Amber Cove Dominican Coffee Excursion?

[MyWorkIsDone]

Hi. We are considering booking the excursion called "Dominican Coffee: A Local Experience." The reviews on HA are good, but there are only two of them. Has anyone done this excursion and, if so, would you recommend it? 

 

Alternatively, we've read recommendations to take a taxi to the cable car and then tour the rum distillery and call it a day. We'd be grateful for any advice from more experienced travelers. We're not planning on beach time here. Our first cruise is coming up in 8 days!

[bravojulietcharlie]

I’ve booked this excursion for our sailing onboard Nieuw Statendam next month - it looks like a more unique experience compared to the more commercial ambience of Amber Cove itself. Fingers crossed!

[Langoustine]

My wife and I spent a week at a resort outside Puerto Plata (the town outside Amber Cove) several years ago. The cable car was a great view, the Brughal plant was not a distillery but a packaging facility where you could watch German equipment assemble cardboard boxes and fill them with bottles, and the fort was...meh...there are much better forts in San Juan, Havana, and St. Augustine, Florida. We also did the Amber Museum and the cathedral. Underwhelmed by the whole experience. Amber Cove didn't exist then, so I have no opinion about it, nor the coffee excursion. I have read that the waterfalls are quite interesting and worth seeing.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Langoustine

[OlsSalt]

We enjoyed the cigar factory and the quite lovely Santiago city tour with lunch.  Got to see lots of the countryside. And hear more from the guide about life in the DR today. 

[MyWorkIsDone]

Thank you all very much. This is quite helpful. On board in 5 days!

[Apple5]

We did this excursion last week from Koningsdam and really enjoyed it. There were about 30 people in total from the ship and it lasted about 5 hours. You are  taken in an open-sided safari truck, so if it's raining (which it was last week) they can lower the plastic sheeting down at the sides but you still get a bit damp. The seats are well padded which is good as the roads up in the countryside were terrible.

 

We got an introduction to coffee production in DR then the chance to fill up planting bags with soil, put coffee bean seeds into the soil then load them for transportation. If you wish you can take part in each stage of the process. You then see some beans being ground, roasted and brewed (and tasted). Finally, there is a lunch in the neighbouring eco lodge, which was a great place with amazing views down towards the coast. There you have the opportunity to buy some locally-produced coffee.

 

We thought it was a worth-while experience and something different to sitting on another beach, which we did plenty of anyway.

[MyWorkIsDone]

Apple5, thank you for taking the time to share about your excursion. We have booked it and are looking forward to it! 

[Nemo2005]

@MyWorkIsDone did you end up taking the Dominican coffee excursion from HAL cruise?  We're looking at it for February.  Someone commented that the trip up and back was LONG.  Can you fill us in?

[Granny DI]

We did the Dominican coffee experience today. Our tour meet time was 8:15 and we returned to the ship at 2. We were served a local chicken stew for lunch. Transportation was the rough part. You have a one hour ride in an open “bus”. The road going up the mountain is unpaved....very bumpy ride. Lots of pot holes!  

 

Once you reach the coffee experience area everything will be explained. Our group prepared 300 coffee seed planters for the greenhouse!

 

The work experience  was followed by a presentation of coffee from seed to cup of hot coffee. Very hands on. My DH said the coffee was the best ever. I don’t drink coffee.

 

We learned so much in the brief time we were at the coffee experience.

The excursion was one of the most unusual and educational excursions we have done in 23 years.

 

 

 

 

[Nemo2005]

Thanks, @Granny DI.  Were you with Holland America for this trip?  For such a long excursion, did you have any time or energy for exploring the port area when you got back?

[Granny DI]

3 hours ago, Nemo2005 said:

Thanks, @Granny DI.  Were you with Holland America for this trip?  For such a long excursion, did you have any time or energy for exploring the port area when you got back?

We are on the Nieuw Statendam. We had plenty of time to explore Amber Cove port area before and after our tour.

[Nemo2005]

Regarding the coffee excursion, is there opportunity to buy bagged coffee?  And, will we need DR currency or will US$ work here?