Casa De Campo, Dominican Republic

[Enchantment 04]

I will be on the Explorer of the Seas 6/22/07 sailing and one of the stops is Casa De Campo. What is there to do here? Is it a nice port? Does anyone have any pictures that they are willing to share?

 

Joe

[kathyemma]

I used to go every year. For us, it is more of a golfing vacation. They do have wonderful beaches and a cute little town (i believed they filmed apocolypse now there). I haven't been in a few years - so not to sure what it is like now.

[Enchantment 04]

Thanks!! I have heard so many mixed opinions about this port of call so right now I have no clue what to expect!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I used to go every year. For us, it is more of a golfing vacation. They do have wonderful beaches and a cute little town (i believed they filmed apocolypse now there). I haven't been in a few years - so not to sure what it is like now.

 

Most of "Apocalpse Now" was filmed in the Philippines. I have canoed down the river in Batangas Province where the movie sets still remained in the jungles by the water. The producers were allowed to use Philippine air force helicopters and pilots for the filming. Maybe some scenes were filmed in Santo Domingo, but I haven't read about that part.

[kathyemma]

http://www.jmtravel.com/casa_de_campo_alton_de_chavon.htm

 

I found this link with some pics and other info. And it turns out some parts of "Apocalpse Now" were filmed there. If I remember correctly (from a long time ago) the area where it was filmed was built specifically for the movie. There is also a really good mexican rest there - but be warned they make you do a shot of tequilla before they will give you a seat.

[sal7202]

Casa de Campo is not one of my favorite ports. There's not much there except for a beach which was crawling with very pushy locals trying to sell you stuff. The beach itself was just ok, no where near as attractive as Coco Cay, and there were so many locals wandering around that I didn't feel safe leaving any of my belongings on shore while I went into the water. As a result, either my wife or I would go into the water while the other sat on the shore and guarded our belongings.

[polarismom]

HI Joe feeling better? ;) Has anyone done the RC Casa de Campo resort day? Thanks for all your help

Polarismom Of 4

[michigan tim]

I was there a few weeks ago. The stop is at La Romana. We took a shuttle downtown and were told to stay on one street. We were taken to a park where some vendors had tents set up. In addition to the ultra-hard sell vendors (the Cozumel guys could take lessons) there were small kids begging, teens hawking CDs and men w/ jewelry and watches on their arms. Talked to some who went to Bahibe Beach and said it was a bust... although the cruiseline (Costa) did offer an excursion to a resort here. They also offered an excursion to Catalina Island which I heard was very nice. Casa de Campo is a mega resort. There is also a reproduction of a 1700s village that I can't remember the name of. The best part of this port was watching the kids play ball from the top deck of the ship.. little Sammy Sosas. These appeared to be sanctioned games in the middle of a weekday. This port is at the bottom of my list... by a wide margin. Some ships do go to Catalina Island for the day, which to me would be a much better option.

[dakodacruiser]

Haven't you ever heard the joke: Casa De Campo means Stay on the Ship!Never the less the Marina is very pretty it is small with a few shops and places to eat, good for an hour or two off the ship. There is a beautiful bead store there where they make handcrafted jewelry out of beads and semi precious stones. it is lovely to watch the girls making the jewlery and looking at all the strands of beads. That store was a highlight for me. It is quite pricy though. there is an old reproduction town that they made they have filmed few movies there. It is now an artists colony and there are alot of vendors selling their wares when there are ships in port.

[H2OH!]

The marina area is very quaint. Remember to ask the price before ordering drinks. We ordered 2 margaritas..after they were served, we found out they were $27.00 US...yes, $27.00 US for 2 drinks. I know...dumb on our part. The kicker was they were served in small martini glasses and they weren't very good. We now have a wonderful vacation memory and a picture of our expensive drinks. Have fun!! :)

[BobJanice]

There really is not much this port, If there is an excursion to Catalina Island do take it as it was one of the nicest beaches that I`ve been to at a port.

[Enchantment 04]

Does RCCL have an excursion to Catalina Isalnd?

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Does anyone have any pics?