Puerto Plata

Insignia has now set sail from the Dominican Republic to return us to Miami. The swells are quite big, with white caps stretching out to the horizon. But the ship is handling the conditions well. And I am continuing to enjoy the breeze and shade that brought me down to the starboard promenade on deck 5 in the first place.

While we’ve been to the Dominican Republic on a previous cruise, Puerto Plata was a new-to-us port … our third such on this cruise.

First, a bit of intel for the RTW2023 passengers who will be joining us. The embarkation numbers I heard early on were not accurate. OCA Cella said last night that she had just run the numbers and there will be 73 world cruisers joining in Miami … total pax complement will be 500+ for that segment. She is expecting 300+ world cruisers to join in San Francisco. So, when it is all said and done, it seems that unlike RTW2017, RTWers will outnumber segment passengers this time.

Now, onward with our day.

We had some funny money (aka shipboard credit) to get rid of before we arrive back in Miami on 28 December. So, we booked an excursion through the ship. We don’t do this often as we just don’t like being in large groups. But one of the options for today was a day pass at Ocean World. That ought to work, we said to ourselves. Once we got to our destination, we could wander around on our own … pick and choose activities at our own pace.

What we didn’t count on was sharing the port with Odyssey of the Seas … an RCL ship that carries nearly 4,300 passengers … also at the Taino Bay facilities with us. And I don’t know how many other ships at Amber Cove, the terminal operated by Carnival for its family of cruise lines.

It wasn’t too bad when we first arrived at Ocean World … around 9:45a to a small folklore group welcoming us with traditional dances. As the facility rep assigned to our group took us around on a familiarization tour, Mui went his own way to snorkel in the aquarium. I continued with the group until we reached the walk-in aviary. That’s when I walked away to check out the birds … a couple of toucans, some macaws, and a flock of love birds.

Next I headed down to check out the beach, where we intended to spend the day. So disappointing. The small beach overlooking the manmade lagoon — the surf is too rough outside the breakwater — was overcrowded … the lagoon was filled with swimmers. Actually, I should say “players” as everyone seemed intent on climbing up and around the giant inflatable toys that took up so much of the water space.

By the time I made it back to join Mui, following a straight path without walking into a wall of people was impossible. As for going to the sea lion and dolphin shows … well, you had to go get a seat early or be left standing outside the amphitheaters. We lucked out at the dolphin show … not so much at the sea lion show.

Our day pass entitled us to a buffet lunch, so we partook of that, paying extra to purchase a couple of bottles of Presidente, the local Pilsner, to wash down the food. Then we went to a spot on the far side of the property where the otherwise blaring music and the screams of kids were drowned out by the waves crashing ashore. This was the best part of our day.

As we always do, we made the best of what we were handed. But today is not going to take up valuable “grey matter” space in our minds.

Once back on the ship, Mui decided to take a nap. With the sun baking our veranda, I came down to the promenade to do my writing. It wasn’t the quiet spot it usually is. The cacophony created by the hulls of both vessels rubbing up against the protection buoys as the swells pushed them back and forth made for quite the din in the echo chamber created by Insignia and Odyssey of the Seas tied up on either side of the pier. Luckily that din is no more now that we are out to sea.

We have a relaxing day at sea tomorrow. Looking forward to that!Read more