Amber Cove Safety

[Bernardian]

New Cruise Critic member here.

 

With the DR making the rounds on the news recently, particularly with regard to people getting terminally sick from consuming drinks in the DR, how safe might Amber Cove be? We'll be cruising next month and I'm a bit concerned about drinking anything while off of the ship.

 

Thanks! 

 

Bernardian

[Micahs Grandad]

It is a private area by ship so you will be fine

[purplephenom]

The Amber Cove port area has a lot to do without leaving, and it is for cruisers only.  You can choose to stay in the enclosed port area and not venture out into the rest of the Dominican Republic, if you are concerned.  

 

 

 

 

[evandbob]

Amber Cove is a Carnival built port in an enclosed corral.  It was built to keep pax in the port area where the only contact with locals is if they are employed there.  It is as safe an area as the actual ship, so use the same precautions there.  No beach or public area, but it has a pool, zip line and pay for restaurants and a few shops.

 

It is on the Atlantic side, and the closest town is Puerto Plata, which has 2 star hotels and the beach there reminds me of Coney Island.  

 

I stayed on the ship when the Horizon docked there, not for safety reasons, but because riding the sky ride seemed more fun than anything I could do in that company built corral.

Edited June 13, 2019 by evandbob

[3smithboys]

We had the same question and wondered where exactly they are sourcing  their alcohol from? Are they getting it from the DR or bringing it off the ship (which I doubt.) I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but DH said he doesn’t want any of us drinking anything there... and he’s not usually like that. I think with everything that’s been going on, I might agree. We might just bring bottled water off the ship and stay for a couple of hours at the port pool area. 

[moondog73]

You will be fine at Amber Cove.  People are over reacting to the resort events to include Amber Cove.

[Lottacruises]

22 minutes ago, 3smithboys said:

We had the same question and wondered where exactly they are sourcing  their alcohol from? Are they getting it from the DR or bringing it off the ship (which I doubt.) I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but DH said he doesn’t want any of us drinking anything there... and he’s not usually like that. I think with everything that’s been going on, I might agree. We might just bring bottled water off the ship and stay for a couple of hours at the port pool area. 

Better safe than sorry. I know I can go a few hours without drinking anything.

[riffatsea]

IF you are nervous then go ashore and just don't drink alcohol.

You can certainly have fun during the day without drinking!

NO one has found out for sure what caused these deaths.

[moondog73]

Because there were some questionable deaths in the DR, I could use the same reasoning and say don't go to a major US city, movie theater, high school, college, bar, shopping mall, etc.  I went to Cancun last year and everyone was on alert because of Cartel violence.  I went, had a great time, even wandered off the resort and never felt unsafe.   Now I was not out and about at 3am, but I never felt unsafe.  If smart people take the correct precautions, 99.9% of the time you will be ok.

[hotsauce126]

I was just there last month and took a third party excursion to Damajagua, then ate and drank a locally prepared meal afterward. I'm still alive. Pretty sure you'll be fine in Carnival's locked down compound.

[Sabalon]

We're going to La Casa en La Playa.  Trying to figure out where it is on the island, but the Amber Cove port is on the opposite side from the other places.    And most of them have been at that one brand of resorts that I've seen.   They've been talking about this on the Port-of-call board for Dominican Republic as well.

 

My thought is I'll wash anything bad down and kill it with alcohol...and then send a followup dose.

[evandbob]

After posting to this topic this morning, I had to check pricing at several AI's in Punta Cana.........thinking they were reduced as a result of all the negative publicity.

 

Wound up booking RT non stop air, 10 nights hotel ocean view room and airport transfers at an adult only AI for both of us less than $3K early November.  Cheaper than cruising!

Edited June 13, 2019 by evandbob

[coevan]

7 hours ago, evandbob said:

It is on the Atlantic side, and the closest town is Puerto Plata, which has 2 star hotels and the beach there reminds me of Coney Island.  

 

 

There is an Iberostar and we stayed at the RUI, which I'm not sure is still there. Both these properties are 4 star. We thought the RUI was fabulous, great restaurants and a private beach.

[chicchic325]

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but all the deaths/incidents have been at the same resort?

[kren250]

8 hours ago, 3smithboys said:

We had the same question and wondered where exactly they are sourcing  their alcohol from? Are they getting it from the DR or bringing it off the ship (which I doubt.) I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but DH said he doesn’t want any of us drinking anything there... and he’s not usually like that. I think with everything that’s been going on, I might agree. We might just bring bottled water off the ship and stay for a couple of hours at the port pool area. 

 

What ship would they bringing alcohol off of?  I thought they flew in?

