Holland America Rotterdam 9-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 5: December 2, 2025

Day five on this 9-day southern Caribbean cruise found us visting one happy island — Aruba — bright and early, with Rotterdam docking in Oranjestad just after 7am. The “all clear” to head ashore came a little before 8, which meant the shore day parade of beach bags and fellow cruisers in vacation attire was officially underway. Joining us today were Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas — the lead ship in Royal’s Oasis-class which used to hold the record for the largest cruise ship in the world — and the German vessel AIDAmar.

But what really makes this port stop interesting is that it’s not your typical quick hit-and-run day in Aruba. This itinerary handed us something pretty rare: an overnight stay. Yes, we get two full days on Aruba… actual bonus time on one of the best islands in the Caribbean. No rushing back to the ship by 3:30pm, no watching the time like Cinderella at the ball, and you can literally stay out until sunrise if you want. You can even get a hotel room and sleep in a more comfortable bed on land if you want.

Just be back tomorrow by 4:30pm.

Now let’s call out the elephant in the room — or should I say the missing flamingo. Southern Caribbean sailings are usually marketed as the “ABC Islands,” meaning Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. Well… we’ve already hit the C yesterday, we’re doing the A today and tomorrow, but the B? Nope. Bonaire got the boot at some point. HAL hasn’t said why, so your guess is as good as mine. But honestly? I’m not mad about it.

Look, Bonaire is beautiful, but unless you love snorkeling or diving, your options there are basically:

1. Snorkel
2. Dive
3. Watch other people snorkel or dive

Aruba, on the other hand, is packed with beaches, restaurants, casinos, shops, nightlife, excursions, and more beaches. Did I mention beaches? Because Aruba has beaches.  So let’s talk about them first.

What Beach to Visit in Aruba

Cruise ships, including the beautiful Rotterdam, dock at the Port of Oranjestad, the cruise terminal that sits smack in the middle of the action. You literally step off the ship and you’re already on the main drag. Shops? Right there. Trolley? Right there. Casinos? Yep… right there. But beaches — those require a tiny bit of travel. Not much, but you’re not walking off the ship and planting yourself on the beach five minutes later. Well… unless you count one.

Let’s start with the closest one, because everyone always asks:

Governors Beach (a.k.a. the “I Don’t Feel Like Going Far” Beach) – This tiny strip of sand is the closest beach to the cruise port — about a 10-minute walk tops. Which sounds great until you actually see it. I’ve been here enough times to say this politely: It’s not the beach you’re dreaming about when you think “Aruba.”

It’s mostly a locals’ beach, has zero amenities, no chairs, no umbrellas, no bathrooms… and the water/shoreline area can look a little rough depending on the day. But there is a little dive bar right there.  If you just want to get in the water, float around for an hour, and say “I went to the beach,” it scratches the itch. Water is water, after all. Just don’t expect the Aruba you see on Instagram here.

Now for the beaches everyone actually wants to go to when visiting Aruba. Here’s the rundown, sorted by how far they are from the cruise port by taxi:

• Surfside Beach – 5 minutes – Just south of the port, quick ride, and a nice beach if you’re short on time. Again you’ll find plenty of locals, and some beach bars like Reflexions. It’s not as pretty as the big-name beaches, but it’s laid back, chill, and easy to get to.
• Druif Beach – 8 minutes – Near some of the small hotels in the area, it’s quiet and usually has fewer crowds.
• Eagle Beach – 10 minutes – This is the beach that shows up on Every Top 10 Beaches in the World list — and the one EVERYONE goes to.  It can get busy at times, especially when there are two or more ships in port.  Most all the cruise lines offer excursions here or you can taxi to it.  If you’ve ever seen photos of those famous Divi Divi trees leaning dramatically in the wind, you’ll see ethem here.
• Palm Beach – 12 minutes – No, not that Palm Beach.  This is where all the high-rise hotels are — the Riu, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, etc. So expect it to be crazy busy at times and there is definitely no shortage of bars, people, restaurants, people, bars, people, and restaurants.  Oh, did I mention people?  If you want beach + amenities + a lively crowd, this is your spot.
• Malmok Beach – 15 minutes – A tad bit on the rocky side and most people go here for snorkeling. It’s not a lay-out-all-day beach, but if your goal is to snorkel, this one’s is the one to visit.
• Arashi Beach – 18 minutes – Quieter than Palm and Eagle, and definitely more of a local feel. Great snorkeling, smaller crowds.

So… If I Had to Pick Just One?

Easy. Eagle Beach.

