Just back from 1 week in Aruba...thanks for the help everyone!

[sgriff17]

It was an incredible vacation and we'd be happy to answer any questions if you have any. Of course, we weren't on a ship this time but we certainly can answer any questions if you ARE coming by sea :)

 

Thanks for your help ArubaLisa!;)

[Arubalisa]

It was an incredible vacation and we'd be happy to answer any questions if you have any. Of course, we weren't on a ship this time but we certainly can answer any questions if you ARE coming by sea :)

 

Thanks for your help ArubaLisa!;)

You are welcome. So happy to hear that you had such an enjoyable vacation. Details? Our trip in December is way too far away and there is a need to live vicariously through others. :)

[serene56]

yes--- details--the more the better.

 

did you decide to go to aruba after visiting with a cruise?

 

where did you stay?

 

where did you eat?

 

how was the airport when heading home?

[Arubalisa]

how was the airport when heading home?

:D :p THAT airport is almost always miserable WHEN you are coming home. The good thing is going through US Customs and Immigration there instead of in the US. The bad thing is the horrible lines you have to wait in to get all of that done before you reach your departure gate.

[serene56]

is it like that every day? seems time share people go from saturday-to saturday.

no matter how i look at it--its cheaper to leave on saturday when comparing leaving on friday or sunday

[horsesandcruises]

We are like everyone else on here and use cruises to scout out the islands for favorites that we go back to later for land vacations. We fell in love with aruba and are going for 10 days in sept 07 with another couple that we met on a cruise several years ago. I went through several hours of hell booking the air using our frequent flyer miles but boy was it worth it. Saved a ton of money. Then had one of my employees give us their time share for a week at the casa del mar. We are also doing a couple of nights at the Manchebo with the newly remodeled rooms. Can't wait. Only thing that we have not figured out is how much top quality wine that we can haul down there and not pay taxes to the aruban folks at the airport. I know how much everything costs on the island but with free air and lodging, i guess life is good and i am sure that the hong store has some nice wines. I can taste a steak at the french steakhouse now. Any input that arubalisa or anyone else on this thread can help me with or share good experiences, we would love to hear about it. thanks so much and have a great day.....

[Arubalisa]

We are like everyone else on here and use cruises to scout out the islands for favorites that we go back to later for land vacations. We fell in love with aruba and are going for 10 days in sept 07 with another couple that we met on a cruise several years ago. I went through several hours of hell booking the air using our frequent flyer miles but boy was it worth it. Saved a ton of money. Then had one of my employees give us their time share for a week at the casa del mar. We are also doing a couple of nights at the Manchebo with the newly remodeled rooms. Can't wait. Only thing that we have not figured out is how much top quality wine that we can haul down there and not pay taxes to the aruban folks at the airport. I know how much everything costs on the island but with free air and lodging, i guess life is good and i am sure that the hong store has some nice wines. I can taste a steak at the french steakhouse now. Any input that arubalisa or anyone else on this thread can help me with or share good experiences, we would love to hear about it. thanks so much and have a great day.....

It sounds like you are off to a terrific start with your planning! I am green with envy for sure.

 

Don't haul that wine with you though. Airports suck enough life out of you as it is. Take advantage of the inexpensive South American wines (you know those Chilean wines people rave about :) ) sold right in the grocery store http://www.lingandsons.com/ in Aruba.

 

Don't forget too that Aruba has her very own Balashi, locally brewed beer and Amstel Bright (that is BRIGHT not Lite), brewed in Cuacao and sold only in the Netherlands and Netherlands Antilles. I stopped drinking beer 20 years ago after college and only now have rediscovered the joy of beer through these two fine products.

 

Feel free to email me.

[sgriff17]

Our pictures for the trip are up! You can see them by following our webshots link below.

 

We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club in a 1 bedroom unit and it was amazing! Between that and the Surf Club, I'd pick the Ocean since it isn't as crowded.

 

We got lucky on the way home, we were only delayed 2 hours. We had some friends who were flying to Dayton via Charlotte who were delayed in Aruba NINE hours...missed their connection (obviously) and had to spend the night in the Charlotte airport.

 

I'll let my wife write a detailed report, she loves doing that :)

 

Take a look at our pics in the meantime, we had SUCH a GREAT time.

 

We always are happy to leave cruises after one week....too much eating, sun, activity, drinks...did I mention food? But wow we could stay in Aruba forever I think :)

[serene56]

my biggest fear is being bored with a land vacation--how often do you take those with comparing a cruise?

 

i been on 10 cruises since 2000 and think i am cruised out.

