Okay, back to Maimon, and Carnival's cruise port.
I found a diagram of the plans for
Amber Cove on Google, from
a story published in the Miami Herald, and used a little Photoshop Magic to scale it, size it correctly, and superimpose it onto this image of the bay at Maimon.
Click to see pic
We see tens of thousands of square feet of "souvenir-shop" space ... a wide beach to the north, for people who want to chill out in the sun on the sand ... a swimming-pool complex for those who want to go swimming, but not in the "dirty" waters of Maimon Bay ... parking-and-transfer spaces for dozens of big air-conditioned tour buses to whisk those visitors away on their cruise-line-approved excursions. There's dock-space for two cruise ships ... and they claim they'll have the facilities to handle 8000 passengers per day; but they're projecting 250,000 passengers the first year of service, which divides out as two
Carnival Triumph class vessels a week, each with 2500 passengers or so.
The passengers on the cruises I've taken were mostly mature-to-elderly, sedentary, overstuffed; Carnival MAY be different in this respect, but I'd have to see it before I'd believe it. They've spent the last couple of days eating too much, and drinking way too much. Where are they going to go? Just for silly-grins, let's take a look at some of Carnival Cruise Lines' excursions for a port that might be comparable - Montego Bay, Jamaica:
Dunn's River Falls: A long trip from Mo'Bay; the more-adventurous walk up the falls, hand-in-hand-in-hand, in long queues following their certified guides. Others admire the falls from observation plazas to the side, where native craftsmen vend their wares. I think we could compare this to Damajagua Falls, down by Imbert, a few miles southwest of Maimon.
Grand Palladium Resort All Inclusive Day Pass: Port Amber is right next to Riu Merengue - a slam-dunk!
Mountain Valley River Rafting and Plantation Tour: Think the operators could jin-up something like this? Sure...
Montego Bay Catamaran Adventure: Sailing, snorkeling and rum punch, boarding next to the cruise ships.
4x4 Safari - a rugged drive through the mountains in a 4x4 truck that looks like a guagua.
Irie Mon Beach Party with Lunch - substitute bachata for reggae and Presidente for Red Stripe.
What else do we need in excursions? How about Ocean World, for the dolphin shows and the casino? How about the Teleferico ride up to Pico Isabel de Torres, or even a bus ride to the peak? How about the old fort in Puerto Plata? How about a few blocks of "shopping street" along the Malecon, with shops like H. Stern and Little Switzerland, and drinking establishments like Carlos & Charlie's? Maybe golf at Playa Dorada, a visit to the Brugal warehouse, horseback-riding up in the hills back of Costambar, and a pirate-themed rum cruise that leaves from the cruise-ship dock? They can do all of that, without even passing Field Of Dreams.
Sosua is - what? Maybe a half-hour past Puerto Plata "centro"? With four hours typical for shore excursions?
Maybe I'm whistling in the dark, but I still don't believe Sosua is going to see any tourist-dollars out of Amber Cove.
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