Quest for 243

A global nomad's pursuit to see all 195 countries, 39 territories, & 9 de-facto nations

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Category: Dominican Republic

Costa Cruises, Cranky Nomad, Dominican Republic

July 15, 2019

Catalina Island, DR: A Lovely Afternoon at the
Beach But Dreadful Service Continues on Board

I swam, walked a nature trail, and enjoyed some sunny beach time this afternoon at the first port of call on my 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic voyage. It was good medicine for the numerous headaches I’m dealing with aboard Costa Pacific, where the facilities and customer service have been abysmal.

Got up about 12:30 a.m. aboard Costa Pacifica in the Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic. I had arrived on board yesterday afternoon after a horrendous boarding experience, and my luggage hadn’t been delivered when I went to bed about 9 p.m. Opened my door to get my suitcase – but it’s not there!

Picked up the phone to call reception. The telephone in my cabin doesn’t work! It’s one fail after another so far for Costa Pacifica. What a nightmare!

Costa Cruises, Cranky Nomad, Dominican Republic

July 14, 2019

Horrendous Experience Boarding Costa
Pacifica in La Romana, Dominican Republic

I’m aboard Costa Pacifica for a 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise, but what an absolute nightmare start to this 80-day global-nomad stretch that will take me across the ocean to Europe and West Africa.

Arrived at the Port of La Romana at 11 a.m. after flying into Santo Domingo (SDQ) from Orlando (MCO), shocked to find an empty pier and only 25 other passengers waiting in the terminal. Turns out the ship wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 1:30 p.m.

Staff at the open-air terminal – with no food, water, or WiFi – informed me check-in wouldn’t start until 5 p.m., 3½ hours after the ship arrives. WTF?! Who comes up with this insanity?! I couldn’t be any more infuriated. The one time I show up early and it’s a total debacle!

Aviation, Costa Cruises, Dominican Republic

Flying MCO-SDQ on a JetBlue Airbus A321;
Van Shuttle to Port La Romana, DR

I flew from Orlando (MCO) to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, (SDQ) early this morning, then took a van shuttle a little more than an hour to the Port of La Romana, where I’ll be boarding Costa Pacifica for a 17-night Caribbean and trans-Atlantic cruise to Barcelona, Spain.

Van left SDQ at 9:50 and we drove eastbound on Dominican Republic 3, arriving at 11:01 a.m. To my shock, there is no cruiseship here!

Australia, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, France, French Polynesia, Gambia, Germany, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Martinique, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Spain, Svalbard, Vanuatu

January 15, 2019

8 Trips Planned So Far for 2019

As a global nomad, figuring out where to go next – and then planning all the details — consumes a lot of my time. When I’m not traveling, I’m usually spending at least a bit of every day working on plans for trips ahead. I have most of my travel for the first half of this year plotted out, plus a long trip in December. Here’s a sneak peek:

© 2019 Lucas Wall

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