Day 5: Aruba on the Carnival Magic

Originally, we were supposed to be in Curacao today, and Aruba tomorrow. A very last-minute schedule change switched these two ports, so our "long" port day would be Aruba. No worries, we'll just make the best of it. We were scheduled to dock around 9:45 or so, with the gangway being open for going ashore at 10:15. Yay! Another morning to sleep in and enjoy "first breakfast" on the balcony. We could even do "second breakfast" on Lido if we wanted to. 

We enjoyed our coffee and pastries while watching the approach into Aruba. The skies were mostly cloudy, but that didn't bother us. From past experience in the Caribbean, most rain showers would pass through and cause only a brief delay if at all. From the forecast, no lingering rain was expected so we didn't give it a second thought. Besides, we were going to get wet today anyway.

Welcome to Aruba

The excursion we selected was the first Carnival excursion we've done since 2011 or so, when we started diving. Ever since then, we booked our dives with private dive operators. With all the diving Cindy and I have done in the Caribbean, it felt really odd to be going snorkeling. At least this gave us the opportunity to enjoy the crystal clear waters. And there was an open bar after the snorkeling was done. And lunch. Sold!

Our meeting spot was just inside the terminal, a short walk from the ship. We happened to run into a family we met on the tender to Half Moon Cay, as they were on the same excursion. Hey, cool! I'll get a chance to visit with them some more. Checkin was quick and efficient, and soon we were walking to the Mi Dushi, our snorkel boat moored not too far away.

See ya later, Magic

Cindy and I picked out a shady spot near the stern and got settled for the 50 minute cruise to our first snorkel site. With the increased cloud cover, the day feel as hot as it could have. It was rather pleasant sitting under the boat's canopy, listening to the music and taking in the scenery.

Iconic Aruba from our boat

photo by Cindy Newman

We had a crew of three on this boat: the captain, first mate/DJ and second mate/bartender. Since no alcohol would be served until after all snorkeling was done, our bartender was happy to serve water and soft drinks. Other than the bartender part, it was pretty much like any dive boat we've been on.

First mate (L) and Captain (R)

As we motored along, Cindy and I talked about all the resorts we could see, and all the construction going on. Was this new construction or repairing damage from a recent storm? I don't know, but it looked like new construction to me. I found it interesting that compared to the dive boats we've been on, this boat took a much more leisurely pace to our snorkeling site. 

Aruba's famous lighthouse

photo by Cindy Newman

On the way to our location, we passed somewhat close to Aruba's landmark lighthouse. It's a popular tourist destination, and we could see tourist busses and other vehicles parked nearby. Another few minutes and we were ready to get wet. Our first site was the Antilla wreck. I've heard about this wreck before and knew it was also a popular diving sire, even given its relatively shallow depth. 

Funny thing about muscle memory and training. For the most part, it's extremely valuable, especially in an emergency or non-normal situation. Both Cindy and I performed a giant stride entry as we were taught in our scuba class. With perfect form, if I may say. Well, almost "perfect." Snorkel in mouth, mask in place, one hand supporting my mask and snorkel.

SPLASH!

Oh, wait a minute....

Snorkels are open on the end.

D'oh!

Spitting out that mouthful of seawater, I belatedly remembered that snorkels and scuba regulators are NOT the same. 

Great muscle memory there, huh?

I gave the "OK" signal to the second mate, who looked at me like "Umm, OK, hi there."

Snorkel selfie!

I'll just fin back from the boat a little to give Cindy plenty of space to jump in. Yep, she did the same thing I did. Nearly perfect giant stride entry with her snorkel in place as well. She popped to the surface, hacked a little and gave the OK sign like I did. 

Mi Dushi boat

All of these snorkeling photos, by the way, are stills I captured from the GoPro videos I took. Right away, I realized that we would need to return to Aruba and actually dive this wreck, instead of just snorkeling around it. 

Antilla wreck

My goodness, it feels weird just kicking along the surface and not descending to the wreck! For the first few minutes, out of sheer habit, I'd reach for my computer that wasn't there. Oh, yeah, we're not doing that today.

Sgt Major fish

Our time allotted for this location was about 40 minutes, and it felt like four minutes when we got the signal to return to the boat. We swam to the stern, where there was a nice, deep-reach ladder leading to a large swim platform to re-board the boat. It's definitely easier climbing out of the water with no dive gear strapped to my back.

The second and final location was just a few minutes away, closer to shore. The reef actually made a sort of t-intersection that we could swim either right or left from (or both) and explore to our heart's content. Or 40 minutes, whichever came first. I did remember to keep the snorkel out of my mouth the second time we jumped off the boat, by the way. While we were snorkeling this second site, the captain and first mate took off in a smaller boat to get our lunch. I guess they took the lunch launch? Go ahead and groan.

Fins to the left, fins to the right

This location had much more marine life, and there was plenty to look at. I tried to get a good shot of a trumpet fish, but it was already swimming away by the time I noticed it. I don't recall seeing any lionfish, which is a good thing. 

