hanlonm Posted January 26, 2010 #1 Share Posted January 26, 2010 We are trying to do some research about excursions in Samana. We have 2 kids (2 and 5) and my parents who will be traveling with us in February on the Pearl. We don't like to do organized excursions with the cruise line because we have found that they cost a lot more and you loose out on time most of them. We called the Hotel Gran Bahia Principe Cayacoa direct and spoke to the front desk about doing a day pass. They said they did them and it wouldn't be a problem for the time we are there. The problem is that the young man I spoke to didn't speak very good english and I don't speak spanish so some of the conversation was hard to understand. Has anyone ever done this in Samana. We have done the same thing in other ports but have never been to Samana. The guy at the hotel said it would be easy for us to get a taxi at the cruise ship tender area and from the view on the map it should be fairly close to there. Thanks for any help, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisin2000 Posted January 29, 2010 #2 Share Posted January 29, 2010 We are trying to do some research about excursions in Samana. We have 2 kids (2 and 5) and my parents who will be traveling with us in February on the Pearl. We don't like to do organized excursions with the cruise line because we have found that they cost a lot more and you loose out on time most of them. We called the Hotel Gran Bahia Principe Cayacoa direct and spoke to the front desk about doing a day pass. They said they did them and it wouldn't be a problem for the time we are there. The problem is that the young man I spoke to didn't speak very good english and I don't speak spanish so some of the conversation was hard to understand. Has anyone ever done this in Samana. We have done the same thing in other ports but have never been to Samana. The guy at the hotel said it would be easy for us to get a taxi at the cruise ship tender area and from the view on the map it should be fairly close to there.Thanks for any help, Mike We would like to do a day pass at this resort as well. We will be ther the week of 2/13. Did you get anymore info? Do you have the phone number to the resort you could provide to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanlonm Posted January 29, 2010 Author #3 Share Posted January 29, 2010 We would like to do a day pass at this resort as well. We will be ther the week of 2/13. Did you get anymore info? Do you have the phone number to the resort you could provide to me? There is a phone number on their web site that I called and the person that I spoke to had very bad English but we were able to communicate somewhat. The number is (809) 538 3131. I have no idea how much it cost to call them but you just have to dial it direct just like you were dialing any other long distance number in the states. This is the US toll free number but they were not very helpful 1-866-282-2442. They just said I needed to talk directly with the hotel. My plan was to call them again right before we left. If you find out anything please let us know. I will be getting emails while we are gone so if you do go and can let us know anything about it after you get back that would be great too. My email is michaelhanlon@suddenlink.net. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanlonm Posted January 31, 2010 Author #4 Share Posted January 31, 2010 We would like to do a day pass at this resort as well. We will be ther the week of 2/13. Did you get anymore info? Do you have the phone number to the resort you could provide to me? Did you have any luck in calling them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisin2000 Posted January 31, 2010 #5 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I emailed them yesterday. Thought I might do better in an email as I have alot of difficulty understanding accents. If they do not respond I will call them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanlonm Posted January 31, 2010 Author #6 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I emailed them yesterday. Thought I might do better in an email as I have alot of difficulty understanding accents. If they do not respond I will call them. I tried emailing several times and never got a response. Let me know if you find anything out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvlax Posted February 4, 2010 #7 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I don't know about that hotel. But stay away from the gran paradise. We did an excursion there from NCL and it was horrible. Food was inedible. Staff inattentive. Beach toys were lacking. Check trip advisor for recommendations. tripadvisor.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisin2000 Posted February 12, 2010 #8 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Never responded to the email....I called and could not understand him....we are there next Wed and have decided to do something else....Goo Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanlonm Posted February 12, 2010 Author #9 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Never responded to the email....I called and could not understand him....we are there next Wed and have decided to do something else....Goo Luck What did you decide on instead? Have a good cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisin2000 Posted February 12, 2010 #10 Share Posted February 12, 2010 One of Terrry's tours....snorkle, lunch and Devils Mouth Blowhole & Cave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanlonm Posted February 19, 2010 Author #11 Share Posted February 19, 2010 We are still planning on going. Hoping for the best. Will post a review on the return. If anyone else knows anything about this place let me know. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanlonm Posted March 2, 2010 Author #12 Share Posted March 2, 2010 We went to the resort our day in Samana and it was absolutely great. We had met another family from our roll call that went along with us and they enjoyed it as well. Our biggest complaint was that we ran out of time to continue to enjoy what the resort had to offer. Pools were great, beach was good and the drinks were cold. What more could you ask for. We took a taxi there for the 6 in our family and the 4 in the other family for $40 which is only about a 5 minute ride away. On the way back we found out that the hotel has a shuttle which will take you to the shopping area for free. We were going to use it but it was full and our same taxi driver was waiting for us. Since it was closer than to the cruise ship tender location we paid him $20 and then shopped and walked back the rest of the way to get our tender back to the ship. When I had called down to the resort they had told me $60 for the adults and $30 for the kids but when we got there they wanted to charge us $65. I told them I had called and they changed it to $60 and $30 as discussed. It was well worth it. I would suggest doing this if you are looking for something to do in Samana and don't like taking the cruise ship excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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