What is the best resort day pass in Aruba.

[cruisehome]

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[ptf2009]

On 11/6/2018 at 10:14 AM, cruisetimeforme said:

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

We just booked Barcelo through Car.DayPass and saw that shorexc. passes were sold out for the same day. I hope we don't have a problem. I also noticed that Barcelo was sold out that night for anyone who wanted to stay. there. Not sure why .......

[Arzeena]

On 10/16/2019 at 3:06 PM, ptf2009 said:

We just booked Barcelo through Car.DayPass and saw that shorexc. passes were sold out for the same day. I hope we don't have a problem. I also noticed that Barcelo was sold out that night for anyone who wanted to stay. there. Not sure why .......

Had the same experience with shore excursioneer showing sold out and Caribbean day pass showing availability.
But Barcelo is available for $366 for that night.

[ptf2009]

14 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Had the same experience with shore excursioneer showing sold out and Caribbean day pass showing availability.
But Barcelo is available for $366 for that night.

Okay..thanks for the info....I must have looked at the wrong date.  We still did not receive an email from caribbean day pass with our passes. The initial we rec'd said they were processing our request with our $30 receipt. 

[Arzeena]

On 10/18/2019 at 10:18 AM, ptf2009 said:

Okay..thanks for the info....I must have looked at the wrong date.  We still did not receive an email from caribbean day pass with our passes. The initial we rec'd said they were processing our request with our $30 receipt. 

Update: We booked with Caribbean Day pass. Waited 48 hrs as they suggest. Then we emailed again to follow up and they replied that day pass booking was confirmed  and that they will be emailing us the vouchers. Vouchers arrived via email.

[ptf2009]

10 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Update: We booked with Caribbean Day pass. Waited 48 hrs as they suggest. Then we emailed again to follow up and they replied that day pass booking was confirmed  and that they will be emailing us the vouchers. Vouchers arrived via email.

We rec'd our day passes also.....a little more than the 48 hrs after the email...but before the end of the day:) So all is good and we look so forward to going to Barcelo next month:)

[dctravel]

On 1/7/2019 at 8:47 PM, cheeseclan said:

 

 

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?

We used resortforaday dot com to book day passes at the RIU Palace. They have a family hotel and an adults-only hotel that are roughly (if not exactly) the same price. Both are all inclusive.

 

We did the family friendly resort and loved it. We were treated the same as the hotel guests. Loved the bartenders and drinks, the games they did for the kids in the pool, the food was good, and the beach was calm and clean. We also borrowed snorkel gear from them and just swam around the beach area looking a fish. It was a relaxing day!

[IndyCapt]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 10:16 PM, ptf2009 said:

We rec'd our day passes also.....a little more than the 48 hrs after the email...but before the end of the day:) So all is good and we look so forward to going to Barcelo next month:)

Can you report back on your experience? We'll be there for the day pass in mid-January. It has good reviews on here but hoped to hear from someone with really recent visit....thanks in advance!

[ptf2009]

On 11/8/2019 at 7:24 PM, IndyCapt said:

Can you report back on your experience? We'll be there for the day pass in mid-January. It has good reviews on here but hoped to hear from someone with really recent visit....thanks in advance!

I sure will!...We go the first week of Dec.:)

[IndyCapt]

11 hours ago, ptf2009 said:

I sure will!...We go the first week of Dec.:)

Great thanks! ....enjoy your visit!

[ptf2009]

On 11/8/2019 at 7:24 PM, IndyCapt said:

Can you report back on your experience? We'll be there for the day pass in mid-January. It has good reviews on here but hoped to hear from someone with really recent visit....thanks in advance!

As I promised you, I'm reporting back about our experience at Barcelo's last week. It was a really nice place! We arrived around 10:00a.m., but wish we would have arrived at 9:00 because it was such a wonderful resort:) The pool is very large and clean and the clientele represented all ages. The beach was beautiful with lots of shaded areas. The resort appeared very safe as there were several security guys making sure everyone had a band on their wrists. The food was good, not fantastic, but good. We didn't go for breakfast because we couldn't wait to enjoy the beach and pool areas. Lunch is from 12:00-3:00p.m.  I don't drink, but my DH had several margaritas. I saw several people with frozen drinks that looked delicious.

