Carnival Magic- Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
Thursday, June 21- Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
It was an early morning when we got up and ready for our beach day at 7:30 a.m. While getting ready, we opened our blinds and saw this gorgeous view of Grand Turk from our balcony and it made us that much more antsy to get off the ship. Breakfast consisted on Blue Iguana huevos rancheros and I was so relieved that my food tasted much better than the other day. We grabbed new towels from the stand on the Lido deck because our room steward took our dirty ones but didn't give us new ones, which seemed weird but maybe they don't do that anymore?
We made it!
Debarking off the ship was easy and we walked down the pier. Of course they built the duty free shop right at the end of the pier so passengers are forced to walk through the stores before getting to the beach. I got a little turned around about how to get to Jack's Shack (our plan for the day) but quickly remedied it once I found the shoreline again. While walking through the sand, there were A LOT of people yelling at us trying to sell things such as beach chair spots and horseback rides. Some people were trying to charge $4 for a beach chair right outside the pier (pictured above) and Margaritaville, but last time I checked, that area was free to use, so be careful about that. The walk to Jack's Shack was a little bit longer than I originally anticipated, but it wasn't too bad- only a handful of minutes. Once we saw Topher the Doodle playing in the sand up ahead of us, we knew we made it!! We watched him play for a little bit before grabbing a seat under an umbrella at a table.
Topher!
A magnificent sight
That water is absolutely amazing:
June 2018 menu:
June 2018 menu:
The ocean water was really warm for early in the morning and I enjoyed just wading in the water and taking photos of the beautiful surroundings. After hanging out in the ocean for a bit, we moved our belongings to the sand and laid out in the sun. We did a combination of swimming and tanning for about two hours before grabbing a local beer that was really good. Sitting on the beach looking at the ship and the water had an incredibly calming effect on me and I was already dreaming of the next time we could come back to GT!
Digging that view
That water color though....
For the past few years, I've wanted a photo with our ship in the background like this and I finally got it!
The travelling Hawkeye flag makes another appearance
Along with seeing Topher running on the beach, there was another dog, Calypso, who is a brown Labradoodle, and a mystery dog who enjoyed playing together. It was so much fun to watch them play and definitely made us miss our pup at home. The beach at Jack's Shack was well kept and was definitely a prime piece of real estate. When the hurricanes came through last year, we were very worried about how Jack's Shack would pull through and we were so glad to see that they were up and operating. Guests can rent an umbrella and two beach chairs for $10 and someone would set it up for you wherever you'd like. We stayed with our beach towels in the sand, but it's not a bad price if you're planning on being there for a long amount of time.
Calypso and Topher
Around lunch time, we moved back to a table and ordered some conch fritters for a little snack. There were 8 bites for $8 (well, actually $9 with tax) so not a super great deal but they were pretty delicious. They are a little spicy as a heads up. Our waitress never came back to our table to check on us or bring the bill after she dropped off the food, so after people watching and enjoying the scenery for about 20 minutes, my husband went up to the bar to pay. Of course then our waitress approached my husband and was annoyed that we were paying at the bar. Well, how long do we sit without even a check-in or bill before we need to do it ourselves? Jack's Shack has a few "showers" to rinse off in as well as bathrooms and a gift store (that has awesome A/C, which was a bonus).
After spending a handful of hours at Jack's Shack, a place I would highly recommend to anyone checking out GT, we walked back towards the ship and found our way into Margaritaville. It was definitely a happening place but it was pretty hot in the sun so we weren't too interested in just hanging out. We walked around and took some pictures and did some shopping as well. It was a nice area and parts seemed brand new, maybe they had to rebuild and/or repaint some of the port area after the hurricanes last year? We got back onto the ship and my husband headed to the water slides while I went to the Serenity. FYI, the decks are very hot without shoes; we both learned the hard way haha.
