Hotel in Dominican Republic

[BOAZ5]

We booked the Gem sailing out of Dominican Republic.  Now starts the task of trying to figure out where to stay.   We have never been to the DR.  Does anyone have suggestions on the best area/hotel to stay prior to this sailing?

Thanks! 

[complawyer]

you  should try and google booking.com. enter the city that the ship sails from, then go back to google and ask how far is the hotel from the cruise port.

 

i do this  whenever i sail from a foreign port, and the hotels are usually top notch

[BermudaBound2014]

Are you flying into Punta Cana or Santo Domingo? I believe your ship sails from La Romana and each of those airports are about an hour away. Both service the port of La Romana.

 

If I were only staying a few days pre or post cruise I'd choose one of the all-inclusive resorts right in La Romana to be closer to the cruise terminal. All inclusive is important in the DR because of the potable water situation. I've stayed at Bahai and Sunscape in La Romana (which I believe is a rebranded AMresort now). Both were showing their age and that was probably close to 10 years ago, so check for updates. 

 

You have a plethora of all inclusive options to choose from in Punta Cana. I've stayed at a dozen or so. Really depends on what you are looking for. I'd suggest staying closer to the airport in Punta Cana (the stretch of resorts in PC is huge and could add an additional hour drive onto your travel time). Anything along the Bavaro stretch is a win for you. Trip advisor (a partner company of cruise critic) has a very active Punta Cana forum. I'd start there as things in punta cana change rapidly and it's been a few years since I've been so I don't want to recommend specifics unless you really want me to 🙂

 

I would not recommend staying in Santo Domingo unless you speak fluent spanish and remember, the water is definitely NOT potable in the DR so keep this in mind. The Dominican republic port of call board here on cc will be helpful also.

 

Enjoy and congrats on booking a cruise 🙂

[roxette]

Spent two weeks at Excellence El Carmen in Punta Cana a few years ago prior to a Bliss cruise. Can really recomend it. Beautiful resort. Huge rooms. 11+ restaurants. No reservations, except Teppanyaki. Free lobster.  Only up charges are for the non house wines. Plenty of activities. Nice beach. Double digit amount of bars. 

[RaftingJeremy]

I’m also checking out hotel options, booked on Gem in October so I’ve got a little time.  There is a million resorts, just have to figure out which one and transportation.  

[YankeesFan4Life]

7 hours ago, BOAZ5 said:

We booked the Gem sailing out of Dominican Republic.  Now starts the task of trying to figure out where to stay.   We have never been to the DR.  Does anyone have suggestions on the best area/hotel to stay prior to this sailing?

Thanks! 

Which sailing?  We just booked 8/15 yesterday!

[UNIrd]

Check out Casa De Campo. Not far at all from the port, beautiful resort, and I love that the rooms come with a golf cart that make it easy to explore, head to the beach, and enjoy the amenities like the pool, restaurants, etc.

 

If you're going with a group, you can even splurge and get a villa which is essentially a house with its own pool and everything. 

[Laszlo]

The resorts are very nice, been to two of them. Many of the areas around them are not so nice. Their is a reason the resorts have armed security. 

[DZcreature]

I am thinking about booking Gem for August. Dominican Republic is the only place on the itinerary we have never been. Does anyone know if NCL has a hotel arranged? I know it is usually expensive, but usually includes transportation to ship. It makes things less stressful in an unfamiliar place.

[Diver2014]

On 4/7/2021 at 11:21 AM, DZcreature said:

I am thinking about booking Gem for August. Dominican Republic is the only place on the itinerary we have never been. Does anyone know if NCL has a hotel arranged? I know it is usually expensive, but usually includes transportation to ship. It makes things less stressful in an unfamiliar place.

We're booked on the Gem for August.  I had my NCL rep book us for the NCL recommended hotel ($210 per person) but he didn't know which hotel at the moment.  Will check back later.  Transfers  from the airport to the hotel then to the ship and back to the airport after the cruise were $87.50 per person.  Seems like a lot of $$ but we've never been to the Dominican Republic so I let the cruise line take care of the details just for the convenience. 

[complawyer]

1 hour ago, Diver2014 said:

We're booked on the Gem for August.  I had my NCL rep book us for the NCL recommended hotel ($210 per person) but he didn't know which hotel at the moment.  Will check back later.  Transfers  from the airport to the hotel then to the ship and back to the airport after the cruise were $87.50 per person.  Seems like a lot of $$ but we've never been to the Dominican Republic so I let the cruise line take care of the details just for the convenience. 

i would suggest tbefore you blow $420 for the room, check out  booking.com. put inthe dates you want,and the city in the dominican republic you wish to visit and it will give you a bunch of different choices.  $87.50 per person  is that for the round trip or each way.  by the way you can probably get a cab for much much cheaper.

