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Divi Divi Trip Report
Travel dates not disclosed
Sent in by: Katie Grebfol
Our family of six (my husband, myself, my mother, and our three children ages 18, 14, 12,
recently returned from our first Aruba experience. It was our kids’ first trip out of
the country. I saved for five years for this trip, a big bon voyage family vacation before
my daughter goes off to college in Massachusetts at the end of August. As our boys (12 and
14) are non-stop eating/drinking machines, we chose an all-inclusive resort. We were very
pleased with the Divi Divi, and
would love to go back again. We booked via MCM Tours and had no complaints with them.
I’ll try breaking up the report in sections.
AIR ARUBA DEPARTURE – We flew Air
Aruba out of Baltimore. We were two hours late departing, but hey, we were in
vacation mode, and a two hour delay was not about to wipe the smile from my face. We all
had reading material. Even though MCM had made seat assignments, Air Aruba had no record of them, so we had to get new
seat assignments. No problem; we sat in groups of two spread throughout the airplane.
After a quick stop to pick up passengers in Philadelphia, we were off to Aruba. Service on
the plane was great – the food was fine for airline food, and they offered drinks to
whoever wanted them. The plane was old but no big deal. Plane was almost completely full.
ARRIVAL IN ARUBA – After landing in paradise, we zipped through
immigration.. The transfer bus was waiting for us, and our family along with another
couple going to the Radisson were on the road in no time. Our driver gave us a wonderful
mini-tour on the way to the hotel. We tipped him $5 for helping us with our bags.
DIVI DIVI ROOMS
– We were the only ones checking in at
the time, and in no time we had our bracelets, room keys, towel cards and Divi Divi
canvass bags. Our room category was
"beachside" and we were assigned three Casita Rooms – 311, 312, and 313. I
had e-mailed Lisa Cusson requesting that (1) we not be placed in the first row of Casitas
closest to the laundry room (which we were), and (2) that we be placed in the rooms
closest to the beach as my elderly mother has a mobility problem (we were farthest from
the beach). I’m sure it was hard to honor our requests AND put us in proximity to one
another, as the resort was full. However, it really didn’t matter. The laundry room
noise was drowned out by the air conditioner, and it was just a few steps to the beach. We
spent little time in our room; if we wanted to sit outside, we sat on the beach or at the
beach bar, not on our patio. My husband and I had a king bed; the kids and grandma had
doubles in their rooms. One of the beds in 312 sank in the middle and in my opinion was
not fit to sleep on, but my son thought nothing of it.(Ah, youth.) Although we had read
that the tap water was warm, we were surprised at how warm it really was. The water at the
coldest setting was almost too warm for a shower after a day at the beach, and definitely
too warm to drink without ice.
It’s great to be able to drink the tap water, though, as compared Cancun and other
islands. All in all, we were pleased with our rooms. They were very close to the beach,
and the main food and bar areas.
FOOD/DRINK AT DIVI – Lunch and dinner buffets were pretty good,
although by the end of the week it got a little tiresome. My sons’ favorite food was
the pizzas at the lobby bar, made to order, available from 11 AM to 1 AM. They also serve
grilled sandwiches. There are three bars – one in the lobby, one on the beach, and
one at the far end of the resort near the Lanai building. The beach bar is a wonderful
location to take in those beautiful Aruban sunsets – this was a ritual for us every
night. We are not big drinkers, but thought the drinks were really, really good (of course
a Pina Colada tastes better in Aruba than it does in Maryland). I thought the drinks were
just strong enough; people who wanted them stronger only had to ask. My mother is more of
a drinker than we are, and she was impressed that the brands were top shelf (i.e. Dewars
Scotch). My 14 year old son looks older than he is (almost six feet tall) and he was
offered alcohol on more than one occasion, so wrist band checking wasn’t enforced
much. The kids enjoyed having "made to order" virgin pina coladas. They also had
a self service soda, ice cream, pina colada and strawberry smoothie machine next to the
lobby bar. We ate at the
Red Parrot two evenings (reservation restaurant); it was very good. My favorite was the
New York Strip, my kids loved the Filet Mignon, Snapper, and both Coconut and Garlic
Shrimp. My husband loved it all as he sampled everything from the kids’ plates.
