Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on Odyssey of the Seas Sailing to A Minus B Plus C Plus H Islands

[harryfat1]

17 hours ago, perfect match said:

I hope you have a wonderful Chinese New Year celebration with your wife’s family. I’ll be interested to see the food pictures you share.

Thanks.  Sure, I will post the pictures from the lunch by Saturday night.

[harryfat1]

We made it to the area for the start of the walking tour at 9:30 AM (local and ship time) as the meeting place is in front of the statue at the Rif Fort.

 

 

So let’s talk about the walking tour.  It’s a 2.5-hour “free” walking tour of Willemstad, the capital city of Curacao where we are docked.  I know what you are thinking, there’s no such thing as a free walking tour.  Not in the US or the Caribbean at least.

 

Yes, you are correct, however, we did a free walking tour in Tokyo but that’s a different cultural thing.

 

The tour is technically free since there’s no upfront cost. At the end, you just tip the tour guide for whatever you think is right.  The website suggests $15 to $20/pp.  If you don’t like the tour, you are not obligated to pay but I think that kind of sucks if you walked around for 2.5 hours with the guide and then you think the tour sucks and not pay a thing but that’s just my biased opinion.

 

I stumbled onto this tour as part of my way too much YouTube video research on Curacao since they were advertising on YouTube as a free tour.  I then clicked on their site and they had a 4.9 stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor so I know they are legit. 

 

Figured that was a much better deal than whatever RCI was trying to rip me off in selling a “self-guided audio tour of Curacao” for only $50.  Why would I want to pay for a self-guided audio tour when I have a live guide for a fraction of the cost?

 

Here is the website for anyone who might be going to Curacao and is looking for a reasonably priced excursion compared to the $50+ RCI was charging:

 

https://www.freewalkingtourscuracao.com/

 

@rncruiser from our roll call joined this tour as well so she can add additional comments on whatever I might have missed as it was a typical warm Caribbean day and after walking around for a bit, your brain is pretty mushy after that.  

[harryfat1]

Few pictures of the waterfront area as we wait for the tour to start

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Here’s our guide in the yellow shirt – his name is RaeRae. 

 

 

 

After you sign up for the tour online, you get an immediate email verification that you are part of the tour and that’s all you get.  As it’s a free tour, you don’t have much administrative support/communication.  If you are late for the tour, you won’t be able to find the tour.

 

So, try to get there before 9:30 as he starts pretty much at 9:30 with these pictures' time stamps at 9:31 AM.

 

[harryfat1]

After a brief introduction, we are off.  He asked everyone to give their name where they’re from and what they like to do. 

 

Here is the Google Maps once more to show where we are and where are are headed so people will have an idea of the bearing.

 

We are at the red arrow area at the start of the tour and we will spend half of the time on the left side of the map and then walk across the pedestrian bridge to the other side.

 

Well, to use local lingo, the side where the cruise ship is docked is called Otrabanda (the other side), and the side across from us is the Punda side.

 

[harryfat1]

Smaller cruise ships like Holland America's ship in the background can dock closer to the center of town as it's smaller since the pier can't accommodate large-sized cruise ships.  So the ship's passengers have a lot less walking than RCI and AIDA passengers

 

 

[harryfat1]

There's a large square area near the bridge and it's all decorated for the Holidays. It looks better later at night

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

As it was a very hot day (is there a cold day in Curacao?), we sat underneath the shaded bench area while RaeRae explained the island info to us.

 

 

The dude in the blue with a GoPro is a YouTuber as he was recording the majority of the walk. I saw his channel name advertised on his and his wife's shirts.

 

Curacao was part of the Dutch colony but even after they became independent, people born in Curacao were considered part of the EU so they could fly to Europe and work as their passports were recognized by the EU as being able to work there.

 

Dude’s Uniform is an advertisement for the free tour platform

 

[harryfat1]

Curacao must have a lot of artists/muralists as almost every block has some mural painting.  Either the building has bright colorful paint or it’s part of the mural.

 

Even the parking lot backdrop is worthy of a photo

 

 

Follow the leader as even regular pharmacy has a bright code of blue

 

 

Street of Curaaco

 

 

[harryfat1]

The whole area is called Bon Bini

 

 

 

 

[rncruiser]

One correction to your memory of the tour thus far, Harry. It was not a typical warm Caribbean day. It was a typical hot Caribbean day with virtually none of the breeze that is usually present in Curaçao. My husband and son left the tour early because being big guys, they couldn’t take the heat any longer. 

