cruiseapril

We usually stay on 17th St. and walk around to the shops and restaurants. We would save $ by taking the trolley to the beach. We then board the ship at noon the next day- so don't have that much time.

If one goes to the Distillery- be sure to have it as only one of the many stops on the tour- as others have said. The Distillery is in a landhouse- and if one doesn't go to a landhouse in another area- that is a good experience.

We would e-mail the resort directly. If it's expensive, try the Melia without food. Eat a big breakfast on the ship and a late lunch on the ship and get a snack at the Melia.

The Melia is a good choice- on Cable Beach. Do get away from the port area- the Melia is about 5 miles away- by van cab only $5 per person.

If a cruiser does half of the walking tour- that is plenty on a hot day.

Agree that Curacao is a place to walk around- the Willemstad area- and that a bus tour of 3 hours or so is good for Aruba. If one wants to go to the beach in Aruba, take a taxi to Palm Beach (high rise) or Eagle Beach. If one wants to spend part of the day at the beach in Curacao- we went to Blue Bay before walking around Willemstad. Be sure to ask your taxi driver to pick you up. Or one can stay nearer to the ship and go to the Hilton. E-mail hotels for details. Agree also that Bonaire is a beach and snorkel area.

The water taxi takes a long time, is often overcrowded, and is smelly!

We like to go to Cable Beach for a good beach day.

We took the bus to Blue Bay Beach.

We took the Beach Express which we signed up with on the ship. Went to Blue Bay and had a wonderful time.

Palm Beach is a big beach with high rise hotels- the others are quieter.

The best beach, in our estimation, is Cable Beach. One can get a cab to this beach about 5 miles from the cruiseport.

Check out the shuttles which are connected to the hotels. Ask at the desk about shuttles to and from the airport.

Wow! We walked Animal Kingdom in one day and didn't see it all!

In Curacao we signed up for the Beach Bus- spent a few hours at the beach and then walked around Willemstad.