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Was in the Dominican Republic last summer as one of our cruise excursions off of the NCL Sky. We were bussed (in an open air bus) to an excursion where we were taken on an off road ATV ride through the forests. During the bus ride, you will enjoy the open breezes as you are driven through the island's countryside to the ranch. Upon arriving at the first stop, there were four of us that all fit in one vehicle; though they also had two person vehicles if you were in a smaller group. Then the ATV adventure was followed up with a horseback ride at the same location (this excursion was completely filled, so the group was broken up into two groups for ATV riders first or horseback riders first; then vice versa). The horses really earn their keep as there is a lot of up and downhill traveling in 100 F temps. They gave me one of the larger horses given my weight class (around 210 to 215 lbs, plus dressed weight). Keep in mind, should you be over 250 lbs (fully dressed pack weight), you will not be allowed to ride. My brother was told by the cruise ship excursion coordinators, that he was too heavy and he and his wife had to switch to a different excursion that was less fulfilling (he was not happy about it). The excursion curators take great care of their animals and will not risk their health and safety (though admittedly, I had to tell my brother no one was actually weighed at the site). If you have never ridden a horse before, they will teach you how to guide the animal. Though most of the horses are very familiar with the circular route that you take without your queues from the reins. My horse was rather eager to lead the pack (perhaps because it just wanted to finish up and rest for the day). Both adventures were a fantastic load of fun, and I would definitely recommend trying it. But make sure you wear the mask during the ATV ride; there are a lot of cows that do their business along the route, and well suffice it to say you will want to definitely keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times. You will get splashed by lots of mud, water, and you guessed it, along the bumpy hills and streams you cross. The masks and storage lockers were the only added costs you will pay beyond the cruise line's excursion rate/person, but well worth it as you will have a souvenir when done and the knowledge of knowing all your valuables will remain safe. That same excursion we were then bussed to a resort where we were fed a typical Dominican Republic buffet style meal (jerk chicken and many tasty side dishes) that also had a pool you could indulge in; the food was fantastic and the atmosphere quite relaxing. Fortunately they also had showers there where you could clean up before eating. But the excursion wasn't done there, after the meal and a brief swim in the pool, we were taken to one of Dominican Republic's nicest beaches for the final 2 hours of the excursion (you will be bussed through a very modern, well maintained golf course to reach the beach). So it was a fantastic value for the excursion; my two boys, my brother-in-law, and I truly enjoyed this excursion. One thing my family did take away was this, Dominican Republic has a definite wealthy upper class and an extremely poor lower class. It was a bit shocking to see the stark contrast from those that lead a very wealthy lifestyle and those that live in abject poverty. So we purchased a few souvenirs from those most in need. We bought some gifts from a 10 year old boy who was working very hard during the first leg of the trip (along the ATV ride). It put a huge smile on his young face, while making us feel so much better about being tourists in their country. That being said, the Dominican Republic was a beautiful destination; the people there are very friendly, and eager to showcase their nation. Just keep in mind that your heart might wrench if you should happen to see some of the poorer parts of the island.

As a fluffy cruiser myself I felt that sun and lack of shade and seats. Thanks for roasting for the posting.

We absolutely LOVE the pool at Puerto Plata! Last January my wife and I just hung at the pool getting drinks and listening to music. met some great folks! We'll be checking out the pool in Amber Cove on our cruise next week. We'll be the only ship in port that day which is refershing.

Pro Tip - Always carry a small umbrella for instant free shade in Paradise.

Tony, thanks again for your walking tour... I'm impressed by your mobility without flooding your face, and body, with sweat!

My husband and I HATED that part of Puerto Plata ... just a manufactured place, like you never even left the ship. We booked it through that gauntlet and took a stroll around the actual city. It was hot and when we needed a taxi we went into the hotel and the clerk got us one. We took the taxi to the Teleferrico (funicular) and rode up to the top for about $10 (local's price is $5). It was a great afternoon. Our taxi driver asked us what time we wanted him to return us to the ship and showed up at the prearranged time.

