I actually had booked MSC Meraviglia for this week but MSC wasn't accepting Canadians since we coudn't get insurance, so I picked this cruise as I'd already booked the Nov 7 sailing on Horizon.
I was able to get the same inside cabin 8238 for both cruises. I loved its location & cabins on either side of it were unoccupied.
I had such a good time on the cruise. Everything was great it was nice to sail on a ship with less people, 65% of usual, or 2800 passengers.
The cabin 8238 was close to the mid ship elevators & serviced by SIti, my lovely stewardess.
On the 8th deck there are laundry facilities which I did use once before the next cruise.
There was a mini fridge in the cabin which did come in handy. The only thing I didn't like about the cabin was the shower has a curtain not a door.
I chose the excursion that went to the Botanical Garden & a walking tour of downtown.
The view from the hill at the garden was great & there was the Christ the Redeemer statue that a local took fun pictures of me holding it up etc. There was a lot of stairs there & my guide Segundo, took my arm or hand to help me. In the Town centre, which was very hot, we saw the Cathedral & Square, the pink street & best of all the lovely umbrella street!!
DId the Best of Aruba tour which was really good.We went to several places, the site of the new Natural Bridge as the old one collapsed in 2005, the Lighthouse whose area had really changed since I last saw it in 2005 = no goats, the Casibari Rock Formations & a little Church where I finally got to see, in the bushes, the beautiful turquoise lizard I'd only seen pictures of up 'til then.
I did the Island tour which began at the Slave House Museum where we were offered a fresh lime drink before we explored the museum & surroundings. Next we went to the National Park with its rugged shoreline, a waterfall & strange formations on the many rocks. We drove by a lovely deserted beach then stopped at a place overlooking a really beautiful beach with turquoise water. Our last stop was the salt flats where unfortunately the Flamingos were too far away to really photograph, well at least with my phone.