This morning, Libby awoke early (closer to my wake-up time) in order to watch the Royal Wedding live on television. Being an Anglophile and interested in the Royal Family, this was a big event for her. I went out for the morning coffee and breakfast, which I brought back to the cabin.
When all was done, we ventured out to explore Oranjestad in Aruba. While not exactly charming, the city is attractive and in good condition. We enjoyed walking along the waterfront (wonderful shades of blue and green water… turquoise, aquamarine, cerulean, and royal).
Unlike St. Thomas, the shopping and resorts seemed a little more refined and upscale with fewer retailers of trinkets and trash. Here again, it pays to know pricing (free WiFi, which you can find in most ports, is a good means to double check value before making a purchase). Example, I found a Seiko watch for $300 in Aruba ($450 MSRP), which can be bought in the US for less than $200. Products from Europe, however, offered better value: Libby purchased a Longchamps purse; I got a Frederique Constant watch (not well known in the USA, but a good quality/value watch that I’m familiar with from our travels in Europe).
We returned to the ship for a light, late lunch (big dinner at Sabatini’s tonight). We ate in Horizon Court. Like last night, our impression remains the same: good quality (for a buffet), somewhat limited selection (relative to other cruise lines), and a bit crowded (both the serving and seating space seems physically constrained–it should be interesting to see what it’s like on a sea day tomorrow at peak times). We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing aboard the ship… reading, blogging, chatting, etc.
Tonight’s dinner in the ship’s Italian specialty restaurant was decent. Basically, you pick a main course (secondi piatti), and they serve you a sampling of a number of dishes (cold and warm antipasti), thin crust pizza, pastas, etc. You don’t get a lot of any one thing (though I’m sure you could ask for more), but you get a lot of everything in total. It was basically good… though nothing especially great. Overall, it was still the best Italian specialty restaurant food we’ve had at sea. But, that’s more because the competition (from HAL, RCI, and NCL) have all been rather weak. I’m still waiting for an amazing Italian meal on the high seas (like we’ve had with Asian and steak/seafood).
Today’s box score: +1 country (Aruba–bringing our grand total to 45!)
Here are a couple of photos from today:
