Amber Cove Carnival Excursion

[wgeddings]

We visited Amber Cove on Carnival Horizon cruise on August 3, 2021.  We decided to do an excursion through the ship (normally we book locals we find on this Board) and did the Sightseeing and Shopping excursion.  There were several other non-beach, non-wild choices but all were very similar (DW was recovering from neck surgery so wild was out).  The biggest difference in the excursions was a cable car ride and going to the big Jesus statute.   Since cable cars, Jesus statute and Amber Museum were all closed, I am glad we picked the one we did and we saw people from the other excursions at our stops. 

 

Amber Cove is a manmade port.  By that I mean that it is a created area similar to some other ports we have been (such as Riviera Maya in Mexico) where you get off the ship and exit the pier though a big shop into a shopping center with pools and bars and shops that are all in a secure area where locals are not allowed unless employees.  Disembarking was easy and ship was docked at a pier so no tendering.  The first thing to note is that the pier is very long and L shaped.  Basically I estimate each part of the L is about 2 ship lengths which is a very long walk.  There are pedicabs available for hire (no set fee but tips are encouraged).  We walked it but agreed we would take a pedicab back.  We were required to wear masks at all times unless actively eating or drinking.

 

You have to exit Amber Cove to go anywhere else and there is nothing within walking distance.  We found our guide and waited for the rest of the group then the guide walked us to our large air conditioned bus (typical Greyhound style bus).  Our guide was Marino.  There were some taxis at the exit but no hawkers or private tour company booths.  The nearest town was Puerto Plata which is about 15 minutes by car away.  At first, the road from the port was very nice and 4 lane.  Marino told us some local facts and history but quickly stopped and began telling really bad unfunny jokes (example – what do you call two birds on a branch?  A couple. – so it is not a matter of joke taste, it is a matter of what is funny about that).  When he got no laughs he basically just remained quiet the rest of the time. 

 

Puerto Plata was like most Caribbean towns at first.  However, the streets were really narrow with cars packed on either side.  Most streets were single lane and one way (except to some drivers and motorcyclists) and the bus was barely able to make it through.  Meanwhile, a lot of people were on motorcycles zipping between cars, trucks and buses.  I do not recall traffic signs.  Getting to destinations requires a lot of turns and twists to be headed in the right direction on the right street.  This is definitely a place where you should NOT attempt to rent a car or drive yourself.  Even if you are not hopelessly lost, you are incredibly likely to be in accident. 

 

Our first stop was Carmen’s Factory and Jewelry Shop.  This was supposed to be a jewelry factory.   Instead we had about a 5 minute talk about Larimar (a stone unique to DR and quite pretty) then were led into the gift shop.  We saw no jewelry being made and nothing beyond being led into the gift shop.  Waiting for us in the gift shop were numerous employees like vultures at a fresh feast.  Ever throw a bag of chips out on the beach and watched the seagulls swoop in?  Then you know what I mean.  We fended them off for a while and I noticed that the bus was parked right outside, however the door out of the gift shop was locked.  We were basically imprisoned while the Carmen’s employees harassed us to buy their trinkets.  It was hot and finally, when Marino saw that everyone who could be pressed into buying something had bought something, he unlocked the door and we got back on the bus.  I have had condo presentations where they paid me to attend (free nights, etc.) but could not recall ever having to pay for the privilege of being harassed. 

Next stop was he Macroix Rum Factory.  This was pretty interesting and a nice place.  There was a short tour and film about Rum then we went into a room where they gave everyone a chance to taste all of rum they made (about 4 varieties and 4 or 5 flavored rums).  The taste was very small although they would likely have given more if asked but it was enough to taste that rum and the guide was very pleasant and helpful.  Then we went across the street to a very nice gift shop where they sold Macroix rum and all sorts of other alcohol at very good prices with no pressure.  This was more of what I was expecting.

