Southern Caribbean Ports of Call from Carnival Horizon: Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba

February 2020

We have been to all of these ports before, and only booked one excursion this trip. You can find previous posts with more information by using the search bar at the top of this page, or by clicking on any of the labels at the end of this post.

Grand Turk from Carnival Horizon in the afternoon, 
after we had gotten back on board.

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos: 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM

This was our first experience arriving in Grand Turk on the first cruise ship, and arriving so early. One time, our ship could not dock at all, another time, we docked a few hours late, and only had a short time on the island, and the last time, we arrived around 11AM after another ship. After our first bad experiences on the island, we have learned a few things: all the beach chairs with a green Cruise Center umbrella are complimentary at the Cruise Center, even the ones by the water. The Cruise Center is located left of the pier. Additionally, the chairs at Margaritaville are complimentary, unless you rent a cabana. Be aware that locals will come up to you and try to charge you for chairs. We went ashore about an hour after we had arrived, around 8:00 AM, and all of the complimentary beach chairs had already been taken. If you click on the photo above to enlarge it, you can see that there is only one green umbrellas near the water, and it also looks like there are fewer chairs in the Cruise Center area than there had been the last time we were at this port.

Grand Turk from Carnival Horizon in the morning when we arrived.

Last time, we had been able to purchase a liter of local rum and then some mix to take it back to our seat for the day. This time, we were told we had to go to the ship, if we purchased a large bottle (smaller, non-local, more expensive bottles could be taken ashore). I am not sure if things have changed, or, if we took it back to our seats in error last time we were here.

Looking toward the [rocky] beach to the right of the pier in Grand Turk.

The beach area to the right of the pier and Duty Free shops is less crowded; however, the beach in this area is rocky. Although the water is beautiful in Grand Turk, the atmosphere on this island has been the same every time we visited--crowded, touristy, and locals who want nothing more than to take your money. I am already rethinking how we will spend our time the next time we visit this island; provided our ship docks there. I am writing this post during the Coronavirus pandemic, and our next cruise with a stop in Grand Turk is almost a year away. If things return back to normal, and we do visit Grand Turk again, I imagine we will take our time in the morning to enjoy breakfast and be relaxed, and then walk ashore with only our towels and no expectations. At the very least, we will walk the beach in both directions, swim, and maybe do a little shopping or browsing before returning to the ship.

Carnival Horizon in La Romana.

Carnival Breeze ~ 8-day Exotic Southern Caribbean, February 2013

Carnival Breeze in Aruba

Check-in

Our check-in at the Port of Miami was the smoothest we have experienced since becoming Platinum guests. We arrived around 11:30 a.m., and were quickly routed through the Priority lines. We got held up briefly at the check-in counter because our son was with us, and he is not a Platinum guest. Our PVP had told us that if we tied his account to ours with the same credit card, he would be able to board with us. We did this online a couple of weeks before the cruise; however, when we got to the check-in counter, his sail and sign card was not ready with ours. The employee helping us had to ask another employee for assistance, and then they made his card right then.

The VIP lounge area was fairly full; we found the last two seats together, and our son stood. Coffee was available on a table in the room, although there were no restrooms in the lounge. We had passed the restrooms outside the lounge and around the corner before we entered. When I went out to use the restroom a few minutes later, there was a wait for the single room. All of the priority guests were already boarding and gone from the VIP lounge when I returned (except for my family members who were waiting for me!). If I had realized we were going to board that soon, I would not have left the lounge.