Curacao Advice Dec 25 late in port

[mand75]

Hello everyone, We are on the Magic going into Curacao on Dec. 25th.  In port from 1pm to 11pm.  We are a family of 5, with kiddos aged 8,9 and 12.  We are looking for advice of an outing.  We have looked at Irie Tours, Dolphin Encounter/Sea Aquarium, Beach Visits (don't know where?) and the idea of just walking around the town and seeing what we see.  Our kids like swimming and the beach, not so much into snorkeling.  We also would like to be back on the ship for dinner at 6pm, which has made it harder to plan.  Just looking for ideas.

Thanks!

[bup1224]

Christmas is a huge holiday here and most stores in Punda will be closed.

Punda is a great town to walk around in but again, most places will be closed.

Mambo beach is a calm beach and may be perfect for a few hours. 

[SCRedHead1]

We are on the same Christmas cruise.  Would love to have some snorkeling/beach time but want to be back on the boat for Christmas festivities.  Thought about just walking around town and shopping but figure most shops will be closed.  The 1:00 arrival is such a weird time and makes it difficult to do anything.  

[robin16ak]

We are on this cruise, too and are not sure what to do either.  We know we want to go to a beach but I am worried about just showing up at one and everything being closed due to the holiday. I emailed a tour operator that was recommended on here but they were booked.  I emailed another one (Curacao Dreams) that was recommended on TripAdvisor and am waiting to hear back.  The Carnival excursions are all expensive without much beach time.  My kids are 13, 11, and 6 and all love the beach.  

[bup1224]

10 hours ago, robin16ak said:

We are on this cruise, too and are not sure what to do either.  We know we want to go to a beach but I am worried about just showing up at one and everything being closed due to the holiday. I emailed a tour operator that was recommended on here but they were booked.  I emailed another one (Curacao Dreams) that was recommended on TripAdvisor and am waiting to hear back.  The Carnival excursions are all expensive without much beach time.  My kids are 13, 11, and 6 and all love the beach.  

All our beaches will be open!

[mand75]

Yes!  We were able to book the west side tour with Irie Tours!  Excited to see the natural beauty of the island and our kids are looking forward to swimming with the turtles!

[fromaustin]

On 11/9/2019 at 7:09 PM, mand75 said:

Yes!  We were able to book the west side tour with Irie Tours!  Excited to see the natural beauty of the island and our kids are looking forward to swimming with the turtles!

 

Can you tell me more about and time? It says it is a 7 hour tour, which we wouldn't be do fully due to lack of daylight hours with a 1 pm arrival.

 

[mand75]

Well, I'm going to assume that the tour will be about 6 hours long.  Part of it may be at dusk?  Hoping for the best!  

 

[CLS/KAS]

I am also getting into the Island later in the day in Feb...

If I head to a beach, by the time I get there, where ever "there" is, it will be around 2:30...

if I spend several hours there, by the time I get back to the Ship..what should/can I do after that..

Walk across the bridge? would like to see the night side of town...any suggestions  

[Froufie]

Will also be docked in Curacao from 1:30 - 10:30 pm - so also wondering about timing for some of the 'longer' tours?