06/2013 - Can Sosua ever be changed into a Cabarete??

[Gutter Meat]

Ex Mayor warns against degradation

FROM SOSUA NEWS...........

The former mayor of Sosúa, Vladimir Céspedes, has expressed in various media his opinion on the proposed actions against prostitution in Sosúa and Cabarete. He says that these actions have already been undertaken in the past and turned out disastrous for both resort towns. The big hotels and resorts like Casa Marina, Sosúa Bay and Sosúa by the Sea are indeed visited by families. But the small hotels are largely dependent on singles. These singles, now mainly from the USA, stay away if the police makes life difficult for the single ladies in the entertainment centers. The ladies provide revenue in the salons, fashion shops, grocers and rental of hotel rooms. All these companies then will also see a dramatically decrease in their sales and are often forced to close their business. As painful as it is, says the former mayor, if there are no substitute facilities, this will be the harsh reality. The Director of Tourism, Lorenzo Sancasani, replied right away in the media. He believes that Cabarete for example with its water sports, music events, sports tournaments, the beautiful beach and well-equipped restaurants is very attractive for the holidaymaker.


Sosúa, with the right intension of the local business people, can also be very attractive for family tourism. Think of eco-tourism, diving schools, good hotels and restaurants and the beautiful beach that Sosúa already has to offer. So Sosúa and Cabarete don’t need not be dependent from single ladies.
Source: Puerto Plata Habla, Sacandomelao.com and Noticias ENN

[greydread]

"Mothafuckas always tryna' ice skate uphill!"

(Hemp)

[psriches]

FROM SOSUA NEWS...........

The former mayor of Sosúa, Vladimir Céspedes, has expressed in various media his opinion on the proposed actions against prostitution in Sosúa and Cabarete. He says that these actions have already been undertaken in the past and turned out disastrous for both resort towns. The big hotels and resorts like Casa Marina, Sosúa Bay and Sosúa by the Sea are indeed visited by families. But the small hotels are largely dependent on singles. These singles, now mainly from the USA, stay away if the police makes life difficult for the single ladies in the entertainment centers. The ladies provide revenue in the salons, fashion shops, grocers and rental of hotel rooms. All these companies then will also see a dramatically decrease in their sales and are often forced to close their business. As painful as it is, says the former mayor, if there are no substitute facilities, this will be the harsh reality. The Director of Tourism, Lorenzo Sancasani, replied right away in the media. He believes that Cabarete for example with its water sports, music events, sports tournaments, the beautiful beach and well-equipped restaurants is very attractive for the holidaymaker.


Sosúa, with the right intension of the local business people, can also be very attractive for family tourism. Think of eco-tourism, diving schools, good hotels and restaurants and the beautiful beach that Sosúa already has to offer. So Sosúa and Cabarete don’t need not be dependent from single ladies.
Source: Puerto Plata Habla, Sacandomelao.com and Noticias ENNOhhhhhh, so that's what this is all about? Sosua wants to be a Cabarete? I don't think it's possible. Different lay out and different town vibe (even without the hoes). I always thought getting rid of the hoes was some kind of moral initiative but I guess it's purely economics. And this is why they never mention what would happen to the hoes they get rid of.

What do the ex-pat's think. Can Sosua ever be turned into a Cabarete??

[Jimmydr]

Ohhhhhh, so that's what this is all about? Sosua wants to be a Cabarete? I don't think it's possible. Different lay out and different town vibe (even without the hoes).

What do the ex-pat's think. Can Sosua ever be turned into a Cabarete??

Caberete was empty for about 10 months a year when I was staying there. That was back in 2000-2002. maybe it changed?

[Rico Smooth]

The mayor of Sosua can try the same tactic that Gouliani did in NYC, but our dollars will be going to different venue like Columbia. Why mess up a good thing, it's pointless to take such a high morality stance when your only revenue business is sex tourism.

[Happyhorn]

Does that mean they will be banning big sodas next?

[greydread]

:rofl:
Does that mean they will be banning big sodas next?:rofl:

[tubrospool]

is really sad for the touism in dr now

[Westy]

Where's Ohmmmm to weigh in on this one? I mean, if we want an expert on the ground ...

He bought, turned around, built up and is running the Kite Beach Inn, right on the beach in Cabarete.

Yet, most of the time we hear from him, he's been hanging out with Robert13212 ... where? Sosua.

With a beachfront property of his own ... I'm wondering, why Sosua? :mrgreen: :corky: :cheesygrin: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cheesygrin: :corky: :mrgreen:

[WickedWillie]

Where's Ohmmmm to weigh in on this one? I mean, if we want an expert on the ground ...

He bought, turned around, built up and is running the Kite Beach Inn, right on the beach in Cabarete.

Yet, most of the time we hear from him, he's been hanging out with Robert13212 ... where? Sosua.

With a beachfront property of his own ... I'm wondering, why Sosua? :mrgreen: :corky: :cheesygrin: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cheesygrin: :corky: :mrgreen:

Do you shit on your own doorstep??????

[Westy]

Do you shit on your own doorstep??????

Conceded. Good point. Guess I should disqualify myself, for making light of it. :rolleyes2:

[greydread]

Do you shit on your own doorstep??????

Like a Ho from Kingston once told me in Negril: "Not in mi Mada yard!"

[deezl]

Answer: No.

Cabarete's got miles of near continuous beach, Sosua has a half-mile crescent cove and a couple other tiny beaches. Cabarete has the constant wind which gives it ideal conditions for kiteboarding, windsurfing, and surfing. Sosua has... A shitty little reef for divers?

They're comparing two entirely different places.

The closest similarity is that many people go to Cabarete to get blown around, whereas people go to Sosua to get blown, around.

[eldorob]

Can Sosua ever be turned into a Cabarete??


Sure, why not? It's got beaches, restuarants, hotels, AI's, Ocean World, 27 Falls, dune buggys, horseback riding, cruise line, etc etc etc.
All it takes is good planning & managment. I could do it with half my brain tied behind my back.

No windsurfing, so what?

[Jimmydr]

Sure, why not? It's got beaches, restuarants, hotels, AI's, Ocean World, 27 Falls, dune buggys, horseback riding, cruise line, etc etc etc.
All it takes is good planning & managment. I could do it with half my brain tied behind my back.

No windsurfing, so what?

There is a limited number of families that go away. Once they find a place, they usually stick with it. Its going to be tough to pull them from PC into Sosua plus get additional families.

[Kevy]

There is a limited number of families that go away. Once they find a place, they usually stick with it. Its going to be tough to pull them from PC into Sosua plus get additional families.


Most are familiar with Playa Dorada, they go there once because it is cheap and never go back.

[Jimmydr]

Most are familiar with Playa Dorada, they go there once because it is cheap and never go back.

They will kill Sosua and it will take ten tears to come back like Boca did.

