samana jan. 9 tour with terry

[thatbloominplace]

oceania has now changed its policy on allowing passengers to tender to samana and make private tours on their own. we have a tour booked with terry who has gotten wonderful reviews on this site as well as on tripadvisor. he has room for more passengers if you are interested. his email is toursamanawithterry@hotmail.com. we are booked with his tour #5 a nice easy day through the countryside and then to a barbeque on a beach.

 

steve

[comcox]

We were just there and were not allowed to tender to Samana. You are lucky they just changed the policy. Several folks on our cruise were quite disappointed to find out they could not go ashore to the mainland.

[StanandJim]

We were just there and were not allowed to tender to Samana. You are lucky they just changed the policy. Several folks on our cruise were quite disappointed to find out they could not go ashore to the mainland.

 

Samana, is not a place that most Tourists would enjoy visiting "on their own". The disparity of income is just too extreme.

 

Yet, at a distance, it is lovely spot.

 

The Tourist enclaves are relatively inexpensive and downright luxurious......

-still, this is an area where you want to GO with a group and STAY with that group.

[mringenoldus]

I had hoped to go with Terry last March and then learned it wasn't possible. Terry was very responsive and I really regretted having to cancel with him.

[susiesan]

Samana, is not a place that most Tourists would enjoy visiting "on their own". The disparity of income is just too extreme.

 

Speak for yourselves please. I'd suggest if income disparity bothers you to never travel to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Egypt, Peru, China, Malaysia, and Thailand just to name a few "poor" countries. Those are places I've visited in the last 5 years that rank are among the best and most interesting vacations I've ever been on. And i visited each country on my own, not on a tour, and enjoyed very much. Of course you will never see Angkor Wat, Macchu Picchu, the Pyramids, or the Great Wall.

 

I will be doing an ATV tour with Terry from Samana and am looking forward to it.

[StanandJim]

Samana is entirely different than any of the tourist destinations that you've listed precisely because there is no major attraction there.

 

If one is journeying to the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, or to Angkor Wat, there might be some justification in braving the dangers of getting there, but Samana offers nothing along those lines.

 

There are beautiful rain forests, stunning waterfalls and spectacular beaches, but those are available in abundance throughout the Caribbean.

 

What we are left with then, is touring the back roads of an underprivileged country to witness the deplorable conditions under which the locals live, simply on the chance that you might find it interesting, culturally.

 

I suppose that it takes all types to make a world, so if you can stomach that type of thing, I hope that you enjoy yourself.

[susiesan]

 

What we are left with then, is touring the back roads of an underprivileged country to witness the deplorable conditions under which the locals live, simply on the chance that you might find it interesting, culturally.

.

 

If Samana is such a horrid place in your opinion, why would Oceania and the other cruise companies go there and even offer excursions touring the back roads of this underprivileged country, exposing their guests to the deplorable conditions under which the locals live? Maybe one reason is for the locals to earn some income in providing services to tourists and thereby have an opportunity to better themselves and possibly upgrade their condition from deplorable to barely tolerable?

 

Have you complained to Oceania about wasting a day of your cruise stopping at such a nasty place when there are so many other islands with beautiful rain forests, stunning waterfalls and spectacular beaches to visit? We can't let those DR people try to better their lives by being the beneficiaries of we pompous, elitist, rich Americans' spending now, can we. In fact, we better abandon Haiti too because they are just like the DR. Sheesh. Rolls eyes.

 

You might want to reread what you wrote and think about how you come across in attitude. Our local guide in Siem Reap told me he has two types of clients, tourists and travelers. He said I was a traveler. I can guess which you are.

[thatbloominplace]

exploring on your own is not exactly what this thread is about. rather, it is the opportunity to see the area with a guide of our own choosing, such as terry. i tried setting up a tour with him originally because of the quality of his tours and great service, as well as the respect for the people of this area that he imparts those choosing to travel with him. if you notice, susiesan is not going out on her own, but with a reputable tour guide of HER choosing. i am doing the same and was simply suggesting to others that they,too,might want to travel with tery. it's all about choices.

 

steve

[BlindCreek]

We just visited Samana on our Oceania Regatta cruise - Dec. 21 - Jan. 2. The itinerary had us tendering to Cayo Levantado - a small island off shore from Samana I understand. For some reason they tendered us to Samana instead. There was not much to see on shore but then again we only wandered for about 2 hours. You would need to do an excursion to see more. Friends did a bike, hike, and kayaking tour and they enjoyed themselves. We booked the same cruise for next year (over Christmas and New Years). We noticed that the DR is no longer in the itinerary. We have stayed in Cabarete in the DR a few hours away from Samana and had a wonderful time. To truly enjoy what the DR has to offer I believe one needs more time than that offered by a cruise ship stopover.

