From three to six ports: how DR doubles the cruise business
Voice reading · ~2 min
The Dominican Republic just made a power move in the cruise business. According to Arecoa, the country goes from three to six operating ports for large cruise ships and positions itself as the destination with the most port infrastructure in the entire Caribbean.
This is not a minor tweak. It's a capacity doubling that puts us in a different league. Ports currently operate in Punta CanaPunta CanaThe main tourism hub of the Dominican Republic, on the eastern tip, famous for white-sand beaches, all-inclusive resorts and its own international airport., La Romana and Amber Cove (Puerto PlataPuerto PlataA north-coast city and province, birthplace of Dominican tourism, home to the cable car up Mount Isabel de Torres, Victorian architecture and the Amber Cove cruise port.). With new points in SamanáSamanáA north-eastern peninsula known for humpback whale watching, unspoiled beaches like Rincón and waterfalls such as El Limón., Santo Domingo and a second pier in Puerto Plata, the country now covers from the Atlantic to the Caribbean South. My take: logistical flexibility increases and ships no longer skip the island due to berth saturation.
In my opinion, the move is smart and ambitious. If before we depended on three critical points and any problem left the island out, now there is resilience. And watch out: this doesn't only benefit the cruise lines. Hotels, excursions and local commerce in each port win because a cruiser can now combine multiple ports in one trip. The bet is so strong that I dare say the Dominican Republic becomes the cruise hub of the insular Caribbean. Now MITUR, port operators and hotels need to step up to the opportunity. The ship has sailed.
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The daily brief
Hotels, airlines, MITUR, cruises and destinations. One sharp email a day. Free.
The brief Dominican travel professionals read every morning.