportunities for independent exploration and touring are on ships that stay in port the longest. Other activities on the island include water sports, horseback riding, ATV tours, fishing excursions, and tours of historical sites. Leave your worries at home and enjoy the amazing beach and water of Grand Turk!
Grand Turk Cruise Port Frequently Asked Questions
Be sure to check any island tours you’ve reserved, as the lighthouse may be part of the excursion. The Cruise Center Complex is just one of the best things you can do in Grand Turk. This complex is a large open-air area with tons of excursion booths, gift shops, and restaurants. The island is small and easily explored in just a few hours both independently and with a cruise line-operated shore excursion. Unlike many other Caribbean vacation cruise stops, Grand Turk is a very small island, and offers a completely different atmosphere than better-known destinations.
A recent addition is a beach on the right side of the cruise pier when walking off the ship. This beach offers more shade and trees than the main beach, along with a bar, a beach shop, and facilities. This idyllic beach is worth a visit if you want to get away from the cruise ship crowds.
For guests in need of a little island pampering, a beach side massage is sure to melt away any tension one may have. If you’re visiting Grand Turk, there are some tips and things to know that can make your trip even better. We mentioned some of these above, but in case you missed them, we’ve included them here as well. One of the claims to fame for this area was that it was the spot where astronaut John Glenn splashed down after orbiting the earth.
Explore the colorful burst of marine life in some of the best diving spots in the world. The FlowRider designed in a slope like water slide structure, jets waves of water that create ocean-like waves, but on a smaller scale. Always book early for this fun adventure as it’s always a busy activity and you will be on it with probably 1 or 2 more people. Other shopping areas are located at the cruise center, where you can get t-shirts, alcohol, jewelry, and trinkets. This Caribbean destination should be on your list of places to visit, it's stunning! Here are all the things to do in Grand Turk while on your cruise vacation.
The Turks and Caicos National Museum offers tours year-round, a perfect spot for the history buff. Located in the capital, Cockburn Town, the museum opened in 1991. The duty-free shop is also a main attraction here, as are the FlowRider wave pool and the beached whale statue that is located a little bit farther down the beach. The small NASA exhibition located on the southern end of the Grand Turk Cruise Center offers a good overview of the island’s role in the 1962 Mercury Space Mission. Humpback whales pass through the Turks and Caicos Islands from January to March each year. Look for them on Princess Cruises' Sun Princess and Sky Princess.
At the Grand Turk Cruise Center, you can sign up for a 30-minute body- or knee-boarding session on the FlowRider, which simulates the feel of ocean waves. Enjoy the ride and don’t forget to smile—photographers are on hand to capture your moment of glory, or perhaps a wipe-out to laugh about later. Some of the more commonly purchased items by tourists on vacation Grand Turk include salt, soaps, model sailboats, straw products, conch shells, and rum.
Grand Turk shines with cruise arrivals Loop Caribbean News - Loop News Caribbean
Grand Turk shines with cruise arrivals Loop Caribbean News.
Posted: Thu, 28 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
You don’t have to stress about getting back to the boat because well it is right there. You only need to give yourself a few minutes to pack up your beach items and head back on board. This port is perfect for relaxing in the sun and just enjoying the amazing Caribbean weather.
The Grand Turk Cruise Center is a 13-acre (5.2 hectare) complex and cruise port on the southern end of Grand Turk. Here you’ll also find Jack's Shack, a popular restaurant to grab lunch. Complimentary beach lounge chairs are found fronting the complex, although depending on the number of ships in port, this area of the beach can become extremely crowded. Grand Turk is one of the few destinations in the Caribbean where a great beach can be enjoyed directly off the cruise ships.
When you cruise to Grand Turk, don’t forget to make time for one or more of these other great ways to see the island. (And, don’t worry, those gorgeous beaches made our list, too!) In no particular order, here are the top things to do in Grand Turk. In this post, I’ll share the best things to do in Grand Turk on a cruise, including shore excursions as well as inexpensive or free activities. You’ll also learn everything you need to know about visiting the Grand Turk cruise port for the day and get answers to commonly asked questions. This port area features everything that a cruise passenger could want to enjoy the day, from a pool to a beautiful beach to easy access to the rest of the island. And it’s all there for passengers alone to enjoy, literally in the shadow of the cruise ship in some cases.
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