Day 03 11/23/21 - Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

After having lost an hour's sleep due to our clocks being set ahead, we slept in pretty late and didn't arise until after 9:30am. Following our customary Lido breakfast, at 11am we attended a reception for 4 & 5 star Mariners where we chatted with a couple from California (well at least the wife as the husband didn't say a word!).

 

I spent some time composing my blog seated next to a window in the now empty BBKing lounge.  For a break, I checked out the future cruise consultant sign up sheet, and tge earliest I could get an appointment was next Monday!Afterwards I went up to the Crow's Nest to watch the sail in.  The pilot sailed out in his little vessel and soon we were in the narrow channel where the captain had the ship do a 180° counterclockwise pirouette so he could back the ship into the left side of the narrow finger pier.  On the opposite side of the pier, a dredge was doing its lonely job of scooping up clamshell buckets filled with silt and depositing them in the hold of that ship.

 

We were soon given the authorization to disembark and the masses headed for deck A and the long walk to to the fortress styled port entry building.  This port was largely funded by a multi-million dollar investment by Carnival Cruise lines and many of its ships stop here.  But today, the Holland America flag was flying above the fort!

 

Today's excursion was Power Snorkeling and we found our assembly point.  The most difficult task there was to fill out the waiver form on an iPad in sunlight.  This flawed procedure caused us a 1 hour delay. Following this we boarded a covered flatbed truck for a one hour journey down largely unpaved roads to the snorkeling site.  We passed by a number of new windmills and several still under construction.

 

At the snorkel site we were briefed on the use of the device which is essentially a battery powered fan encased in a plastic housing.  It has close to zero buoyancy.  One holds it at arms length away and below one's body and uses a trigger to control the speed (3 speeds).  It was a cool way to glide through the water and I even took GoPro footage while moving through the water.  Unfortunately the water was very murky, so it was hard to spot or see fish.  One had to be right next to the reef to be able to see the coral and that's a dangerous position to be in.

 

After the power snorkeling we were taken to another beach where I plain snorkeled in equally murky waters over sand and sea grass. I spotted a few fish there.  Afterwards my wife and I enjoyed a local plate of sausage, egg, and fried plantain.  It was yummy!  We then retraced our route back to the port and arrived there about 7:30pm for an 8:30pm onboard time.  We were able to do a little shopping and I purchased a Dominican Republic lanyard.

 

Back onboard the ship, we immediately went to the Lido and enjoyed a last minute India Indian dinner.  They even prepared some fresh Naan bread for us.  Silently at 8:39pm, the ship slipped away from the dock and headed out to sea to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Back at our room, one of our stateroom attendants, Ende, was surprised we were just getting back.  We changed into dry clothes and went to the 9:30pm Main Stage performance by One Step Dance Company.  While Rebecca, our cruise director, touted this show as premiering tonight, we had previously watched it a month ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Somewhere after the third song I fell asleep for the duration.  There's something about eating, turning out the lights and repeat performances that have a slumbering affect on me.

 

A stop for a warm cheese pretzel at the NY Deli was in order and we finished up the evening on the aft deck watching a nice electrical storm.  It was a full day and we have more to come tomorrow In Puerto Rico.