We’re continuing our Christmas Cruise posts. Today I’m sharing about our time in the Dominican Republic, which is one of Rob’s and my favorite ports. Carnival docks at their port called Amber Cove, but the nearest ‘real’ town in Puerta Plata.
That morning we had breakfast in formal dining and then met up with the kids to get off the ship. It was looking super gloomy and overcast, but luckily it cleared up pretty quickly and ended up being a beautiful day.
We got off the ship and walked to the area where the taxis line up. Rob got us a taxi for the day $80 to take us from Amber Cove to Puerto Plata.
Paseo de Doña Blanca
We were there pretty early and Rob pointed out we needed to walk to ‘pink street’ first. With more and more ships getting into port, we knew it was a good idea to go ahead and get that out of the way. Pink street’s real name is Paseo de Doña Blanca (on the map) is an alleyway in Puerto Plata painted a vibrant fuscia to memorialize Bianca Franceschini. Bianca was a pioneer in the establishment of the tourism industry in the area at the end of the 18th century.
Umbrella Street
Just a about block away is the famous Umbrella Street (on the map) , which another prime location for the perfect spot for those insta photos.
There is not a shortage of locals buzzing around with something to way to get you to tip them. Caitlyn was a big fan of getting photos with all the animals!
From there we walked a little ways down the street (C Beller) and side streets to do a little shopping. We ended up stopping at La Chocolateria (on the map), a chocolate factory and store. They gave us a free tour and showed us how they make chocolate from the seed all the way to chocolate bars. They gave us the tiniest sliver samples of 3 or 4 different kinds of chocolate. I actually got curious about their chocolate tea and ended up purchasing a bag of that.
Independence Park
Just a couple blocks from Umbrella Street, you’ll find the center of town called Independence Park (aka Independence Square, Central Park) (on the map). This is the most popular meeting point in Puerto Plat.
It was constructed as a tribute to General Luperón, who donated this area to the city of Puerta Plata back in the day when it was the Dominican Capital City!
If you go to this area, there is a stand, where a guy sells coconuts for $1. He will take his machete and cut it for you and put a straw in it.
After you drink the coconut water out of it, you can take it back and he’ll cut it more, so you can eat the insides. Here you can see Alex holding a piece of the shell of the coconut that the guy cuts to use like a knife/spoon.
We were under a time crunch to get back to the ship by 2:30, because the kids had their alloted time to do the roller coaster, Bolt. So while we were having a lovely time exploring that part of Puerta Plata, we needed to go ahead and find something to eat. Our taxi driver took us to one of the main streets in Puerta Plata and decided to have lunch at Tam Tam (on the map).
While at the restaurant, a peddler came by the table with a souvenir piece. He picked Drew out of the bunch to try and sell it too, which made me laugh because he is not a big spender. The guy was like “$20?” Drew was like “Nah, $5.” The peddler responded with “$10.” Drew countered with $7. Then the guy said $8 and Drew said “ok!!” I was so really surprised he ended up buying it.
El Presidente was the beer Drew said he had to have while in the D.R. We actually went to a store near Independence Square the boys got one. They’re a 20oz for $3. We got them at the restaurant too.
After lunch we went a little ways down the street and stopped for pictures near the Puerto Plata sign (on the map).
The taxi guy brought us back to port and we paid and tipped him nicely and walked back to our ship. As we got closer to the ship, Drew got a notification that the Bolt roller coaster ride was cancelled. Total bummer for them, but they got a refund for the rides and rode the water slides instead, for free.
Rob and I changed into swimsuits and got back off the ship for the pool and lazy river at CoCoCana Lounge (on the map). The kids ended up joining us and we shared a drink called Coco Party in the souvenir glass.
After that we strolled back to the ship and Rob checked in by text with his brother back home who was house/pet sitting for us. I enjoyed talking to the cats in the rocks and taking in the beautiful view of our ship (on the map). Then it was back to the ship.
That evening on the ship was Ugly Sweater night and a Christmas show, Tis the Season before dinner. It was Christmas show night and ugly sweater night, so Rob and I dressed in those. Here we are with our Santa and Elf tshirts that Rob just had to get the week before when we were out doing some Christmas shopping. He is also the one that saw the Christmas sweaters and decided he wanted to participate.
Here are more pics from that day>>>Day 5
Read about out last time here >>> 2022 Amber Cove
Hope you enjoyed this post! Check out what we did the next day in Grand Turk!
The pink and umbrella streets are so fun! What a great port to visit!
That sounds like a lot of fun; we noticed lots of Instagram spots at each of the ports we went to too and I thought they were so much fun. That pink street is really striking.