Not too psyched about Aruba....?

[gkrnjlr]

We are booked on the Breeze and will be going to Aruba in November. I have co-workers that just returned from a cruise that had Aruba as one of their ports. EVERY single one of them has said that Aruba is not that great. Somewhat pretty, but a port that they could've missed out on and not cared.

 

I'm now wondering if it's worth doing much there?

 

I was also told that where the ship pulls in that if you don't do an excursion or take a taxi that there's nothing right there.

 

We are a family of 5 and are currently booked on an excursion (sightseeing) but have been told "it's definitely not worth it." We don't snorkel or do any real water activities.

 

I'm curious what other people's views are on this port?

 

Thanks!

[rjrpar]

We had a good time in Aruba last year. Nice island tour and the rest of the day at a great beach - Palm. Don't believe everything you hear

[brown_eyed_poet]

What kind of things are you interested in?

[cb at sea]

It's a true "desert" island...very flat, so not much rain falls....any "tropical"" lushness is totally man-made.

 

The beaches are great....there are casinos and restaurants, and shopping....

 

You should read a guidebook, find out ALL that is there, and then decide if anything "floats your boat"...if not...the ship is up and running on port days!!!

[OCruisers]

We love Aruba! Probably enjoyed more by folks who enjoy water/water sports.

 

Where you dock in Aruba is right in town. :)

 

LuLu

[Arubalisa]

I will add that the "port" and "cruise terminal" are not located directly adjacent to Aruba's most picturesque beaches. ;)

 

You can get a great overview of the island in a 2-3 hour tour, but Aruba's main attraction are her beautiful white sand beaches. Unfortunately the cruise ships do not pull up on to "those" beaches. ;)

 

There IS a reason why Aruba has the highest rate of RETURN visitors than any other island in the Caribbean. ;)

[gkrnjlr]

So where the ship docks we could easily get off the ship and walk around and see things?

 

Aha....okay so right now we're booked on a tour of Aruba. We do enjoy seeing the sights of new places. Sightseeing is top on the list. However, if the beaches are fantastic maybe we should switch?

 

If you had to vote for one over the other - would you say take the island tour? Or head to a beach? OR....get off the ship and walk around and see things that way?

 

Thanks!

[Hatteras51]

So where the ship docks we could easily get off the ship and walk around and see things?

 

Aha....okay so right now we're booked on a tour of Aruba. We do enjoy seeing the sights of new places. Sightseeing is top on the list. However, if the beaches are fantastic maybe we should switch?

 

If you had to vote for one over the other - would you say take the island tour? Or head to a beach? OR....get off the ship and walk around and see things that way?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, I see that you are from Charleston, my very favorite city. I've been on many Caribbean cruises, and Aruba is my favorite island. While it isn't lush and green like most of the islands, it makes up for it with it's incredible beaches and interesting topography on what we refer to as "the wild side" of the island. Are you in port long enough to do the tour and then spend some time on the beaches? Some of the tours let people off at the beach at the end, and then they catch a bus or a taxi back to the ship. We love Aruba so much that we vacation there every winter.

[KatieCharlotte]

I have heard negative things from someone about every port that I've visited and loved, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

We are also sightseers, but in Aruba we plan to take the bus to a beautiful beach. That seems to be the number one sight to see in Aruba. We are doing a sightseeing tour in a different port. However, I have not done much research on the rest of Aruba. You're smart to gather lots of different opinions.

[gkrnjlr]

I have heard negative things from someone about every port that I've visited and loved, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

We are also sightseers, but in Aruba we plan to take the bus to a beautiful beach. That seems to be the number one sight to see in Aruba. We are doing a sightseeing tour in a different port. However, I have not done much research on the rest of Aruba. You're smart to gather lots of different opinions.

 

That sounds like a good plan that you have!

 

There is one excursion that has 1 hour of sightseeing and then goes to Moomba beach. I'm thinking we may switch to that one that way we can at least say we saw the island.

[gkrnjlr]

Hi, I see that you are from Charleston, my very favorite city. I've been on many Caribbean cruises, and Aruba is my favorite island. While it isn't lush and green like most of the islands, it makes up for it with it's incredible beaches and interesting topography on what we refer to as "the wild side" of the island. Are you in port long enough to do the tour and then spend some time on the beaches? Some of the tours let people off at the beach at the end, and then they catch a bus or a taxi back to the ship. We love Aruba so much that we vacation there every winter.

 

Charleston is a great city! I like it here!

 

We are in port from 8am until 4pm.

That does make sense about the topography. Whenever I pictured Aruba I always pictured lush and tropical. That may be the case with the coworkers who just went there and didn't like it.

 

There's a tour that does 1 hour of sightseeing and then goes to the beach. I'm thinking we'll switch to that one.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Hatteras51]

Charleston is a great city! I like it here!

 

We are in port from 8am until 4pm.

That does make sense about the topography. Whenever I pictured Aruba I always pictured lush and tropical. That may be the case with the coworkers who just went there and didn't like it.

 

There's a tour that does 1 hour of sightseeing and then goes to the beach. I'm thinking we'll switch to that one.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

You've got a good amount of time to visit Aruba. A lot of ships just dock there for 4 hrs. A one hour tour probably won't give you enough time to see the "wild side" which is so interesting. I suggest doing a private tour with Bully or a small group tour with Sonny Binns. They will give you a comprehensive 3-4 hr. tour and then drop you off at one of the gorgeous beaches for the afternoon. Bully's email is bullytaxi49@hotmail.com. I'll look up Sonny's for you. We use Bully so much when we vacation that he has become a good friend of ours. His tours are outstanding. We've never used Sonny but we have heard wonderful things about him.

