Southern Caribbean Cruise - NCL Dawn (Puerta Plata Dominican Republic)

Land Ho!

Puerta Plata had a lot to offer and we were getting in early. I wanted to make sure I go up early enough (and sometime during the cruise, we had to move our watches to ATL time zone, so we lost an hour). I set my watch alarm and my phone alarm. Our excursion group was to meet at the end of the dock at 8:30 am and I wanted to get some breakfast first. 

Showered and shaved, I had my day pack handy headed up for breakfast. Again, I had an omelet, switching up the “fillings”. Someone mentioned a crepe station, but I had not found it yet. 

I hurry to deck 7 and look out. This is the first land I’ve seen in days. The sun had just risen I watched as a small boat looked to be recovering pilings. 

I looked down and two ambulances were approaching the dock side and I heard they were taking two people off who had fallen. I look out and another NCL ship is backing in to dock. 

Puerto Plata 

Puerto Plata, officially known as San Felipe de Puerto Plata, is the third-largest city in the Dominican Republic, and capital of the province of Puerto Plata. The city is a trading port. Puerto Plata has resorts such as Playa Dorada and Costa Dorada, which are located east of the city proper. There are 100,000 hotel beds in the city. The first aerial tramway of the Caribbean is located in Puerto Plata, in which visitors can ride up to the Pico Isabel de Torres, a 793-meter (2600-foot) high mountain within the city.

Now those who know me know that I don’t like to get dirty. If I am working in the yard or house or anywhere and get dirt on me, I tend to wash off as soon as I can. Well, not today.

Excursion: Buggies and Beaches

Today, I am on an excursion called “Buggies and Beaches”. The “free to disembark” is given and I make my way down to the dock and follow it to the meeting place. From there, we board a modified troop transport / bus and head to the staging area where we get our instructions and our buggies.

The guide asks if there are any solo cruisers as if there is an “odd” person, they would have to ride with a guide. Two of us raised our hands and I stepped over and introduced myself to Tim, from Texas. He confessed he was not really solo, but that he was with his wife and daughter (on holiday from college). Not sure if they drew straws or what, but Tim was the “odd man out”, his wife and daughter taking one buggy and leaving him to pair off with me in another. 

The guides warned us that it had rained that morning and we were going to get dirty/muddy. They suggested bandanas, though many of us thought it was just a way to get more money. 

We donned our helmets and decided who would drive the first half and who would drive the second. I got to drive first.

The “roads” we went on were filled with dips and holes, all filled with mud and water (and other stuff we won’t talk about).  The buggies seemed pretty solid and the suspension was better than Tim and I suspected. 

We saw some interesting sites and stopped at a farm where we were told about and given samples of locally grown coffee. They also had several tables and racks of souvenirs. 

After some time, we were taken back out to the buggies and made our way out to the beach.There was no place for our day bags so Tim had both of ours in front of him on the floor. They were getting drenched.  

The beach was our half way point and we all stopped to “clean off” and take pictures. It was quite beautiful. There were some hucksters selling wares there too. I waded into the water a little, but was not really thinking of “cleaning off” as I knew we would only get dirt on the way back. 

After 20-30 minutes on the beach, it was time to head back. Tim and I swapped places so he could drive and I got to cradle the bags. Tim was a wild and and we pushed through some deep water. 

Like I said, I do not like to get dirty, but this was a blast. When we got back to base, the facility had showers. Well, they had three (maybe four) pipes with valves that I am pretty sure just ran from a garden hose. I mean, there was no hot water. Oh, and did I mention that it was unisex/co-ed? Seriously, though, it felt good to knock at least SOME of the dirt off.

After getting “cleaned up”, our hosts served us some Mamajuana, the Dominican Republic’s national drink.

