Has anyone been to Punta Cana?

[Purplsmurf]

Hi! Wondering if anyone here has been to Punta Cana while on a cruise. We are looking for something to do there and Celebrity doesn’t offer a lot as far as excursions. Does anyone know if there is somewhere that we can go to rent a cabana for the day whether on the beach or by a pool? Thank you so much!

[basebare]

We are looking for answers to this as well. We have searched high and low. The Equinox has a stop there this past cruise, so hopefully some people that were on that will reply when they disembark tomorrow!

[Texed]

Hi! Wondering if anyone here has been to Punta Cana while on a cruise.!

 

We did stop at Punta Cana on a recent cruise. I do suggest that you do some research on travel sites and/or the "Ports of Call" board. There is nothing much around port area.

We booked an excursion with Punta Cana Mike. He is quite a character, and we enjoyed him. I believe there are other private excursions that are offered also.

I do recommend booking an excursion of some kind. :)

[39august]

Please tell us more about Punta Cana Mike and your excursion. I am under the impression that it requires a group to book.

[phoenix_dream]

It has been years since I have been there, but on my last visit I do not recall much to do. There was an excursion to a beach area, and then a visit to Altos de Chavon, which was cute but there was not much there. Celebrity does not often stop there anymore so they do not invest a lot of time in figuring out excursions was our thought at the time. The Dominican Republic has beautiful beaches, most connected to resorts, but beyond that there is honestly not that much to do if memory serves

 

Years ago, they used to stop at a private island (I think the same one you now have to pay for a shore excursion to see). It was a wonderfully relaxing, peaceful day. I miss it.

[Purplsmurf]

It has been years since I have been there, but on my last visit I do not recall much to do. There was an excursion to a beach area, and then a visit to Altos de Chavon, which was cute but there was not much there. Celebrity does not often stop there anymore so they do not invest a lot of time in figuring out excursions was our thought at the time. The Dominican Republic has beautiful beaches, most connected to resorts, but beyond that there is honestly not that much to do if memory serves

 

Years ago, they used to stop at a private island (I think the same one you now have to pay for a shore excursion to see). It was a wonderfully relaxing, peaceful day. I miss it.

Celebrity Equinox is going there now. We are going on our cruise in March. That’s why I was curious about it, as they don’t offer too much as far as excursions go.

[Ginnyfyr]

Please tell us more about Punta Cana Mike and your excursion. I am under the impression that it requires a group to book.

 

I know Mike personally and can attest to the fact that he is a great guy! He is a Canadian who moved to the DR about 20 years ago (he actually sailed himself down there!) He now lives in the area with his wife and daughters. You can check out details of his tours and pricing at http://www.puntacanamike.com or look him up on Facebook. You do not have to be a group - you can book just a couple of people (though I believe he might offer discounts for groups...again, check the website).

 

You might be able to book a day pass at a local resort but you would probably have to contact individual resorts to see what's available (I know the RIUs do day passes through a site called Resort for a Day in other locations, but I checked the RFAD website and the DR is not listed).

 

You could also contact Don Lucas Cigars (google them for contact info) and see if they will pick you up at the cruise port and take you to their shop (they do free pickup & return drop offs at local resorts but not sure if they do it at the cruise terminal). They have a cigar factory, chocolate museum, coffee museum, rum tasting bar/lounge, and a large shop where you can buy everything from jewelry (good quality - I bought a larimar necklace there) to coffee to Dominican artwork. You might also get the opportunity to roll your own cigar - and they are generous with cigar samples! No pressure to buy (we have been numerous times) and the staff is very knowledgeable. Have fun in Punta Cana!

[RedneckBob]

Just there Nov18 off HAL Eurodam. Very difficult place to tender. Most cruise lines used this as an alternate port when several islands in the Caribbean were damaged by hurricanes in Sept. Because of rough waters most cruise lines stopped going there.

 

We did a great tour to Juanilla Beach. You can get there by taxi. Beautiful beach, facilities, bar and restaurant. Go to tripadvisor for reviews. $10 for lounge chair with cover and told $10 cab ride

[prim8keeper]

We are also on an Equinox sailing that stops here and have found the same as far as limited tours and information about this stop even on the port of call board for the Dominican Republic. We just ended up booking one of the X tours due to the limited options and to cut the hassle out of having to get tender tickets, etc.

[Want2Cruise 701]

We did a tour with Seavis Tours last year when we went to the DR for a week. We had a fantastic time. Highly recommend their tours. Saona island tours are pretty popular as well as the Chavon River tours.

 

I have heard of Punta Cana Mike but have no experience touring with him.

[Texed]

Please tell us more about Punta Cana Mike and your excursion. I am under the impression that it requires a group to book.

 

 

Ginny,

Thanks for confirming my thoughts. We did have a few folks together from the roll call. But, we all booked separately.

BTW, Mike sponsors a school in Punta Cana. Some of his excursion money goes to help the school. Some from our roll call took soccer balls, etc. to donate to the school. :)