Serenade of the Seas Photo Review- Take Two: Aruba Route

Host Faith · October 28, 2011

Chrystal,

When's your next cruise? Judy and I are going with you and Wesley. She says she'll even buy the drinks.

Grinning here. GREAT pictures and review.

Jim and Judy.

Hey Jim and Judy! Sounds like a plan! :D

We're not sure where we're sailing next. It's such an empty feeling to not have something on the books yet, lol. We'll be on the Freedom or Allure class sometime next year, hopefully. Thank for the compliments! Looking forward to writing some more this weekend.

Ashland · October 28, 2011

Have really enjoyed your posts..but now I'm not so sure about wanting to do the itinerary you did...leaning more towards Aruba and Curacao..Thanks so much, enjoy your next cruise !!

Host Faith · October 28, 2011

Have really enjoyed your posts..but now I'm not so sure about wanting to do the itinerary you did...leaning more towards Aruba and Curacao..Thanks so much, enjoy your next cruise !!

Thank you so much Ashland! I'll be posting about Aruba and Curacao this weekend. We had a nice time on those islands. :)

Host Faith · October 29, 2011

Simply put…Aruba was so much FUN! Our first views of the island:

Woke up and had our room service breakfast. We were meeting our driver, Ivan, for a three-hour island tour. Our plan was to have him drop us off at the Amsterdam Manor after the tour but our plans changed just a little bit. I’ll get to that later. If you do a search in the Aruba Boards on CC, you can find some information about Ivan. We highly recommend him.

Host Faith · October 29, 2011

We had a fabulous time with Ivan. Mattsmom (CC member), her husband, Wesley, and I met him at 9 AM, right at the pier. His van was comfortable, and he had a headset with a microphone so we could hear him clearly. He drove us along the coastline, seeing Eagle and Palm beach and the hotels. Eagle Beach’s hotels were low-rise, and most of them are across the street from the beach. Palm Beach is where you see the mega-resorts, and those were beachfront. Ivan explained that Arubans complained to developers because the beachfront resorts blocked their view of the ocean. At a certain point, they made it a rule that hotels had to build across the street from the beach. It was nice to get some perspective on all the resorts and hotels I had been reading about for months! I love what he said about the people in Aruba. He said they were very grateful to God for their island. They could be anywhere else on the planet and they felt like they had been placed in a beautiful spot. They had sunshine just about every day, never really had hurricanes, and were able to enjoy their families. The overall feeling there was optimistic.

One of Aruba's best restaurants inside a windmill given to Aruba from Holland:

Our first stop was the California Lighthouse. We stopped here for about 15 minutes and took some nice photos:

There were vendors there selling water and Italian ices. Did I forget to mention that it was HOT? That sun was very strong, and I loved every minute of it.

The view was amazing because we could see the ship way in the distance, as well as clear across to the other side of the island. All the resorts and homes seemed to be built on the other side. We noticed how uninhabited this side of the island was, and Ivan explained that the wind and salt spray were so brutal on this side that it was just too costly and difficult to keep a home in good condition there. We were to return to this side at the end of our trip to see the Natural Bridge, and I’ll share about that a little later. There’s a rugged, wild type of beauty about the North side of the island that I really love.

Host Faith · October 29, 2011

Our next stop was the Alto Vista Chapel. One the way there, Ivan drove through the wealthy area of Aruba so we could see some of the fabulous homes. I wouldn't mind having a house here:

On the way there, Ivan shared with us that the chapel was the first Catholic church built in Aruba. As we approached the chapel riding through the desert terrain, we noticed that someone marked every few yards of the path with the Stations of the Cross. Ivan said that they come and reenact the Stations on Easter, walking along the path to reach the chapel. I thought that was beautiful.

gelo7 · October 29, 2011

Keep it coming, I'm enjoying this, now where is my popcorn.......

Costafox · October 30, 2011

I am really enjoying your review and photos and it is wonderful to see the beautiful Serenade of the Seas - we did a fantastic trip to Alaska on her in 2008.

Next week we will be boarding the Adventure of the Seas for her return to San Juan from her summer in Europe.

Thanks for the pictures of El Convento, interesting for us as we will be staying there for two nights after we disembark.

Best Wishes

Gill

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

There was a vendor selling souvenirs in front of the chapel as well. Note the dog keeping cool under the car:

After leaving the chapel, Ivan took us to the official Alto Vista nearby, one of the highest points on the island. From here, we could see our ship in the distance.

We also passed through Ivan’s neighborhood, which was really cool because all of his extended family lived on the same street. Across the street, we could see the cemetery. It stood out because the tombstones were all colorfully decorated. Ivan explained that the tombstone colors corresponded with the colors of the family’s home, so you always knew what family was buried where.

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

On to the Casibari Rock Formations. These were gigantic boulders in the middle of the desert. There were some walking trails and steps that would allow you to climb to the top if you wanted. By the time we arrived, the line was so long that we decided to just take some photos from below.

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

Keep it coming, I'm enjoying this, now where is my popcorn.......

Haha! Thanks for reading:)

I am really enjoying your review and photos and it is wonderful to see the beautiful Serenade of the Seas - we did a fantastic trip to Alaska on her in 2008.

Next week we will be boarding the Adventure of the Seas for her return to San Juan from her summer in Europe.

Thanks for the pictures of El Convento, interesting for us as we will be staying there for two nights after we disembark.

Best Wishes

Gill

Enjoy your cruise! We enjoyed the AOS too. Lucky you for staying at El Convento, sounds like you're going to have an awesome vacation!