[Kevy]

The sky is falling everywhere, the AC boards are full of stories about the mayor meeting all the bar owners/managers. He let his deputy rip them and say he would close all the bars if he was mayor, then told them new rules were on the way and if they did not follow, they would be raided. He followed up with his hand out for money to fix up a park there:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:..

Same all over these days.

[jose1234]

Where's Ohmmmm to weigh in on this one? I mean, if we want an expert on the ground ...

He bought, turned around, built up and is running the Kite Beach Inn, right on the beach in Cabarete.

Yet, most of the time we hear from him, he's been hanging out with Robert13212 ... where? Sosua.

With a beachfront property of his own ... I'm wondering, why Sosua? :mrgreen: :corky: :cheesygrin: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cheesygrin: :corky: :mrgreen:

I think the subsequent posters are correct overall. But let me also add...due to ISOC and etc. I have made lots of friends that live, visit and hang out in Sosua. In Sosua I can belch, fart, drink into a stupor, watch hot chicas shaking their asses, yell at the top of my lungs, listen to jokes and stories that would be inappropriate somewhere else and other things...

Regarding the future of Sosua... Well, unless a few new large resorts take over a good portion of the beach area and the town does not try to fix up the sidewalks, lighting and garbage removal...then the town would go down hill if a substantial amount of prostitution is eliminated.
.
Gringo tourists on vacation do not spend that much more than guys coming for girls on vacation and many times less. In addition, gringo vacation tourists only come a few months of the year while sex tourists come year round. If we are talking AI resorts, then the gringo vacationers seldom venture out of the resort, except maybe once or twice...not really helping the surrounding community except for the jobs it creates which are typically only low level cleaning maids and groundskeepers. Most management positions go to foreign workers or more educated workers from Santo Domingo...

If the community had a large foriegn investor committed to developing Sosua, and could get their project off the ground right away, then there might be limited suffering and a chance to save Sosua, but if prostitution is curtailed and the city is left to linger for years hoping for a savior, then the town is likely to deteriorate more...aka Detroit.... Would a place like Sosua attract a large investor if the town further deteriorated, restaurants closed, many small businesses and hotels closed and was filled with desperate people trying to survive and turning to crime???

I have not been to Pattaya, but didn't that city develop as a city from a small town and also have prostitution??? I think if prostitution is managed or moved down the street, then that would be a good compromise... But, leave it to the Dominicans to fuck things up...sooner or later...

[MrHappy]

Where's Ohmmmm to weigh in on this one? I mean, if we want an expert on the ground ...

He bought, turned around, built up and is running the Kite Beach Inn, right on the beach in Cabarete.

Yet, most of the time we hear from him, he's been hanging out with Robert13212 ... where? Sosua.

With a beachfront property of his own ... I'm wondering, why Sosua? :mrgreen: :corky: :cheesygrin: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :cheesygrin: :corky: :mrgreen:


What are you implying, that he's in love with Robert?

[deezl]

Sure, why not? It's got beaches, restuarants, hotels, AI's, Ocean World, 27 Falls, dune buggys, horseback riding, cruise line, etc etc etc.
All it takes is good planning & managment. I could do it with half my brain tied behind my back.

No windsurfing, so what?

all that stuff is in (or a lot closer to) puerto plata - which already has all the AI infrastructure built - and they can't even get people to go there.

[greydread]

II have not been to Pattaya, but didn't that city develop as a city from a small town and also have prostitution??? I think if prostitution is managed or moved down the street, then that would be a good compromise... But, leave it to the Dominicans to fuck things up...sooner or later...

Pattaya developed not from a small town but from a USAF base which was very heavily used during the Vietnam era. When I got my orders there it was U-Tapau AFB and the town (not unlike other towns in the PI, Panama, South Korea and Japan to name a few) sprung up ISO the base and the GI's stationed there.

The hookers came because the GI's were horny and had money and rather than end the party when the base dried up, they continued to cater to civilian sex travelers and a whole lot of expat ex-military and retirees who had no further use for the American way of life.

[rahsta]

I think the subsequent posters are correct overall. But let me also add...due to ISOC and etc. I have made lots of friends that live, visit and hang out in Sosua. In Sosua I can belch, fart, drink into a stupor, watch hot chicas shaking their asses, yell at the top of my lungs, listen to jokes and stories that would be inappropriate somewhere else and other things...

Regarding the future of Sosua... Well, unless a few new large resorts take over a good portion of the beach area and the town does not try to fix up the sidewalks, lighting and garbage removal...then the town would go down hill if a substantial amount of prostitution is eliminated.
.
Gringo tourists on vacation do not spend that much more than guys coming for girls on vacation and many times less. In addition, gringo vacation tourists only come a few months of the year while sex tourists come year round. If we are talking AI resorts, then the gringo vacationers seldom venture out of the resort, except maybe once or twice...not really helping the surrounding community except for the jobs it creates which are typically only low level cleaning maids and groundskeepers. Most management positions go to foreign workers or more educated workers from Santo Domingo...

If the community had a large foriegn investor committed to developing Sosua, and could get their project off the ground right away, then there might be limited suffering and a chance to save Sosua, but if prostitution is curtailed and the city is left to linger for years hoping for a savior, then the town is likely to deteriorate more...aka Detroit.... Would a place like Sosua attract a large investor if the town further deteriorated, restaurants closed, many small businesses and hotels closed and was filled with desperate people trying to survive and turning to crime???

I have not been to Pattaya, but didn't that city develop as a city from a small town and also have prostitution??? I think if prostitution is managed or moved down the street, then that would be a good compromise... But, leave it to the Dominicans to fuck things up...sooner or later...


Sosua is definitely a place were you Dont have to watch what you say in front of someone.

[WickedWillie]

If the community had a large foriegn investor committed to developing Sosua, and could get their project off the ground right away, then there might be limited suffering and a chance to save Sosua, but if prostitution is curtailed and the city is left to linger for years hoping for a savior, then the town is likely to deteriorate more...aka Detroit.... Would a place like Sosua attract a large investor if the town further deteriorated, restaurants closed, many small businesses and hotels closed and was filled with desperate people trying to survive and turning to crime???

I have not been to Pattaya, but didn't that city develop as a city from a small town and also have prostitution??? I think if prostitution is managed or moved down the street, then that would be a good compromise... But, leave it to the Dominicans to fuck things up...sooner or later...

Ah finally someone's getting warm.:wink:

[jose1234]

Ah finally someone's getting warm.:wink:


The only rumor I have heard about that goes back years as a wealthy family owns the land from the hills down to Sosua beach and was asking something like $40 million for it. The rumors go on that several wealthy people were considering developing it, including Donald Trump, but backed away because the owners would not go down in price or something to that effect...

If there are changes to Sosua due to a major development going in, then I am sure the area will continue to be great for expats regarding chicas because the culture will take a couple generations to change if it were to change...

