Horizon ABC Cruise Shore Excursions

[robin32470]

Hey there,

 

My daughter & I just booked a Horizon cruise Oct 12-20 2024.

 

So excited but so far away. 
 

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions/tips on what to do in each port & also wondered if anyone goes directly to port to book with locals instead of booking excursions through Carnival.

 

All Suggestions Welcomed! 

[dctravel]

You will have a great time. The ABC islands are fun (although I have still not been to Bonaire). Now that you are booked, there should be excursions available for sale on your booking page. See if anything interests you and then you can decide if you want to book through the cruise line or with an independent vendor.

 

Booking through the cruise line gives you peace of mind if the excursion is far away from the ship (which shouldn't be a big problem on these islands) or if it ends close to back on board time. If you are on a Carnival excursion that is running late, they won't leave you behind! If you go on your own, then it might be cheaper.

 

We have done both and are likely to do both on our upcoming Jubilee cruise. I have enjoyed beach days through resort for a day dot com. We did that in Aruba. It was all inclusive, right on the beach, and was perfect for us that day (with kids and a grandparent). In Curacao, we did a submarine excursion tour through Carnival (I hated the boat part...it was hot and claustrophobic, but the kids liked it). After we got back, we walked from the pier into the old town and loved the shops and restaurants there.

 

dctravel

[Tobleronebar]

In Bonaire and Curaçao we hired a taxi at the port for our group. Our driver took us to the places we wanted to go and a few more they thought we would be interested in. If interested, I can share their information with you,

 

In Bonaire we did the Sunset Sailboat through Carnival. Highly recommend!

 

[RobinL17]

17 minutes ago, Tobleronebar said:

In Bonaire and Curaçao we hired a taxi at the port for our group. Our driver took us to the places we wanted to go and a few more they thought we would be interested in. If interested, I can share their information with you,

 

In Bonaire we did the Sunset Sailboat through Carnival. Highly recommend!

 

We’d love the information, thanks 

[teknoge3k]

Aruba

I would rent a UTV and explore the whole island. Arubiana is a great company to rent from, as is Off-Road Evolution Aruba. Ruff Riderz Aruba is another option, though I haven't used them. I've used Arubiana and OEAruba many times. Start off at the California Lighthouse and traverse through the desert along the ocean. Stop and see the sights along the way such as Wariruri and the Alto Vista Chapel. Then continue on to the Bushiribana Ruins. There is a food truck there where you can grab drinks if you need to. Then continue on to the natural bridge. At that point, cut through the desert back to the hard top, and follow the road down thru Santa Cruz, into San Nicolas. Once in San Nicolas, enjoy the town and stop at Baby Beach. Grab lunch at Rum Reef at Baby Beach, and spend a few hours at Baby Beach. It's the nicest beach on the island. From there, traverse back on the south end of the island back to Oranjestad. In Oranjestad you can do your shopping, and then continue up to Eagle Beach and check it out. It's decent, but nowhere near as nice as Baby Beach. Once you're in Eagle Beach you can shop and eat. That's also where you'll return your UTV. From there, head back to the port.

 

Bonaire

Rent a golf cart through Bonaire Cruisers and again, traverse the entire island. Start on the south loop and follow the road along past the airport. You can stop at the lighthouse, then continue on to the salt pans. It's really cool to see them! From the salt pans, continue on the road and you'll come to the 2 slave hut "communities" (red pan and white pan). Check them out, then continue on. You'll come to the Willemstoren Lighthouse and ruin. Check those out, then go up a bit and you'll be at the flamingo sanctuary. Continue on around the loop and you will pass the donkey sanctuary where you can stop if you'd like. Stay on the road and you'll wind up back in Kralendijk. From there, you can start the northern loop. Follow the road up and you'll come to 1,000 steps as well as an old factory. Keep following the road and you'll end up in Rincon which is a neat little community. Check out all of Rincon then keep following the road back on the loop to end up back in Kralendijk. Once you're back in town, you can return your golf cart and explore Kralendijk.

