Aruba - Oooh I wanna taka ya!

[Dysongs]

Hi All,

 

We are taking the Thomson Latin Gems and Caribbean Treasures back-to-back cruises on the Thomson Celebration next March for 3 miles-stone life celebrations including Gillie (my wife's) 60th Birthday.

 

We will be visiting Aruba (Orangestad) on the actual day and I wondered if anyone has any tips about the island, where to go, what to do, what to see???

 

Kev

[geomagot]

hi there kev

 

plenty to do and see in orangestad loads of shops bars, just footsteps from the where the ship docks, there is a large shopping mall (in the renaissance hotel) and there are some local markets nearby too plus plenty of cafe/bars

 

there is a (posh) marina (with more cafes & bars) which is walkable and further up the road is a small beach and a pretty waterside boardwalk

 

local buses are cheap & reliable and will take you to the hotel strip further up the coast where you will find all the resorts/casinos/hard rock cafe's etc….bus stop is opposite the port gates

 

also some turist shops and a tour booking desk in the cruise terminal...plenty of taxis and safari buses will line up on the dock offering all sorts of activities, island tours, beach transfers

 

hope this helps

[Dysongs]

Yes it does, thank you very much!

 

Kev

[dronnygirl]

Aruba is definitely worth taking a trip from one of the buses at the quayside. They don't charge too much and take you all round the island. It's a really beautiful island, quite different from the West Indies as it's very arid and loads of cacti everywhere. There are also lots of iguanas sitting on the rocks. We did the trip and then the bus dropped us at a lovely beach with lots of hotels so we were able to get something to eat and use their facilities. We then just took a bus back to the ship. Enjoy your trip.

[Dysongs]

Thanks for your advice Dronnygirl, we will certainly check that out when we get there. I think that we dock around 8am and leave at 5pm so we have the usual time to do an explore.

 

I will write a blog from the Celebration about our experiences for others next March. Only 1947 days to go!!!!

 

Kev

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Thanks for your advice Dronnygirl, we will certainly check that out when we get there. I think that we dock around 8am and leave at 5pm so we have the usual time to do an explore.

 

I will write a blog from the Celebration about our experiences for others next March. Only 1947 days to go!!!!

Kev

Are you sure it is 1947 days to your holiday, Kev? Thats over 5 years :eek::eek:

 

We did a trip on a minibus in Aruba and he took us to a place where the stars have their holiday homes :eek: Fabulous place. We were supposed to go to the lighthouse, but there was a problem with the road, so we just saw it from the distance. Orangestad is very colourful too. I like the Dutch Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) They are very clean compared to some of the others ;)

[Dysongs]

Are you sure it is 1947 days to your holiday, Kev? Thats over 5 years :eek::eek:

 

We did a trip on a minibus in Aruba and he took us to a place where the stars have their holiday homes :eek: Fabulous place. We were supposed to go to the lighthouse, but there was a problem with the road, so we just saw it from the distance. Orangestad is very colourful too. I like the Dutch Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) They are very clean compared to some of the others ;)

 

WOOPs!!! :eek:I need to take the boxing gloves off when I type Linda!!:D

We go 20 weeks tomorrow on the Latin Gems/caribbean Treasures cruise on the Celebration.

 

We are due to stop at all 3 of those islands and I think one of them is 'tender to shore' I note though that posts on the Thomson Celebration Facebook page are reporting that some ports where tender to shore is planned are being missed due to bad weather.

 

I am working on a new cruise information website for our trip where I am collecting together useful info and will make this available to this forum soon in case it is of any use to others.

 

All part of the build up to going on this trip of course!

 

Thanks for the info Linda, your posts are always of great interest to me and the ones I look out for and read every time!

 

Kev

[kruzseeka]

Yes as others have said, quite a bit of interest in town and walkable from the berth; the New Orleans style shopping centre (great for photos even if you don't want to shop!), the market stalls to the right along the waterfront and a pleasant walk to the right to the hotel at the far end (already mentioned) beyond the Marina. Lots of basking iguanas here too on the rocks by what was the helicopter pad. They used to offer flights from here but it looked shut last year when we we there. We were told that we could use the hotel beach furniture around the 'pool' actually a kind of mini harbour type arrangement but connected to the sea. Obviously they'd expect you to buy drinks/food but if the hotel was busy they might not allow casual trade.

