PHOTO: An overview of the 18-acre Grand Turk Cruise Center. (Courtesy of Carnival Corp.)

Grand Turk, a spit of an island in the Turks & Caicos chain, is home to one of the most popular cruise facilities in the Caribbean. Carnival Corp. opened the $50 million Grand Turk Cruise Center in 2006, and its largest brand, Carnival Cruise Lines, is the biggest customer by far. However, other Carnival brands visit on a regular basis, including Princess Cruises and Holland America Line. Even non-Carnival ships dock at Grand Turk on occasion, including those operated by Silversea Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Why is Grand Turk so popular? The main reason is the splashy, 18-acre cruise facility, which has everything most cruise passengers want — its own beach, a swimming pool billed as one of the largest in the Caribbean, a shopping center and the Caribbean’s largest Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville bar and restaurant.

Conversely, those who want to experience the Caribbean as it used to be can venture outside the cruise center. The small island — just 7 miles long and 1½ miles wide — remains mostly untouched by mass tourism.

Plus, it’s also an easy port to visit. There’s a post office, bank, ATM, bathrooms and a tourism information kiosk in the cruise center. The official language is English and the currency is the U.S. dollar.

So if you do visit for a day on a cruise ship, here are our Top 4 ways to really enjoy Grand Turk.

PHOTO: The Grand Turk Cruise Center features a massive pool. (Courtesy of Carnival Corp.)

Party

Just want to have fun without making any effort? Disembark the ship (it docks, so there’s no tendering). Walk 390 feet and enter the Grand Turk Cruise Center. Turn to the mammoth winding pool, which is fringed by palm trees and lined with thousands of lounge chairs. You can use the loungers for free or rent a private poolside cabana (Princess charges $149 for the day) that comes with an outdoor shower and waiter service. You can also rent a clam-shell shade for the beach chairs.

From here, waiters circulate and take drink orders from Margaritaville, a high-energy, 500-seat place popular with those who like to have a good time. It serves 52 flavors of margaritas, salads, wraps, appetizers (including conch soup) and, of course, the Cheeseburger in Paradise. The place has earned four out of five stars on TripAdvisor.

Also here is the FlowRider surfing attraction, similar to the ones on Royal Caribbean International ships. It’s offered as a shore excursion through the cruise lines (from $25 on Princess) and lets you try surfing on a high-pressure layer of water that moves at high speed over a cushioned surface.

Before you leave the pool area, take a photo of yourself with the ship in the background — it’s so close, you can almost touch it.

PHOTO: Governor’s Beach has white-sand beaches and crystal water. (Courtesy of Brad Ball)

Get Underwater

Grand Turk has long been popular with divers attracted to the world’s third-largest coral reef, called The Wall and only a few minutes boat ride from the beach. The Wall drops over 7,000 feet. You can book a scuba or snorkeling excursion through the cruise ship or through a private operator. ShoreTrips, a company that offers shore excursions independent of the cruise lines, offers a 2½-hour one-tank dive for $111 per person.

For something a little less intense, consider a trip to Governor’s Beach, a postcard-perfect strand within view of the cruise center. How crowded it gets depends on how many ships are in port that day; at times, it is virtually empty. The sand is powder-white, the water crystal clear. If you explore on your own, know that all beaches are open to the public and are free of charge. You’re on your own, though, as there are no lifeguards. Some cruise ships offer beach transfers, from $29 on Princess ships, including snorkel gear and float mats.

To stick closer to the ship, you can visit the beaches at the Grand Turk Cruise Center. One is near the pool, but the quieter South Beach is the opposite direction.

The main beach is lined with loungers and also has a Beach Rental Hut that rents snorkeling equipment and floats. Submerged in the water in front of the Beach Rental Hut are “reef balls” that attract fish as well as some 18th century cannons and anchors. The South Beach also has lounge chairs, a bar and even a cabana for massages.

Of course, cruise lines offer a variety of on-the-water activities, including catamaran rides and kayak tours. Carnival’s highest-rated excursion is the three-hour “Catamaran Sailaway, Beach & Snorkel,” priced at $89.99 per adult. Carnival also offers a three-hour kayak and eco-tour excursion for $69.99 per adult; it includes an island tour before boarding a two-person, glass-bottom kayak in North Creek.

Shop

You don’t have to go far. The cruise center has a 45,000-square-foot shopping center, which includes a big Dufry duty-free shop, high-end jewelry stores such as Colombian Emeralds and Diamonds International, apparel and T-shirt stores including Piranha Joes and Del Sol, and a Ron Jon Surf Shop. There are some carts with locally produced crafts.

PHOTO: The lighthouse on Grand Turk dates back to 1852. (Courtesy of Carnival Corp.)

Explore the Old Caribbean

Venture outside the cruise center for a taste of what the Caribbean was like before the modern tourism invasion. Though it’s the capital of the Turks & Caicos, the population of Grand Turk is just 4,500 — and that includes more than a few donkeys and cows that freely wander the dusty roads.

The island has old salt ponds, a quiet main street facing the beach, and a few small hotels that cater mostly to divers. Sightseeing, whether on a shore excursion or on your own, usually includes stopping by the old prison and a lighthouse that dates to 1852 and still operates.

For example, Princess Cruises offers a $59, 2½-hour tour in an air-conditioned mini-bus tour that passes a replica of the space capsule in which John Glenn splashed down near the island in 1962, as well as the former U.S. Air Force facility where he was debriefed. The tour heads out to the lighthouse and then to Cockburn Town and its 18th-and 19th-century wooden structures, national museum the Grand Quay Salt Company, a re-created 17th-century salt pan.

Princess also offers a hop-on, hop-off option on a mini-bus that stops every 30 minutes at the Grand Quay Salt Company, Cockburn Town waterfront, the old 1830 prison and Governor’s Beach.

Other excursions explore the island by dune buggies, bikes and horses. You can see an overview on the Grand Turk Cruise Center website, but ships offer different excursions that you book through them.

Those who want to explore on their own can take a taxi from the cruise center, which costs about $5 one-way to downtown Cockburn and $9 one-way to the lighthouse. Sturdy souls can walk into Cockburn Town, but it’s about three miles.

Cruisers also can choose to rent a scooter, car or golf cart. They do drive on the left side of the road here, but it is pretty safe because the speed limit island-wide is 20 mph. And there is little traffic. A golf cart, which rents for $80 for the day at a booth just outside the cruise center, is an easy way to explore the entire island on your own.