Questions about 9 day Caribbean aboard Gem

[bobg529]

Hello all. I'm just wondering about the ports of call on this cruise. We are scheduled in San Juan, St Maartens, St Thomas, and Samana. Can someone tell me wether each of these ports are tender or docking? Also, what I've heard about Samana is not very good, maybe the reason that NCL is changing that venue to Tortola later in the year. Maybe I should skip Samana and spend the day onboard and have the ship all to myself. :). What do you all think?

[mommyto2girls]

Hello all. I'm just wondering about the ports of call on this cruise. We are scheduled in San Juan, St Maartens, St Thomas, and Samana. Can someone tell me wether each of these ports are tender or docking? Also, what I've heard about Samana is not very good, maybe the reason that NCL is changing that venue to Tortola later in the year. Maybe I should skip Samana and spend the day onboard and have the ship all to myself. :). What do you all think?

 

We have done this itinerary a few times and are doing it again in 2 weeks and then in January. Only Samana os a tender port. We love the other ports. Samana for us is take it or leave it. The beach day at Cayo is alright. I am sure you will find other who love Samana. You will not have the ship all to yourself, lots of us stay onboard in that port. It is a wonderful 9 days.

[runner15km]

Everyone is different, I can't wait to get back to Cayo private island. Just a 15.00 tender ride. The water was warm and clear and was able to snorkel to the far right of the beach.

 

Food and drink was reasonable and plenty of beach side shopping. Just a great day to relax under a palm tree with a cold tropical drink.

 

They have mats and kayaks to rent along with snorkel gear.

[azappraiser]

Hello all. I'm just wondering about the ports of call on this cruise. We are scheduled in San Juan, St Maartens, St Thomas, and Samana. Can someone tell me wether each of these ports are tender or docking? Also, what I've heard about Samana is not very good, maybe the reason that NCL is changing that venue to Tortola later in the year. Maybe I should skip Samana and spend the day onboard and have the ship all to myself. :). What do you all think?

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the entire itinerary... we also went in January. We found the weather to be very enjoyable in all ports. We docked in all ports except Samana. We did take the tender in to town to walk around and shop... DW bought lots of larimar there. We also picked up an oil painting that we had framed when we got back home. After walking about for an hour or so, we made our way back to the dock (through the waterside flea market) to go back to the ship, where we hooked up with some CC friends in their Garden Villa... what a treat that was! ;)

 

Check out Moderno for dinner one night... awesome.

[bobg529]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Seems to be one in favor of Samana, one against, and one neutral. :confused: I am now just as confused as I was before, lol! I'm glad that three out of four ports are docking however. Your experiences are welcome and oh so helpful. One thing for certain is I love CC!:D

[caribsun]

I went to Cayo Levantado in April while on the Gem. Beautiful beach day and you are free to come and go as the tenders run all the time. If looking for a beach day Cayo fits the bill.:)

[kylenyc]

Samana is definitely a port where you need to take an excursion or the transfer to Cayo Levantado beach in order to enjoy it. Otherwise you'll be tendered into the "marina" and this area is not developed for tourism. There are no shops within walking distance... only some outdoor vendors. The people who choose to walk around soon return to the ship disappointed.

 

I've taken an independent excursion with Tour Samana with Terry (toursamanawithterry.com) who's very well regarded here on Cruise Critic and on Tripadvisor. I've done the zipline 6-in-1 tour which was fantastic - 12 zip lines, a cultural presentation, lunch at the beach (no swimming), all day refreshments (beer/soda/water), waterfall. He also offers ATV, horseback, and other tours. I've also done the low impact cultural tour which is the same minus the zipline. I'll probably be taking the $15 transfer to Cayo this time around.

 

We'll most likely be docked at all other ports but to know for sure, you need to check the dock schedules. If there are too many ships in port, then there is a small chance you may tender in like we did in St. Thomas.

 

Things I did in other ports

• San Juan - Old San Juan is a nice city to walk around on foot and has a free trolley. Walked along the Princess Promenade, San Juan Gate, and tried to reach the fort ;)

• St. Thomas - Took one of the many awaiting private mini-buses to Megan's Bay Beach. This beach somewhat crowded but the calm crystal clear waters as a result of being in a protected cove are what makes this beach one of the most beautiful in the world.

• St. Maarten - Bernards SXM Tour was excellent and a very good value, taking us to many of the popular sights including iguana farm, Orient Beach, Marigot for shopping, and Maho Beach (next to the airport where the planes fly in overhead)

• Samana - Did Zip line 6-in-1 tour with Tour Samana with Terry. Excellent and thrilling with 12 zip lines and includes waterfall, lunch at the beach (no lifeguard/swimming), all day refreshments, and more. Low impact cultural tour is the same minus the zip line.

Edited November 3, 2013 by kylenyc

[Gregor4500]

We have done this itinerary a few times and are doing it again in 2 weeks and then in January. Only Samana os a tender port. We love the other ports. Samana for us is take it or leave it. The beach day at Cayo is alright. I am sure you will find other who love Samana. You will not have the ship all to yourself, lots of us stay onboard in that port. It is a wonderful 9 days.

 

Hi Andrea,

 

We will be getting off as you board. Or maybe there is a one day in between. We leave the 6th.

