North side (Puerto Plata/Amber Cove) DR diving (cruise ship dive) ideas?

[swimbody]

Well I agreed to go on a cruise with momma. She's been on one and I refused to get on a Royal Caribbean play vessel or a Carnival Walmart wagon as well. I agreed reluctantly to travel on a much more sedate Holland America to relax while at sea. Our stops are Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle!), Grand Turks, T & C, Puerto Plata aka Amber Cove DR and finally, Key West. I scuttled our Cozumel trip this year in lieu of this to see some other countries and get out of our comfort zone. I have read some reports from people staying on the north side and the only thing I can see worth checking out is Aqua Adventures in Sosua to dive an artificial reef wreck and it looks ok, 100' profile, structure in good shape but alas, not much life. I know this sucks but has anyone done something crazy from Amber Cove that is worth the struggle? Driving 2 hours etc...to get to a better site, stay on the ship and drink, skip the place altogether?

In a few words I've been adamantly against cruise ships and what they stand for and bring a level of destruction to once quaint and beautiful destinations (ex Roatan was once a peaceful island). If any of these stops jumps out to you as places I should dive at I'd appreciate a more positive outlook on this so I can feel good about our departure date November 26 of this year.

Thanks,

Negative Nancy aka swimbody

 

[living4experiences]

On a cruise earlier this year, I researched the scant dive ops in the DR but came up with nothing. Puerto Plata is the wrong side of the DR to do any scuba diving. Any diving worth the effort is about two hours away from Amber Cove. It's a good day to stay on the ship or do a non-ship-sponsored city tour.

I haven't been to T&C, so I can't speak about that. It's been awhile since I was in Key West, but it was just meh for diving. Lots of bleaching of the reef last time I was there.

Since you're not a fan of cruise ships, I'll just bring this up for a little enlightenment. If you didn't know, Holland America is owned by the Carnival Corporation, who ultimately is responsible for the "magic pipe" disaster, which was uncovered by a whistleblower engineer on a Princess cruise ship. Princess is also owned by Carnival. Princess Cruises Pleads Guilty to Violating 'Magic Pipe' Probation