Casa De Campo

[MayrMN]

My husband and I will be on the 1/28 sailing of the Connie and our first stop is Casa De Campo. I'm posting in this forum, b/c only Celebrity seems to go here, and I'm looking for recent cruisers opinions. I can't say anyone has much good to say on the Ports of Call forums.

 

Strangely, we don't dock until 1pm, and the sun goes down at 6:30. I hear the DR is not the greatest place to go after dark, so beyond taking a ships tour, what does anyone suggest?

 

I'd totally be inclined to stay on the ship, but as the next day is entirely at sea, I thought it would be good to get off the ship and explore.

 

Thoughts?

[GaryNFla]

Hello,

 

We will be on the same sailing as you Jan28th. I can hardly wait for this voyage. I have spent some time researching the islands we'll visit. Have you been to Cruise Critics Ports of Call ?Here is the link.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=68

 

also here s a link about Casa De Campo

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=263705

 

I am hoping we get enough people for Celebrity to host a cruise critic party.Anyone can can sign here.

 

https://secure.celebrity.com/cruisecritic/getParty.do;jsessionid=00007Y7x2p7l8GqugqGqlqQz5R1:1051tg60i

 

Good luck with your planning..

Gary

[ha1024]

Stopped there on Constellation in 2005.

You are better off staying on the ship.

[JimnKaren]

We were there in 2004 and during the day we stayed on the ship during the day.

 

When you arrive in Casa, the view is somewhat spoiled by a black-cloud belching smokestack, but once there it is not bad. In fact, I spotted at least 8 different butterflies flitting around the pool area during the day. Many folks got off and there were mixed reviews. Karen and I did the evening dance/light show that was a ship sponsored excursion. There was a lot of sitting while waiting for it to start, but once it got going we really enjoyed ourselves. The ship left almost as soon as we returned and then there was a deck party that was very good. We got to bed late that night, glad for the day at sea to rest a bit.

 

Jim

[skyview851]

We were there Jan 2005 & took the ships excursion to Altos de Chavon. We wandered thru the shops, took in the view & were ready to leave. It was nice to get off the ship, but it wasn't worth the price we paid to go on the excursion. My SIL was there in Dec 2004 & did the horseback riding....She said that it was OK, but you need to know how to ride as there was very little instruction & the rode fairly fast at times.

[bigreckster]

We've done that port the last two years (one of the reasons we've switched to the upcoming Jan. 21st itinerary) and done the ship's shuttles to both the Altos town and the marina. Neither place is worth the time spent and it is apparent by all of the security checkpoints/guards along the way that going out on your own is not a safe alternative. Most if not all fellow cruisers wondered why we even stopped at this port! At the gated, very exclusive resorts you pass by, the very wealthy play polo and golf on a fantastic course (they fly the golfers in from other islands via helicopter too!) but the place doesn't offer anything for cruisers stopping for the day. Stay aboard ship and relax.....!

[wolfganghowell]

We're considering doing the day pass at the resort that is offered as an excursion. I looked up the resort on line and it got great reviews. Other than that Mr Wolf got off the ship 2 years ago and was bored. I didn't even bother.

[hermang]

On the ( I forget the exact title) but it is basically the highlights tour that allegedly visits the cigar factory - do they sell Cigars at any reasonable prices???

[danblinn]

We were there Jan 2005 & took the ships excursion to Altos de Chavon. We wandered thru the shops, took in the view & were ready to leave. It was nice to get off the ship, but it wasn't worth the price we paid to go on the excursion. My SIL was there in Dec 2004 & did the horseback riding....She said that it was OK, but you need to know how to ride as there was very little instruction & the rode fairly fast at times.

 

They charge for that now??? When I was last on the Connie in March '04, that was a free shuttle. We considered staying on the ship, but felt that it would be good to go ashore for a few hours and see some of the island. We were glad we did, but I wouldn't do it again if it required a paid excursion.

[skyview851]

They charge for that now??? When I was last on the Connie in March '04, that was a free shuttle. We considered staying on the ship, but felt that it would be good to go ashore for a few hours and see some of the island. We were glad we did, but I wouldn't do it again if it required a paid excursion.

 

I should clarify...the shuttle was free, but it was made VERY obvious that a tip was expected....and the trip wasn't even worth the tip!

[greeneg]

I think that I will take a nap on my balcony and then a dip in the hot tub.....

[canderson]

For those of you who are golfers and are making the Casa de Campo stop, you're among the lucky ones -- there's a shore excursion here you're bound to like.

 

It can be a bugger of a course, but Teeth of the Dog (a Pete Dye course) is well worth your time.

[Mike2131]

For those of you who are golfers and are making the Casa de Campo stop, you're among the lucky ones -- there's a shore excursion here you're bound to like.

 

It can be a bugger of a course, but Teeth of the Dog (a Pete Dye course) is well worth your time.

 

If you are a golfer, this is probably your best option - if port time allows it. I was there for 4 nights a few years ago on a company trip and found Casa de Campo OK (after all, I was not paying) but no better.

By the way, Oceania also calls here. This will be a port on our February cruise.

[flashdog_1]

But is it beautiful? I've seen photos of the Dominican Republic and the vast green-ness in contrast to the sea has always struck me.

 

I had a co-worker who was from DR and he brought photos for us to see.

[canderson]

But is it beautiful? I've seen photos of the Dominican Republic and the vast green-ness in contrast to the sea has always struck me.

 

I had a co-worker who was from DR and he brought photos for us to see.

Here's a picture from the 5th tee of Teeth of the Dog. Tough on the eyes, isn't it?:p

[mvmag]

Our Millie cruise stopped at Caso de Campo in December our family of four adults agreed --it was a complete ripoff. The manufactured "artists' colony" was depressing. The shuttles were free. I guess that was a good thing. Most people seemed to take a shuttle to the Altos location, walk around for 20 minutes or so, and then take a shuttle either back to the ship or over to the Marina. At the Marina, which was pretty much an extremely expensive hangout, there were some nice places to sit and look at the yachts and the food was good. But the whole place was phoney; the only other people you meet are from the ship; and as the whole place is jointly owned by cruise companies and the mine, it's far from being much of anything other than an authentic tourist trap. The golf probably would have been okay but we thought it was over-price given the location.