More NCL ships moving to ports outside USA?

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, farmersfight said:

I thing I did pick up on in the reviews of the hotel on Expedia, were complaints about the water. Maybe this is a common problem in other hotels as well? I don't think the water quality in the hotel room will be a "show stopper" for me; I'll just buy/bring lots of bottled water.

 

Exactly this! Punta Cana has issues with Potable water. You can not make comparisons to places like Cancun or Jamaica (this was the thesis statement in the paper I wrote). It's a sad reality. It really doesn't matter if you are staying at a $500 a night place or a $50 a night place. The only difference is that more expensive all inclusives will have their own water purification system making things like ice cubes safe (they need to be the type with a hole in the middle). But even at all inclusives chew gum in the shower and tie a hand towel around the sink to remind you about the water and be cautious what you eat.  You may want to email your hotel and ask what type of purification system they have. 

 

BUT... like I said above, you can work around non-potable water issues with the advice I gave. And when eating out, be sure to stay away from produce grown with non-potable water and eat food well done. I've been to punta cana a couple dozen times. Last time was 5 years ago. I Never got sick (knock on wood), but I did take precautions. For you, canned or bottled beer will be safe and that's all you really need for an overnight (just make sure to wipe off the top if it comes from a bucket of ice).

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

One final tidbit of advice....., go on trip advisor to the punta cana forum. Another sad reality is that places like expedia scrub reviews. See if you can find someone who has actually stayed there in the forums and have a good discussion. You can get a good feeling for people on forums (like here). There are people who post here on CC that I trust explicately. Others, not-so-much.

 

I know exactly where your hotel is located in PC. Bavaro is a good place to pick for transfers to LaRomana. This is all manageable, but there is a reason Punta Cana is the overall cheapest tourist destination in the Caribbean, so do your due diligence in research.

[farmersfight]

43 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Exactly this! Punta Cana has issues with Potable water. You can not make comparisons to places like Cancun or Jamaica (this was the thesis statement in the paper I wrote). It's a sad reality. It really doesn't matter if you are staying at a $500 a night place or a $50 a night place. The only difference is that more expensive all inclusives will have their own water purification system making things like ice cubes safe (they need to be the type with a hole in the middle). But even at all inclusives chew gum in the shower and tie a hand towel around the sink to remind you about the water and be cautious what you eat.  You may want to email your hotel and ask what type of purification system they have. 

 

BUT... like I said above, you can work around non-potable water issues with the advice I gave. And when eating out, be sure to stay away from produce grown with non-potable water and eat food well done. I've been to punta cana a couple dozen times. Last time was 5 years ago. I Never got sick (knock on wood), but I did take precautions. For you, canned or bottled beer will be safe and that's all you really need for an overnight (just make sure to wipe off the top if it comes from a bucket of ice).

 

 

 

You've been to Punta Cana a couple dozen times? Wow! Hey, we need a "Dom Rep" expert on our group; Rat Pack. Check us out in the Floataway Lounge forum (Rat Pack thread,). If you like what you see in our Rat Pack thread, just make a quick post there; we'll welcome you with open arms! We need another Michigander in the Rat Pack!  I forgot, you're also an expert on Hawaii. Bonus! Check us out; we'd love to have you join us.

 

i

 

 

 

[roger001]

Just read an NBC report on Haiti. Stay far away.  

[farmersfight]

25 minutes ago, roger001 said:

Just read an NBC report on Haiti. Stay far away.  

 

Always have, always will.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

You've been to Punta Cana a couple dozen times? Wow! Hey, we need a "Dom Rep" expert on our group; Rat Pack. Check us out in the Floataway Lounge forum (Rat Pack thread,). If you like what you see in our Rat Pack thread, just make a quick post there; we'll welcome you with open arms! We need another Michigander in the Rat Pack!  I forgot, you're also an expert on Hawaii. Bonus! Check us out; we'd love to have you join us.

 

i

 

 

 

Yep- Before I retired I worked in education so I had lots of time off. We did our big trips in the summer, but went to the  Caribbean twice a year- February (winter break) abd Easter (spring break) consistently for  30 years. . We mixed in cruising too. Mexico, Jamaica, Aruba, you name it we’ve probably done it. I’m kind of frugal and would rather travel more frequently than in suites, so we repeated the DR a lot since it was the best value. This was before the tainted alcohol incidents. The DR has beautiful beaches and lovely AIs.

[farmersfight]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Yep- Before I retired I worked in education so I had lots of time off. We did our big trips in the summer, but went to the  Caribbean twice a year- February (winter break) abd Easter (spring break) consistently for  30 years. . We mixed in cruising too. Mexico, Jamaica, Aruba, you name it we’ve probably done it. I’m kind of frugal and would rather travel more frequently than in suites, so we repeated the DR a lot since it was the best value. This was before the tainted alcohol incidents. The DR has beautiful beaches and lovely AIs.

 

I'm really glad to read what you said about DR and being the best value. As you know, I'm currently booked in the Ducassi Suites Rooftop Pool Beach Club & Spa Punta Cana. I couldn't believe the rate ($46/night). Is this a case of;  "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"? I'm staying "suspect". I'm going to look at a couple of beach resorts; Pipi Beach Resort & Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana. I will gladly switch if I see a better hotel at a reasonable price.

 

I'm retired now and living in Michigan (helping out my 85 yr old mom). If you look at my expanded signature block, you'll see that all my cruises are booked for the colder months (Sep-May except March). In my retirement, I want to capture the best of both worlds (like a snowbird) and be up here in Michigan during the nice summers and then escape the cold to Florida to embark on cruises during the fall/winter/spring months.

 

"The tainted alcohol incidents"? Please, do explain...

[BermudaBound2014]

25 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

I'm really glad to read what you said about DR and being the best value. As you know, I'm currently booked in the Ducassi Suites Rooftop Pool Beach Club & Spa Punta Cana. I couldn't believe the rate ($46/night). Is this a case of;  "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"? I'm staying "suspect". I'm going to look at a couple of beach resorts; Pipi Beach Resort & Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana. I will gladly switch if I see a better hotel at a reasonable price.

 

I'm retired now and living in Michigan (helping out my 85 yr old mom). If you look at my expanded signature block, you'll see that all my cruises are booked for the colder months (Sep-May except March). In my retirement, I want to capture the best of both worlds (like a snowbird) and be up here in Michigan during the nice summers and then escape the cold to Florida to embark on cruises during the fall/winter/spring months.

 

"The tainted alcohol incidents"? Please, do explain...

I just signed a contract to spend jan-April here in Maui in 2022. I’m done with Mi winter. We are also scheduled on an Antarctica cruise/land trip next January but with the state of affairs in South America I’m 99% that trip won’t go. 
 

lots of info if you google tainted alcohol in the DR(which is why I told you to drink beer lol). This was the first article that came up 

 

https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2020/04/11/contaminated-alcoholic-substances-have-killed-13-people-in-the-last-five-days-in-the-dominican-republic/

 

[KennyFla]

15 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Interesting. We stayed at an all-inclusive in Cancun late August-early September of last year, and we always had fresh water. They restocked our minibar every day. And they had bottled water at the bars and restaurants. Wasn't an issue. And it's super cheap to buy that kind of thing down there, I'll bet you there are convenience stores nearby where you can stock up.

Yep, sure enough, here's one close by. It's called Supermercado Ciccolella, just 210m from the Ducassi. The place we were looking into is the Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana. It's close to your hotel.

We were looking at Dreams in case our October cruise does not go.  Also Hideway Royalton and Bahia Ambar, all in the same price range.