According to Atahualpa Paulino, the Northern regional director of tourism, a total of 29 cruise ships are expected to dock in Puerto Plata in June 2023.
These ships will arrive through the tourist ports of Amber Cove and Taino Bay/Puerto Plata. Despite being the low season, the arrival of these 29 ships positions Puerto Plata as one of the leading Caribbean provinces in terms of cruise arrivals.
Out of the 29 vessels, 16 are scheduled to dock at the Carnival Corporation-owned Amber Cove. The remaining 13 ships will arrive at the Port of Taino Bay, which is owned by the ITM Group company.
Amber Cove is a Carnival Corporation-exclusive cruise port located to the west of Puerto Plata. The distance between Amber Cove and Puerto Plata is 12 km (7,5 mi) or ~20 min drive (via Avenida Manolo Tavarez Justo). Vessels allowed to dock at Amber Cove are operated by the Corporation's subsidiaries AIDA, Costa, Cunard, HAL-Holland America, Princess, P&O UK.
Puerto Plata (locode DOPOP) is a cruise port visited by ships of other than Carnival major cruise companies - including RCG (RCI-Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Silversea), NCLH (NCL-Norwegian, Oceania, RSSC-Regent Seven Seas), Marella UK, Virgin Voyages.