[susiesan]

My Feb. 25 cruise first had us tendering to Cayo Levantado. Then O sent a notice that we would tender to Samana. Now it seems to be back to tendering to Cayo Levantado, according to the itinerary on the website. And my TA was told by O that tenders will go to both Samana and Cayo Levantando. So I have no idea what the heck is going on here. I'm trying to set up an ATV tour with Terry and even he doesn't know if I'll actually be able to and allowed to get to Samana. I wish O would make up their minds for sure so I can make plans for this day.

[Coonelian]

We were just on the Nov 27 Amazon cruise. O Did Not provide tenders to Samana. The only way to get there was on tours, which picked pax up from the ship where one would normally get on an O tender. O only provided tenders to Cayo Levantado island. Pax we spoke with that went to Samana reported that it was almost an hour boat ride each way and extremely bumpy. The morning we anchored the tour boats from the mainland were already lined up waiting for the ship to clear.

Cynthia

[umtali]

If you don't like the ports, don't book the cruise, or better still stay onboard. We are seriously looking at whether the USA is a worthwhile place to visit, with these beggars dressed as service staff in hotels and restaurants, and taxis with their hands out for whatever alms we can offer. Get a grip people, all countries have problems of one kind or another. Go to enjoy what you want to see, and get over the rest.

[mdmourges]

We were in Samana two years ago with RC. We took a cab to a beach called Rincon, which was about 45 minutes away. It was a beautiful beach with not a whole lot of people with a little beach bar/grill at the east end. It was very nice. I would do it again. It is out of the way (you must drive on some dirt roads with big pot holes, etc) but it was worth it.

 

Mark

Annapolis, MD

[StanandJim]

If you don't like the ports, don't book the cruise, or better still stay onboard. We are seriously looking at whether the USA is a worthwhile place to visit, with these beggars dressed as service staff in hotels and restaurants, and taxis with their hands out for whatever alms we can offer. Get a grip people, all countries have problems of one kind or another. Go to enjoy what you want to see, and get over the rest.

 

Quite right, Umtali, you are saying what we are saying but in a different way.

 

We certainly cannot fault the people of the Dominican Republic for their circumstances, but it does seem patronizing to want to view that misfortune first hand as an afternoons diversion.....even if it does bring money into their economy.

 

IMHO, it is one thing to travel through a depressed area in order to see a genuine tourist attraction, such as the Gateway of India.

It is another situation entirely if one views the depressed area AS the attraction

[Friscorays]

In December2009 we had a large group, over a dozen, schedule an independent tour in Samana, the listed cruise destination, only to find once on board that we would only be tendered to Cayo Leventado. We enjoyed the beach day there but wish Oceania would make up its collective mind and stick with it.

[susiesan]

Once again, O has changed their minds about the Dominican Republic port stop. They are back to only tendering to Cayo Levantado just a week after saying they were going to tender to Samana. I got a call from O today in response to my question called in to them yesterday about getting the facts straight about where we can alight in the DR. The CSR could not give me a reason why O keeps changing their mind-first Cayo, then Samana, then Cayo. This time there was no email sent about changing once again, so only those here on CC will know this. There will be others like you Friscorays, and me, who may have made independent plans only to find they will not be allowed to go to Samana.

 

I just don't get why O will not allow pax to go to Samana without purchasing an overpriced O excursion.

 

to StanandJim: yes, you are right. The only reason I want to go to Samana independently is to patronize the local people, rub it in their faces what a rich American I am and how misfortunate they are. As you travel through poor regions to get to genuine "tourist" attractions be sure to close the shades and curtains onyour big tour bus so you won't be exposed to the horrible conditions the local people of impoverished countries live in. Wow, did you miss who Umtali's jibe was at.

[hondorner]

It's actually pretty simple. When the port says Cayo Levantado, that's the little island in the bay, and that's where you go. The ship may offer excursions to other parts of the Dominican Republic, but it is up to the tour operator to get you to the Hispaniola mainland. You could probably book a private excursion from Cayo Levantado if the tour operator was willing to pick you up there in a boat and transport you to the mainland.

