Reviewers Rating: 
Great
Basic Stats:Vacation Dates: 11.11.02-11.21.02
Flight Info: US-United, from Detroit
Int'l-Dutch Caribbean
Airlines (DCA), from
Miami
Travel to and from the island:
Anyone is who is considering a trip, DO NOT use DCA. While the staff is nice, they have NO idea what "on time" means. In addition, regardless of what airline you choose, do your best to avoid a layover or stop in another country. On my return trip, I had to stop in Haiti for quote "a half an hour", well, I can only say that after sitting on the plane (w/o AC) for an hour waiting to load up and take off, that the little amount of money you save isn't worth it.
When you arrive, as other people have mentioned, the Breezes people are very good about getting you to the resort. Also, as someone else pointed out, the day you leave, you have to have bags packed at 11:00am so you really miss out on your last day.
The Resort and Trip:
The grounds of the resort are in good shape. Our room faced away from the resort, towards Aquarium Beach. The view wasn't great, but it allowed for quiet (away from the hotel activites) if you wanted to retire after dinner w/ a Cuban cigar and a glass of Jonny Walker. The rooms have a CD player, but no clock. While the idea of not knowing what time it is on vacation is nice, it makes it tough to know that you have to get up to eat breakfast or when to leave for your dinner reservations. Also, the bathrooms don't have fans, so if one person takes a shower, it is a steam room for the rest of the night. Opening the sliding doors doesn't help, since the humidity is so high (but you don't realize it outside b-c of the breeze.) As a note, the rooms have American cablevision, HBO, ABC out of Nashville, CBS out of Eire and NBC from New York City. It also has TNT, TBS, CNN and ESPN. We didn't spend much time watching TV but it is nice to have if you are worried about missing your shows from home (Soprano's, West Wing for me)
The resort is pretty well set up. The three resturants should take care of any of your needs. We ate at both the Japanese and Italian resturants. Most meals are a Jimmy's which is very accomadating. Other than the lack of variety of desserts(most of them were the same thing, but with different frosting) the food was well prepared. You have to be careful and very clear about how you want your meat cooked, the cooks sometimes have trouble during the high dinner time keeping your meat straight from the next guy in line and the English is a little broken.
The entertainment is interesting. The diving opportunities are great and if you are interested, you should take the chance to learn how to dive. The activities are different each day and night and depending how much you want to participate (some nights we did, others we just watched) As far as entertainment off the resort, outside of Friday and Saturday night, the whole island is dead. Don't let anyone tell you that things are going on, b-c they just aren't. This spins into another area.
The cabs are a joke. We would ask the staff how much it should cost to get a cab somewhere and then find out when we got in the cab it was much higher and usually in American dollars. Also, as the night goes on, the price goes up. Very irritating.
Avoid the cabs at all costs.
But, what we did do with some success, was rent a small jeep not long after we arrived. We then took a list of where the tours went, a map of the island and did it at our own pace. This way if something stunk, we weren't stuck and if was nice we could stay. It was a great way to see the beaches on the west side of the island. In the end, we got twice the "tours" for a tenth of the cost. Also, don't get fooled into anyone telling you that a beach has big waves, the only "beach" with any heavy surf is full of coral rock. Go to a different island if you want to play in waves. Curacao isn't the place for you.
Also, see the Ostrich farm. It was very interactive the guide is excellent. The Hato caves are also worth the trip.
Casino's are big. Every resort has one. The Breezes casino is the best of the lot. One Casino does have a sports book, but that is the only thing that should take you away from Breezes. The rest are just well lighted bingo halls.
One other note, the Breezes beach is hard and has a fair amount of coral. Bringing sandles for getting around, isn't a bad idea.
The staff is good, and they don't short you on the booze in the drinks. People say to bring a cup, but you can get as many drinks as often as you like. Having a cup to carry around is more work than needed. Also, bring your own beach towel for sunning yourself, the Breezes towels are small.
Going into Williamstad is also worth it. Fair shopping and ok prices. Much better than the prices on the resort.
It was a good trip and would recommend to friends and families. Have a good time.
Island Ben
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