 

As geo said, the local bus will take you to the beaches. Eagle Beach is a fairy long strip of public beach which the bus will pass first. It is a good beach with lovely sand and good bathing but one word of warning: the first time we went we just put our towels down on the sand and DH ended up looking like a pin cushion! We assume it was sand flies. Since then we've always made sure we hire loungers -at various places along Eagle Beach there are beach cafes and furniture available.

 

If you go stay on the bus and go a bit further to Palm Beach that is more developed as there are a lot of big hotels there like the Riu and Marriott. Another tip: often beach attendants meet the buses and 'escort' you to the beach and to the beach hut where they hire the loungers/umbrellas. When we went there the first time we were a bit unsure of the set up - not even sure if it was a private beach belonging to the hotel - so went along with it thinking it was in part an admission charge. But that's not the case.

 

As you can imagine though as we were 'escorted' to the hut we just coughed up but it was a bit of a rip-off something like 35 or 40$ for 2 loungers and an umbrella. Not a big deal - we expect to pay about 25$ anyway but we just felt we'd been a bit naive. If we'd just left the 'escort' and carried on walking a little bit further up the beach away from the pier (with the thatched beach bar on it - very nice too!) we'd have enjoyed the same beautiful beach and facilities and paid a piece less. But a fab beach to go to.

Edited October 26, 2014 by kruzseeka

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Oh thank you Kev, you are making me blush :o:o Kruzseeka and Geomagot are the experts on the Caribbean :D

 

In 19 cruises, we have only had one tender cancelled and that was Stornoway. I think you should be OK tendering in the Caribbean, as it is generally quite smooth seas - unless anyone else knows different :confused:

 

BTW I didn't realize the significance of your thread title until we were on the Majesty and Rhythm of Three sang the song, now I can't get it out of my head!

Edited October 26, 2014 by CRUISIN LINDA

[Dysongs]

Oh thank you Kev, you are making me blush :o:o Kruzseeka and Geomagot are the experts on the Caribbean :D

 

In 19 cruises, we have only had one tender cancelled and that was Stornoway. I think you should be OK tendering in the Caribbean, as it is generally quite smooth seas - unless anyone else knows different :confused:

 

BTW I didn't realize the significance of your thread title until we were on the Majesty and Rhythm of Three sang the song, now I can't get it out of my head!

 

Beach Boys!

 

Kev

[Dysongs]

Yes as others have said, quite a bit of interest in town and walkable from the berth; the New Orleans style shopping centre (great for photos even if you don't want to shop!), the market stalls to the right along the waterfront and a pleasant walk to the right to the hotel at the far end (already mentioned) beyond the Marina. Lots of basking iguanas here too on the rocks by what was the helicopter pad. They used to offer flights from here but it looked shut last year when we we there. We were told that we could use the hotel beach furniture around the 'pool' actually a kind of mini harbour type arrangement but connected to the sea. Obviously they'd expect you to buy drinks/food but if the hotel was busy they might not allow casual trade.

 

As geo said, the local bus will take you to the beaches. Eagle Beach is a fairy long strip of public beach which the bus will pass first. It is a good beach with lovely sand and good bathing but one word of warning: the first time we went we just put our towels down on the sand and DH ended up looking like a pin cushion! We assume it was sand flies. Since then we've always made sure we hire loungers -at various places along Eagle Beach there are beach cafes and furniture available.

 

If you go stay on the bus and go a bit further to Palm Beach that is more developed as there are a lot of big hotels there like the Riu and Marriott. Another tip: often beach attendants meet the buses and 'escort' you to the beach and to the beach hut where they hire the loungers/umbrellas. When we went there the first time we were a bit unsure of the set up - not even sure if it was a private beach belonging to the hotel - so went along with it thinking it was in part an admission charge. But that's not the case.

 

As you can imagine though as we were 'escorted' to the hut we just coughed up but it was a bit of a rip-off something like 35 or 40$ for 2 loungers and an umbrella. Not a big deal - we expect to pay about 25$ anyway but we just felt we'd been a bit naive. If we'd just left the 'escort' and carried on walking a little bit further up the beach away from the pier (with the thatched beach bar on it - very nice too!) we'd have enjoyed the same beautiful beach and facilities and paid a piece less. But a fab beach to go to.

