Anyone been to Samana?

[autumn wind]

Hello all!! Anyone have an idea about what to do here?

Thanks in advance for the info.

[mlmc424]

Just got back from our Grandeur cruise and we visited Samana. DH and I took the Cave & Mangrove excursion offered by RCI and had an awesome experience! Friends of ours did a beach & BBQ that they loved. I understand that many who did not book excursions were disappointed with the port - the length of the tender ride was difficult and not much to do on shore if you weren't on an excursion. Captain Rob said we were the first RCI ship to stop at this port so they were still needing to work through some issues.

[LA_FadeAway]

Thank you for your post! It's so hard to find any real info on Samana excursions. Can you tell us more about your cave and mangrove excursion? Was it all by boat, was there any hiking, what did you see, how strenious, etc.? The more details the better. I'm sure there are many others as interested as I am. Thanks again!

[mlmc424]

The excursion was mostly by boat. Our group was loaded into a 30' speedboat right off the Grandeur. The ride to the National Park lasted about 45 minutes at high speed. Once we reached the Park, the boat slowed to view the many small islands, cave openings and nesting areas for the local birds - the frigate bird, pelicans and egrets. We then entered a tributary that meandered through the mangrove trees - very secluded and picturesque. We also stopped on one island and entered a cave to see ancient wall drawings - it was a short hike to the cave but not very taxing. The caves were pretty dark - lit only by openings near the top of the caves - no electric lighting or anything. We also saw some bats in the caves but they didn't bother anyone.

 

We left the caves and proceeded back to the boat and found a very small fishing boat whose occupants showed us their catch of blue crabs and very large shrimp. Our tour guide was Harry, a native of the islands, who was fairly good at English but he welcomed the opportunity for us to teach him new words. He was very knowledgeable about the history of Samana and the early inhabitants who left the drawings in the caves.

 

We stopped one more time for another cave - it started raining at that point and it continued until we finally returned to the ship. The passing storm caused some higher than normal waves which made our disembarkation onto the ship a bit of a challenge, but we all made it eventually. I got some awesome pics - I'll try to attach a couple to this post if I can make it work.

 

Happy to answer more questions.

[LA_FadeAway]

Marge, thanks so much for the detailed reply! Did you actually walk inside the caves or just to the openings? If inside, did they give you a light or something? Was is slippery or dangerous in any way?

[mlmc424]

We entered the opening of one cave via the boat - I think it was the one in the pic - it was wide enough to drive the boat in a bit to see the stalactites. We actually walked into two caves. Our tour guide Henry had a flashlight but there was a fair amount of light coming from some openings near the top of the caves. If I were to go back I would consider packing a small penlight to help out. Some of the walkways in the caves were a bit slippery as were the short paths we used to get there - but then it was drizzling a bit while we were there. In most of the larger areas in the caves the floors were hard-packed dirt.

[LA_FadeAway]

Thanks again Marge. That really helps me to picture everything!

[mlmc424]

Glad to be of help. Stop back in and let me know what you selected and how you enjoyed Samana.

[autumn wind]

Sorry I haven't written back before now. But thank you both so much!! :D

 

Thank you LA_FadeAway, for asking all of your questions. Most I never would have thought to ask. And thank you Marge for all your wonderful info.

My DH and I have traveled much of the caribbean, but have never been here, so I am looking forward to going somewhere new.

 

Thanks again. :)

[isujim]

I appreciate your review of your excursion and pictures........we are headed there as a port stop on the Granduer next year........as a new port there aren't many reviews yet..........yours has been very helpful.

[Diana68]

Thank you Marge!

Your review was very helpful! We will be returning to Samana in Feb, and this is a trip that I thought of doing on our last trip. We did the whale watch last time, which was great, but this and the waterfall both sound wonderful too.

[lovetocruise99]

My vote goes to Cayo Levantado excursion in Samana. THe beach is wonderful and the tender goes directly from the ship to the beach. Here is some info and photos.

 

http://www.familytravelfun.com/cayolevantado.html

http://www.familytravelfun.com/cayo-levantado-photos.html

[carenl]

Thank you Marge!

Your review was very helpful! We will be returning to Samana in Feb, and this is a trip that I thought of doing on our last trip. We did the whale watch last time, which was great, but this and the waterfall both sound wonderful too.

 

We are going to Samana in Jan. on the NCL Dawn have booked the whale watching and beach excursion. Since you have done it last year could you please tell me a little bit about it. Was it worth the money? Would you do it again? They stress that you will get wet, but how wet do you get? Is it okay for a 55 year old to do? Any information you could provide me with would be greatly appreciated. Also were you on the Dawn, and if you were how was the ship especially the balcony rooms.

Thanks for your help.

 

I hope you have a great cruise.

