Casa De Campo, Domenican Republic

[abinwv]

Has anyone done the Bayahibe Beach break recently? or been to Casa de Campo on celebrity recently. Just wondering if they still provide shuttles to some areas.

 

On the bayahibe beach break: does it still include drinks, chairs, etc? Thanks

[Mparis184]

We were there last year and they did have the shuttle. Not much to do or see in this port.

 

Marion

[Genghis Khan]

I don't know anything about casa de campo. I am thinking of just going to the resort. Have you learned anything

I believe Casa De Campo and the "resort" are one in the same. The "old town" was actually built as a performing arts center to afford less affluent artists from the Caribbean and Central America (?) an opportunity to develop their crafts with financial support and tutoring where they would otherwise not have the means to do so. I've read some reviews that were moved by their experience and others that were disappointed. Think those negative reviews may have been expecting DisneyWorldCaribbean. Not a lot of direct info from Altos de Chavon's web site but it's there if you want to look.

[SeagoingMom]

Our first cruise (20th anniversary) was last March (2006)--Celebrity Infinity, Western Caribbean, 7 night. Our first stop was Casa de Campo. The entrance to the port was absolutely beautiful -- the most beautiful, besides Nassau, of our cruise. It was rocky, "wild" and green, with an "exotic- looking" sugar mill along the coast. The photo is one of the prettiest pictures in our cruise album.

 

That being said, having read all the posts saying that if you don't go on an excursion, stay on the ship, we opted for the Bayahibe Beach excursion, . We enjoyed the beach, although after we went on to St. Thomas/St. John, Nassau, and even San Juan, we realized that Bayahibe wasn't much to write home about. Even so, we had a good time -- the beach was not too crowded, and there were free drinks, snacks, towels and chairs. There was a reef not too far from the roped off swimming area -- we did not go out there, but some people did (snorkled), , and they stayed out there long enough to make the rest of us think that they must have found at least something to look at. There was nothing to look at under water at the swimming beach.

 

I did not want to cruise to the Dominican Republic, but the itinerary which fit in with our schedule and budget included it. There were other D.R. excursions offered by Celebrity, some of which might have been more intersting than ours. We didn't talk to anyone who went on other excursions.

 

If you have options, skip the Dominican Republic unless there really is something you've read about there that you can't see elsewhere. It might be the best place to go (one of the excursions to the interior, for example) if you are looking for a more realistic (less touristy) view of the Caribbean than you would get at other W. Caribbean ports. I haven't read too many posts from people who successfully went out on their own at Casa de Campo, but there's a first time for everything, I suppose!

[Bonnie J.]

Today we booked a cruise leaving this Sunday, Jan.21st,(7 days, $299, deck 9!) and will be stopping in Casa de Campo from noon to 8PM. Are there any beaches we can walk-in for snorkling? We do not do ship's tour so want to find something we can do without the ship's mobs. Any just good, safe beaches we can take a cab to? Any thing we should not miss/do?

[abinwv]

For those that did Bayahibe Beach on their own, was it fairly simple and is it clear where the public vs private beach is?

[abinwv]

Also it says celebrity offers a shuttle to altos de chavon or the marina? Has anyone used this service? And are these worth a visit for a couple of hours? Will the resort let you get to the beach/water?