2Canucks Posted September 2, 2007 #1 Share Posted September 2, 2007 We're having trouble deciding what to do in Aruba! We dock at 7:00am and depart at 11:00pm so have a really long day here. We're not looking for any evening/nightime things just something for the day time hours. We are on a B2B cruise and we visit Aruba during both cruises. We are doing a "Seaworld Explorer and Island BusTour" combo, during the other cruise portion but can't decide what to do on this long day?? BEACH DAY...need "shade" for hubby and "sun" for me! Great beach with a soft sand beach with food & drink service to your lounge chair if possible. :D Don't want to leave our stuff on the beach if we need to go get drinks etc. Don't want to lose our lounge chairs either! :eek: There's only the two of us so chair service would be great!! Does Palm Beach or any other beach have chair bar service? MI DUSHI... Snorkel & Sail tour...thought this might be a neat thing to do but we have never snorkeled before!! Can we just stay onboard if we don't snorkel and enjoy the experience of this sail boat? Is this a young person tour or can 50+... young at heart people go too? Need some shade too. Since we will do an Island Bus tour in Aruba during the other portion of our B2B...we will have seen the other land attractions already. What did you do in Aruba? Please share your experience with us. Which activity would you choose to do... from the above two options? Help us decide! Pat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arubalisa Posted September 2, 2007 #2 Share Posted September 2, 2007 BEACH DAY...need "shade" for hubby and "sun" for me! Great beach with a soft sand beach with food & drink service to your lounge chair if possible. :D Don't want to leave our stuff on the beach if we need to go get drinks etc. Don't want to lose our lounge chairs either! :eek: There's only the two of us so chair service would be great!! Does Palm Beach or any other beach have chair bar service? Pat :) need a beach with shade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idlewood4 Posted September 2, 2007 #3 Share Posted September 2, 2007 We did this tour 8/21/07 and loved it. You will have a great time on the Seaworld Explorer, and will also love the sites you see on the tour. It was our first visit to Aruba, and we will definitely be back. Are you visiting Curacao as well? That was also amazing. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve and doreen2 Posted September 6, 2007 #4 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Hi there, For a beach and shade day, you have many options. Take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Manchebo Beach Resort and Spa on Eagle Beach. This is our favourite beach in Aruba, it is large, beautiful and quiet. (ps this can be a topless beach!!) You can rent chairs there, and they have chair/bar service. You will probably also have more luck renting a palapa there than some of the Palm Beach hotels, but set off early and flag down the chair guy. We rented earlier this year 15 bucks for two chairs and palapa - may be a little more expensive now. We recommend this also because just in front of the spa (which you could also visit for some pampering, but again, don't know if it's expensive) there is a stand of divi trees where you could pull your chairs underneath if all the palapas have gone. Another reason is that the Manchebo has a great bar, the Pega Pega, right there on the beach, and this provides excellent value and tasty light meals and snacks. We have no experience of Mi Dushi, but do have experience of a fantastic yacht called the Tranquilo, and Jolly pirates (great!!) As we are newbies here, not yet sure of the etiquette re; recommendations, so do not want to 'sail too close to the wind" pardon the pun!! Let us know if you need any help!! kind regards, steve and doreen UK (and Aruba veterans!!):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Canucks Posted September 7, 2007 Author #5 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Thanks to all... for your help! We are booked with the "Jolly Pirates" for their "Sail, Snorkel, Swim & Swing" tour on Jan 16/08. :D Since we are in this port until 11:00pm we'll walk the beach back towards the Radisson...making stops along the way as needed ;) to enjoy this beach area too! Carla replied to my email promptly and she was very helpful answering all my questions. :) My question is...Is there somewhere nearby... to shower off the salt after this tour? Idlewood4...Yes we are going to Curacao too. We have booked the "Sea & See" tour there as well. (Seaworld Explorer and bus tour) Hear their coral reefs are something to see! There's an option to be dropped off in town...so we'll do a walkabout and enjoy this area too...before walking back to the ship via the swinging bridge!:D Really looking forward to this cruise! Pat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arubalisa Posted September 7, 2007 #6 Share Posted September 7, 2007 My question is...Is there somewhere nearby... to shower off the salt after this tour? You can ask Carla from JP if there is one at Moomba. Otherwise remember the Beach Broadwalk? we discussed? Walking south along there, I know for a fact that the Radisson and Westin have showers for use before "crossing over" the boardwalk to pool and other resort areas. I am sure other resorts have them as well, but don't want to promise something that does not deliver. