Greetings from Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic where the Carnival Celebration is docked on the third day of this 7-Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise. Located on the northern coast of the Dominican, Amber Cove was developed by Carnival Corporation as a destination for their cruise passengers.
This 25-acre, $85 million complex opened in 2015 and can accommodate up to two ships with a maximum of 8,000 passengers. It was built so that ships can pull right up to the dock eliminating the need for tender boats to take passengers ashore as is common at some ports in the Caribbean.
Once docked, it’s a short walk or pedicab ride, to the port’s entrance where you pass through the obligatory Dufry Duty-Free Shop. Upon exiting, there is a central shopping hub that looks very similar to Mahagony Bay – another Carnival-developed port located on the island of Roatan. These shops are the same ones you’ll find throughout the Caribbean and include Diamonds International, Cariloha, and smaller ones run by local merchants.
When it comes to activities, Carnival mimicked what Grand Turk did at their cruise terminal by adding a large pool area with plenty of loungers and umbrellas that guests can use for free. While Grand Turk has Margaritaville, Amber Cove has Coco Cana which is a large restaurant and bar that anchors the pool and also includes a swim-up bar where you can drink and pee without ever leaving the water!
The Carnival Celebration with is 6,374 passengers was the only ship in port today, and there was an abundance of lounge chairs, so there was no shortage of spots to lay out and soak up some sun. It’s important to note that there is no beach here, it’s just the pool. However, there are shore excursions available that can take you to nearby Puerto Plata where you can hit the beach. But since the ship is only here from roughly 8 am – 3:30pm time ashore is limited.
If you wander around the port, you’ll find cabanas that are available to rent by the day, restrooms, hammocks in the shade for lounging, and a zip line for those looking for a side of thrill with their sun. Watersports options are available including aqua boats, paddleboards, hydro bikes, and more for an additional cost. Signage advertising these amenities did not have pricing listed, so be sure to inquire before renting for the current price.
Feeling hungry but not in the mood for a sit-down meal? There’s a hot dog cart where for $13 you can grab a Nathan’s, a side of fries, and a soda. There are also burgers and chicken on the menu should hot dogs not be your thing.
Just outside the pool area is the Sky Bar also run by Coco Cana. Walk up a few flights of stairs to the bar where you can enjoy a view of the port with frozens, beer, cocktails, and a few different food items. Prices aren’t bad with domestic beer coming in at $8 and a Margarita for $11.
There isn’t a whole heck of a lot to do here and if you do happen to book an excursion, keep in mind that the Dominican Republic is considered a third-world country that lacks decent infrastructure and you will be in some remote areas of the country. The visit to Puerto Plata, which is the island’s resort community, would be the one excursion I would recommend as that area is built for tourists and has a population of former US and Canadian residents who now call it home.
All aboard was 3:30 pm and we sailed away around 45 minutes later.
For the evening’s entertainment, The Most Amazing Circus was performed in the ship’s atrium area called Grand Celebration. I didn’t get to see this show on my last sailing on Celebration, so I arrived about a half hour before the show started and seats were hard to come by in the showroom with the worst views at sea. Unless you’re getting to one of these shows an hour or more before start time, expect to have a horrible view of the show.
The show started off strong with a high-energy vocal performance setting the stage for what I thought would still be high energy, instead after that first song, the following were slow, and melancholy, and I caught myself drifting off a few times. The only thing that broke the boredom was the aerialists performing acrobatic stunts high above the crowd. I wanted this circus to be fun, but it was the opposite. However, all the performers and acrobats get high marks for their vocals and skills.
The struggles with a completely full ship continue with tonight’s issue being wait times for restaurants. While there are plenty of spots to eat both for free and for a fee, after the show at around 8:00 pm, the main dining room, Cucina del Capitano (Italian) and, ChiBang! (Asian-Mexican) all were showing wait times of 30 – 40 minutes. I decided that Italian was going to be the choice for the evening, so I put my name on the wait list via the Carnival HUB app, and right on cue, 40 minutes later, my table was ready.
Previous visits to Cucina del Capitano were not very remarkable as it’s nothing more than a mass-market red sauce joint like Olive Garden or Carrabba’s, although Carrabba’s is much better!
I started off with the mussels and clams which were served in a savory broth with a touch of garlic and a piece of crostini for “mopping up.” Not bad.
Next up was Caprese salad, which was just a very simple and unremarkable plate of sliced tomato and out-of-the-package mozzarella.
For my main course, I went with the Chicken Parmigiano with the restaurant’s highlighted dish, the favorite of the Captain, baked rigatoni.
The chicken parm was average at best… pounded flat chicken breast with an unflavored breadcrumb crust. I still haven’t figured out if this is machine-made, frozen, and then served, or if it’s actually made onboard. After having it on Celebration and Mardi Gras… I’m leading towards frozen.
The baked rigatoni was the star of the meal with a hearty meat sauce, chunks of ham, plenty of cheese, and a zesty sauce. The pasta was cooked al dente and was a nice size portion for a side, but not for a main course.
Service was a little slow, as the restaurant was packed. Drinks did take around 10 – 15 minutes to get both times I ordered, and the rolls served with dinner were a bit on the hard/stale side.
Overall, for free it’s Olive Garden. If this were a specialty restaurant I would have a hard time justifying the cost.
After dinner, I stopped by the casino, and by now you probably know how that ended up!
We are currently heading towards our second port-of-call, San Juan, Puerto Rico where we are expected to be ashore at 10 am. This is one stop I always look forward to, so more on that in tomorrow’s report.
FunTimes for June 6, 2023:
The FunTimes for June 6, 2023, is also available as a PDF.