Amber Cove

[MJSailors]

Has anyone visited Amber Cove,Dominican Republic?

My DH and I were looking at the Caribbean cruises offered by Princess for 2017.

A particular itinerary for the Easter Caribbean included Amber Cove,not Princess Cays.

We assume it is a private island for Princess cruise ships.

Perhaps ,since this is a destination listed for 2017, passengers have not sailed there yet?

We would like an alternative to Princess Cays as we have been there several times.

On our last cruise,we chose to stay on the ship rather than tender over for a beach day.

We were wondering how different Amber Cove may be from Princess Cays.

Any info. would be appreciated.

[TravelingEA]

We will be going there for the 1st time in December. We don't really care for Princess Cays. We usually go on shore for the lunch, but that is about it.

[sunlover5]

We were there this past Thanksgiving. Carnival just started going there in Oct. It is in the Dominican Republic. It is beautiful coming into dock with the mountains. Carnival built an area with shops, beautiful pool, restaurant, bar. Also had a zip line and fun waterslide. It is free. It did cost 12.00 for the whole day for our grandson to zipline as many times as he wanted. He loved it.

Some shops were not opened yet when we were there. We loved it. We were a family of 6. Our grandchildren are 11 and 7 and loved the pool.

 

We thought it was a beautiful place and the people were so nice.

[iriemon]

We were there in January and loved it. They have a big pool with loungers and a bar there (no you can't use your drink card) in addition to everything else mentioned above

[MJSailors]

Thank you for the replies.

I have a few questions. Is there a beach at Amber Cove?

Is lunch complimentary at the restaurant?

Do Princess passengers share the space with Carnival passengers,or do the different cruise ships alternate the use of Amber Cove?

I am thinking that it could get a bit crowded if several ships dock there at the same time.

Good news that it is a beautiful setting and has a pier,no tendering.

I am picturing something similar to Grand Turk.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thank you for the replies.

I have a few questions. Is there a beach at Amber Cove?

Is lunch complimentary at the restaurant?

Do Princess passengers share the space with Carnival passengers,or do the different cruise ships alternate the use of Amber Cove?

I am thinking that it could get a bit crowded if several ships dock there at the same time.

Good news that it is a beautiful setting and has a pier,no tendering.

I am picturing something similar to Grand Turk.

 

I was there last month on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam. If memory serves, the dock could accommodate two ships, but that might be a little tight. That said, for our HAL sailing, many folks didn't even get off the ship. And the developed area is rather large.

 

I didn't see a beach. There are several cabanas on stilts over the water, and there is a water sports shack, but I don't remember sand.

 

The restaurant is a chain called Coco Caña and the food is charged a la carte, so bring your credit card.

 

Have fun. It's a beautiful place to spend the day.

[satxdiver]

The port built by Carnival for all their cruise ship lines opened in October 2015. It appears they can handle two ships at a time. Here are two news releases on the port including an Arial view.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/cruiselog/2015/09/03/amber-cove-cruise-port/71630154/

 

http://villataina.com/amber-cove-dominican-republic/

 

We will be visiting there in March on the Crown Princess.

Edited March 18, 2016 by satxdiver

[caribill]

And unlike Princess Cays, for this port Princess offers meaningful excursions outside of the port area.

[MJSailors]

Thank you for the the replies and information.

I think we would be interested in an excursion to discover a bit of the Dominican Republic. Friends have stayed there on land based vacations and have thoroughly enjoyed their stays.

I did look at the photos from the USA Today link. It reminds me of a bit like the port area at Roatan,although Amber Cove is more extensive.

While the area does look nice, it seems a bit "Disneyized" IMHO.

[DocF]

I am currently reading an article in the January, 2016 issue of Civil Engineering magazine regarding Amber Cove. It is a cooperative development of Carnival Corp. and the Dominican government. The facility is designed to handle two post panamax ships at one time. It is interesting to note that about a quarter of the land for the port is "made" land and is environmentally sourced. The whole development is intended to have a positive environmental impact. This is quite a change from the bad old days of cruise line development.

 

Doc

[golfb4cruzing]

We are heading there next Month. To answer one question, no there is no beach proper on the property. That is an excursion or taxi ride away. Early reports are taxis are extremely expensive. We are doing an excursion of dune buggy through the Jungle. Not interested in another beach day and land/city reviews are sparse at the moment.

Edited March 18, 2016 by golfb4cruzing

[The Wilkies]

We visited in January. Best thing - you could take a nice photo of the ship.

 

We thought it was dreadful, something Disney would have done. False character!

 

It's aCarnival Corporation development which includes all the various lines in the family, Princess, P & O, HAL, etc. not just Carnival ships.

[SANDAS]

We had learned from other blogs that there is a small beach about 20 minutes walk away. You can see it from the Amber Cove development complex beyond the toilet block. To get there you have to walk right out of the Amber Cove fenced complex, turn left along the main road and then take the first left. you run the gauntlet of taxi drivers on the road wanting to take you elsewhere. If you ignore them and carry on walking, the sandy beach is small but we thought very pleasant with a small bar and shop, although the water is cloudy. There are not many loungers but there are trees for shade. We had a lovely day there within touching distance it seemed of the ship! We took a cab back to Amber cove complex which cost $8 which was a silly amount to save a shortish walk but we thought it worth it as we did not want to get hot and sticky again. Some people on our ship loved the Amber Cove pool complex but most thought it a shame to be in the Caribbean and end up round a pool instead of on a beach.

[MJSailors]

I am currently reading an article in the January, 2016 issue of Civil Engineering magazine regarding Amber Cove. It is a cooperative development of Carnival Corp. and the Dominican government. The facility is designed to handle two post panamax ships at one time. It is interesting to note that about a quarter of the land for the port is "made" land and is environmentally sourced. The whole development is intended to have a positive environmental impact. This is quite a change from the bad old days of cruise line development.

 

Doc

 

Thank you for this I for- good to know.

I am certain we will look into some excursion ,so that we can explore beyond the Amber Cove area - we are not too interested in bars or shopping.