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Cayenas Del Mar

new2cruising72

By new2cruising72,
in Dominican Republic

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Yorkvillain

Yorkvillain

Posted
Posted
Hello everyone! I'm back! This was such a wonderful place with wonderful people! I recommend it to everyone. To the person that said the water looked green - it did look like lake water from afar but it was crystal clear - I could see all the way out clear to the bottom! I have a ton of pictures of it. The food was really awesome and cheap and they accepted the 15% off food discount coupons you can get on their website. There was a slight language barrier and I didn't know if I'd get what I ordered, lol but I did. Also the bartender was from NJ! Small world!

 

I'll do a proper review complete with pictures and a video of the ride there (holy scary! Lol - but wild and fun!) when I get home! :D

 

Nice! Did you do it thru the ship or go out on your own?

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luckyprincess

luckyprincess

Posted
Posted

Anyone that said the water was murky wasn't in it. Here is the picture of the 'murky' water...

You can see that it is crystal clear here:

p><p><img src=P3010099 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr[/img]

 

This shows that you can see the perfectly clear water washing up on the beach:

 

<a href=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8538886772_8ac5283618_n.jpg' alt='8538886772_8ac5283618_n.jpg'> P3010100 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr[/img]

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gregandamy

gregandamy

Posted
Posted
Hello everyone! I'm back! This was such a wonderful place with wonderful people! I recommend it to everyone. To the person that said the water looked green - it did look like lake water from afar but it was crystal clear - I could see all the way out clear to the bottom! I have a ton of pictures of it. The food was really awesome and cheap and they accepted the 15% off food discount coupons you can get on their website. There was a slight language barrier and I didn't know if I'd get what I ordered, lol but I did. Also the bartender was from NJ! Small world!

 

I'll do a proper review complete with pictures and a video of the ride there (holy scary! Lol - but wild and fun!) when I get home! :D

 

Thanks for the review!

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luckyprincess

luckyprincess

Posted
Posted

So, here is my proper review! We tendered into Samana and I was expecting hordes of aggressive, forceful, shady people lunging at us from the moment we got there. Instead there were some people in traditional dress with a band dancing and singing and a small strip of road with lots of obviously marked Tour Operator men and police. There is a small area where people were selling drinks and then an information area. We stood around waiting for our Cayenas Del mar representative. We were about 20 minutes early so I was afraid we'd get pestered non-stop. One man asked us if we wanted a tour and we said no thanks. He then asked again and we said we're waiting for our tour operator and he said 'Okay, sorry!'. Two other guys with Tour Operator lanyards asked if we wanted a tour and when we said no thanks they both said 'ok' and left. No real pressure.

 

Finally we see the Cayenas Del Mar sign (green background, yellow lettering) being held up and we came over. He checked our name and we loaded into the back of a pick up truck. Basically we were sitting on little benches across from each other! :eek: We had the 3 year old with us and my sister was pretty nervous but we looked around at the families driving around that way and the many little ones on scooters and motorcycles and we went with it. It was a wild drive and honestly, a lot of fun! It was great watching the scooters fly past the rickety old trucks filled with us tourists, lol. The road was windy and there were a lot of obviously poverty stricken homes but all the people were happy and friendly. Being poor doesn't always equal being unhappy. That was the case here, imo. Finally we veered off onto a dirt road and came up to a gate. Two adorable little boys in swim trunks ran out and lifted the gate for us, smiling and waving the whole time. We drove up to the office and could see the beach ahead of us.

 

It's small but certainly has enough room to accommodate. We paid cash in the office ($16.20 a person with the 10% discount for booking online) and received two drink tickets per person and a wristband. From there they told us to enjoy and we walked to the beach, got some chairs and went right into the water. From far away it looked greenish, like lake water but when you got in you realized it was crystal clear! I could see the rocks in the bottom as far as I saw water! Plus the Explorer was in the background, which was cool. There was a long dock that you could go on as well and jump off of to swim. They had a little gift shop with a man painting and another man selling drinks and cigars (he is a little pushy but certainly friendly). The big restaurant is up the hill with the restrooms and office and the beach bar is right on the beach.

 

We ordered lunch and it was really delicious. They bring it out for you to the tables in the beach bar and tell you not to worry about paying until after you enjoy. They had no problem taking my 15% off food discount coupon from the website. We also used our drink tickets and got Presidente beers for them. Mine had ice cubes stuck to the side, it was perfectly cold! There was music playing from the beach bar and it was really one of the most relaxing days of my cruise!

 

When we were ready to go back to the ship we went to the restaurant to ask about transportation back. The truck they used to pick us up wasn't there so they graciously (with the price of gas there! :eek: ) brought us back to the port in their own SUVs. We split into two groups to go back and our wonderful driver told us all about how wonderful Samana is and that he hopes we come back because they are really improving it. Wonderful people and a wonderful day and THANK YOU CC for steering me in this direction! I will also make this it's own thread for those searching but wanted to share it here. Below are pictures and a video of the ride there! Don't mind my voice - it's loud and I'm aware I sound like a 12 year old! :p

 

<a href=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8239/8543373502_dab29b7682.jpg' alt='8543373502_dab29b7682.jpg'> cruise 099 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr[/img]

 

8542273593_1356001598.jpg

cruise 101 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr

 

8543372596_f4da33980a.jpg

cruise 102 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr

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luckyprincess

luckyprincess

Posted
Posted

So, here is my proper review! We tendered into Samana and I was expecting hordes of aggressive, forceful, shady people lunging at us from the moment we got there. Instead there were some people in traditional dress with a band dancing and singing and a small strip of road with lots of obviously marked Tour Operator men and police. There is a small area where people were selling drinks and then an information area. We stood around waiting for our Cayenas Del mar representative. We were about 20 minutes early so I was afraid we'd get pestered non-stop. One man asked us if we wanted a tour and we said no thanks. He then asked again and we said we're waiting for our tour operator and he said 'Okay, sorry!'. Two other guys with Tour Operator lanyards asked if we wanted a tour and when we said no thanks they both said 'ok' and left. No real pressure.

 

Finally we see the Cayenas Del Mar sign (green background, yellow lettering) being held up and we came over. He checked our name and we loaded into the back of a pick up truck. Basically we were sitting on little benches across from each other! :eek: We had the 3 year old with us and my sister was pretty nervous but we looked around at the families driving around that way and the many little ones on scooters and motorcycles and we went with it. It was a wild drive and honestly, a lot of fun! It was great watching the scooters fly past the rickety old trucks filled with us tourists, lol. The road was windy and there were a lot of obviously poverty stricken homes but all the people were happy and friendly. Being poor doesn't always equal being unhappy. That was the case here, imo. Finally we veered off onto a dirt road and came up to a gate. Two adorable little boys in swim trunks ran out and lifted the gate for us, smiling and waving the whole time. We drove up to the office and could see the beach ahead of us.

 

It's small but certainly has enough room to accommodate. We paid cash in the office ($16.20 a person with the 10% discount for booking online) and received two drink tickets per person and a wristband. From there they told us to enjoy and we walked to the beach, got some chairs and went right into the water. From far away it looked greenish, like lake water but when you got in you realized it was crystal clear! I could see the rocks in the bottom as far as I saw water! Plus the Explorer was in the background, which was cool. There was a long dock that you could go on as well and jump off of to swim. They had a little gift shop with a man painting and another man selling drinks and cigars (he is a little pushy but certainly friendly). The big restaurant is up the hill with the restrooms and office and the beach bar is right on the beach.

 

We ordered lunch and it was really delicious. They bring it out for you to the tables in the beach bar and tell you not to worry about paying until after you enjoy. They had no problem taking my 15% off food discount coupon from the website. We also used our drink tickets and got Presidente beers for them. Mine had ice cubes stuck to the side, it was perfectly cold! There was music playing from the beach bar and it was really one of the most relaxing days of my cruise!

 

When we were ready to go back to the ship we went to the restaurant to ask about transportation back. The truck they used to pick us up wasn't there so they graciously (with the price of gas there! :eek: ) brought us back to the port in their own SUVs. We split into two groups to go back and our wonderful driver told us all about how wonderful Samana is and that he hopes we come back because they are really improving it. Wonderful people and a wonderful day and THANK YOU CC for steering me in this direction! I will also make this it's own thread for those searching but wanted to share it here. Below are pictures and a video of the ride there! Don't mind my voice - it's loud and I'm aware I sound like a 12 year old! :p

 

<a href=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8239/8543373502_dab29b7682.jpg' alt='8543373502_dab29b7682.jpg'> cruise 099 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr[/img]

 

8542273593_1356001598.jpg

cruise 101 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr

 

8543372596_f4da33980a.jpg

cruise 102 by ihateworkinglate, on Flickr

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kristy1277

kristy1277

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review. Was the water warm? We are thinking of the buffet option. Did you have a chance to see the buffet or did anyone else in your group have it or have opinions in it? What other alcoholic choices did you have to use your drink tickets on?

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gregandamy

gregandamy

Posted
Posted
Hi! It was about 80 degrees and the water felt great! Warm enough to jump into but cool enough to be refreshing! I'm afraid I didn't see the buffet, sorry! We could use the tickets for water, soda, small beer (regular sized Presidente) or a Cuba Libre...

 

 

Do you happen to remember if they had any mats to float on or any other things to float on in the water?

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luckyprincess

luckyprincess

Posted
Posted
Do you happen to remember if they had any mats to float on or any other things to float on in the water?

 

I didn't see any of that at all. You could probably bring an inflatable one though. But I also didn't see anywhere to purchase or rent them either. Sorry!

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