Private Tour Puerto Plata

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We booked a private excursion in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic with our friends. The ship docked around 9 AM and we were cleared to go ashore around 9:30 AM.  We met our guide, Erwin, outside the port gates (since only organized tour buses are allowed in the port area).

Awesome Day!  Approx. 6 hours (10:00 am - 4:00 pm) 

 

     INCLUDED:  Coke, Water & Beer...and, entry into the Fort

 

Rum Factory Tour, Chocolate Factory Tour, Walking Tour around Downtown (Central Park, Umbrella Street, Cigar Shop - rolled own Cigars, Church, etc.), Ride down the Beach & stopped for Pictures, Tour of the Fort - and, more!

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Edwin Taxi Transfers Tours
@EdwinTaxiTransfersTours · Taxi Service

We highly recommend Edwin Taxi Transfers Tours for your day in Puerto Plata.  Edwin showed us all the sights and provided excellent service from booking through the tour completion.  We had a great day.

For more pictures and details of each stop on our tour, see our Shutterfly albums.

Puerto Plata Pier
Macorix House of Rum
Walking Tour Puerto Plata
Paseo de Dona Blanca
Umbrella Street
St. Philip the Apostle Cathedral
Driving Around Puerto Plata
The Chocolate Store
Puerto Plata Beach
Fortress of San Felipe
Taino Bay Puerto Plata

Click the image (left) to read more about this cruise.

Bookmark this page and come back to read all about this award-winning new ship.

See our  Ports of Call album for more pictures.

Visit our Shutterfly Page to view photo albums.

 

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Massive Blast in Government Building Oslo Norway

A blast in Oslo, Norway today has torn through a government building housing the Norwegian prime minister's office, blowing out most of the windows according to a Reuters report.   It has been reported that at least two people are dead with several trapped and injured at the scene.

In a second incident near Oslo, a gunman, disguised as a policeman,  killed at least 80 people at an island youth camp northwest of Oslo.  He lured the victims to gather around and then shot them twice to be sure they were dead according to survivors.  The Prime Minister was to speak at the camp, which is organized by the ruling Labor Party, on Saturday.

The Norwegian gunman, who is believed to have been involved in both incidents, was taken into custody at the camp when police arrived in response to calls from the youths. 

UPDATE: Sunday, July 24th: It is confirmed that both events were the work of one Norwegian man who took the lives of at least 93 people.  He leaves behind a 1,500-page manifesto which borrowed passages from the Unibomber and others.  He will get his day in court, but will be denied the public platform he desired.  As reported in our original post, MSC Orchestra was in port at the time and departed safely with all passengers on board as scheduled.

Here is a video courtesy of  USA Today of the scene in Oslo, Norway:

Oslo - a Popular Cruise Destination

According to the Oslo Port Authority website, there are two ships in Oslo, Norway today:  Costa Atlantica (which should have already departed) and MSC Orchestra (which should have still been in port at the time of the blast).  Costa Magica is due into port on Saturday with several other ships calling there in the next seven days.

Oslo is one of many ports of call on a typical Baltic cruise vacation.   It is an easy city to tour on your own with a local hop-on-hop-off bus stopping right at the cruise terminal.  City Tours offers a tour route, that for the cost of approximately $20, included several of the popular sights such as Akershus Castle, the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum.

Details are still coming in on the blast that occurred today.  Early reports indicate that the Prime Minister was not injured during the blast.    So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion, so it is too early to say whether this was a terrorist attack or not.


Attacks Impact Cruise Call

Costa Magica was scheduled to call in Oslo on Saturday, but  the cruise line said that the ship will visit Kristiansand instead. Costa plans to resume calls to Oslo as scheduled next week.


Costa, Seabourn, MSC, Princess, and Celebrity all have ships scheduled to call in Oslo, Norway during the next seven days or so.   We will monitor this story to see if there is any additional impact on scheduled port calls.

Our thoughts go out to the people of Norway.  It is such a lovely area which normally is peaceful.   Summer time is the prime time for tourism, so this could be a very negative impact on their economy.