[Westy]

I think the subsequent posters are correct overall. But let me also add...due to ISOC and etc. I have made lots of friends that live, visit and hang out in Sosua. In Sosua I can belch, fart, drink into a stupor, watch hot chicas shaking their asses, yell at the top of my lungs, listen to jokes and stories that would be inappropriate somewhere else and other things...

Regarding the future of Sosua... Well, unless a few new large resorts take over a good portion of the beach area and the town does not try to fix up the sidewalks, lighting and garbage removal...then the town would go down hill if a substantial amount of prostitution is eliminated.
.
Gringo tourists on vacation do not spend that much more than guys coming for girls on vacation and many times less. In addition, gringo vacation tourists only come a few months of the year while sex tourists come year round. If we are talking AI resorts, then the gringo vacationers seldom venture out of the resort, except maybe once or twice...not really helping the surrounding community except for the jobs it creates which are typically only low level cleaning maids and groundskeepers. Most management positions go to foreign workers or more educated workers from Santo Domingo...

If the community had a large foriegn investor committed to developing Sosua, and could get their project off the ground right away, then there might be limited suffering and a chance to save Sosua, but if prostitution is curtailed and the city is left to linger for years hoping for a savior, then the town is likely to deteriorate more...aka Detroit.... Would a place like Sosua attract a large investor if the town further deteriorated, restaurants closed, many small businesses and hotels closed and was filled with desperate people trying to survive and turning to crime???

I have not been to Pattaya, but didn't that city develop as a city from a small town and also have prostitution??? I think if prostitution is managed or moved down the street, then that would be a good compromise... But, leave it to the Dominicans to fuck things up...sooner or later...

Ohmmmm ... I was teasing. And subsequent posters let me know I'd stepped into it - up to my hip.

Please accept my apologies. All of you.

[The Sage]

The educational system is at least a decade from improving. My guess is there's easily 30 years or more, barring aliens arriving to make all humanities current issues disappear, of the current chica mindset. That's more than enough to get me through.






The only rumor I have heard about that goes back years as a wealthy family owns the land from the hills down to Sosua beach and was asking something like $40 million for it. The rumors go on that several wealthy people were considering developing it, including Donald Trump, but backed away because the owners would not go down in price or something to that effect...

If there are changes to Sosua due to a major development going in, then I am sure the area will continue to be great for expats regarding chicas because the culture will take a couple generations to change if it were to change...

[harkangel0]

Well from what I have read here and other sites Sosua has locked in a deal with a cruise line to start docking there and are in talks with other lines to do the same but they believe that they will not get theses' deals until they clean up their act. already they are feeling the hurt of these crack downs with five hotels filing bankruptcy and even some of the old mayors telling them to back off.

[Jimmydr]

Well from what I have read here and other sites Sosua has locked in a deal with a cruise line to start docking there and are in talks with other lines to do the same but they believe that they will not get theses' deals until they clean up their act. already they are feeling the hurt of these crack downs with five hotels filing bankruptcy and even some of the old mayors telling them to back off.

But they come off the boats for 5 or 6 hours.

[greydread]

But they come off the boats for 5 or 6 hours.

True, and in that short time those cruise ship tourists are a captive audience. They will sell them shit from vendors who pay the government for the license and sales tax and pay the company who won the concession rights (and kicked plenty back to El Jefe) who will in turn control the business and if that means move the whore houses away from the downtown and into the boonies (ala Sint Maarten & Aruba and Curacao and the rest of the cruise ship stops) then so be it.

Have you ever seen the people who come pouring off those ships and go pouring right back on again? These are the kind of people who take four Caribbean vacations in their entire adult lifetime while we take four a year. We spend more money but they buy more shit and pay more taxes.

Until Ho's start charging ITBIS it's going to stay that way.

[Westy]

Well from what I have read here and other sites Sosua has locked in a deal with a cruise line to start docking there and are in talks with other lines to do the same but they believe that they will not get theses' deals until they clean up their act. already they are feeling the hurt of these crack downs with five hotels filing bankruptcy and even some of the old mayors telling them to back off.

Sosua? No. Maimon ... which is twenty miles west "as the crow flies" from Sosua, certainly more than a half-hour away on Ruta 5. It's west of Puerto Plata and POP airport - Sosua is east of the airport.

Greydread has already said most of what I have to say about "shore excursions" from a cruise ship, but I'll amplify ... The "excursion director" opens the gangway no less than an hour after the vessel gets tied in to the dock. I'm not sure, but AFAIK they'll use it as a port for Triumph-class ships - that means about 2500 passengers total, and maybe 2000 will actually leave the vessel. The passengers will be able to choose (and pay tourist prices for) a goodly number of excursions, which will range from mild (how about the Amber Museum and the fort in Puerto Plata? Or the dolphin show and the casino at Ocean World?) to the drunken-wild (I'll bet some enterprising entrepreneur will set up "Pirate Cruises," IOW booze-cruises with a Pirate theme, right there in Maimon Bay), to PERHAPS the properly adventurous (Damajagua Falls? Maybe the teleferico to Pico Isabel de Torres? Maybe a horseback tour like the one I did my first time at Blackbeard's?)

The earliest, the most adventurous, MIGHT leave the ship at 9 AM. EVERY ONE of them have to be aboard by 1530, because the "Leviathan" is going to cast off and head for their next destination at 1600.

And what's Sosua really worth, in that sort of calculation? Far, far less than Her Majesty The Mayor is inclined to believe.

I've been on eleven cruise-ship cruises, from 1995 to 2003. Ten of those were with my Dear Departed Momma; one was the winter after she "went West." I went scuba-diving as much as I could manage, from each of them - in fact, I cued in the Captain of the SS Enchanted Isle as to some good scuba-diving on that vessel's final cruise - and I'm willing to assert "from authority" that the planned-and-prepaid excursions on a cruise-ship are meant to give even the least-athletic, the least-adventurous, the least-likely customers (for they are customers) the "idea" that they'd "done something adventurous and out-of-the-ordinary" when they were in Cozumel, or Grand Cayman, or Mo'bay, or Key West, or wherever.

SO ... this is the kind of clientele that Princesa Ilana wants to bring to the Su. Guess what, Ilana? Everything you think you could offer on Playa de Sosua - ESPECIALLY on the sanitized "Plaza de Vendedores" that was discussed here in Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec 2013 - is very damn likely to be on-tap right there in Port Amber, three prices more expensive, but walking-distance for a Yankee land-whale, from the cruise-ship.

But ... I think I've said that before, on another thread.

I come back to the notion that the most reliable tourist-dollar Sosua is likely to see, is the monger-dollar. And I'm not talking about the RD$1500 that I slip to my "lady of the (short-time) evening." I'm talking about my hotel room, and my breakfast, and my lunch, and my dinner, and the Presidentes I hammer back in Rumba or d'Latin or Rancho Tipico or Ruby's on the beach or ...