Would we go again? YES! The RIU was a couple hotels away from us, so we may try that one next time, just to compare. I would suggest that you call Barcelo before you book with a 3rd party and see if they will sell you a pass cheaper. We didn't do that, but talking to some other cruisers, they said that they always call the hotels directly for day passes.

[IndyCapt]

8 minutes ago, ptf2009 said:

As I promised you, I'm reporting back about our experience at Barcelo's last week. It was a really nice place! We arrived around 10:00a.m., but wish we would have arrived at 9:00 because it was such a wonderful resort:) The pool is very large and clean and the clientele represented all ages. The beach was beautiful with lots of shaded areas. The resort appeared very safe as there were several security guys making sure everyone had a band on their wrists. The food was good, not fantastic, but good. We didn't go for breakfast because we couldn't wait to enjoy the beach and pool areas. Lunch is from 12:00-3:00p.m.  I don't drink, but my DH had several margaritas. I saw several people with frozen drinks that looked delicious.

Would we go again? YES! The RIU was a couple hotels away from us, so we may try that one next time, just to compare. I would suggest that you call Barcelo before you book with a 3rd party and see if they will sell you a pass cheaper. We didn't do that, but talking to some other cruisers, they said that they always call the hotels directly for day passes.

Thanks so much for the follow-up! We go mid-January so we had already purchased passes through a 3rd party. We'll remember to call the resort directly if we go back in the future. We'll try to get there as close to 9am as possible. So, is it open bar with the Day passes? Thanks again for the review!

[ptf2009]

1 hour ago, IndyCapt said:

Thanks so much for the follow-up! We go mid-January so we had already purchased passes through a 3rd party. We'll remember to call the resort directly if we go back in the future. We'll try to get there as close to 9am as possible. So, is it open bar with the Day passes? Thanks again for the review!

Yes, open bar is included with the day passes. There is a bar in the pool and in the restaurant. There are also waiters on the beach who will take your order. My DH ordered from the pool bar and got me my water there also. If you arrive at 9:00 you may want to check out what they serve for breakfast. I hope you have as much fun as we did! No problem getting a taxi back to the port for $16 per taxi.

[IndyCapt]

34 minutes ago, ptf2009 said:

Yes, open bar is included with the day passes. There is a bar in the pool and in the restaurant. There are also waiters on the beach who will take your order. My DH ordered from the pool bar and got me my water there also. If you arrive at 9:00 you may want to check out what they serve for breakfast. I hope you have as much fun as we did! No problem getting a taxi back to the port for $16 per taxi.

One more question: do we need to take towels from the ship or do they hand those out when you arrive? We're looking forward to a nice/relaxing day. Thanks again for all the info!

[ihopfar]

Also going to Barcelo soon and wondering about the included breakfast and lunch.  Can you go eat in your swim suit or do you need to change?  Is it safe to leave your stuff at your beach loungers when you eat?

 

Thanks!

Brad 

[drafterdw]

How did you book this.....thru ship or hotel. We actually stayed there for a week and had hoped to go out to private beach. I have looked on line at their web site and can't find anything. Our ship does not offer this as an excursion. Would love to have info but we leave this Sunday.....

[drafterdw]

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 did you book this. I have looked on line and can't find anything. I do not see anything thru my ship. This is exactly what we want to do.

[teknoge3k]

2 hours ago, drafterdw said:

How did you book this. I have looked on line and can't find anything. I do not see anything thru my ship. This is exactly what we want to do.

 

We booked a night directly through the Renaissance Aruba so we had access to the island. Then at the end of the day we just went back to the ship. We never, ever book anything through the ship. 

[LookingForward2]

22 hours ago, drafterdw said:

How did you book this. I have looked on line and can't find anything. I do not see anything thru my ship. This is exactly what we want to do.

They have a new policy now.  You can only book through their website at 24 hours prior to your arrival date.  (you used to be able to walk up the day you arrive)
https://renaissancearuba.idaypass.com. 
We’ve been there both from a cruise then staying at the resort for land vacation. 
We love this private beach. 

[bizeemom4]

Hi. The Barcelo site does not mention anything about wifi. Is it available and included in the $77 price?

[cruisemein]

4 minutes ago, bizeemom4 said:

Hi. The Barcelo site does not mention anything about wifi. Is it available and included in the $77 price?

Wifi was only available in the hotel lobby but it was included in the price.

[bizeemom4]

Awesome. Thanks.