 

Gregg and Elizabeth

[sailingnut]

Cayo is nice~~try it~~it is beautiful and the tender ride is not long at all~~went there in "2008" on my first cruise!

[johnmpcny]

Samana is fine it is a nice change from high tourist ports. Just keep an open mind and experience something different.Not everyone's favorite but you can find things to enjoy.We did a moterbike with cart tour had fun and ate at local spot the driver knew

Edited November 4, 2013 by johnmpcny

[emcelh]

Just off the Gem on the 28th of October. We had reservations about Samana too and thought we'd stay on the ship but we decided to make it a beach day at Cayo Leventado. We bought the tender tickets for $14. It was really nice. We were the only ship in port it wasn't at all crowded on the beach. I'd read reviews about not being able to find a beach chair or that many of them were broken but that wasn't true when we were there. We got there on one of the first tenders and stayed about 4 hours.

[Rhea58]

In Samana, after tendering we walked a short distance and paid

$50 to go whale watching on a private boat. Only 3 boats are

allowed near the whales. Refreshments supplied along with a

talk and an informative brochure on the whales in the area.

 

 

See www.whalesamana.com You can make your reservations

on-line and pay when you get to their office.

[mommyto2girls]

Hi Andrea,

 

We will be getting off as you board. Or maybe there is a one day in between. We leave the 6th.

 

Gregg and Elizabeth

 

Hi Gregg..too bad we are not cruising together again. Enjoy your cruise :)

 

Andrea

[SuiteCruisin14]

We did this same cruise in December 2012 and enjoyed all the ports except Samana. We booked a private tour of a National Park that was only accessible by boat and it was a very scary experience.

I would do this trip again but would go to the beach instead on Samana or stay on the ship.

The rest of the ports were great and the cruise as a whole was lots of fun and having Christmas decorations up on the ship certainly made for some great pictures.

 

Have fun!

 

Lynda

[boopsahoy]

We did this same cruise in December 2012 and enjoyed all the ports except Samana. We booked a private tour of a National Park that was only accessible by boat and it was a very scary experience.

I would do this trip again but would go to the beach instead on Samana or stay on the ship.

The rest of the ports were great and the cruise as a whole was lots of fun and having Christmas decorations up on the ship certainly made for some great pictures.

 

Have fun!

 

Lynda

 

Cayo Levantado beach was the highlight of our cruise last year. We are doing it again this year.

[sebas030]

Did that itinerary last March

 

We LOVED Samana...do not skip it !!!

 

But you have to be prepared, if you are a beach lover then do Cayo Levantado.

 

If you are more of the adventure type...do Tour Samana with Terry, his excursions are really great. We did the El Limon falls with horseback...I cannot recommend it highly enough..I am one of those that are sad Samana is not on schedule anymore.

 

It was our favourite port.

 

Have fun

[Rockyhill]

Wow we have a flight out of Newark at 1:40pm. Does the ship actually not return until 10am or is that sort of a "NY can be late kind of thing". How do they get people back on board in two less hours. Anyway the question is am I cutting the flight to close?

[boopsahoy]

Wow we have a flight out of Newark at 1:40pm. Does the ship actually not return until 10am or is that sort of a "NY can be late kind of thing". How do they get people back on board in two less hours. Anyway the question is am I cutting the flight to close?

 

Where are you flying into? What time do you land and how far from the port? I personally like to be at the ship by 11ish. If your flight leaves Newark at 1:40 that seems way too late to me.

[Rockyhill]

Where are you flying into? What time do you land and how far from the port? I personally like to be at the ship by 11ish. If your flight leaves Newark at 1:40 that seems way too late to me.

 

Little confused. Our flight leaves Newark at 1:40pm the day the ship returns from our 9day cruise. The itinerary says the ship arrives NY at 10:00am.

[dawntrip]

We enjoyed the Samana stop in Jan. 2013. We booked a catamaran trip through NCL. The catamaran was terrific, and included a stop where we sampled fresh fruits and coffee. The tour ended at Cayo Levantado.

[Solandria]

Will let you know when we come home.. leave tomorrow.

 

I read some bad things about samana too.. booked an ncl excursion there for cayo levantado beach.. I've heard great things about it...

[Rockyhill]

Will let you know when we come home.. leave tomorrow.

 

Thanks. How long on Friday mid morning would you guess to get to Newark airport from the pier?

[boopsahoy]

Little confused. Our flight leaves Newark at 1:40pm the day the ship returns from our 9day cruise. The itinerary says the ship arrives NY at 10:00am.

Seniot moment! I thought it was for GOING to the cruise! My only worry would be if the ship docked later than usual (this happened to us and we didnt start disembarking till almost 12 :eek:)

[Rockyhill]

Seniot moment! I thought it was for GOING to the cruise! My only worry would be if the ship docked later than usual (this happened to us and we didnt start disembarking till almost 12 :eek:)

 

Now you have me really worried. Sounds right to me, I used to have younger years, but now it's senior moments;)

[boopsahoy]

Now you have me really worried. Sounds right to me, I used to have younger years, but now it's senior moments;)

 

We had a medical emergency which had us leave one of the ports a few hours lae. the Captain tried to make up the lost time (the ship was really moving!)but we still got in late and it took forever to be cleared. Its only happened to me once in 16+ cruises but better safe than sory!