Trip log, day three. Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
7-Day Caribbean Round-Trip Orlando: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Freestyle Daily (The Daily Schedule)
Norwegian Prima Deck Plan
Today’s scheduled arrival of 9:00 a.m. was delayed by about an hour due to headwinds yesterday and overnight. We have a third-party excursion booked for today, so this will be interesting. The morning started with a bit of an internet issue. There was a hiccup in the system that prevented me from activating a device on my account. I was able to log in to the portal but was unable to activate the device to use the internet package. Thankfully, the internet support desk opened early, and the representative on duty quickly disconnected the hanging session from the server, and I did not encounter any additional problems the rest of the week onboard! While I was sitting near the internet support desk in the corner by Starbucks, I noticed a laser printer. The Norwegian Prima offers complimentary self-service laser printing! There have been more than a handful of times when I wish I could have printed something out while on a cruise. While I did not have a need this trip, I found this to be an awesome offering.
While Emily was off to the gym, I enjoyed some time looking out at the water while enjoying my morning Americano and conversation with friends while offloading some video files from a memory card. The Starbucks area can get busy, but the early mornings the nearby seating area is a great place to hangout.
Our excursion is set to meet as soon as the ship docks and the first part of the trip includes a hike. Therefore, I am foregoing my intermittent fasting schedule and grabbing a light breakfast from the Surfside Cafe buffet.
We were still 30 minutes away from Puerto Plata when we spotted the Carnival Cruise Line Mardi Gras docked at Amber Cove, a nearby port for Carnival Corporation ships – we spent a day there in 2023, which you can read about here.
You could say we were a bit antsy to go ashore since we booked an excursion with a third party. As a result, we were prepared to go as soon as the ship was cleared.
We patiently waited while enjoying the view of Fort San Felipe Puerto Plata, a historic 16th-century Spanish fortress designed to protect the northern coast of the Dominican Republic from pirates.
Disney Cruise Line will be calling on Puerto Plata later this year with 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruises on the Disney Dream and Disney Destiny from Fort Lauderdale. Originally, the Disney Magic was scheduled for a visit during a repositioning cruise in 2021, but we all know what happened around that time. I hope this is a start of some itinerary diversification with new ports of call added to familiar destinations.
We ended up being around an hour late and thus behind schedule for our independent tour with we booked through Viator. With the delayed arrival, that meant more folks were ready to go ashore resulting in a growing line extending out of the casino and up the stairs to debark. The crew did a great job establishing and maintaining a line and once the ship was cleared it started to move.
Norwegian has a special access line to go ashore for their Haven (concierge) and suite guests. Now, this is a great perk that I am shocked Disney does not extend to add value to their concierge-level guests other than the final morning. There is even a dedicated Haven and suite guest gangway!
As we were tapping our Freestyle cards to get off the ship, our tour van driver called. Thankfully, I was still connected to the ship service with WiFi calling enabled and working. The driver was not all that thrilled about our delay and told us to hurry as they “needed to leave.” I didn’t think they were going to wait for us even though Emily contacted them earlier this morning to let them know the ship was going to be late. We still had to traverse the entire Tiano Bay cruise port from the ship to the exit past the taxi stand to meet our tour operator.
This morning is a prime example of an issue you might encounter by booking a 3rd-party excursion. When traveling, there are a lot of situations where you are not in control, booking with a cruise line typically ensures flexibility for delayed arrival or other changes in time. However, when booking independently, flexibility is the discretion of the tour operator. We are well aware that we can only control the controllables and that the timing of events is often outside of our control. During times like this, we focus on doing what we need to do and hope for the best. We put ourselves in position to go ashore and familiarized ourselves with the route.
It was a solid 15-minute walk from the ship through the port area to the exit where 3rd party tour operators are located. We made it to the area and Isabelle spotted the tour operator sign. We were 45-minutes late, but they waited!!!
We booked the AMBER COVE-TAINO BAY 7 Damajagua Waterfalls + Locale Food directly with Viator, a site we’ve had good experience with in the past. We boarded the van with another couple: 5 guests, plus a driver, photographer, and a guide. Nice ratio for a private tour. As quickly as we were settled, we set out on our adventure. Our driver hit the road heading to the first of 3 stops, the Damajagua Waterfalls, which was about a 35-minute drive.
Along the way, our guide pointed out some areas of interest and shared facts about the Dominican Republic.
We were instructed to be prepared to exit the van and be ready to hike and get in the water as soon as we reached the Damajagua Waterfalls parking lot. It was strongly recommended we did not take non-waterproof cameras, phones and even recommended leaving smart watches in the van to avoid accidental breaks from the rock walls we would encounter. They even recommended not taking sunglasses as we would be under a canopy most of the time. All great suggestions, but I opted to wear an older pair of prescription sunglasses with a tether so that I could see. In hindsight, I wish I did not have them as I was overly concerned in a few spots about losing them.
We parked, and exited the van like the A-Team on a mission. Our tour guide escorted us to the area where she gave us fresh bottles of water, and we picked up lifejackets and helmets and passed us off to our trail guide. After a safety briefing, we began our accent up the mountain.
The water level was low, so all 7 waterfalls were not as waterfall-y, and there were fewer natural waterslides and jumps to experience.
The first part of the walk was getting from the parking area to the actual trails and waterfalls. When we crossed the river it was abundantly clear the water was low.
Before reaching our first waterfall water slide experience, our trail guide went over some safety tips.
The hike was a workout and the water was eye opening cold, but the area was gorgeous. I can only imagine what the tributaries and falls look like during the rainy season.
As we reached the end of the hike, we found ourselves at the top of the final waterfall. The first of the two jumps was the tallest and frankly, coolest looking, we encountered today.
The second part of the decent was a shorter jump but the lead up was a little more treacherous from wet rocks along with another slide.
However, after getting beat up by the rocks on a previously water slide and a growing concern about losing my Rx sunglasses, we skipped out on the final jumps and took the stairs, which were an adventure in their own right. I should have just passed off my glasses to someone walking down and jumped; it would have been a lot less effort.
This concluded the water portion of the hike, and we proceeded to hike back to the parking lot. The trail guides kept telling us the sections of the hike would take about 15 minutes when in reality they were referring to minutes in Dominican time – which looking back this means we were on time meeting our tour guide this morning.
I highly recommend the Seven Damajagua Waterfalls experience, but with an important caveat: it’s a physically demanding adventure that isn’t ideal for all ages or fitness levels. The trek involves hiking up and down steep, rocky terrain while frequently stepping in and out of water on loose stones. We saw several visitors who were clearly unprepared for the physical challenge. We did great and were thankful that we were in physical condition to do so, as this was a fantastic area to experience.
If you decide to go, wear sturdy water shoes with excellent traction and a secure fit. Proper footwear makes a big difference on this excursion. Emily & I wore Keens, which we originally purchased years ago to climb Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica. I had reservations with the shoes following that excursion as small rocks constantly getting in all the gaps in the sandals. They have been solid for casual beach walks, but stepping up the intensity of the walk, I need to find some more supportive footwear. Alternatively, I would have sacrificed a pair of boots or older tennis shoes for the support. That being said, Isabelle did the hike in Crocs and they served her just fine.
There’s really no comparison between the Seven Damajagua Waterfalls and Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica. Dunn’s River is a relatively modest hike in the falls, while Damajagua is a true endurance challenge. The experience starts with a 30–45 minute (often longer with group stops) steep, muddy uphill hike through the jungle to reach the top. From there, you’ll spend a lot of the trek mentally focused on finding stable footing on loose, slippery rocks — with some sections quite steep and slippery — before taking each step. Our guide was very good at taking group breaks for those that needed a breather before continuing.
We had a great time, but I’ll admit I’m getting a bit too old for intense adventures this far from home – I love an adventure, but I am not trying to injury myself or the family on vacation.
One final tip for the falls is to bring extra cash to tip the local trail guides who follow along to help keep everyone safe. These guides work directly at the falls and are not employed by your cruise line or independent tour operator.
After returning our helmets and lifejackets, we had a few minutes to use the changing rooms and bathroom facilities before loading back in to the van and heading out to our next stop, lunch.
Part of the excursion was lunch at a local restaurant called, Topice Gourmet.
Inside, we were treated to a little buffet with local flavors. Dishes included white rice with red bean sauce, fried plantains, red sauce pasta, fried chicken, grilled pork, and Dominican salads. Oh, and freshly cut avocados, which were the size of softballs. I love eating locally when visiting ports, as it adds to the overall experience of the destination. The lunch offerings hit the spot after a morning hike, and more importantly, the buffet items were well seasoned, prepared well, and delicious. The avocado might have been the best one any of us have every had!
Oh! We are batting 1000 right now with cats per port of call.
During the brief lunch stop, we learned the other couple on our tour was staying locally and were really nice about this morning’s delay. We expressed our gratitude, and they were just enjoying the day without any time constraints. I guess they have been here long enough to have a grasp on Dominican time.
