In one week we will be returning to Curacao for the fourth time. Great for the summer-fall because it is out of the hurricane belt. Owned by the Dutch, driving is on the right, locals speak English, take dollars, and is a first-world country. I mention this because Breeses is all-inclusive and Curacao has some very good restaurants and other sites you will not see if you stay on the Breese's compound.
My last time-share trade was at Breeses about two years ago. Breeses used to be the Princes hotel and time-share. Your room will be like a hotel room. No matter what they say they do not have one- and two-bedroom units. The dive shop is run by Lions Dive, a hotel a quarter-mile away, one of the best operations I have used. I just bought the Suunto Mosquito and they let me do my own profile. I was in the water 60 minutes each dive and returned with 500 lbs. of air. We didnt buy into the food plan ($60/person/day) but the other guests said the food was very good.
I dont know if your kids are into circus activities but Breeses has activities for pre- and mid-teens to die for: they will teach them to do all types of high-wire skills.
Try hard to get to the West Point (end) of the island for some additional great diving and snorkeling. Also make sure you have Iguana stew at Yanckis (sp). Tell him Donald and Sheila said hi. No matter where we stay on Curacao we go to West Point for at least an afternoon. One trip I had Iguana stew three different days (no, it doesnt taste like chicken, it tastes like Iguana !). The point of West Point is also a city bus stop and right-turn (actually a point) has a dive shop right there and two great snorkeling spots near-by.
Plan renting a car.
If you need to see a dinner-show, we like the one put on in the hotel adjacent to the Dennys. It also has a very large casino. BTW, all dress is casual. Some beaches are topless (Dutch, remember). Most crime is theft from auto. Another must is downtown, where the rotating bridge is located. I cannot remember the name of the cities and towns, let alone pronounce them. Curacao liquor comes in different colors but tastes the same, except for the chocolate.
If you do have a car you can drive to the sunken tugboat (at 25 ft, 100ft from shore), and snorkel it. Dive shop right there. If you do this as a shore dive, use the tugboat as your safety stop. Big Moray lives in tugboat. 100 yards beyond the tugboat, at 80 ft. is a fantastic, large mass of coral.
We have also stayed at Habitat Curacao, great, and great diving, but out in the middle of nowhere. Mainly we stay in the time-shares at the Hilton, beside the Marriott.
We also liked the day we spent in Belize as a staging area for a week on the Nekton live-aboard. Simply fantastic, but your daughters may go bananas unless they are really into diving. There were some young teens on one of our Nekton trips but they were boys bonding with their dads. The ruins there make Cancun look like Disneyworld.
Do both locations !!.
