So we’ve reached December 31st and we were getting to spend the day in Grand Turk, our final stop. We planned to continue our theme of a relaxing cruise once again and had no real plans for this stop. The only plans we made were to hang out by the pool, Declan wanted to have a go at the FlowRider, a look through the shopping area and a walk towards the conch graveyard. And that is exactly what we did!
As we approached the dock, I could see the Carnival Pride was there but I’m not sure how long she had been there. We got off fairly quickly and there were many people from the Pride just getting off as well.
We headed straight for the pool area and were able to find 3 loungers near the far end of the pool, close to the cabanas. There was a beach umbrella next to one of the loungers so that was a bit of a bonus. We got Declan signed up for the FlowRider right away and it was a good thing we did. They only had the 90 minute sessions left and the next available slot was at 2 pm.
We stood at the bar for a bit trying to get some drinks but it was very busy so we opted to return to seats and flag down a waiter. That didn’t take too long and Declan once again went for a frozen drink while we split a bucket of the local Turk’s Head lager which wasn’t too bad at all.
Pretty much the entire day was spent just relaxing, reading and people watching by the pool. Near the end of the afternoon a young couple from the UK grabbed the chairs next to us and we had a nice conversation about the UK and Canada.
As for Declan and the Flowrider, he mastered the body surfing fairly quickly but he didn’t have much luck with the traditional surfing. In fairness to him, neither did anyone else.
We enjoyed the time at Margaritaville, even with lots of people around, the pool area wasn’t too bad. We didn’t eat so I can’t comment in the food.
We finished our island time by browsing through some of the shops, checking out the space display and looking for conch shells.
Once back on board, we had a bit of a rest and then got ready for our New Year’s Eve dinner. This was another elegant night and lobster tail was on the regular menu. As was the case with the first cruise elegant night, most people were dressed up. I think we only saw one family that didn’t dress up at all.
This was the second cruise for us that included New Year’s Eve at sea. The first time we didn’t make it to midnight, partially because we had an excursion the next morning at 8:30. This trip we planned on being part of the on deck celebrations (the fact that there was to be free champagne helped as well).
We spent the early part of the evening at the comedy show and the Latin Nights show in the Amber Palace. This was the third show that the main stage performers at put on during the cruise and once again it was pretty good. They did have a talented group of singers and dancers on this cruise. Declan decided we should sit near the front for this one and his seat was on the edge of the splash zone. It isn’t the SeaWorld splash zone but I’m fairly certain if you sit in the front row or two of the middle section, you will get wet.
We eventually made our way to the Lido deck where the Glory Days band and singers were providing the entertainment. The band is quite good but the singers are a bit weak, in some cases karaoke like. As we got closer to midnight, waiters appeared with the free champagne, nice touch. At midnight the ship horn went crazy and the noise was incredible. Yet on the first cruise we heard none of this.
Soon it was time to call it an night. The next day would be a sea day and out last full day on-board. I’ll leave you with some pictures of Grand Turk.
The view from our loungers
FlowRider Time
Poser!
Successful Role!
Not so successful attempt to surf
Space Capsule Replica
One of my favourites!
One small step...
Apparently the only jet ski in Grand Turk.
Grand Turk Sunset