tony007

I was there last Tuesday on the Magic. Here is some information that may help you.

Amber cove is really just a nice private port area with shops and bar / pool. As far as taxis, unless you are a party of 3 or more, taking a taxi can be expensive, below are the rates:

https://www.ambercove.com/port-information/taxi-information.aspx

To visit the beaches or city (Puerto Plata) you will need to take a taxi. I found beaches very nice and the water was clear with comfortable temp for swimming but with high surf. The 2 most popular beaches in that coast are Sosua and Cabarete. Cabarete is very nice but is windy in the afternoon, it is the location of kiteboarding competitions for that reason. It takes almost an hour to get to Cabarete from the port.

We usually do things on our own but we ended up taking a ship tour this time (City tour and Cabarete beach with lunch), since it turned out to be cheaper for the 2 of us. We actually enjoyed the excursion very much, the highlight was Cabarete. We were dropped of at a very nice waterfront restaurant at Cabarete beach which include lounge chairs and plenty of shade. The lunch was awesome and they also had a bar to purchase alcoholic bevs The water felt good but the surf was high, which is fun but not for small children. We spent almost 2 hours there at Cabarete beach before returning in the A/C vehicle back to the port.

We were at Magens Bay just last Tuesday. There are plenty of open cab (safari style) trucks outside the ship and at Magens, the cost is $8.00 per person each way. They will squeeze in as many people as possible and wait until full. About 15 min ride over steep mountain road with amazing vistas.

There is an additional $5.00 per person entrance fee. So, bottom line cost is $21 per person.

However, there are some issues (and costs) with Magens bay that you need to consider, especially traveling in July.

If you want to relax with some protection from the sun you need to rent chairs and umbrella and incur that additional cost.

There is hardly any shade on the beach due to last season storm, they have replanted some small palms which will take years to grow and provide any shade.

When we were there last week there were 2 ships at port, not an extreme high load but the beach was crowded and the rental station ran out of umbrellas! They only had chairs for rent at 2 for $25. You should also consider other beach options, most have no entrance fees and cheaper rentals, we always enjoyed Coki for the snorkeling but I don't know the current condition after the unfortunate storm.

We took the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise from Fort Lauderdale in the first week of March 2018. We chose this cruise mostly because we wanted to see something of the Dominican Republic. We had booked a rental car, studied a guide book and decided where to go. At 7.15am on the day we should have been there the captain announced that the ship would not dock because of the swell. The other ship due to be there did not stop either. Has anyone experienced this before? Is it a frequent occurrence?

I don't know how often, but it has occurred to others in the forum. Sorry it happened to you, it happened to us in Grand Cayman but I had been there before and had no plans.

Amber cover is on the windy side of the DR island, just look at Google maps and you will see that Cabarete beach is just down from Amber cove and it was the location of the World Kite Surfing Championship because of constant windy conditions.

Hi Tony007,

 

I have a question for you. Did you do your Bamboo Rafting with a Ships tour or an independent company.

After the rafting and before you went back on board do you know of a beach convenient to the ship that you can relax on for a while ??

We have not visited this port before.

I did the Bamboo Rafting excursion offered by the cruise line (MSC Divina), the excursion included the Bamboo Rafting and tour of Falmouth. The later was just a ride through town back to the ship, not really much to see or to stop for. However, since we got back very early they did offer to drive anyone who wanted to a nearby beach. We decided to return to the ship but many others stayed on the bus and went to the beach. I really don't know what the beach was like but they did mention "near by".

I did notice that outside the terminal there are vendors everywhere trying to sell you something so I assume it may be the same for the beach.

Others in our group did the Martha Brae river tubing and really enjoyed it, but it's not one of the options stated by the OP. I just could not convince my wife to get in the "refreshing" river water on a tube, so I ended up in the bamboo raft with a red stripe in my hand and really enjoyed it :) . It's definitely not a thrill ride.

I was just in Falmouth last week and we did the Bamboo Rafting. I highly recommend it. I'm not sure how many are in your party, but this is best for couples (2 per raft) and it's a very relaxing ride, you will not get wet. Its like a trip on a Gondola - Jamaican style :).

We used mosquito spray but I didn't see (or feel) any mosquitoes (I would suggest you use it anyway).

The captains of these rafts are very entertaining, they will sing to you and tell you about the exotic vegetation. They will try to sell you some crafts at the end, overpriced. I ended up buying just because I was going to tip him anyway.

Also, this is a close ride from the port of Falmouth.

Enjoy your cruise.

Thank you so much for your review. It means a lot to me since I was born and raised in Lisbon and would love to Cruise out of Lisbon someday.

I just got off my first MSC cruise (Divina) out of Miami and although I was concerned with all the bad reviews I can truly say I was Pleasantly Surprised.

There were 17 of us and the only complain I heard was the poor bar service. The food was excellent, loved the presunto/Prosciutto and they even had Octopus stew, not as good as what I had in Lisbon but nevertheless very tasty.

In contrast with your cruise, the Divina Cruise director and Captain were seen at all major shows and events, in fact we questioned - "Who is driving this boat?" :)

The entertainment staff was one of the best that I have seen but granted without some of the louder events common of other cruise lines ( hairy man competition) which I can do without.

Although the pastries were good, my wife was expecting better from an European line, we are spoiled in Portugal (pasteis de nata). Your cruise may have had better pastries/desserts.

I was on this same cruise and had a wonderful time. I plan to write a review as soon as I have some free time but I have to reply here regarding the bar service. We were a group of 17 and the bar service was about the only complain with this cruise - You had to wait in line for cocktails, especially in pool deck during days at sea. You could go to other bars and get quicker service. Some of us in the dinning room actually started bringing our own glass of wine to the table.

Beverage sales is a huge revenue source for Cruise lines and so I believe MSC is losing out by not improving their bar service. On the positive side, it saved me some $$ since I don't remember the last time a resisted one (or more) of those cocktails that the bar staff (of other cruise lines) walks around with - "coco loco" :)

I din't see any bar service in the Theater and I actually prefer it that way although others may not like it.

I confess I was concerned about this cruise, especially after reading so many bad reviews on MSC Divina. I can conclude with 2 words - Pleasant Surprise. I had the most beautiful cabin for what I usually pay on an inside (I had a balcony on 13th), awesome shows, food (loved the Octopus stew for lunch) and not to forget the great entertainment staff !

Yeah my Lobster was slightly overcooked, waiter didn't speak much and I had to wait 3 minutes for a drink, but come on, I would NEVER say "Wouldn't sail Divina again if it were free."

I would sail Divina again and again.