Cruises to Aruba...

[nho9504]

It really has nothing to do with Aruba.

 

Aruba probably is one of the safest, cleanest islands in Caribbean. (when you compare it to, say, ports in Jamaica ...)

 

When you indulged yourself and got drunk in an unfamiliar place, flirted with strangers, pushed the enevelope ... naturally you become vulnerable to all sorts of bad things.

 

Can happen anywhere, Miami, NYC, LA, Vancouver, you name it.

 

While we all sympathize with the poor girl and her families and friends, let's not forget there are hard lessons to be learned by all teenagers ... I wish the media mention more about this then simply chasing the story on the "criminal" side.

[Iamthesea]

Although we didn't really care for Aruba (we saw mostly the desert side on our last cruise), I would not hesitate to book another cruise going to Aruba. I would love to see the "Aruba" that everyone is so fond of!:)

[nho9504]

Although we didn't really care for Aruba (we saw mostly the desert side on our last cruise), I would not hesitate to book another cruise going to Aruba. I would love to see the "Aruba" that everyone is so fond of!:)

 

We were in Aruba late April, on a 14 day Panama crossing. We rented a 4x4 and pretty much drove the whole island including a failed attempt to get to the Natural pool.

 

IMHO, we failed to understand why everyone is so fond of Aruba. There are other islands in Caribbean that have far nicer beaches than Aruba. And the island is so small !

 

If you are a diver, then, ABC Islands have their appeal (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) as they are south of hurricane belt and have soft corals. The soft corals I think are the major factor why the ABC Islands are so famous in diver circle. Other than that, we dont see why Aruba is so attractive to others.

 

We dont really care for it, but would not avoid it either, should it be one of the ports of call on the itin.

[Travelgrrl]

My 16 year old son and I are scheduled on the Sea Princess to Aruba in November, and I have to admit that I'm a little skeeved out. If that poor girls turns up dead, I know I won't be able to put it out of my mind all day, though I know the island is as safe as any, and probably much safer than any US (or elsewhere) cosmopolitan area.

[kryos]

Would the current situation with the missing teen cause you to reconsider visiting Aruba, or do you think this is an unfortunate isolated incident?

I wouldn't let this incident stop me from visiting Aruba at all.

 

This teen, sadly, made some tragic judgment errors. She should not have split up with her group and taken off with locals. I realize she was 18, but she was on a class trip. Where were her chaperones?

 

I've always believed that when you travel, especially to a foreign country, you stick with your group. Even if you are traveling solo (which this poor girl most certainly was not), you stick with organized tours where your safety is looked after.

 

She was young, beautiful, and probably just starting to "feel her oats." She made some serious errors while on the island, and sadly I have a feeling she paid for them with her life.

 

Could have happened anywhere ... including on a cruise ship given the same or a similar set of circumstances.

 

If I were the parents, I would be questioning those chaperones very, very closely. Sounds to me like they were derelict in their duties.

 

Just my humble opinion ...

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Iamthesea]

kryos and others - Another thread on this subject was just closed because of conflicting views on who, what, where and WHY this girl has disappeared. Better stop the discussion now before this one is pulled and keep to the question.

[John L.]

We visited Aruba around '98 after going through the Canal from Acapulco on the Celebrity Zenith. The ship either overnited or left around midnight but my wife and I decided to visit one of the resorts after dinner. I don't remember the name of the resort but it was probably in the vicinity of H.I. We grabbed a bus, told the driver to let us off at the resort and we traveled around 20 minutes northwest. When we got off the bus, it was very, very dark with little street lighting. The resort was set back from the highway and we walked up a sidewalk along a street and then over to the entrance. We were the only people and it was VERY spooky. Not like Atlantic City or Vegas.

 

We looked around the lobby of the resort, went to the casino to play for awhile and we got out of there. I think we took a taxi back because we did not want to be standing on the dark street waiting for a bus. It may have been safe but I felt very uncomfortable. When this incident happened with this unfortunate girl, my wife and I looked at each other and reflected at our experience. Again, this was early evening and very dark. As far as the commercial area by the dock, we had no fears.

 

John L.

[sunprincess]

I have been wondering how long it would take for this to come up. This is a horrible thing to have happened. I do believe this is not the norm. Have been to Aruba many times & love it.(Last time being March of this year.) Would certainly return also. Wherever you go you always need to be careful.

[shecruise]

I felt safe in Aruba when I was there last year