[Hatteras51]

Oops....Just realized that I gave you the wrong email address for Bully. It should be bullytaxi79@hotmail.com. Sonny Binns is binns.tours@yahoo.com.

Expect Aruba to be desert like, with lots of interesting cactus and awesome rock formations, crashing surf along nature made bridges along the "wild side." The resort side will be green with beautiful flowers and vegetation.

[gkrnjlr]

Oops....Just realized that I gave you the wrong email address for Bully. It should be bullytaxi79@hotmail.com. Sonny Binns is binns.tours@yahoo.com.

Expect Aruba to be desert like, with lots of interesting cactus and awesome rock formations, crashing surf along nature made bridges along the "wild side." The resort side will be green with beautiful flowers and vegetation.

 

Thank you!

[TLCOhio]

We had a good time in Aruba last year. Nice island tour and the rest of the day at a great beach - Palm. Don't believe everything you hear

 

Appreciate this above and other posts that there are a number of different options to see and do in Aruba. Having done earlier this year ten different islands in the Caribbean, not all of these location are perfect, equal and/or the best. Aruba, as an example, does not have the nature/rainforest as does Dominica. Nor, the history as on Barbados or in San Juan.

 

BUT, we found things to see, like and do on Aruba. Below are a few visuals of certain aspects and things we saw and liked.

 

On Aruba, you do not come here for the old, historic buildings. It is for the diversions and some describe Aruba as the Caribbean's theme park. Lots and lots of casinos, duty-free shops, more than two dozen dive sites, a few famous shipwrecks and even a championship golf course. Lots of cactus here and then there are Aruba's trademark divi trees that always point in a southwesterly direction (due to trade winds that blow from the northeast). Loved seeing the sandy beaches that ring the island.

 

Check this link and see more potentials, pictures on Aruba:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=47893910

On this thread, you will see more ideas, options, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 29,405 views for these postings.

 

 

Our first stop in Aruba was at the site of the "Natural Bridge". The big one collapsed a few years back, but there is still a smaller version. There is lots of drama here as the waves roll in along this barren, but scenic part of the island.:

 

 

 

We covered a wide range of the island, including the residential areas, airport, etc. Then we headed to the California Lighthouse shown below. Plus, also here are a couple of views from that location. This includes just a few of the many, many dessert-style cacti growths that cover this dry island.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aruba's Eagle Beach gets high marks as the top beach on this island. Some even mention it as one of the best in the world. We can understand why. It is about six miles long with amazing sand. Busy, but not too crowded. We came back later in the afternoon via a cab to enjoy its fun, people, sights, activities, etc. At one end of the beach, however, are lots of high-riise hotels/housing. Personally, we prefer more of the low-rise, less-busy settings. The varied shades of the blue waters were so great. We had a fun part of the afternoon to be here. BUT, it was hot this day with a very intense sun. Did we enjoy? Yes!:

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2015 by TLCOhio

[pmoniz]

That sounds like a good plan that you have!

 

 

 

There is one excursion that has 1 hour of sightseeing and then goes to Moomba beach. I'm thinking we may switch to that one that way we can at least say we saw the island.

 

 

Could you tell me how you booked that excursion. That's something we'd be interested in??

[gkrnjlr]

Could you tell me how you booked that excursion. That's something we'd be interested in??

 

It's booked directly through Carnival!

[Hatteras51]

It's booked directly through Carnival!

 

Glad to see you back on CC. I hope that you and my favorite city are starting to recover from the terrible flooding.

[gkrnjlr]

Glad to see you back on CC. I hope that you and my favorite city are starting to recover from the terrible flooding.

 

Thanks! It got really nasty here! We didn't have any damage to our house, thank goodness. The road to the entrance to our neighborhood is washed out; and the road to the back entrance to our neighborhood is completely gone now. We have had to learn a new way in and out of the neighborhood. Hopefully they'll get the roads fixed/replaced soon. A LOT of people here and in Columbia got hit really hard. :(

 

What part of VA are you in? I grew up there.

[Hatteras51]

Thanks! It got really nasty here! We didn't have any damage to our house, thank goodness. The road to the entrance to our neighborhood is washed out; and the road to the back entrance to our neighborhood is completely gone now. We have had to learn a new way in and out of the neighborhood. Hopefully they'll get the roads fixed/replaced soon. A LOT of people here and in Columbia got hit really hard. :(

 

What part of VA are you in? I grew up there.

 

 

Glad to hear that your house is ok. So sorry to hear about the roads in your neighborhood. The pictures I've seen of Charleston and Columbia look horrific! I live just south of Richmond, in Midlothian, and grew up in Henrico Co. I've also lived in Va. Beach, and went to college in Harrisonburg.

[gkrnjlr]

Glad to hear that your house is ok. So sorry to hear about the roads in your neighborhood. The pictures I've seen of Charleston and Columbia look horrific! I live just south of Richmond, in Midlothian, and grew up in Henrico Co. I've also lived in Va. Beach, and went to college in Harrisonburg.

 

Yes! Some areas really got destroyed. Ack!

Ah! I grew up in Christiansburg (close to Virginia Tech).

[pmoniz]

It's booked directly through Carnival!

 

Perfect thank you!

[gkrnjlr]

Perfect thank you!

 

You're welcome!