 

Cuacao

Hire a private guide for the day and explore the island. Go to Playa Piskado before the cruise excursions, and snorkel with the sea turtles. Gotta get there before the excursions though because it gets busy. Jeremi is a fantastic local beach to spend some time at. I'd avoid Mambo Beach as it's just a manmade tourist trap beach. Once you're done at the beach and exploring, go over to Willemstad and explore the downtown area. The fort is really neat also in Curacao, have your driver take you there. 

 

[1025cruise]

You should check out the ports of call boards.

[PC 462]

If you like snorkeling, the ABC islands are great for that.

[pcvtmom]

The best snorkeling we've ever done was in Bonaire, with Sea Cow company (through Carnival)!

 

In Curacao, we've booked twice with Irie Tours, and have been very satisfied.  These were island tours with beach time included at the end. This is outside of Carnival, easily found online.

 

In Aruba, we generally find a nice beach (Eagle, Palm, Surfside), but one time we did the sunset cruise through Carnival, and it was really lovely!

[UGACamper]

For those who are not snorkelers, I highly recommend the Glass Bottom Boat in Bonaire.

[JandPB]

In Bonaire, we booked a drift snorkel with Woodwind. It’s a short walk from the pier.  It’s family owned and limited space so it’s not a cattle call. Drinks and food were included. It was the best meal we had during our entire cruise. I can’t  recommend them enough. 

[sparks1093]

Following along since we'll be onboard 4 months later.

[mdin]

In Aruba, we took a taxi to Eagle Beach and rented an umbrella and loungers. Beautiful beach. We also did the Sunset Sail through Carnival and that was great.

 

In Bonaire, we took a taxi to Ocean Oasis. Really nice beach club. Great way to relax.

 

We are going to Curaçao for the first time in March. We booked the Swimming with Turtles with Curaçao Dreams. Hopefully it's good. 

[May1cruiser]

We typically book carmival excursions, but have went private in the past. used Viator to locate private companies. These companies need positive reviews and tend to be really reliable. 

 

We did find a private sunset sail charter in Bonaire that was prob one of the best excursions ever. The private companies tend to have small or no crowd. They also tend to take a personal interest.

 

 

[txcruiser1234]

21 hours ago, pcvtmom said:

The best snorkeling we've ever done was in Bonaire

Yes!... there's a water taxi company about 5 min walk from port caribewatersportbonaire.com/water-taxi/ that will take you out to No Name Beach on Kleine Bonaire for $25 rt pp. The...most incredible... shore snorkeling we've ever experienced. They also drop you for the 30-45min drift into the beach (if you want) for no extra charge...

 

Aruba tends to be a long port day on most itineraries. We rented a car ($60 all in) and beach hopped (for snorkeling) the entire length of the island... from baby beach at the far southeast up to tres trapi (the three steps) in the northwest. We hit the Donkey Sanctuary for a non-beachy thing to do along the way and that was great fun (if you like donkeys, rescue cats and peacocks)... good organization run by good people for a good purpose...

[lennythenose]

We just got home 3 days ago from this exact cruise. 

In Aruba we rented a Jeep from Top Drive and did our own tour of the island. 
 

In Bonaire we took a snorkeling excursion with Woodwind. Probably the best overall snorkeling excursion we’ve ever been on. 
 

in Curacao we took a city tour with Irie Tours. Very well done. 
 

We were very happy and highly recommend all of the above. 

[Benwar]

Another vote for Woodwind in Bonaire.

 

The best excursion I have ever been on and is a short walk from the pier.

[kings2001]

We did this itinerary last May and had an absolute blast.  It was myself, my husband, our 14 year old daughter, and our 11 year old son.  These three islands are now our favorites out of all the ones we've been too and we plan to book the exact same cruise for next year.

In Aruba we rented a car from Jay's Car Rental and visited the donkey sanctuary, the ostrich farm, and Baby Beach before dropping the car off and doing some shopping.

In Bonaire we rented golf carts from Bonaire Cruisers and did the South Loop of the island with a stop at the donkey sanctuary.  After dropping off the golf carts we had lunch in town and did some shopping.

In Curacao we rented a car through someone in a Curacao visitor's group that I found and spent the morning at Grote Knip Beach followed by walking over the floating bridge, putting our lock on the love locks and then doing some shopping in town.  

If you have any questions let me know.  We absolutely loved the ABC islands.