Community Forum

Love Aruba · 06-06-2011, 08:48 AM

Hi everyone--we are back home now

I tell you 14 days go by so quickly in Aruba, but it was wonderful.
To start we were happy to get to the airport early because we both had to go through the scanner AND the pat down. Everyone had to so that was a little bit of a hold up. We let a girl go ahead of us because she was running late and I am not sure she made her flight so people get there EARLY.

I think it is better to have a nice stress free day going to Aruba. I will gladly spend time in the airport. Then in Aruba to meet us was Hubert!! He is Bully's brother in-law and is such a GREAT man. He took us to Ling and Sons so Chuck could get some beer and I got the STROOP WAFFELS! (yummm Andrea thanks for telling me about them.) like a dummy--I didn't get any to bring back.

Hubert speaks the best English--he sounds as if he were from here. Also his taxi number is 83.
We rented our phone from Discount Cell again this year. I called Trees and she was there at the Occidental within the 1/2 hour I requested. She also picked the phone up Saturday morning at the time she said she would. She is such a nice lady.
The weather was like the Aruba I knew. VERY windy! Last year we didn't have much wind. This year you couldn't tell how hot it was because of the wind. Trust me it was hot--if the wind would die down, you prayed for it to come back.

Actually a few times when the wind was blowing hard, I was cold getting out of the water

, that's just kinda funny to me. I will say again PEOPLE WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN!! Oh my gosh, I saw so many people that didn't and they were so burnt they looked purple instead of red. We had one day of kinda overcast and one day it rained VERY LITTLE in the late afternoon. It was about the time we were going in to get ready for dinner. It looked as if it rained the nite before we left but we didn't hear a thing.
We also had a day that the island didn't have power. This was a planned power outage and the hotel had things under control. Last year we were there when a generator blew up and power was out at nite--TERRIBLE!

This year they planned the outage AND it was during the day. We did a tour that day, then we just stayed at the beach/pool all day, and that is what we always do anyway. It was out from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
As always, it was wonderful to get back to the Occidental. I just can't say enough about the people there. You know Aruban people are just so nice, and I just feel at home when these people at the Occidental always greet us with smiles and hugs. A great "Welcome Home". And then they will cry right along with me when I leave. I love them and miss them all so very much!!

I am sorry that I can't tell you about any restaurants AGAIN this trip. We had good intentions though

We love the restaurants at the Occidental so we didn't leave. BUT we may go back in December and rent a timeshare

and go off the property for dinners. We shall see. If that happens, I will report then.

When we returned from Aruba we did not get a pat down or a scan--but I really didn't see a scanner. It seems as though it went smoother at the airport in Aruba than other years. My GREAT friend BULLY arranged for a wheel chair for my hubby and things went smooth. He would not promise that he could get one, this is just the best man. I will report about him in another post.
Oh I hope this isn't too long--sorry. I know there are things I have left out, so if you have any questions that I could help with, let me know.
I am going to post again about Bully and our tour....
So sad to be back, but so happy we got to go.
Pat

*Andrea J.* · 06-06-2011, 08:58 AM

welcome home pat

a drag leaving aruba huh?
glad the winds kept u from roasting to death.

thanks for the report

angelone · 06-06-2011, 11:35 AM

Glad to hear the winds are back up died last year but! a bad day in Aruba beats any kind of a day anywhere else. Dick.

devilsangel7681 · 06-06-2011, 12:31 PM

Hi Pat! Glad you had a good time!

Do you have any suggestions about what to bring vs. what not to bring? I am leaving this Saturday and want to make sure I am packing correctly. I have recieved LOTS of help on this forum thus far as far as what to pack. Just wondering if you thought of anything that other people may not have thought of.

I did pack 4 bottles of sunscreen already!!! :-)

thanks for your help, I am so glad you guys had a GREAT time

ricky59 · 06-06-2011, 01:29 PM

love aruba, do you always stay at the occidental? the staff are wonderful people, that's why it's my home every few month's. returning june 23, love this resort!!!

