Ike Strikes Turks & Caicos

Turks & Caicos is a pristine, tropical Caribbean island chain near the Bahamas which unfortunately this week was in the path of Hurricane Ike. Damage assessments are still being made, but fortunately, there were no casualties. The Turks & Caicos Islands Tourist Board and the Turks & Caicos Islands Government’s Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies will finalize a complete assessment of Hurricane Ike’s impact in the coming days. The islands did experience some resort damage, coupled with an economic hit on its still fairly new cruise business.

Emma Gilbert, a spokesperson for Turks & Caicos, today confirmed that the cruise pier has no damage, but the roof and the landscaping are the primary issues at the cruise center. The cruise pier which opened in 2006 was built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Crystal, Seabourn, Seven Seas are among the cruise lines that call upon the port of call of Grand Turk on its itineraries.

Gilbert provided the following official statement issued by Carnival Cruise Line:

Our assessment personnel who have returned from Grand Turk advise that there is no apparent damage to the cruise ship pier.  The Grand Turk Cruise Center facility does have some roof damage as well as loss of landscaping. An accurate dollar figure for repairs cannot be determined at this time, pending a closer evaluation of the roof damage.Grand Turk to recover.  Based on the relatively limited damage to the cruise center, repairs could be completed fairly quickly.  However, the pace of repair work and re-opening of the cruise center is largely dependent on overall recovery efforts on Grand Turk.  More information should be available in the coming weeks. For Carnival itineraries that included Grand Turk, the line is working on alternate ports and will advise impacted guests as those modifications are finalized.

The islands’ Tourist Board reports “We are fortunate the majority of our tourism infrastructure on Providenciales is intact as no resorts, restaurants or other structures have suffered significant damage. Many of our hotel and restaurant partners are expected to reopen this week.”

The following resort updates have been provided:

The Tuscany on Grace Bay is pleased to report that the property sustained only minor landscaping and water damage. The resort is open while repairs and clean-up are underway and management looks forward to welcoming back guests.

Amanyara is not open. That part of the island is still waiting for power to resume. Amanyara has experienced some landscaping damage but no structural damage so they are in the process of cleaning up.  We are unsure about when the property will reopen at this time. 

The Somerset on Grace Bay reopened Tuesday, Sept. 9, with full services. The Somerset sustained only minimum damages, mostly landscaping, and the resort has been working around the clock to get everything back together.

Ocean Club and Ocean Club West escaped the storms with little damages. Lots of landscaping and cosmetic impact but that will get cleaned up throughout the next couple weeks. Ocean Club was already closed for its annual maintenance and not scheduled to reopen until Oct. 3 and Ocean Club West was closing on the Sept 22 for its annual maintenance. Ocean Club West will remain closed from today on to begin the clean up and get a head start on projects. Both resorts should be up and running by the last week in October.

Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts, the hotel sustained no structural damage despite 45 mile an hour winds. There was some beach erosion but that all the furniture was put away and there was no damage to the outside bar or pool.

Turks & Caicos Club - received no damages

Parrot Cay - received no damages

According to Kate Moeller, director of Club Med public relations, its Turkoise Resort is open without damage.

In Providenciales, effects on private citizens’ property, and government and tourism establishments are limited, as reported by the islands’ Tourist Board. Providenciales’ phone service and power in the Grace Bay area are restored while Providenciales International Airport (PLS) is now open for emergency flights.

“We are eager to restore normality as soon as possible under the circumstances and look forward to extending the warm hospitality the Turks & Caicos Islands has become synonymous with very shortly,” the Tourist Board issued in a release.