We "gentlemen mongers" on ISOC understand perfectly. We're in Sosua year-round, because the horn-dog hotness in our loins operates year-round, and the sweet chicas understand that better than the politicians. The "tropical vacation" season, for Norteamericanos as well as Europeanos, runs from New Year's Day through March or so. The "monger's vacation" season for the same demographic may exclude Christmas Week and Semana Santa (Palm Sunday to Easter), but it's running full-bore the other fifty weeks a year.

I did six dives in December. I did six dives in September. I'll probably do eight or ten dives in March. But if it weren't for the "horndog-friendly" side of Sosua, I could do those same six, or eight, or ten dives in the Florida Keys, and drive down there in my Prius.

[justin082176]

Most are familiar with Playa Dorada, they go there once because it is cheap and never go back.
After staying in 2 different resorts in Playa Dorada , visiting 2 others I agree that the places were cheap and I will never go back ever. If Grand Paradise had better quality food, I think it would be almost perfect. Almost all of resorts have their food prepared in 1 big kitchen and the food will make you ILL. I am sure many ISOC members have been there and done that. I have learned my lesson. I think I will try Cabarete I cannot do any worse.


JSM

[Westy]

After staying in 2 different resorts in Playa Dorada , visiting 2 others I agree that the places were cheap and I will never go back ever. If Grand Paradise had better quality food, I think it would be perfect. Almost all of resorts have their food prepared in 1 big kitchen and the food will make you ILL. I am sure many ISOC members have been there and done that. I have learned my lesson. I think I will try Cabarete I cannot do any worse.

I think you could do a damn sight better in Cabarete, or in El Batey (Sosua), or even in Field Of Dreams. I thank my lucky stars that I've never stayed in or eaten at the family-friendly, couples-friendly, landwhale-friendly, bulk-loader-friendly buffets of the Playa Dorada resorts.

[justin082176]

Before my trip I read all the review websites Orbitz , Hotels.com and I could have saved myself from pure hell if I had just took them for their word. I will see what Cabarete has to offer and book My Feburary trip. I know I will get more bang for my buck anywhere but Playa Dorada.



JSM

[Westy]

Cabarete is a good choice for outdoor sports, especially beach sports - most notably surfing, windsurfing (sailboards) and kiteboarding. Its beach is wide open to the north and east. Playa Encuentro, on the west side of Cabarete (toward Sosua), appears to be where the surfing and boogie-boarding go on; it's open to the north and it gets the best surf-breaks. Kite Beach, which is more active for windsurfing and kiteboarding, is further to the east, and it faces more to the northeast. One of our active members, Ohmmmm, owns and runs Kite Beach Inn (http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/showthread.php?428582-EastCoast-s-Review-of-Kite-Beach-Inn), with a kiteboarding school right next door. I haven't visited Cabarete yet - I'm into scuba-diving, not so much surfing - but I'm planning to give it at least a day-trip visit during my next trip, in March.

Sosua, or more properly the El Batey downtown area where we mongers go, is at the north end of a small bay (facing west) with a good beach. It's pretty-well sheltered from the prevailing winds and the ocean swells, and it's a popular Sunday destination for the locals throughout the surrounding area. It has quite a few good wall and patch reefs for scuba-diving, out offshore (what were you doing, Deezl, snorkeling from the beach?), and there are three scuba operators right in town that come straight to my mind - Aqua Adventures (SSI-affiliated,) Northern Coast Diving (PADI 5-Star), and Merlin (also PADI, and caters more toward the German/European visitors). There's another dive shop in Puerto Plata, Diwa Dominicana, that brings their divers to Sosua Bay. What's important about Sosua, though, for us, is the night life; it's Chica Central, Mongerville, Hooker Heaven. (As EastCoastAllStar reported in the hyperlink to Kite Beach Inn, there is still some available action in Cabarete; but Sosua is "Ground Zero.")

If I were visiting mostly for the wave-sports I'd go to Cabarete. For scuba-diving, and muff-diving at night, it's definitely Sosua. If I loved golfing I'd probably go to Playa Dorada, and I'd certainly go there if I were into bulk-loading at the AI buffets. If I had kids, I'd forget about the DR entirely and take 'em to Orlando and Disney World.

Hope that helps ...

[MrHappy]

Sosua? No. Maimon ... which is twenty miles west "as the crow flies" from Sosua, certainly more than a half-hour away on Ruta 5. It's west of Puerto Plata and POP airport - Sosua is east of the airport.
I did six dives in December. I did six dives in September. I'll probably do eight or ten dives in March. But if it weren't for the "horndog-friendly" side of Sosua, I could do those same six, or eight, or ten dives in the Florida Keys, and drive down there in my Prius.

Wait... you drive a Prius????

[greydread]

Wait... you drive a Prius????

Shit I drive a Kia Rio.

Money saved on gas is more money for ass.

[MrHappy]

Shit I drive a Kia Rio.

Money saved on gas is more money for ass.


I.... feel....... faint...... :rolleyes:

[Jimmydr]

Until Ho's start charging ITBIS it's going to stay that way.

They can have both, the cruise ships and the mongers all spending money.

[Westy]

Wait... you drive a Prius????

I.... feel....... faint...... :rolleyes:

:rofl: I'm with Greydread on "less money for gas = more money for ass."

Did my share of gas-guzzling thrill-machines in the Eighties and Nineties:

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93922&d=1390923734

I don't fly any more; now, I sail - and the wind may be free, but new sails sure-the-hell aren't!
(This is with the old sails ...)

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=72491&d=1363016134

[Jimmydr]

:rofl: I'm with Greydread on "less money for gas = more money for ass."

Did my share of gas-guzzling thrill-machines in the Eighties and Nineties:

Click to see pic (http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93922&d=1390923734)

I don't fly any more; now, I sail - and the wind may be free, but new sails sure-the-hell aren't!
(This is with the old sails ...)

Click to see pic (http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=72491&d=1363016134)

If you enjoy flying then fly. Do what you enjoy since life is short.

[MrHappy]

If you enjoy flying then fly. Do what you enjoy since life is short.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ny5z8gKM18

[greydread]

They can have both, the cruise ships and the mongers all spending money.

Sure, just not together.

The Port of San Juan, just steps from the intersection of Old San Juan and the most expensive 4 star string of hotels on the island. Used to be whore bars all over that joint and now it's the safest place in the city all day, all night and if a street walker showed up they'd send a SWAT team after her. The Hotels have Casinos, high end bars and 5 diamond restaurants and from May to November they spend most days mostly empty.

Port of Sint Maarten. Phillipsburg is about as far as most cruise passengers get in Sint Maarten. They generally stay confined to row shops, street bazaar, duty free tobacco, booze and jewelry stores, trinket outlets restaurants and casino found up Front Street all the way to the KFC Circle and all the way down Back Street. Once again, if a Ho was to show up and start trying to work this area there would be murders. Now a taxi ride away from downtown Phillipsburg to the "Salt Pond" and the Carnival Grounds about 10 minutes drive away the tourist will find some of the best organized, safest, economical and well stocked Ho Houses in the Caribbean and as one continues around the Salt Pond and out toward Oyster Bay, the "Border Bar" (Casa Blanca) and the French side of the Island, St. Martin.


Port of Aruba, Cruise Ship Dock. Right across the street from Oranjestad's own Renaissance Hotel, Royal Plaza Mall and Marketplace where cruise line passengers file out of the customs are to be greeted by a myriad of shops, bars and restaurants including the infamous Carlos & Charlies' (made that way as the last place Natalee Halloway was seen alive) and to Irasquin Blvd where a very efficient public bus system is available to whisk day trippers to Palm Beach and Eagle Beach and all the resorts and restaurants and tourist sights in the Northwest or they can wander around Oranjestad's blocks and blocks of downtown shopping area, hit the casinos or take any of dozens of half day tours and trips on a boat, on a donkey, in a jeep or on a helicopter but the one thing that they will not see is a Ho. Not even a lost one. Now there may be a few shady Bitches at the bars but they are so undercover that they don't even know when they're working or not. If you want to get laid you either take a taxi ($50) or rent a car and travel to the Southeast end of the island and Sint Nicolaas where the party never stops and you can pretty much buy whatever you can afford to pay for.

Other applications at other destinations follow the same patterns and in order to secure the route approvals and accessibility ratings to get their North Coast and South Coast Cruise Terminals active and running with multiple cruises per day the Dominican Republic will have to tow the line and tow the line they will, daam the mongers because tens of thousands spending hundreds and thousands each, every day creates the opportunity to launder a whole hella lot of drug money and all the profits and taxes from the vendors will be the icing on the cake.

[Jimmydr]

Sure, just not together.

The Port of San Juan, just steps from the intersection of Old San Juan and the most expensive 4 star string of hotels on the island. Used to be whore bars all over that joint and now it's the safest place in the city all day, all night and if a street walker showed up they'd send a SWAT team after her. The Hotels have Casinos, high end bars and 5 diamond restaurants and from May to November they spend most days mostly empty.

.

They have welfare and public housing in this State whereas they have nothing in the DR.


They also pay the Police well and the cops have a retirement program where as in DR, they just have bribes.

[JD426]

After staying in 2 different resorts in Playa Dorada , visiting 2 others I agree that the places were cheap and I will never go back ever. If Grand Paradise had better quality food, I think it would be almost perfect. Almost all of resorts have their food prepared in 1 big kitchen and the food will make you ILL. I am sure many ISOC members have been there and done that. I have learned my lesson. I think I will try Cabarete I cannot do any worse.


JSM

Grand Paradise in Samana (Galeras) has most EXCELLENT food, very high quality.. although not as good as couple years ago... way better than Casa Marina in sosua, which sometimes serves SHIT i would not feed my dog if i had one.. (same Corporate Outfit Amhsa Marina)
So , it depends on WHERE you are, even if the AI has the the same, or owned by the same corp.. I Never generalize about AI's , they are all completely different. Like Snowflakes and Mongers..

[greydread]

If you enjoy flying then fly. Do what you enjoy since life is short.

You know I've spent more time in review and assessment of my life in this, my 60th year on the planet and in this skin than at any other time ever and I can assure you, when you start counting every blessing from your very 1st breath, binky and baby blanky to the last really unforgettable all nighter-bucketlist-quality-Pornshow-worthy session with a Woman young enough to be your granddaughter you begin to realize that life really IS LONG and if you're living it right, one time around is enough.

[Westy]

If you enjoy flying then fly. Do what you enjoy since life is short.

I did enjoy flying, up until 9-11-2001 and the flight-restrictions and the Washington, DC ADIZ ... plus other factors, that added up until flying wasn't worth it to me any more. I loved it, and I'm proud of it, but I've played that game enough and it was time to move on.

Now ... I love sailing. I'm challenged by it; I find a lot of joy in surmounting the challenges and building my competence. My goal for the 2014 sailing season (April through October or so) is to get myself comfortable living (part-time anyways) aboard my present boat, sailing the Chesapeake Bay ... and maybe in 2015 or so I'll move up to enough boat that I can live aboard full-time, cast off the shore-lines, and Sail Beyond The Sunset.

It's as Chuck Yeager said ... do what you love, as long as you can; and when you can't do it any more, find something else you love and do that.

[Jimmydr]

unforgettable all nighter-bucketlist-quality-Pornshow-worthy session with a Woman young enough to be your granddaughter

I was hanging with a 29 year old Swiss Girl in Boca last week and she was young enough to be my daughter.

[Jimmydr]

you begin to realize that life really IS LONG and if you're living it right, one time around is enough.

We do more in one 12 day trip than most people do in 5 trips which may take them 20 years to finish.

[greydread]

They have welfare and public housing in this State whereas they have nothing in the DR.


They also pay the Police well and the cops have a retirement program where as in DR, they just have bribes.

They are tiny. Aruba has a population of 101,000 (up from 66,000 in 1991) and Sint Maarten is 55,000 (up from 5,000 in 1968) and eco groups are going nuts as these waters are obviously "fished out" as far as tourism is concerned and so new venues must be developed.

Most of the work force has to be flown into those countries from other places in the Caribbean Basin but the D.R. has a huge base of prospective employees and the potential for a logistical renaissance and I'm forecasting this cruise ship port thingy to get bigger and bigger in the D.R. until at some point folks will no longer be flying to MIA or FLL and boarding outbound cruise ships but one day they will have USCIS personnel permanently stationed at SDQ, POP, PUJ and LRM just like they've had at AUA to process American tourists since they renovated the terminals in the late 90's and got rid of the roll out ramps. Cruise passengers from the USA will start and end their oceanic cruise journeys from Dominican ports one day, mark my word. There are fortunes to be made as the winds of change are blowing at gale force and screaming: "Out with the old and in with the new!"

There will be a Disney Resort and theme park in the Dominican Republic one day.

[Jimmydr]

There will be a Disney Resort and theme park in the Dominican Republic one day.

I think DR will always have a massive poor population which will service the few of us that know how to farm these poor chicas.

[greydread]

I think DR will always have a massive poor population which will service the few of us that know how to farm these poor chicas.

In 20 years the floaters across the Mona Straight will be travelling in the other direction.

[deezl]

There will be a Disney Resort and theme park in the Dominican Republic one day.

