Things to do in Samana?

[idjaffe]

We have been on 4 cruises in the past 3 years....Samana is by far the biggest looser.

 

IF going you MUST book your excursion on board....do not listen to those that tell you of the "guys at the end of the pier"...yes they are there, but what they promise they do not deliver.

 

Even the on-board excursion reviews that we heard from others were poor. We heard of horseback riding trips where there were no horses....beach breaks to "Cayo Levitano" where the tour operator took them to a different beach that was small, crowded, no facilities and dirty.

 

I say book through the ship, so that if you have one of these bad expieriences, at least there is a way to get your money back.

[slotaddict]

I wonder why they changed the itinerary from Dominca to DR. Is there an excursion where you could possibly go to a resort for the day.

[idjaffe]

Our cruise was always scheduled for Samana......

 

That said, their is a "beach break" excusrsion, but even those that went on it said it was bad.

 

1st you tender in to the pier (about 1/2 hour) and then you get on the excursion boat that takes you RIGHT PAST the ship and to a beach on an out island. Total travel time about 1 1/4 hours.

 

You get 1 1/2 hours on the beach, and then back for 1 1/4 hour.

 

that makes up the 4 hour excursion.

 

BOO.

[JerseyMom]

My cruise next month is scheduled to stop in Samana. I am wondering now if it is worth it even getting off the ship.

[idjaffe]

Is Whale watching time....you may want to book an excursion through the cruise ship to go do this.

 

Do not do it on your own...(And we always book on our own....not here).

 

Idjaffe

[maja]

Is Whale watching time....you may want to book an excursion through the cruise ship to go do this.

 

Do not do it on your own...(And we always book on our own....not here).

 

Idjaffe

We'll be visiting Samana on the Spirit next month. Been hoping & waiting for NCL to come up with this excursion, but, to this date...nothing listed!

Would think that this was one of the reasons for their stop here yet they aren't coming up with anything.

I can't help but wonder if they just can't get this excursion together with the lack of resources available in Samana at this time.

[jevotm]

What is there to do in Samana?

[JerseyMom]

We'll be visiting Samana on the Spirit next month. Been hoping & waiting for NCL to come up with this excursion, but, to this date...nothing listed!

Would think that this was one of the reasons for their stop here yet they aren't coming up with anything.

I can't help but wonder if they just can't get this excursion together with the lack of resources available in Samana at this time.

 

Maja - I am also going to Samana next month on NCL (Spirit). I also hope they are able to put together a Whale Watching trip before we go.

 

IDJaffe - is the "Beach Break" you mentioned the one to Cayo Levantado? I read somewhere that this is a private island owned by one of the cruise lines (not NCL). If so, it's not too encouraging that the 4 hours excursion is really only 1.5 hours on the beach.

[Russ Lomas]

I would love to know more about beaches to visit in Samana from anybody who has been there. I was pretty well sold on visiting Cayo Levantado from what I had read about it up until I read Idjaffe's comments. We will be traveling with our 3 and 5 year old daughters, so visiting a beach is probably what we would do since the trip to the falls and the whale watching probably would not go over too well with them.

 

To Idjaffe:

What cruiseline were you travelling with? We will be traveling with NCL in March. I usually book something myself ahead of time if possible (not with the cruiseline) or arrange something when I get off the ship.

 

Also, do all ships tender in Samana?

[LastMinuteGirl]

We are really excited to try whale watching in Semana. I'm a little nervous after reading the posts.

 

NCL Spirit does not offer this excursion. I called, and after a 45 minute hold time, and numerous (please hold and I'll check), the lady finally just read me the excursions off the NCL website and said she didn't have any more information.

 

Does anyone have any information on booking through a tour company on a website?

 

Thanks,

Elaine

[jevotm]

The more I hear about Samana the less I want to get off the boat. What is the best thing to do there?

[Maya-Tucker]

The more I hear about Samana the less I want to get off the boat. What is the best thing to do there?

 

Good question. We will be there the middle of March and unfortunately our ship isn't offering any excursions while we are there so I have been doing a lot of research and haven't found much info. I did find this site http://www.alftour.com/jtE.html. I e-mailed them this morning and I'm waiting for their reply.

 

Here's another site on Samana http://www.cruisesamana.com/

[JerseyMom]

We'll be visiting Samana on the Spirit next month. Been hoping & waiting for NCL to come up with this excursion, but, to this date...nothing listed!

Would think that this was one of the reasons for their stop here yet they aren't coming up with anything.

I can't help but wonder if they just can't get this excursion together with the lack of resources available in Samana at this time.

 

 

Hey, Maja - I just noticed that NCL has Whale Watching in Samana on the order form. Still isn't listed in the descriptions, though. Wonder if this is new.

[LastMinuteGirl]

Hey, Maja - I just noticed that NCL has Whale Watching in Samana on the order form. Still isn't listed in the descriptions, though. Wonder if this is new.

 

Hi JerseyMom,

 

I spent 45 minutes holding a few weeks ago and then talked to someone in Exursions who just read me what was in the descriptions on the website. I'm afraid to go that route again.

 

Where is the order form where it's listed?

 

Thanks for your help!

