Amber Cove Port-how much did you really explore?

[marshhawk]

There is not one single excursion that has grabbed me for amber Cove-I mean I wish there was, but 3-5 hour walking tours with a DH that cant walk distances doesn't do it for us. Hours in a bus that bumps all over the place-and states no bad backs in the advertisement, doesn't do it for me.

 

Yes I always want to go see something, and I like to do it with a tour that is organized by Carnival when I am in a new country, until I get my feet wet, so the cruise is in May of 2018-will Carnival add more excursions closer to the cruise date- and if I am stuck "in port", I notice that there are 6 Dominican Republic Cultural and Historical Exhibits- has any one gone and explored these? Can you tell me about them?

 

And is walking the only option to get to the Skybar?

[afcruiser]

We don't care for big group tours either.

Hubby n I got a cab at the port. Very professional.

We made sure we had an English speaking driver.

Actually our driver used to work for Carnival.

 

He took us to the cable car but we did not ride. Looked a bit scary.

Now I wish we would have though. Next trip.

He was more than happy to take pictures of us.

We went to town, church, beach, and the fort.

Had food ops but we did not eat.

 

It was HOT so stopped for cold water.

Vendors pushy and they all sell the same stuff.

 

The country is beautiful.

They do drive crazy there and lots of mopeds, motorcycles.

But Santiago Saldana, our driver, made sure we were safe.

 

He was great. Ask for him.

It was 60.00 plus a 20 for tip.

We were gone about 3 hours. Could of been longer but we were ready to get back to port.

[marshhawk]

Thank you for the information-what time of year did you go?

[KroozFoolz]

Definitely do the cable car.

[afcruiser]

Thank you for the information-what time of year did you go?

 

 

December 4th.

There was a lot of major road construction after leaving port area.

Single lane traffic but not to bad.

Will be nice when completed.

[Loonbeam]

Do you have contact info for that driver by any chance to pre-arrange?

[myfuzzy]

We were going to AC and before hand we decided to do an excursion, as the port area itself had nothing of interest to us. So, we tie up at the dock and just BEFORE we are cleared to disembark.....the Captain announces due to incoming weather our stop has been shorted to FOUR hours, and MOST excursions have been cancelled, including ours. We got off the ship, walked the dock, there were a few stores, not many open, looked at the pool, wanted to go to the top bar for a drink, but couldn't find a way there. So my DH sat on the end of one of the loungers so we could decide what we wanted to do, but in the meantime some women claimed the loungers in front of the one where DH was sitting and loudly said to him that he was sitting in their $20 shade, he got up, we went back towards the ship, some guys were offering rikshaw rides back to the entrance ....we took it, gave him a tip and that was our time at AC

[Blessedladyg7]

Would highly recommend city tour with Marysol Tours incl cable car ride.

 

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[JT1962]

We used Marysol Tours for the 12 Waterfalls and they were very professional. Their website lists several types of tours, since you are looking for something less active.

 

 

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[Sunshinecrew]

We used Marysol Tours for the 12 Waterfalls and they were very professional. Their website lists several types of tours, since you are looking for something less active.

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I have looked at the Marysol website and see where they say they allow cancellations but I see no information on the circumstances in which one may cancel or what happens if the ship reschedules the stop or is late and there is not enough time to do the tour of the waterfalls. Can't decide whether or not to use them.

[JT1962]

I have looked at the Marysol website and see where they say they allow cancellations but I see no information on the circumstances in which one may cancel or what happens if the ship reschedules the stop or is late and there is not enough time to do the tour of the waterfalls. Can't decide whether or not to use them.

 

 

 

We didn’t have to cancel or miss the port, so I can’t speak to that. I would email them and ask. They get good ratings and depend on tourism dollars, so not refunding if your ship misses port would get posted quickly here and on Trip Advisor and would be devastating to their business.

 

 

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[kendon]

There is not one single excursion that has grabbed me for amber Cove-I mean I wish there was, but 3-5 hour walking tours with a DH that cant walk distances doesn't do it for us. Hours in a bus that bumps all over the place-and states no bad backs in the advertisement, doesn't do it for me.