Resort maybe but Theme Park? Never happen. Not unless the Dominican economy goes through a huge boom. Disney would never build a (multi-billion dollar) theme park that relies so heavily on the fickle hand of tourism and little to no local customer base. Water park, maybe. Theme park? No chance. The DR will have a space program before they get a Disney Theme Park. :lol:

Unless you meant that as sarcasm in which case.... lol

[Jimmydr]

Resort maybe but Theme Park? Never happen. Not unless the Dominican economy goes through a huge boom. Disney would never build a (multi-billion dollar) theme park that relies so heavily on the fickle hand of tourism and little to no local customer base. Water park, maybe. Theme park? No chance. The DR will have a space program before they get a Disney Theme Park. :lol:

Unless you meant that as sarcasm in which case.... lol

DR will always be a service and cheap labor country since they don't have oil, or invent anything.

[Jimmydr]

In 20 years the floaters across the Mona Straight will be travelling in the other direction.

Guys like you and me have a plan while most others do first and think later.

[greydread]

Resort maybe but Theme Park? Never happen. Not unless the Dominican economy goes through a huge boom. Disney would never build a (multi-billion dollar) theme park that relies so heavily on the fickle hand of tourism and little to no local customer base. Water park, maybe. Theme park? No chance. The DR will have a space program before they get a Disney Theme Park. :lol:

Unless you meant that as sarcasm in which case.... lol

Bro, I laugh and joke with the best of them but on this, I'm dead serious.

Disney made their initial venture gambles work, not on the further development of already well developed areas but building in Anaheim at a time (1955) when there was plenty of farmland available and not much else was there. They built the original on a 160 acre lot. They expanded in 1966, 1972, 1993 and 2001. and to date the property has hosted 630 million visitors from all over the World, not a local market because in 1955 there was no local market. There were over 16 Million visitors to Disneyland in 2011 with almost 66,000 jobs supported by this single resort.


Then there's Disney World, opened in 1971 and was created out of a swamp in the middle of farmland and the way that they obtained the land around their building sites without starting a speculation free-for-all was nothing short of legendary in historical perspective. Walt Disney may have been the creative genius from whence the concept sprung but Rou Disney was 100% gangsta and long story short, they get 52.5 million visitors a year, covers 25,000 acres and houses 24 themed resorts, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and a whole buncha' other shit, employing 66,000 with 1.2 billion in direct payroll and $474 million for benefit costs. EVERY YEAR.

Imagine a Disney operation or two in the D.R. employing 10's of 1,000's but at the Dominican wage and benefit scale, even improving that scale to attract the best and brightest and secure employee longevity for decades to come.

Imagine the support industry and logistics improvements and the people supported by that. Disney is just one employer but they're dying to do something in the Caribbean to expand on their cruise lines having added destinations and ships their expansion plans could very well take hold in the D.R. and with their aggressive Transatlantic and Panama Canal crossing and adding Sicily and Ibiza and a dozen other spots to the European ports of call they are blowing the fuck up and I think the D.R wants to get in on that type of action. They are well positioned and there are billion$ to be made.

It's like bidding to host the Olympics....but on a waay smaller scale. A lotto ticket to catapult an infrastructure in transition and inconsistent and aid-dependent economy and a work force living hand-to-mouth into a growing, vibrant economy with a well employed and well motivated work force (and well situated). I don't blame the Dominican government for taking a shot.

[Jimmydr]

Imagine a Disney operation or two in the D.R. employing 10's of 1,000's but at the Dominican wage and benefit scale, even improving that scale to attract the best and brightest and secure employee longevity for decades to come.

Imagine the support industry and logistics improvements and the people supported by that. Disney is just one employer but they're dying to do something in the Caribbean to expand on their cruise lines having added destinations and ships their expansion plans could very well take hold in the D.R. and with their aggressive Transatlantic and Panama Canal crossing and adding Sicily and Ibiza and a dozen other spots to the European ports of call they are blowing the fuck up and I think the D.R wants to get in on that type of action. They are well positioned and there are billion$ to be made.

.

A third one was opened in France and is failing.

I believe you can fly to the US from every country in the world. Getting to DR would be hard for many.

[greydread]

A third one was opened in France and is failing.

I believe you can fly to the US from every country in the world. Getting to DR would be hard for many.
...and Disney Japan...and Disney Hawaii (Aulani)...and this company is big enough to absorb the losses of any one site until they can work it into the black and they ALWAYS work their companies into the black eventually.

How many countries are connected by the cruise ship industry? Ships passing right by the island every day.

Name a developed country without a direct flight to one of D.R.'s International Airports...now how many are available on a 1 stop itinerary through EWR, IAD, CDG, ORD, ATL, ETC, ETC, ETC??

[Jimmydr]

...and Disney Japan...and Disney Hawaii (Aulani)...and this company is big enough to absorb the losses of any one site until they can work it into the black and they ALWAYS work their companies into the black eventually.

How many countries are connected by the cruise ship industry? Ships passing right by the island every day.

Name a developed country without a direct flight to one of D.R.'s International Airports...now how many are available on a 1 stop itinerary through EWR, IAD, CDG, ORD, ATL, ETC, ETC, ETC??

Most American families won't fly to another country for Disney when we have the best one in Florida.

[deezl]

A third one was opened in France and is failing.

I believe you can fly to the US from every country in the world. Getting to DR would be hard for many.

And one in Tokyo, one in Hong Kong, soon to be one in Shanghai.

They have a few things in common - large MODERN cities, people with money, not dependent on tourism from outside the country for customer base...

The vast (VAST) majority of people in the DR couldn't afford to go to a Disney Park (they're fucking expensive) and the ones that can afford it can easily hop a flight to Orlando.

[Westy]

Sure, just not together.

The Port of San Juan...

Port of Sint Maarten...

Port of Aruba, Cruise Ship Dock...

Been to all three of them, as a cruise-ship tourist, but that was years ago, while my Dear Mama was still around. (One cruise by myself, after she passed on, was enough for me to decide I'd had enough of cruise-ship vacations.)

Other applications at other destinations follow the same patterns and in order to secure the route approvals and accessibility ratings to get their North Coast and South Coast Cruise Terminals active and running with multiple cruises per day the Dominican Republic will have to tow the line and tow the line they will, daam the mongers because tens of thousands spending hundreds and thousands each, every day creates the opportunity to launder a whole hella lot of drug money and all the profits and taxes from the vendors will be the icing on the cake.[/QUOTE]

Now THIS begs the question: Is Sosua far enough from Maimon, awkward and out-of-reach enough for shore excursions, to be acceptable?

People are going to be loaded onto air-conditioned buses at "Amber Cove" and whisked away to "acceptable" destinations: Ocean World, Puerto Plata (the Old Fort and the Amber Museum, with lunch on the Malecon - and some well-placed, well-informed "someone" will build an open-air, ocean-view restaurant to accommodate those hordes), Isabel de Torres National Park, some kind of snorkeling excursion (heck, there's Scuba Caribe in Riu Merengue Village to run that show!), and guaranteed some kind of Pirate Theme Rum Cruise that might go as far down the coast as Ocean World, but wouldn't really even have to leave Maimon Bay.

I don't know about Carnival, but I haven't heard that its customer-base is all that significantly different from what I've observed in the cruises I've taken. Most of the passengers will be older-to-elderly, with a tendency toward obesity that's aided and abetted by the midnight buffets and the foo-foo drinks with the umbrellas on the top. They'll be warned about straying away from the Approved Areas, and they'll probably be too timid to go as far down the Malecon as La Sirena. A few of them might be younger, bolder, and more energetic (as I was, arranging my own dive excursions) - but 95 percent of them will spend their time and their tourist-dollars where Carnival Cruise Lines takes them to spend them

Of course, Princesa Ilana Von (Alfred E.) Neumann wants a cut of those dollars. She's probably slavering at the thought of it. And she's ready to bulldoze the beach and build new, antiseptic "shopping plazas" for the sake of bringing the Carnival crowd to Sosua. But is Grupo B&R, and the spun-off "tour company" they'll put in place to handle the passengers, going to see any real benefit to hauling busloads of tourists down to the Su? For what? Beaches? Lunch? Sit on the beach? Souvenir-hunting - when the Ranniks and their cronies can sell the same tourist-crap at Amber Cove for three times the price, and pocket the difference? And you've got the much-larger city of Puerto Plata to absorb the tourists who make it off the boat without going on a canned excursion, and who make their own way past the port facilities' own souvenir shops and duty-free jewelry/rum/luxury-goods stores.

I'm just basing this on what I've seen, and heard, and observed, in my own cruise travel.

Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part, hoping that someone somewhere will be able to rein in the "Disneyfication" of our playground in Sosua. But I'd be surprised if Amber Cove brings much of anything to the Su. Just because you build it, Ilana, doesn't mean they'll come.

[deezl]

...and Disney Japan...and Disney Hawaii (Aulani)...and this company is big enough to absorb the losses of any one site until they can work it into the black and they ALWAYS work their companies into the black eventually.

How many countries are connected by the cruise ship industry? Ships passing right by the island every day.

Name a developed country without a direct flight to one of D.R.'s International Airports...now how many are available on a 1 stop itinerary through EWR, IAD, CDG, ORD, ATL, ETC, ETC, ETC??

And nearly all those cruise ships going through the Caribbean began the trek out of the East and Gulf coasts of Florida, within a few hours drive of Orlando.

If Disney was going to build a park in the Caribbean (and I don't think they would due to proximity to Orlando) it would be in the Bahamas or Puerto Rico.

[Irie]

They are tiny. Aruba has a population of 101,000 (up from 66,000 in 1991) and Sint Maarten is 55,000 (up from 5,000 in 1968) and eco groups are going nuts as these waters are obviously "fished out" as far as tourism is concerned and so new venues must be developed.

Most of the work force has to be flown into those countries from other places in the Caribbean Basin but the D.R. has a huge base of prospective employees and the potential for a logistical renaissance and I'm forecasting this cruise ship port thingy to get bigger and bigger in the D.R. until at some point folks will no longer be flying to MIA or FLL and boarding outbound cruise ships but one day they will have USCIS personnel permanently stationed at SDQ, POP, PUJ and LRM just like they've had at AUA to process American tourists since they renovated the terminals in the late 90's and got rid of the roll out ramps. Cruise passengers from the USA will start and end their oceanic cruise journeys from Dominican ports one day, mark my word. There are fortunes to be made as the winds of change are blowing at gale force and screaming: "Out with the old and in with the new!"

There will be a Disney Resort and theme park in the Dominican Republic one day.


Resort maybe but Theme Park? Never happen. Not unless the Dominican economy goes through a huge boom. Disney would never build a (multi-billion dollar) theme park that relies so heavily on the fickle hand of tourism and little to no local customer base. Water park, maybe. Theme park? No chance. The DR will have a space program before they get a Disney Theme Park. :lol:

Unless you meant that as sarcasm in which case.... lol


(courtesy of http://www.gringo-times.com/articles/2007/disney-to-open-in-puerto-plata.php) :lol:


Disney to open in Puerto Plata

10 FREE Tickets Up for Grabs...

Disney’s share price rocketed last week on the announcement by Michael Eisner of Disney’s plans to build a theme park on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic.


http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93923&d=1390936188






The new resort, dubbed “Disneyland Dominicana” is set increase Disney’s theme park empire while boosting the local economy and providing thousands of new jobs for the area.
Allegedly, Disney has already purchased several large tracts of land using various holding corporations around the Long Beach and Costa Dorada area of Puerto Plata.
We went to talk with Disney’s head of PR, Lyon King and find out more about their plans.
He was keen to fill us in...
“We’re really please to be opening up in the Caribbean. We don’t want to ruin the local Dominican culture and make the resort too Americanized. Local food such as plantain and mondongo will be served to visitors. Hot-dogs will be offered, as and when they wander in.”



http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93926&d=1390936189

Hotdogs - two for 100 pesos






“To transport visitors around the resort, we’re investing in some two-wheeled vehicles with their own autonomous pilots. Although they are only about 5 feet long with one seat, they can carry 6 people comfortably. These things do make quite a noise, a cross between a hair-dryer and a grass cutter. And they emit some noxious gases, so should be entertaining whilst at the same time functional.”


http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93929&d=1390936190


Coming soon to Puerto Plata - Dominican Republic





“We were going to build a vertical drop ride, but we’ve got permission to use the cable car on the Isabela de Torres mountain which we’ll tie in with the Moto Ride. We’ll add in some wind machines, some waterfalls and increase the cable car drop speed. Should be quite a ride!”




http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93928&d=1390936189


Engineer’s sketch of one of the planned rides



“Instead of the Swiss Family Robinson house, we’ll have the Casa Dominicana, which will never be finished. Every week, we’ll add a couple more blocks to it.”



http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93925&d=1390936188
A prototype of one of the rides




“We’ve got some great new rides planned, some of them will be unique to Disneyland Dominicana. The Valley of Darkness is where people take a trip underground. Every so often, the ride will stop and they’ll be plunged into darkness.”
“Thankfully, we don’t need any special equipment for this. We’ve spoken to the local electricity provider and they’ve assured us that the power will go on and off intermittently anyway, so this ride will be easy to set up.”