All of the pool and lazy river is FREE!! Best thing ever!!! Sorry, your "free ride" didn't take you all the way to the NCL ship. When I was there a couple weeks ago, it was door-to-door. Best port for a 'free excursion' for sure!!

You have the best port videos. Thanks for taking us along!! Its so much easier to plan cruises when you have an idea of what to expect at ports!

I have been to Puerto Plata several times. It was a beautiful port.

Puerto Plata is a beautiful port! Tie-EE-no Bay is what it’s called.

I think this port is so much better than Costa Maya. We avoid going to Costa Maya it's a rip off. Definitely want to visit that port. Thanks for taking the time to do a port walk in the heat.

Thanks for a lovely tour. I love the lazy river. You do a good job of giving us the highlights. I appreciate the time you take to fill us in even when you are vacationing with your wife. Keep hydrated! ❤

Thank you 😊. Also please thank Jenny B I have enjoyed her appearances.

Thank you so very much Tony...you have completely opened my eyes at the ease of these ports for ahhh the ahh cough cough soon to be mid sixties going on what i wanted to do in my 40's crowd..lol. The shop area at the port with that spa, ..how cool is that!!!!,,,so on non-excurt days...many many when exercised for walking ((which I am in middle of and working on suddenly High BP))...make me so excited...so even if I must be on an inside sometimes...these islands ports you have taken us to this year are each unique and most with uniquely done like 5 star tropical hotel resort shop, entertain and eat areas or often close other close to walk and go things...truly you double the resort see, sit and do areas with the ship and these port areas that are policed a bit,,,they are nice!! All that flagstone and thatched roof..just very nice.

I’m enjoying your “come along with me” videos. I will never be on a cruise but doing it vicariously through you has been wonderful. Thank you

The PUERTO PLATA Cruiseport is the best we have ever been to. Besides everything being free(Pool, Sun Beds, Lazy River) except for souvenirs and food, it is stunningly beautiful. I am sorry you missed the Monkey City where for a very small charge you are in their cage on a very relaxed tour..What fun. A great place to walk around.

Great video! Thanks for showing us around the port! It makes it easier to plan a trip when you know what to expect.

Great video! Loved all the info you gave and showed us in this port!

I really enjoy your videos. Thanks. Have a great time!

Love that port!!! Great bird sanctuary, lazy River and great drinks

Nice job Tony. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for the tour. I haven't been to that spot before. It looked wonderful

Thanks Tony for this tour. We stop there next month. Based on your video, I’m excited to visit the D.R. 😊

Thank you for another great port video. They are so much fun to watch 😊

Appreciate your tour of Puerto Plata in the heat! I would enjoy the pool, the drinks & the music.

Really enjoying the daily vlogs - thanks for the effort you make to post them while on vacation. I did that Caribbean itinerary on Breakaway in April and really loved it. This Sunday I board Encore to Alaska. I know you have Alaska coming up soon too. I'm just beating you to it!

Thankyou Tony, another great video.

Hey Tony! Thanks for the tour! We will be there in November and it’s great to see what it’s like in port! Looks like a good time! Have Fun!

I am enjoying this style of videos. I have never cruised and these videos help me to visualize what it is like to be on cruse. I like seeing the different things going on in the background .For example how crowd size and signage Keep up the great work.

Great Port Video Tony Thank You For Bringing Us Along

Thank you, Tony, really enjoy being able to join your travels. Appreciate your videos with the news and today's Puerta Plata views.

We loved that port! We didn’t have much time because of the excursion, but we are going back soon!

Thanks for another nice travel-vlog, Tony! It's the next best thing to being there myself! 😀

Thank you, Tony!

