Aruba, Curacao, Grand Turk, La Romana

[StingRaysfan]

Someone tell me more about Dreams in La Romana.... did you have to prebook?? I found their website and it looks very nice.... it's totally all inclusive? How much was a day pass? The snorkeling offshore, water visibility? Chairs included on the beach?

How far from the port and how much for a taxi ride??

Thanks guys.... soo many questions, so little information about it. LOL I can find everything ever on Nachi Cocum for our December cruise, but this is an entirely different ball game!

[celticd1]

Originally Posted by StingRaysfan

Someone tell me more about Dreams in La Romana.... did you have to prebook?? I found their website and it looks very nice.... it's totally all inclusive? How much was a day pass? The snorkeling offshore, water visibility? Chairs included on the beach?

How far from the port and how much for a taxi ride??

Thanks guys.... soo many questions, so little information about it. LOL I can find everything ever on Nachi Cocum for our December cruise, but this is an entirely different ball game!

Yeah, it's tough to find much info about this itinerary.

We are booked at Dreams for February so I can't tell you first hand about the resort but I can answer a few of your questions.

Yes, you do need to prebook. Send an e-mail to the resort to ask about availability. We are apying $60 per person for an All-Inclusive day pass. We will have access to the entire resort are including the beach, pools, chairs and non-motorized watersports. All drinks and food included in the price.

I have heard that the ride is about half an hour and costs $40.00 for a van (up to 4 pax) each way.

We've heard nothing but great things about it.

[babyblue78]

Grand Turk: Snorkeling with Blue Water Divers was a great time! They dropped us off at Jack's Shack, we stayed there for a while before walking back to the ship. It was a great time...

[scgamecock]

Great thread. Thanks! Doing this itinerary in September on Freedom and getting some good info here...

[imluvncruzn]

Originally Posted by Frequent Floater

Loved this itinerary. Did it back in April and had a great time. All tours I set up private to save money for the group that was with me.

Grand Turk Jacks Shack
Curacao, Irie tours
Aruba We alway use Kuku Kunkoo. You can book thru the ship or if enough of the roll call you can charter.
La Romana, Seavis tours in Bayahibe was wonderful in setting up a nice day over to Saona and Paradise Beach. Again if you get the roll call to go along it is very reasonable to charter.
Alexander, the owner, took great care to help me set up taxis to and from.
We all still speak about how great this tour was

So happy to hear someone else's experience with Seavis Tours! We have them booked for January. How long was the cab ride from port to Bayahibe? Also, did you take speedboats or catamaran? How was the lunch and drinks...safe to eat and drink I hope?? Thanks in advance for your input!

[sonicbuffalo]

Sounds like a fairly expensive excursion. There really are no alternatives unless you stay on the ship.

[StingRaysfan]

Originally Posted by celticd1

Yeah, it's tough to find much info about this itinerary.

We are booked at Dreams for February so I can't tell you first hand about the resort but I can answer a few of your questions.

Yes, you do need to prebook. Send an e-mail to the resort to ask about availability. We are apying $60 per person for an All-Inclusive day pass. We will have access to the entire resort are including the beach, pools, chairs and non-motorized watersports. All drinks and food included in the price.

I have heard that the ride is about half an hour and costs $40.00 for a van (up to 4 pax) each way.

We've heard nothing but great things about it.

Thanks! $60 for an all inclusive isn't bad...but the trip there is ridiculous for 2... Might have to find someone to go with us. Thanks for the info. Its on my definitely possible list. The husband just said he was just going to stay on the ship in the DR... yeah... right

[bills blasters]

We went to the DR a few years ago. We said if we ever go again we will just stay on the ship. We went to the Altos de Chevon artist village. It was nice, but I think it is kind of ridiculous to pay $45 per person, including 2 small children, and all it is is a place where people trying to sell you things.
We talked to lots of people who went off on their own, and they were not happy at all. Most said the same thing, they will stay on the ship next time.
The Dreams sounds nice, but we are not beach people, so that wouldn't work for us.
Claudia

[golfadj]

We are going in January and might do a tour of some kind but probably will stay on the ship.

Never quite understood why they insist on taking us here when one reads all the comments.

[StingRaysfan]

yeah, the rest of the itinerary is awesome... kind of sad they threw a waste port in. I read somewhere and I can't find it that Carnival was talking about building a port area there (think Mahogany Bay)....I can't find where I read that...

[w8ing2cruz]

Originally Posted by balcony bound

I, too, am happy to see this thread. We're booked on this itinerary next year. DH has been wanting to do an itinerary with Curacao for a couple of years and I really have no idea what we'll plan.

Anyone that wants to continue with the suggestions, I'm all ears We are pretty much beach and snorkel people, not so much into tours. The last one we had was pretty much a disaster and DH looks at me with stink eye if I bring up taking another.