 

either way, bon voyage and enjoy your cruise.

[Diver2014]

My point is, regardless of the price, I don't want to have to deal with all those details of booking a hotel  or get a cab in a place I know nothing about.  That's why the cruise lines offer the service.  I'm on vacation, I'm not out to save money here and there by booking my own hotel and transfers.  The NCL transfers are round trip, by the way.  It's personal choice but I prefer to let someone else handle the details in a place I'm not familiar with.

[complawyer]

sorry if i offended you, it was just a suggestion. personally, i have never had a problem booking a hotel room through booking. com. i prefer looking at ALL the choices.

 

we've been on many european cruises, cruises that left from hong kong and ended in singapore, and i've never had any problems with any of the hotels,

 

also, most major cities, have cab services right outside the airport., again, i have never had any problems getting a cab to my hotel, or from the ship back to the hotel or the airport.

 

sometimes one can go on google and ask about shuttle services offered from airports to hotels .

 

i did this last year when we were supposed to sail out of santiago chile, but unfortunately the cruise was cancelled.

 

if that's your personal choice, have at it. if you give it a try, i'm sure you will find it quite simple.

 

personally, even with an ncl cruise consultant, i just need her to book the cruise and cabin. i'll do everything else on my own, including the air

 

ncl is not known for its benevelence

[SNJCruisers]

On 4/7/2021 at 12:58 AM, roxette said:

Spent two weeks at Excellence El Carmen in Punta Cana a few years ago prior to a Bliss cruise. Can really recomend it. Beautiful resort. Huge rooms. 11+ restaurants. No reservations, except Teppanyaki. Free lobster.  Only up charges are for the non house wines. Plenty of activities. Nice beach. Double digit amount of bars. 

We'll be there in June for 8 nights.  Originally had reservations at their sister resort Excellence Punta Cana.  Made the reservations back in February and found out about a month ago that the resort would not be opening up till July 1.  We had a reservation for garden view Excellence Club at EPC and got upgraded to Ocean Front Excellence Club at EEC.  Looking forward to it as an alternative till cruising resumes out of the US.

[SNJCruisers]

On 4/7/2021 at 11:21 AM, DZcreature said:

I am thinking about booking Gem for August. Dominican Republic is the only place on the itinerary we have never been. Does anyone know if NCL has a hotel arranged? I know it is usually expensive, but usually includes transportation to ship. It makes things less stressful in an unfamiliar place.

Just go on Tripadvisor.com.  They have a travel forum for Punta Cana which is similar to Cruise Critic.  You can get all of your questions answered there. The link is below. A few hours of research is better than just letting NCL take care of everything and more than likely overpaying for something.   The second link has hotels listed.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g147293-i28-Punta_Cana_La_Altagracia_Province_Dominican_Republic.html

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g147293-Punta_Cana_La_Altagracia_Province_Dominican_Republic-Hotels.html

[SNJCruisers]

14 hours ago, Diver2014 said:

We're booked on the Gem for August.  I had my NCL rep book us for the NCL recommended hotel ($210 per person) but he didn't know which hotel at the moment.  Will check back later.  Transfers  from the airport to the hotel then to the ship and back to the airport after the cruise were $87.50 per person.  Seems like a lot of $$ but we've never been to the Dominican Republic so I let the cruise line take care of the details just for the convenience. 

Don't know if your hotel is for 1 or 2 nights, but if dropping 600.00 for the convenience is worth it to you, hope you have a good trip.  Think that maybe the NCL rep did not know what the "NCL recommended" hotel was because possibly they have never embarked from Punta Cana before?

[Diver2014]

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Don't know if your hotel is for 1 or 2 nights, but if dropping 600.00 for the convenience is worth it to you, hope you have a good trip.  Think that maybe the NCL rep did not know what the "NCL recommended" hotel was because possibly they have never embarked from Punta Cana before?

 

Possibly.  We've used NCL sponsored hotels in the past and have always been pleased with their choice and thought it was worth the money for the convenience. The Hilton Hawaiian Village is one of their sponsored hotels in Hawaii and we absolutely LOVE staying there, just as an example. 

[hank1065]

For those of you looking to stay in Romana, you might want to check out the Casa de Campo deal on Travelzoo.  Casa de Campo will also handle transportation from PUJ & to cruise ship on embarkation day.