Tony! I was just in Puerto Plata 2 weeks ago. It's not a surf simulator but a flowrider simulator which is there but it's not on the walking pathway. I remember it being near one of the rest rooms and you had to walk on the sand to find it.. We had carried 3 bottles of water and it wasn't enough to hydrate our whole family. We did enjoy the pool and lazy river. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Thanks for the memories. We were there this past December. 89 & sunny! Yikes! Too hot for me. We headed back to our RC ship after checking out the shops & purchasing some gifts. Beautiful place.❤

Nice to see the port area there. I was injured on an excursion when in Puerto Plata a few years ago on the NCL Encore, and could not walk to get back to the ship, so we missed seeing all the fun spots in the port area. Necessary at the time but sad to have missed it anyway. Thanks for the tour I had to miss!

Nice tour of Taino Bay. Gave us nice memories of when were there last, Jan, 2023 on Vision of the Seas. Great work as usual.

Love your tour thru the port .

MSC looks really nice. I had no idea. Thanks, Tony, for the tour.

Thank you for sharing your travels.

My most favorite port! We spent the entire day at that water park... it was lovely!

Tony, Taino Bay is our favorite free port. It's beautiful, fun and free. Two big pools, lazy river and many places to just relax.

Hi Tony and Jenny, I was in Puerto Plata in January on the Norwegian Gem and loved it! Such a beautiful island!

Love the mural!

While all the giant ships are impressive to behold, I prefer the smaller ships with lower numbers of people…but that’s just me. Favorite ship I’ve been on was the quiet NCL Sky!

I went there in November 1977 on the RC Sun Viking. It was the most terrifying place I have ever been. There was a soldier on every corner with a machine gun, and I am talking about every corner, not every intersection. There were 4 soldiers for every intersection. You could cut the air with a knife it was so thick, and tense. I swore I would not go back. 3 months later, there was an attempted coup d'état. All travel to the Dominican Republic was basically stopped from the US. Kind of explained my experience. We also had to pay a kid to guard our stuff all day long so no one would steal it. Jose was so loyal and only asked once if he could go cool off in the water really fast. When we got back to the bus, my Dad paid him $3.00 instead of one, and that kid was over the moon. I was 14 then.

We enjoyed Costa Maya more, but I can see where for families Porta Plata's pier is great fun too...Thanks, Tony!

We were there last month. We were the only ship at port so plenty of chairs available. My husband and I enjoyed the lazy river. We bought some Dominican chocolate from the chocolate shop they have there. It was delicious.

ta-EE-no. Have a cruise planned there for next year. Been to DR. Brother lived there for a while. Such a beautiful place and fun people. CAN'T WAIT!!

Fantastic!

I was just telling my daughter it reminded me of costa Maya just not as crowded. I’d love to do the lazy river!

When the NCL Gem docked in Taino Bay Jan 2023 they were still digging and cementing the lazy river. Cool to see it all finished. Too bad you missed out on going to the town, it was interesting. There was also an excursion that went to that mountain which has a gondola up to a viewing area. Think we may do that if we ever return there.

Great Video & info.~

I love DR. It's such a beautiful island and lots to do.

Beautiful port!

I did the lazy river when I was there March 1st. It was alot of fun. It was the 4th and last stop on our cruise and I had had enough of excursions. Hubby did an ATV excursion through a 3rd party which he enjoyed.

Wow, that port looks great!!!

The surf simulator is behind the bathrooms. Also note that if you are on Carnival, you DO NOT stop at this port.

I was in Puerto Plata in April and walked through Tainto Bay to near the cab stand where there is a very small and indiscreet door that lets you walk to town. I hiked four or five blocks to a point of land that had an amazing old fort and great views of the cruise ships from across the water.

I'm glad that you reminded us that there is a place to hang out in the port, because I'll be on the Virgin Voyages ship in September, and that's one of the ports. The excursion that I wanted to do is no longer offered. I wanted to do the cable car excursion in Puerto Plata, but it's not being offered. At least I can walk around the port and not have to stay on the ship. I've been there before and did the tour of the island. I don't think that much has changed in 2 years. Nice video

You are hilarious! Your eyes are so expressive!