Inside Margaritaville looking at the ship
Food was calling our name so my husband had a Guys burger and I had a pina colada and some dessert in the Lido. We found that the cakes are often too dry/overcooked/hard and that's pretty unfortunate because the look super delicious. The chocolate chip cookies were always good though, so at least we had those to fill the void! Lounging on the beach is somehow very exhausting, so we took a nap in the room then watched some Netflix on the balcony. Our next-door neighbors were very noisy and we could hear them through the regular wall in our room as well as very clearly on their balcony. Why is it necessary to scream when you talk? I'm not so sure. We watched sailaway from our balcony at 3:50 pm, which was only 20 minutes after "all aboard," so people must've really had their stuff together. We continued lounging about before packing up some of our clothes and then getting dressed for the last formal night dinner. All in all, I would have no hesitation about putting Grand Turk in my top 5 cruise ports. Jack's Shack delivered as promised, and the water and beaches were beautiful. We have no current plans to cruise back to GT, but I'm very much ready to stop there again.
Appreciated our balcony a lot more this trip!
Our view when leaning right out of the balcony
That beautiful water color doesn't photograph as well as it looked
We had a GREAT waitstaff tonight and would end up requesting them for tomorrow night's dinner as well. Bojan was our headwaiter and Krisztina and Bobby were assisting him. Much more speedy service than the first formal night, and they were very friendly and took time to talk with us. I had the shrimp cocktail for appetizer, which was a classic and tasty, and my husband had the four season salad which was fresh and good. For my entree, I ordered the spanikopita since I remembered how good it was when my husband had it on the honeymoon. It didn't disappoint and was actually so tasty that I found it to be a little small and I wanted more. My husband had the mushroom fusilli, which was "very mushroom-y but good and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would" -direct quote.
Dessert for both of us was the warm chocolate melting cake, or whatever they actually call it now. It's like how they want people to call the Sears Tower in Chicago the Willis Tower, but it'll always just be the Sears Tower. These WCMC were our first of the cruise and super amazing. I ordered a side of peanut butter, as I had seen many times on Cruise Critic, and it was an extra kick of delicious I never knew I was missing. My husband got butter pecan ice cream instead of vanilla and loved it.
Spanikopita
Mushroom Fusilli
Asked for peanut butter and loved it! Thanks CC for the recommendation!
My husband getting fancy with his dessert photo
After dinner, we sat for more formal photos then headed to the Red Frog Pub for adult trivia. Spoiler: WE WON!! It was definitely for adults only and the staff member running the quiz was adamant about checking how old people were when they tried to walk in. She also often announced that it was adult trivia, so no worries about accidentally walking into something you're not prepared for. The questions were raunchy and of a sexual nature, so don't sign up if you're not willing to answer them. We chose a 101 oz beer tube for our prize, and shared it with other people that were playing trivia but couldn't pull out a win 😉 We sat at our table enjoying our winnings while playing cards, mostly rummy, for quite a while before polishing off the tube with a lot of help from new found friends.
Thanks again to my husband for sitting through photos!
Cheers!
All gone 😊
There were new formal pictures posted to our account, so we walked over to Pixels to check those out. We then sat in the Ocean Plaza and listen the the band again for a while. Yet again, they put on an amazing performance and we really enjoyed listening to their talent. We stopped in the piano bar for all of a minute before realizing that the pianist/singer was alright but definitely not great, and he seemed to get worse after he drinks. I'm not saying I could do better, but I also wouldn't audition to play on a ship.... With this, we headed to the cabin to rest up for our last day at sea.
UP NEXT: Friday, Day at Sea
It was an early morning when we got up and ready for our beach day at 7:30 a.m. While getting ready, we opened our blinds and saw this gorgeous view of Grand Turk from our balcony and it made us that much more antsy to get off the ship. Breakfast consisted on Blue Iguana huevos rancheros and I was so relieved that my food tasted much better than the other day. We grabbed new towels from the stand on the Lido deck because our room steward took our dirty ones but didn't give us new ones, which seemed weird but maybe they don't do that anymore?
We made it!
