La Romana- I need some help

[Mizzouaholic]

I'll try to make this short and to the point...

 

We will be docking in La Romana from 8-4 pm in May on our cruise on the Breeze. We have decided what we want to do, except for their are 2 different options for the same tour. We can either go the Carnival sponsored tour on the Speed Boat to Saona Island tour for $100 per person and that includes open bar and goes to several different spots to snorkel and to the beach, etc. The other option is to book the tour directly through Seavis (http://www.seavisbayahibe.com/shoreexcursion_e.htm ) which with transportation would come out to only $80 per person and includes all of the same stops as the Carnival tour along with the same open bar, but this one also includes a buffet lunch. I am really thinking of booking directly through Seavis because it will save us $40 as a couple and the reviews im reading all say that the Seavis tour is better than the Carnival one and we would get a free lunch!

 

My only concern is the Seavis one doesnt head back to the ship until 3:15pm and its a 25 minute ride to the pier which would mean getting back to the pier at 3:40pm and the ship is scheduled to leave at 4pm. m just thinking, what if they had a flat tire or something on the way back to the ship? All of Seavis stuff says they make their schedules around the ships time and they have really good reviews, but im still a little worried about the times. Whats everyone elses thoughts on this? Has anyone else done this tour through Seavis?

[Sandybeach64]

We did this excursion in July with Carnival. You may want to do a search (on cruise critic) on Carnival Freedom July 14th roll call there was a lot of correspondence regarding this question. There ended up being 3 boats I believe that went through Seavis and they all made it back to the ship in time. I thought that there was more time that Seavis left between returning from the excursion and when the ship sailed just for this reason. Did you try emailing Seavis directly to get answers for your concerns? Everyone that used them was extremely happy with their choice according to their posts on the forum. Good luck with your decision. One thing to consider though is that the port is kind of isolated and if you would miss the ship not sure what you would do to get to a town because it was kind of far away.

[ILCruzr]

We did the santo domingo excursion on the miracle last year. It was fun!

[cruisegirl29]

Contact seavis... I was on this tour in march off the freedom & we had -0- issues & plenty of time to get to the ship. It was a fabulous tour!

[shukapaw]

We did the tour directly through Seavis this past summer. Somebody here on CC talked with Seavis ahead of time and arranged a group discount and if you mentioned a certain phrase when you booked, you got an additional 10% discount. Ask them about it. I think we had three boats full

 

The tour was outstanding, the lunch was great and the drinks plentiful. At the lunch location, somebody was offering to let you taste some Mama Juana, a local drink. (Read more here). It was quite strong and will put hair on your chest or help remove rust from a bumper! :eek: I had two portions.

 

 

Brian

[Mizzouaholic]

We did the tour directly through Seavis this past summer. Somebody here on CC talked with Seavis ahead of time and arranged a group discount and if you mentioned a certain phrase when you booked, you got an additional 10% discount. Ask them about it. I think we had three boats full

 

The tour was outstanding, the lunch was great and the drinks plentiful. At the lunch location, somebody was offering to let you taste some Mama Juana, a local drink. (Read more here). It was quite strong and will put hair on your chest or help remove rust from a bumper! :eek: I had two portions.

 

 

Brian

 

Im down with trying some Mama Juana and I dont have any idea what that is. Im sure ill have plently of rum and the local beer since its all included. I did find the roll call on CC for my cruise and someone was already organizing this tour so I dropped him an email and am still awaiting a reply. But any other help is appreciated!

[gail811]

SEAVIS! They are AMAZING and will have you back to the ship in plenty of time! Favorite tour on our cruise for our entire group. Kirsten was our guide and did a wonderful job! Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what to expect.

 

 

 

 

[Mizzouaholic]

We are booked through Seavis and can't wait!

[bucks724]

You will NOT regret it.

 

Also, when Seavis says they will have you back at the ship at 3:15, that is their local time. It's 2:15 ship time, so you will be perfectly fine, even if you run a little late.

 

Also, if you can get the name of the rum they serve ON Saona (we had a different one at the Piscina), please PM it to me. We bought some Columbus at the Dufry which is what we had at the Piscina, but we liked the one on the island better! Have fun!

 

We had Robert as our tour guide and he was awesome. And make sure you hold a starfish!

[Mizzouaholic]

You will NOT regret it.

 

Also, when Seavis says they will have you back at the ship at 3:15, that is their local time. It's 2:15 ship time, so you will be perfectly fine, even if you run a little late.

 

Also, if you can get the name of the rum they serve ON Saona (we had a different one at the Piscina), please PM it to me. We bought some Columbus at the Dufry which is what we had at the Piscina, but we liked the one on the island better! Have fun!

 

We had Robert as our tour guide and he was awesome. And make sure you hold a starfish!

 

That does make me feel alot better about the time. And I will try and remember about the name of the rum. If you think of it, you might PM me at the beginning of May before we leave on our cruise May 11 and remind me to ask and i will be more than happy to do so!

[Scrap'n Grandma]

The local tours make their living catering to the cruise ships. They will make sure you are back to the ship on time. Without us, they would have no income.