 

tell your wife--im patient but could she hurry with a trip report--and if it could be detailed it would be better for me..lol

[sgriff17]

Serene - MrsSgriff17 here. I promise I will have something posted by this time tomorrow. My boss is out of the office tomorrow, so I should have some free time to write up a detailed review!:)

 

In regards to your question, this is our 1st land based vacation since our honeymoon and even that was 1/2 land 1/2 cruise, so besides long weekend and our annual 4th of July beach week, this is our 1st "exotic" land vacation, and honestly I loved it. I felt as if I could relax and although there were times at night where it was nice to have a comedian or show to go to, I didn't feel like we were missing out on anything. I feel like I didn't gain 10 lbs and didn't eat 20 more meals than I was supposed to either. The food on Aruba is amazing and I think we would honestly go back there for the food alone - I can't say that about a cruise ship.

 

Anyways, I will post a trip report tomorrow, but all I can say is that if you are thinking about going to Aruba - GO! It was by far one of the nicer caribbean islands we have traveled to - only behind Bermuda.

 

Oh and no, we had never travelled to Aruba via cruise before, so it was an all around 1st for us.

 

More tomorrow! :D

[serene56]

mrsgriff--- i think i am beyond thinking-- i got the date sep, 2008 (yes, long time away) staying at the raddison.

got my places set up to eat. places to see during the week.

i thought aruba would be the best place to check out a land vacvation--priced st thomas so we can island hope and wow---i would have to take out a second mortgage.

 

after dinner--what was it you did..

 

ok--ill wait for your trip report--and thanks

[Cassandra]

We stayed at Casa Del Mar 3 years ago. My BF's parents own the Presidential Suite for a 3 week timeshare, so we went for 2 weeks.

 

I've been to Aruba before, so not much had changed in the few years I was gone except some new hotels & such. And the airport changed drastically!

 

When I had gone back in the 90's, you got off the airplane & walked to the terminal which was tiny back then. Today's its like a typical airport, but only with a few slots for planes plus only 1 runway for landing/takeoff. They all takeoff & land in the same direction.

 

The only thing I would highly recommend if you are staying there for vacation is when you are leaving, get to the airport about 5 hours ahead of your flight. There are hundreds & hundreds of people leaving at the same time, its only 1 terminal for all the flights (again, TINY) and only 1 area for security with everyone going in the same line.

 

Our flight was 5pm back to NY, we got there at 12pm. It took nearly 4 hours to check-in and go through security. So that gives you an idea of how busy it is.

 

All the flights are throughout the afternoon so its a mob. Not much landing at night. I don't know if there's landing lights on the runway at night. I didn't see any, but they could be there.

[sgriff17]

I am going to start another post for my review, but she is right about the airport, but I wouldn't recommend getting there any earlier than 3 hours - we were there 2 hours before and would have been fine even if we didn't have a delay.

[Arubalisa]

sgriff17 thanks so much for sharing you pics. Next best thing to being there!

LOL! After a gourmet meal and all that fresh air on the beach all day, we are more than ready to retire after dinner Heck, we go to bed earlier in Aruba than we do at home. :rolleyes: Must admit, the casinos are not making money off of us.

 

I too am "cruised out". :cool: The other thing no one mentioned is the clothes. For Aruba it is very very simple: bathing suit, cover up, a couple of pairs of shorts, a couple of tops and for the ladies a couple of sundresses for night time. On your feet, depends how much you love shoes, but this chickee can get away with only my sneakers and a pair of sandals for Aruba. How many women take "only" 2 pairs of shoes on a cruise? :D Not many I bet, not many...

[horsesandcruises]

thanks for all of the info, we are salivating over our trip to aruba in sept. We are staying two nights at the manchebo and a week at the casa del mar. in one of their 2-bedroom units. I am looking forward to a nice trip and your comments about the restaurants has us spending extra time on the treadmill. to ARUBALISA, we tried emailing the good folks at Ling grocery three times to get them to deliver a couple cases of nice californian wines to our rooms and they will not respond.....Do you have the email for the Hong store, maybe they will be more receptive to our business. thanks so much and we hope to meet you on some future trip. We seldom hear any negatives from folks that spend time in aruba. We have been to 20 of the caribbean islands and it is our favorite despite the negative stuff that the young lady's tragic demise brought to the island. thanks from the couples from Ky and Ark...........

[horsesandcruises]

thanks for all of the info, we are salivating over our trip to aruba in sept. We are staying two nights at the manchebo and a week at the casa del mar. in one of their 2-bedroom units. I am looking forward to a nice trip and your comments about the restaurants has us spending extra time on the treadmill. to ARUBALISA, we tried emailing the good folks at Ling grocery three times to get them to deliver a couple cases of nice californian wines to our rooms and they will not respond.....Do you have the email for the Hong store, maybe they will be more receptive to our business. thanks so much and we hope to meet you on some future trip. We seldom hear any negatives from folks that spend time in aruba. We have been to 20 of the caribbean islands and it is our favorite despite the negative stuff that the young lady's tragic demise brought to the island. thanks from the couples from Ky and Ark...........

