Taino Bay at Puerto Plata

[chefchick]

On 4/24/2022 at 6:52 AM, jcathers1 said:

Perhaps a dumb question, but is this where all cruise ships dock? We will be on the MSC Seashore in July and I'm trying to plan, but it appears that some ships dock at Amber Cove and some here. TIA. 

We will also be on the Seashore and I believe this is where it docks (if current reviews and videos are any indication)…please don’t quote me 😎

[PATRLR]

On 3/27/2022 at 9:21 PM, kroberts0525 said:

We ended up hiring a driver who took us around in a very nice van. It was $110 total for the two of us, booked online. 

do you recall where or how you booked online?

Edited July 3, 2022 by PATRLR

[ISLABONITA]

 Bookbabe thanks for the photos ,but I missed seeing the links you mention in different threads?  What excursion did you go on? private or ship?

thanks

[cruzeluver]

MSC docks at Taino Bay as well. Amber Cove is for Carnival Corp brands (Carnival, Holland, Princess etc.), MSC, Celebrity, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean etc, dock at Taino Bay.

[ctrinco]

On 3/27/2022 at 8:21 PM, kroberts0525 said:

We ended up hiring a driver who took us around in a very nice van. It was $110 total for the two of us, booked online. He took us to the rum tasting, to take pictures at a couple places in town and at the old fort, lunch on a beach and pictures from up the side of the mountain. Then we returned to enjoy the pool in the port. I lived in South America and have traveled extensively but I was sort of glad we had a guide to move us quickly through the streets because things were chaotic...motorcycle taxis weaving in and out of traffic, such a huge police presence. Our guide was friendly but I wish his command of English or ours of Spanish would have been a bit better. I had lots of questions! The fort was beautiful and for a $2 fee we were given a headset with explanations for what we were looking at. I think the city will get better as they get their tourism game better organized. 

What was the name of the website that you booked with?

[stone1061]

MONKEYS!!!!  this is all my 16 yr old wants to do.  We are coming in on the MSC Seashore the week of August 6th and pretty shore this is where she docks.. ... does anyone have any more info on this?  

 

[dreamer321]

Anyone know how much a taxi from Taino Bay terminal to the Teleférico de Puerto Plata (Cable Car) would cost and do the drivers accept USD $? It's only about 1.2 miles from the cruise port to the Cable Car terminal. Also, would we be able to easily find a taxi from there to the Cathedral?  I was thinking of exploring on my own, no cruise line excursion. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by dreamer321

[wolft927]

So we will be there I. The Norwegian getaway in October, is it better to just spend the day at the pool and beach or is there something else we should be looking to do? We typically spend the days at beaches when in port, is there a better spot close? 

[alwalaska]

On 8/14/2022 at 8:33 PM, dreamer321 said:

Anyone know how much a taxi from Taino Bay terminal to the Teleférico de Puerto Plata (Cable Car) would cost and do the drivers accept USD $? It's only about 1.2 miles from the cruise port to the Cable Car terminal. Also, would we be able to easily find a taxi from there to the Cathedral?  I was thinking of exploring on my own, no cruise line excursion. 

So far I have only found one review that was relevant, it was on TA, and that person said they paid $65 for the cab and they waited 3 hours while they explored at the top and took them back as well.  I'd love to find out more.  I hope eventually people start posting experiences again.

[Heather1972]

Umbrellas available near pool... free or $$$? Really white lady that can’t sit in sun all day lol 

[bail8297]

We’ll be on Celebrity Silhouette in November. Would love to see Umbrella St, but don’t really want to book a whole excursion. I’m wondering if it’s possible, and safe, to walk it from the pier. Looks like about a 20 minute walk, absolutely doable but worried about safety. 
Any advice would be appreciated 

[alwalaska]

Since this thread seems to be full of questions and not answers, I have been scouring the Internet.  I found a thread on TA where someone said it was safe and that a common form of transportation is a Moto Concho,  if you are willing to try it.  Just Google it.

 

Also, a person who went replied with the following info:

 

2. Re: Taino bay and walkability

Jan 16, 2022, 12:29 AM

Save

I just returned from Puerto Plata as a cruise ship shop at Taino Bay, this was one of the best carribean ports I've ever been to . They created a very nice fake shopping village with bars, restaurants and a resort pool as well as numerous beach chairs on a sandy( area without ocean access). From the cruise port it is an pleasant walk to town with an umbrella street, Amber Museum ( 2 bucks and free wifi) Church and scenic downtown, we walked back along a well paved clean ocean route to the fort and then back to the pier. Big Kudos to the local government for having a sufficient police presence along the route to the downtown.

 

Hopefully someone who knows more will reply here sometime in the future.

[n4w]

On 8/31/2022 at 1:42 PM, alwalaska said:

Hopefully someone who knows more will reply here sometime in the future.

There are several videos on YouTube that show the port area.

[alwalaska]

6 minutes ago, n4w said:

There are several videos on YouTube that show the port area.

Yes, and the one video where the title makes you believe they show the area outside of the port and the walk to the sites in the town stops at the exit of the port and says there are a bunch of police, etc just outside of the port area, so they aren't going any farther.

 

None of the videos I've found answer questions about whether or not there is a charge for the chairs and umbrellas in the port area.  Whether or not it is safe to walk from the port area to the fort.  I like using Google maps to "walk" around areas, but the street views for the port area are several years old.

