CrimsonCruiser Posted September 6, 2022 Report Share Posted September 6, 2022 Hello! I wanted to let more people know about this day pass opportunity in Curacao. All-Inclusive Sunscape Curacao Resort Day Pass TL;DR - This hidden gem resort is a great value, absolutely beautiful and full of kind and helpful staff. Literally next door to where passengers get dropped off for Mambo Beach but a heck of a lot quieter. There were almost no crowds and I think we were the only day pass guests there. Taxi there from the port will most likely get you a group rate of $8/person but coming back was $25 total since the ride is private. The food was flavorful and plentiful and you get unlimited drinks from the bar. Plenty of pools and beach access, chairs with good palm tree coverings, free snorkeling. 9/10 do recommend. The Booking: I had been hearing about day passes for a bit from this page as well as on CruiseTube, so when I saw we were going to be in Curacao again after our trip last year, I was very interested in it. Important for me were pools, lots of food options, and beach access with free seating. I checked out Resort for a Day and Shore excursioneer. My options were limited - Marriott or Sunscape. While both options had a lot in common, there were key differences that initially made the choice difficult. The Marriott came with name familiarity, a free shuttle and free towels BUT had a food voucher that was only usable at one seafood heavy restaurant. Sunscape had unlimited food and drink, a slightly lower cost point, and more pools BUT transportation was out of my own pocket and towels had a charge meaning I had to be sure to bring my cruise one and keep careful track of it. In the end, obviously, we liked the unlimited food and drink at Sunscape more than the free shuttle. It also came with no-worry cancellation, full refunds and only required a deposit to complete booking. $109.99/ person for adults (not sure if there is a lower cost for kids) The Going: The day pass gives you morning or evening options - since we were in Curacao from 7-4 we did the morning pass (8-5). We forgot that breakfast was included in that unlimited food so we grabbed some food on the ship and headed out at 9:40. [In the future, we'd head out earlier and eat there] We grabbed a taxi at the port and for $16+tip the two of us were on our way. The ride was about 15 minutes from port and went over the scenic bridge so we had stunning views of the town and ship there and back. The rest of our taxi was going to Mambo Beach, which turned out to be literally next door to the resort. Check-in was painless; go up to the front desk, show your reservation, pay the remainder of your bill, hand over IDs which they keep until you leave, get a wristband and you're on your way! The lobby goes right through to the main water areas and is stunning when you walk out. The Resort: There were 3 pools from this area: a small 4-foot round pool, the bar pool, and the main pool which has several connecting areas and a covered area. We ended up mainly using the 4-foot round pool and had it to ourselves the whole time. Other pools were available (such as a sport pool and kids pool), but we never had a need to venture to them since the crowds were non-existent. The 4ft pool is also right next to the bar so it was no big deal to pop out for a drink. Breakfast was still ongoing when we got there (again, another reason we could have gotten there earlier) but we didn't partake. There is also a cafe available if you want snacks between meal times. Again, we did not partake but it looked good. After a drink and some sunbathing, I took advantage of the complimentary snorkeling. You get one hour to use the equipment and I took all 60 minutes. Equipment is mask and hose with vest as requested (I did ask for it just so I didn't have to swim as hard). The snorkeling is pretty good. There is a reef around the whole property so if you stick close to that you can see a lot of cool fish. I think there were also some type of shrimp floating around but I'm a landlocked city girl and have no idea but they were small and pointy and I avoided them just in case. At one point I was following a school of Dory (blue tang) and was surprised how close they got to shore. Sadly, I forgot my waterproof camera so the images only live in my memory. The food was really good. We went to the buffet and enjoyed a nice spread of chicken, fish, pork, burgers, nachos, hot dogs, soups, salads, sandwich meats and desserts. The area was really pretty, too. Had a wide open feel but with screens up for the birds. Somehow though...the birds were slick and still managed to make their way in. Bright side, they didn't bother the guests at all and only went after unattended plates - which were rare as the staff was quick to clean up. Bathrooms were also great. Being that it's a resort, the bathrooms - even the ones off of the beach - were much what I'd expect from a hotel. Nice and clean. We ended up leaving at 2:15 because we had some shopping stops we wanted to make on the way back to the ship and had an all aboard time of 3:30. We both regretted that we couldn't stay longer. They also had a spa and gym, casino (as in the name), gift shop, giant chess, volleyball set up, kayaking, a stage for performances, a teen clubhouse and several more restaurants that we could have opted to have lunch at instead. The grill was closed (maybe because of low numbers?) but I think the Italian place was open. The Score: 9/10. It was practically perfect in every way. Recently, Sunscape joined "the World of Hyatt" but for now at least, it maintains it's local charm. The sprawling grounds were big but easy to navigate, there was plenty of space for everyone at every time, the staff was super friendly, the water was clear, the spaces clean. It