Wow. What a day. We didn't get back on the Caribbean Princess until the mosquitos literally chased us off the beach in Grand Turk after sunset, and, were it not for them, we would have been walking up the gangway as it was pulled up right after us. Formal night be damned; we were too busy playing to dress up!
I slept well last night despite my injuries, helped along by 800mg of Ibuprofen and an Ambien. I snugged my second pillow up against my ribs and just snoozed away. There was no need to wake up early today...we didn't arrive in Grand Turk until 1pm. However, as soon as we opened our eyes this morning we became aware of how much the back of this ship was shaking in the wind. It was difficult to walk across our tiny cabin to the bathroom (and, God knows, I was not anxious for another mishap!!). I held on to bed, vanity, wall, whatever it took to stay upright.
We did get to eat breakfast today, only because the Cafe Caribe, directly behind the Horizon Court Buffet, kept breakfast items out when the regular buffet set out lunch items. That was very nice! As we sat in the back of the buffet, we could see Grand Turk appear on the horizon. It's flat as a pancake and only 6.9 square miles; it didn't appear on the horizon until we were nearly on top of it!
The MSC Divina has been our shadow (or us its) this entire cruise. As we had waited in line to board the Caribbean Princess last Saturday, we talked with a couple who had just gotten off that ship. They loved the entertainment (a production show every night!), hated the food and got tired of the number of smokers. Unfortunately, the MSC Divina arrived an hour before us today, and the seating at Margaritaville was pretty well claimed by the time we got there. No matter; we had planned to first send post cards and then walk down to Jack's Shack.
I call this a Grey Poupon moment. ;-)
The beach was already busy as we walked off the ship.
We love Grand Turk. It's a lot like Princess Cays without the food but also without the tender ride. Due to the deep water entrance (there is a mile deep wall just off the beach), cruise ships can dock and it is just a five minute walk to the beach. We don't often get to Grand Turk (it's a rarity on a 10-night Caribbean cruise), so it's always a thrill when we do get to visit. However, today's strong winds caused the cancellation of all water based excursions, a disappointment, I'm sure, for those who had booked them.
Two interesting nuggets of knowledge that I just learned today: Grand Turk is the largest of 30 islands in the Turks and Caicos (at only 6.9 square miles!), and the Turks and Caicos are not in the Caribbean Sea. They are surrounded totally by the Atlantic Ocean. That clear, blue water is the Atlantic Ocean!
G took a few minutes to shop for postcards and write them out, then took them to the Grand Turk post office right in the cruise center. It's only 50 cents to mail one to the US, and they are quite reliable about it.
We walked down the beach to Jack's Shack, a popular beach bar. The nice thing about Jack's Shack is that the view of that gorgeous blue water is not blocked by a cruise ship or two, as it is at the bars closer to the pier.
I loved this photo. These are the daughters of Jack's Shack's owners and one of their workers, playing in the sand, closely watched by the family dog.
This little one had just come from preschool and was playing in the sand in her uniform as the waves got it wet. Too sweet!
I knew from my iPhone that sunset would be at 5:40pm. We didn't have to be on board until 6:30pm, so we decided to skip dinner in the dining room and the whole formal night and just enjoy the view.
As soon as the sun dipped below the horizon- I mean the very second it did- the mosquitos came out in droves. We had not seen a single one until sunset; then, we were waving our towels in the air in defense. We had to walk back the length of that beach (slow going for me) while getting eaten alive. I was never so happy to get up off the sand and on to the pier, where they seemed to abate. I'm not itchy, so perhaps my towel did the trick and kept me from actually getting bitten. But, a word to the wise: wear DEET if you plan to be on the beach after sunset!!
We took quick showers and went up to the Horizon Court Buffet for our first dinner there of the cruise. I was wo pleased with all quality of the food choices that I had to tell the chef when I saw him behind the line. They served cioppino tonight (Italian seafood stew), my very favorite, and pavlova for dessert that was equally good. I added some braised bok choy and turnips and called it dinner.
I wanted to watch a movie on MUTS tonight that I'd missed on the Grand Princess- The 100 foot Journey- but I missed the start of it and don't know if I'll make it to the 10:15pm showing. I've decided to return to the cabin to type my blog post, then consider my options. G is out listening to live music right now but said he'd join me for the movie later if I decide to go. There are also two shows tonight: a ventriloquist and a magician. I should probably go to see the magician (McGee is always asking me if I saw a magic show and what tricks the magician did), but I think I'll pass tonight and hope like heck I have the chance to see him again before I go home so I have some good answers for my guy.
We decided today that these 7-night and shorter itineraries that the Caribbean Princess is doing provide a perfect beach vacation for those wanting to escape the cold winter. These ports offer little besides beaches and watersports, but what they offer of both is very good. They are simple ports requiring little analysis and planning, and we are enjoying them immensely. The pace on this 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary was fast for us: formal night, MTP, CCP, another formal night tonight (that we're skipping), theme parties night after night...we are cruising very differently than we used to on a 10-night cruise on the Emerald Princess, and certainly differently than we did on the Pacific Princess, where the islands were the focus, not the ship. This cruise has been a welcome change from what we would have experienced on the 10-night Royal Princess cruises. I'm glad we've mixed things up this winter!
Tomorrow is the last day of this cruise. Contrary to what we might have once expected, it did not seem to fly by. We've squeezed a lot of fun into just six days and can't wait to see what next cruise brings.