We woke up to rain and wind this morning as we watched the ship approach the north coast of Dominican Republic. It had been announced yesterday that the ship would be docked portside, but that changed when the captain turned the vessel completely around, and pulled alongside starboard side. By the time we were docked, the clouds began breaking up, presenting a very nice chunk of a rainbow. The rainbow sightings would go on most of the morning. Then it got warm and steamy.
The second largest Caribbean island after Cuba, is the island of Hispanola. Dominican Republic covers 2/3 of it, while Haiti covers 1/3. The island itself is 18,765 square miles with a population of 8.8 million people, mostly of Spanish back rounds. Part of their culture is dancing #1, eating #2, and drinking #3. There are 1000 miles of beaches, so water sports are a big draw for the tourists. Most of the all-inclusive resorts are more affordable compared to other islands, attracting a huge crowd from Europe.
Natural resources include cocoa, coffee, rum, tobacco, and sugarcane. The rain forests have crocodiles, green cockatoos, and 29 species of birds. Gemstones sold here are the blue larimar, amber, and conch shell jewelry. Some other info we learned is that it is not recommended to drink the tap water, or go without insect repellant, as there is malaria and dengue fever.
Scanning the map of Dominican Republic, we could not locate Amber Cove. There was a reason why, and that was Amber Cove is not a city, but a deliberate-built enclosed complex owned by the Carnival Corporation. It is somewhat similar to the port area in Grand Turk, even Half Moon Cay, their private island. If you like shopping, swimming in a pool, lounging in the sun, or zip-lining in mind, then this is the place for you. The pool with the lounges is complimentary, but the rest is charged (credit card or cash).
Over 30 acres, this complex has duty-free shopping with stores like Dufry, Diamonds International, Effy Jewelry, Del Sol, and Cariloha. These seem to be the biggest names in every port we have visited thus far. What they do not have here is beachfront, only large meandering swimming pools. Very nice bars and semi-outdoor restaurants are also at your disposal. Although they are not free, as on Half Moon Cay, it appeared they had a varied menu and plenty of beverages. Above the entire complex was another circular bar under a huge tent. It was a long steep walk up there, but it was the best place to catch a breeze.
At one point between the shops, there was the exit, which from what could see, went nowhere in particular. Taxi drivers were lined up to take you wherever the tours took the ship folk. Some of the HAL tours were a drive to a beach, a jungle walk to see spider monkeys (at your own risk), waterfalls and hiking, and a catamaran sail & snorkel with lunch. At Amber Cove complex, you could rent cabanas for as much as 300 per person or as little as 280 per person. The more expensive huts were over the water, like you see in Bora Bora. These did include a butler, a Jacuzzi, and the use of the zipline all day. We did not see anyone inside those huts.
Passing through the usually tents of souvenir tables, we just looked, but bought nothing. The vendors really put the pressure on folks to buy something, it sort of took the fun out of it. In Dufry, we did purchase a small bottle of white vanilla, but it tasted different from what we buy at home. More of a perfume-like taste, it will be good in the Diet Coke.
Overall, Amber Cove was spotless, and well- marked with mask mandates and the 6 foot apart rule. In most all of the nicer shops, you had to use Purell before entering. By the way, we were the only cruise ship in port today.
By 1pm, we headed back to the ship for our Lido lunch run and plenty of ice cold sodas. Passing by the Lido pool, we noticed that most all of the guests were here, and not onshore. Why not? We have everything we need here, and it is free.
Working on photos after lunch, we discovered that most all of the pictures taken today were out of focus. Not sure if the camera setting was just off a tad, or the camera is getting tired, we had to delete them. There will be more stops here, so the photos will be coming.
By 5:30pm, we slowly sailed away from the pier, passing the beach front we had watched all day. Since it was a Sunday, many families were enjoying their day on the beach with banana boat rides and windsurfing. The music blared with merengue and salsa tunes, which we enjoyed hearing. If all goes according to schedule, we should be back here a few more times.
Shortly before dinnertime at 8pm, we had a knock on the door. It was our room steward Koko, who handed us two KN95 masks to wear while on the ship. Oh no, what does that mean? Originally, we had the regular masks, now we will wear what the staff and crew use. No explanation was given. Back together with Barb, she told us a story of a 4 person hazmat team spraying the entire hallway outside her room late this afternoon. If the variant is here, we will hear about it soon, we assume. In the meantime, we enjoyed our dinners of barramundi and parmesan-crusted chicken. Fellow world cruisers, Diane and Al, joined us at dessert time. They will be on for two 21 day cruises, and wanted to know how to access the stores in Ft. Lauderdale by walking. They had assumed we were not allowed out of the port area. We hope we are back at terminal two, a much easier walk.
The clocks went back one hour tonight, always a most welcome thing to do. Tomorrow we will back in Grand Turk, but only for a short visit.
Bill & Mary Ann
Monday, January 10, 2022
Report # 23 Amber Cove, Dominican Republic Sunday - January 9, 2022 Showers & mostly cloudy 80 degrees
