Transportation question

[grangermom]

First of all, hello to everyone. This is my first post. I can't believe the wealth of information on these boards! Anyway, we are sailing with RCCL in April. Instead of looking for day passes at a hotel in Aruba, I went ahead and booked a room at the Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. I'm using Marriott points, and thought it would be nice to have a room to go to for showering/resting/snacks, etc. Our ship is in port until 1 a.m., so we'll probably stay at the Marriott all evening. I was planning to rent a car, but it appears that all the rental cars have to be back to the pier by 6 p.m. I have read about city busses. How do I catch one after getting off the ship? Any idea what taxi fare would be per person? Would it be unsafe to take a bus back to the pier after dark? Thanks in advance for any help, and thanks so much for all the valuable info on these message boards.

[Kibaima]

The bus station is located almost directly in front of the cruise terminal. You have to cross the street though. If I'm not mistaken the fare to Marriot is about Afls 2.00 per person. I'm not sure if this is for a roundtrip. Exchange rate is Afls 1.75 for 1 US$ so it's really cheap. The taxis charge a fixed rate. It must be around US$ 20.00 for the vehicle with a max of four persons I believe. The bus will pick you up either very close or at the hotel, and as I mentioned before, since the bus station is very close to the cruise terminal it shouldn't be a problem taking the bus back to the pier after dark.

[grangermom]

That is great to know about the busses. What a huge savings.

[smoothdancer]

You are at a great location to be in Aruba for the day. You really dont need a car. The bus stops are everywhere and run so often, are safe and you will be fine.

 

All of the Aruba hotels and timeshares really do schedule themselves around flight times in and out, check in time usually being late afternoon. You may want to keep that in mind leaving the ship. You will however be able to use all of the accomodations right away. Have a great day stay!

[jolly pirates]

First of all, hello to everyone. This is my first post. I can't believe the wealth of information on these boards! Anyway, we are sailing with RCCL in April. Instead of looking for day passes at a hotel in Aruba, I went ahead and booked a room at the Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. I'm using Marriott points, and thought it would be nice to have a room to go to for showering/resting/snacks, etc. Our ship is in port until 1 a.m., so we'll probably stay at the Marriott all evening. I was planning to rent a car, but it appears that all the rental cars have to be back to the pier by 6 p.m. I have read about city busses. How do I catch one after getting off the ship? Any idea what taxi fare would be per person? Would it be unsafe to take a bus back to the pier after dark? Thanks in advance for any help, and thanks so much for all the valuable info on these message boards.

 

hi grangermom,

 

if you are still opting for a car rental many car rental companies will let you keep your car after 6pm and later to accommodate your late departure at the marriott.

 

As the other posters have mentioned, the busses are very reliable as well. the fare is $1.25 per person each way. The busses run until midnight.

 

A cab would cost apprx $12 ea way. You can expect on sundays and holidays the rate is a few dollars more.

 

You will fiind it is very easy to find a cab at the terminal. The bus station is directly across the street.

 

Your marriott idea you hv with your bonus points sounds like a great idea. There are plenty of activities you can do there right there with watersports and etcs.

 

hv a great time!

[grangermom]

My DH thinks I'm crazy for wanting to use those points when we're not even staying overnight. Thanks again to everyone for their comments.