Palm Beach is great if you’re in the mood to party, or since we’re staying overnight, to really party as most bars stay open till about 2am. However, do like the majority of cruisers do, go to Eagle Beach.

Things to Do in Aruba Besides the Beach

Not everyone coming to Aruba is here to. bake in the sun all day. If beaches aren’t on your agenda, you’re in luck, because Oranjestad is one of the easiest ports in the Caribbean to explore without needing a taxi or booking anything in advance.

Once you step off the ship at the cruise pier, you’re basically dropped right into downtown. Everything is walkable, everything is easy, and everything is tourist-ready. Across the street you’ll find the Renaissance Marketplace and the Renaissance Marina area, which are loaded with shops, cafés, ice cream spots, bars, and restaurants.

If you’re into casinos, both Renaissance hotels have them. Want to shop? You’ve got high-end stores, souvenir shops, handmade crafts, and everything in between. There’s also the trolley that does a loop through downtown. It’s slow, it’s free, and it’s a fun way to see the area without having to walk yourself into dehydration.

Wandering through the side streets will bring you to parks, questionable neighborhoods (because, Caribbean), tons of places to eat and sample some locally brewed Aruba beer and it’s just fun to wander around. It’s extremely safe during the day, and the tourist area stays busy at night, and remains fairly safe once the sun goes down.  Which is something you can’t say about a lot of places I’ve visited, island hopping.

Shore Excursions in Aruba

Aruba is one of those islands where the excursion list is huge.  Kinda like a CVS receipt. The island is small, but there are literally dozens of different excursions you can take.

If you’re into adventure, the off-road ATV tours are huge here. You ride as a convoy and visit places like the Natural Bridge, the Alto Vista Chapel, and volcanic rock formations. If you don’t want to drive yourself, the bus tours hit many of the same stops without needing a chiropractor when you get back to the ship.

There are also several catamaran snorkel excursions that take you out to the Antilla shipwreck — one of the largest wrecks in the Caribbean — plus a couple of shallow reef stops. Some even offer a sunset cruise with champagne and a more chill atmosphere than the party-party boat earlier in the day.

You can also head to the butterfly farm or the ostrich farm, both of which are low key, but if you want something even more low-key, there are sightseeing tours, cultural tours through the island’s neighborhoods, and even brewery and distillery visits for those who think the best way to learn about local culture is through alcohol (you’re not wrong).

And of course, this is one of those ports where I always remind readers:  If you’re doing something far from the port, and you don’t want to test your luck with island time… book through the ship.  You don’t want to be watching your ship sail away from Oranjestad without you because you or your third-party tour lost track of time.

Ships will wait for passengers arriving late only if they’re on a ship-purchased excursion.  Paid someone at the port to drive you around and the van broke down, sorry.  Good luck with that.

Wandering Around Aruba

Since we have two full days here, I was in absolutely no rush to run off the ship at 8 a.m. I waited until later in the afternoon to head ashore, and quickly found that Rotterdam was parked in the absolute worst spot at the pier. We were so far down the dock that by the time I made it from the gangway to the main street, my Apple Watch congratulated me for completing my 10,000 steps earlier than usual.

Once you clear the security gate, the first thing greeting you is the long line of little souvenir huts — the kind selling T-shirts, magnets, shot glasses, and other items that you’ll look at when you get home and wonder, “Why did I spend money on this?” You know the drill. After you navigate that gauntlet, you hit the real shopping district, and surprise — there’s a Diamonds International. Because if a Caribbean port doesn’t have one, is it even allowed to call itself a Caribbean port? If you want to drop five figures on a handbag instead of five bucks on a knockoff  Bogg bag, Louis Vuitton is ready for your financial destruction and is right across the street.

I wandered around for a bit, enjoyed the sunshine (finally), and then made my way over to the Renaissance Resort area to grab a couple of cold local beers — Chill and Balashi. Chill is basically Aruba’s Corona — the kind of beer you can drink six of without realizing it. Balashi is brewed right in Aruba, and is perfect for a hot day.

Side note time… I am absolutely terrified of drinking water anywhere outside the United States. If someone hands me a drink with ice in Mexico, I’m running. I’ve gotten sick on cruise line private islands where the water is filtered, purified, reverse-osmosised, blessed by the Pope, whatever… and still somehow my stomach says, “Nope. We’re gonna make this memorable.”

But, Aruba’s tap water is actually safe. Like, really safe.  And yes, I’ve spent way more time researching it than it’s probably worth, but it set my mind at ease.  Aruba’s has a world-class desalination plant, one of the oldest and most advanced anywhere in the Caribbean. The island converts seawater into drinking water through a purification process that meets — and in many cases exceeds — U.S. and European standards.

So if you’re in Aruba and you get a Coke Zero with ice, it’s totally fine. Just don’t try that in Cozumel unless you enjoy testing your health insurance deductible.

Since we’re in port overnight, I also looked around for a dinner spot in town. I love Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto, and even the main dining room, but after three weeks on Rotterdam, I needed to mix things up and eat somewhere that didn’t involve the hostess knowing my name and asking if I want “the usual.”

I had three places on my list: the steakhouse at the Renaissance, the Italian restaurant at the Renaissance, and a little spot in town with one of the most confusing names ever — Italy in the World. The steakhouse was the first to get axed because, let’s be honest, after three straight weeks of Pinnacle Grill, I’m basically one ribeye away from mooing.

The Italian place at the Renaissance looked great, but it also had that “corporate resort dining” feel, and if I’m doing Italian, I want something a little more homemade. So that narrowed it down to the hole-in-the-wall. Italy in the World won by default and curiosity — because what does that name even mean? No clue. And with that, my dinner plan was decided.

But first, a look at what was being served for dinner on the ship!

Lido Market Dinner Menu

Main Dining Room Dinner Menu

Italy in the World, Aruba

Italy in the World is about a 15-minute walk from the ship and definitely off the beaten path — the kind of place you only find because someone told you about it, or because you accidentally wandered too far. It’s tucked inside this little historic house called Huisje Hart, which looks like something straight out of a Grimm’s Fairytale. It’s tiny, in a “hope you’re not claustrophobic” kind of way and is said to be the oldest house in the city.

Walking up, the first thing I noticed is that the front door is… tiny. As in, “duck unless you want a concussion and a free CT scan” tiny. Once I managed to go in without cracking my skull, I was greeted by the owner, who immediately reminded me of an old Italian grandfather who invited you over for dinner, hit the dago red a little too early, and is now very committed to feeding you whether you’re hungry or not. He asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside, and since inside was completely empty, I enthusiastically chose outside.

Outside seating, by the way, is basically the street. The “patio” setup consisted of assorted handmade tables, mismatched plastic chairs that definitely saw their prime three furniture lifetimes ago, some Christmas icicle lights that may or may not have been up since 2012, and a mishmash of water glasses and silverware that absolutely had stories to tell.

My server wandered over wearing flip-flops and shorts, which, well… I guess it’s an Aruba thing.  Maybe?  He wasn’t the chattiest guy in the world and spoke about as much English as I speak Italian — which is to say, we communicated mostly through menu pointing and nods. I ordered an Aperol Spritz while looking over the menu, and judging by how long it took to arrive, I’m pretty sure he slow walked to the ship to make it and slow walked back to deliver it. At some point I also asked what beers they had, and he told me Peroni, so I ordered one. It showed up about twenty minutes later.

To start, I went with the “beef stuffed mini peppers,” which sounded promising until they arrived. Imagine someone made tiny meatballs three weeks ago, froze them, warmed them them up, then shoved them into a much fresher pepper and called it a day. They were neither warm nor identifiable as anything other than “an attempt.”

Next up was the caprese salad — thick tomato slices topped with mozzarella so store-bought that all of Italy cried when it arrived at the table.

For the main course, I went with the veal saltimbocca. First of all, it was served over a bed of romaine lettuce, which is something that hasn’t been fashionable since 1978 when we also insisted on garnishing everything with parsley. The veal was tough, fatty, and flavorless.  The side of pasta was shockingly the best part of the whole meal.

Service was barely there. The server only appeared to drop food or whisk away plates, and if you desperately wanted another drink, well, start praying because you’ll be waiting a while.

Dessert was a hard pass.

When the bill came, they had automatically added 20% gratuity and didn’t even present a slip to sign. At that point, I just wanted to get out of there, chalk up the night to experience, and go.

And just when I thought the evening couldn’t get any worse, I walked around the side of the building only to see a woman dropping trou and taking a dump in the parking lot. She looked up, said “Sorry,” and kept doing her thing.

Honestly?  That summed up my entire dinner perfectly.

On my way back to the ship, I made a little pit stop at the Renaissance Casino because… I threw fifty bucks into a machine, fully expecting it to disappear faster than a Diamonds International salesman when you say, “I’m just browsing.” But that $50 turned into a couple hundred bucks. I played for about an hour, had some fun, and still walked out with a few hundred more than I went in with. Not bad.

All in all, it was a very interesting night in Aruba.  Back on the ship, it was about 11:30pm and time to call it a night.  More tomorrow!  As always, thanks for following along.

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