Mamajuana, which is often spelled out as two words, is the Dominican national cocktail. In a glass, it exudes smoke, spices, and caramel notes that drop off into an abyss of flavors that include the occasional herbal-sharp, tincture-like edge. As a kind of home brew, recipes vary, but the steps are deceptively simple: Start with rum, ideally molasses-heavy Brugal or cane-based Barceló. Add red wine, plus honey steeped with what often amounts to proprietary herbs and spices. Wood chips often figure in; sea-turtle penis, too, apocryphally and unfortunately. In most cases, bottles of mamajuana steep and mature in the farthest reaches of kitchen cabinets, forgotten about just long enough for bottles to develop their unique characteristics.

Before getting on the bus to head back to the port, our guide made his rounds. He’s the one who took the photos of us in the buggies. While his price seems fair for two people, I let me know that it was just me and I had just met my buggy mate this morning. He smiled and gave me a better deal (though I promised not to tell anyone what it was). 

When we get back to the port, there is still a little time. Many ports have shops “inclusive” to the port itself and sometimes you can find good deals in them. I took advantage of the time left and browsed around. However, as much dirt as I had showered off, there was just as much still on me and I am sure I looked like a vagrant. Many of the shop keepers just ignored me when I walked in. Even Mary, who saw me from across the plaza and waved, turned as she got closer. So, I made my way back onto the ship and directly to my cabin. I hoped into the hot shower, fully clothed, and proceeded to clean the cloths and well as myself. Yes, the ship had a laundry service and yes I planned on using it, but we were still early in the cruise. 

Departure

After making sure I was clean and in a fresh set of cloths, I set out about the ship. We had not left port yet. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so I grabbed a drink and headed to Deck 7. I watched several boats in the harbor loading and unload people (I truly had no idea WHAT they were doing, but smaller boats kept rotating in and out bringing or taking people to/from the larger boat. 

Soon, we were untethered and under power, heading back out to sea. Off the starboard side, we were passing an old fort. I watched as land got farther and farther away. Then I headed down to Aqua for dinner. 

Dinner: The Aqua

Tonight I got there early enough I thought to get into Donna’s section. Well, the hostess said Donna had two very large tables, but she would sit me in a nearby section and Donna would wait on me. And she did, with a smile on her face, she welcomed me back. She took my order and made sure I was taken care of, up until dessert. She took my order, but another waitress delivered it. I looked over to the large tables and one of the guests was standing up, yelling and making a scene and poor Donna was their target.

I finished my desert and wine. I got up to leave and Donna spotted me. She intercepted me and apologized for missing my dessert. I smiled and told her there was nothing to apologize about, that she was trying to take care of impossible guests and that she really should not have to deal with that. She smiled and said it was her job. I assured her it was not and that someone should have her back, should support her, that the customer is not always right. She smiled again and thanked me. 


Stardust: “Sing us a Song, a tribute to Billy Joel” by Jason Ostrowski.

After dinner, it was time for a show in the Stardust theater. This one was called “Sing us a Song” and was a tribute to Billy Joel by Jason Ostrowski. The show was wonderful.  Throughout the show, Jason was giving us a history of how he became an artist/musician and his resume. He’s been on Broadway, done national tours, played in Disney and has been in TV shows like “FBI: Most Wanted” and “Bull”. He told us of how it was aboard ship and how he liked to meet people throughout. He continued on to how he had met his idol (Billy Joel). I found myself singing to many of the songs and the show was over before I knew it. 

He pimped himself for another show later in the week,  his show “Bennie and the Rest, a tribute to Elton John”. I knew I had to see that one. I also hoped to “bump into” him around the ship. I wanted to talk to him a bit about meeting his idol and share a few stories of my own. I made note that I was going to look him up on social media. 

Jason Ostrowski

Playing games (Board and card games)

The Game | Board Game | BoardGameGeekIt was  early enough that I thought I’d hit the Oh Sheenan on deck 8 for a drink and either find a game in the lounge or read. I ran into Michael and Teresa again up there and showed them “The Game”. 

It is deceptivly simple.