How do you feel about going to Aruba???

[mems]

Hello Everyone,

Each evening at this time I come to Cruise Critic to check out what is new. At the same time the TV is on. So many channels have the news of (or lack of news) about Natalee Holloway and Aruba. My heart goes out to her family. It is a parents worst nightmare. How do you all feel about going to Aruba?

[tmessenger]

We've been there twice and would not hesitate to go back again....it's a beautiful island, and the people we've met there have always been friendly. I don't think that it's much different from any other place, if you're careful and keep an eye on your surroundings, you shouldn't have any problems.

[abridalmaven]

What do you think about coming to NYC? There are lots worse things that happen here....and your own home town. I personally am not in love with Aruba. As a ship stop it is ok, but that has nothing to do with that overexposed case. No offense but what makes this case any more special than the thousands of others like it... news coverage that is all.:mad: Besides there was a post about the same subject and it has been poofed, as I am sure this one will soon be.:eek:

[abridalmaven]

Oh and there is a story about the reporter who is making big bucks because of the coverage of this case.

[mems]

Hey, I was born and raised in Detroit. I do not scare easily. What I am seeing is the family dealing with another countries law.

[Fury1995]

I don't know abut the rest but we loved it. We did the Off Road Snorkal Adventure. It was all day but it has to be the most fun I've had at the 15 plus ports I've been to (so far).

[TrentS]

I feel the same about going to Aruba as I do about going anywhere else... Why do you ask? :rolleyes:

[kenandlaura06]

No different than I feel about traveling anywhere else in the world.

[tequilamockingbird]

How do I feel about going to Aruba???

 

 

I would love to go to Aruba..........are you buying?? :D

[Fritz265]

I've been to Aruba at least five time to include a two-week honeymoon. Two weeks is WAAAAYYYY too long to spend on this small island. Not much going on unless you're a sun worshipper.

 

From a safety perspective, it's probably one of the safest locales in the Carribbean from a crime rate perspective. I wouldn't hesistate to visit again.

[Coolcruise02]

I'm going in November, and looking forward to it. You have to be careful everywhere. :)

[BobBeaSea]

I'd go to Aruba in a heartbeat if I could break the chains on my desk:D .

[MarciaL]

Been there and would go back in a heart beat.

 

Yes, I feel sorry for the family. But use your head, and don't be out drinking at 2 a.m. and then hanging out with people you have never met before. That is a disaster anywhere at anytime.

[Spelling Queen]

I am thinking one would be hard pressed to find any country or city (including in the US) where a crime of this nature has not been committed. Or a place where every crime of this nature has been solved. (The words "Cold Case" come to mind.) There is no place to go, live, or visit if you eliminate options based on human beings, with their inevitable dark side, being part of the equation.

[Soxfan05]

Hey, I was born and raised in Detroit. I do not scare easily. What I am seeing is the family dealing with another countries law.

 

You say you're sailing Boston to Boston next. Dealing with the law in Boston can often times be like dealing with another country's law. Ask anyone who's driven the new Big Dig or has been looking for Whitey Bulger.

 

I'm not making light of what has occured in Aruba but let's face it, hundreds of murders and disappearances go unsolved here in the U.S. too. Just think of the highly publicized case of Jon Benet Ramsey which was botched by the local PD who didn't accept help from the FBI until it was too late and much of the evidence was tainted. And that's just one like the Holloway case. Just think of those that reporters think don't warrant a spot on the 6:00 news every night. We have to stop sitting back and judging the "laws of other countries" and realize that no country is perfectly safe and no law enforcement organization is totally infallible or above reproach.

[mspink98]

I’ve been there and wouldn’t choose to go again, but it’s not at all a safety issue for me. I just didn’t really enjoy that island. It was a little slow-paced for my tastes-as someone else mentioned, not much to do unless you’re a sun worshipper, which I’m not. Beautiful, postcard looking beaches, but I get bored quickly lying on a beach. I felt perfectly, 100% safe, though, so that was never a concern.

[nanfromatlanta]

Loved Aruba. We were there this past May. Would go back in a heartbeat. It is a lot safer than a lot of other places we've been.

[nosnobunny]

We've been to Aruba twice on cruises, once for a land-based vacation and I'm in the process of booking another cruise for next year that stops there. So I suppose that would be a definite yes to going again.

 

Honestly, I'd be more concerned walking down the main street of my city after dark than I am of anything I'd encounter in Aruba.

 

Beth

[lszu]

Been there twice and would go again.

 

Like any other place, you've got to use your head. I feel sorry for Natalee's family, but hanging in any bar with a bunch of strangers is never a good idea, wherever you are.

[celtic selke]

So I could ask you the same thing about the town I live in.

 

CNN rates it as number four in the top towns to live in with a population of under 100,000. Average homes go for 500,000 and if you want a little bigger, 1,000,000.

 

But right here last week a 16 year old girl was beaten and stabbed to death then had her legs cut off so her murderer could fit her body into a trunk.

He was caught by the police trying to throw the trunk off a bridge.

 

So how do you feel about coming here?

 

celtic

[egh170]

I have been to Aruba and would not hesitate to go back. Part of the problem was Natalee's own doing. Shouldn't party with strangers and go looking for a good time with drugs.

[Nliedel]

Bad things happen everywhere and that should not stop anyone from going back.

 

It is real easy to sit on the outside of this and blame the victim. To think that this was her fault and that it cannot happen to you because you do not do what she did is ignorant.

[cruiseapril]

We've been to Aruba twice, really like Palm Beach for swimming and sailing.

 

We enjoy the ABC islands and will be going back to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao as we like arid climates and the Trade Winds.

[newmexicoNita]

i woould love to go to Aruba again, but our next cruise leaves out of Dover and will be doing the Viking route, I don't think I can talk the captain in to a detour. Now we are spending 2 nights in London on this trip as well as 5 in Poland and 1 in NYC. Should I stay away from any of those? NMNIta

 

ps about the reporter making a fortune on the story, I haven't heard anything about that. It could be true yet I never believe much of what I hear or read until it is proven.

[AltaJoe]

Aruba is the United States' 51st state. You pay with US $$$$, you speak English, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an American family. You have a nice beach, with nice water but certainly less than spectacular. Let's face it, its the Jersey shore, but you need to spend 24 hours to fly there.

 

Would I go back...NO, but am I afraid to go...NO.