 

If you know of any videos that actually go over walking from the port to the cathedral and/or fort, can you please post the links?

 

Thanks.

[StuckiTribe]

On 8/21/2022 at 11:25 AM, wolft927 said:

So we will be there I. The Norwegian getaway in October, is it better to just spend the day at the pool and beach or is there something else we should be looking to do? We typically spend the days at beaches when in port, is there a better spot close? 

We're on this cruise with you in a few weeks and I haven't found much info on what to do in DR. Since this is a new port for our family, I would love to get off the ship and experience more than just the cruise ship port area, but my husband doesn't meet the weight limit for the waterfalls that we were hoping to do (wondering if they actually weigh people- he's only like 15 lbs heavier than allowed). Maybe we'll do the Cable Car thing? Still researching and looking for good, safe ideas!

[alwalaska]

30 minutes ago, StuckiTribe said:

We're on this cruise with you in a few weeks and I haven't found much info on what to do in DR. Since this is a new port for our family, I would love to get off the ship and experience more than just the cruise ship port area, but my husband doesn't meet the weight limit for the waterfalls that we were hoping to do (wondering if they actually weigh people- he's only like 15 lbs heavier than allowed). Maybe we'll do the Cable Car thing? Still researching and looking for good, safe ideas!

Please come back here after and let us know what you find.  I'm looking at the cable car.  It looks like there is a really nice park at the top with different trails, a small house showing some historical things and other stuff all at the top. 

 

There was a video on YouTube where they showed walking through the park at the top.  I used Bing image search on El Parque Nacional Isabel de Torres de la Provincia Puerto Plata and found a map and some information about it there and on Trip Advisor.  I'm looking into an all day taxi option since I can't walk that full distance. It doesn't seem like they have what we think of as taxis that pick you up and then drop you somewhere and another taxi brings you back.

 

Have a fun trip.

[wolft927]

On 9/12/2022 at 9:53 PM, StuckiTribe said:

We're on this cruise with you in a few weeks and I haven't found much info on what to do in DR. Since this is a new port for our family, I would love to get off the ship and experience more than just the cruise ship port area, but my husband doesn't meet the weight limit for the waterfalls that we were hoping to do (wondering if they actually weigh people- he's only like 15 lbs heavier than allowed). Maybe we'll do the Cable Car thing? Still researching and looking for good, safe ideas!

Is this the waterfall tour booked through NCL? I just the description and I do not see any weight limit for it? Looks pretty fun to me and that may be what my wife and I do

[dreamer321]

On 9/12/2022 at 6:53 PM, StuckiTribe said:

We're on this cruise with you in a few weeks  ...  Maybe we'll do the Cable Car thing? Still researching and looking for good, safe ideas!

Please post back here after your cruise. I'm going in January and looking to explore on my own. I'm also looking for ideas.

[alwalaska]

1 hour ago, dreamer321 said:

Please post back here after your cruise. I'm going in January and looking to explore on my own. I'm also looking for ideas.

Same to you. 🙂  We're not going until Feb, so if you have any information to share after your cruise, please post it to this thread.  Like so many things, I think it is taking Cruise Critic a while to revive with new posts and information.

[EllynE]

I was wondering about weight limit for the waterfalls as every video I have seen are thin folks.  Does anyone know what the limit is?

 

Found it, it is 275 pounds

Edited September 15, 2022 by EllynE
Found info

[cruzeluver]

We docked at Taino Bay in Puerto Plata last month while on Celebrity Infinity. If you follow the sign to exit the port area, as soon as you leave the complex there will be men in bright yellow shirts. They are paid by the government to escort tourists around the city. Our guide spent close to 3 hours with us. We saw everything we wanted including the fort, umbrella street, the square , the pink street and more! There is no fee for their services but  of course a gratuity is much appreciated. He made sure we were safe and shared a lot of information about the island. A wonderful day and we got to spend it with a local. Really got a feel for the island.

[geovet]

I’m also on the Getaway October cruise. I found our ship scheduled on the amber cove page. I’m not sure which port we will be at!

The website for Taino port only shows which ships have already been there.

Edited September 22, 2022 by geovet

[alwalaska]

19 hours ago, geovet said:

I’m also on the Getaway October cruise. I found our ship scheduled on the amber cove page. I’m not sure which port we will be at!

The website for Taino port only shows which ships have already been there.

Can you please provide us with the sites you used to see your ship was at Amber Cove?  I'm having a hard time finding information on where we will be docking at many of our ports.

 

Thanks!

[geovet]

https://www.ambercove.com/Port-Schedule.aspx

[SDA1125]

On 9/22/2022 at 6:52 AM, cruzeluver said:

We docked at Taino Bay in Puerto Plata last month while on Celebrity Infinity. If you follow the sign to exit the port area, as soon as you leave the complex there will be men in bright yellow shirts. They are paid by the government to escort tourists around the city. Our guide spent close to 3 hours with us. We saw everything we wanted including the fort, umbrella street, the square , the pink street and more! There is no fee for their services but  of course a gratuity is much appreciated. He made sure we were safe and shared a lot of information about the island. A wonderful day and we got to spend it with a local. Really got a feel for the island.

HI do they have goverment issue ids or anything ?