Canadian travel advisor Michelle Fortner took her family on a Caribbean cruise unlike any other, discovering that the Dutch-influenced ABC islands offer a surprisingly different kind of paradise.
At a Glance
Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao offer exceptional snorkeling across all three islands, making them ideal for snorkeling families. The ABC islands feature distinctive Dutch architecture, turquoise waters, and proximity to South America. Longer sea days and advance resort day-pass bookings are practical considerations for cruise itineraries.
When Michelle Fortner booked three cabins on the Carnival Horizon for a family voyage to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, she wasn't just planning a vacation. She was doing what the best travel advisors do: immersing herself in a destination so she could speak about it with genuine authority. Traveling with her husband, two kids, and her mom, Fortner came home with sun-kissed memories, hard-won insider knowledge, and a renewed enthusiasm for one of the Caribbean's most underrated island chains.
Three Islands, One Snorkeling Family
Ask Fortner what moment keeps coming up in conversation since she returned, and the answer comes quickly. It's the snorkeling. Not just in one spot, but across all three islands. "We snorkeled at all three," she recalls, "and all three of them had awesome snorkeling. So if you're a snorkeling family like we are, highly recommend." That consistent quality across Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao struck her as remarkable, and it's now one of her top talking points when clients ask about the region.
Beyond the underwater world, the islands themselves left a vivid impression. Fortner paints a picture of Aruba's streetscapes with an almost cinematic quality, describing the way the island's signature pink buildings catch the eye. It is, she says, "very interesting to watch and very interesting to see." Bonaire and Curaçao matched that beauty in their own ways, each island distinct yet equally stunning. For a family experiencing the broader Caribbean together for the first time at this latitude, the visual richness of the ABC islands was a genuine revelation.
Dutch Influence: The Surprise Nobody Warned Her About
Fortner arrived expecting the Caribbean she knew. What she found was something layered and different. The strong Dutch cultural influence woven into the architecture, food, and atmosphere of all three islands caught her off guard in the best possible way. "When you go to the Caribbean, it's usually British influence or even American influence," Fortner explains, "but this one was really, really, all three islands were very Dutch, which was surprising to me." For an experienced traveler who has visited the region before, that distinction mattered. It gave the trip a texture she hadn't anticipated, and it's now a key detail she passes along to clients who think they already know what the Caribbean has to offer.
There was another geographic surprise waiting for her as well. The ABC islands sit just off the coast of Venezuela, far closer to South America than most Caribbean destinations. For Fortner's husband and children, who had rarely ventured far beyond North America, it was a quietly significant milestone. "They got to experience kind of being that close to South America," she says, noting that the proximity gave the trip a sense of adventure that a more familiar itinerary simply couldn't have delivered.
Who Should Go, and One Thing to Know Before You Do
Fortner is enthusiastic when it comes to recommending the ABC islands to just about anyone. Families, couples, solo travelers, the destination works across the board. The Caribbean's turquoise water alone makes the case: "When you look at it, it's this really crazy, turquoisey blue. There's just so much about the Caribbean that is just great." Her one honest caveat is practical rather than critical. Because the islands are so far south, the itinerary includes longer sea days. For travelers who want to be in port every single day, that's worth considering before booking.
On the ground, Fortner learned a lesson she now shares freely. If a resort day pass is on the wishlist, book it well in advance. By the time her family arrived at the resorts, day tickets had already sold out. "We were still able to go on the beach and snorkel," she notes, "but we didn't get to take advantage of some of the resort amenities." It's exactly the kind of detail that only comes from being there, and it's the kind of insight that can make or break a client's experience. She also discovered that in Aruba, the city bus is an underrated gem for beach access, helping her family skip taxi queues entirely and arrive at beautiful stretches of sand with almost no fuss.
Research, Shore Excursions, and the Advisor's Edge
Fortner's approach to travel preparation is methodical. Before departure, she dives into YouTube videos, articles, and traveler forums to surface the kinds of tips that don't appear in brochures. That groundwork paid off in Aruba, where she already knew about the public bus option before ever stepping off the ship. She applies the same philosophy to excursion planning, recommending that clients consider both ship-organized excursions and reputable third-party operators like Shore Excursions Group, which she notes often offer competitive pricing while still guaranteeing return to the ship on time. "There are also some companies that do shore excursions that are specific to the destination," she says, "and I find that they might sometimes be a little bit more reasonable."
It's a mindset she brings to every trip she recommends. Research is not a step to skip; it is the foundation that transforms a good vacation into a great one.
What Comes Next
Fortner's travel calendar is already filling up. In January, she and her family are set to board the Carnival Mardi Gras, sailing from Port Canaveral toward the Bahamas and Bermuda, with stops at private islands. For a family that hasn't spent much time on private island destinations, the anticipation is real. Looking further ahead, she and her mom are exploring a Greece cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line in September, and summer road trips through Canada, possibly east toward the Maritimes, are also on the horizon.
For Fortner, every trip is both a personal adventure and a professional investment. The ABC islands delivered on both counts, and she returns to her clients with something no amount of reading can replicate: the confident, vivid, firsthand knowledge of someone who has truly been there.
