Samana both met my (low) expectations and exceeded them. We’d read so many disappointing reports by people who didn’t book excursions, that we knew booking an excursion was a must.
After much research we settled on the Cayo Levantado Beach excursion. Generally the reviews were very positive (just some mention that the chairs we kind of ratty)…my only concern was the mention of no umbrellas as I will burn to a crisp!
We dropped anchor at Samana right on schedule (remember the echoing anchor noises awakening us in St. Maarten?). You could tell the lack of interest in visiting this island in that the tenders were open to general boarding within a half hour. (In fact, when we returned to the ship around 12:35, the pool deck was the busiest I’ve witnessed on a port day.)
Our meeting time for our excursion was 9:00 in the Stardust theater. I was nervous for a couple of reasons. First was a Royal Caribbean ship was in port as well (we were told we were the only ship), and the port excursion guy threw fear into our hearts; “Another ship in port”, “limited chairs”, “no umbrellas”, “some shade”, “the next tender” (we weren’t first?!?!)…all of this built to a crescendo in my pasty-white brain.
After boarding the tender to the island, there was a mix-up because two people boarded without tickets. All was straightened out in the end, but my frenzied brain just saw lounge chairs and shade being sucked up as the minutes ticked by!
As we approached the island I could see plenty of vacant spots on the beach and my heart-rate slowed.
Upon arrival, you are handed a map of the area and sent on your way. There is a small market with stalls selling all of the usual; magnets (yay!), jewelry, knickknacks, etc. Continue down the path to the beach and all of the white beach chairs are yours for the taking. The beach chairs with colored nylon are strategically placed in the shade (of which there is plenty) and are $5 each (the chairs are fairly ratty as reported). You can either pay the $ or drag the free chairs to the shade. Your choice.
We walked to the shadiest spot at the end of the beach. There is a roped-off area in the water. Unbeknownst to us, this is where they trotted their resident sea lion out for the sea lion encounter. So we were able to enjoy the show without the high sticker price (I do have to confess I do not support any of these enterprises over concern of how the animals are treated…even observing from afar I felt guilt…)
Waiters approached occasionally offering libations (everything seemed to be $5) gentleman renting snorkel gear, and women offering massages, but the sales pitches were not too intrusive.
I was happy in our shady spot, but DH was disappointed in the snorkeling, only seeing kelp, jelly fish and trash. 😦
The first tender back to the Gem was or be at noon. Being used to “island time” we weren’t surprised that the tender didn’t show up until 12:15 nor leave until 12:25. But for the guests hoping to go from the beach to the tender to the mainland, this delay was supremely distressing.
Our departure was delayed by another medical emergency. DH spotted a lady with a sling on her arm and her entire family being placed on a tender. Of our four stops, this is the one that I really wouldn’t want to be dropped off at! I just hope she (and her family) has medical evacuation insurance!
Dinner was at Orchid Garden tonight. The food was very good, but the service utterly disjointed. Our first course (soup) arrived before our wine. My second course was dropped off minutes after my soup. DH’s second course didn’t arrive until we pointed out that it had never been delivered and that my appetizer was now cold because it had been brought out far too early. At least the waiter had the sense to ask if I wanted a new appetizer (yes), but then would you believe it? He brought out the main course while we were still eating the appetizer! Sheesh! It wasn’t just our waiter that was dropping food at inappropriate times, it was other servers as well. I don’t quite understand how this basic training is missing?
cubechick 