Debarking off the ship was easy and we walked down the pier. Of course they built the duty free shop right at the end of the pier so passengers are forced to walk through the stores before getting to the beach. I got a little turned around about how to get to Jack's Shack (our plan for the day) but quickly remedied it once I found the shoreline again. While walking through the sand, there were A LOT of people yelling at us trying to sell things such as beach chair spots and horseback rides. Some people were trying to charge $4 for a beach chair right outside the pier (pictured above) and Margaritaville, but last time I checked, that area was free to use, so be careful about that. The walk to Jack's Shack was a little bit longer than I originally anticipated, but it wasn't too bad- only a handful of minutes. Once we saw Topher the Doodle playing in the sand up ahead of us, we knew we made it!! We watched him play for a little bit before grabbing a seat under an umbrella at a table.
Topher!
A magnificent sight
That water is absolutely amazing:
June 2018 menu:
June 2018 menu:
The ocean water was really warm for early in the morning and I enjoyed just wading in the water and taking photos of the beautiful surroundings. After hanging out in the ocean for a bit, we moved our belongings to the sand and laid out in the sun. We did a combination of swimming and tanning for about two hours before grabbing a local beer that was really good. Sitting on the beach looking at the ship and the water had an incredibly calming effect on me and I was already dreaming of the next time we could come back to GT!
Digging that view
That water color though....
For the past few years, I've wanted a photo with our ship in the background like this and I finally got it!
The travelling Hawkeye flag makes another appearance
Along with seeing Topher running on the beach, there was another dog, Calypso, who is a brown Labradoodle, and a mystery dog who enjoyed playing together. It was so much fun to watch them play and definitely made us miss our pup at home. The beach at Jack's Shack was well kept and was definitely a prime piece of real estate. When the hurricanes came through last year, we were very worried about how Jack's Shack would pull through and we were so glad to see that they were up and operating. Guests can rent an umbrella and two beach chairs for $10 and someone would set it up for you wherever you'd like. We stayed with our beach towels in the sand, but it's not a bad price if you're planning on being there for a long amount of time.
Calypso and Topher
Around lunch time, we moved back to a table and ordered some conch fritters for a little snack. There were 8 bites for $8 (well, actually $9 with tax) so not a super great deal but they were pretty delicious. They are a little spicy as a heads up. Our waitress never came back to our table to check on us or bring the bill after she dropped off the food, so after people watching and enjoying the scenery for about 20 minutes, my husband went up to the bar to pay. Of course then our waitress approached my husband and was annoyed that we were paying at the bar. Well, how long do we sit without even a check-in or bill before we need to do it ourselves? Jack's Shack has a few "showers" to rinse off in as well as bathrooms and a gift store (that has awesome A/C, which was a bonus).
After spending a handful of hours at Jack's Shack, a place I would highly recommend to anyone checking out GT, we walked back towards the ship and found our way into Margaritaville. It was definitely a happening place but it was pretty hot in the sun so we weren't too interested in just hanging out. We walked around and took some pictures and did some shopping as well. It was a nice area and parts seemed brand new, maybe they had to rebuild and/or repaint some of the port area after the hurricanes last year? We got back onto the ship and my husband headed to the water slides while I went to the Serenity. FYI, the decks are very hot without shoes; we both learned the hard way haha.
Inside Margaritaville looking at the ship
Food was calling our name so my husband had a Guys burger and I had a pina colada and some dessert in the Lido. We found that the cakes are often too dry/overcooked/hard and that's pretty unfortunate because the look super delicious. The chocolate chip cookies were always good though, so at least we had those to fill the void! Lounging on the beach is somehow very exhausting, so we took a nap in the room then watched some Netflix on the balcony. Our next-door neighbors were very noisy and we could hear them through the regular wall in our room as well as very clearly on their balcony. Why is it necessary to scream when you talk? I'm not so sure. We watched sailaway from our balcony at 3:50 pm, which was only 20 minutes after "all aboard," so people must've really had their stuff together. We continued lounging about before packing up some of our clothes and then getting dressed for the last formal night dinner. All in all, I would have no hesitation about putting Grand Turk in my top 5 cruise ports. Jack's Shack delivered as promised, and the water and beaches were beautiful. We have no current plans to cruise back to GT, but I'm very much ready to stop there again.
