Grand Turk – whack this on your bucket list of ports to visit!!!!

I want you to sit back, relax and think of a Caribbean Cruise. I bet we are picturing the exact same thing. White sandy beaches, crystal blue – almost clear- seas, hot weather with a delicious breeze that smells like a Pina Colada.Have I gone a bit far with the Pina Colada comment? To be honest I can almost taste it never mind smell them.

A lot of the time when you get to these ports that you have scrimped and saved for they turn out to be a bit of a disappointment (Ahem Nassau in the Bahamas). I cruise with my sister and with her being in a wheel chair we really research our ports carefully. We know that with some of the Caribbean Ports you get tenders and these just don’t work great for wheelchair users or those less steady on their feet. But you take the good with the bad and if there is somewhere you really want to go on the cruise you just suck it up and relax by the pool on the tender days – the ship is almost empty anyway so no fighting for the good sun beds.

A few years ago we booked our cruise on the basis we were going to be in New York and it sailed from there. We looked at a few Royal Caribbean itineraries but the Carnival stop to Grand Turk really took our fancy. This may sound very sad but we LOVE Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. Every time we go to Vegas it is our first port of call. The whole vibe of the place is great. Imagine our excitement when researching the ports of a few cruises and seeing that Grand Turk not only had a fantastic Cruise Terminal with bars, shopping, a flow rider and a swimming pool – but it had one of the Caribbean’s very few Margaritaville Bars. Oh be still my beating heart. We could almost taste the fantastic cocktails. The fact that it had a DJ, lagoon pool, restaurant and shops was a bonus.

The morning of the port we were like kids in a candy store – we couldn’t wait to get off and have a nosy around. However, what we didn’t expect was Grand Turk to be exactly like a post card. If you could put a name to the Caribbean Island in my dreams it would be Grand Turk. It is quote simply the most beautiful place I have been – and lets just say I have been to plenty.

The ships dock straight into the main area. Right there you have a beach with loads of beds, white soft sand and the most beautiful ocean. A few bars come right off the beach but we were heading straight to ‘Jimmy’s’ and again it did not disappoint. The bar and restaurant area was huge and airy. Lots of friendly bar tenders were there ready to take your orders. We got some cocktails not even registering to our brains that is was actually only 10 am. Well as the saying goes It’s five o’clock somewhere! By the look of all our fellow cruisers tucking into their cocktails everyone was thinking the same.

We had such a lovely day. I really wish we stayed longer than the 5 hours as the 2 o’clock sail away was a bit if a bummer to everyone as we were all just getting into the swing of things.

It was quite simply the best day on our cruise. We were back on board early and watched with sadness as Grand Turk disappeared into the horizon. When you go to these Caribbean ports a lot of them are beach, beach, beach and not much more. They all tend to blend into each other if you have been to a some islands in a row. This cannot be the case with Grand Turk. They really have invested highly on making the port unique and it works. They want you to visit one day on your cruise and then consider coming back for a longer trip in a hotel stay – and it worked. The next Caribbean cruise I do Grand Turk is a definite must in the itinerary.