Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 4: August 27, 2025

Welcome to Day 4 of my trip report from the Carnival Celebration, where I’m currently on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise. As with the rest of this week’s posts, this isn’t meant to be an in-depth, minute-by-minute breakdown like I’ve done in the past. Since I’ve already written extensive day-by-day reviews of Celebration, these updates are focusing on the highlights and lowlights of this sailing. If you’d like to dive deeper into the full ship experience, check out the links below for my earlier reviews.

• Carnival Celebration Western Caribbean Cruise – April 2023
• Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise – June 2023
• Carnival Celebration Southern Caribbean Cruise – July 2023
• Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise – February 2024
• Carnival Celebration Western Caribbean Cruise – October 2024
• Carnival Celebration Eastern Caribbean Cruise – June 2025

About Carnival’s Port of Amber Cove

Today’s port of call was Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. This cruise port is owned by Carnival Corporation and opened in October 2015 after a $85 million development. It’s become a regular stop not just for Carnival, but also for other Carnival Corp. brands like Holland America, Princess, and Costa.

Amber Cove is set up a lot like Grand Turk, which we visited yesterday, though there’s one big difference: there’s no beach here. Instead, the port combines a shopping village on one side with a water-park-style pool area on the other.  If you’re visiting and really want a beach day, you’ll need to plan ahead a little. The whole complex is built around the pool and water-park, so if sand between your toes and a dip in the ocean is what you’re after, you’ll have to head out on an excursion.

Carnival and other lines that call here offer several shore excursions that take you to nearby beaches around Puerto Plata. Options range from all-inclusive beach clubs with food and drinks included, to bare-bones transportation and access to a beach is all you’re going to get. One of the most popular choices is Playa Dorada, a resort-lined beach with a beach, restaurants, and chair rentals.

The key thing to remember is that you can’t just walk off the ship and stroll to a beach—you’ll either need to book through the cruise line or arrange a private tour or taxi. Oh, and here is one of those times where I can’t stress enough – book excursions through the cruise line! The Dominican Republic is not like visiting more developed countries like say, The Bahamas.  The roads and infrastructure often times leave a lot to be desired.

If you’re venturing out on your own or with a 3rd party and you encounter traffic, a mechanical breakdown, or something else that causes you to miss the all aboard time, you may return to the pier noticing your ship is gone.  By booking an excursion through the cruise like, you have that safety net where the ship will wait for passengers on a ship-arranged excursion to return if it’s past departure time.

A Two-Ship Day in Amber Cove

Today was a two-ship day. Carnival Celebration arrived first, pulling in around 7:30 a.m., and guests began going ashore a little before 8. But around 10 a.m., gangway operations were halted for about 30 minutes as Carnival Sunshine pulled in and docked alongside us. For safety reasons, no guests were allowed off Celebration while Sunrise was maneuvering in. Once she was tied up, the gangway reopened and operations went back to normal.

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I visited Amber Cove on a two-ship day. The pier is built to accommodate two ships, and the port area itself has the capacity to handle the crowds, but it definitely felt busy.

When there’s only one ship in port, finding a chair by the pool is never a problem. With two ships in today, chairs were still available, but the pool area was absolutely packed. Between the swim-up bar, DJ, splash pad for the kids, and the general “day at the pool” vibe, it felt more like a crowded resort than a cruise port.

The setup is nearly identical to Grand Turk:

• Shopping area on the left side of the port with chain and local shops plus a restaurant.
• Water park area on the right side, featuring a water slide ($), zip line ($), cabana rentals, and water sports.
• Large pool complex with a swim-up bar, loungers, and shaded areas.
• Food & drinks options including the Coco Loko bar/restaurant and, amusingly, a Nathan’s Hot Dog truck—where you can buy what may just be the most expensive hot dog you’ll ever eat.

One interesting (and, depending on how you look at it, concerning) moment came while I was walking around the port. I stopped at one of the scenic overlooks that’s popular for taking photos, only to find a large group openly smoking weed. It was a scene straight out of a Cheech & Chong movie.

The strangest part? Just a few feet away, two security guards stood in a watchtower, keeping an eye on the area. And yet… they did nothing. No intervention, no warnings, nothing. It was a pretty surreal contrast: tourists getting high in plain view while security simply looked on.

Main Dining Room Dinner Menu

Tonight, since it was a shore day, is a causal evening.  Here’s a look at the menu for the main dining room.

Dinner at Chibang

Tonight, I joined some friends for dinner at Chibang, Carnival’s Mexican + Chinese restaurant found on all three Excel-class ships. On Celebration (and her sisters Mardi Gras and Jubilee), Chibang is free the first time you dine there, and $8 per person for each additional visit—the same pricing model as Cucina del Capitano. (As a side note, it looks like Chibang won’t be included on Carnival’s new ship, Festivale, when she debuts in 2027.)

The menu is split into two sections—Mexican and Chinese—and you can mix and match to your heart’s content. Think of Chibang as a mash-up between Pei Wei and Chi-Chi’s (yes, remember Chi-Chi’s?). It’s not gourmet Chinese or authentic Mexican, but it hits the spot when you’re craving either.

While the rest of the table ordered a variety of items from both menus, I went for one of the upcharge specialties—a whole roasted duck for $40. Here’s the catch: Chibang only makes three ducks a day. If you want one, you either need to get lucky or be ready for disappointment if they’re sold out. Tonight, I lucked out.

The duck, while not Peking style, is prepared in a similar manner.  It’s then carved tableside by the chef—who, on these ships, is the same person who personally prepares the ducks each day. Before carving, he explained the process of the multi-step process to prepare and roast it, then carefully sliced off pieces of crispy skin and meat to make duck rolls with thin scallion pancakes, cucumbers, green onions, and a rich hoisin-style sauce.

He also carved the rest of the duck, offering me the neck (which I politely declined), then plating the legs, wings, and remaining meat on two platters for the table to share. The duck skin was perfectly crisp, while the meat was tender, juicy, and flavorful, with just enough fat to give it that extra oomph. Two fried duck wings in a lightly spicy, rich sauce were served on the side, which was a nice bonus.

Simply put, the duck was fantastic. The tableside presentation added flair to the meal, and at $40, the value is nearly unbeatable. At home, you’d be hard-pressed to find a good roast duck for less than $20 per person.  (Side note, you must order the full duck, and it’s priced at $20 per person – minimum 2 people.)

Service tonight was a bit on the slow side, but mainly because of the duck. Normally Chibang’s food comes out quickly, but the carving and extra steps added to the timeline. Appetizers arrived fairly fast, but the mains dragged, and in total we spent close to 90 minutes at dinner. For me, the duck lover at the table, it was worth every second. For my hungrier companions, well… let’s just say they joked about where they wanted to shove that duck if it didn’t come out soon enough.

Appetizers at Chibang are fairly standard—think spring rolls, dumplings, and other bite-sized starters that are almost certainly premade and finished in the galley. Everyone at the table enjoyed their entrées, and we finished the night with desserts. I kept it simple with a couple scoops of ice cream.

After dinner, I did a little more wandering around the ship before calling it a night. Tomorrow will be a sea day as we make our way toward the next stop on this itinerary—Nassau, Bahamas. Love it or hate it, Nassau has the reputation of being one of the lowest-rated ports in the Caribbean, and many cruisers consider it a “stay on the ship” kind of day. I’ll share my take on it tomorrow, but let’s just say I’m not exactly counting down the minutes until we arrive.