Second snorkel selfie

Try saying the above caption fast, three times. Or not. Your choice. I'm sure one person, cough*Loren, will be sure to comment on the atrocious puns and captions I've written in this blog. And that's OK, too. As long as at least someone gets a little chuckle out it, it's all good, man. Right, Saul?

Admittedly, snorkeling isn't nearly as fun as scuba diving, but we nevertheless still had a good time. Will we go snorkeling more often now? Probably not, as long as we have our dive gear available. Will snorkeling work in a pinch, when we can't dive for whatever reason? For the most part, yes.

After getting back onto Mi Dushi and drying off, lunch was just a few minutes from being served. Along with the bar opening. The staff had a wide variety of alcohol and mixers, but recommended their own "Boom Boom" punch. Hey, who am I to ignore a recommendation like that? I grabbed a couple of Boom Booms for Cindy and me and just one sip validated their suggestion. It was good!

Lunch

Usually, when a given tour/excursion/dive op offers lunch, you never know what you're going to get. It can be anything from a simple boxed sandwich and chips thing to what you see above, and everything in between. Both Cindy and I were pleasantly surprised at what we got. Seasoned rice with grilled chicken (top), grilled grouper (left), fruit skewer (right) and a tomato and cucumber salad with bread roll (bottom). Just like their Boom Boom drink, this lunch was fantastic! They were efficient in how they served lunch, with everything organized to perfection. The line moved quickly and soon everyone was fed.

Once everyone was finished eating, and any remaining food was offered as a second helping, the captain and first mate took their "lunch launch" (oops, I did it again) back to shore with all the plates, containers, and so forth. Our bartender kept everyone happy with the drinks flowing and the music playing. As soon as they got back, we got underway back to the harbor.

Double-fistin' the Boom Booms!

photo by Cindy Newman

There's actually a story behind this photo. (There usually is) The gentleman sitting to my left is a retired Navy Chief. What makes the story, though, is he looks like he could be the brother of a friend of mine, who happens to be a retired Navy Master Chief, Master Diver. I walked over to him, introduced myself, and told him about his "twin" that I know. He got a good laugh out of it, and said he didn't think they were related. 

As we sailed back to the harbor, the first mate came around with some "PR material" (my words) and asked if we would take some photos with them and post to social media if we enjoyed our day. Of course we would! We had a blast today.

Snorkeling with Mi Dushi

First mate selfie

That's a great idea with those signs. I hope whoever thought of that got a good raise. He passed the sign to all of the others on the boat, and I'm sure they took advantage of the photo op as well. Since our trip back was just under an hour, I started talking to the captain, and we discussed diving. He mentioned that he was a dive instructor, and figured we were divers just based on the gear that we brought along. 

Approaching the harbor

photo by Cindy Newman

This has been a fun excursion! If any of y'all ever stop in Aruba on a cruise, and enjoy snorkeling, I highly recommend Mi Dushi. Since we still had plenty of time left in Aruba, our plan was to take a quick shower in our cabin, change into "regular" clothes, and do a little sightseeing and try to find a geocache or two. These long port days mean that there's generally no line to get back onto the ship. 

We were able to get back aboard quickly and with no wait for an elevator, we were soon back in our cabin getting cleaned up. To go back out. Hey, I know, we'll just call it "Aruba, Part II." Well, at least until it was time for dinner. Could we have dinner in a local Aruba restaurant instead? Of course we could! Did we plan on it? Nope. As I mentioned previously, we weren't scheduled to be in Aruba past dinner, so we never looked into that possibility before the trip. Besides, we already paid for our dinner on the ship.

I 💗 Aruba

photo by Cindy Newman

There was supposed to be a geocache either on or near the trailer, but we couldn't find it. In fact, we didn't find any caches in Aruba. Normally I'll use my phone to access the cache notes, hints, etc. while we are out, but I wasn't going to pay international roaming charges just to find a cache.

Cindy and I took in the sights and did some shopping. I found a nice Aruba Christmas ornament for our tree, but that was about the only thing we bought. Here it is, about two weeks from Christmas and we are wearing shorts and t-shirts. Well, it is the Caribbean, after all. 

Cute Nativity scene

photo by Cindy Newman

You'll probably notice I'm featuring more of Cindy's photos in this blog series. Prior to this cruise, she really wasn't interested in taking photos the way I do. She was participating in our Big Sexy digital photo scavenger hunt, so her impetus to shoot lots of photos came from that. At least originally. Once she realized how much fun it is to find something interesting to shoot, she really got into taking lots of photos. Good for you, babe!

Our normal dinner time was approaching, so we started back towards the ship. Sunset wasn't too far off and we wanted to not only be on time for dinner, but ensure we were in a safe area. Again, with no lines to speak of, we got back aboard the Magic and dropped off our stuff in the cabin before dinner.