Massive Fire Destroys Nassau Buildings By Cruise Port

The entire Kelly's dockyard was burned to the ground by a fast moving fire. The blaze completely gutted the Kelly's buildings on the harbourside, and destroyed the buildings on the Bay Street side. At 12:45pm firefighters were still trying to put the fire out. (Photo: Jessica Robertson/Tribune)

Massive Fire in Downtown Nassau 

Destroys Buildings Near Waterfront

Cruise Passengers Disembark Late

UPDATE: February 16th:  Could cost up to $100M to rebuild the damaged downtown stores.

Hope is that this could spur the revitalization of downtown Nassau.   Read More

According to The Tribune, fire broke out at Kelly's dockyard around 7:45 AM Monday and spread to nearby buildings east of the Bacardi Store on Bay Street and East Street.

Firefighters finally contained the blaze after about  8 hours, but not before several buildings were completely destroyed and several others suffered damages including Green Parrot Crew Pub, the Bacardi Building, the old John Bull Store, and Betty K Agencies Ltd.   According to police reports the entire block of buildings affected by the fire have been extensively damaged and are not salvageable.

Tribune photographer Felipe Major was injured in the blaze after falling off of the Bacardi Building's balcony. The Tribune posted Felipe Major's Photo Album of the Fire (click to see amazing photographs of this tragic fire).  Felipe is being treated at Princess Margaret Hospital and has been put on a ventilator to clear his lungs of smoke.  Speedy recovery, Felipe.

The Tribune posted a time line of the day's events and will be providing an update in tomorrow's edition. For more information on the fire, see Fight to control downtown fire.

Also see Blaze in downtown Nassau destroys several buildings and threatens others [NEW PHOTOS] which was published by Bahamas Island Info.

When passengers on Disney Dream and Carnival Glory arrived in Nassau, Bahamas, early this morning, they thought they were about to disembark on a pleasant day in this charming island town.   Instead, they were kept from disembarking the vessels until it was deemed to be safe.   Both ships extended their stays to allow passengers time in port.

Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean International all have ships calling in Nassau, Bahamas this week.   At this time there is no word of itinerary changes as a result of the fire.    We will bring you updates should that become necessary. 

We thank the Tribune for their excellent coverage of this fire.   We hope that Felipe recovers from his injuries.  Our hearts go out to all that were impacted by today's fire. 

Greetings from Port of Miami

View from our hotel balcony - Carnival & NCL ship about to leave

It is a beautiful day here in Miami, Florida where we have just arrived for our 2010 National Conference which begins tomorrow.    We flew in a day early to avoid the cruise day mad rush to the pier.  Arriving in Miami we collected our bags from baggage claim and headed outside to arrange a ride to our hotel.  We shared a ride with another couple that were staying at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami.

Our hotel is the Courtyard Marriott Downtown Miami.    Both of these hotels are great pre-cruise hotels since they are just minutes away from the port.

After checking in at the hotel, we met fellow agents who were also staying there and headed out for some lunch.  We found Polo Tropical, a Caribbean chicken and pork  restaurant, just a few blocks away.   This was the perfect spot to kick off our Caribbean cruise vacation.

Following lunch, some of our group went shopping in nearby stores while we decided to return to our room to relax.   When we got back to the hotel, we spent some time watching the tropical fish in the gigantic fish tank in the hotel lobby.

The rest of our group returned after a hour or so of shopping and we met at the 7th floor pool.   Lounging by the pool was a great way to continue transforming into the cruise lifestyle we would be enjoying for the next 7 days.    The sun was starting to set as we lounged by the pool.    Shadows and various colors were cast on the tall buildings surrounding us.   Three or four hawks were circling overhead as we laid by the pool.

Following our relaxation by the pool, it was time for dinner.  We decided to stay in and try the newly remodeled Bistro at the Courtyard.    It was actually very good.   The service was friendly and the food was very good.   We hung out in the Bistro after dinner until more of our group arrived.  We finally parted company around 10:30 PM and headed up to our room.