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Article from Curacao Tourist Board

Atlantis Adventures Curaçao: 'shared from the heart with the tourist'. Tourism is one of most important industries of Curaçao. Many people earn their daily bread working in different areas of tourism.

Sabina Evertsz is the General Manager of Atlantis Adventures Curaçao. This company is one of the main tour operators which organizes various tours for tourists to get to know the island, and to entertain the tourist for their visit to Curaçao. During the October 2005 for April 2006 cruise season, Atlantis Adventures Curaçao had about 45.000 tourists on tour!

Sabina has been working for 8 years in the tourism industry on the island of Curacao and likes her work a lot. The main market that Sabina provides service to is the tourists that arrive to Curacao on cruise ships. They are one-day visitors and they want to see as much as possible during the short visit. The services provided are for all ages, from the very young to the retired ones. The tourist guides who work for Atlantis Adventures are responsible for sharing information with guests about the main things of the island of Curaçao: heritage, history & culture as well as showing different sites of the island. For example, the Trolley train drives through Punda, to see historical buildings or other attractions such as the Curaçao Museum, Hato Caves, and Chobolobo Liqueur factory. The younger tourist may want to go kayaking, snorkeling, mountain biking or just go swimming at on the beautiful beaches of the island. Job opportunities at Atlantis Adventures would be working as tourist guide, tour bus driver or diver. In order to work, you need the necessary paperwork and certifications along with secondary school diploma as well as fluency in the various languages, especially English. Other languages such as Spanish and German or French are always a plus.

One has to love the island in order to share good and positive things about it and be able to treat visitors nice. Visitors like the guide to be a person who is friendly, who likes people and someone who always has a smile on their face. That way the visitor will return back for a longer visit to Curaçao.

According to Sabina, sometimes our own people do not know the island that well. So she urges every child in school to love the island and to learn as much as possible about the history and culture of Curacao so they can appreciate it more and that way can also share Curacao from the heart.

ATLANTIS ADVENTURES CURACAO: "Sharing Curacao from the Heart."

Atlantis Adventures Curacao Sea and See Tour wins High Volume Tour of Year

Princess Passengers Pick Favorite Caribbean Excursions Line's C.R.U.I.S.E. Service Awards Honor Best Tours and Guides. Begun in 1999 as part of Princess' C.R.U.I.S.E. (Courtesy, Respect, Unfailing In Service Excellence) customer service program, these tour operator awards cap off a season-long effort to recognize the role that local tour partners play in passengers' cruise experiences.

Princess Cruises announced winners for its 2006-2007 cruise season awards for best Caribbean tours. Also named were favorite tour guides in many of the Caribbean ports of call. Results are based on passenger feedback from an extensive line up of more than 800 shore excursion options.

"Because we place such a great emphasis on high service levels, we feel it's important to recognize those local tour operators who do a great job of continuing Princess' commitment to service when our passengers are in port," said Steve Nielsen, Princess' vice president of Caribbean and Atlantic shore operations. "These local guides and companies are ambassadors for both Princess and their respective destinations."

The best tours got the most votes in two categories -- large volume tours and smaller, more intimate tours. More than 820 shore excursion options were evaluated.

The awards both reward tour operators who have delivered consistently excellent tours and provide feedback to future Princess Cruises passengers planning their shore excursions for the next Caribbean. Operators of the Shore Excursion of the Season receive a plaque and a letter of commendation, a tour of the ship, and lunch onboard for company officials.