Cayo Levantado

[Greencay]

We are on the Riveria leaving 2/13 from Miami. One of the ports is Cayo Levantado. We have not been there on prior cruises. Goggle searches have resulted in it being described as an island and as being a part of the mainland of the DR. We are not looking for a sight-seeing tour. We just want to arrive and experience the local food & people. If anyone has a clarification regarding this location, it would be appreciated.

[CintiPam]

There is a lot of information to read if you simply look at the Dominican Republic forum in the Caribbean Ports of Call area of these boards. That always is where I first look for information and suggestions for ports I have not visited previously.

Edited February 8, 2015 by CintiPam

[Caroldoll]

OMG, it is HORRIBLE. They take you over to a beach if you want. They own part of the island, NCL, but the good part is owned by someone else. This is one of the most horrible ports I have been to. I don't usually say anything bad, but this one IS!

 

Trust me.

[hondorner]

Google Samana, Dominican Republic. For years, cruise ships stopped at Samana until word spread about how bad it is. and passengers reported how dangerous it seemed. Now, ships tender in the bay off Samana and tender folks to the small island in the bay known as Cayo Levantado. Most ships no longer permit guests to go to Samana on their own. There are a few ship's excursions to the region, but the only one worth writing home about (in my opinion) is the speedboat across the bay to a National Park where there are mangroves, islands teeming with birds, and even a stop at an island with a small cave to explore.

 

I first went to Samana in 1980 on Carnival's Carnivale. I went again in 2006 on Regatta, one of the last times the tender dropped folks off on the mainland. In 2010 I went there on Regent Navigator, and the restrictions were in place, taking guests just to the tiny island, or on a ship excursion. As stated before, the island is split into a private section and a public beach. The only thing to recommend it, in my opinion, is the vendors are licensed and supervised; there are few if any beggars.

 

If I'm on another cruise that goes to Cayo Levantado, I'll spend the day on board.

[digtexas]

We are also on your cruise and this stop frankly sounds like one of several on the

itinerary where we may not disembark. Last time we stopped in St. Maarten, at the end of a TA, there were 7 large ships in port. My wife made a quick journey to the Longchamps shop, but I happily stayed onboard.

[Caroldoll]

that they call a "beach island". That is icky too. They have a beach party, but nothing like in the South Pacific. We stayed aboard for both.

 

I told my friend who works at Oceania...no more Oceania with these two stops...and also, we don't do Mayan Mystique. We have seen the ruins once...but the stops other than that are horrible.

 

At Cayo there were no tours when we were there. They only let you go to the beach. There is a beach hut that sells "stuff" and they bring a picnic.

 

I pointed out that the demographics of O don't fit these two stops. That is in my opinion.

[jeffrub]

The posters here advising you not to get off the ship on Cayo Levantado are not steering you wrong. We visited there a few weeks ago when Riviera stopped there, and took the tender over to the Island. As soon as you disembark and try to walk over to the beach, you encounter a row of local merchants looking to sell their worthless trinkets. We walked to the beach to find a crowded scene that to us was very unappealing. In many ways (being from New York) the scene there reminded us of something that one might find in a public park in the South Bronx. We made a U-turn and tried to get into the resort that occupies the other half of the island, and were turned away by security who told us that it was only open to guests of the resort. Our next move was to get right back on the tender and spend a lovely day back onboard. So our advice is to skip the round trip tender ride and just enjoy your day on Riviera.

[Greencay]

Thanks for all the replies. I think massage and the afternoon cooking class will do just fine. 5 days and counting.

[CintiPam]

When we booked our third (annual?) winter Caribbean cruise on Riviera while on our very enjoyable Mayan Mystique cruise just over two weeks ago, I was fine with this port as one of our stops in February 2016 because we have very much enjoyed our 6+ stays at AI resorts in Punta Cana, DR over the years.

 

Now I hang onto the word "beach" in the previous postings for hope! :D

[hondorner]

...As soon as you disembark and try to walk over to the beach, you encounter a row of local merchants looking to sell their worthless trinkets...

That row of local merchants is an improvement of an order of magnitude over what you would find on the mainland -- toothless old men and nearly naked little boys following you down the street, endlessly trying to sell you conch shells. To avoid them, you can take a ride in a motorized pedicab, which is not much more than a seat made of orange crates pulled by a tiny, 2-cycle dirt motorcycle with no muffler.

[Caroldoll]

It looks like a gravel pit from Irwindale, California. OMG, I can NOT believe Oceania puts it on their list!

[roothy123]

I took a ship's excursion there. We were taken horseback/mule riding up to a huge, fabulous waterfall in a gorgeous setting. I will never forget rounding a corner on the path and seeing that sight. It might have been worthwhile if it had not been raining cats and dogs, and the path up and down was scary. I don't scare easily, but that was scary. At one point we had to ford 3 feet of water.

