Amber cove?? Why hasn't anyone done a review?

[reno3]

Anyone go to Ocean World on their own by taxi? Carnival has the swim with

dolphin excursion but I'm looking for the swim with sharks. I have been emailing Ocean World direct but not getting the answers I'm looking for. They are tring to stir me toward the carnival excursion. Not much information coming in on this new port :( Any information appreciated.

[Amsnov1293]

This place is awesome ! They are very family like and speak perfect English. They arranged pick up service from the cruise port for me and the taxi guy was very easy to find . I did a lot of research on the diving in Sousa and surrounding dive shops and Aqua Adventures had the best prices and the best response time. They have amazing Dominican lunch hot and ready at 12 and its only 3 american dollars ( cant beat it ) (best fried chicken i have tried ) i found all of there information on the web site http://www.scubadivesosua.com and alot of updated pictures on facebook.com/scubadivesosua

[capcutie2002]

The people are very nice, however I think they are overwhelmed and can't keep up at this point. I tried to leave a review on a hillside/poolside cabana and Carnival sent me an email saying it wouldn't be published because I broke some rule. Hmmm, I'm sure they didn't want the only review showing to be a one-star on their $250 cabana. Complete waste of my money and time. However, I would bet in a year that this will be a great place to visit once they figure out what they are doing.

[wantocruisemore]

The people are very nice, however I think they are overwhelmed and can't keep up at this point. I tried to leave a review on a hillside/poolside cabana and Carnival sent me an email saying it wouldn't be published because I broke some rule. Hmmm, I'm sure they didn't want the only review showing to be a one-star on their $250 cabana. Complete waste of my money and time. However, I would bet in a year that this will be a great place to visit once they figure out what they are doing.

 

Could you give more details about the cabanas?

[crewsweeper]

Hi there! Cruise Critic's editor in chief, Carolyn Spencer Brown, was in Amber Cove a couple weeks ago, prior to the first ship call. She put together the below slideshow as part of her coverage; she's also working on a full port profile, so stay tuned for that.

 

Pictures: http://www.cruisecritic.com/slideshows/?ID=540

 

sunlover5, there's info about the private villas in the slideshow.

I just hope she moves all the Amber Cove stuff in the Ports board off the Roatan Board and onto the Dominican Republic board. Why it ever got slated to Roatan, I have no idea.

[capcutie2002]

Here's some comments about the cabana I originally posted elsewhere:

 

We rented a hillside cabana. After walking up a zillion steps (maybe a couple hundred) they take us to our cabana with a broken hot tub!! Kept telling us maintenance would fix it. We fooled around with them for a hour with nothing fixed. Other cabanas enjoying their hot tubs. And the hot tub is tiny! Might fit 1.5 persons, lol! But we never got in since it was cold water and not bubbling.

 

I ordered a mango margarita with tequila right off their drink menu while we were waiting. They brought me a mango smoothie. Like really? You have to emphasize every time you want alcohol and they put it a test tube type thing in the smoothie drink, then you pour and mix yourself. So after all this waiting we requested to move to a poolside cabana so we could get in some type of water (going from the hillside cabanas and back and forth to the pool really isn't feasible - they are certainly up a steep hillside).

 

They finally get us moved and we meet our dedicated server...um yeah dedicated the first and last hour or so of the day when the place isn't busy. Otherwise, they are at the restaurant and poolside serving others. I had 3 drinks all day long and practically had to beg and hunt down the server for that. At one point their drink machine was down too I heard. I tried going to the swim-up bar to order a drink and they couldn't take my Amex or a chip card, I have no idea and management couldn't have cared less. Also, note if you order a big yard type drink you still get all smoothie with one small test tube of liquor. It was ridiculous! But I didn't get to keep that drink since I wasted at least half a hour with them trying to run my card. Other cruisers around were even annoyed with the staff for me it was so bad!

 

At one point when we tracked our server down we ordered food. We pointed and stated what we wanted from the menu. Ordered multiple items including a steak appetizer. He brought a steak dinner, and it was all cold! The whole experience was just so bad it was laughable.

 

Originally paid the $325 for the cabana and found out on the ship they lowered the price to $250 since no one was renting them (shore excursions said this was the reason). I had to go to the shore excursions desk to get the difference back.

 

The staff and all the people we interacted with at Amber Cove were extremely nice, however they are just not ready at all. And the pool area really wasn't even that busy for two ships being in port. I tried leaving a one star review for the cabana on Carnival.com and got an email saying it wouldn't be posted for breaking some unknown guideline. I'm sure they just don't want only a bad review on there.

 

------------------

We got like 3 sodas, 3 waters, a basket of fruit, tortilla chips, and a queso dip. The Grand Turk cabana was half the price and we enjoyed that one a lot more and had great service. The cabanas had only been open less than a month and broken hot tub already...was disappointing. It was aggravating they even put us in a cabana with a broken hot tub when I watched two cabanas after us show up and get perfectly working ones. They weren't doing any kind of reservations for specific cabanas yet so it was just dumb to give us a broken one when we were the first group to show up.

[sunlover5]

We were at Amber Cove on Thanksgiving. We did not rent a cabana so cannot comment on them. They did look very nice.

We loved Amber Cove. The staff seemed ready the day we were there. We ordered slider and fries (7.00) and a chicken queso with fries. Both were very good. I had one mixed drink. DH and DD had beer and grandkids had non alcoholic.

They are very friendly and happy to have you there. When we entered the pool area a man followed us to the seats we wanted and dried them all off for us.

Not all shops are open yet, but the ones we went to were nice. The jewelry stores would deal with you.

We have no complaints at all. We would love to go back.

[reno3]

I was thinking of booking a hillside cabana and emailed the excursiuon dept with some questions. I asked how far a walk from the pool area to the cabana. This is what I was told....

"Please be advised that the hillside cabana is against the hill above the swimming pool. It is within walking distance, but not right from the cabana, there will be a loop you will have to walk. With regards to the Jacuzzi please see attached picture. Also take note only 2 x deck chairs can fit on the deck of the hillside Cabana."

Cabana’s include the following:

Whole Fresh Fruit Basket:

Chips with Dips

8 cans of soda ( 2 per person for 4 guests)

4 bottles of water in all cabanas

 

And a photo of the deck with the jacuzzi and two loungers....very small. I think I will pass on the cabana :(

 

Edited December 3, 2015 by reno3

[cruizinisthebest]

Thanks for the feedback on the cabanas, but I plan on keeping mine just the same.

 

I wouldn't have wasted time with a cc chip issue as even alot of vendors here don't have that technology yet. I also don't see how that anything to do with the cabana.

 

There is no reason why the hot tub should have been broken already. And they should have moved you to another cabana right away. At least according to the descriptions the hillside is the only cabana with the hot tubs, so that would have been a bummer.

 

The drink alcohol level etc. It is what it is.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though so thanks for it. The port is still new. They will get better as time goes on I'm sure. I'm very much looking forward to it.

 

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

[cruizinisthebest]

I was thinking of booking a hillside cabana and emailed the excursiuon dept with some questions. I asked how far a walk from the pool area to the cabana. This is what I was told....

"Please be advised that the hillside cabana is against the hill above the swimming pool. It is within walking distance, but not right from the cabana, there will be a loop you will have to walk. With regards to the Jacuzzi please see attached picture. Also take note only 2 x deck chairs can fit on the deck of the hillside Cabana."

Cabana’s include the following:

Whole Fresh Fruit Basket:

Chips with Dips

8 cans of soda ( 2 per person for 4 guests)

4 bottles of water in all cabanas

 

And a photo of the deck with the jacuzzi and two loungers....very small. I think I will pass on the cabana :(

 

That's a single hot tub. Lol. Quite tiny. Thanks for posting the pic.

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

[capcutie2002]

Thanks for the feedback on the cabanas, but I plan on keeping mine just the same.

 

I wouldn't have wasted time with a cc chip issue as even alot of vendors here don't have that technology yet. I also don't see how that anything to do with the cabana.

 

There is no reason why the hot tub should have been broken already. And they should have moved you to another cabana right away. At least according to the descriptions the hillside is the only cabana with the hot tubs, so that would have been a bummer.

 

The drink alcohol level etc. It is what it is.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though so thanks for it. The port is still new. They will get better as time goes on I'm sure. I'm very much looking forward to it.

 

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

The issue may or may not have been due to the chip, it was a question I asked them since it was a new card with one. No one could tell me what the problem was, if it was the chip, if it was because it was an Amex, or something else. I tried to get a manager to come over and he didn't help at all to resolve the problem. No one knew what the problem was and they wasted about 30 minutes of my time trying to resolve it while holding onto my card. I had to get very direct with them to get them to give me my card back. And after wasting about a hour with the hot tub nonsense...it was just too much. I think this is important to note if you don't bring multiple cards and/or cash to cover all your expenses. I had to borrow cash from a friend until we returned to the ship. In the cabana you rack up a bill all day long, then pay at the end. I would not have been aware of the issue until it was time to leave if I had not gotten tired of waiting for a drink.

 

And yes, I did say I think the port will get better as time goes on. The people are extremely nice, they just weren't very proactive or reactive for that matter.

[capcutie2002]

I was thinking of booking a hillside cabana and emailed the excursiuon dept with some questions. I asked how far a walk from the pool area to the cabana. This is what I was told....

"Please be advised that the hillside cabana is against the hill above the swimming pool. It is within walking distance, but not right from the cabana, there will be a loop you will have to walk. With regards to the Jacuzzi please see attached picture. Also take note only 2 x deck chairs can fit on the deck of the hillside Cabana."

Cabana’s include the following:

Whole Fresh Fruit Basket:

Chips with Dips

8 cans of soda ( 2 per person for 4 guests)

4 bottles of water in all cabanas

 

And a photo of the deck with the jacuzzi and two loungers....very small. I think I will pass on the cabana :(

 

 

We only had 3 sodas and 3 waters, presumably they are supplying per the number of people that show up (we had 3). The decks really weren't that small. They could fit more loungers on them. I would guesstimate that picture is only showing about half of the deck, probably so they could show the relation to the pool. Now their response saying there is a loop you will have to walk...that was only open to staff, not guests, when we were there. The loop goes out wide around the hill and does not have any stairs. They use it to drive all-terrain golf cart type things up and down. We only saw it because they loaded up our stuff to move us to the other cabana. There was no initial offer to take us up this way, we walked the multitude of stairs. The pool is walking distance technically...but you better be extremely fit or you will be very worn out by the end of the day if you walk back and forth too many times. You can take the waterslide down, but still have the stairs for the way back.

[cruizinisthebest]

The issue may or may not have been due to the chip, it was a question I asked them since it was a new card with one. No one could tell me what the problem was, if it was the chip, if it was because it was an Amex, or something else. I tried to get a manager to come over and he didn't help at all to resolve the problem. No one knew what the problem was and they wasted about 30 minutes of my time trying to resolve it while holding onto my card. I had to get very direct with them to get them to give me my card back. And after wasting about a hour with the hot tub nonsense...it was just too much. I think this is important to note if you don't bring multiple cards and/or cash to cover all your expenses. I had to borrow cash from a friend until we returned to the ship. In the cabana you rack up a bill all day long, then pay at the end. I would not have been aware of the issue until it was time to leave if I had not gotten tired of waiting for a drink.

 

And yes, I did say I think the port will get better as time goes on. The people are extremely nice, they just weren't very proactive or reactive for that matter.

Understood.

 

Appreciate your feedback.

 

Did you like the location of the poolside cabana better over the hillside? Would you have preferred to keep that one had that tiny hot tub been working? Lol

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

Edited December 4, 2015 by cruizinisthebest

[Smart Arsenal Fan]

The people are very nice, however I think they are overwhelmed and can't keep up at this point. I tried to leave a review on a hillside/poolside cabana and Carnival sent me an email saying it wouldn't be published because I broke some rule. Hmmm, I'm sure they didn't want the only review showing to be a one-star on their $250 cabana. Complete waste of my money and time. However, I would bet in a year that this will be a great place to visit once they figure out what they are doing.

 

If your review is what you posted later... if you resubmit your review but without any specific price quotes, it will be accepted.

 

(I know from similar review experience :rolleyes:)

Edited December 4, 2015 by Smart Arsenal Fan

[Smart Arsenal Fan]

To add, I think negative reviews are a value and your will be appreciated! ;)

[tiff123]

We only had 3 sodas and 3 waters, presumably they are supplying per the number of people that show up (we had 3). The decks really weren't that small. They could fit more loungers on them. I would guesstimate that picture is only showing about half of the deck, probably so they could show the relation to the pool. Now their response saying there is a loop you will have to walk...that was only open to staff, not guests, when we were there. The loop goes out wide around the hill and does not have any stairs. They use it to drive all-terrain golf cart type things up and down. We only saw it because they loaded up our stuff to move us to the other cabana. There was no initial offer to take us up this way, we walked the multitude of stairs. The pool is walking distance technically...but you better be extremely fit or you will be very worn out by the end of the day if you walk back and forth too many times. You can take the waterslide down, but still have the stairs for the way back.

 

That view though.....:)

[wantocruisemore]

Thanks for all the cabana feedback. We will definitely pass on them.

 

Looks like AC will be a quick walk around port and then back on ship for the day.

[PorkChopKid]

We're going to be visiting Amber Cove in late February aboard Breeze. I'm floored at the number of excursions listed. My question is: What is there to do that does NOT involve paying for an excursion? Private ports we've visited for other cruise lines usually have a beach, some trails for walking around, and a BBQ. Of course they all have paid for excursions but there are things to do if all you want to do is kick back and relax.

[tncruisergurl]

We're going to be visiting Amber Cove in late February aboard Breeze. I'm floored at the number of excursions listed. My question is: What is there to do that does NOT involve paying for an excursion? Private ports we've visited for other cruise lines usually have a beach, some trails for walking around, and a BBQ. Of course they all have paid for excursions but there are things to do if all you want to do is kick back and relax.

 

 

They have a huge pool that is free. It's a beautiful area. You can rent an umbrella if you want for around $8. Zip line for the entire day is $12-14. And they have water slides that are free.

[declansdad]

They have a huge pool that is free. It's a beautiful area. You can rent an umbrella if you want for around $8. Zip line for the entire day is $12-14. And they have water slides that are free.

 

 

The water slides are some of the fastest I have ever been on.

[chesterka]

Carekeet, Did you take an excursion through the ship or private? I am looking for private drivers and am not having much luck finding anything.

 

Contact Marisol tours. He has been great to work with as far as setting up an excursion for us.

[cruisexlife]

I am currently writing a review of my cruise on Splendor, which ported in Amber Cove. There are pics! :D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2285914

[CaraKeet]

Carekeet, Did you take an excursion through the ship or private? I am looking for private drivers and am not having much luck finding anything.

 

We did booked the dive through Carnival.

[ccruise87]

Northern Coast Divers has been nice to work with as well