Dream come true stay and cruise 2017 part 3

Aruba is a shopper’s paradise with plenty of duty free goods and tee shirts. My wife went diving and I went to the beach. The beaches are lovely but very packed at the popular Palm- Eagle beach. Sunbeds are chargeable on the beach with lots of restaurants and bars. We would to visit here again to explore more of Aruba. Before we headed back to the ship we bought tee shirts and souvenirs. Aruba is known as the happy place or happy island.

In Curacao it rained when we arrived, but it didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves. We went to the local market and bought some massive avocados, then we went on the moving, walking bridge also known as the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge. The two parts of the city are connected by a moving bridge, commonly called the Swinging Old Lady. The bridge which dances on the water while you walk from one part of the city to the other, was built to ensure it could move as it lies in the middle of one of the busiest harbours in the world.

You can explore the entire city without a taxi – just be sure to stock up on water and take breaks in between as it can get really hot. If you’d like to go to the beach or explore the areas right outside of Willemstad, you will need a taxi.

Willemstad, Curacao’s capital city, is picturesque with colourful buildings overlooking glistening water, quaint cobbled streets, street art, bars and restaurants galore. There’s outdoor dining overlooking the sea, floating fruit markets and the Queen Emma Swinging Bridge. The city is divided into two parts – Punda and Otrabanda. Nestled in the Southern Caribbean, Curacao is a constituent of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Most people are fluent in Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and English which all combine to create their local language Papiamento. Currency used is Antillean guilder or US Dollars.

We would recommend this cruise for couples. Sadly, after the cruise we had to fly back home via Antigua with Liat and Virgin Atlantic. We treated ourselves to upper class from Antigua to London Gatwick.

We loved this trip, as we got to visit a lot of new places and had an amazing time in Barbados.

A special thanks to Kyle from Barbados Tourism for arranging all the tours and transportation in Barbados and also thanks to Victoria at Port Ferdinand Marina & Luxury Residences for providing the accommodation in Barbados.