Punta Cana – Short stopover before our cruise (Dominican Republic)

Today was the start of our 14-day Caribbean cruise with AIDA – away from the cold in Germany and the pre-Christmas stress. Fantastic beaches, great underwater worlds, delicious food and many new adventures are waiting for us. We are looking forward to it! 🙂

Our itinerary “Caribbean Islands 1” with the AIDAdiva

In the next 14 days, the Route Caribbean Islands 1 will take you through the southern and eastern Caribbean with the AIDAdiva. 11 shores on Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Grenada, St. Vincent, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe and Antigua as well as 3 days at sea.

The differences of an individual or flat-rate booking

We did not book the trip with the AIDA on a flat-rate basis, but we booked the flight (via Holidaycheck with Air France), the AIDA trip (via e-hoi) and the transfer (via DominicanPlus) separately. This is a bit more expensive and has some risks, but so we could save at least 600 euros per person.

The disadvantage of an individual trip is that, for example, in the event of a flight delay, one is not secured and the ship then departs without one. This cannot happen (if you book directly via the AIDA). In addition, most aidA charter planes fly directly to La Romana, where the AIDAdiva also docks/departs. On the other hand, we flew to Punta Cana and had to take care of a transfer for the 80 km long route to La Romana. Another difference between package travellers and individual travellers is the stay on the ship on the day of departure: Although all guests have to check out of the room by 9 a.m., package travellers can continue to use all the amenities of the AIDA (restaurants, pool, etc.) until the departure of the airport transfer. Individual travellers are only allowed to stay on the ship until 11 a.m. This, too, should be taken into account in his deliberations.

In order to minimize the risk of flight delays, we have installed a small “buffer” in our planning, so that we arrived in Punta Cana the day before. The flight was also so cheap because we fly with Air France and thus have a stopover in Paris. But since it is only 1 to 2 hours at a time, this did not bother us. The changeover also worked great. The suitcases also came with them. In the late afternoon we landed well in Punta Cana. Already on the plane we received entry documents and customs forms, which we had to fill out. At the airport in Punta Cana you have to buy a tourist card for 10 US dollars if you have not booked a flat rate through the AIDA. Afterwards we went directly to the passport control, which went uncomplicated.

Our hotel in Punta Cana

Since we will not go to the AIDA until the next day, we have booked a room at Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village for the first night. As the hotel is located in the immediate vicinity of the airport in Punta Cana, it offers a free shuttle service for all guests. Here you simply go to the security exit (located behind the stand “Taxi Service”) and ask if he/she can please spark the hotel. Unfortunately we had to wait 20 to 25 minutes for the shuttle, although the hotel is only 3 minutes away.

The check-in was unfortunately a bit unfriendly. The lady at the reception didn’t appreciate us when we came to her, nor did she greet us. After she had done all her other to dos, it was our turn. Our room was located directly on the ground floor overlooking the entrance. It was still very quiet; we could sleep well. It was all clean and tidy. Only in the bath the shower valve has fallen apart when turning on the water. The wifi is free and also fast. If you have forgotten your adapter for the socket at home, you can unfortunately not borrow at the reception, but you have to buy it directly for 3 euros. However, there is a large shelf opposite the bar with about 20 charging cables, where you can charge your mobile phone free of charge. Really a very good idea. Opposite the hotel is a shopping arcade with shops, a large supermarket and a Wendy’s.

Our transfer from Punta Cana to La Romana

The next day we were picked up around noon by a transfer bus from DominicanPlus at the hotel, which was to take us to the port of La Romana. We had already booked the transfer online in advance. Through the forum wasserurlaub.info, in which we also informed ourselves in advance about excursion possibilities and tips, we even found 2 passengers who also wanted to go to the AIDA. After a good hour’s drive we arrive at the port of La Romana (La Romana Cruise Terminal) and AIDAdiva.

All travelogues from our AIDA Cruise (Caribbean Sea)

If you read the list of islands that AIDA is heading for on the route Caribbean Islands, you might think it was a dream for a moment: Dominican Republic, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Grenada, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua. To reach eleven islands in 14 days is already a house number. But that was also the reason for us to choose this route. A cruise is predestined to get to know the Caribbean with its thousands of dream islands in a relaxed way. Here you can find all travel reports of our 14-day Caribbean cruise with AIDAdiva.

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Day 01 » Dominican Republic: Punta Cana – Short stopover before our cruise
Day 02 » Dominican Republic: AIDAdiva – Our 14-Day Cruise in the Caribbean Sea
Day 03 » Day at Sea
Day 04 » Aruba: ABC Islands – Diving at the Renaissance Plane Wreck
Day 04 » Aruba: Oranjestad – Tourist Attractions & Things to Do by your own
Day 05 » Curaçao: Curacao – Island Tour, Attractions & the best Photo spots
Day 05 » Curaçao: Ocean Encounters Curacao – Diving with Dolphins
Day 06 » Bonaire: ABC Islands – Diving in Bonaire National Marine Park
Day 06 » Bonaire: Kralendijk – Travel Guide & Things to Do
Day 07 » Day at Sea
Day 08 » Grenada: Diving on the wreck of the cargo ship Veronica L.
Day 08 » Grenada: Molinere Bay – Diving at the Underwater Sculpture Park
Day 08 » Grenada: Saint George’s – Tourist Attractions, Things to Do & Photo spots
Day 09 » St. Vincent: Kingstown & Hiking La Soufriére Volcano
Day 10 » Barbados: Wreck diving in Carlisle Bay Marine Park
Day 10 » Barbados: Snorkeling with turtles in Carlisle Bay
Day 11 » St. Lucia: Diving in the Caribbean with Scuba Steve’s Diving
Day 12 » Dominica: Dolphins, Whale-Watching & the capital Roseau
Day 13 » Guadeloupe: An island tour & the town of Pointe-a-Pietre
Day 14 » Antigua: St. John’s, Nelson’s Dockyard & Fort Berkeley
Day 15 » Day at Sea
Day 16 » Dominican Republic: Punta Cana – Relax one day on the Beach