 

Thanks for the information and the very good tips Kruzseeka. I will add this to my website of info about our cruise. As I said to Crusin Linda, I always look out for and read YOUR posts too! All really expert information from the people that know! :)

 

Kev

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Beach Boys!

 

Kev

I know, just been playing it :D

[BaggersCruising]

We had Grand Cayman cancelled last year, and an overnight in Jamacia in it's place (Yipee, not :( ) but that's because Grand Cayman is a tender port and the weather was pretty bad heading there, but there aren't too many tender ports in the Eastern Caribbean, and it should be pretty much fine during the winter so shouldn't have too many problems!

[kruzseeka]

We had Grand Cayman cancelled last year, and an overnight in Jamacia in it's place (Yipee, not :( ) but that's because Grand Cayman is a tender port and the weather was pretty bad heading there, but there aren't too many tender ports in the Eastern Caribbean, and it should be pretty much fine during the winter so shouldn't have too many problems!

 

Where did you end up in Jamaica Baggers? I can understand some ambivalence to Jamaica - we are a bit wary too but if you end up at Montego Bay anytime I can recommend taking a taxi or the shuttle bus directly to Dr Caves Beach. It's a private one with an admission charge plus hire of loungers/umbrellas but it's not extortionate and it's a great beach and vibe. We've been twice and loved it (but passed on getting of the shuttle bus and wandering around the town when we saw the 'Gun Court' with 3m high metal fence around it!) It's the beach the ents team seem to make for too so they've probably sussed out alternatives (I always think wherever they go is likely to be a good bet.)

 

Thanks Kev - you are very welcome. I look forward to seeing your compilation of info and tips. I'm sure I'll find that very useful too. ;)

Edited October 26, 2014 by kruzseeka

[BaggersCruising]

Where did you end up in Jamaica Baggers? I can understand some ambivalence to Jamaica - we are a bit wary too but if you end up at Montego Bay anytime I can recommend taking a taxi or the shuttle bus directly to Dr Caves Beach. It's a private one with an admission charge plus hire of loungers/umbrellas but it's not extortionate and it's a great beach and vibe. We've been twice and loved it (but passed on getting of the shuttle bus and wandering around the town when we saw the 'Gun Court' with 3m high metal fence around it!) It's the beach the ents team seem to make for too so they've probably sussed out alternatives (I always think wherever they go is likely to be a good bet.)

 

Thanks Kev - you are very welcome. I look forward to seeing your compilation of info and tips. I'm sure I'll find that very useful too. ;)

 

Erm, we did the extra excursion that Thomson laid on the evening we got there, the "shopping trip", which was basically £16pp for a bus trip in the dark to a "shopping centre" that had quite a few shops, but was actually 3 different types of shops just repeated throughout! Then stopped at the "strip" on the way back. Can't say we were too impressed with that trip!

 

Then the next day we headed into the terminal that was just swarming with Americans from the Carnival ship that had come in that morning. And guess what, 3 shops, that were pretty much identical to the ones that were in the shopping centre the previous night! ;)

 

So, then we went back onto the ship and did some sunbathing!

 

This time though, we get a full proper day in Barbados and then departing the ship in Jamacia, so can just stay on the ship again enjoying the AI as our flight isn't til 19:20!

Edited October 27, 2014 by BaggersCruising

[kruzseeka]

Just realised that was the same trip we were on! My memory! :rolleyes: We attempted to find a recommended beach bar someone told us was near the ship on that first evening but I got cold feet once outside the security compound. There were no street lights and as we couldn't see the bar we were supposed to be making for so had no idea how much further we had to go - I got spooked so we turned back. Felt far more comfortable in the daylight next day when we went directly to Dr Caves but I remember quite a few people expressing disappointment in their visit to Jamaica.