Love Aruba · 06-06-2011, 07:26 PM

The only thing I can tell you, is don't pack a lot of clothes, you really don't need them. I don't know how long you will be there, but you don't need a lot. Most important is bathing suits and coverups. Men wear slacks to the restaurants (a la carte) at night, women can wear shorts. That is if you are staying at the Occidental. I did take slacks but I didn't wear them. Hubby took 2 pair of slacks--but only had them on to eat dinner then back to shorts. So most important would be the bathing suits, coverups AND sunscreen. Oh and maybe a hat. I took one, but it kept blowing off.

Just go and have a great time. Aruba is just wonderful!!!!
Let us know how you liked it.
Pat

Quote:

Originally Posted by devilsangel7681

Hi Pat! Glad you had a good time!

Do you have any suggestions about what to bring vs. what not to bring? I am leaving this Saturday and want to make sure I am packing correctly. I have recieved LOTS of help on this forum thus far as far as what to pack. Just wondering if you thought of anything that other people may not have thought of.

I did pack 4 bottles of sunscreen already!!! :-)

thanks for your help, I am so glad you guys had a GREAT time

Love Aruba · 06-06-2011, 07:28 PM

Ricky, yes we always stay at the Occidental and yes the staff are wonderful. I just love them all. I am jealous you get to go so much

but we may be going again in December!!! Do you have a timeshare? Enjoy your next visit and tell all my peeps that Pat and Chuck from Texas say HELLO!
Pat

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricky59

love aruba, do you always stay at the occidental? the staff are wonderful people, that's why it's my home every few month's. returning june 23, love this resort!!!

devilsangel7681 · 06-06-2011, 08:59 PM

Thanks Pat, that really helps! I think I will cut back on the clothes for sure based on your suggestions. We will be there 9 days total, I figure we will go out to eat and gamble at the casinos at night and will need "real" clothes for that. I will definitely share my Aruba story when I get back!

serene56 · 06-07-2011, 09:04 AM

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.
Having severe anxiety about the Occidental for our stay come Sept- and you alleviated my worries for the time being (until next week when i start to think about it again)

danadog56 · 06-07-2011, 12:13 PM

Pat,
glad you had a great time, not the we would expect anthing other than that !!!!

nice update on your trip....cant wait for mine in november...

06-06-2011, 08:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
Love Aruba Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 645	14 WONDERFUL days in Aruba Hi everyone--we are back home now I tell you 14 days go by so quickly in Aruba, but it was wonderful. To start we were happy to get to the airport early because we both had to go through the scanner AND the pat down. Everyone had to so that was a little bit of a hold up. We let a girl go ahead of us because she was running late and I am not sure she made her flight so people get there EARLY. I think it is better to have a nice stress free day going to Aruba. I will gladly spend time in the airport. Then in Aruba to meet us was Hubert!! He is Bully's brother in-law and is such a GREAT man. He took us to Ling and Sons so Chuck could get some beer and I got the STROOP WAFFELS! (yummm Andrea thanks for telling me about them.) like a dummy--I didn't get any to bring back. Hubert speaks the best English--he sounds as if he were from here. Also his taxi number is 83. We rented our phone from Discount Cell again this year. I called Trees and she was there at the Occidental within the 1/2 hour I requested. She also picked the phone up Saturday morning at the time she said she would. She is such a nice lady. The weather was like the Aruba I knew. VERY windy! Last year we didn't have much wind. This year you couldn't tell how hot it was because of the wind. Trust me it was hot--if the wind would die down, you prayed for it to come back. Actually a few times when the wind was blowing hard, I was cold getting out of the water, that's just kinda funny to me. I will say again PEOPLE WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN!! Oh my gosh, I saw so many people that didn't and they were so burnt they looked purple instead of red. We had one day of kinda overcast and one day it rained VERY LITTLE in the late afternoon. It was about the time we were going in to get ready for dinner. It looked as if it rained the nite before we left but we didn't hear a thing. We also had a day that the island didn't have power. This was a planned power outage and the hotel had things under control. Last year we were there when a generator blew up and power was out at nite--TERRIBLE! This year they planned the outage AND it was during the day. We did a tour that day, then we just stayed at the beach/pool all day, and that is what we always do anyway. It was out from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. As always, it was wonderful to get back to the Occidental. I just can't say enough about the people there. You know Aruban people are just so nice, and I just feel at home when these people at the Occidental always greet us with smiles and hugs. A great "Welcome Home". And then they will cry right along with me when I leave. I love them and miss them all so very much!! I am sorry that I can't tell you about any restaurants AGAIN this trip. We had good intentions though We love the restaurants at the Occidental so we didn't leave. BUT we may go back in December and rent a timeshare and go off the property for dinners. We shall see. If that happens, I will report then. When we returned from Aruba we did not get a pat down or a scan--but I really didn't see a scanner. It seems as though it went smoother at the airport in Aruba than other years. My GREAT friend BULLY arranged for a wheel chair for my hubby and things went smooth. He would not promise that he could get one, this is just the best man. I will report about him in another post. Oh I hope this isn't too long--sorry. I know there are things I have left out, so if you have any questions that I could help with, let me know. I am going to post again about Bully and our tour.... So sad to be back, but so happy we got to go. Pat Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