 

They take your picture at the start and sell a "CD" of your adventure. It is just a CD case with your picture (empty inside). I don't take too many ship's shore excursions as I like to do things on my own. This is the only excursion I felt was a complete "NEVER AGAIN" and I let Oceania know about it. Costa Rica with its Samana peninsula is an extremely poor country and while beautiful, I have to agree with the others - hardly worth a stop unless your primary focus is getting a suntan.

 

I actually enjoyed the ports on Mayan Mystique quite a bit, and found that cruise a whole lot better than the usual Caribbean ones on the main cruise lines which include beautiful but over-built/visited beach ports.

Edited February 9, 2015 by roothy123

[hondorner]

...I actually enjoyed the ports on Mayan Mystique quite a bit, and found that cruise a whole lot better than the usual Caribbean ones on the main cruise lines which include beautiful but over-built/visited beach ports.

You just hit one of my nerves. I call them "fake ports". The first I encountered was Turks & Caicos -- the port is some distance from the main town (enticingly named "Cocktown") and is a complete cruise ship tourist trap. The main attractions are a Margaritaville copy and a Ron Jon Surf Shop (based near Melbourne, FL). The whole thing is walled off from the rest of the island and mostly concrete. Movie sets are more interesting.

 

Next was Roatan. We visited Roatan in 2006 at a charming little port with native craft shops lining the street and plenty of ad hoc tour guides at the pier; we took a mini-van tour of the island for a very attractive price. Fast forward to 2010, and the ships stop at Mahogany Bay, a cruise ship tourist trap with Diamonds International and Tanzanite shops, a couple of very commercial craft shops, lots of concrete and again, walled off from the rest of the island. There is a slightly interesting walk to the beach.

 

Costa Maya was an early example of a port created from vacant land just for cruise ship tourists. Again, very commercial craft shops, lots of concrete, Jewelry stores and little else. This time there is no wall, but there are several blocks of empty lots that were intended for additional tourist traps but remain undeveloped. There is a beach a little distance down the coast, a little far to walk but about a 5 minute taxi ride -- it's a little more locally authentic, but not much more to do than rent a chair.

 

The latest that Oceania visits is El Guamache in Venezuela; I haven't been there yet, but my research showed another concrete tourist trap. There are others -- in Falmouth, Jamaica (which is located in a high crime area; I have no doubt it's walled off, as well) and such "made up" ports as Princess Cay and NCL's Great Stirrup Cay.

 

All these seem to be great favorites with the folks sailing mainstream lines; most of them probably for the very first time. But, it's my opinion that cruise lines like Oceania, which cater to the "been there and done that" crowd, should search out more authentic and interesting ports.

 

Of course, all the above is just my opinion, foir what that's worth :rolleyes:.

[roothy123]

I'm not crazy about the "fake ports" either, but then again, I realize that some people only cruise to the Caribbean to lie on a beach, and don't care if there's not much to do. That goes for at least some Oceania cruisers, too, judging from what people ended up doing.

 

Yes, after researching Turks and Caicos I wasn't expecting much. However, then we ended up not being able to dock there due to a bad hurricane in that part of the world, so it really didn't matter much.

 

In Roatan (where we were first scheduled to dock at the first port and then ended up docking at Mahogany) we rented a motorcycle and while it was a little bit unnerving for me, my husband loved it. I enjoyed seeing the island. In the Caribbean you have to set your sights a little lower than in other parts of the world, but I'd rather go places and see new things than stay in the port area - fake or otherwise.

 

Costa Maya turned out to be a good day for me. I went to Mayan ruins, took a cab to the beach area, then amused myself by taking colorful pictures around the "port" there.

 

Admittedly, it doesn't take much to interest me, particularly since I'm a photographer, and there are always things to photograph. I suppose I would be really challenged in a place like Princess Cay, but if there's something interesting, I usually DO find it. Therefore, it's OK that Oceania and some of the more adventuresome cruise lines are willing to try new places. In the Caribbean, there aren't too many places I'd really look forward to visiting twice, I'm afraid...

[digtexas]

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/02/05/new-cruise-ceo-awaits-dream-cruise-to-cuba/

Looks like we had better hurry up and get to Cuba before the cruise ships if we want to see it with any remaining authenticity.

[Paulchili]

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/02/05/new-cruise-ceo-awaits-dream-cruise-to-cuba/

Looks like we had better hurry up and get to Cuba before the cruise ships if we want to see it with any remaining authenticity.

 

They forgot to mention Q-ban sandwiches @ Waves :D

We did a land trip to Cuba but I would not mind returning one day on Oceania and see the "new" Havana.

[Paulchili]

Y

 

The latest that Oceania visits is El Guamache in Venezuela; I haven't been there yet, but my research showed another concrete tourist trap.

 

We recently visited this port with Riviera and spent a very nice day there. Granted, there is nothing in or near the port - you have to take a tour (private or ship's) to other parts of the island but it was quite an enjoyable day.