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

Here’s one rock that looks like a movie character…can you guess who it looks like?

That’s right- King Kong!:D

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

Ivan gave us license plates as a souvenir. In Aruba, they have to change their plates every year. The color of the plates changes yearly. We saw some people buying the plates at the rock formations. It was so nice of him to give them to us for free.

Our final stop was the Natural Bridge, on the north side of the island. Again, you can see how wild and rugged this side of the island is. It was pretty windy….and beautiful:

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

We stayed here for about 20 minutes, plenty of time to walk around a bit and take some nice photos:

There’s a legend that if you place a rock at the top of one of the many piles here, you’ll have good luck:

Host Faith · October 30, 2011

We took a ride back to the ship, I think it was about 12:30 by then. Earlier, we thought we would ask Ivan to take us right to Amsterdam Manor for some beach time, however we were hungry and had plenty of time to have lunch on the ship and head back out to the beach later. I think a lot of people had the same idea.We said goodbye to Ivan and made our way back onto the ship.

We had a quick lunch in the Windjammer, put our souvenirs back in the room, and left the ship once more to head to the beach.

We walked outside the ship terminal area, and crossed the street. The bus terminal was right around the corner. We waited about 15 minutes for the bus to arrive. The bus got crowded very quickly, luckily the ride wasn’t that long at all.

I didn’t want to miss the stop, so we got off when we could see the Amsterdam Manor up ahead. Funny thing, if we had waited a few seconds we would have realized that the hotel was actually a stop! Oh well, we got to walk a little bit, it wasn’t that far. You can see the Amsterdam Manor in the pic; it's the yellow building in the distance.

We arrived and found an empty palapa right away.It was $20 for the palapa and two chairs.

Host Faith · October 31, 2011

Loved the beach here. The sand was soft and white, a very clean beach. The water was the perfect temperature.

I met a really nice woman from Texas who was swimming by herself. We had to have chatted, treading water, for about an hour straight. It was so buoyant that I barely had to tread water, and I wasn’t tired at all when we emerged from the water. I told her about Ivan, and gave her his business card. It was so cool to be able to pass along his information so she could book a tour with him during her stay in Aruba.

Around 5:30 or so, the Amsterdam Manor staff started setting out chairs and tables right on the beach.

I think they were setting up for their famous dinners on the beach. I would like to come back and experience that someday. Seemed like we were a little in the way so we decided to head back to the ship.

While we were waiting for the actual bus, a local woman in a van stopped and asked us if we wanted a ride back to the ship. I was totally confused and wary, but then I noticed a sign in the window that stated that it was an actual taxi. We opened the van doors and saw another couple from the ship (we could tell by the towels). She charged $1.25 for the ride. Seems like a lot of locals were very familiar with this, and she picked up about 4 others before we ended up back near the bus terminal.

BettyPC · October 31, 2011

Wonderful review! I read your 2010 also. Taking notes - as we are going on our first RCCL in March - from PR! thanks for taking the time!

Glassrobinson · October 31, 2011

Your pictures are beautiful...it also helps that you and your husband make a very nice looking couple:rolleyes:!! Thanks for the fantastic review so far!

Happy belated Anniversary.

Host Faith · October 31, 2011

Wonderful review! I read your 2010 also. Taking notes - as we are going on our first RCCL in March - from PR! thanks for taking the time!

I'm so glad the review is helpful! You're sure to love your cruise, you chose a great route for your first RCCL cruise. Actually, we sailed from PR on our first RCCL cruise back in 2009..and we fell in love with Royal right then. Enjoy your vacation!

Your pictures are beautiful...it also helps that you and your husband make a very nice looking couple:rolleyes:!! Thanks for the fantastic review so far!
Happy belated Anniversary.

Aww thank you so much!! :)

Host Faith · October 31, 2011

Dinner that night was in Chops. We had a voucher from our TA for a free specialty dinner, so we brought the voucher with us and waited until we were on the ship to book our dinner. We got our first choice of date and time with no problem at all.

For appetizers, Wes had the shrimp cocktail, and I had the beefsteak tomatoes with onions and Gorgonzola cheese. Excellent! We both had the filet, medium (cooked perfectly), and I had the sautéed mushrooms and steamed asparagus as sides. Wes had string beans. For dessert, I had my favorite dessert on RCCL- the chocolate mud pie. It’s rich and decadent. Wes tried the Red Velvet Cake. It was pretty good…but nothing tops that mud pie!

Host Faith · October 31, 2011

And last but not least- Curacao! This was our anniversary day, so we didn’t really have anything planned. We slept in a bit and had breakfast in our room. Here were the first views we had of the port, from the elevator bank:

We left the ship around 10 AM, and decided to just walk around Willemstad. The first thing we noticed was the HEAT. This was literally the hottest place we’ve ever been to. Just be prepared for that blast of heat when you disembark the ship!

We walked the path that led you through the Marriott grounds, to Rif Fort, which really just consisted of various shops and places to eat.

Host Faith · October 31, 2011

Inside Rif Fort:

When we emerged from the fort, we recognized the floating bridge and the colorful buildings in Willemstad right away.It looked just like the photos online :)

Host Faith · October 31, 2011

As soon as we reached the floating bridge, we heard the warning bells that let us know they were about to allow the bridge to swing open. Some people raced to get to the other side, but we decided to stay where we were. We had to stand behind a gate while it was happening. A couple locals stayed on the bridge while it was moving. It was so cool to watch the process: