What is the best resort day pass in Aruba.

[Nashna]

We are in Aruba on a HAL cruise for one day in January, 2019.  We are looking to spend the day relaxing on a nice resort beach.  We would enjoy having a pool and a decent restaurant.  Which one do you recommend? 

[kruisinkris]

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 2:12 PM, Nashna said:

We are in Aruba on a HAL cruise for one day in January, 2019.  We are looking to spend the day relaxing on a nice resort beach.  We would enjoy having a pool and a decent restaurant.  Which one do you recommend? 

 

We're going on our cruise in 2 weeks. Aruba is one of the stops. We've currently reserved a day pass for the Barcelo Occidental Grand. I'll post how it was when we get back (about a month from now). Since your cruise isn't until January, you'll still have plenty of time to book it or something else.

Kris

[Nashna]

17 hours ago, kruisinkris said:

 

We're going on our cruise in 2 weeks. Aruba is one of the stops. We've currently reserved a day pass for the Barcelo Occidental Grand. I'll post how it was when we get back (about a month from now). Since your cruise isn't until January, you'll still have plenty of time to book it or something else.

Kris

That would be great.  We have been looking at Barcelo.  Aruba is our last port stop before we head back to FLL.  I want to experience that sunshine and warmth before we go back to January's cold.

[cruisemein]

We were just there last Thursday, at Barcelo, fantastic.  We would definitely do it again. Taxi was $16 for a ride, whether 2 or 4 each way. Takes less than 10 minutes to get there.  Bar service was great in the morning, they would always bring you 2 of any thing you ordered. After noon pretty much hit and miss.  Food was good.  The beach was outstanding, water was  refreshing.  Getting a taxi back was very easy...it was our favorite port of our cruise. Any questions?

[l1lgreekprincess]

Where did you purchase the day pass?

[cruisemein]

We purchased the day passes from Shore Excursioner, I believe it was $80 pp.

[Nashna]

On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 10:06 PM, cruisemein said:

We were just there last Thursday, at Barcelo, fantastic.  We would definitely do it again. Taxi was $16 for a ride, whether 2 or 4 each way. Takes less than 10 minutes to get there.  Bar service was great in the morning, they would always bring you 2 of any thing you ordered. After noon pretty much hit and miss.  Food was good.  The beach was outstanding, water was  refreshing.  Getting a taxi back was very easy...it was our favorite port of our cruise. Any questions?

Thank you for the post.  I do have some questions.  I had read on another post that Barcelo limited where day pass holders could sit.  Did that happen to you?  Were you able to get chairs in the shade?  Are you limited to a certain restaurant?  Do they offer bar service on the beach?  A $80.00 per person price seems to be very reasonable.  I'm so glad you thought it was a great option.  

[cruisemein]

28 minutes ago, Nashna said:

Thank you for the post.  I do have some questions.  I had read on another post that Barcelo limited where day pass holders could sit.  Did that happen to you?  Were you able to get chairs in the shade?  Are you limited to a certain restaurant?  Do they offer bar service on the beach?  A $80.00 per person price seems to be very reasonable.  I'm so glad you thought it was a great option.  

When we arrived we checked in at the front desk, paid and were given our wrist band.  We inquired about the internet and we were given the password but it was only available in their lobby,  We took an elevator down to the pool and beach area and proceeded to get our towels.  We were told at the towel desk that we had to have cards to get the towels, went back up to the front desk and they apologized and gave us the cards for the towels.  We then went to the beach, as we prefer that over the pool, and found 2 loungers under the shade, did not appear that we were limited to where we were allowed to go.  We then went and had breakfast at the buffet, good selection, pretty much what you would find on the ship. Went back to our loungers and stayed there, or in the water, the whole day.  Bar service on the beach was great during the morning, we would order a beer and margarita and they would bring us 2 of each.  We tipped and they came by frequently. After noon we never saw them again, had to go to the pool bar for service.  There was a closer bar but was told I had the wrong colored wristband.  We didn't eat lunch and had to be back on the ship by 3:30 so we left around 2:30 caught a taxi, with another couple back to the port and wandered around there til it was time to get back on the ship.  All in all a great day, just what we wanted.

[Nashna]

Thanks for the great report.  We will be sure to get the towel cards when we check in.  It is also good to know about the internet.  We are in port from 7:00am until 5:00pm, so will be sure to get there early.  I just booked the Day Pass on Shore Excursioneer.  Their rate was the lowest that I saw at $84.00.  Aruba is our last port stop so we are thrilled to spend the day on the beach before we go back to the freezing temps of January.  Again, thanks so much for sharing your experiences at Barcelo.  You really helped to make our decision to go.   

[OCruisers]

De Palm Island is a nice place to spend the day -- food, drinks, everything is included.

Most cruise lines offer this as an excursion. 

[canadarocks]

Caribbeandaypass offers the same day pass (or afternoon pass) for $77. 

[teknoge3k]

We have reservations at the Renaissance Aruba so we can go to Flamingo Island. I am so excited to go to the private island and see the flamingos! 

[cruisetimeforme]

We booked Barcelo for $77 p/p through Caribbean Day Pass for the 1-9 pm as our port time will be 10am till midnight. Hope we'll find chairs with shade at the beach and/or around the pool. Looking forward to our day, Dec 4th

[kruisinkris]

Back from our cruise. We loved the Barcelo Occidental Grand so much that my DH wants to investigate staying there.

