Carnival Imagination In Port: Grand Turk

The first time we visited Grand Turk we concentrated on the country’s history and culture by touring on “The Guana” bus that makes a loop of the island, allowing riders to hop off and back on at will. For today, the eco-safari tour turned out to be a good choice to learn about the local flora and fauna. Our small excursion bus circled the island, stopping at Governor’s Beach to observe the location of the world’s third largest coral reef, a salt pond to spot birds, a shell beach, and a scenic area thick with mangroves where we could also see small cays in the distance.

The two-hour tour stretched out a bit on “island time,” but we made it back to the Grand Turk Cruise Center in time to enjoy the facilities—a large pool, restaurants, bars, wide stretches of beach, and, of course, shopping. The Cruise Center has been greatly expanded since our previous visit shortly after it opened.

By re-boarding Carnival Imagination an hour before our departure, we had our pick of comfortable wicker-style chairs in the adults-only Serenity Deck (photo above). With two hot tubs and plenty of thickly padded chaise lounges, it’s the ideal spot to order a Pina Colada from the bar steward and catch a nap or update the blog—as we are doing right now. Obviously Mel’s the one napping and I’m not far behind… zzzzz.