Service was great. We also ate at Paparazzi (Italian reservation restaurant at the Tam).
Good food, good service, very romantic, with a roving accordion player to add ambiance. We
also ate at the Palm Court (outdoor grill reservation restaurant at the Tam) . This was my
least favorite. The meat and fish were dry and overcooked, and the corn on
the cob was mushy and tough. We ate at the buffet the other two night. My husband and I
had a "date" night at the French Steakhouse at the Manchebo
resort right down the road. We both got the price fix dinner (I got Churasco steak and he
got Chicken Cordon Bleu), $25.95 per person with a bottle of wine (which we didn’t
finish). It was delicious, but truthfully, one five course dinner between the two of us
would have been more than enough.
BEACH – The beach was lovely. My husband is an early riser and
reserved us a hut every morning, no problem. The Divi beach isn’t as wide as Palm Beach,
but because it’s not as crowded, there’s plenty of room for everybody. People
who aren’t early risers and couldn’t get huts, could also find shade on the
grassy area that joins the beach. It was very windy two days, and on those days, there was
an area of shells and debris as you entered the water that was a bit hard on your feet. I
thought the beach was just perfect. There were little waves (as compared to the Eastern
Shore of Maryland). On the two windy days, one probably could have used a boogie board to
ride the waves into shore (although they weren’t available at the resort).
WATER SPORTS – My sons had a terrific time kayaking, snorkeling from
shore, and windsurfing (sort of). They had windsurfing clinics at the Tam. Be advised if
your kids are underage, you have to sign a release. One of my sons had an "I’ll
do it myself" attitude and nearly wiped out a few swimmers when he toppled over (he
was apologetic and they were understanding). My husband went out with the other son, and
held onto the board while he tried getting up. Eventually both boys prevailed and stood on
the boards and coasted for a minute or two – a victory and an experience they’ll
remember for
a long time. It was very hard work; I got tired just watching them! We also made
arrangements at the Divi Winds booth at the hotel for the boys to ride jet skis. They pick
you up and take you to the watersports area of Palm Beach. Cost of $45.00 per person per
half hour (they both wanted to drive so they went separately). My oldest son wanted to
parasail ($40), but we were told it was too windy for a safe landing.
BUS TOUR – We went on a bus trip of the island with Family Bus Tours
the second day we were there. It cost $25.00 per person; $3.00 off coupon from book at
airport, included one free T-shirt per person. It was wonderful to see both sides of the
island – we especially loved the natural bridge. The Aruban people are so wonderful
– when we passed through residential areas, people would come out of their homes to
wave and smile at us. Sylvia, our driver, was a wealth of information who readily and
happily answered our questions. I would recommend this tour for first-timers who
don’t want the "outback" experience of a four wheel drive or horseback
tour. We gave Sylvia a tip at the end of the tour.
SNORKELING CRUISE – The family went on a snorkeling cruise with
Octopus; we got a coupon in the packet that was given out at the airport. Price was $22.50
per person, coupon was for $5.00 off per two people. They only take out 20 at a time, so
it was a more personal experience. Snorkeling lessons are included for any who need it.
Even though this was my
kids’ first time snorkeling, they had practiced so much from shore at the beach, they
were ready to roll when they got out of the boat. The snorkeling was fun, but truthfully
there was a lot more colorful coral reefs and fish in both the Bahamas and Cancun. We saw
a sea turtle. We went on the 2 ½ hour afternoon trip. Rum punch, sodas, punch, beer, etc.
were available, as were yummy Gouda cheese sandwiches on fresh baked bread. They also gave
us bread to lure the fish to us. I would recommend this trip. In my opinion it was just
long enough. I think an all-day excursion would have been exhausting. As it was, we all
napped when we got back to the hotel.