[Cassandra]

As far as I know, Ling's does not deliver. It's a giant grocery store like you have around your own homes. So you grab your rental car & drive over.

No place will deliver alcohol to your room, you are responsible for picking it up.

[Arubalisa]

Sorry to hear about Ling's not responding. Their loss, unless you want to give them a phone call. See info on bottom. On their website they sell an extensive selection of beer, some bottles of alcohol and some Beringer Wines.

 

http://www.lingandsons.com/ling/getPage.do?page=ONLINE_SHOPPING

"Online Shopping @ Ling & Sons

Delivery times

We deliver from Monday to Saturday with time slots of (10:00am - 12:00pm) and (2:00pm - 4:00pm). We don't deliver on Sundays.

All orders must be received by 12noon for next day delivery.

Delivery charge/Pick-up charge

$3 pick-up charge for instore pick-up of customer,

$8 for delivery to customer ($3 pick-up charge plus $5 delivery charge. For every failed delivery add $5).

Minimum order limit of $50 or Afl. 88,50.

Restocking Fee of $10 in the case of cancelled orders. (Please read the Legal Disclaimer for more information)

Payment Options

Credit card transaction is the preferred method of payment. For those who cannot provide their credit card number online, please contact us at 297-5832370 or e-mail us at info@lingandsons.com for more information.

Delivery locations

We deliver to Oranjestad, and Hotel & timeshare areas only.

Prices are subject to change without notice. All products are subject to availability.

Please read the Legal Disclaimer before shopping."

 

Here is contact info for Lings and the other two big ones. Sometimes it is better to just telephone.

[horsesandcruises]

thanks again for all of you valuable info arubalisa, we will find plenty of libation, take care and may the iguana be with you.......:)

[Arubalisa]

thanks again for all of you valuable info arubalisa, we will find plenty of libation, take care and may the iguana be with you.......:)

You are very welcome! Take time out for a toast to me with an Amster Bright while you are there. :D I long for one now, it hasn't been since December...it will be a long hot summer here. :( Enjoy all that Aruba has to offer.

[babygirl0329]

I am going to start another post for my review, but she is right about the airport, but I wouldn't recommend getting there any earlier than 3 hours - we were there 2 hours before and would have been fine even if we didn't have a delay.

Hi there,

I see where you have traveled the W. Carribean, E. Carribean and M. Riviera throughout your years. I just got back in May from the W. Carribean (Freeport, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya) and absolutely LOVED THE CAYMANS AND COSTA MAYA).

 

I was just wondering since you have been to all of those places. Which do you like best and why. My cousin is looking into booking a cruise to the Riviera in Sept. 08. Did you like it? We would be going on Carnival as well.

 

Thank you in advance for your time,

Keri

[clarets1]

Does anyone know if the airport is just as busy for a Friday or Sunday flight? I understand Saturday can be a nightmare.

Thanks.

[serene56]

Does anyone know if the airport is just as busy for a Friday or Sunday flight? I understand Saturday can be a nightmare.

Thanks.

 

 

from researching-- sundays are just as busy as saturdays. Seems half the people go from saturday to saturday-- the other half sunday to sunday.

 

Since we are leaving on Monday- I also priced out Monday through Friday and Monday to Saturday-- It was 200 cheaper to leave on Saturday then on Friday. I guess i can stand the long lines (since i know to expect it--arrive at the airport 3 hours before my flight ) and save the 200.00-

[clarets1]

Would really love to visit Aruba (timeshare exchange) but would have to go for 2 weeks with it being long haul, but what if we didn't like it, 2 weeks is a long time. Thought it might be a good idea to do a cruise that will visit Aruba but then again what are the chances of the ship having to miss due to bad weather(March).

Any advice to help me decide would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

Serene thanks for the airport info.

[serene56]

hmm, i dont think aruba will be missed as a port. It sits out of the hurricane belt.

 

we went to aruba on a cruise- and now thats why i want to go back.

Lots of people do the 2 weeks...me-I think i would get bored since neither of us can just sit and vegetate on the beach for a week.

 

if doing a cruise find one that is in aruba the most time. we were there from 8am until 10pm. the sunset is sincerley the best i have ever seen.. to think its the same sun i seen elsewhere though.

 

there are some aruba boards-- email at serene56@aol.com and ill see what i can send you.

 

a cruise is just as nice though.