Anyone with experience in Samanna, DR?

I've checked the ports of call boards and there seem to be limited ships who've stopped there. I've already signed my husband up for the zipline, which I will not do, but does anyone have any other experience with excursions or tours. I trust the HAL board folks for the best info on this new port for us.

Thanks,

Sue

We were there about 10 years ago and it wasn't very memorable so hopefully things have changed. I remember limited shopping (where I did buy a beautiful shawl) and a walk around a marina. The nicer homes had gates at the end of the driveways and some had armed guards. :eek: My son questioned me as to why we were visiting a country which people escaped from on rickety boats?! I had no good answer for him. :confused:

It is a fairly new port- we were there 2 years ago. Nothing much interested us in the excursion side. Walked through town.

Tender port.

This tender port was not much to see several years ago.

Wandered around, declined going to the beach or hotel,as many did.

Back to the ship for R&R and were rewarded with sightings of pilot whales!

If you're in Samana during whale-watch season (mid-January to mid-March, that is really spectacular. But it can also be in pretty rough waters, so it's not for the easily-seasick.

Agree with the other posters. Not much there to see or do other than going to a beach. Very small and quite uninteresting town with a small open air market.

We did a tour with Terry---one of the most amazing times that we have had in the Caribbean. We are off the grid people who dislike the fake Disney islands so this was perfect for us. We met so many gracious and wonderful people on this tour.

Thanks so much for all the replies. I'll be on my own with DH zipping through the trees. I'll check into Terry's tour. I may just wander the marina area and go back onboard. Since we have the Signature Beverage pkg, I'm sure I'll find something to occupy myself!

TY!

We did the HAL tour -Dominican Countryside and Culture - about 4 and 1/2 hours in November 2014. The stops are a Cigar House which also included a presentation and a tasting on the various fruits, chocolate, and coffee grown in the DR - also sales of jewelry and cigars followed by a very rough ride over a dirt road showing the vegetation and a stop at a church where an elder talked and was translated by the guide, and then lastly a stop for a lunch at a small family owned ranch or farm. Enjoyed it but the terrain is very bumpy most of the time. Luckily we were there on a dry day - the previous week it had rained every day. The guide was very good and you do get to see how the people live. But the dirt roads are full of potholes so if you have a bad back, I wouldn't do this one. We did enjoy it however because you do get to see the countryside and learn how the people live.

It is now a tender port although it used to be a docking port. Not much that we could see to do in town.

I did check out Terry and his tours sound great . There's one for me as well and we should even be able to have lunch together !

I did check out Terry and his tours sound great . There's one for me as well and we should even be able to have lunch together !

Cinder Again and I did the ATV tour with Terry when we stopped there in 2013 and we loved it.....lovely people and lovely country side....I highly recommend his company for tours.

In 2012 we did an island tour.

Then we anchored closed to shore and it was a short tender ride. At the pier there were a couple of vendors. Nothing else around.

We noticed that in 2014 the tender ride was much longer and looked to be in a different place than before.

In Samana we did the tour with Terry, he is an expat. We did the 4 wheel tour and got to experience how the rural locals live. We had a great time. We visited some rural homes, got to sample the local "medicinal brew" and had lunch at at lovely beach in a cove. If you want to experience the local culture, this is the way to go. We are in our 50s and had a blast on the ATVs. There were about 6 ATVs and we followed the guide. It was an adventure we enjoyed.

We had Samana as a port. In doing the research, I had decided that we would need to just to endure this port to get to the other ports. Boy, was I wrong. We had one of the best days we have had in 11 cruises worth of ports. We did a private tour with Casa Dorado that took us to Playa Rincon. At the time, Conde Nast rated it as the fourth most beautiful beach in the world. Catherine and Roberto are incredible people and are very attentive to your every need. GREAT DAY!!!!

This is an awful port and I do not know why they stopped here. I was there in March. You have to book a short excursion here. We wished we would've gone to Cato Levantado beach day this is an awful port and I do not know why they stopped here. I was there in March. You have to book a short excursion here. We wished we would've gone to Cayo Levantado to beach tour. Seemed very dangerous, dirty, scary. Do not get off the ship unless you have a tour we do a lot of independent travel and this was a scary one

Years ago I was on a RCL cruise with my family that stopped in Samana. My SIL was the only one of us who actually went into Samana because she had her baby with her, and she was too young for the excursions that the rest of us selected. She didn't really have anything bad to say about it, but I remember reading tour reviews that mentioned the poverty and begging. People didn't seem to like Samana.

However - The rest of us loved the excursion we went on. It looks like HAL has something similar. We visited Los Haitises National Park, which was absolutely stunning. This was our first trip to the Caribbean and I'd never seen anything like it. Lots of little islands jutting out of the sea, covered in plant life and birds. Our tour also included some beach time at Cayo Levantado, which was beautiful. The speedboat ride was fun, too.

One more thing... If you go to Samana, you might want to pick up some larimar. It's a semi-precious stone that's only mined in the Dominican Republic. I got a great deal on some earrings at the straw market on Cayo Levantado because I honestly didn't know what they were worth. (My SIL paid more for a pendant in Samana). Larimar is the color of turquoise, but it isn't milky like turquoise and it has kind of a white matrix. It's a great souvenir to bring home from the Caribbean because it's the same color as the ocean there.

We took the tender to Samana, got hassled at the dock by vendors so bad that we got right back on the tender and went back to the ship. People coming back on the tender before us warned us not to bother going ashore because of the harrassment they received at the dock. Just our experience.

I did check out Terry and his tours sound great . There's one for me as well and we should even be able to have lunch together !

Another vote for "Tour Samana With Terry" as it was one of the best days on our cruise. We were looking for 2-4 more people to join us on our roll call and ended up with about 40! I had requested some alternatives to one of his tours and he accommodated. It did include a visit to his family's estate, a small town village with the cigar making house, lunch on the beach, and yes, some bumpy roads. Bring some treats or small bills for the children that will want to "guide" you around on one of the stops or if you visit a school if they are in session. Do plan something for this port stop as wandering around on your own in port might be disappointing but the DR is a naturally beautiful country with friendly people.

Another impoverished cruise stop, that could be removed from any itinerary.

We took the tender to Samana, got hassled at the dock by vendors so bad that we got right back on the tender and went back to the ship. People coming back on the tender before us warned us not to bother going ashore because of the harrassment they received at the dock. Just our experience.

Our experience too. Either take a shorex or stay aboard. We love walking and exploring in foreign ports, but this one we abandoned in less than 1/2 hour and returned to the ship.

I know I'm in the minority, but I love Samana. That being said, you have to be a beach person to love Samana. If you like nice beaches and the most down to earth and fun people in the world, Samana is paradise. I usually hire a driver for a set fee for the day and enjoy the drive to a nice beach. Along the way, I ask him to stop at a market to get some cold Presidente beers to enjoy the ride. Once there, enjoy the beach and the local cuisine, which is terrific.

Dominicans are the funnest and most humble people on earth. They are always smiling and can make fun of everything. They are like nobody else.

cruiser4801, that sounds really good! Does the driver drop you off and come back and get you or stays with you all day? How are the roads? any cost estimate for two people?

Thank you

I visited on a different cruise line, and took the tour to Cayo Laventado. It was soooo relaxing at the beach, as it was our last port, and we had been very busy at the previous 3 stops. The vendors were a little pushy, but accept "no thank you" by the second or third time! I have read great things about Terry's tours, and we would have done that, but our son was too young for most tours at that time.

One more thing... If you go to Samana, you might want to pick up some larimar. It's a semi-precious stone that's only mined in the Dominican Republic. I got a great deal on some earrings at the straw market on Cayo Levantado because I honestly didn't know what they were worth. (My SIL paid more for a pendant in Samana). Larimar is the color of turquoise, but it isn't milky like turquoise and it has kind of a white matrix. It's a great souvenir to bring home from the Caribbean because it's the same color as the ocean there.

I loved the stops in Samana on NCL and the tour to Cayo Levantado. I too purchased Larimar there for an excellent price. Also purchased real good coffee. I had the coldest Presidente beer in a frosted bottle. I would love to go back there. I wouldn't do the all inclusive like I did one time. Just get off the dock and walk left. Oh, and we saw hump back whales jumping out of the water. That was in Nov.