South Caribbean Cruise: Day 4 - Aruba

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

We woke up early (for the kids), and went to Windjammer for breakfast. We got everything ready for our beach day at Aruba. After getting off the ship, we rode a bus through Oranjestad to the parking lot for De Palm Island. We took a quick ferry over to the island and walked to our private cabana. The kids had fun going down the three different waterslides. After testing the water at the beach, we walked over to the snorkeling area and saw many brightly colored fish as we snorkeled for about an hour. Next, we ate lunch at the buffet and the grill. We tried the fish, chicken, curry, island fries, and various Aruban desserts. The kids went down the slides a few more times and swam a bit in our cove before we left, but not without a few pictures with the flamingos that roamed around the cove area. We rode the bus back to the ship, showered, and got dressed for dinner.

Ferrying across the bay to De Palm Island.

Enjoying our private beach with the flamingos.

 

Hanging out and eating lunch in the shade of the cabana.

Ian enjoyed the unlimited (virgin) strawberry daquiris. 

 

 

Going down the water slides again and again and again...

 

 

The flamingos didn't seem to be bothered by people.

In line to take the ferry back to the main island.

Tired and sunburned after a long day.

 

Booger bubbles on the bus ride back to the ship.

The kids ate with Grandma and Grandpa in the main dining room for Mexican night. Erik and I went to Wonderland for our dinner. They let us choose five different appetizers and one main entrée. We tried the shrimp, lobster, deviled eggs, crab cones, mushroom risotto, tomato water, and tuna. I ordered the fried branzino and Erik ordered the short rib. For dessert, they brought us a chocolate ball that melted when they poured caramel over the top just like our last cruise. They also gave us some meringue mushrooms. The small ones were flavored with cayenne pepper, and the large one was pistachio flavored.

 

We "painted" the picture to reveal the menu.

The bird's nest and the mad hatter's purple potted shrimp. Erik didn't like the smoke from the bird's nest; it smelled very acrid.

They told us to eat the crispy crab cone from the bottom up.

Tomato water and liquid lobster

The citrus seas shhh was a mix of spicy tuna and lemon ice.

Liquid truffle mushroom risotto. 

Erik's short rib was supposed to look like chocolate cake. The mad hatter is in the background.

My branzino (fish) in crispy bread was pretty good.

 

The mad hatter sounded like he was from the Philippines.

After dinner, we got ready to see the outdoor water show, Hiro. However, after we sat waiting for the show to start, the director announced that the show would be canceled due to high winds. We went back to our room and went to bed early so that we could wake up early the next day.

I found a rubber duck that night for the kids.