Aruba excursion?

[disneyloo]

I will be on the Coral Princess on 3rd May and have booked the Aruba Highlights and Aloe Factory Tour through the ship. I was wondering if anybody has done this tour through the ship or is it possible to do similar independently for cheaper? Which is the better option please? Is it safe and easy to find a tour/taxi immediately when you get off the ship.

 

Thanks

[snoe]

Taxis are easy to find. I always prefer to go off on my own but if you are wanting to do a tour of the factory it may be better to do it through the ship since the factory will have a schedule to follow and probably prefers dealing with large groups versus individuals. I could be wrong, this is just my best guess. My wife found someone on the Internet to give us a tour of the island. I did notice when we walked off the ship their were cabs and also small tour buses. I think you could get by with not booking anything in advance if you did not want to and grab a taxi or the "Island Tour" buses and work out a deal with them on the spot. Now that I think about it one of the ladies with us wanted to go to the aloe plant about 20 minutes into the tour but it was too late. The driver had already headed the other direction. We should have told him before we left. If Aloe tour is critical to you and you want to play it safe book it through the ship, otherwise just wing it when you get there. FYI, we were not impressed with the Aruba tour around the island. We went snorleling in the morning so we did start the island tour until later in the day. I think it was around 2:00 PM. Snorkeling in Aruba was not that great. We had a great cruise but Aruba was our least favorite port. What other ports will you be going to?

[disneyloo]

Thanks. We will also be going to Costa Rica, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, Puntarenas, Puerto Amador as well as Aruba. Any advice or things to do in these places? We have already booked a tour with Charlie Soto whom I have read a lot about on these boards.

[snoe]

I have only been to Costa Rica. Can not comment on the other ports. Have a great time.