Spirit Port: Dominican Republic?

[dongordon]

One of the ports on the Spirit's 8-day cruise in 2006 is the Domonican Republic.

 

Has anyone been to this port? It is not listed in the Ports section of the CC Boards and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for private tours, hotels with day passes, etc. for this port?

 

Don

[logcabin]

Hey dongordon, I see your booked on the same Spirit sailing as we are.. We should start a roll call. We never book a cruise this far in advanced. We usually book around March for the same year. However, our TA got us such a great deal on an aft Penthouse suite, that we had to jump on it. We can't wait.

 

I was wondering the same thing about this port. Frankly, this is our least favorite of the ports that are on this itinerary. I found all sorts of informatio on the other 2 ports. But, nothing on this one. Any info from someone out there will be appreciated.

[seahorse]

The DR is a tender port.

 

I would suggest (if they have the excursion) going to Casa de Campo. You do a tour of the facility.........spend time at Altos de Chavon (a reconstructed city........very, very, interesting).

 

There is great golf at one of the finest, Casa de Campo.

 

I WOULD NOT take a tour of the city.

 

I really don`t know what other excursions they will offer. When the offer them I will be glad to help.

[smeyer418]

Actually the Port listed is La Samana which is on the North Shore of the DR and its where Columbus first set foot in the New World. I have a time share in Sosua which is a few hours down the coast. I am not sure if a tour goes to Casa De Campo as its a number of hours away by bus. I assume you mean a city Tour of Santo Domingo which actually I have done and have found fairly interesting but I think is also too far away. The only other place to Tour is Puerto Plata, which while interesting is not that interesting. If anyone is interested in seeing what this looks like let me know and I'll post a link to some pictures...of Sosua and Puerto Plata....

[seahorse]

Actually the Port listed is La Samana which is on the North Shore of the DR and its where Columbus first set foot in the New World. I have a time share in Sosua which is a few hours down the coast. I am not sure if a tour goes to Casa De Campo as its a number of hours away by bus. I assume you mean a city Tour of Santo Domingo which actually I have done and have found fairly interesting but I think is also too far away. The only other place to Tour is Puerto Plata, which while interesting is not that interesting. If anyone is interested in seeing what this looks like let me know and I'll post a link to some pictures...of Sosua and Puerto Plata....

 

I did not look at the port......La Samana? Boy I don`t know what they were thinking. I would have thought that they would have gone where there were more things to do.

 

People don`t realize how large Hispaniola is. It is a good place for history buffs and Amber buffs:D Not one of my favorite places.

Puerto Plata takes about 15 min. to "tour":rolleyes:

[smeyer418]

ok ready or not here are the pictures of Sosua, Caberrette(the wind surf capital of the world), and Puerto Plata.

 

I love the area, the people and the water. There is a lot to do in the area that is very rustic....it ain't Bermuda...but its not roughing it.

 

 

 

 

http://share.dell.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbsWrRu1ctGL2

 

http://share.dell.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbsWrRu1ctGMI

[seahorse]

Thank You for the pix. I have done that gondola, it is awesome:) It kept breaking down:eek: The people who run the thing had a penchant for pencils and pens:confused: Did the rum factory tour too. It is amazing how cheap the rum is there and it is a very high quality.

 

The water is a little rough for me in that area. What resort is that? I know that is your time share but is it a resort also?

 

Sid in his bathing suit.........never thought I would see the day:o :D

[cmdchiefthom]

I've been trying to find out the same information on this port. I'm booked on the 1 April cruise, and the actual stop is Cayo Lavantado, also called Bacardi Island. It is supposed to be a gorgeous island where Bacardi did some commercials back in the 70's. There's an aerial view of it posted on NCL's European website, but nothing else. It is offshore from Samana, and I understand it will be a tender stop. My guess is that passengers will have a choice of the island, or excursions out of the town of Samana. I've searched some DR sites, but I haven't been able to get any specifics on what's really available in Samana. I read here somewhere on this board, that NCL will post the Sun's Eastern Caribbean excursions the first week of November, but with Wilma, who knows.:eek:

[smeyer418]

Thank You for the pix. I have done that gondola, it is awesome:) It kept breaking down:eek: The people who run the thing had a penchant for pencils and pens:confused: Did the rum factory tour too. It is amazing how cheap the rum is there and it is a very high quality.

 

The water is a little rough for me in that area. What resort is that? I know that is your time share but is it a resort also?

 

Sid in his bathing suit.........never thought I would see the day:o :D

 

 

Sosua Bay Club... the other couple were people we met. He is a Justice of the Peace in Canada.

[bangzoom6877]

We are also booked on the July 22, 2006 sailing. So far there are 12 of us and the group is growing!

 

Looks like I will be buying some rum over there in Samana! My sister looked at Samana on the internet and it is described as a paradise. I work with some people who are originally from the Dominican Republic and go there every summer. I am sure they can fill me in on some info.

 

The way I see it, the worst thing is that the port is nothing great and we get an extra day on the cruise because of stopping there, so we can't lose anyway! If there does not seem like there is something worthwhile to do there I will stay on the ship. This doesn't bother me at all!! An 8-night cruise is still better than a 7-night cruise with one less port!

 

Bonnie

[e.durban]

If you go to Webshots and do a search for Samana you find some seriously lovely pictures. There seems to be some sort of resort there that Americans go to...My wife and I are going for the beach, and I don't think we'll be disappointed...

[dongordon]

LogCabin and Bangzoom:

 

I started a roll call several weeks ago for our July 22nd cruise.

 

Thank you everyone for the information and the pics on the port.

It's never to early to start planning and also lots of fun!

 

Don

[5668200]

My boss spent a week in the Dominican Republic a year ago, he said the island is really beautiful. He stayed at a resort that they just loved, but they were told by the people at the resort not to venture out on their own or take public transportation. They decided to go ahead and take a bus ride and didn't have any problems, other than women hitting on them for $$$.

[Tatka]

Check again your itineraries... On our ( 8 day Spirit August 19, 2006) they changed Samana to Bermuda!

[Tatka]

I was right. New schedule :

 

Sat DEPART NEW YORK CITY, US 4:00 PM

Sun CRUISE 12:00 AM

Mon CRUISE 12:00 AM

Tue ARRIVE-DOCK ST.THOMAS, US 11:30 AM

Wed DEPART ST.THOMAS, US 1:00 AM

Wed ARRIVE-ANCHOR TORTOLA, VG 7:00 AM

Wed DEPART TORTOLA, VG 3:00 PM

Thu CRUISE 12:00 AM

Fri ARRIVE-DOCK KING'S WHARF, BM 9:00 AM

Fri DEPART KING'S WHARF, BM 5:00 PM

Sat CRUISE 12:00 AM

Sun ARRIVE-DOCK NEW YORK CITY, US 8:00 AM

 

I like it more.. We can see Bermuda and it won't be 2 sea days in a row on the way back. :)