We visited Aruba on Jan 13,2011 aboard the Celebrity Millennium. Our time in port made it impossible to enjoy a sunset cruise so I did the next best thing and booked a private cruise with Capt. Albert and Joann and I am most happy that I did. I rounded up another 8 couples via our roll call on cruisecritic.com and reserved our spot with my credit card . After arriving in Aruba we disembarked promptly, met up and took the bus to Eagle beach ($4.60 round trip per couple) and made our way to the dock where the Black Pearl awaited us. We had a most relaxing and fun time and must say that although the snorkeling was just "okay" the trip itself was a delightful time. I really enjoyed all the room aboard the boat which allowed us to get to visit with each other comfortably. Captain Albert and Joanne clearly enjoy what they do and it shows in their gracious attitudes and insistence in learning each our names. In short, I encourage those of you who might be cruising to Aruba to take advantage of the opportunity for a private sail on the Black Pearl --- I know that we will when we return.

Everyone who has been on the Black Pearl for the afternoon snorkel and sunset sail has described the friendly, low key approach to hospitality, the comfortable, shaded lounge seats on the boat and the wonderful drinks and food served at your personal seat. What I can add is this: if you are on the cruise ships and the time works for you---GO on THIS day sail! Everyone we talked to who did something else was jealous of our experience and value for the $$. We took the city bus to the Marriott Surf club (RT for 2.30) and the bus driver helped us get the right stop. Here's the hard part: we walked through the Marriott Pool property to find the pier and it is a little difficult to find the opening to the beach. On the return trip back to the bus stop, we walked by the Mumba Beach bar and directly to the street without passing on the Marriott property. I don't know if there is a good way to describe how to get to the pier, but allow a little extra time to find the place, because the boat leaves on schedule!
We went to Broken Wall and Boca Catalina to snorkel and there was plenty of time to explore. It gets windy in Aruba so take a jacket or sweatshirt for when the sun sets.
We had beautiful weather on our trip and that also made for a perfect trip. We were only a few feet from a sailboat with the Dutch version of "Bachelor" The sunset was gorgeous and was captured by Albert who sent us a digital video of our trip. How is that for personalized service?
We will go again if we ever get back to Aruba. Hope this helps if you're trying to find a good tour for Aruba.

This is a unique cruise with a level of personal service that you don't typically get on a larger boat. You get the feeling you're out on a friend's boat for the afternoon as you're served drinks and sandwiches. Joanne is a wonderful hostess and Albert is the always pleasant, knowledgeable captain. I'm looking forward to another cruise on my next visit. Book the cruise early since all of the Trip Advisor attention has business booming.

This is the "adult" way to go snorkelling in Aruba. We took thye sunset cruise on the Black Pearl and it was great. Padded lounge chairs, only 24 guests and the snorkeling is uncrowded. The crew is low key and very attentative. The food is delicious and the whole atmosphere is relaxing. To top it off the sunset was great. If you want a boozy, crowded, loud cruise, go elswhere. This is the civilized way to go snorkeling.