Puerto Plata-Amber Cove (Dominicana)

San Felipe de Puerto Plata is a major port city located on Dominican Republic's north coast (Caribbean Sea). By population (around 290,000) the city is ranked the country's 9th-largest. It is also the capital of the Puerto Plata Province.

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.

Puerto Plata Cruise Port (Taino Bay)

As cruise port, Puerto Plata/Taino Bay is visited by liners of other than Carnival Corporation-owned major cruise shipping companies. As call port, Puerto Plata is visited mainly as part of Eastern Caribbean itineraries with lengths 4-5-7-days.

Like Carnival's Amber Cove, Taino Bay cruise port has a large swimming pool (free access/complimentary) with a swim-up bar, in-pool chaise lounge chairs and live DJ music. Beach beds and chairs by the pool are also complimentary.

Taino Bay has two restaurants (both a-la-carte-priced) - Sanmangu (serving local cuisine specialties and classic Caribbean dishes) and Casa Palapa (serving mainly Mexican food). The cruise port also houses the Cortaito (patisserie/coffee shop) and a total of seven bars, while Taino Village houses the shops.

The most popular tourist destination from Puerto Plata is Mt Isabel de Torres which can be accessed by road/driving, hiking, or via the cable car (approx 2 km from the cruise port; the roundtrip ticket currently costs US$10). A popular excursion option is visiting the Damajagua waterfalls (27 total, of which 7 are visited) located at ~half-hour drive from the city. Damajagua tours feature activities like hiking, rafting, in-cave and natural pool swimming. Another often booked tour is visiting Fortaleza San Felipe (16th-century-built by the Spaniards fortress, now a museum/since 1965). The main means of transportation for tourists in Puerto Plata/Taino Bay are taxis and Uber.

Besides being an important cargo port, Puerto Plata is also a popular vacation travel destination famous for its premium hotels and all-inclusive spa resorts, including Grand Paradise Playa Dorada, Iberostar Costa Dorada, Senator Puerto Plata, Hodelpa Playa Dorada, Casa Colonial Beach, VH Gran Ventana Beach, VH Atmosphere, Be Live Collection Marien, Playabachata, Lifestyle Holidays, BlueBay Villas Doradas, Cofresi Palm Beach. In the city alone are available 100,000+ hotel beds. The city's aerial tramway (Caribbean's first) connects downtown to Mount Isabel de Torres - the peak of an 800-m (2625 ft) high mountain within the city.

The city is served by Gregorio Luperon Airport (approx 15 km / 9 mi east of Puerto Plata) with regularly scheduled international flights linking to Europe (Belgium), USA (NYC, Newark Liberty), Canada (Montreal, Toronto), Caribbean (Turks and Caicos). Seasonal flight link to Russia, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden. Puerto Plata's economy is mainly based on tourism, agricultural production, and shipping trade (cargo port services), in addition to shipbuilding, commercial fishing, textiles.

Fortaleza San Felipe is a historic fortification (1577-built Spanish fortress, now museum housing military artifacts) located close to the cruise port. Another best-known tourist attraction is Museo Del Ambar (amber museum with country's biggest exhibition). Approx 42 km (26 mi) west of Puerto Plata is La Isabela - Spain's ever-first settlement in the Americas, established in 1493 by Christopher Columbus (Italian explorer and colonizer, 1451-1506). In 1496, due to a mutiny caused by hunger and diseases, La Isabela was abandoned. Columbus continued its expedition and soon established Santo Domingo de Guzman.

Amber Cove Cruise Port (Carnival)

Carnival's exclusive port Amber Cove encompasses 30 acres (12 hectares / 0,12 km2) of waterfront property. The new port was built in partnership with Grupo B&R (Agencias Navieras B&R, Republica Dominicana). The new port was named "Amber Cove" after the rich amber mineral reserves found in the region. The list of other Carnival-owned private island destinations and exclusive cruise ports of call includes Half Moon Cay (Bahamas), Princess Cays (Bahamas), Grand Turk Island (approx 160 km / 100 mi to the north of Amber Cove), Puerta Maya (Cozumel Mexico) and Mahogany Bay (Roatan Island, Honduras).

The world's largest cruise shipowner Carnival Corporation invested ~USD 85 million to develop the purpose-built Amber Cove Terminal. During its first year of operation (2015) Port Amber Cove handled 250,000+ passengers. The facility supports ~430 local jobs.

Through its subsidiaries, Carnival Corporation has operations in almost every part of the world. Its ships operate from 128 global seaports. However, the new cruise port facility reflects the company's intentions for further growth through new Caribbean itinerary options. The large Amber Cove port complex is set in a broad cove ringed by mountains. The new terminal has 2 berths that accommodate the world's largest cruise vessels.

Amber Cove features a waterfront tourist center, waterfront cabanas, recreational area (green spaces, swimming pool, water park), hilltop observation point (with bar), retail shops (selling local, hand-made souvenirs and crafts), multiple drinks and food options. The terminal also has a staging area where cruise tourists can embark on 40+ regional land tours (shore excursions). The nearby Ocean World is one of the Caribbean's largest marine adventure parks.

The cruise port was inaugurated with a grand opening ceremony held on November 2, 2015. The special event was attended by Danilo Medina (Dominicana's President), Francisco Javier Garcia (Dominicana's Minister of Tourism), Arnold Donald (Carnival Corporation's CEO), Jeffrey Rannik (B&R Group's President). Following the first visit (Carnival Victory, October 6, 2015), additional ships from CCL-Carnival Cruise Lines fleet plus 7 other Carnival Corporation-owned companies (AIDA, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess, P&O UK, Fathom) visited Amber Cove.

Notably, Amber Cove was the first port destination for the inaugural voyage of the new brand "Fathom" (2016-2017), which operated 7-day roundtrips from Miami to Cuba (starting April 10, 2016). In 2016, Carnival Sensation visited Amber Cove as call port on year-round operated 4-5-day itineraries out of Miami. In 2017, the itinerary was changed to 5-night / 6-day, with call ports Grand Turk and Amber Cove.

In its first full year of operation, the Carnival Corporation's 8 brands made a total of 140 ship calls to Amber Cove, with 23 different boats. Maiden calls (by brand line) included Cunard's RMS Queen Mary 2 (Nov 22, 2015), P&O Azura (Dec 5, 2015), AIDAvita (Dec 11, 2015), Costa Deliziosa (Dec 31, 2015), HAL's ms Eurodam (Jan 19, 2016).

Puerto Plata-Amber Cove cruise terminal