 

Yes I always want to go see something, and I like to do it with a tour that is organized by Carnival when I am in a new country, until I get my feet wet, so the cruise is in May of 2018-will Carnival add more excursions closer to the cruise date- and if I am stuck "in port", I notice that there are 6 Dominican Republic Cultural and Historical Exhibits- has any one gone and explored these? Can you tell me about them?

 

And is walking the only option to get to the Skybar?

It will take you all of 45 minutes to see everything at the Amber Cove port. TRY to find an organized activity.

[marshhawk]

We ended up booking the "give back" excursion to the girl's orphanage. Will do review when we get back.

[disneylover89]

We were going to AC and before hand we decided to do an excursion, as the port area itself had nothing of interest to us. So, we tie up at the dock and just BEFORE we are cleared to disembark.....the Captain announces due to incoming weather our stop has been shorted to FOUR hours, and MOST excursions have been cancelled, including ours. We got off the ship, walked the dock, there were a few stores, not many open, looked at the pool, wanted to go to the top bar for a drink, but couldn't find a way there. So my DH sat on the end of one of the loungers so we could decide what we wanted to do, but in the meantime some women claimed the loungers in front of the one where DH was sitting and loudly said to him that he was sitting in their $20 shade, he got up, we went back towards the ship, some guys were offering rikshaw rides back to the entrance ....we took it, gave him a tip and that was our time at AC

$20 shade? Is there a charge for loungers?

[Pellaz]

$20 shade? Is there a charge for loungers?

 

At the port of Amber Cove, no.

[marshhawk]

We ended up booking the "give back" excursion to the girl's orphanage. Will do review when we get back.

 

 

Not that I forgot, we got back, and DH had a heart attack later in May, so life is just a bit more hectic. (he is doing better)

 

The giving back tour was so much more than what we expected- we boarded a bus, and headed to town, where we were given a tour of the town square, visiting the main church, and doing some shopping, then we headed to the orphanage, which is not a place to adopt a child, but a place where children (girls) stay while their parents handle what ever problem they are going through (mostly jail). Possession of drugs, is a 10 year sentence on this island, and dealing is 15-20. What do they do with the kids? They put them in a home/orphanage. They are fed well, attend school, visit their family once a month, and live in this safe house. At 18 however, they will be asked to leave, UNLESS they go to college, and guess what? College is free. The Dominican Republic, is very Catholic, and very socialist. So you can stay as long as you stay in school, and you help out with the little ones.

 

After the tour of the orphanage, we headed up into the mountains, to see how Casaba (sp) bread was made, got a free sample, and then headed back to the flat land where we had lunch-chicken, salad, spaghetti, and there was a shop to purchase jewelry (which I did).

 

We then drove along the coast, visited the fort (did not stop, just drove by) and then back to the ship.

 

We knew in advance that this tour talked a lot about religion, which didn't bother us. It was great learning about a country that takes care of all. Very family oriented, very religious, very beautiful. The humorous side was seeing cattle wandering the streets, the down side was the amount of trash on the streets, along the road, basically everywhere.

 

However, when the ship sailed away from the island, and you see the high mountains, the green of the island, and the beautiful coastline, you cant help but think, I just saw what paradise can look like. (without the trash).

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you for posting your review and so glad your husband is doing better.:)

[Cruzinbabe06]

$20 shade? Is there a charge for loungers?

 

Chairs are free. Umbrellas are $20.

 

Sounds like, while they were contemplating what to do, he sat down behind her chairs, which had an umbrella, which made her make the comment about him using her $20 shade.

 

I love Amber Cove! Only been there once and it is what it is.:)

 

Me and hubby got out there early, found 2 loungers in a nice location, rented an umbrella ($20).

 

We had our music, books, there's chair service for drinks and food. Didn't have to go to the Bar. Everyone I encountered were friendly. The only thing I didn't care for, was you had to keep paying up front with each order. No building up a TAB!:confused:

 

Me and hubby relaxed, got in and out of the pool, ordered drinks and food. Hubby walked around the place and enjoyed himself. They have upbeat music playing. There was some line dancing. We did some shopping, T-shirts, liquor and souvenirs.

 

We had a good Day!

 

We'll be there again in January where we're looking into a Beach Excursion.