 

happy to be cruzin Caren:) :cool:

[Diana68]

Was it worth the money? Would you do it again? They stress that you will get wet, but how wet do you get? Is it okay for a 55 year old to do? Any information you could provide me with would be greatly appreciated. Also were you on the Dawn, and if you were how was the ship especially the balcony rooms.

 

It will actually have been two years in Feb. since we did this trip.

Yes it was worth the money.

Yes I would do it again, but I think that we want to do something different this time. :)

Our boat was a double decker boat, and we choose to sit on top. The view there was the best. The people below were very ill, :eek: so if you are prone to sea sickness, I would skip this trip. They made us go back early because so many were ill.

The whales were great. They calf there, so we even got to see a baby. I have some pictures in my webshots album from the Dawn, the whales start on page 7 of that album. Just click on the link in my signature.

Our trip on the Dawn was the first trip to Samana, so the crew knew as little about it as we did. A lot of them choose to do a whale watch too, but they were in a much smaller boat, there is a picture in the album of them too.

We did not get wet, but they may have a different boat now. The problem with wildlife is that you are never sure that they are going to be there when you go looking for them ;) ...so each trip will be different.

On the Dawn we only had an OV room, but the balcony on the Pearl was great. DH loved keeping the door open a bit at night. Hope this helps.

[Hedotwo]

My vote goes to Cayo Levantado excursion in Samana. THe beach is wonderful and the tender goes directly from the ship to the beach. Here is some info and photos.

 

http://www.familytravelfun.com/cayolevantado.html

http://www.familytravelfun.com/cayo-levantado-photos.html

 

This NCL excursion to Cayo Levantado seems to be just right for us. Could you tell me what are the choices for lunch in the beach area?

 

Thanks :)

 

Rich

[kiwi261]

Thank you to all the people who have replied with their detailed experiences. We were also unable to find any information on this port, so your responses have been helpful.

[Susie]

I found this info on getting to Cayo Levantado beach on your own. The cost is certainly more reasonable and matches what someone else posted on another thread.

 

http://www.moon.com/planner/dominican_republic/mustsees/ps_cayolevantado.html

[LA_FadeAway]

The problems with going on your own are that you have to tender to shore first and you have to hope you can get a boat back. I've heard the tender to town and back takes a while. I've also read reports on here that the people who run the island will not let cruise passangers ashore if they are not on a ship tour. Although, I don't see how they could totally enforce that.

[Susie]

Yes, I believe you are probably correct about going it alone in Samana with limited time. I think we'll stick with a ship excursion at this port this time until we become more familiar with it or as more information is posted.

[marylandcrab]

Thanks for everyone's very useful information on Samana. We are going on the PEARL on November 16. NCL has an excursion called Caves & Mangroves Exploration and Beach Escape. Do you think that is too much to do in one trip?

[mlmc424]

We did a Caves and Mangroves excursion on an RCI Grandeur cruise in May and it took up most of the day as the area containing the caves/mangroves is some distance by small boat from where the cruise ship in anchored. BTW- we had a great time on that excursion!

[mj cruiser]

Is there any place to eat besides the cruise bbq offered?? thanks!

[Warm-Water Diver]

Yes, I believe you are probably correct about going it alone in Samana with limited time. I think we'll stick with a ship excursion at this port this time until we become more familiar with it or as more information is posted.

 

NCLs site shows that the ship arrives at 10am and departs at 7pm. That should be plenty of time to take the tender to Samana and work a cheaper deal to the Cayo than 33 PP (cost for NCL trip to CAYO)? I don't see how the Island people could refuse to let you onto the island by taking your own transportation. All the beach escapes I've heard of are paid for transportation, amenities (chair, umbrellas) and food (drinks etc) with the exception of a park fee like Magen's Bay St. Thomas but I don't think that CAYO LEVANTADO is a fee-required park!

 

With that said I'd rather spend a little more time on a tender and pay 10-20 PP for transport to the beach, as opposed to paying NCL 33 PP for same?

[LA_FadeAway]

I may be mistaken, but it's my understanding that cayo levantado is privately owned and the owners have contracts that allow cruise ship passangers to come ashore and use certain beaches only through ship excursions. It's a different story if you are staying in a hotel in the DR. I don't know how they would know if you're a cruise passenger or not though. Do a search and you may find the post where someone was given a really hard time trying to come ashore on their own.

[cruising goldenagers]

have booked the cave and mangrove tour but am concerned as it is rated as a 3 (strenuous)? has anyone that has done this tour found it to be so (we are 70 yrs) but in good physical condition-also am slightly claustrophebic - is this a problem for the cave portion of this tour? really want to do this tour as wld like to see the mangrove and hubby is gung ho to see the caves - pls adv.

Goldenagers