[harryfat1]

 

Mural inside of an open-air restaurant

 

 

Little shops

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

1 minute ago, rncruiser said:

One correction to your memory of the tour thus far, Harry. It was not a typical warm Caribbean day. It was a typical hot Caribbean day with virtually none of the breeze that is usually present in Curaçao. My husband and son left the tour early because being big guys, they couldn’t take the heat any longer. 

OK, I have never been to Curacao so I don't know what passes for normal but I recall seeing many YouTube videos showing a fair amount of wind.  There was no wind to speak of that day.

 

I just looked up the weather for the day and it was 86 degrees.

 

[rncruiser]

I was in Aruba in June and never broke a sweat because of the low humidity and constant breeze. My understanding is that the weather is essentially the same on both islands. It certainly was the same on both islands during this cruise. Hot, humid and breezeless both days. 

[harryfat1]

 

 

Always good to be in the shade 

 

 

 

Remember I said our side where the cruise ships are docked is called Otrobanda (the other side)

 

[harryfat1]

If you like artwork and colorful buildings, Curaaco is definitely for you

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coralc]

3 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

 

Sorry to interrupt...the flow.  Why is there a box of wood/rocks in this lovely courtyard? 

[harryfat1]

 

 

Imagine your house with this artwork

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

5 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Sorry to interrupt...the flow.  Why is there a box of wood/rocks in this lovely courtyard? 

Not sure.  I assume they don't have a fireplace to burn the wood.

 

My best guess is there's a BBQ-looking grill next to it so maybe they use it as fuel to grill the food at the restaurant as there are tables outside.

 

This was the day after Christmas and not many places were opened away from the main drag at 10 AM so not sure but the blue building next to it could be a boutique hotel where they have a restaurant downstairs.

[harryfat1]

So as mentioned, it was a hot morning and after walking around, we all needed a break RaeRae took us to some open-air bar/restaurant area and we essentially took over the place for the next 20 minutes.  

 

I assume he's friends with the owner to allow the tour guests to sit and rest in the shade.

 

Even the front entrance has mural artwork.  I didn't use the bathroom here but I wonder if that has artwork there as well?

 

 

 

Water break time as everyone needed to rest for a while.

 

Then it's off to the main street where we see the Holland America ship docked from the previous picture along the waterfront

 

 

[karebare22]

24 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

 

 

 

I’ve been to Curacao many times now, and last time we didn’t even leave the ship. Usually we’ve just walked through the Rif Fort, gone across the bridge and walked around Punda. Got a rental car once to see some of the beaches. Thanks for the info on this walking tour, so many interesting things to see! 
 

[perfect match]

5 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Imagine your house with this artwork

 

I don’t even want to think about the reaction of our HOA if we had that artwork, or for that matter ANY artwork on our house! 😱 Wouldn’t matter what the artwork looked like or who painted it. 

[Coralc]

It probably cuts down on graffiti. They are gorgeous murals. HOA's are unlikely. And @harryfat1 is a fan of big butts. (on ships) <snicker>. He probably enjoys the statues. ☺️

 

The murals on the homes and buildings in Curacao are beautiful. There is a graphic artist down the hill from us, that has muraled the front of his house. I will have to take a photo.

Edited February 10 by Coralc

[icemanoneaatl]

Good morning- and fantastic trip report.  The A, B, C islands native language is Papiamento and “Bon Bini” means “welcome”.  So, in the sign “bon bini to our beautiful village” is a welcome message.  We only learned the little phrases after being lucky enough to visit some times.  Our favorite, “Masha Danki” or thank you very much- btw, spell check and auto correct fought me vigorously in this reply as it doesn’t like Papiamento….lol

[harryfat1]

23 hours ago, karebare22 said:

 

 

I’ve been to Curacao many times now, and last time we didn’t even leave the ship. Usually we’ve just walked through the Rif Fort, gone across the bridge and walked around Punda. Got a rental car once to see some of the beaches. Thanks for the info on this walking tour, so many interesting things to see! 
 

Yes, this tour took us to places I doubt most cruisers will find as it’s away from the main path of Rif Fort to the bridge.

 

As part of the research, I realized there are many free walking tours in other cities. 

 

We are looking to visit NYC this summer (yeah I know it’s hot and humid but I have no choice given my kids' school schedule) and will be looking to book a couple of free walking tours as well.  I prefer tours as I have no idea where is what and I rather have someone tell me.