Samana...Any Suggestions???

[Olwyn]

I have heard so many nasty things about Samana...has anyone done this port recently...and had a decent experience?:(

My 75 year old parents are doing the Regatta on March 11th, and this is one of their stops. Any good ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks

Olwyn :rolleyes:

[serendipity1499]

I have heard so many nasty things about Samana...has anyone done this port recently...and had a decent experience?:(

My 75 year old parents are doing the Regatta on March 11th, and this is one of their stops. Any good ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks Olwyn :rolleyes:

 

Suggest you post your question on the Ports of Call forum for the Dominican Republic..There are several threads regarding Samana in that forum..

 

We'll be stopping there in Nov., so we too are interested..At this time, thinking about staying on board rather than venturing off the ship in this port..Will wait until after final payment to investigate ...

 

The Dominican Republic thread on Ports of Call is: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=374

 

Hope your parents enjoy their trip..:) Betty

[Nitrodog]

Just stay on board and treat it as another day at sea.

[blackfoot]

Visited this port in Jan 07 and was very surprised that Oceania would put their passengers into a port like that. Very 3rd world w/ no visble security;many passengers went ashore and came back immediately. This is not a port for the elderly. Another interesting note was that all the while the ship was anchored, there were 2 boats w/ police guarding the ship: not sure what the reason was but it was a first for me.

 

It was too bad to waste a day in a port like that when we spent less than a day in St. Bart's which was heaven on earth!

[Aussie Gal]

We were there in October and unless they like to take a swim and lounge on a beautiful beach then I would suggest they stay on board as the town is not very interesting and a lot of young people seem to ride around on motor bikes most of the time. Most of the older passengers went ashore for a very short time unless they were doing a ship's tour.

 

If they are fit and able and would like to spend time on a beautiful island, then when they are tendered to shore, they will find boys or men selling trips to Cayo Leventado which is about 10-15 minutes away by motor boat. It cost us $20US a couple to be taken there. The man who organized the boat came with us and stayed on the island whilst we were there. We told him we wanted to stay for 3 hours and so when the time was up, he organized for the boat to take us back to the dock.

 

There are restaurants there to buy lunch if you need it and a brand new hotel was going to be opened in January.

 

It is a most beautiful island, with clear, warm water and lovely sand to lie on.

 

Jennie

[RetiredFL]

When we tendered into Samana (Not on Oceania) we took a short walk into town. There was a crafts/flea market that was mildly interesting and the walk around the waterfront promenade was nice but not much else to do. We spend about an hour and went back to the ship. We are in our 60s and moderately fit and enjoyed the walk and a "look see" but would not get off the ship next time unless to strech our legs. We certainly felt safe and even bought cold drinks(canned) from a street vendor. We found the people helpful and not as pushy as on some of the smaller islands.

 

We chose not to pay to go to a "private" beach when we had better ammenities on the ship.

 

I don't know why all the ships stop there unless the Dominican Republic is making deals to get tourist dollars. We were told many Americans have homes around Samana and as we sailed there we saw "mansions" and large hotels along the coast.

 

We prefer stops with some local interest.

[RetiredFL]

I forgot to add.

 

As to the police boats we had them on our Spain/Portugal trip last fall in several ports and were escorted out of one Spanish port, I think Bilbao, by two police boats and a police helicopter.

 

We were told it was Basque problems but it appears to be a world wide problem as a cruise ship is an attractive target.

[*oceanlvr*]

Hi Jennie - based on reports such as yours, we too will take a side trip to Cayo Leventado. Do you know if there is any underwater life or should we just leave our snorkel gear on the ship? Thanks.

[llarsen]

Hello- We were in Samana on Oceania this past January. Our traveling companions are in their late 40's and my husband and I just turned 50. We were very surprised Oceania stopped at this port. The island itself is just beautiful with hillsides covered in lush foliage and palm trees. However, the town is something else. Most passengers took the next tender back to the ship upon catching site of the town. We were also warned on the tender to remove our jewelry, not a good sign. The town is filthy with torn up streets littered with garbage. There isn't anything to see there except poverty. There are motor scooters everywhere zipping by, and locals trying to get a buck from you. We had arranged a boat to Cayo Levantado, but when we arrived at our meeting place, he never showed up. We could not find anyone to take us to this little island, and the passengers on the Oceania tour were very upset because they also did not stop there, as was described in the tour. I have written a letter recently to Mr. Del Rio asking if they could substitute this port, or offer a tender to Cayo Leventado for their passengers. The other ports are wonderful, Oceania should allow more time in Tortola and Grand Turk and shorten the time in Samana or remove it altogether if they do not offer a free tender service to Cayo Leventado for their passengers. It looks like they are building some nice buildings along the waterfront, but right around the corner we saw a policeman(?) with a machine gun stationed on the corner. Like I said, the island it so beautiful, it's a shame they don't have it together there for tourism. Your parents will really enjoy this cruise and might even enjoy Samana if they could find something to do outside of walking into town.

We have booked this same itinerary again for next January and hope Oceania will consider our suggestions.

[*oceanlvr*]

Llarsen - thanks for taking the time to post that. While we "plan" to take a boat to Cayo Levntado, it sounds like a 50/50 chance that we can make it happen. Nice to be forewarned about the situation. It sounds like parts of Mexico - a real turnoff. It does make one wonder why it's on the intinerary at all when there are other lovely islands we could visit (St Kitts, etc.) We'll see if O makes a change here. Celebrity has also had it on their itineraries as I recall. There may be a political reason we are not privy to; it's hard to imagine why the ships go there otherwise.

[Aussie Gal]

We are in our mid sixties but are fit and well and as we had been on our ship for nearly 34 days, we wanted to be able to enjoy a lovely beach and a swim in the sea which we did do at Cayo Leventando. I don't think you need to take your snorkel as the sea has a beautiful sandy bottom, unless you are looking at fish not coral.

 

The actual town of Samana is grotty but no worse than some of the Asian and Pacific towns we have visited over the years. It is a Third World Country and that is what one expects in those places. I must admit, the young larrikins were a worry, not so much from the thought of them trying to steal from us, but more from a safety point of view of trying to cross the streets etc as they just didn't seem to have any rules for road safety.

 

The market was fine for some cruisers but we are beyond that now as we have been travelling for over 30 years and do not need any souvenirs to take home. We wandered around there for a few minutes but it was extremely hot and humid and I just wanted to go for a swim.

 

When we were there, there were dozens of boys with photos trying to sell their tours when we alighted from our tender. Very few ships go to this port and so tourism helps the locals so much. I think we were the first for the season, it was the last week in October last year.

 

Jennie