[BaggersCruising]

Just realised that was the same trip we were on! My memory! :rolleyes: We attempted to find a recommended beach bar someone told us was near the ship on that first evening but I got cold feet once outside the security compound. There were no street lights and as we couldn't see the bar we were supposed to be making for so had no idea how much further we had to go - I got spooked so we turned back. Felt far more comfortable in the daylight next day when we went directly to Dr Caves but I remember quite a few people expressing disappointment in their visit to Jamaica.

 

Yeah, admittedly we weren't even bothered about Jamaica at all, although that's probably from the stories you hear, and let's face it, Montego Bay couldn't be further away (both geographically and socially) from Kingston without leaving Jamaica, so it's probably not as bad as what people say!

 

We were a bit gutted when Grand Cayman got cancelled an replaced with an overnight in Jamaica, but fully understand the reasons why. But that's life.

 

This year though, we have to pay a $22US exit tax just to leave the bloody place. Never a great way to encourage people to visit their country, especially when they're not fussed about visiting in the first place lol.

[MommaBear55]

We often rent a car in Aruba. It is a great island to explore and we love the contrast between the barren windswept desert national park and the beaches on the opposite side. There are many man made and natural wonders. There is an old Mission Church with out door seating among the cactus, lighthouses, tiny deserted beaches, big populated beaches, restarants in the sand, warm water, excursions, shops, casinos. Probably one of my top 5 favorite islands. Do much so we go for a land based vacation there every 5 years or so.

 

It is very safe and very navigable. I agree with the others who say the busses are easy to use and that the down town area is lots of fun.

[gillhalfpint]

Isn't it great what these countries charge tourists. We paid $20 to get the visa's required to enter Turkey and they were not asked for at all. Now we have to pay $22 to get out of Jamaica. Whatever next!

[BaggersCruising]

Isn't it great what these countries charge tourists. We paid $20 to get the visa's required to enter Turkey and they were not asked for at all. Now we have to pay $22 to get out of Jamaica. Whatever next!

 

It's not exactly inviting, if it is such a requirement, it should be billed to the holiday companies (which would be easier and cheaper for the countries) and then hidden in the holiday price IMHO.

 

It is conflicting information though, as the notes on our booking state that we have to pay the US$22 to exit Jamaica, and yet the small print in the back of the brochure state that some countries charge an exit tax (or equivalent) but you won't have to pay this if you're on one of our cruise holidays.

 

Well, Thomson, we're just on one of your cruise holidays and not staying in Jamaica at all. I should question them on that point actually.

[happy v]

It's not exactly inviting, if it is such a requirement, it should be billed to the holiday companies (which would be easier and cheaper for the countries) and then hidden in the holiday price IMHO.

 

It is conflicting information though, as the notes on our booking state that we have to pay the US$22 to exit Jamaica, and yet the small print in the back of the brochure state that some countries charge an exit tax (or equivalent) but you won't have to pay this if you're on one of our cruise holidays.

 

Well, Thomson, we're just on one of your cruise holidays and not staying in Jamaica at all. I should question them on that point actually.

 

I don't know if it's still relevant (things change all the time!) but when we went to Jamaica and just boarded the ship we didn't have to pay an exit tax. Maybe it is only for 2 week holidays when you spend the day there.

[BaggersCruising]

I don't know if it's still relevant (things change all the time!) but when we went to Jamaica and just boarded the ship we didn't have to pay an exit tax. Maybe it is only for 2 week holidays when you spend the day there.

 

It does seem silly when we're just on a cruise and not staying in Jamaica, think I'm gonna email Thomson for clarification.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

think I'm gonna email Thomson for clarification.

Good luck with that Baggers :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[BaggersCruising]

Good luck with that Baggers :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Haha, yes! In fact, I'm going to email them now, and that way I might get an answer by the time I'm home from the cruise :D:D:D

[geomagot]

I don't know if it's still relevant (things change all the time!) but when we went to Jamaica and just boarded the ship we didn't have to pay an exit tax. Maybe it is only for 2 week holidays when you spend the day there.

 

I am not sure how long there has been an exit tax in jamaica? (I havnt embarked in jamaica before? or stayed on the island) but i suspect that the exit tax will be payable at the airport on the way out...thats how it worked when we flew home from havana ....about $17pp in hard currency and 10 minutes of 'hairdryer treatment' from customs officials...before we were allowed to leave:eek::rolleyes: