Black pearl vs Octopus and dinner suggestion (50th birthday celebration)

We are going to Aruba on Jan 2. We will be docked from 7am to 11pm. It is my BF 50th birthday so I am looking to make this day super special. I have ABC booked for a tour from 8am to 1pm. I would like to book a sunset cruise and it looks like Black Pearl is the favorite but we do not snorkel. It also sails at 3:30 so I am worried about the time. I am sure we will need to go back to the ship to freshen up after the ATV ride to Natural pool/bridge. That leads to my other choice which is Octopus sunset cruise that leaves at 4:30. Which do you think is the better fit?

My next question is where should we dine after. We are not foodies so just great food and drinks. OR.....should I skip the sunset cruise and go with a sunset dinner on the beach?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I want this day to be a memorable 50th Birthday gift! Dawn

My suggestion is Black Pearl. Octopus can get more crowded. Black Pearl also has very nice loungers in the shade. You don't have to snorkel. Not everyone does. I doubt that you will want dinner. First they serve fruit, then tomato and gouda sandwiches with an amazing blend of spices. Later they make grilled gouda cheese sandwiches. When we went, we were so full that we just stopped for gelato on Palm Beach. If you want a nice birthday dinner instead, I suggest Barefoot or Passions. They are both right on the beach. Both provide a wonderful sunset dinner. We own a timeshare in Aruba and spend several weeks there every year.

My suggestion is Black Pearl. Octopus can get more crowded. Black Pearl also has very nice loungers in the shade. You don't have to snorkel. Not everyone does. I doubt that you will want dinner. First they serve fruit, then tomato and gouda sandwiches with an amazing blend of spices. Later they make grilled gouda cheese sandwiches. When we went, we were so full that we just stopped for gelato on Palm Beach. If you want a nice birthday dinner instead, I suggest Barefoot or Passions. They are both right on the beach. Both provide a wonderful sunset dinner. We own a timeshare in Aruba and spend several weeks there every year.

Black Pearl seems to be everyones top choice. Dinner on a beach sound wonderful too. Such a tough decision! The black pearl sounds amazing. We could always have a special dinner on the ship.....but we also will have several nights os watching the sunset on our cruise. We are in Curaco until 8. That could be a possibility for dinner on the beach. I appreciate your advice!!! I'

Thinking Black pearl sounds like the top pick right now and I love your idea of ice cream after. I just hope we have time to clean up after our tour. We should be dine by 1:30. Then Black Pearl leaves at 3 :30.

Black Pearl seems to be everyones top choice. Dinner on a beach sound wonderful too. Such a tough decision! The black pearl sounds amazing. We could always have a special dinner on the ship.....but we also will have several nights os watching the sunset on our cruise. We are in Curaco until 8. That could be a possibility for dinner on the beach. I appreciate your advice!!! I'

Thinking Black pearl sounds like the top pick right now and I love your idea of ice cream after. I just hope we have time to clean up after our tour. We should be dine by 1:30. Then Black Pearl leaves at 3 :30.

I would think that you should have time. Just take a taxi to Palm Beach for Black Pearl. I wouldn't take the bus. They have too many stops.

We have these excursions booked in a couple of weeks (ABC in the morning, Black Pearl Sunset Cruise)!!! You must have great taste[emoji12]. I’m hoping we have enough time for a quick shower in between. I‘ll let you know how it works for us.

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• we have these excursions booked in a couple of weeks (abc in the morning, black pearl sunset cruise)!!! You must have great taste[emoji12]. I’m hoping we have enough time for a quick shower in between. I‘ll let you know how it works for us.
  

  thank you!!!! I would really appreciate that. Have a great time. Safe travels!

   

   

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I would think that you should have time. Just take a taxi to Palm Beach for Black Pearl. I wouldn't take the bus. They have too many stops.

Thank you! We will definitely take a taxi. Being rushed ruins that fun.

I was going to suggest having the fancy dinner the next night. Make it a birthday weekend..... Why just have it one day is my motto

We’re back:( We did both tours (ABC UTV in the morning & Black Pearl in the late afternoon/early evening). This was absolutely one of the best days we have ever had on a cruise!!! Two completely different but awesome excursions. We had enough time to do the morning excursion, return to the ship to get some pizza and a quick shower, then catch a taxi to the sunset sail. We still got to the beach about 20 minutes early. We literally caught a taxi as soon as we walked out of the cruise terminal. We didn’t have to wait at all. I don’t know if that is normal. But we didn’t eat during the UTV tour. If you use that option, you won’t need to eat on the ship in between excursions. That would save you even more time if you feel like you need it. I would be happy to answer questions, if you have any. It was a tiring day, but it was AWESOME!!!

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I was going to suggest having the fancy dinner the next night. Make it a birthday weekend..... Why just have it one day is my motto

I agree!!! His actual birthday is a sea day. I am hoping to come up with a unique plan

We’re back:( We did both tours (ABC UTV in the morning & Black Pearl in the late afternoon/early evening). This was absolutely one of the best days we have ever had on a cruise!!! Two completely different but awesome excursions. We had enough time to do the morning excursion, return to the ship to get some pizza and a quick shower, then catch a taxi to the sunset sail. We still got to the beach about 20 minutes early. We literally caught a taxi as soon as we walked out of the cruise terminal. We didn’t have to wait at all. I don’t know if that is normal. But we didn’t eat during the UTV tour. If you use that option, you won’t need to eat on the ship in between excursions. That would save you even more time if you feel like you need it. I would be happy to answer questions, if you have any. It was a tiring day, but it was AWESOME!!!