“We’ve got some 30 foot tall screens coming for our new Gua-Gua 3D simulation. The idea is to simulate the experience of being a passenger in the local minibuses that travel around the Dominican cities. We’ll squash 40 people, some chickens and a donkey into a 10 foot by 6 foot room and try to create the Gua-Gua experience. There will only be 6 seats, so people will have to stand or sit on each other. There’ll be no air-con, and we’ve got a great merengue soundtrack to liven things up. The big screens will show motorcycles coming at you from all directions, loud horns blaring, trucks and SUV’s narrowly missing you and people crossing your path pretending you aren’t there. We still have some work to do on this one, as in early tests people were so frazzled by the experience they couldn’t last the whole simulation.”



http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93927&d=1390936189
A design for one of the new attractions






Some of the local Dominican companies are keen to be involved. Brugal will be sponsoring the Brugal Run roller-coaster.
Instead of “Sleeping Beauty’s Castle”, we’re planning the “Sleeping Security Guard’s Castle”.
Obviously, we’ll be doing a Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but we’ll be using real pirates this time.
“We’re training up some local staff to be able to give a great local feeling. They’ll be trained to ask all visitors where they are from and ask if they can they polish their flip-flops. Any visitors who avoid eye contact or look like they haven’t been there before will be offered a free tour of the facilities for 20 dollars.”



We’re not quite sure when we’ll get the go ahead to start building. I was speaking to the lawyers over there yesterday, "but they said that setting up a corporation there is a complicated process and takes months and lots of money. Don’t know why, but hey, gotta accept what your lawyer says, right? They said we needed to provide the names of 7 shareholders and I said no problem, Mickey, Minni, Goofy, Snow White, Cinderella, Bambi and the Jolly Green Giant. Oh, he’s not one of ours, is he?"



http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93924&d=1390936188




Michael Eisner being interviewed by the Gringo Times.
You think he’d have told us he doesn’t work for Disney any more!

“How much will entrance to the theme park cost?” we asked.
“Well, we’ve decided to leave that up to the staff. As long as we get 50 dollars each entry, they’re free to charge what they want. I imagine they’ll probably quote around 300 dollars and then it’ll be up to each customer to haggle them down.”
“But won’t that mean customers will have to wait longer just to get into the park?”
Well yes, I guess so. But hey, it’s the Caribbean. They shouldn’t be rushing around. They should relax while they’re queuing. I’m, sure there’ll be lots of street vendors providing the queues with interesting items to buy."
“Do you know if Michael Eisner plans to oversea this project personally?”
“Heck no! He resigned in 2005. Bill Igor is now in charge.”
“So why was Eisner making the announcement.”
“Who knows. "

[Westy]

...and Disney Japan...and Disney Hawaii (Aulani)...and this company is big enough to absorb the losses of any one site until they can work it into the black and they ALWAYS work their companies into the black eventually.

How many countries are connected by the cruise ship industry? Ships passing right by the island every day.

Name a developed country without a direct flight to one of D.R.'s International Airports...now how many are available on a 1 stop itinerary through EWR, IAD, CDG, ORD, ATL, ETC, ETC, ETC??

IAD? :rolleyes:

DCA. :wink:

(Just messin' with you. I've flown out of National since Eastern served it with Lockheed Constellations.)

[greydread]

Most American families won't fly to another country for Disney when we have the best one in Florida.

Think big picture with me for a moment, Jimmy. Disney started with a cruise ship. "Crazy idea" right? "Never make a penny, market's already saturated". Okay so now they've got 4 ships sailing the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean and are picking up new ports every year. They're running around the world securing 15 year contracts with the ports and committing long term project development $$$.

Disney has opened up a whole new market and has rapidly (since their 1st launch in 1998) expanded the business, the infrastructure and their customer base. Once in a childhood is enough for any single theme Park.

Anybody Remember "freedomland" and "Palisades" Amusement parks?

They were great. They just didn't have the Disney "vision". Build and profit and renovate and upgrade and profit and always add something new and innovative and always tap a new market and reinvest your profit and build and profit and renovate....

[greydread]

IAD? :rolleyes:

DCA. :wink:

(Just messin' with you. I've flown out of National since Eastern served it with Lockheed Constellations.)

Problem is their list of direct flights to foreign airports is tiny.....I don't count Canada and Mexico.

International flights are served out of BWI and IAD in the DMV.

[Jimmydr]

Think big picture with me for a moment, Jimmy. Disney started with a cruise ship. "Crazy idea" right? "Never make a penny, market's already saturated". Okay so now they've got 4 ships sailing the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean and are picking up new ports every year. They're running around the world securing 15 year contracts with the ports and committing long term project development $$$.

Disney has opened up a whole new market and has rapidly (since their 1st launch in 1998) expanded the business, the infrastructure and their customer base. Once in a childhood is enough for any single theme Park.

Anybody Remember "freedomland" and "Palisades" Amusement parks?

They were great. They just didn't have the Disney "vision". Build and profit and renovate and upgrade and profit and always add something new and innovative and always tap a new market and reinvest your profit and build and profit and renovate....

Since I don't own Disney Stock nor do I go to the North any more, neither mean much to my plans. If you think 100% of the Dominicans will be employed and not hooking, that will never happen.

[Westy]

Whoa! Irie! That's incredible!

I guess if you read it in the Gringo Times (http://www.gringo-times.com/), it's got to be ...

oh, wait a minute ...

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93930&d=1390937779

... just maybe, not all that reliable.

(Although that One Love Mini Cooper would be a cool ride for Seaweed, in Negril.):rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[greydread]

Since I don't own Disney Stock nor do I go to the North any more, neither mean much to my plans. If you think 100% of the Dominicans will be employed and not hooking, that will never happen.

Why would I ever think anything that stupid?

100% of American hookers could get jobs if they really looked for one but they won't, for whatever reason. That's the difference.

I knew a hooker in Montreal back in 1979 who decided to quit Ho-ing and got a job at Simpsons Sears, downtown and enjoyed a prosperous career which took her well into management. I can tell you similar stories about successful Senior Executives in the Federal employment sector who started out "dating" and screwed and blew their way into SES and Project Management and some even started their own contracting firms, succeeding over decades of hard work with billions in future earnings now.

For every one of them I can show you 1,000's who just don't get it and will never get beyond what's right in front of them. Some don't even see that, they're still looking for the last thing. Don't worry, Jimmy....there will always be hookers, enough to go around.

[Westy]

Okay, back to Maimon, and Carnival's cruise port.

I found a diagram of the plans for Amber Cove (http://carnival-news.com/2012/05/15/groundbreaking-ceremonies-held-for-new-65-million-amber-cove-cruise-center-in-the-dominican-republic/) on Google, from a story published in the Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/25/3885807/new-and-larger-ports-in-works.html), and used a little Photoshop Magic to scale it, size it correctly, and superimpose it onto this image of the bay at Maimon.

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93931&d=1390938829

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.

[MrHappy]

Okay, back to Maimon, and Carnival's cruise port.

I found a diagram of the plans for Amber Cove (http://carnival-news.com/2012/05/15/groundbreaking-ceremonies-held-for-new-65-million-amber-cove-cruise-center-in-the-dominican-republic/) on Google, from a story published in the Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/25/3885807/new-and-larger-ports-in-works.html), 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 (http://news.insearchofchicas.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=93931&d=1390938829)

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.

That's my old house at the bottom center of the picture. If you've got it placed in the right place, I guess my old place won't "feel the heat"