Pirate punch

Savor a delicious mix of Bacardi Rum, Bacardi 8, Disaronno Amaretto and orange juice.

In keeping with the whole rum punch theme, I opted to have today's special to go with my dinner. Wow, this was quite tasty! I took my time with it, savoring every sip. A glass of iced tea on the side would suffice for the rest of my meal.

The MDR was very empty for our seating. I'm sure with our long stay, many opted to eat ashore. Our table was the only one occupied in our waitstaff team's area. We were their sole concern, and I wonder if this is how a state dinner must be, with our waiters standing behind our table ready in an instant for anything we needed.

Appetizer: BBQ Pulled Wild Boar

Cilantro coleslaw, pepper jack cheese

I don't recall having this appetizer before and was pleasantly surprised at just how good it was. If this was truly "wild boar," there was no gamey taste to it al all. The richness of the meat paired nicely with the acidity of the coleslaw. I'll have to mark this as a "keeper" in case I see it again.

Main: Antillean Style Grilled Chicken

Marinated with fresh pineapple juice and Ketjab Manis, Grilled Yam and Pineapple on Mashed Potatoes. Served with a Peanut and Coco Dressing.

Oh, yes yes yes! This is another of my favorite entrees from Carnival! I was so tempted to order two of these, but with the hearty lunch we had on the boat I just wouldn't have had room for it. The peanut sauce is divine, but I forgot to ask for extra on the side when I ordered it. I didn't want our waiters to have to go back down to the galley just for a small container of sauce. What I had would do. I used a piece of bread to soak up every drop of that sauce, though. Every.drop.

Dessert: Boston Cream Cake

Whipped cream, pastry cream

Yes, normally it's referred to as "Boston Cream Pie," even though it's a cake. I guess Carnival is gonna call a cake a cake. I don't care what it's called, as long as I can call it "mine."

Dessert #2: Orange and Almond Baked Cake

Orange soda caramel sauce

That's right, I did a "two-fer" for dessert. Both of these desserts were calling my name and I really couldn't decide. So I got both. I figured I could take a few bites of each, and share the rest with Cindy. Each of these desserts were entirely satisfying and are on the "keeper" list as well. If I had to pick just one, I'd probably go with the Boston Cream Cake (PIe) only because the rich chocolate was so tasty.

Our tablemates had signed up to do the private tour since they were part of the Big Sexy cruisers. From what the said, though, the tour operators had some difficulty with the timing of everything and it didn't go off nearly as smoothly as they'd hoped. Apparently a few people were frustrated and it cast a pall on the group as a whole. Now this is just what I heard from a few people. Neither Cindy nor I was there, so I'm going strictly on hearsay.

Unfortunately, the piano bar was closed this evening, as was the comedy club. I get the reason why. With the ship being in port until 11:30 pm, I'm sure Carnival figured there wouldn't be enough aboard to justify keeping these venues open. We hung out at the Red Frog Pub for a bit and decided to just relax in the cabin after dropping by the Lido. We happened to run into Josh and Frank on Lido, and they looked worn out. Frank mentioned that most of the people on the tour were also pretty tired, so there'd be no Cigars Under the Stars tonight. With another private tour in Curacao tomorrow, it made sense to get in a good night's rest.

Aruba at night

Another view

As we weren't quite ready for bed yet, we decided to hit one of the hot tubs on the Serenity deck. The hot tubs are another place we'll hang out if there's nothing going on at the piano bar or we just want to soak. When we got up there, there was only one other person, but soon another few showed up. We enjoyed visiting with everyone, who happened to live in much colder areas of the US. One couple from Michigan said the temperature was in the negative numbers when they left for the cruise, and would most likely still be that cold when they got back. 

Remember all those clouds I wrote about earlier? Did you notice how gray some of them looked? Well guess what! Yes, it started to rain a little, with cold raindrops. It passed quickly enough, and since we were already wet, we decided to just stay in the hot tubs a little longer. That's when Mother Nature must've heard us and said "Hold my beer."

A few minutes after the first passing rain shower, the skies really opened up and we got dumped on, again with heavy cold raindrops. Our towels and stuff were going to get soaked if we didn't move them, so all of us bailed out of the hot tub, grabbed our towels and headed inside. We waited several minutes for the rain to stop but it kept going. I guess we'll go back to our cabin and take another shower. A warm shower. 

As we finished this, Cindy decided enough was enough and was going to call it a day. I stepped back onto the balcony to look around one more time and it had stopped raining. Nope, not gonna change again to head to the hot tub. I'll just read my Kindle for a while and get a nice, long sleep in.

I watched us leave Aruba from our balcony before finally turning in. It's been a good day, and both of us are looking forward to Curacao tomorrow. With nothing specific planned, I hung our "first breakfast" order on the doorknob and looked forward to sleeping in.

Coming up next, our day in Curacao.

You can find the first blog in this series here.

Have you ever been to Aruba? What did you do there? Please tell me all about it in the comments section below. 

Until next time...

carpe cerevisi