Day 3 Amber Cove

Regal Princess 7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 3 Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
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Arrival: After smooth sailing on a south easterly course through the night, we arrived early morning at Amber Cove on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. It is a 25 acre cruise center complex which opened in 2015. There were many shops, restaurants and a market place to purchase souvenirs. The landscape surrounding Amber Cove was hilly and lush green.

Early morning arrival in Dominican Republic

Approaching Amber Cove

Amber Cove Cruise Center

Excursions: There were many excursions to choose from including swimming, snorkeling and diving in the beautiful waters in the area; outback adventures to various plantations and sugar cane fields, schools and homes to learn about the culture and customs of the Dominican Republic; a chance to swim with the dolphins; and a backcountry tour on an ATV. There were also different sized cabanas in the area which could be rented for the day.

Large and small cabanas could be rented for the day

Festival held in Independence Plaza each Sun. in Feb.

Small blue building the oldest in Puerto Plata

Our Excursion: We chose a 2 ½ hr. tour to visit the nearest city of Puerto Plata, a small beach and the San Felipe Fortress. Since this was an early excursion, we grabbed a quick breakfast and hurried to depart the ship. Our concern was that there would be long lines of other cruisers wanting to leave the ship at the same time and we didn’t want to be late in meeting up with our tour group in the assigned area. Much to our surprise, there were several lines to exit with no wait at all.

Scooters are the primary mode of transportation

Colorful buildings

Cannot tear down buildings, just restore or repurpose

Puerto Plata, our first stop, was designed by Christopher and Bartolome Columbus in 1496 and was founded in 1502. During the Dominican Restoration War, Puerto Plata was completely razed. Beginning in 1865, the current city was rebuilt which explains why the buildings are of Victorian style in bright Caribbean colors. The buildings around the Plaza cannot be torn down only repurposed for something else. Carnival celebrations are held in Independence Plaza each Sunday in February. The building of the San Felipe Cathedral began in 1502, but it took about 365 years to complete only to be destroyed by fire. The beautiful church of today was constructed in 1870.

Towers of San Felipe Cathedral

Inside cathedral

Beach - Playa Cosita Rica

Playa Cosita Rica

Our second stop was at a small beach, Playa Cosita Rica. We didn’t spend much time here since a rain shower began just as soon as we arrived. The final stop was at San Felipe Fortress which was built in 1564. Located on a hill that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, it was to protect the city and seaport against pirates.

San Felipe Fortress

Fortress built to protect from pirates

Looks out over Atlantic Ocean

When returning to the ship after the tours, all coaches had to stop for a security check. The officer came on board and checked each person’s photo ID before the coach was allowed to proceed through the gate into the cruise complex.

Security check at gate

Mask similar to those worn during Carnival

Afternoon Activities: After eating lunch on the ship, we went back to the cruise center to investigate the shops and market place. Since the ship was scheduled to leave at 3:00pm, we only had a short time to look around. There were colorful masks mounted on poles in the center of the shopping area. These masks are similar to some of the ones worn in the carnival festivities.

Dinner salad

Appetizer

Seafood casserole

Sugar free dessert

Italian dessert

Watercolor fountain early show

Watercolor Fantasy: Each evening at 7:00 and 9:30pm (wind permitting) a wonderful water fountain show was presented at the Fountain Pool (Deck 16 Midship). It featured beautiful colors, sights and sounds for a 15 minute show. Since we had enjoyed an early dinner, we had plenty of time to make the early show. It was beautiful.

Watercolor fountain early show

Late Watercolor Fountain show

Late show - colors show up so beautifully

Late show

Wind permitting, the show goes on each night

Evening Entertainment: Show time in the Princess Theater was at 8:00 and 10:00pm. It featured a comedy magician, Christopher James, who performs all over the world and has been named Branson entertainer of the year as well as US variety performer and comedy performer of the year. His show was excellent, amazing everyone with his magic. After the show we went back to the Watercolor Fantasy show to see the lights after it was dark. The earlier show was great, but at dark it was fantastic.

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