 

I'm not aware of any cruises in the past couple of years that actually listed Samana as the destination port, but that may have been possible in the transition from taking passengers to the mainland to using the small cay (island).

 

In Oceania's case, it is almost certainly an external issue with officials at the port that is causing the changes, and to blindly label it as "not being able to make up their mind" is a disservice. Most likely the reason why the email was sent when they had to change to Samana was because that actually entailed a change of port destination from Cayo Levantado, the published port, to Samana. When it was changed back, it reverted to the original published port and there was less need to notify.

[susiesan]

[quote name=hondorner;27416409)

In Oceania's case' date=' it is almost certainly an external issue with officials at the port that is causing the changes, and to blindly label it as "not being able to make up their mind" is a disservice. Most likely the reason why the email was sent when they had to change to Samana was because that actually entailed a change of port destination from Cayo Levantado, the published port, to Samana. When it was changed back, it reverted to the original published port and there was less need to notify.[/quote]

 

This was the email sent by O on Dec. 23 changing from Cayo to Samana:

 

"We wish to advise you of a change to your scheduled call to Cayo Leventado. To ensure a more comfortable tender experience, the ship will now be tendering into Samana. We thank you for your attention to this change and your understanding."

 

Unless O was just making up an excuse, this doesn't sound like an issue with local officials.

if everyone on this cruise was notified the first change shouldn't they be notified the second change? The CSR on the phone had the ssame reason as the email, a more comfortable tender experience. What the heck does that mean???

 

So are you telling me that if one books a shore ex from O that involves Samana that the local tour operators come out to the ship in their boats to pick up participants, and that O does not send their tenders to Samana to meet the tour operators? I have never seen that happen in over 38 cruises.

 

Can someone here who has a direct line in to a higher up at O get an answer for me about this back and forth on the port? I really want to know the reason, especaially since O does not offer the tour I want to do, which is an ATV tour. Two local companies in Samana offer this tour and it's highly regarded by people from other cruise lines who are allowed to go to Samana by their ship.

[hondorner]

...Can someone here who has a direct line in to a higher up at O get an answer for me about this back and forth on the port?...

This is a direct quote from an email today from a highly placed corporate officer in Prestige Cruise Holdings, the parent company of Oceania:

 

The issue with Samana had to do with the logistics of the tendering operations. As there was an issue, we switched to Samana. Once we did that, the authorities quickly rectified the situation with Cayo and it was reinstated.

[susiesan]

This is a direct quote from an email today from a highly placed corporate officer in Prestige Cruise Holdings, the parent company of Oceania:

 

Thank you for attempting to get a specific answer for me. That is not very specific though, sounds like corporate doublespeak for not wanting to give the real reason.

 

I'm so disappointed I won't be allowed to visit the real Dominican Republic on my own but will be relegated to a beach resort that could be any in country. I hope O isn't going to charge us to go in the tender to Cayo as there in only one option of anything to do there.

[LHT28]

They have boats from Samana to cayo levantado you would think they would have local boat to the mainland.

Has anyone explored that option?

 

When we were there O did tenders to both areas but I guess that has changed.

[hondorner]

Thank you for attempting to get a specific answer for me. That is not very specific though, sounds like corporate doublespeak for not wanting to give the real reason.

I give up. I did what you asked. I should have known that it wouldn't satisfy you; I don't think anything would satisfy you, you just like to be contrary.

 

What the heck do you think the "real" reason might be?

[ORV]

i give up. I did what you asked. I should have known that it wouldn't satisfy you; i don't think anything would satisfy you, you just like to be contrary.

 

What the heck do you think the "real" reason might be?

 

lol

[susiesan]

I give up. I did what you asked. I should have known that it wouldn't satisfy you; I don't think anything would satisfy you, you just like to be contrary.

 

What the heck do you think the "real" reason might be?

 

Maybe a deal worked out with local authorities to make money from selling tours and giving a kickback/ commission to the authorities? Maybe having to pay a landing fee for each person who comes to shore? I don't know why it was okay to tender pax there a few weeks ago but now it is not. I'd like to know what changed in the "logistics of tendering operations" so that my imagination does not run wild.

 

Yes, I am a bit contrary but I do like to know the true facts of a given situation.

[StanandJim]

Yes, I am a bit contrary but I do like to know the true facts of a given situation

 

As you're so enthralled with the idea of interacting with the Dominican people, ask them what your options are:

 

Embassy of the Dominican Republic Tel: 202-332-6280

 

I'd be very interested to hear about how far you get :rolleyes: