Epic review
This was our 3rd cruise with 3 different lines this past year. We have been on approx 14 cruises, 4 different lines.
I decided on this cruise mainly for the itinerary. We live in Minnesota so leaving from San Juan means warmth right from the start! We also had 2 cruise next certificates to use so NCL was our choice. 11 day Southern Caribbean, 9 islands.
We had balcony 10001, the most forward cabin that was a closed hull. We have never had a closed hull balcony before and i will not book one again. I love sitting and watching the ocean, I had to stand. Loved the forward cabin, we could look all the way forward. Cabin was tight but comfortable with tons of storage!!! There is a camouflaged drawer under sink, under couch and back of couch. The last day I even found storage above the bed. There were 2 closets and 4 drawers for the two of us. We are light packers so everything was 1/2 full or not used. I will go on record that I didn’t think we would mind the bathroom setup but we did in the end. I missed having an enclosed space to go to in the middle of the night that I could close the door and turn on the light. I was constantly trying to be quiet looking for cough drops and cold meds without turning on light. I had to be very prepared before bed! There is nowhere to store anything by toilet or shower area. Sink, counter and storage is on bedroom side of curtain. I had to retreat to the balcony during coughing spells, hopefully I didn’t wake up anyone else!
We stayed at the Hilton Caribe for one night before cruise and the intercontinental for one night post cruise. We love the Isla Verde beach area so the intercontinental wins on location alone!
We love Aruba! We took a cab to the Hilton hotel. We did a little shopping in their boutique and walked through their grounds. Absolutely beautiful. We walked the beach and enjoyed the water. Headed back to the Hilton and had lunch in their beach front restaurant. Caught a cab from there back to ship.
Grabbed a shared cab to mambo beach. The cabbie recommended the beach club next to it. I believe it was part of the wet and wild beach club. We did the cheapest loungers, 5$ a person and found some shade.
I brought my own snorkel and had a great day out along the man made sea wall. The water is amazing!!!
We had loved Bonaire last year but we decided to stay on the ship this year.
Took a cab to Carlisle beach! Beautiful!
We took a cab to a boutique beach club. I booked beach limerz on line before trip. Loved our day and the water was amazing. Service was great and I am still dreaming of the fish wrap I ordered.
We had planned on going to the Marriot and just buy a day pass. I had a bad night with my cold and cough so ended up sleeping all morning and then hanging out on lounger.
Another day on the ship! We had a very relaxing day by the pool.