Sonicbuffalo, I hope you come back and tell us what you enjoyed!

Enjoy your cruise.

Hey balcony bound - we were in the same aft wrap cabin on the brand new Dream! Remember all the hoopla with the dividers being in the wrong place? You wrote a great review and included all sorts of pics to put my mind at ease! Anyway - my husband and I are total beach and snorkel people too - the first ime we were in Curacao we took a cab to Cas Abou beach - AWESOME. It does appear that it has grown quite a bit and added a trampoline and other water toys which totally don't interest us but the snorkeling there was fabulous and the beach was gorgeous. This time around we might do a repeat or possibly do a catamaran sail with Bounty Adventures. Good luck - have fun on your cruise!!

[momof4boys]

Everyone please come back and share what you did and thought! We are going in July 2012 and trying to find info is tough!

We were looking at DePalm Island since we will have a large group ages 19 55---and most of us would like to do the same things.

La Romana- I did see the Dreams AI.

Curasao-everyone talks about how great it is, but I can't seem to find details about it.

Grand Turk-Jack's shack has good reviews.

So please come back and tell us!

[balcony bound]

Originally Posted by w8ing2cruz

Hey balcony bound - we were in the same aft wrap cabin on the brand new Dream! Remember all the hoopla with the dividers being in the wrong place? You wrote a great review and included all sorts of pics to put my mind at ease! Anyway - my husband and I are total beach and snorkel people too - the first ime we were in Curacao we took a cab to Cas Abou beach - AWESOME. It does appear that it has grown quite a bit and added a trampoline and other water toys which totally don't interest us but the snorkeling there was fabulous and the beach was gorgeous. This time around we might do a repeat or possibly do a catamaran sail with Bounty Adventures. Good luck - have fun on your cruise!!

Hey W8ing! LOL, yes, I sure do remember all that divider/aft wrap hoopla! Was so glad it all worked out. As a matter of fact, we just got back from the Dream again last month, aft wrap again Love that ship.

Thanks for the tip on Cas Abou beach, I really appreciate it. Great to know the snorkeling is good; its our favorite port activity. We have a wait for that cruise <sigh>. But have HMC coming up so that should tide me over I'm still trying to wiggle in a NYE cruise this year but DH won't bite so far! Not sure we would go anywhere besides the Bahamas in that case and too cold in the water for me in Dec/Jan.

One of these days perhaps we'll wind up on the same ship at the same time - that would be awesome.

[Excited to sail]

Hi
I'd like to hear more about the sunset dinner in Aruba at Passions. Is it at the Passion resort? How did you book it?? What did it cost per couple? What time is sunset....our ship leaves at 8pm, so maybe we won't have time? Did you take a taxi, or how far is it from port?
I'm thinking that it would be nice to visit a pretty beach during the day and then see the Lighthouse. Sounds really cool to see where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic. Would love more info. on the Lighthouse too, and how to get there, if anyone can tell me more
Thanks everyone!!!

Originally Posted by PizzaPilot

Looks like we were on the same cruise with Happy Cruzin and we also found it to be one of our favorite cruises!!

Aruba - We also did the sunset dinner at "Passions on the Beach." Would highly recommend it - great experience!! I have noticed that not many itineries are in Aruba at night now though. They seem to be doing Curaco at night now...

Curaco - we took a taxi to Playa Porto Mari and had a nice beach day. http://www.playaportomari.com/ Taxi was $20pp plus a small entry fee ($5??) Beach was a little rocky but great snorkeling.

Grand Turk - we always rent a golf cart from Nathan (you can find info in the Grand Turk forum). We love walking the beach around the light house, the museum, and stopping for drinks on the deck at the Bohio!!

At first I didn't think I would like all the sea days, but it turned out to be just perfect. Can't wait to do this one again!!!!

[Excited to sail]

Hi
I'd like to hear more about the sunset dinner in Aruba at Passions. Is it at the Passion resort? How did you book it?? What did it cost per couple? What time is sunset?....our ship leaves at 8pm, so maybe we won't have time? Did you take a taxi, or how far is it from port?
Thanks for your help!!

Originally Posted by happy cruzin

We did this itinerary in January - on the Miracle.

We did Catalina Island (a private CCL beach) instead of LaRomana - but we have done LaRomana before and I agree that there is not alot there. Heard there is good golf nearby - but we aren't golfers!

But....back to your itinerary.... WE LOVED IT - one of our best cruises EVER!!

In Aruba we did the "Sunset Dinner on the Beach" at the Passions Resort. It was FANTASTIC. Food was great and having dinner on the beach as the sun sets - with a drink in your hand and your feet in the sand can not be beat .

I have attached a few pictures - but they do not do it justice!!

In Curacao we went in to town. Don't miss the swinging bridge in action - it is pretty neat. We wandered up and down the streets and throughly enjoyed the architecture and beauty of Curacao. There is a Fort - very near where we docked - that has been converted to shops and restaurants - so there are plenty of places to enjoy a drink and get a bite to eat, if you'd like.

Grand Turk we hung out at Margaritaville for a while and ended up planted on a lounge chair on the beach to enjoy some sunshine and warmth - since we had come from the frigid northeast!

[Excited to sail]

Hi
This sounds really neat about the California Lighthouse - I bet it's really beautiful where the two waters meet....
Is it easy to get there, like could we do it on our own?? How far is it from port??
Thanks!

Originally Posted by smc0320

We did this itinerary in December on the Miracle....it was AWESOME! We didn't plan anything on this trip.....instead, we got off the ship in each port and got a 2-3 hour taxi tour for about $20pp. We were happy with what we did.

In La Romana, this allowed us to see things but they took us to these awful souvenier shops, drove is around Casa de Campo to show is the big houses....only thing that stood out to us were all the people riding mopeds while holding a propane tank or a baby off to the side. Wouldn't go back there really.

In Grand Turk, we did the beach & pool at Margarritaville.....but Jack's Shack is a but further down the beach and is MUCH less expensive for srinks & food...and I think they still have FREE WIFI. Then we took a taxi into town...the OLD town....and walked around a bit, was nice to not be around a huge group of people...old time shops there that backed up to the ocean..was nice.

Aruba, again, did a 3-hr tour that included taking us to the rock formation thing AND the California Lighthouse....which was awesome to see the Atlantic meet the Carribbean. Then they dropped us at the beach for 2-3 hours right by the Westin....was beautiful...I also thought Aruba was supposed to be lush & tropical....had no idea it was a desert island really. Funny to learn they import all their Christmas trees from Canada. Was also weird to see Tire Kingdom on the main road from the beach to the downtown port area.

Curacao was our FAVORITE place. Did nother taxi tour here and walked around the main town area for a while....had NO IDEA that Curacao is a huge oil rifining island either....the swinging bridge was cool....we really want to go back there and stay at the Renaissance that has the infinity edge, man-made salt water "beach" that overlooks the ocean....along with the infinity edge freshwater pool!

have fun with this....seriously considering this itinerary again...even on Royal Caribbean Adevnture of the Seas out of San Juan....has a sea day up front, 2 ports, sea day, Curacao & Aruba and another sea day....anything to skip La Romana. I know lots of people on our trip did the Dreams resort.....but I wasn't spending $60pp to go spend 3 hours on the beach....which is about our time limit...and we certainly weren't going to drink $60 worth.....but everyone who went that we spoke to love it...

[happy cruzin]

Originally Posted by Excited to sail

Hi
I'd like to hear more about the sunset dinner in Aruba at Passions. Is it at the Passion resort? How did you book it?? What did it cost per couple? What time is sunset?....our ship leaves at 8pm, so maybe we won't have time? Did you take a taxi, or how far is it from port?
Thanks for your help!!

It's called Passions on the Beach. Here is the link to their website: http://www.passions-restaurant-aruba.com/. There are a bunch of reviews too - if you do a Google search.

You can make reservations on line. Not sure if it will work for you - we were in Aruba until 10:00 ship time (I think) and I do not remember how that equates to actual time in Aruba

It looks like they do lunch too - which was be a great 2nd choice - if you will not be in Aruba long enough to enjoy dinner and the sunset.

You pay for dinner - not a per person cost - so it will vary depending on your dining choices. The menu is also available through the website - if you want to get an idea of the options. We did a taxi from town - where we spent the day and then a taxi back to ship after dinner.

Hope it works out for you. It is BY FAR one of the best things we have ever done

[vacruizer]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone! We are seriously considering this itinerary for our 2013 cruise.

[AmandaKaye79]

Please keep posting. We are doing this cruise in July 2012. I haven't been able to find much information at all. Neither of us are big drinkers so paying for an all inclusive package at dreams for LaRomana doesn't really interest us. Has anyone done anything other than Dreams in DR? I would love to hear more suggestions for the other ports as well.

[smc0320]

Originally Posted by Excited to sail

Hi
This sounds really neat about the California Lighthouse - I bet it's really beautiful where the two waters meet....
Is it easy to get there, like could we do it on our own?? How far is it from port??
Thanks!

We came from California Lighthouse to the beach....probably 15-20 minutes......from the beach back to port was probably another 15-20 minutes with some traffic.....so you probably could get a taxi.....I might next time and have a really nice lunch at the restauarnt that was there....it was beautiful to see the rouch, deep blue waters of the Atlantic meet the soft blue & very calm waters of the Caribbean....