marriott ren. - beach?

[fattypatty]

Also, is it true that the adult only flamingo beach has a optional topless policy! Wonder if people actually go topless....

[wnysnow]

Just to clear up the matter, the Marina Tower is by the Crystal Casino. The cool part is the fact that you board the boat right in the Marina Tower, kind of like a Disney Ride. People who are staying at the Ocean Suites board the boat by the Yacht Harbor by the Seaport Casino. FYI there is a beach Oceanfront area by the Ocean Suites, so you can relax at the pool, by the Oceanfront or go the distance and get thee to the Private Island (my personal favorite!!!)

Enjoy,
Susan

[fattypatty]

AHHH.....understood.

[fattypatty]

quick question. is the crystal casino filled with shady locals at night? i remember that during the day time it was.

[dragonlady]

Dh and i were just at the Renaissance in late march. Our first trip to Aruba, but certainly won't be our last! We both loved it. Loved the Renaissance, loved the private island.

I think the Renaissance Casino seemed a little less crowded than the Crystal Casino. ALso yes, the Crystal Casino seemed to have more locals. I do have to say I NEVER felt unsafe on that island.

And yes, there is topless sunbathing on Renaissance Island on "Flamingo Cove" or the adult side, though some parents did bring their kids over to see the flamingos and feed them. That was FUN!! We also went to De Palm
for a few hours via one of those kayak excursions and there was one lady topless there. BTW, the kayak trip to De Palm was amazing and fun, but the trip back with the wind coming right at you was quite a challenge! I don't think i could have done it had i not been kayaking before and stengthened my arms!

[fattypatty]

We also went to De Palm
for a few hours via one of those kayak excursions and there was one lady topless there. BTW, the kayak trip to De Palm was amazing and fun, but the trip back with the wind coming right at you was quite a challenge! I don't think i could have done it had i not been kayaking before and stengthened my arms!

Kayaking to deplam island? how long does that take? does depalm charge you? do you just kayak there and back or are you allowed to enjoy depalm's facilities? can you elaborate? thanks.

[dragonlady]

Lets see, well, the kayaking itself doesn't take that long maybe 30 minutes or so, but that depends on how experienced you and your group are. Paddling *out* to De Palm is fairly easy, though in a few areas the waves were pretty challenging and i *almost* tipped out of the yak. Remember you have to get back in! The instructions and such takes a while.

I don't remember what tour company it was, but they picked us up by bus and took us to their facilites, outfitted us with paddles, boats, life jackets and instructed us. The guides can take your "stuff" over to De Palm for you. Let them. If you tip out and don't have dry bags your stuff gets wet.

On the excursion we took, all of De Palm, facilities and lunch was included, however, if you want to snuba or some other such stuff, thats extra. Dh and I LOVE snorkling so we brought our own gear and it was such a trill to swim with the huge beatiful parrot fish and other tropical fish. We layed in the sun, went down the water slides a few times, just to say we did it and had a terrrific lunch.

THen its time to kayak back.....against the trade winds. This was VERY challenging. I'm 5'4", weigh 135 and i do snorkle, cycle, kayak and go to the gym, so i think i'm in pretty decent shape, even if it was the end of a New England winter. I *did* paddle myself all the way back only finishinig second behind my DH (i know its not a race) however it is challenging on the arms. Oh, and DH turned sideways to the winds to look back at how i was doing, got his boat on top of one of those waves and out he went!

The only thing we would want to do different is spend more time on De Palm. We both did enjoy the kayaking in the ocean very much.

HTH