LastMinuteGirl

[Dolphins]

Has anybody done the Catamaran Sail & Snorkel ship's excursion in Samana recently?

[maja]

I found the link to pre-order the whale excursion accidently.

This is how:

Go to excursions & do the search for Caribbean & Samana.

There are 10 excursions lised with descriptions. click on any for more info.

Then click on as if to order it (this will open the order form page).

You'll need your booking #.

Go through the list & you'll see Whale watching & Whale Watching/Beach Samana.

I did this for my group & got email confirmations the next day.

Good luck.

P.S. Just so you know, you won't see any descriptions for these tours...

[slotaddict]

We have a while before we go to Samana, I certainly hope they get their act together. I will rely on the reviews until we sail.

[LastMinuteGirl]

I found the link to pre-order the whale excursion accidently.

This is how:

Go to excursions & do the search for Caribbean & Samana.

There are 10 excursions lised with descriptions. click on any for more info.

Then click on as if to order it (this will open the order form page).

You'll need your booking #.

Go through the list & you'll see Whale watching & Whale Watching/Beach Samana.

I did this for my group & got email confirmations the next day.

Good luck.

P.S. Just so you know, you won't see any descriptions for these tours...

 

 

Thanks so much!!!!! :D I ran in to order, and the NCL site is down. Oh well. I have a couple of days left, and with the hidden link, it probably won't be overfilled. (I'm not LastMinuteGirl for nothing!)

 

I'm excited!!!!

 

LastMinuteGirl:)

[Nickymjw1]

We went to Samana last year on the NCL Sun.

 

They were a new port, and there were many complaints. This is the only port I booked through the ship, because tourism was not very developed there.

 

We did the Discover Samana tour, and besides seeing the beautiful country side, there was not much to it. The tour guide did not speak English at all!! I speak Spanish so I spend most of the tour translating for the guide. When we came to the "resort" on the other side of the island. We only had a very short time to walk around. I did buy some nice local crafts. But the area was not safe enough to walk around by yourself. When we came back we asked for our money back from NCL. They gave us a 50% discount.

 

We did have a wonderful lunch at Cafe de France on the Main Ocean blvd. Definately recommend eating there.

 

OUr friends did the Caves/Mangroves tour, and they had a wonderful time.

I would recommend that tour.

 

People that did the horse back riding to the waterfalls had a bad experience because the horses are very skinny and weak, and it is a dangerous trip.

 

Maybe things changed over the past year. There used to be several reviews on here from last year, not sure what happened to them.

[Nickymjw1]

We went to Samana last year on the NCL Sun.

 

They were a new port, and there were many complaints. This is the only port I booked through the ship, because tourism was not very developed there.

 

We did the Discover Samana tour, and besides seeing the beautiful country side, there was not much to it. The tour guide did not speak English at all!! I speak Spanish so I spend most of the tour translating for the guide. When we came to the "resort" on the other side of the island. We only had a very short time to walk around. I did buy some nice local crafts. But the area was not safe enough to walk around by yourself. When we came back we asked for our money back from NCL. They gave us a 50% discount.

 

We did have a wonderful lunch at Cafe de France on the Main Ocean blvd. Definately recommend eating there.

 

OUr friends did the Caves/Mangroves tour, and they had a wonderful time.

I would recommend that tour.

 

People that did the horse back riding to the waterfalls had a bad experience because the horses are very skinny and weak, and it is a dangerous trip.

 

Maybe things changed over the past year. There used to be several reviews on here from last year, not sure what happened to them.

[Nickymjw1]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=323737

 

Here's a link to ReporterJen's review with a nice section on Samana.

[idjaffe]

Sometimes work gets in the way.... :)

 

Don't want to sound like a downer, and I nope others have a great time here.

 

We were on NCL Pearl....

 

Bottom line, we ALWAYS get off the ship....you never know what new expieriences lie ahead....

 

In this case, i would book through the cruise line, and hope for the best.

 

Idjaffe

[Tinkerbell]

We went whale watching through NCL last year. Big mistake! The picked us up at the ship and about 30 minutes out and storm blew in. The waves were huge and I felt like I was in a car wash. The waves came up over the sides of the boat and then the rain would pour from above. People were screaming that they wanted to go back but they kept going out. We saw one whale on the way back to the ship. The people doing the tour spoke no english which didn't help.

[Hxx]

Hi I was just wondering if anyone had been to the port of Samana in the Dominican Republic before & if you had any recommendations of what I should do there. As I haven’t found much info on this port. Wondering if there was much to do buy that port, what beaches are any good & how much it cost to get taxi to the beach. Or if we are best to book ship tour or stay on the ship? Thanks:)

[hankandreds]

Hi I was just wondering if anyone had been to the port of Samana in the Dominican Republic before & if you had any recommendations of what I should do there. As I haven’t found much info on this port. Wondering if there was much to do buy that port, what beaches are any good & how much it cost to get taxi to the beach. Or if we are best to book ship tour or stay on the ship? Thanks:)

 

 

When are you going to be in Samana? We sail on the explorer on 12/12/08. I found a terrific excursion, but need to have 10 people, we are 4 so far.