ADVERTISMENT

06-06-2011, 08:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
Andrea J. Aruba since 1979 Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: renaissance island, eagle beach, amsterdam manor/passions beach bar, Hung Paradis, alto vista chapel, madam janettes, big porch at B55 Posts: 13,254 Images: 80	welcome home pat a drag leaving aruba huh? glad the winds kept u from roasting to death. thanks for the report Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________ Please, I'll have a Grande' decaf Mocha Latte' with a shot of liquid tranquilizer.

06-06-2011, 11:35 AM	#3 (permalink)
angelone Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 136	Glad to hear the winds are back up died last year but! a bad day in Aruba beats any kind of a day anywhere else. Dick. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook Love Aruba likes this. __________________ angelone

06-06-2011, 12:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
devilsangel7681 Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Costa Linda, Reniessance, any place where there is a beach and tiki hut I am good 8) Posts: 99	Hi Pat! Glad you had a good time! Do you have any suggestions about what to bring vs. what not to bring? I am leaving this Saturday and want to make sure I am packing correctly. I have recieved LOTS of help on this forum thus far as far as what to pack. Just wondering if you thought of anything that other people may not have thought of. I did pack 4 bottles of sunscreen already!!! :-) thanks for your help, I am so glad you guys had a GREAT time Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________

06-06-2011, 01:29 PM	#5 (permalink)
ricky59 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 187	love aruba, do you always stay at the occidental? the staff are wonderful people, that's why it's my home every few month's. returning june 23, love this resort!!! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook

06-06-2011, 08:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
devilsangel7681 Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Costa Linda, Reniessance, any place where there is a beach and tiki hut I am good 8) Posts: 99	Thanks Pat, that really helps! I think I will cut back on the clothes for sure based on your suggestions. We will be there 9 days total, I figure we will go out to eat and gamble at the casinos at night and will need "real" clothes for that. I will definitely share my Aruba story when I get back! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________

06-07-2011, 09:04 AM	#9 (permalink)
serene56 Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 463	Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Having severe anxiety about the Occidental for our stay come Sept- and you alleviated my worries for the time being (until next week when i start to think about it again) Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________

06-07-2011, 12:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
danadog56 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: everywhere and anywhere Posts: 1,650 Images: 13	Pat, glad you had a great time, not the we would expect anthing other than that !!!! nice update on your trip....cant wait for mine in november... Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook Love Aruba likes this. __________________ 5 1/2 months and counting..........but getting closer everyday !!!