[CintiPam]

I understand how disheartening the prospect of these fake ports may be to many but when Riviera visited Costa Maya on our Mayan Mystique cruise just two weeks ago, we enjoyed one of our more interesting port days by leaving the immediate area for a private tour with Native Choice to the Chacchoben ruins followed by lunch at a nearby Mayan village. Our local guide David, from that village, was knowledgable, highly trained; we spent an extremely worthwhile six hours with him.

 

As a Jersey shore native now marooned 600 miles from any ocean, I also confess to loving to swim at a beautiful beach. Last year we visited gorgeous beaches on Antigua and St. Barts; this year on Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Hopefully next year at Cayo Levantado and elsewhere.

Edited February 9, 2015 by CintiPam

[hondorner]

I admit a bias because I live in Florida and can visit a beach nearly anytime -- and confess that I don't like the beach, much, and never go, even in Florida. I guess I was turned off the first time I realized the sand was hot, sticky and often dirty, the water was salty, and there were things alive in the water -- some of them bigger than me! I look very carefully before I get into my swimming pool :rolleyes:.

 

Part of the problem I've found with some of the ports, like the Turks and Caicos, is the Powers That Be have cleverly hidden the exits from the port area, and most folks never find their way out to explore further.

 

I visited Princess Cay on Regent Navigator; it was too chilly to go in the water, one couple braved it with wet suits they had brought along (good thing there are no formal nights, or they wouldn't have had room for the wet suits). Few people even sat on the thousands of beach chairs; it was really lonely looking there as Navigator only holds 490 passengers when full. There was literally no way to get off the private island, no private or ship tours, but the ship staff did set up an open bar (this was Regent) and a barbecue. We ate, had a drink then took the tender back to the ship and took a nap. It was close to being the worst port we ever visited.

[bobndee]

Another fake "port" is Labadee where Royal Caribbean stops. RCCI calls it an island, but it is a peninsula. We were there once - never again! Again, it is walled off from the rest of the country with armed guards and all. The beach is so-so at best. The beach lounges are kept in back so you have to tip (bribe) an attendant to get one for you. Then, if you leave the lounge, say to get lunch, they take it away and you have to pay again to get it back.

 

The food was prepared on the ship and brought to shore - by the time we got it, it was cold. The bars only offered the daily fruit punch drink. A bartender I had gotten on the ship to know apologized to me for being unable to make even a G&T.

 

The "craft bazaar" consists of a building filled with locals all selling the same "Made in China" souvenirs. All of the vendors were very aggressive and pushy.

[roothy123]

Now I know I don't want to go to Labadee on RCII, and the other "fake" ports! Since we've veered off into talk on Caribbean ports, I wanted to mention that I didn't know a lot about Barbados pre-cruise (Celebrity - not sure if Oceania goes) and kind of assumed it would be similar to what I think of when I think of Jamaica. However, it was not, and I loved the island. We rented a car and drove around the coast - beautiful seascapes similar to what you see in Oregon, friendly people, decent roads, Concorde sitting in a museum near the airport, etc. Great day. You just never know how the day will turn out.

[SellaVee]

I love Barbados. We've cruised from Barbados twice with Windstar and each time we've spent some time on the island pre cruise.

 

Flights back to the UK leave after 8pm so both times we hired a car for the day. You can pick it up from the cruise terminal when you disembark at early o'clock and leave it at the airport when you're done. It's a great way to spend the time.

 

Hunte's garden is really fabulous as is St Nicholas Abbey. In fact if Oceania didn't keep coming up with such interesting itineraries I'd be spending weeks at a time in Barbados in the winter.

 

We had Durres in Albania as a cruise port last year and I was a bit concerned but in the end we didn't stop there as there wasn't enough deep water.

 

Loved Cuba even if I was very ill. We spent a few days in Havana then visited Guarda la Vaca which I thought sounded very romantic until a friend pointed out it means"hide the cow", on a land based holiday. I'd love to go back.

 

I suppose by visiting the "fake" ports one is helping the economies of those countries and sharing a bit of wealth around.

[hondorner]

Back to the original subject, CAG and GRG just stopped by the house on their way to Miami to board Riviera on Friday; one of their stops is Cayo Levantado; apparently Oceania has added a whale watching excursion, as this is the season for it, and that's a great area for it. I would recommend that as well as the speedboat to the national park.

[Caroldoll]

It is whale moving season and Cayo Levantado is just HORRIBLE. Go for what he recommends.

[CintiPam]

We had Durres in Albania as a cruise port last year and I was a bit concerned but in the end we didn't stop there as there wasn't enough deep water.

 

Great way off-topic opportunity to mention my top travel claim to fame:

 

I have visited Albania twice in my brief cruising career. I have an excellent private tour guide to recommend to any of you future visitors, no kidding.