Harley Tour AND Horseback Riding; Too Much? - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

ziggysun · 06-10-2009, 01:05 AM

Well be going to Aruba on Adventure of the Seas on September 8th.

Our last time there we went on a sightseeing trip of the island via taxi at the last minute; the tour we were undecided on filled up and the other one we were debating got cancelled. The taxi driver showed us alot of the island, but we left Aruba wondering what all the fuss was about? Friends and family back home raved about the island. Maybe our tour selling out and the cancelled tour impacted this?

This time back I wanted to make sure it's set up early, so this is where my question comes in

I am debating attempting to do both the Harley motorcycle 1/2 Day Tour (3.5 - 4 hours) AND a 1.5 or 2 hour horseback riding private tour (2 - 2.5 hours). We are in port from 8am until 6pm (5:30 all aboard) so we're there for 9.5 hours. The Harley tour would start around 8:30am and the horseback riding I was going to set up around 1:30/2:00pm. Do you think it would be too much "riding" and therefore too exhausting for one day? My timing would give us 1.5 hours to grab lunch either in town or back onboard the ship between the 2 things and we would be back to the ship around 4pm or maybe 4:30 pm from the day's events. Are we really pushing it?

What do you think?

Also, if anyone has done either of these, I'd love to hear which companies you used for either tour. I've narrowed down the field and I'm looking for feedback whether it's positive or negative.

Cruise Planner · 06-10-2009, 02:21 AM

DO NOT DO THE HARLEY SHORE EXCURSION THROUGH THE CRUISE LINE!!!

Royal Caribbean, along with most of the cruise lines, charge an outrageous amount for this excursion. RCCL charges $295 for one bike for the two of you.

If you contact the only Harley Davidson dealer on Aruba, you'll find they offer the exact same itinerary for $150! You can check out their website at; Aruba Harley-Davidson Dealer - Big Twin

We went to Aruba with Princess and they wanted $355 for the 3-1/2 hour tour. I contacted the HD dealer and got the same thing for much less. There were 6 couples on the tour. Three couples were staying on the island and purchased the tour directly through the dealer and paid the same as we did. The other two couples purchased the tour through Princess and were obviously VERY upset that they spent $200 more than the rest of us for the same tour! Plus, for an additional $20, they let us keep the bike for the rest of the day to do our own thing if we wanted to. We had a wonderful time, saw some great sites, and really got to appreciate the diversity of the island. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and would take us anywhere we wanted to go. We stopped at Charlies Bar & Restaurant for lunch and enjoyed a fantastic meal.

As to whether you can do this tour, plus a horseback riding adventure is really up to you and how much you want to do. Our tour ended up being more like 4-1/2 hours and it left us just enough time to do a small amount of shopping (and there's some great shopping), then stopping at Carlos n Charlies for a quick drink. I don't think I would have wanted to try and squeeze anything else into the day.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Pete

ziggysun · 06-10-2009, 10:21 AM

Hi Pete...thank you so much for the information! Big Twin was the company I was looking at booking the Harley portion with. We were HOG members up until 18 months ago when DH sold his bike, long story

But there is a lot of positive information about Big Twin on the Harley BB's.

I emailed them the other night with some questions, but I haven't heard anything back yet. My questions had to do with their "deposit". It sounds as if they process the $1,000 vs. just keeping the number on file according to the wording on their website. I didn't know if that was the case and whether that deposit is for bike theft OR if it would be charged for incidental damage (ie. stone hitting tail pipe, tiny ding on gas tank, etc.) I also didn't know what the cancellation policy would be if the ship cancelled going to Aruba. Normally I wouldn't think that would happen, but we missed Valletta, Malta in November onboard Brilliance OTS and the tour we booked for the Hypogeum was non-refundable. Would you happen to know the answer to any of the questions above? I don't know how recent you were there and if any of the policies have changed from then and now.

As for the shopping, I'm not really a shopper when on vacation, but thank you for the info that there is some great shopping!

I did not know that there was an option of keeping the bike longer for a minimal amount of money. That could change everything!

ziggysun · 06-10-2009, 10:53 AM

I almost forgot to ask this, did the Harley Dealer pick you up from the ship? Or did you arrange your own transportation, like a bus or taxi to the dealership?

Thank you so much for your help!

ziggysun · 06-10-2009, 08:23 PM

Hi Pete,

I just wanted to say that I did hear back from Big Twin this afternoon/evening and they did answer all my questions

I'm just waiting for a reply now as to which is the best method to book the excursion with them (online via reservation engine on their website; by telephone or by email).