Appreciated our balcony a lot more this trip!
Our view when leaning right out of the balcony
That beautiful water color doesn't photograph as well as it looked
We had a GREAT waitstaff tonight and would end up requesting them for tomorrow night's dinner as well. Bojan was our headwaiter and Krisztina and Bobby were assisting him. Much more speedy service than the first formal night, and they were very friendly and took time to talk with us. I had the shrimp cocktail for appetizer, which was a classic and tasty, and my husband had the four season salad which was fresh and good. For my entree, I ordered the spanikopita since I remembered how good it was when my husband had it on the honeymoon. It didn't disappoint and was actually so tasty that I found it to be a little small and I wanted more. My husband had the mushroom fusilli, which was "very mushroom-y but good and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would" -direct quote.
Dessert for both of us was the warm chocolate melting cake, or whatever they actually call it now. It's like how they want people to call the Sears Tower in Chicago the Willis Tower, but it'll always just be the Sears Tower. These WCMC were our first of the cruise and super amazing. I ordered a side of peanut butter, as I had seen many times on Cruise Critic, and it was an extra kick of delicious I never knew I was missing. My husband got butter pecan ice cream instead of vanilla and loved it.
Spanikopita
Mushroom Fusilli
Asked for peanut butter and loved it! Thanks CC for the recommendation!
My husband getting fancy with his dessert photo
After dinner, we sat for more formal photos then headed to the Red Frog Pub for adult trivia. Spoiler: WE WON!! It was definitely for adults only and the staff member running the quiz was adamant about checking how old people were when they tried to walk in. She also often announced that it was adult trivia, so no worries about accidentally walking into something you're not prepared for. The questions were raunchy and of a sexual nature, so don't sign up if you're not willing to answer them. We chose a 101 oz beer tube for our prize, and shared it with other people that were playing trivia but couldn't pull out a win 😉 We sat at our table enjoying our winnings while playing cards, mostly rummy, for quite a while before polishing off the tube with a lot of help from new found friends.
Thanks again to my husband for sitting through photos!
Cheers!
All gone 😊
There were new formal pictures posted to our account, so we walked over to Pixels to check those out. We then sat in the Ocean Plaza and listen the the band again for a while. Yet again, they put on an amazing performance and we really enjoyed listening to their talent. We stopped in the piano bar for all of a minute before realizing that the pianist/singer was alright but definitely not great, and he seemed to get worse after he drinks. I'm not saying I could do better, but I also wouldn't audition to play on a ship.... With this, we headed to the cabin to rest up for our last day at sea.
UP NEXT: Friday, Day at Sea
Congratulations on your trivia win! I'm so glad you guys won beer instead of say, a ship on a stick. Plus it was so nice of you to share the beer with others who played and didn't win.
ReplyDeleteWe tried to get peanut butter with our melting cake, and our waitstaff didn't bring it. Instead they brought butter pecan ice cream. So much for that. Also they only brought one small ice cream instead of the two they used to do. I guess they have too much waste or something. I do agree those Lido cakes were dry, they looked so good but were disappointing. For me, nothing beats an MDR dessert.
There was another ship in Grand Turk with us and that made it really tough to enjoy the beach. Normally it's one of my favorite ports, too. Margaritaville was slammed, all the chairs were taken everywhere, and we smelled pot on the beach. I'm 420 friendly but that was a little odd with it being a cruise and so many kids around. We have been to Jack's Shack but didn't go this time, but my husband got that same local beer and I tasted it- it is very good. I think we should have hit Jack's Shack on this trip, we ended up getting back on the boat early and just going to the serenity deck though.