[pittypat]

8 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

I was just there last month and took a third party excursion to Damajagua, then ate and drank a locally prepared meal afterward. I'm still alive. Pretty sure you'll be fine in Carnival's locked down compound.

We were at the falls in January 2019 and we did not eat the meal. We had been told by our taxi driver better not eat the meal because people have gotten sick. We enjoyed the falls and headed back to the ship after. Spent the rest of the day in the port area.

 

Patti

Edited June 14, 2019 by pittypat

[moondog73]

We did the Falls tour through Iguana Mama in April and the food we excellent.  The rum drinks provided by iguana Mama were excellent too.  No sickness here.

[Saint Greg]

13 hours ago, chicchic325 said:

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but all the deaths/incidents have been at the same resort?

 

“Four of the dead were staying at Bahia Príncipe resorts, which are part of a group of 14 hotels in the Dominican Republic that are popular among tourists because they are all-inclusive. The Luxury Bahia Príncipe Bouganville, where Ms. Schaup-Werner died, is less than a five-minute walk away from the Grand Bahia Príncipe La Romana, where Mr. Holmes and Ms. Day died. Both are near the town of San Pedro De Macoris. The Hard Rock is across the island from the other two hotels in Punta Cana. It is not known which Bahia Príncipe resort Ms. Sport was staying in.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/travel/dominican-republic-deaths.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jdemps]

I'm not excited about going to this port now that Cuba was cancelled and would never have chosen it but we are going to go next FEB.  I'm not worried about any news from DR impacting our trip.  It would be like people saying they shouldn't drink anything in San Diego because there were a few suspicious deaths in Santa Barbara recently. 

That is absurd to me!  But hey, maybe excursion prices will drop because of all the fear.

[TNcruising02]

If people want to eat and drink there, it's up to them.  I don't think it's unreasonable for people to be cautious and concerned though.  That's common sense.  Since these deaths may be a result of tainted liquor in which methanol was added, it is definitely a cause for concern.  There may be many other deaths that were reported as health-related, but were actually the result of tainted alcohol.  Anyway, I would not feel comfortable drinking there until it is resolved, if it gets resolved.

 

[Organized Chaos]

We were at Amber Cove last year. Granted, I guess this was long before these deaths, but we had a blast and never felt unsafe. We took a taxi to the Teleferico (cable car) that runs to the top of Mt. Isabel. We had a fantastic time. The only thing we drank were (sealed) bottles of water that they had at a refreshment stand, so I guess I can't comment on the quality of open drinks. We enjoyed it so much, we definitely want to go back.

 

I haven't read about any of this, but according to what Saint Greg posted, these all occurred near La Roman, correct? OP, La Romana is on the southeast end of the island. Amber Cove is over 150 miles away (as the crow flies) on the northern side, if that makes you feel any better. If you're just going to stay inside the private port area, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you venture out, I still don't think you have anything to worry about. If you're worried about drinks, then be sure to only drink things that are sealed.

[Organized Chaos]

6 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Since these deaths may be a result of tainted liquor in which methanol was added, it is definitely a cause for concern.

 

Methanol doesn't necessarily have to be added. It's a natural byproduct of the distillation process of liquor. Careless procedures could mean that that methanol gets left in the final product. Well established, well known distilleries typically aren't going to make this mistake, but it's certainly a possibility from smaller distillers that might pop up to feed the tourist industry.

[elcuchio24]

You should not have any worries, that said the alternative is to have ZERO worries and stay on the ship.....and that still makes for a great day!

[elcuchio24]

22 hours ago, moondog73 said:

Because there were some questionable deaths in the DR, I could use the same reasoning and say don't go to a major US city, movie theater, high school, college, bar, shopping mall, etc.  I went to Cancun last year and everyone was on alert because of Cartel violence.  I went, had a great time, even wandered off the resort and never felt unsafe.   Now I was not out and about at 3am, but I never felt unsafe.  If smart people take the correct precautions, 99.9% of the time you will be ok.

 

I agree with you for the most part. Although, I am honestly shocked the resorts are still going with 'all just a big coincidence' story. Thats a terrible PR move, and frankly just a bad way to handle it. Story isnt going away and the industry there is going to get beat.

[grandmarnnurse]

On 6/13/2019 at 12:17 PM, 3smithboys said:

We had the same question and wondered where exactly they are sourcing  their alcohol from? Are they getting it from the DR or bringing it off the ship (which I doubt.) I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but DH said he doesn’t want any of us drinking anything there... and he’s not usually like that. I think with everything that’s been going on, I might agree. We might just bring bottled water off the ship and stay for a couple of hours at the port pool area. 

I have an excursion booked to Coconut Cove when there that includes open bar. Now I, too, am worried. I guess we could stick to bottled beer only, not my choice of alcohol, but my hubby will be fine with it.