Our third stop, La Casa Del Guia, a short drive from the restaurant. The portion of our day was described as a tour of the chocolate factory, with mini-tour around the cacao plantation with tastings. We saw the chocolate production area off to the side, but our guide focused on the flora and fauna around the plantation along with the tobacco drying and cigar rolling.
The plantain was flush with plants producing the raw materials for coffee, chocolate, alcohol, and cigars. The massive mango tree was impressive, and it created a nice canopy to combat the Caribbean sun.
There was a pen with guinea pigs and another with turtles. Off in the distance was a monkey enclosure, which is part of another tour experience.
Under a pavilion, were were shown tobacco leaves hanging to dry and two fellas rolling cigars.
As with all tourist experiences across the globe, there is a gift shop at the end. Inside there was a selection of Dominican wares, jewelry, chocolate, coffee, cigars, and some locally produced alcohol. The dark chocolate was some of the best I’ve had and how could it be bad, it was essentially a mix of compressed sugar and ground cocoa powder. Mamajuana, a Dominican spiced alcoholic beverage made by soaking a combination of tree bark, herbs, and leaves in a blend of rum, red wine, and honey. The sample was interesting, kinda the first time you try Malört – we opted to take a picture rather than purchase a bottle. Cigar and coffee samples were also available.
Our tour guide did ask us after lunch when we needed to be back on board the ship and assured us we’d be back to Taino Bay with enough time to spare. Around 2 o’clock, we returned boarded the van and headed back to the port.
The drive back was about the same time as it took to get to the falls this morning, leaving us with less than 90 minutes to browse the port area, or so we thought…
Taino Bay Port is a destination in its own right. There are restaurants, shops, and water amenities available to cruise passengers. By this time of day, it was rather quiet with very few cruise passengers remaining. We walked around checking out the various water features, including an incredible-looking lazy river and another spot with over-water hammocks. The walk back to the pier brought us back through the duty-free store, which was also quiet. I was a little surprised, even with the cloud cover, that so many people were back onboard already.
There wasn’t enough time to really do anything at Taino Bay Port other than pick up a Christmas ornament, so we headed back to the ship. While we didn’t experience anything at the port, I could definitely see myself hanging out around the pools, floating around the lazy river, and enjoying a nice lunch at one of the restaurants along with a cold beverage from one of the bars. We are going to Amber Cove and talked about taking a taxi back over to here, but looking at the Taino Bay Port website, the area is reserved for cruise passengers docked at the port, which totally makes sense.
As we boarded the ship, we discovered why it was so quiet around the port. The all-aboard time was 3:30 p.m., not 4:00 p.m. Looking at the app, they list the “departure” time in the itinerary summary area and the all-aboard time in the digital Freestyle Daily. As much as I dislike using cruise line apps, I errored today and looked in the wrong place on the app. Thankfully, we were back at the port on time and we made it back onboard with 18 minutes to spare. The actual all-aboard time was posted on the digital signage around the ship, so I messed up when I looked in the one spot of the app that displayed the departure time.
As it turns out, we would have been okay as our departure was delayed a couple of hours due to the direction the wind was blowing, which made it unsafe to leave at our originally scheduled time.
Tonight’s dinner is at Los Lobos, Norwegian Prima’s contemporary Mexican specialty restaurant, and offers an option for al fresco dining on Ocean Boulevard.
The Los Lobos menu features traditional flavors with a modern twist.
The chips and salsa arrived at the table seconds after we were seated, as is customary at most Mexican restaurants until they decide to expand, raise prices, and start charging for them. Speaking of avocados, I didn’t think the avocados at lunch could be topped, but the table-side guacamole was incredible.
We all felt the dinner at Los Lobos was fresh and well seasoned.
The bar was set high by this point, but the desserts were somewhat of a letdown. Don’t get me wrong, they were fine, but not something I’d go out of the way to get again.
Following dinner, we took the puzzle up the Observation Lounge where we worked on the puzzle and chatted with friends.
Upon retiring to the room for the night after an adventurous day ashore, I took a closer look at the QR code on the vanity mirror. The QR code opens to a stateroom directory with links to FAQs, wi-fi package and cellular information, as well as menus. In fact, the website is not exclusive to the ship’s intranet, you can browse it from anywhere at https://view.ceros.com/ncl/directory/p/1.
Tomorrow, we are headed to the US Virgin Islands, one of favorite Caribbean destinations. For now, please enjoy the following full day timelapse from the Dominican Republic.
