Cruise ships can return to Grand Turk as early as Tuesday – three weeks until the day after the island’s only cruise pier is Damage from Hurricane Fiona.
In an email to TPG on Monday, Carnival Cruise Line Spokesman Matt Lupoli said its 2,984-passenger Carnival Sunrise train was scheduled to visit the island on Tuesday and that, at the end of the day, the call continued.
The service has canceled nearly a dozen cruise calls at Grand Turk in the past four weeks due first to the approach of Cyclone Fiona and then to permanent damage as it passed over the island.
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Carnival operates the Grand Turk Cruise Center – home to Grand Turk’s cruise terminal – and sends most of its ships to the island every year.
Cancellation of Grand Turk visits in recent weeks has affected Carnival Sunrise as well as Mardi Gras cruises with 5,282 Carnival passengers, Carnival Legend 2,124 passengers and Carnival Freedom 2,974 passengers.
Also canceled all calls in Grand Turk for the past four weeks is Cruises for Celebrities. The carrier’s 2,170-passenger Celebrity Infinity, which operates a regular service to the island, has not visited it since September 7.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Carnival Cruises and Cruises
The last cruise ship to visit Grand Turk was the 2,052-passenger Carnival Ecstasy on September 16.
Grand Turk is the capital of the Turks and Caicos, a group of 40 low-lying atolls in the southeastern part of the Bahamas that attract more than 1 million cruisers each year.
The pier at Grand Turk Yacht Center suffered damage on September 20 when Cyclone Fiona made landfall in Turks and Caicos as a strong Category 3 hurricane, with its center passing near Grand Turk. Videos of the 200-foot jetty posted on social media sites after the storm showed parts of its infrastructure breaking down and washing up on a nearby shoreline.
The cruise terminal at Grand Turk Cruise Center is the only one in Turks and Caicos. At the southern end of Grand Turk, the 13-acre center is home to a pool, spa, shops, restaurants and bars, including the largest Margaritaville in the Caribbean. Up to three cruise ships can dock at the central port in one day.
About 1.1 million people arrived in Turks and Caicos by cruise ship in 2019, the last normal year for travel before COVID-19 brought tourism to a halt. In a typical year, cruise ships account for nearly 70% of all visitors to the destination.
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