Most ships stay late here: eleven of the 15 calls listed for October 20 to 31, 2026 sailed between 6 pm and 11 pm. Shared tours cost $65 to $108 per adult and run 3 to 4.5 hours.
Put in your ship's arrival and all-aboard times from your cruise planner. Each tour is checked against the time you have, minus the buffer you choose for getting off the ship and back to the pier.
Example times are filled in. Your cruise line's daily planner has the real ones, and a tender port needs more buffer.
| Operator | What you get | From | Length | Group | Min age | Back-to-ship | Cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aruba's Finest Island TourIncludes Ostrich Farm entrance, Hotel pickup and drop-off, Cruise terminal pickup and drop-off |
$65 per adult |
4 hours (9 am to 1 pm) |
Maximum twelve seats |
Not stated | Check dates | |||
Afternoon SnorkelingIncludes Unlimited open bar, Rope swing, Snorkeling gear |
$79 per adult |
3 hours (2:00 pm to 5:00 pm) |
All ages | Not stated | Full refund if cancelled for bad weather or technical problems; no refunds for no-shows or changes of mind. | Check dates | ||
Natural Pool & Indian Cave Jeep SafariIncludes Tour guide, Ice water, Pickup and drop-off, Arikok National Park entrance, Snorkel gear, Lunch on the morning departure only |
$92 per adult |
4.5 hours (8:30 am or 2:00 pm) |
8-10 passengers |
Not stated | Advertises a friendly cancellation policy for cruise passengers but publishes no terms; Natural Pool swim depends on sea conditions. | Check dates | ||
Morning Pirate Ship Snorkeling TripIncludes Snorkel gear, BBQ, Unlimited open bar, Three snorkel sites |
$99 per adult |
4 hours (9:00 am to 1:00 pm) |
All ages | Not stated | Full refund if cancelled for bad weather or technical problems; no refunds for no-shows or changes of mind. | Check dates | ||
Private Full Island TourIncludes Pickup and drop-off, Tour guide, Bottled water |
$360 per group |
4 hours (slots listed 9:00 am to 1:30 pm and 2:00 to 6:30 pm) |
1 to 15 guests |
All ages | Not stated | 90% refund if cancelled at least 24 hours ahead; exceptions may apply to cruise ship bookings; runs rain or shine. | Check dates | |
Beach Hopping Private TourIncludes Snorkeling gear, Refreshments |
$480 per group |
4 hours (9:00 am to 1:00 pm or 2:00 to 6:00 pm) |
up to 15 (larger groups on request) |
All ages | Not stated | 90% refund if cancelled at least 24 hours ahead; exceptions may apply to cruise ship bookings. | Check dates |
From each operator's own website, checked October 22, 2026. How we compare.
What the cruise lines list for their own excursions in Aruba, from their websites.
| Line | Excursion | From | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
Holland America |
$119 per person |
Approximately 3½ Hours |
|
Carnival |
$119.99 per adult |
5 hours |
Read on each cruise line's website on October 22, 2026. Lines change these prices often, so check the page before you book.
Ships tie up in Oranjestad at the Port of Aruba, run by the Aruba Ports Authority from its office at L.G. Smith Boulevard 23. Wikipedia puts the harbour, Paardenbaai, at up to five vessels, and the port authority's October 2026 schedule listed every call at berth 1. The authority describes two air-conditioned cruise terminals with staffed information booths, a Cultural Information Booth and shops. An ATM across from the visitors' booth pays out US dollars and florins, and a SETAR kiosk sells Wi-Fi cards. Cruise Critic counts three terminals.
Main Street (Caya G. F. Betico Croes) is about a ten-minute walk from the terminal and Surfside Beach about 15 minutes, according to the Aruba Tourism Authority, which says the public trolleys are free and can be ridden hop-on, hop-off. The Main Bus Terminal is across the street from the cruise terminal, a five-minute walk by the tourism authority's count. Taxis wait just outside; neither the port nor the tourism authority publishes fares. Aruba Tour Operators Association buses load on port premises, and independent operators' buses wait outside the terminal.
ABC Tours collects guests in front of the cruise ship terminal and runs from its headquarters at Schotlandstraat 61, which it says is three minutes from the port. Kini Kini Tours and Chogogo Tours both include cruise terminal pickup without naming a spot. Jolly Pirates is the exception: its ship leaves MooMba Beach in Noord, between the Holiday Inn and Marriott resorts, and it asks guests to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before departure. Its pages give no transport from the port.
Aruba gives long days. The port authority's provisional schedule for October 20 to 31, 2026 listed 15 calls, arriving between 8 and 10:30 am. Five left at 5 or 6 pm (Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Freedom of the Seas, MSC Poesia and Celebrity Silhouette). The other nine with a listed time stayed until 10 or 11 pm, among them Allure of the Seas, Caribbean Princess, Carnival Magic and Celebrity Reflection. October 2026 had 29 calls in all. The schedule is marked strictly provisional and is published as a monthly PDF.
