What do you see at the Aruba cruise port? — featuring Traveling Flamingo

0:00 hi this is linda with traveling flamingo and today we are on a caribbean cruise stopping in aruba which is a very popular southern caribbean destination we get lots of questions about what to expect at the port to help you plan your trip we're going to tell you everything you need to know about the port stay

0:16 tuned to find out what we thought and how you can prepare for your day in aruba [Applause] let's get started with your arrival and departure the cruise ship stock in orange dad aruba which is the capital city there are four spots for ships you will be docked at either birth b c f or

0:39 g all of which are close together when we were in aruba the carnival freedom was there as well it's not a far walk to the terminal building or out of the port it only takes about five minutes which is awesome being that it's not a large dock there were not any trams we've been on some

0:58 docks that were really big no shade and it was easily a 10 minute walk i think on some of those i've burned even before we got to the port but fortunately this is not the case in aruba it was nice how short the dock was and how quickly you could get into some shade in terms of the port atmosphere this is really a

1:16 jumping point to your next destination there is a large terminal building where there is space to meet up with groups shops washrooms and an information booth as well as air conditioning as you walk out of the terminal building and start walking towards the exit of the port area there are lots of booths

1:33 set up with local vendors which offer different excursions our crews had an emergency the day before so we were really late arriving in aruba and most of the vendors had already left for the day so if you're someone who doesn't like to go with the cruise line for excursions there's a lot of options right there at

1:51 the port just remember to get yourself back in time at the port so you don't have to be one of those dock runners the port also has some basics that you need but unlike other other manufacturer ports like costa maya there really isn't too much at the port before we get into food and dining i just want to pop in

2:10 here and thank everyone who's liked and subscribed to our channel and say we've got tons of cruising port videos like nasa costa maya and what you need to know for a perfect day at coco k so when this video is done please be sure to check out our channel thank you in terms of food and dining there aren't any

2:28 restaurants or bars at the cruise port i think that is because you're just a short walk from the restaurant shops and bars downtown most people will go there instead of staying at the port the paddock was one of the closest bars with views of the cruise ship it was really cool and it had a lot of open air

2:45 which is terrific in the aruba weather so let's jump into what's near the port as that's what most people will be doing when they visit aruba if you're interested in exploring the island on your own the public buses are affordable and stop at many beaches taxis are also a great way to explore

3:02 the island if you're interested in shopping the town of orange dad is just to the right outside of the port as you walk along lg smith boulevard you'll come to the wharf's side flea market where there are tons of local booths selling all kinds of souvenirs as you continue down the road you come

3:23 to the royal plaza mall it is an iconic looking three-story open-air mall it has not all opened up yet but they're still fun to check out there are lots of great shops and restaurants that have beautiful sunset views also follow the tram tracks and check out havenstrat and shelp strat

3:46 and the main street if you're interested in some more shopping again we got there near the end of the day so most of the shops were already closed but it is a gorgeous street this is where we tried the aruban snack the pestici it's a fried half moon pastry and we got the cheese one it was so delicious it

4:08 was a really nice snack after all of our walking around some of the other common places to visit in the downtown area are the archaeology museum of aruba the fort zootman museum historical museum and the renaissance mall and the marketplace the renaissance mall was really cool this was actually the first

4:29 small i'd ever seen a water taxi go right into the middle of the hotel i'd never seen that before our original plan was to go to one of the famous beaches but we arrived so late we decided to scrap that the top five beaches in aruba are eagle beach baby beach palm beach arashi and rough

4:48 beach i'm usually all in for walking but it seemed like a bit too much of a walk in the heat of the day so i would recommend getting a taxi or a bus instead we get lots of questions about what to bring and other information the official languages of aruba are dutch and papiamento but most places people also

5:09 speak english actually everywhere we went we met people who spoke english the currency that's used in aruba is florin but u.s dollars and travelers checks as well as credit cards are also accepted it's always good practice to have some cash on you just in case your credit card type is not accepted

5:28 in terms of internet there are places like the renaissance mall and other cafes that have free internet you'll want to check with your cell phone provider be so you can understand what they charge if you're going to go ahead with that when packing your bag for the day you'll want to consider where you're going it's

5:45 always good to have sunscreen sunglasses and a water bottle as you're in the caribbean and the sun is strong i like to bring a power back as i go through my phone battery connecting with family and taking photos aaron got me a cool wireless charger which is really handy i just keep it in

6:01 my purse we are still in the times when i like to have a couple extra masks in our bag because each country and different stores have different policies around max if you're planning to go to the beach make sure you pack some towels in your swimsuit next time we go back i am definitely

6:18 checking out one of the beaches something else to keep in mind whenever you are disembarking at a port you need to have your cruise card you may also be required to have identification with you and depending where you are from that could be a driver's license or your passport so just a little bit about what our day

6:36 was like because of this medical emergency we spent half of the day before waiting outside of the port of jamaica for medical crew to return so this meant we were really late arriving into aruba so it's just a little reminder that your itinerary can change at any moment for weather medical emergencies or other

6:55 reasons this is not the first time we've missed a port or had reduced time because of extenuating situations we try to make the best of it by doing different activities on the ship and choosing our priorities when we arrive to the port if we are short on time we really enjoyed walking around and

7:13 trying some local food and we actually met a fellow canadian who traveled to aruba about 10 years ago for a vacation and just fell in love with the island and decided to move there overall the port is a great meeting location with some shopping air conditioning and a place to purchase your local excursions

7:30 it's a great jumping off point to go and explore the island further there is great shopping and restaurants within walking distance or if you get a cab you can head to the beach or use public transit this is a great port to purchase an excursion from the cruise line or a local provider if you're

7:47 interested in exploring the island more as this isn't a manufactured port like costa maya we hope that you liked our video if you're interested in supporting our channel please like and subscribe it really means a lot to us we've also launched some traveling flamingo merchandise and if you're a disney or

8:05 amusement park fan then you might want to check out our flamingos in wonderland channel thanks again for watching and happy traveling [Music]