Equinox to Aruba Cruise Review, Feb 9, 2023

[LeeW]

Bus is not number 1, it is any of the number 10 buses.  Fare is $2.60 US or $5 for roundtrip.  You can buy the single trip on the bus but roundtrip is sold in the booth at the bus station.  See arubus.com for details.  Bus runs around every 20 minutes.

[mafig]

Most of those hotels also have casinos.  We took the number 10 but and hit most of the hotel casinos.  I remember this because we both won at each one.  This was about 8 years ago.   We promised ourselves we'd go back....but haven't...;yet.

[T1403]

Great Review, Thanks for Sharing.  I will be doing a similar cruise on the Equinox in May.  Did you dine at all in the Oceanview Cafe Buffet Restaurant?  I heard that they really cut down on what they offer there.  I heard that several food stations were completely empty and that Celebrity was cutting back on what they're offering there.  Just curious if that was true.  Thanks again for  great review!

[lola2013]

27 minutes ago, T1403 said:

Great Review, Thanks for Sharing.  I will be doing a similar cruise on the Equinox in May.  Did you dine at all in the Oceanview Cafe Buffet Restaurant?  I heard that they really cut down on what they offer there.  I heard that several food stations were completely empty and that Celebrity was cutting back on what they're offering there.  Just curious if that was true.  Thanks again for  great review!

I was on the same crew with Jordan.  I found the OVC dinner okay…not as many choices as in the past but certainly a good variety.  My only disappointment was that there was no stir fry station.  That’s my favorite and I was really looking forward to it.  

[JordanF]

On 3/20/2023 at 4:48 PM, ISHMAEL said:

We go to Aruba quite often, so I thought I would toss in a few ideas. If you want to snorkel, go to Boca Catalina up at the north end of the island. That is where most of the snorkel trips take you, but you can access the good spots from shore, There are three beaches in that area and there is a large area of sea grass which the turtles love. We were there in March and saw lots of turtles. There are not many Palapas and no guys renting umbrellas there. There are also no washrooms (On Shore) and no bars.

Arashi beach up farther is a nice beach with umbrellas and chairs to rent and it now has a bar and washroom. 

Closer to your port, Eagle Beach is constantly ranked as one of the beat in the world. There are several resorts there and they are very protective of their chairs, but the beach is public. They have a bar there, and there are washrooms at La Cabana.

To access these beaches you can get a bus at the central bus station across the road from the cruise port. A number 1 bus heads to the High Rise hotels (bus stop at the Amsterdam Manor for Eagle Beach, Holiday Inn area for Palm Beach) and some of them go up to Arashi. Just check with the driver. The bus up to Arashi runs every half hour. The bus fare is $3 US each way.

 

The beaches are more crowded than when we first started going to Arubi 13 years ago, but then what vacation spot isn't?

 

 

Our go to move on Aruba is to go to the beach.  Done that every time we've been there (3 times total).  The beaches there are very nice.  (Somehow, also, after the beach we have ended up shopping for jewelry for the wife  good luck two times in a row at the Artistic Boutique--just a bit off the main drag.)

[ISHMAEL]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:03 PM, LeeW said:

Bus is not number 1, it is any of the number 10 buses.  Fare is $2.60 US or $5 for roundtrip.  You can buy the single trip on the bus but roundtrip is sold in the booth at the bus station.  See arubus.com for details.  Bus runs around every 20 minutes.

Thanks for the bus number correction. Warning about the $5 round trip card is it has to be used for the two legs of the trip, or maybe at least on the same day.. A few years ago we had a friend with us who had two cards and used one to go to Arashi and the other to come back. The next day he found he now had two useless cards.

[JordanF]

On 3/22/2023 at 7:09 PM, T1403 said:

Great Review, Thanks for Sharing.  I will be doing a similar cruise on the Equinox in May.  Did you dine at all in the Oceanview Cafe Buffet Restaurant?  I heard that they really cut down on what they offer there.  I heard that several food stations were completely empty and that Celebrity was cutting back on what they're offering there.  Just curious if that was true.  Thanks again for  great review!

I found the buffet to be pretty full of good choices for breakfast and lunch.  We had dinner there a few times and they have fewer choices at dinner, but still plenty.  Maybe half or so stations were open at dinner, but way fewer people there than at breakfast and lunch.  One thing I noticed as a change from the past (maybe the way past)--they used to have giant plates--now just regular sized plates.  Never left there hungry or dissatisfied. 

[UnaPalomita]

Awesome review! Thanks for sharing!

 

Not sure what the cruise lines are smoking, I know they have to increase pricing all around but the drink package makes zero sense to purchase unless you're drunk all day! I guess it's more like having an all inclusive trip and not worrying about drink prices? I dunno. 

 

I was going to book the equinox, but unfortunately it skips Bonaire. We settled for the Reflection, which seems older and not as fancy. Need to cross ABC off our list! 

 

[Big_G]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:08 AM, Travelw said:

Just saw this review, so I am commenting on the original comments.  We agree that boarding is very quick, with having all info on the app.  With that said, we are not fans of having to get all the data prepared before arriving at the terminal.  My wife and I are in our early 70s and not real tech savvy.  Having to take security photos and upload, upload passports, etc. is a very frustrating process.  All cruise lines do this now, what happened to customer service and making it an enjoyable experience for passengers.  Maybe we are in the minority, maybe not, but that is our opinion.

 

You can still do it the old fashioned way. We still check-in on the website and print out the boarding passes. I stopped uploading my photo because they kept taking another at the pier. My wife has never uploaded a photo. Sometimes a paper boarding pass is quicker than the guy who can't get the app open on his phone. Do what's easier for you.

[JordanF]

22 hours ago, UnaPalomita said:

Awesome review! Thanks for sharing!

 

Not sure what the cruise lines are smoking, I know they have to increase pricing all around but the drink package makes zero sense to purchase unless you're drunk all day! I guess it's more like having an all inclusive trip and not worrying about drink prices? I dunno. 

 

I was going to book the equinox, but unfortunately it skips Bonaire. We settled for the Reflection, which seems older and not as fancy. Need to cross ABC off our list! 

 

I have also been on the Reflection.  The Reflection and the Equinox are both Solstice class ships and seem pretty similar to me.  While I am sure there are a few differences, I suspect you aren't missing all that much by taking one ship or the other.  Enjoy Bonaire!

[gfkcruiser]

22 hours ago, UnaPalomita said:

Awesome review! Thanks for sharing!

 

Not sure what the cruise lines are smoking, I know they have to increase pricing all around but the drink package makes zero sense to purchase unless you're drunk all day! I guess it's more like having an all inclusive trip and not worrying about drink prices? I dunno. 

 

I was going to book the equinox, but unfortunately it skips Bonaire. We settled for the Reflection, which seems older and not as fancy. Need to cross ABC off our list! 

 

The Reflection is newer.  Some changes were made with pool deck plans.  Just got off the Equinox B2B.  Went to ABC islands on first segment.