Thank you again for all the information you provided!

Texashorselady · 06-10-2009, 09:10 PM

[quote=ziggysun;

The Harley tour would start around 8:30am and the horseback riding I was going to set up around 1:30/2:00pm. Do you think it would be too much "riding" and therefore too exhausting for one day?

[B]Ziggs, we have Harleys and horses, and I don't think you'll get the sense of too much riding in one day. The experiences are so opposite...they are like apples and oranges. If your time allows, I think you'd enjoy doing both. You'll get the exciting motorcycle ride and the more soul refreshing horse riding which will let you slow down and appreciate nature more. The best of both worlds![/b]

ziggysun · 06-10-2009, 10:54 PM

[quote=Texashorselady;1367023]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggysun;

The Harley tour would start around 8:30am and the horseback riding I was going to set up around 1:30/2:00pm. Do you think it would be too much "riding" and therefore too exhausting for one day?

[B

Ziggs, we have Harleys and horses, and I don't think you'll get the sense of too much riding in one day. The experiences are so opposite...they are like apples and oranges. If your time allows, I think you'd enjoy doing both. You'll get the exciting motorcycle ride and the more soul refreshing horse riding which will let you slow down and appreciate nature more. The best of both worlds![/b]

I was really hoping someone would say that!

I know for sure we're booking the Harley..I was on the fence with whether we'd ride the motorcycle more after the tour because I really do want to go horseback riding

We don't get the chance to go horseback riding here at home, whereas my husband had his motorcycle for 8 years; 5 - 6 of those years we rode all the time.

Cruise Planner · 06-11-2009, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggysun

I almost forgot to ask this, did the Harley Dealer pick you up from the ship? Or did you arrange your own transportation, like a bus or taxi to the dealership?

Thank you so much for your help!

It's not that far from the pier to the bike shop. We took a taxi to it, thinking it was further and then decided to walk back afterwards. The taxi was about $10 to go the 3/4 mile.

I emailed them back and forth, but we reserved the bike through their website. I asked for the biggest newest bike they had and that's exactly what they reserved for us.

As for the deposit, if I remember correctly, they just put a hold on the $1000 - they did't actually charge it or process it. That way they make sure the card is good for the $1000 in case they do have to process it.

As for cancellation, I checked with them about that before we booked and they understand that occasionally ships have to cancel their stop due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, so it was not an issue.

All I can say it that in my opinion, it's the ONLY way to see Aruba!!

Pete

Texashorselady · 06-11-2009, 07:52 AM

[quote=ziggysun;1367084]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texashorselady

I was really hoping someone would say that!

I know for sure we're booking the Harley..I was on the fence with whether we'd ride the motorcycle more after the tour because I really do want to go horseback riding

We don't get the chance to go horseback riding here at home, whereas my husband had his motorcycle for 8 years; 5 - 6 of those years we rode all the time.

I really hope you get to on this trip. If you do, take pictures to share with us!

ziggysun · 06-11-2009, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruise Planner

It's not that far from the pier to the bike shop. We took a taxi to it, thinking it was further and then decided to walk back afterwards. The taxi was about $10 to go the 3/4 mile.

I emailed them back and forth, but we reserved the bike through their website. I asked for the biggest newest bike they had and that's exactly what they reserved for us.

As for the deposit, if I remember correctly, they just put a hold on the $1000 - they did't actually charge it or process it. That way they make sure the card is good for the $1000 in case they do have to process it.

As for cancellation, I checked with them about that before we booked and they understand that occasionally ships have to cancel their stop due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, so it was not an issue.

All I can say it that in my opinion, it's the ONLY way to see Aruba!!

Pete

Rene, the tour guide responded from Big Twin, he said it's only a 5 minute walk to the Harley Dealership. I had no idea it was so close; if we had known, we probably would have walked down the last time we were in Aruba!

My husband is a little fussy and not really tall so the width of the bikes plays a factor with those short legs....he's not really "short" @ 5'10" but his leg length is only 30" for clothing, add the width of a Road King and he'd be on his tip toes when we stopped without a lowering kit on the bike, so he'd prefer one of the other 2 bikes (Heritage or Softtail) over the 4 Road Kings available. After seeing their selection was more Road Kings I want to make sure I book while his choices are still available so I'll probably just book at their website today some time.

Rene confirmed everything about the deposit and cancellation you've stated above. I would be very surprised if Aruba got cancelled; but, after Valletta getting cancelled, I would never think it couldn't happen!