I love the Seascape.. I’ve been in it twice so far. Yes, it gorgeous.. in fact, I just came off two weeks ago.

That is a very nice Port Stop, I was there with the family at Spring Break.

Love the lazy river and the pool, both were free in June '24. Beer is reasonable and cold.

LOL, I just did that cruise. Several things to mention, bring your water, the tourist strip is curved, so use that beach in front to cut out alot of the walking, and use the tut tut to leave and return from the dock, that dock is huge.

Hi Tony. Nice port. It's a shame you didnt have a lot of time in port. Yes.... I definitely would be taking the transportation back to the ship. I havent been to this port yet. Definitely going on the bucket list. As always thank you for all you do. Hope you and the lovely Jenny B are having a good time.❤❤

Love Taino Bay! Larmimsr is found only in the Dominican Republic, so it’s cool to see!

Love that Port!! Love the Tuk Tuk's! (Not sure if I spelled that right)

Great Port Tony. Surf Flow rider is close to the water in the beach area. You seem to walk the same path. Spend a day in February chilling by the pool and did the lazy river. A blast.

We did the tour you wanted onboard Ascent, it was very nice, we learned a lot about their history and the city is very colonial, overall was a great excursion!

Glad you didn’t get off the ship on the sea day.

Love this port lazy river

Love Puerto Plata ❤️

I went to Puerto Plata with Carnival last year, and while the port was nice and we went on an awesome excursion, our port definitely did not have a free lazy river or beach access. That’s awesome!

Yes take the tuck tuck

So looking forward to boarding that big aft ship!! 😂 We’re doing our Group Cruise on Seascape next November when she ports out of Galveston. She is a beauty!

The stones are called "larimar," and the DR is the only place in the world where it is found. 😍

Jenny B. Best wishes as you take on the fates. Tony always great to join your journeys

Thanks Tony for taking us along with you for a look at this port, I am surprised you passed up multiple chances to grab a coffee but it might have been too hot to indulge.

Looks like a great port!

Wish I saw this great port before booking excursion ! Seascape in May was amazing ship!!

Was there last week. The surf simulator is by the sandy "beach" area you didn't go out on. It's a nice one. My kids bought the $40 pass and rode the surf simulator all day. Great port.

Never been to DR but if we did, would definitely go because of your video! 🤗

We sailed on the Seashore the sister ship to Seascape. With 20 decks it towers over almost every other cruise ship. Kinds of neat to see Mt Isabel from the dock. We were at the top of that mountain looking down on that dock!

Great vlog 👍 welcome to Puerto Plata 🇩🇴

Great video ❤❤❤❤

I love your port stops

Wife and I took an excursion here last December. Convenient pick up spot for tour bus BUT at end of day, they dropped us off where we had the walk the entire distance of shop area to get back to tuk tuk area. It was HOT, we were tired and the footing was precarious. No place to sit unless you go into a restaurant or bar. Thanks for taking us along Tony.

Great resort through the duty free store favorite Port on cruise we took last year

Really glad that when we went last year, we skipped the touristy port area, and went to a great public beach. Taxi fare was worth it

We love the Blue Parrot. The drinks are good and the food taste great.

I hear fire on Icon of the Sea. Hope everyone is doing well & safe.

The D.R. did a great job when they built that port. We were there back in January on Freedom of the Seas. Taino Bay is larger and far more elaborate than Carnival's port at Amber Cove, but then again Taino Bay had government resources behind it. Neither port is within easy walking distance of the actual city of Puerta Plata, unfortunately.

Hope you had fun in my native country. It's always a fun place to be

I was there in April on Virgin, the chocolate shop there is pretty awesome. Little bit pricey, but a huge selection of local chocolate

Looks like a nice port. It has been year since I was there. I guess we need to get back there again 😊

The lazy river and pool are free. What more can you want.

Love the fish pedicure!