Best excursion for Curacao and Aruba?

[tiffstulips]

Just booked on AOS Jan 20, 2008! Cruised before and visited many carribean ports, but never Curacao or Aruba. Suggestions for private excursions? Water or land.....we like it all!:)

[Cindi314]

We were in Curacao and Aruba last November. Although not a private excursion, we did the 4x4 jeep safari in Aruba and had an absolute blast. One of the best excursions we have ever been on. It was an off road adventure in a jeep and included a few hours on depalm island for swimming and snorkling and an all u can eat bbq. On Curacao, we just walked around on our own. Hope this helps.

[karena1]

We took the Atlantis Semi Sub tour in Aruba and that was really good. Booked it online before we left. Before the tour we just got on a bus and did a tour around the island. It was $20 each for about a 3 hour tour. Only thing we found in Aruba - can only have 5 people in a cab. So if you have 6 like we did, you have to take the taxi busses which means waiting until they fill up. Next time we will know and probably arrange for a private driver or something like that.

[cruisingrightalong]

Yep we have done the 4 x 4 Safari in Aruba twice. Once by ourselves and then when we had someone with us...and you are right!!! We enjoyed ourselves immensely! Curacao we walked around...but did enjoy the $24 tourmobile thing! Got the history....just remember when you take the ferry back.....thieves abound on the ferry. Make sure your back is against the wall and such. Yep thieves everywhere but thievery happened on this one but not with us.

 

Lou

[jimbug]

We will be on this itinerary in August - 7 weeks to go!

 

In Aruba, we are walking to the Renaissance Resort and purchasing a day pass, if the resort is at 90% capacity or less. The day pass is $50 and includes lunch, 1 drink, use of all private island facilities and equipment, and non-motorized water sports. If for some reason the resort is over capacity, there is a DePalm Tours activity desk in the lobby - we'll probably just book a day sail if we can instead...

 

In Curacao, one of our fellow CruiseCritic members has organized a group trip to Playa Porto Mari beach. It looks SOOOOO beautiful there, and we are saving at least $5/pp by arranging a private bus, rather than taking individual cabs there.

[bplazo]

We also did the all day 4x4 jeep safari in Aruba and it turned out to be one of our favorite excursions.

[Gonzo70]

The sunset Catamran cruise is fun in Aruba if you are not ready for a break from the sea from spending so much time on the ship. Free open bar too! :D

 

Good snorkeling trips available too. I forget the name of the one I did, but it made two stops; one at a ship wreck and one by a reef. Enjoyed that as well.

 

Aruba is definitely one of my favorite ports.

 

Didn't do anything too exiciting to speak of in Curacao (tram tour). Wouldn't recommend the tram tour. Most exciting thing on the tram tour was a homeless person wave at us and some Puerto Ricans argue with the tour guide because she wasn't doing a bliningual tour. They were'nt missing much by the guide not interpreting! I think I learned some bad words in Spanish though.

 

Have a great cruise; super fun ship and great itinerary.

[love2vacation]

To all of you who booked and enjoyed the 4x4- did you book this through RC?

 

Thanks,

[Cindi314]

I did book the 4x4 through RCI. It was absolutely awesome.

[Sue L]

Curacao has a beautiful underwater snorklel park. We did a boat over to the area but you can actually take a taxi there and go from the beach. There is a sunken tug boat and there was an amazing number of fish.

 

 

In Aruba, stay AWAY from the kayaking tour through RCCL. We had originally booked the bike tour but was canceled for lack of interest. We took the kayak tour and were extremely disappointed. It was basically a marathon kayak followed by a marathon snorkel through an opening from a sheltered area into the open sea lined on both sides with fire corral that can give you rashes and permanent scars, followed again by a marathon kayak. I never thought I would hate a tour but this one was a first.

[negc]

The last two times in Curaçao, we took the Beach Express bus to Blue Bay Beach. The guide on the bus gave us a great commentary on Curaçao enroute, the beach was better than many of the beaches closer to Willemstadt, and there were lounge chairs, umbrellas and swim fins available as part of the excursion. Also a bar and restaurant on the property.

In Aruba, the Kukoo Kunuku excursion is a lot of fun. It is available with or without dinner.:)

[boingy300]

We sailed in May and in Aruba we booked Jolly Pirates (NOT through the cruise line but directly through the company) we had a far less crowded ship than the cruisers that went w/ RCCL and sailed/snorkeled <3 areas> for 5 hours, had a rope swing, drinks and had lunch for around $40-50 pp! I thought the fish were the prettiest I had seen in the Caribbean!

In Curacoa we swam with the sea lions, which was fun, but it was hard to see them in the water. I'd save my money and just do the "encounter". We enjoyed the synagogue (Son was writing a history paper, so we spent the $6 entrance fee) it was cool to see the cabinet that stored a torah rescued from the Spanish inquisition and the sand floor. The kids headed back to the ship to swim with my parents and my DH & I sat and had an Amstel and watched the floating bridge swing. I really liked both ports!

Karen

[bplazo]

To all of you who booked and enjoyed the 4x4- did you book this through RC?

 

Thanks,

 

I try not to book tours through the cruiseline because they are usually overcrowed and expensive. We did ABC jeep tours when we were in Aruba.

