MadMaxEsq
Registered
Just got back from Curacao at about 1AM Sunday morning. Trip report below and maybe some pics later.
Overall a great vacation. Wife and I were upgraded to first class on Delta on both segments (IAD-ATL and ATL-CUR) thanks to my silver medallion status. We got out of ATL about 2 hours late and were served breakfast at about 1230pm, would have rather had lunch.
Arrived only about 45 minutes late into CUR and got to Breezes at about 4pm. Orbitz screwed up our oceanfront reservation and we were stuck in an oceanview suite in the noisy Royal tower. This did not put me in a great mood, but I got over it.
We did our welcome dive with the on site dive op on Sunday and everything went smoothly except for having to drag the stupid buoy around everywhere. Visibility on Sunday was acceptable, though not great.
Monday we did the dolphin boat dive in the morning, which is ridiculously expensive, but fun nonetheless. Visibility had deteriorated dramatically. I would have to guess 30-35 feet at best. Unfortunately, these conditions remained throughout the rest of the week.
Tuesday morning we did a guided dive with Colin (I think that was his name, I'm terrible about that) from the Dive Bus on their house reef. Despite the visibility, it was just great diving (no buoy to drag) and there is no way I would have spotted the sea life like he was able to (scorpion fish, juvenile trunkfish, etc.) It was great to meet Mark and Suzy after reading so much about them. It was unfortunate that we weren't able to join them for another dive later in the week, we were hoping to try and squeeze in a night dive, but it just didn't work out. Overall, highly recommend the Dive Bus at their new location.
Wednesday to Friday we only had time to do our included shore dive on the Breezes reef. Wasn't bad.
Non-diving, we did the ATV tour with Eric's ATV adventures. Well worth it. A great tour of the east end of the island. Ended up very hot and dirty, but had a great time.
We went into Willemstad on Thursday and did some shopping and had a great meal at some sidewalk restaurant.
Friday was reserved for relaxing and that's what we did. It was also great.
On Saturday, we made it to the airport in plenty of time and learned that there was only one seat available in first class :depressed: We made it back to ATL on time and enjoyed the upgrade on the flight back to DC.
Overall, it was a great first trip to curacao. The people were very friendly (except for one grumpy bartender at Breezes). It was amazing to learn that the locals speak so many languages. In addition to the English, Dutch, Spanish, and Papiamentu that it seemed everybody spoke, our ATV tour guide told us he also spoke Cantonese!
Breezes is an OK resort, dont expect a 5 star experience or drinks to be served in normal sized cups. If you can handle some water stained walls, small cups strewn everywhere, and the occasional lack of beach towels, you'll do fine.
Once I touch up some of the pics, I may post a few, although I'm still very new at that and they may still suck.
Thanks for reading.
Overall a great vacation. Wife and I were upgraded to first class on Delta on both segments (IAD-ATL and ATL-CUR) thanks to my silver medallion status. We got out of ATL about 2 hours late and were served breakfast at about 1230pm, would have rather had lunch.
Arrived only about 45 minutes late into CUR and got to Breezes at about 4pm. Orbitz screwed up our oceanfront reservation and we were stuck in an oceanview suite in the noisy Royal tower. This did not put me in a great mood, but I got over it.
We did our welcome dive with the on site dive op on Sunday and everything went smoothly except for having to drag the stupid buoy around everywhere. Visibility on Sunday was acceptable, though not great.
Monday we did the dolphin boat dive in the morning, which is ridiculously expensive, but fun nonetheless. Visibility had deteriorated dramatically. I would have to guess 30-35 feet at best. Unfortunately, these conditions remained throughout the rest of the week.
Tuesday morning we did a guided dive with Colin (I think that was his name, I'm terrible about that) from the Dive Bus on their house reef. Despite the visibility, it was just great diving (no buoy to drag) and there is no way I would have spotted the sea life like he was able to (scorpion fish, juvenile trunkfish, etc.) It was great to meet Mark and Suzy after reading so much about them. It was unfortunate that we weren't able to join them for another dive later in the week, we were hoping to try and squeeze in a night dive, but it just didn't work out. Overall, highly recommend the Dive Bus at their new location.
Wednesday to Friday we only had time to do our included shore dive on the Breezes reef. Wasn't bad.
Non-diving, we did the ATV tour with Eric's ATV adventures. Well worth it. A great tour of the east end of the island. Ended up very hot and dirty, but had a great time.
We went into Willemstad on Thursday and did some shopping and had a great meal at some sidewalk restaurant.
Friday was reserved for relaxing and that's what we did. It was also great.
On Saturday, we made it to the airport in plenty of time and learned that there was only one seat available in first class :depressed: We made it back to ATL on time and enjoyed the upgrade on the flight back to DC.
Overall, it was a great first trip to curacao. The people were very friendly (except for one grumpy bartender at Breezes). It was amazing to learn that the locals speak so many languages. In addition to the English, Dutch, Spanish, and Papiamentu that it seemed everybody spoke, our ATV tour guide told us he also spoke Cantonese!
Breezes is an OK resort, dont expect a 5 star experience or drinks to be served in normal sized cups. If you can handle some water stained walls, small cups strewn everywhere, and the occasional lack of beach towels, you'll do fine.
Once I touch up some of the pics, I may post a few, although I'm still very new at that and they may still suck.
Thanks for reading.
