Aruba was a lot of fun.  There's a lot of big resorts and beaches with all manner of tourist amenities, for those who are so inclined.  The people were friendly and we had an easy time getting around.    
We wanted something just a little more off the beaten path, so spent our morning on Eagle Beach.  Eagle Beach is near the timeshares and low-rise hotels, and isn't quite so developed as Palm Beach, which is near the high rise hotels and is where all of the cruise ship beach excursions went.  We got chairs for $6 and a couple mixed drinks at a nearby beach bar at reasonable prices.    
In the afternoon, we went on one of Royal Caribbean's excursions, called the Sail, Swim, Snorkel, Swing or something along those lines.  The snorkeling wasn't great, simply because the weather was such that visibility was terrible that day.  Still, the boat crew was a lot of fun and tried hard to make sure everyone had a good time.  Rum punch came out after the snorkeling was done, but even the kids too young to drink it seemed to be enjoying themselves.  

Aruba

Of all the places we went on this cruise, Curacao is the one I'd most seriously consider spending a week on for a future vacation.

We first took a cab to the Curacao-the-liquor distillery.  This wasn't that great, and we were quickly glad that our cab driver had the kindness and foresight to offer to wait for us.  I've taken up making wine and beer as a hobby over the last few years, and I was excited to see how the distillation process for Curacao liquor would be similar or different from what I knew.  There wasn't much at all in the way of a tour; overall it was like a glorified gift shop selling the same liquors that every tourist-centric shop on the island was.

From there, we went to Cabana/Kontiki beach.  This was a great choice.  The beach itself is surrounded cove-like with a breakwater, so there's not that much in the way of waves or watersports.  It's just a very nice relaxing beach.  There were a lot of good options for food and drink, as well as a bit of shopping.  We spent most of the day here.

We did a little bit of shopping in the areas nearest the port in the late afternoon; the architecture of Willemstad is distinctive and very cool.

Curacao

St. Martin/St. Maarten is another one of my favorite islands, in part probably because of its dual heritage.  I've been there around five times so far, and there still always seems to be something to do there that sounds fun that I haven't gotten around to yet.    
This time around we spent most of the day on Orient Beach, which I'd always heard so much about but never visited before.  It's a nice beach, and there are a lot of things to do, eat, and drink.  We had a sushi lunch at a restaurant near to where we rented chairs (the Kontiki, I think?) which was very good.    
We'd been warned about the nudity at Orient, and there wasn't anywhere near as much of it as we'd expected.  You'd be hard pressed to spend a day there and not see at least one person wearing less than they'd be allowed on an American beach, but we didn't see much more than that.  We don't have children, but I have to think it'd be more or less manageable for all but the most overprotective parents.  

St. Maarten

I've been to St. Thomas probably half a dozen times in the past.  It's very good and very experienced at catering to American tourists, which depending on your point of view can be a tremendously good thing.  For me, it generally makes St. Thomas a little less exciting than my favorite ports, although it's still a place I really like to go.    
This time around we did an excursion offered through Royal Caribbean, the Sail to Christmas Island and Honeymoon Cove or something along the lines.  We spent most of the day on a boat, with two snorkeling stops and an about two hour stop at a beach for lunch.  The crew was pretty fun and everyone had a good time.  One of the people we were traveling with had such a great time that he vowed to do the same excursion each and every time he visits St. Thomas.  I don't think it was *that* awesome, but it was a genuinely good time and deserves recommendation.  

St. Thomas

We had a promenade stateroom.  Nice view, and a great location close to almost everything on the ship.  The only possible downside is that during Dancing in the Street night or other particularly loud events on the Promenade, you could hear a little noise or bass rumble coming through the window.  Still, this wasn't anything we had any trouble sleeping through when we wanted.

I wish the cruise lines would offer some more flexible travel options for folks who need to fly to their departure port, but still they provided a fun vacation with great food, great service, and more fun things to do than we had time to do them for a reasonable price.The cruise line representatives at the airport seemed a little confused as to what was going on, but before long they had us on our transfer bus to the port.

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