When I did my research for Aruba day passes, I saw one for $130 pp for the RIU (through "resort for a day" and the one for the Barcelo for $84.99 pp (said was a discount from regular $99 price) through ShoreExcursioneer.. I also checked out the website for "Caribbean Day Pass" but thought the website looked a little sketchy. Well, if I had read through the review my dear friend Jamman54 posted about our Feb 2017 cruise on the Pride closer to this (11/2018) cruise date, I would have noticed that they booked through Caribbean day pass dot com & would have gotten a better rate for my group. Oh, well. Here is the link to his review (it talks about Aruba & the resort, etc starting on post #556 (pg 14/15): 

 His wife Patti takes awesome pictures. The resort was just like they show in the pictures.  There were only 2 negatives for me:

1) the taxis aren't allowed to take more than 5 people at a time & we had a group of 6. 2) It appears a lot of the palapas on the beach are reserved for certain people staying at the resort & the large palapa Jeff shows in his review didn't have enough chairs available for 6 when we got there. So if your ship arrives early, get off the ship and get over there quick. If your ship arrives a little later, be aware you might not get a lot of shade. There was shade from a building when we got there but it only stayed around a couple of hours.

Positives: 1) The beach & sea were fantastic! 2) The people working there were very helpful. 3) They have 2 very clean restrooms with easy accessibility from the beach or the pool. 3) The pool itself was wonderful! 4) While I can get a little "off put" by buffets, their breakfast buffet & their lunch buffet were both amazing! The choices were great, hot foods stayed hot, cold foods stayed cold & they kept things covered that needed to be covered.

 

Hope this is helpful.

[Bethany Beach]

The hotel web site mentions snorkeling.  We stayed on one of the high rises on Palm Beach a few years ago and I don't remember that there was any even average snorkeling from the beach    Did you notice any information about snorkeling while you were there or do they have snorkel trips that leave from there?

[Wilson]

8 hours ago, Bethany Beach said:

The hotel web site mentions snorkeling.  We stayed on one of the high rises on Palm Beach a few years ago and I don't remember that there was any even average snorkeling from the beach    Did you notice any information about snorkeling while you were there or do they have snorkel trips that leave from there?

 

We were at Barcelo last year and there was absolutely nothing to see when snorkeling. Went back last month and paid about $50 to go out for 3 hours with a local company by boat. GREAT views of the shipwreck and saw lots of fish. There are two or three companies selling snorkel tours on the beach near the resort. 

 

We are returning to Aruba in Dec and trying the RIU. A little more expensive but the resort appears to be much larger.

[cheeseclan]

Wilson, wondering how the Riu hotel was?  Which one did you go to?  Did you have problems getting a chair in the shade?  How was good etc?

 

getting ready to book one of these ASAP  for our upcoming cruise.

Edited January 3, 2019 by cheeseclan

[Wilson]

On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 9:05 PM, cheeseclan said:

Wilson, wondering how the Riu hotel was?  Which one did you go to?  Did you have problems getting a chair in the shade?  How was good etc?

 

getting ready to book one of these ASAP  for our upcoming cruise.

 

Sorry, I am just now seeing your post. Riu overall was just okay. Riu did not have anyone serving drinks on the beach. We got there very early and got the last shaded spot. The folks staying at the property had already come out and claimed their loungers with books and towels. You had to walk to the pool. Lots of people smoking which is a huge turn off for us. Buffet food was meh. The steakhouse was closed for unknown reasons. Only 1 beer and all the alcohol, no matter if you asked for whiskey, vodka or tequila, was the same unknown brand and was not good. Pool and property beautiful but we will not return. We preferred the small and less expensive property, Barcelo.

[cheeseclan]

 

 

I did not hear back so already booked the Riu Palace.  Hopefully will be a good time!!

 

will keep fingers crossed...

 

which one did you got to?

Edited January 8, 2019 by cheeseclan

[Wilson]

1 hour ago, cheeseclan said:

 

which one did you got to?

 

The one open to families. The all adult seemed small. 

 

[crazycruzer68]

On 11/5/2018 at 9:39 AM, teknoge3k said:

We have reservations at the Renaissance Aruba so we can go to Flamingo Island. I am so excited to go to the private island and see the flamingos! 

 

On 11/5/2018 at 9:39 AM, teknoge3k said:

We have reservations at the Renaissance Aruba so we can go to Flamingo Island. I am so excited to go to the private island and see the flamingos! 

We are looking at this as well, I would love to hear how your day was there. 

[FinelyRetired]

On 11/5/2018 at 9:39 AM, teknoge3k said:

We have reservations at the Renaissance Aruba so we can go to Flamingo Island. I am so excited to go to the private island and see the flamingos! 

How was your day pass there? Would love to hear.

[teknoge3k]

1 minute ago, FinelyRetired said:

How was your day pass there? Would love to hear.

 

We really enjoyed it. I have no complaints at all. It was nice to go back to a hotel room after our long day on the beach and take showers and rest for a bit before going out in Oranjestad shopping and to dinner. 

[FinelyRetired]

On 9/24/2019 at 1:50 PM, teknoge3k said:

 

We really enjoyed it. I have no complaints at all. It was nice to go back to a hotel room after our long day on the beach and take showers and rest for a bit before going out in Oranjestad shopping and to dinner. 

Thanks for your prompt reply. Most helpful.

[TTEllis]

The Barcelo nicest day pass on Aruba, was here with other cruisers about 18 months ago, other than maybe hanging out on Eagle Beach at this point when it comes to Aruba I'm not sure I would go anywhere else.