 

 

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Thank you for getting back with a trip report! So glad I booked the Black Pearl!! Good to know that we will have enough time to shower and change. I am not sure if we will have time to eat because we are going in on the New Years Eve cruise this year so Sunset will be earlier ....I think I read where departure for Black Pearl is at 5:30 Oct-Mar. Do you think we will have time to shower and change with that earlier departure? Did the Black Pearl serve sandwiches and drinks? Any recommendations on the other island. We are doing a B2B...first time to every visit the Southern Caribbean so any tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for getting back with a trip report! So glad I booked the Black Pearl!! Good to know that we will have enough time to shower and change. I am not sure if we will have time to eat because we are going in on the New Years Eve cruise this year so Sunset will be earlier ....I think I read where departure for Black Pearl is at 5:30 Oct-Mar. Do you think we will have time to shower and change with that earlier departure? Did the Black Pearl serve sandwiches and drinks? Any recommendations on the other island. We are doing a B2B...first time to every visit the Southern Caribbean so any tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

We didn’t feel rushed between excursions, so I would think you would still have enough time, especially if you don’t take time to eat. (Also, there is a food truck type of place to eat during the ABC tour if you want. We were being cheap, so we didn’t eat here. Most of the others on the tour did.) The Black Pearl does serve food and drinks. Drinks are served the entire time! There are cheese sandwiches, fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches, and watermelon served after the snorkeling.

Which other islands are you visiting? When we are in St. Thomas, we like going to Trunk Bay in St. John for snorkeling. We also love spending time in San Juan. We have a guy here who takes us SUP, or we visit the forts, or just walk around Old San Juan. La Cueva Del Mar is a a great casual restaurant for lunch and margaritas in Old San Juan. We have never done a back to back! You will have so much fun!!!

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Thank you for getting back with a trip report! So glad I booked the Black Pearl!! Good to know that we will have enough time to shower and change. I am not sure if we will have time to eat because we are going in on the New Years Eve cruise this year so Sunset will be earlier ....I think I read where departure for Black Pearl is at 5:30 Oct-Mar. Do you think we will have time to shower and change with that earlier departure? Did the Black Pearl serve sandwiches and drinks? Any recommendations on the other island. We are doing a B2B...first time to every visit the Southern Caribbean so any tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

remember the time changes here. Aruba does not change clocks.

remember the time changes here. Aruba does not change clocks.

We did not know that! Thank you

We didn’t feel rushed between excursions, so I would think you would still have enough time, especially if you don’t take time to eat. (Also, there is a food truck type of place to eat during the ABC tour if you want. We were being cheap, so we didn’t eat here. Most of the others on the tour did.) The Black Pearl does serve food and drinks. Drinks are served the entire time! There are cheese sandwiches, fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches, and watermelon served after the snorkeling.

 

Which other islands are you visiting? When we are in St. Thomas, we like going to Trunk Bay in St. John for snorkeling. We also love spending time in San Juan. We have a guy here who takes us SUP, or we visit the forts, or just walk around Old San Juan. La Cueva Del Mar is a a great casual restaurant for lunch and margaritas in Old San Juan. We have never done a back to back! You will have so much fun!!!

 

 

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We are really excited. Here is our island line up......Curaco 7am-8pm, Aruba 7am-11pm , Bonaire 8am-6pm, St. Maarten 8am-5pm, back to San Juan 6am-8:30pm, St. Kitts 9am-6pm, St. Johns 8am-5pm, St. Lucia 9am-6pm, Barbados 8am-7pm, St. Maarten 8am-6pm. I appreciate any tips or advice. We have never tried snorkeling but thought we might give it a try. We are not great swimmers...so something very easy...lol. thank you, Dawn

We didn’t feel rushed between excursions, so I would think you would still have enough time, especially if you don’t take time to eat. (Also, there is a food truck type of place to eat during the ABC tour if you want. We were being cheap, so we didn’t eat here. Most of the others on the tour did.) The Black Pearl does serve food and drinks. Drinks are served the entire time! There are cheese sandwiches, fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches, and watermelon served after the snorkeling.

 

Which other islands are you visiting? When we are in St. Thomas, we like going to Trunk Bay in St. John for snorkeling. We also love spending time in San Juan. We have a guy here who takes us SUP, or we visit the forts, or just walk around Old San Juan. La Cueva Del Mar is a a great casual restaurant for lunch and margaritas in Old San Juan. We have never done a back to back! You will have so much fun!!!

 

 

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I just realized I booked the wrong excursion with ABC tours. I thought I booked the UTV safari but I booked the Rugged Natural Pool Safari. This definitely does not look like as much fun! Plus we are not swimmers. Which one did you book and what did you think of it. It is significantly more. I am wondering if we should just relax in the morning. Maybe wonder around downtown. I appreciate your thoughts on the ABC tours..thanks! Dawn