Traveler Reviews

• Mamamedina211 01-Jul-2017

  Great trip! The tour was about 6 hours, not 8 hours which was fine with us. The staff on the ship are attentive, fun and nice. They made sure people were having a great time on the boat and had amazing customer service skills. The staff are really fun and funny. They definitely do there best to keep you entertained. They sell pictures they take of you throughout the day for 25.00. They sell t-shirts for 10 some of the profit is donated to a cause related to dolphins. They aren't pushy about selling their merchandise which is nice. They took us to two separate locations. Sosua is beautiful as is the fish at the reef. However, the reef seems to be bleaching or dying so there isn't much to see in that aspect, that obviously isn't their fault. There was A LOT, and I mean A LOT of sea urchins so if you cannot swim make sure you take a vest so you can feel more comfortable as you will be constantly in deep water. Also, the staff should tell you to be careful when snorkeling around the reef because the reef is sharp and the sea urchins can be poisonous. There was no safety briefing concerning the coral, fish, and sea urchins. However, they provided a safety briefing for the boat. The trip was nice but I don't think I would repeat it because the lack of coral and fish in the area. Still beautiful and I would recommend you go atleast once for the staff, the boat, the atmosphere, and to experience the reefs in Sosua at least once. However, the reef in Paraiso is better. There is no place to use the restroom while you wait on the beach before or after the tour. However, there are two bathrooms on the boat to use which are kept clean and are pretty spacious. On this tour they provided drinks soft and alcoholic and a buffet style lunch which just included sandwiches that you can put together yourself, potato salad and macaroni salad. I wasn't expecting much food on a boat, but maybe slightly better options for food? They provided the snorkeling masks and vests. All of which seemed to be well taken care of. Again, great tour and would recommend. FYI after the snorkeling, you sail back to Puerto Plata where you can enjoy being on the water anywhere on the boat, even on the roof of the boat and tan.

• Lisa G 07-Jun-2017

  When we booked this tour, it was written in the description that we would be picked up by bus and taken to the bay to board the boat. It was not how it went down at all. They picked us up on the beach which in and of itself was pretty darn cool. However the waters are very rough going out to the Bay of Sousa. So rough in fact, they tell you in the beginning of the ride just where the buckets are for vomiting from sea sickness. People were throwing up everywhere. I acknowledge the fact it is not their fault that people get sick but if it's common due to the roughness 10-12' waves!! then they should stick with the plan of taking you by bus to a smoother water. The crew was amazing though. Very entertaining and attentive. They allowed some of us to catch a boat to shore instead of riding back in the rough waters as there were a couple in my group who were very ill. We had to pay for a taxi back but i could tell this was a common practice for them.

• Traveling Architect 27-Feb-2017

  We arrived by cruise ship to Amber Cove - meaning the tour operator will NOT pick you up at port. We accommodated nicely by asking to be picked up at RUI resorts. Make sure to tell them PICK YOU UP AT THE GATE. Otherwise quite a walk.

  NICE ride on an open air bus. First time thru the City like this. VERY polluted/stinky. After our last pick-up our on-board guide told us how our day would unfold. You might want to cab it to the resort where the tour starts if you have breathing issues.

  Once at the resort a nice, short, walk to the beach. For some VERY odd reason they handed out boarding passes on the beach. STUPID! Getting onto the catamarans was NOT easy. We had to take off our shoes, and shirts if you did not want them wet. We then proceeded to wade in water that was just above my belly I am 6'-8. ALL while holding onto our belongings phone, dry clothes, towel, etc ABOVE out heads - and don't forget to hang onto that boarding pass and hand it to the guy at the end of the moving ladder. NEVER have experienced boarding like this.

  Once on board, and we were near the first, we settled into the nets on the front of the boat. Not sure the capacity, but it was FULL. Again, we were lucky and had a nice place to lay out. Some were just hanging on the edge.

  OFF we went. TWO catamarans. It was a very nice ride. It was not short - but was what was advertised. It is a decent distance up to Sousa Bay. Seas were ROUGH that day. Worse than many expected, or had experienced. They did their best to hug the shore and limit the bouncing, but there is only so much you can do. Probably a third of the passengers got sick. They ran out of buckets. I do wish someone had gathered all the barfers into ONE location away from us. NOPE. One next to the potty, one next to the drinks, one on the left, one on the right...... You could not get away from the puking.

  Once at the snorkel spot things calmed down - a bit. The pukers kept on puking. The rest of us headed to the water. It was ROUGH. Not bad if you know not to fight it. I REALLY appreciate not having to wear a life jacket that limits free diving. A GREAT thing to allow for us experienced snorkelers.

  Water was not that clear - because of the rough seas. Nothing the tour operator could have done about this. We did see LOTS of fish. I gave out my bagel and english muffin. They liked the bagel best. I did not stay in the water more than about 30-40 mins. It was not great snorkeling. Others stayed much longer. There was NO hurry to get us out.

  Once back on board lunch buffet was served. Not sure what we got was what was advertised - but it was satisfying. Pasta and sandwiches. They were OK. Nothing sweet. I had expected something more perhaps I had confused the different excursion descriptions however. There was AMPLE to drink. El Presidente the DR beer of choice, soda, and mixes. If you did not get enough you must have TRIED to avoid it. At the beginning they came around and refreshed cups. Near the end you had to ask. NEVER did I feel they were going to say NO.

  Nice ride back to the beach. A bit much sun, but that is what you get in the DR. Just kept lathering sun screen on my forehead and nose. Disembarking the boat was almost as fun as getting on. Only NO boarding pass to fall off.

  Ride back to the hotel was VERY nice. Driver was MOST over-accommodating for our circumstances. Hope our tip showed him his extra effort was well spent.

  This was a NICE excursion. Pretty much AS-ADVERTISED, and consistent with the previous rating. Had we had GREAT snorkeling, and calm waters it would have been spectacular. But mother nature is not in the control of the operator. I DO wish they would have warned some that it was going to be a ROUGH, potentially barf-filled ride, AND offered to refund money. It would have been a much more pleasant ride for the rest of us.

• Elizabeth M 02-Feb-2017

  We had an amazing time! The crew was knowledgeable and a ton of fun! The catamaran was well cared for and comfortable and the snorkeling was pretty great, too!

• Andrew H 04-Jul-2016

  This was an amazing tour! The crew was a ton of fun, they really knew what they were doing. They were performers as well as crew members. The snorkeling was gorgeous. I would highly recommend this tour. It was fantastic!

• Amholms 20-Jun-2016

  We had a large group and the guides were wonderful. The weather wasn't very helpful so a few people weren't feeling well and the crew took exceptionally good care of them while entertaining the rest of the passengers. They kept everyone's spirts up and really enjoyed what they did.

• Abigail P 24-May-2016

  High recommend this. Amazing crew. Just touch up on better music to play for the younger crowd 20-30 yr olds.

• Francesca G 21-Mar-2016

  Great experience! Captain and crew were tons of fun!

• Jess 07-Jan-2016

  Awesome crew. Amazing time snorkeling. Would highly reccommend this catamaran excursion!!!

• Chefkerry 23-Dec-2015

  This was a nice day on a Catamaran. The crew was personable and went out of their way to make sure that everyone had a good time.