ABC Tours lists its office hours in Atlantic Standard Time, UTC minus 4. In winter, from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March, that is an hour ahead of Florida's Eastern Standard Time, and ships from Florida may keep ship time. Jolly Pirates' FAQ requires cruise guests to confirm the local time zone when they arrive, and guests who do not are not eligible for refunds.
Morning tours start at 8:30 am (ABC's jeep safari with lunch) or 9 am (Kini Kini, Chogogo, Jolly Pirates) and end between 1 and 1:30 pm. Afternoon departures run from 2 pm: ABC until about 6:30 pm, Chogogo until 6:30 pm, and Jolly Pirates until 5 pm, which fit the 10 pm and 11 pm sailings on the October schedule. None of the four operators states a back-to-ship guarantee, and Chogogo's page says only that exceptions to its refund terms may apply to cruise bookings.
The Natural Pool, or Conchi, is a saltwater tide pool enclosed by pillow lava on the east coast inside Arikok National Park, reached on foot, on horseback or by four-wheel drive. ABC Tours' Natural Pool & Indian Cave Jeep Safari gets there in 4.5 hours with 8 to 10 passengers per jeep. Stops include Dos Playa, the Indian caves and the Fountain garden; park entrance and snorkel gear are included. The 8:30 am run with lunch is $108 per adult and $60 for children 2 to 12; the 2 pm run without lunch is $92 and $50. Swimming at the pool is never guaranteed when the sea is rough.
Kini Kini's $65 island tour (children under 12, $35) runs four hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in a van of at most twelve seats. It covers the California Lighthouse, Alto Vista Chapel, the Aruba Aloe factory, the Bushiribana gold mill ruins, the Natural Bridge and the Ostrich Farm. Chogogo's private Full Island Tour is priced by group, from $360 for one to four people to $855 for 12 to 15. It heads south through the Ayo rock formations, Bushiribana, Savaneta and San Nicolas to Baby Beach at Sero Colorado. Its Beach Hopping tour is $480 per group.
Jolly Pirates' $99 morning sail (youth to age 10, $70) snorkels Malmok Reef, Boca Catalina and the Antilla, a Second World War wreck about 400 feet long in roughly 60 feet of water. A BBQ, open bar and rope swing are included. Its $79 afternoon trip lasts three hours. Carnival's Sailaway Snorkel & Palm Beach with BBQ Lunch is $119.99 per adult for 5 hours. Holland America's Catamaran Snorkel & Beach Getaway is $119 for about 3.5 hours, with some 50 minutes of snorkeling at the island's west point before Pelican Marina and Palm Beach.
Jolly Pirates has the most explicit refund terms. It pays back in full for bad weather, technical problems with its ship, or a cruise cancelled for any reason. It pays nothing for oversleeping, a change of heart or a better offer elsewhere, with a medical emergency the one exception at management's discretion. Cruise guests must confirm the local time zone on arrival or lose refund eligibility. The ship is a traditional pirate vessel and the page states no capacity.
Chogogo Tours refunds 90% for cancellations at least 24 hours ahead and warns that exceptions may apply to cruise ship reservations. It runs rain or shine in an air-conditioned or open-air bus or van, is wheelchair accessible, takes payment in US dollars, Aruban florins or euros, and leaves gratuities out of the price. ABC Tours advertises a friendly cancellation policy for cruise passengers without publishing terms, and asks guests who are not strong swimmers to request life vests before departure.
Kini Kini runs its island tour only three days a week with a cap of twelve, takes cash and all major cards, and publishes no cancellation policy. Its guides work in English, Spanish and Dutch, with Portuguese on request. ABC's page calls the safari both 4.5 hours and a four-hour half day, so allow the longer figure when matching it to all-aboard.
from $65 per adult
Aruba's Finest Island Tour
No back-to-ship policy stated
Stops at the California Lighthouse, Alto Vista Chapel, Aruba Aloe factory, Bushiribana gold mill ruins, Natural Bridge and the ostrich farm
from $79 per adult
Afternoon Snorkeling and 1 more option
No back-to-ship policy stated
FAQ: cruise guests must confirm the local time zone on arrival, and those who do not lose refund eligibility
from $92 per adult
Natural Pool & Indian Cave Jeep Safari
No back-to-ship policy stated
Says its office is three minutes from the port
from $360 per group
Private Full Island Tour and 1 more option
No back-to-ship policy stated
Full island route takes in the Ayo rock formations, Bushiribana gold mill ruins, Savaneta and Baby Beach
Prices and policies come from each operator's own pages, read on October 22, 2026. Seasons, rules and local details come from the pages below.