was really worth the cost for sure. I took off 1 point only because the shade palm hut things have low edges and I, at 5'5" still had to bend over almost double to get under them and because of the return taxi cost. Next time, I might consider walking over to Mambo Beach and trying to get a group taxi again. asquared17, Yesiamthere6, Seafarer and 3 others 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted September 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2022 ChessE4 and Yesiamthere6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 6, 2022 Report Share Posted September 6, 2022 Thank you so much for the great review ! Curaçao is my favorite Caribbean port and I love just walking around BUT I love having a good alternative and until now, I really didn’t have one. Unless I missed it (entirely possible), I didn’t see the price per person for the Sunscape Resort. Do you mind sharing that information ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted September 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2022 9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Thank you so much for the great review ! Curaçao is my favorite Caribbean port and I love just walking around BUT I love having a good alternative and until now, I really didn’t have one. Unless I missed it (entirely possible), I didn’t see the price per person for the Sunscape Resort. Do you mind sharing that information ? Whoops! Lol. I edited to add it. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmry5 Posted September 10, 2022 Report Share Posted September 10, 2022 Thank you! This is the exact comparison I was looking for! I'm glad you tried Seascape because I was leaning toward it but wanted to find an actual recent review! CrimsonCruiser and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted September 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2022 On 9/9/2022 at 7:57 PM, mcmry5 said: Thank you! This is the exact comparison I was looking for! I'm glad you tried Seascape because I was leaning toward it but wanted to find an actual recent review! Yay! I'm helping! KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted September 12, 2022 Report Share Posted September 12, 2022 This is awesome, thank you! I think we will give this place a try on our Nov sailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted September 12, 2022 Report Share Posted September 12, 2022 4 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said: Yay! I'm helping! Do you think it would be a good family type place? We’re there kids running around at the pool? What was the overall vibe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted September 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2022 34 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said: Do you think it would be a good family type place? We’re there kids running around at the pool? What was the overall vibe? There were almost no kids on our visit and those that we did see were generally with family at the beach. There is a kids-only pool somewhere (from pictures on tripadvisor it seems like it is removed from the main area) but we never saw it. This Above, the kids pool. Below, an aerial view of the main area when you first walk in. As you can see, the kids pool is not visible in this area. Quote photos from tripadvisor I think it's okay for families; it does feel like it was designed with families in mind. The vibe was chill but not stuffy. I have a very vibrant inner child and tend to feel more comfortable in areas designed for young adults than for real adults, and I felt super comfortable. Never too old or too young. I didn't see anything like a splash area and at the time we were there the teen club didn't seem to be occupied. If the kids are fine to splash around in the beach or pool, eat food, snorkel or play on the grounds - probably fine. Oh! there was a trampoline area set up, too, on the way to the teen area. Again, no one was using it but I imagine it's something you could get set up for if you asked. asquared17 and tonyfsu21 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted September 12, 2022 Report Share Posted September 12, 2022 36 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said: There were almost no kids on our visit and those that we did see were generally with family at the beach. There is a kids-only pool somewhere (from pictures on tripadvisor it seems like it is removed from the main area) but we never saw it. This Above, the kids pool. Below, an aerial view of the main area when you first walk in. As you can see, the kids pool is not visible in this area. I think it's okay for families; it does feel like it was designed with families in mind. The vibe was chill but not stuffy. I have a very vibrant inner child and tend to feel more comfortable in areas designed for young adults than for real adults, and I felt super comfortable. Never too old or too young. I didn't see anything like a splash area and at the time we were there the teen club didn't seem to be occupied. If the kids are fine to splash around in the beach or pool, eat food, snorkel or play on the grounds - probably fine. Oh! there was a trampoline area set up, too, on the way to the teen area. Again, no one was using it but I imagine it's something you could get set up for if you asked. Thank you, this will be perfect. We are going to book for our Thanksgiving cruise for sure. CrimsonCruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted September 13, 2022 Report Share Posted September 13, 2022 this is such a great review!!!! thank you for sharing now we know where to go when in curacaø < -- that is not the right 'o' whooops CrimsonCruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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