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Canucks Posted September 8, 2007 Author #7 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Arubalisa...thanks again for your help here and on the Beach Broadwalk forum. It's great that you are online to help so many of us with information about Aruba!:D We now have 2 great tours booked in Aruba during our B2B...one on each cruise portion!! Can't wait! :D Have you been to Bonaire... if so, what is there to do besides snorkeling and scuba diving?? The "Bonaire" forum isn't very active so it's hard to get info about this island. We like to take "private" tours instead of the ship excursions as it's so much more personal and you get a better feel for each port. :) We won't take a "private" tour unless there is "lots" of feedback on cruise critic and there's very little info on Bonaire activities posted so far!:( (besides snorkeling etc.) We go to Bonaire during the second portion of our B2B. We may end up doing a port walkabout on our own, if I don't find something else to do. Anyone have any ideas? Pat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arubalisa Posted September 8, 2007 #8 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Arubalisa...thanks again for your help here and on the Beach Broadwalk forum. It's great that you are online to help so many of us with information about Aruba!:D We now have 2 great tours booked in Aruba during our B2B...one on each cruise portion!! Can't wait! :D Have you been to Bonaire... if so, what is there to do besides snorkeling and scuba diving?? Pat :) You are very welcome and I am very happy that I am able to share our wealth of experience about Aruba. Now Bonaire...that is something which we have not yet done. Someday for sure...if I loved Curacao and already love Aruba, how could I not fall in love with Bonaire as well? You can check for info at BonaireTalk or Cruise Critic's sister site http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147267-i731-Bonaire.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolly pirates Posted September 8, 2007 #9 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Yes, there are freshwater showers at MooMba Beach! Our vacation to Bonaire was one of our favorites! We rented an adorable home on the beach in Belnam and we snorkeled in our backyard every day! If you do not want to snorkel, you could try windsurfing. One thing we didn't get the chance to do, but it looked nice was a walking tour that was given by a retired school teacher. We had read lots about her and her tour and this was next on our list. The best part about Bonaire for us, was that there was not much to do! We are always on the go and the do "not much" pace for us, was just what we needed. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Canucks Posted September 9, 2007 Author #10 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Jolly Pirates...Thanks for the Bonaire info. :D Bonaire Tour with the school teacher...Ellen Herera? This sounds interesting...hope I can book a tour with her. Our problem is ...we are only in port from 1:00pm to 6:00pm...a very short stop.:( Good to know there's freah water showers at MooMba Beach. We wanted to freshen up after the tour... than walk the "beach broadwalk" to enjoy this area too! :D Pat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niecyd Posted September 18, 2007 #11 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hi Arubalisa & former Jersey Neighbor, I'm like 2Canucks having trouble deciding what to do in Aruba. DH & I have never been to Aruba. How are the beaches near the cruise terminal? I do not want to be too far away from the terminal for fear of missing the cruise ship? Also, I've never snorkel before so I'm a beginner. I would love to do something that I've never done before. I've been to several caribbean islands but never try snorkeling. I can swim but not a great swimmer so I need shallow water. DH is a great swimmer. Is Aruba the best place to start and if so which beach suit my needs? Or should I wait until we go to Curacao (another place we've never been), St. Martin or St. Thomas? :confused: ALSO, I've heard that the NATURAL BRIDGE collapse. :eek: Is that true? DH really wanted to go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arubalisa Posted September 18, 2007 #12 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hi Arubalisa & former Jersey Neighbor, I'm like 2Canucks having trouble deciding what to do in Aruba. DH & I have never been to Aruba. How are the beaches near the cruise terminal? I do not want to be too far away from the terminal for fear of missing the cruise ship? The closest beaches would be Eagle Beach or Palm Beach. Check out these threads and see if there is anything which sounds like it might "tickle your fancy".Question about Palm Beach? Photos of Eagle or Palm beach Aruba Beach~Help! Arubalisa, question about beach Suggestions for inexpensive way to spend our day.. Day at Palm Beach Price Breakdown Also, I've never snorkel before so I'm a beginner. I would love to do something that I've never done before. I've been to several caribbean islands but never try snorkeling. I can swim but not a great swimmer so I need shallow water. DH is a great swimmer. Is Aruba the best place to start and if so which beach suit my needs? To snorkel in shallow water, you would need to rent a car and head up to Malmok and or Arashi beaches to snorkel. Palm Beach and Eagle Beach offer white sand bottoms, so not much to see there, but good practice nonetheless. Or should I wait until we go to Curacao (another place we've never been), St. Martin or St. Thomas? :confused: I am not nearly as familiar with these islands but if you can float well, snorkeling should not be a problem and I would suggest Playa PortoMari in Curacao.Playa PortoMari Beach Review Playa PortoMari? ALSO, I've heard that the NATURAL BRIDGE collapse. :eek: Is that true? DH really wanted to go there. Yes, unfortunately so. Still a tourist attraction though.:) My photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niecyd Posted September 19, 2007 #13 Share Posted September 19, 2007 Hello Arubalisa, Thank you so much for answering all my questions. I will check out those threads you suggested. Thanks.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsrobb Posted September 21, 2007 #14 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I do not like to go to the beach. Is there any other things to do in Aruba? Do I ask the locals what happend to that Holloway gal or whatever her name was? Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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