Valiant Lady / Live / Feb 3 - 10 2024

[scubagal44]

5 hours ago, Sherry84 said:

The Entertainer is my favorite drink. I always make a straight shot to get one when we board the ship 🙂 

 

Smart! I go straight for the champs. 😁

[scubagal44]

So I had booked a Jeep safari tour situation for Aruba, but realized this morning that I booked it for the wrong day. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Don't be me. 

 

After that realization, we just went out and winged it! Found a random tour van for $25 a few steps outside the port and went with it. It was nothing fancy but the guide and driver were fun and the van was air conditioned, which was a huge necessity as it is HOT here today. Right now at 4:45pm it's 89° with a "feels like" of 102°. 

 

Our impromptu tour took us to a few places including Casibari Park, aloe factory, California lighthouse, and Eagle Beach. 

 

They provided the option of staying at Eagle Beach for a few hours after which they'd retrieve us and return us to the ship. So, we did that and enjoyed a delicious lunch and drinks at Passions Beach Bar, and a stroll and relaxing time at the beach.  At Passions I had the Aruba Ariba and Summer Rose, and chicken tandoori wrap. Hubby got a Mai Tai, Balashi, and fish tacos. The food and drinks were all delish, though the place definitely operates on island time. Don't go if you're in a hurry to be someplace else. 

 

After we were dropped off back at the ship we were pretty tired and sweaty (remember, it's HOT today), so decided to go in and cool off. Took a little snooze, and now we're ready to get back out there. 

 

We have a late departure time tonight and all aboard is 11:30pm, and we have dinner reservations ashore. 

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for doing this. I'm really enjoying following along. 🥂

[scubagal44]

Walking to dinner 

[scubagal44]

Dinner is at the West Deck 

[scubagal44]

Aruba Ariba, Beerita, Fried Funchi, Caribbean bread basket, Spicy Shrimp and Fish Ceviche. 

[scubagal44]

When we were in San Juan and basically took up residence at Antiguo, I tried tagging the location on Snapchat and it didn't exist. So I submitted it to Snapchat as a place, and apparently they just approved it. Boom!! You're welcome, Antiguo! 😆

[scubagal44]

Island Sunrise 

[scubagal44]

2 hours ago, SenatorsFan said:

Thanks for doing this. I'm really enjoying following along. 🥂

 

Thanks for being here!

[scubagal44]

Tenderloin & Plantain Pincho, and Arashi Chicken. Both so so good! This meal has been great, all very local Aruban and Dutch takes on everything. 

[MeganGC1983]

2 minutes ago, scubagal44 said:

Tenderloin & Plantain Pincho, and Arashi Chicken. Both so so good! This meal has been great, all very local Aruban and Dutch takes on everything. 

Looks fantastic. 

Edited February 5 by MeganGC1983

[scubagal44]

2 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Looks fantastic. 

 

So fantastic! It's like an Aruban version of tapas, you're encouraged to order a bunch of small plates but they do have large plates available if that is your preference. We're all about trying as much of everything local as possible, so we went the small plates route and shared everything. If/when I return to Aruba, I'll definitely come back to here to try more of the menu. There were so many things I wanted to order, but alas, my stomach is tapped out. 

[soccersharon]

We love The Paddock - but we will definitely try The West Deck next time we’re in Aruba!  Everything looks yummy!

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Love Aruba - shame about the Jeep tour mix up but it looks like you’re making the best of it!  
 

Been to Aruba twice and done a Jeep driving tour and  side by side driving tour.  Loved both if you can make it back there.

[atticusthegreat]

1 hour ago, scubagal44 said:

Aruba Ariba, Beerita, Fried Funchi, Caribbean bread basket, Spicy Shrimp and Fish Ceviche. 

😲 (there is no react for "wow" on CC so I had to make a whole post for it.)

[scubagal44]

1 hour ago, soccersharon said:

We love The Paddock - but we will definitely try The West Deck next time we’re in Aruba!  Everything looks yummy!

 

The Paddock looked so fun! 

[scubagal44]

13 minutes ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

Love Aruba - shame about the Jeep tour mix up but it looks like you’re making the best of it!  
 

Been to Aruba twice and done a Jeep driving tour and  side by side driving tour.  Loved both if you can make it back there.

 

Haha yeah, I felt like a big dummy but we're pretty go with the flow so we moved on pretty quickly. Will definitely try a re-do the next time we're here!

[scubagal44]

12 minutes ago, atticusthegreat said:

😲 (there is no react for "wow" on CC so I had to make a whole post for it.)

 

Right??? It was as good as it looks. 🥰

[scubagal44]

Nighttime scenes 

[scubagal44]

There she is 🫶🏼

[scubagal44]

Looking ahead to tomorrow in Curaçao - part of the plan is to visit the Infinity Beach Club, which is part of the Renaissance resort. I emailed them in advance to see if I could make a reservation, but the answer was clear as mud. 😆  Passes are sold on an as-available basis, but they did also take a reservation? 🤔🤣

 

🤷🏻‍♀️

 

Only time will tell how this turns out. 

[Sherry84]

11 hours ago, scubagal44 said:

There she is 🫶🏼

Love it!!

[scubagal44]

Happy to report that the reservation worked! They were turning away peeps who did not reserve in advance even before 10am. 

 

And on that note, you can get in before 10am. It appears that "opens at 10am" means that the bar/restaurant is closed until then, but you can come in before then. We arrived at about 9:45 and went straight to the beach, at that time there were still loungers under palapas available so we snagged a great spot. 

[scubagal44]

Morning water yoga(?) happening over here. 

[scubagal44]

The $40pp entrance fee for the beach club includes $20pp of food/beverage credit.