SUNSET CRUISE – My husband and I went on a Fun Factory two hour
sunset cruise on our "date night." This was a lot of fun. The big sailboat
sailed up and down the shore; the drinks were too strong in my opinion. They filled more
than half the cup with rum and then added pina colada mix. The guys working the cruise
were lots of fun. They were dancing with people,
constantly bring more drinks throughout the evening. There were snacks of skewers with
olives, onions and cheese, and also grilled chicken on skewers. The seagulls followed the
boat; the crew fed them the leftovers. Best of all, we were blessed with a beautiful
Aruban sunset.
OBSERVATIONS AT THE TAM – After walking around the Tam, we were glad
we chose the Divi. Much of the beachfront rooms at the Tam were rocky with no water access. The
last five or six buildings had a nicer beach, but they seemed really far away from the
food and the watersports shed. Additionally, there were about 75 young kids there on some
kind of summer camp trip. Whenever we went there, there was wall to wall noisy kids, in
the pool, running, skateboarding, etc. – just being kids, but not my idea of an Aruba
vacation! Just my opinion, but I much prefer the Divi to the Tam. One lady who stayed at the Tam said had
lizards in her room every morning. (My husband said we would have had them too, if we
hadn’t run our air conditioner.)
MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS AT THE DIVI – There were a fair number of families at the Divi, mostly with older children. There was a handful of
families with small children, but everyone was well behaved most of the time. There were
lots of honeymooners as well. There were these pitiful stray dogs on the beach every
morning; my sons are diehard dog lovers and it broke their hearts. They fed the dogs, and
on a couple of occasions, one of them curled up under my beach lounge and went sound
asleep on the beach. We felt very safe letting our kids have free reign between the Tam
and the Divi. Management was very responsive when my mother slipped and hit her head on a
railing by the pool. They brought ice, offered to call a doctor, and filled out an
accident report. Thankfully she hardly had a bump. My kids went in both pools a couple of
times. The pool in the back with the Jacuzzi appeared to be open 24 hours a day. My
husband and I were enjoying that beautiful beach too much to hang out at the pool.
HIGH RISE VS. LOW RISE – We spent an afternoon at Palm Beach at the
high rises. It’s probably just a matter of what you prefer. We prefer the low rise
area because it is more of an authentic Caribbean vacation experience – barefoot, not
fancy, laid back in the best sense of the word. The Palm Beach area seemed fancier and
much more commercial. The water at Palm Beach was clearer and there were no waves. There
were a lot more people in the Palm Beach area. If you want an exciting, non-stop, action
filled vacation, choose Palm Beach. If you want a relaxing, laid back type vacation, Divi is the perfect place for you.
MISCELLANEOUS – We felt very safe letting our kids go downtown on
the bus by themselves to go shopping during the day. It was safe and they had a good time
wandering around, looking at the cruise ship port, and buying souvenirs. We brought
insulated thermos jugs (one quart, I think) for everyone. We used ours for ice water, but
they would be ideal for bar drinks as well. There are ice machines throughout the
property, and the bartenders were always happy to fill our jugs with ice.
RETURN TRIP – Alas, the week flew by, and before we knew it, the
time had come to go home. Our airport transfer arrived just when they said it would. When
we got to the airport, the driver stopped, removed our luggage and then opened the door
and said, "What’s the matter? Nobody wants to leave?" It was the truth. We
tipped our driver, and then waited for about an hour and a half to check in with Air
Aruba and go through immigration. Much of the time we were standing in line in
the hot sun, waiting to get into the air conditioned terminal. (Bring water!) Full flight;
no seat assignments; we were split up.
The immigration officer was funny – when we went through he asked the kids if they
had any fruits, vegetables or iguanas in their bags! Air Aruba was an
hour late departing; again no big deal. We still had lots of reading material to pass the
time. Return flight had more turbulence than on the way down. Again they had open bar and
dinner (chicken and rice or beef and noodles).
CONCLUSION – I’ve already started another "Aruba
account" so we can go back again someday. My husband and I decided it would make a
wonderful romantic destination to go without the kids (again someday). When I turned on my
computer the morning after we got home, I found a new mouse pad with a beautiful Aruba
beach painting, with a note from my daughter that said "Thanks for a great
trip." Every day when I work on my computer, I’ll be reminded of this most
wonderful trip of a lifetime.
Katie Grebfol
Baltimore, Marylands.
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