Cruises visiting Grand Turk are currently suspended following damage caused by Cyclone Fiona

Cruise ships will not be visiting Grand Turk for at least the next week due to damage to the island’s cruise terminal.

In a statement sent to TPG late Friday, Carnival Cruise Line said all remaining cruise ships scheduled to Grand Turk Cruise Center in September have been cancelled.

“Due to Hurricane Fiona, the jetty structure in Grand Turk is currently under repair,” the line said in the statement.

For more itinerary news, guides and tips, subscribe to TPG’s travel newsletter.

Carnival operates the Grand Turk Yacht Center – which has the only cruise terminal in Grand Turk – and sends the most ships to Grand Turk every year.

The cancellation affects three Carnival ships:

• Carnival Sunrise. The Miami-based 2,984-passenger ship will replace the Grand Turk visit scheduled for Tuesday with a stop at Bimini in the Bahamas.
• Mardi Gras. The 5,282-passenger ship based at Port Canaveral will replace the Grand Turk visit scheduled for Thursday with a stop at Nassau in the Bahamas.
• Freedom Festival. The 2,974-passenger ship based at Port Canaveral will replace the Grand Turk visit scheduled for Thursday with a stop in Nassau in the Bahamas.

Carnival did not provide a timetable for when repairs to the Grand Turk cruise ship terminal would be completed. For now, the next cruise ship visit still on Grand Turk’s schedule will take place on October 4.

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 dock at the Grand Turk Yacht Center suffered damage Tuesday when Cyclone Fiona made landfall in Turks and Caicos as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, with its center passing near Grand Turk. Videos of the 200-foot jetty posted on social media sites in the wake of 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. Located 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 almost 70% of all visitors to the destination.

Other ships scheduled to visit Grand Turk in the coming weeks include Cruises for Celebrities‘Celebrity Infinity, Carnival Legends Carnival and Netherlands USAby Nieuw Statendam.

Hurricane Fiona in recent days has caused some disruption to cruises in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, and on Thursday the disruption spread to a ship scheduled to sail to Bermuda this week.

Norwegian Cruise Line on Thursday told passengers on Norwegian Getaway, which is based in New York, with 3,963 passengers on board that the ship would be heading to New England and Canada in the coming days instead of Bermuda to avoid the storm. The ship was scheduled to depart New York on Thursday for a five-night cruise to Bermuda.

Planning an excursion? Start with the following stories: