Samana Excersions

[betta128]

This is our first cruise and one of the ports is Samana. Has anyone done any excersions here and what would you recommend?

 

My kids are looking at the Sea Lion Encounter.

 

Thanks

[CeeAngel]

Hi,

 

Have you tried looking on the Dominican Republic boards?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=7&f=374

 

 

We are going to Samana on the Enchantment next week, and have decided to do the Discover Samana tour.

 

Have a great cruise!

[sjb317]

You definitely want to do some type of tour in Samana as there is not much to see or do there. We did the beach tour through RC which was really nice. Some of the people in our roll call did some private tours with Terry and I believe they were happy with their tours.

 

Sherri:)

[The Flying Pirate]

We were in Samana with the Grandeur of the Seas and it was amazing. Our excursion got canceled and someone from the Explorations staff recommended the Cave Mangrove exploration and Beach Escape. So we tried it. It was excellent. It could very well be called the best of Samana.

 

First off Samana is beautiful. It is a small port and you have to be tendered in. We took the tender to the pier where we were met by the crew for the tour. They loaded us on a Catamaran (motorized) and we went across the bay (it is a huge bay about 10-15 miles across) were we went to the National Park. It was amazing. we cruised around the coves and bays and saw a bunch of wildlife. Then we made a couple of stops and walked (a very easy walk) through a couple of caves it was very cool, I will upload some pictures to give you an idea. Then after that part of the tour they took us to an island where all the people that wanted to spend a day at the beach off the ship were. It was very nice, sort of like Labadee. The water was very nice and excellent for snorkeling. We saw tons of Starfish and found several sea horses. The water was very calm and there were several kids that joined us after we started finding "wildlife" underwater. (I Volunteer at a local aquarium so had a slight advantage of knowing where to look)

 

Then they had tenders back to the ship.

 

The only bad thing is the boat that takes you on the tour doesn't' have a bathroom and there is no bathroom in the National Park, so skip the morning coffee. There are flush toilet bathrooms at the Beach Island. They were surprisingly clean for the Caribbean. I will upload some pictures later.

[tejo883]

I have you reserved for #1. You guys are the first ones to sign up for it at the moment. If you would like to make a post on Cruise Critic and let others know that it is available it might go a long way to help me ensure that we have at least 6 people.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Here is a Picture of the Grandeur of the Seas at Anchor in Samana as seen from the main harbor area.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Here is another view of the Grandeur of the Seas at Anchor in Samana. This is taken from Cayo Laventado beach.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

This deserted beach was on the Caves/Mangrove Exploration tour in Samana

[The Flying Pirate]

 

This was taken from the boat in one of the bays we explored on the Caves Mangrove Exploration and Beach Escape Tour in Samana.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

One of the areas of Mangroves during the tour of Los Haitises National Park in Samana.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Looking out one of the caves in Los Haitises National Park in Samana, D.R.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Another view of the inside of one of the caves, if you look closely you can see the tour group at the bottom of the picture to give you an idea of the size of the cavern.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

A tree growing out of a hole in the ceiling of one of the caves in Los Haitises National Park in Samana.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

The Beach at Cayo Levantado in Samana.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Looking back at the Ship from the beach at Cayo Levantado, Samana.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

As I mentioned the snorkeling was awesome, here is a picture with the Starfish to give you an idea how big they were.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Here is a Trumpet Fish at Samana. This was taken off the beach at Cayo Levantado.

[The Flying Pirate]

 

Here is a picture of the seahorse we found snorkeling off Cayo Levantado, in Samana, D.R.

[sjb317]

Flying Pirate, your pictures are lovely! That is the beach excursion we did and it was very nice.

Sherri:)

[The Flying Pirate]

Thanks, before we went I search Cruise Critic for pictures of Samana and had a hard time finding any. It was one of our favorite ports. Very non-commercial. It was refreshing to get off the ship and not see a Diamonds International!

[read52]

Hi,

 

Have you tried looking on the Dominican Republic boards?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=7&f=374

 

 

We are going to Samana on the Enchantment next week, and have decided to do the Discover Samana tour.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

We were in Samana in July. We did the Discover Samana tour which said that you would see a whale museum which turned out to be one partial set of whale bones. A tour of churches included stopping along side the road of a church and we did not get off the bus. We stopped at the side of the road at some gift shop and then we went to an area that was suppose to have shopping but most people on the bus did not want to go too far down the street. It was to be a 2 to 3 hour tour but ended up being 5 1/2 hours. It rained most of the time and then we were caught behind a downed electrical pole for about 1/2 hour.

 

I would go on the other tour or stay on the ship.

[betta128]

Thanks everyone. The pictures were great!!

[makron]

was this tour from ship excursion or from persons on shore ?Sounds like a good one

[Michele M]

Flying Pirate, we are doing the beach escape next week. Is there a certain area to snorkel that is best to see the sea life. Your pictures are great. Thanks.

[Californian]

Flying Pirate: Pictures were beautiful. Thanks very much for sharing....