 

The next stop was a gift shop.  On the way, Marino explained that Puerto Plata was trying to increase their tourist attractions so had developed Pink Street and Umbrella Street.  Both sounded interesting.  The first thing I noticed about the gift shop was that their sign was in English.  All other signs were in Spanish.  Everything was in Spanish except the places we were taken so it is obvious that they wanted only tourists.  I also noticed that outside the gift shop, there were police and military stationed along the street.  They were very nice and polite but it was apparent that the DR government takes tourist safety very serious.  After ensuring that everyone had a chance to be pressured at this gift shop, Marino led us to Pink Street.  It was an alley painted pink.  That is it.  No shops, no nothing, just an alley painted pink.  Benches, Bicycles and old phones were on the walls of the alley and painted pink.  It was about 50 yards long.  Not much of an attraction.  Then we went to Umbrella Street.  This was a little more interesting in that it had lots of little umbrellas forming a roof over the street.  It was about 100 yards long with shops on either side with signs in English selling coffee and trinkets.  The street was closed to traffic and again there were police and soldiers to ensure safety.  One young policeman was wearing a sweater and I joked with him about how on earth he could stand that since we were all almost overcome by the heat. 

 

Then we walked to the city center.  The city hall was there and there were some people in costumes in the plaza posing for pictures with the tourists.  There was a section off to the side with food trucks also selling alcoholic beverages.  Best of all though, there were stores with only Spanish signs.  We went in one that sold snacks, drinks, stoves, refrigerators, furniture and electronics and bought 2 ice cold Dasani 33 ounce water bottles for the price of 2 for $1 US.  Sweet cool water!

 

Next we went to the Fort.  Admission to the Fort was not included although it was very pretty.  We opted to stay on the bus but watched those who got out to walk around be descended upon by the hawkers.  Then it was back to the ship.

 

Overall, we saw some of Puerto Plata but the feeling of being bait in a shark tank made it a bit sour.  The poor attitude of our guide did not help.  The things that were closed (especially the Amber Museum) might have made it better but I am a bit disappointed that the excursions were the same price even if major attractions were closed.  My original plan was to hire a local taxi to take us around and that might still be a viable alternative but given the city and traffic, I would definitely not be comfortable doing something on my own.   It was about the same as every other Caribbean city.  Next time, I would either do a beach, wild adventure or stay on the ship.

[Luv2cruz4life]

Thank you for the review!  Now I know what I won't be doing.  🙂 

[Jgarriso]

I will be there in October,  I usually dismiss trips that include Amber Cove.  For me its simply a day to stay on the ship.  I have no idea why they created the port there.  Waste of time.     In this case we booked it because of the other ports and simply have to suffer through Amber Cove.

 

[wgeddings]

On 9/14/2021 at 10:59 AM, Jgarriso said:

I will be there in October,  I usually dismiss trips that include Amber Cove.  For me its simply a day to stay on the ship.  I have no idea why they created the port there.  Waste of time.     In this case we booked it because of the other ports and simply have to suffer through Amber Cove.

 

We enjoyed our cruise on the Horizon so much in August that we are booked again in November.  Same stops except like you, this time we will stay on the boat in Amber Cove.  

[wgeddings]

Going on the same cruise on the Horizon for Thanksgiving and I notice that Carnival is no longer offering the same excursion we took.  Apparently we were not the only ones very disappointed.  

[Jgarriso]

We did that tour a few years ago,  and i did enjoy walking around Puerto Plata and i'm pretty sure we went into the same store and got snacks and drinks. We also were led to those stores where we were expected to buy some over priced tourist stuff and were made to wait while everyone had a 'chance' to shop.   We did the VIP lifestyle resort with Carnival last month and we really enjoyed it as a relaxing day.   If you just want to relax and not be in the ocean,  it was a very good place.  Everything there seemed very high quality.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Jgarriso

[BoozinCroozin]

I've been trying to find an Amber Cove excursion worth taking ever since we got moved to it. Finally decided there is nothing there we would pay for so we are staying at the port. We are going to hop in the pool, use the slides, zipline, and walk up to the hill top bar. That is about it and back to the ship where my drinks and food are covered.

[wgeddings]

Wise choice in my opinion.  Post COVID and as Amber Cove develops, it may be a good stop but that is a few years away