[cruisingrightalong]

The 4 x 4 we have always booked thru RCCL. And the reason I would on this one may have nothing to do with the operator. However, one of the groups in front of us flipped their jeep over. The operators of the tour knew how to get the ambulance there all the way across the island quickly.

 

Now...here is the caveat???? since it is an RCCL tour....(and yes these people ended up in the hospital with injuries like broken limbs)....are you more "protected" being in a foreign country????

 

We did discover that the accident was clearly the jeep drivers fault but still would RCCL hire bad tour operators....over time I would think they would have picked some good ones.

 

I was impressed with the operators judgment on the accident and their expertise and grateful it wasn't our jeep.

 

Lou

[tiffstulips]

Can someone please expain details about the Jolly pirates excursion? Is a group of 10 enough for a private group. How much did you pay pp and what exactly did you do? How lonng was it?

[boingy300]

Can someone please expain details about the Jolly pirates excursion? Is a group of 10 enough for a private group. How much did you pay pp and what exactly did you do? How lonng was it?

 

You can check out there website. I can't recall what it is but just do a google search. They take any number until the ship is full, so the more the better for you. BUT a party of 2 can book as well, no worries. They say it's 4 hours, but we got to hang out for 5 hours as we boarded after the cruise ship passenger's ship (There are 2 ships cruise and private) and then stayed out and got to swing longer than the cruise ship's ship. We swam/snorkeled in 3 different locations, had lunch and then had the option of swinging off the rope swing. It was fun just setting out to sail in an old pirate ship!

I have some pictures in my signature. The first sail pictures are from Jolly Pirates, and the later are our private yacht excursion in St. Thomas with High Pockets. Loved both! I think Jolly was between $40-50 pp, includes lunch.

Karen

[Sun Lover]

We were in Aruba and Curacao this past April. We booked the Jolly Pirates tour directly with the company, and that was a great excursion. It's cheaper if you book it online. I think it was $42 a person. It included unlimited drinks and the lunch was actually pretty good. The rope swing was a lot of fun, and they let people have as many turns as they wanted. If you are interested in a tour in Curacao, contact http://www.curacao-actief. They offer many different tours, and I'm sure you could find something of interest. We did the Desert & Caves tour, and it was just fabulous. There's quite a bit of walking involved and climbing. It's an all day tour. I can't say enough about how great this comany was, and we had Han as our guide, who I would highly recommend. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[mzlisap]

In Curacao we did the Spanish water snorkel. It was by far the best snorkel experience we've ever had. The amount and variety of fish was unbelievable. I've forgotten the name of the fish but there was a huge (at least 2.5 feet long) blue fish that resembled a koi. It stayed around for the entire time. He would swim right beside you. It was my mothers (63) first snorkel and she didn't want to leave...she said it was the most fun she'd ever had.

[KKeeganS]

In Curacao, we did the scuba adventure where you feed turtles, rays, and sharks (in their own pen - fear not). It was an amazing experience. You don't need any scuba experience.

 

In Aruba, we always cab it over to Palm Beach. Went riding once at Rancho Notorious which I loved, being a big horse person.

[polodad]

We were on AOS 5/6 sailing. We booked Jolly Pirates afternoon Sail, Snorkel, Swing excursion thru RCL. We can't recommend it highly enough. It was flat out one of our best excursions ever. I'd also recommend booking it thru the ship. Ther reason being that the bus ride to and from the pier is about 20 minutes of incredible fun. The bus is tie tied, the music is awesome and in the afternoon post cruise & coladas everyone onboard is singing. We tipped the driver!! The cruise itself is also great. The diving at the wreck is a little rough, but lots of fish. The swing is really fun. You'll love it!

[Sandytoes]

Not sure If I should just head to a beach or book an excursion.

Besides the Jolly Pirates in Aruba, can anyone suggest another excursion.

Can anyone recommend a beach, with snorkeling, loungers/umbrellas.

[MissKise]

In Aruba we booked a tour off the ship to see the rock tower, the old fort and drive around the island. It was ok, and we enjoyed seeing all the cactus and parts of the island.

 

In Curacao, we loved taking a taxi to Kontiki beach, and relaxing in the sun/shade in louge chairs with bar, bathrooms, sheltered swim area and a massage area on the beach. DH enoyed an hour long massage, and then we snorkled in the water for fun. White sand, calm water, relaxing,

 

And headed downtown to shop for a little while, and walked back to the ship across the swinging bridge.

[jimbug]

Sandytoes, in Aruba we are heading to the Renaissance Resort...walking distance from the ship. We hope to be able to buy a day pass there ($50 each)...but the resort must be at 90% capacity or less, so we'll see. They have their own private island they take you to by water taxi, and it's pretty much a tropical paradise, from what I've seen. Lunch, 1 drink, chairs, hammocks, etc. are all included, as well as non motorized watersports (snorkel equipment, kayaks, etc).

 

If for some reason they are booked up, we will probably try to book a day sail. There is an activity desk in the Renaissance lobby, so maybe we will luck out there.

[MszKitty]

In Curacao, we did the Swim with the Dolphins and it was the most amazing experience! You cannot book it on your own though...It has to be booked thru the ship.

[cruzobsessed]

is the SWIM WITH DOLPHINS excursion the the that is $209 pp? there are 4 of us...that becomes very expensive:eek: