Any suggestions for Dominican Republic?

[dongordon]

The Dominican Republic is a new port for NCL's Spirit.

Any suggestions for private tours that are available?

 

Don

[insag]

my travel agent told me to stay on board, and don't get off...

[m steve]

As Bette Davis said, "What a dump!"

[Zeno]

Which port in the DR is the Spirit going to? If it is Cayo Levantado - depending on the time of year there may be whale watching opportunities. Whales migrate right by the Samana peninsula. Also the area around the Samana Peninsula is very lovely and unspoiled. If it is Santo Domingo, the colonial part of the city is interesting (but a guided walking tour is best there - Santo Domingo is not the sort of city to wander around in on your own). If it is La Romana - some of the best beaches in the Caribbean are nearby. There are also some nice beaches on the north coast (not as nice as those at Punta Cana (southeast coast) but not bad. (The beaches near Santo Domingo are NOT recommended). The DR is not a "dump" but it is 3rd world. Port areas tend to be very ugly industrial - so don't hang around the port. The people are extremely friendly but most do not speak English - so unless you are fluent in Spanish, I would advise taking some sort of organized excursion. If you like jewelry, watch out for really excellent deals on amber and lorimar (just like turquoise but a lot cheaper) - just be sure you are dealing with a reputable shop.

[fred20036]

check out www.dr1.com, a great resource on things to do in the Dominican Republic

[Mparis184]

Interested in information on Casa De Campo. Infinity will stop there and I can't remember if we have been to this port before.

 

Think we visited this port once before but it didn't leave a lasting impression. It seems that there are a lot more excursions offered this time.

 

We usually don''t do ship excursions. If we get off the ship are there tour folks available at the pier to take you to different beaches, other villages, etc? I am certain we can find others on the ship willing to share the cost with us.

 

Just booked this cruise so I will have to look into what is available very quickly!

 

Thanks for any information you can pass on.

 

Marion

[ringdingman]

We were on the Millennium 12/4 and the first stop was Casa De Campo.

 

There is nothing where the ship docks. You can go into a town but people who did were not very impressed.

 

We took the "Bayahibe Beach Break" excursion and it worked out really well. We were transported in an air conditioned bus about 30 minutes to an all inclusive beach resort. It was a very clean, large resort with a beautiful beach.

 

We had unlimited drinks at the bar, free lounge chairs, water activities were available and there were trees for shade.

 

We were there for approximately 3 hours and the same bus took us back.

 

We felt it was worth the $44.00 PP.