by Brian Major
Last updated: 7:38 PM ET, Tue January 4, 2022
Tourism to the Dominican Republic's Puerto Plata province is expanding on land and sea in 2022, with the recent debut of a new cruise ship port and the opening of Marriott resort property in Puerto Plata's Sosua district.
Puerto Plata's newly launched Port Taino facility adds a second dedicated cruise ship port to the region following the 2015 opening of Carnival Corporation's Amber Cove facility. Royal Caribbean International's Odyssey of the Seas made its initial call at Port Taino with 2,647 passengers on January 2.
MSC Cruises' MSC Seashore became the first cruise ship to call at Taino Bay on December 15, 2021. Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady called at Port Taino on December 21. In addition to Scarlet Lady's call, Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Mardi Gras, with 5,316 passengers, and Carnival Liberty, with 1,468 passengers, embarked at Amber Cove on December 21.
Those calls brought the total number of Puerto Plata cruise ship visitors to more than 10,000, the most in a single day, according to government officials quoted in a Dominican Today report. Taino Bay is also scheduled to host cruise ships from Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises in 2022.
On December 19 Marriott International premiered the Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Norte, a 68-suite, residential-style resort. Featuring four-bedroom penthouse suites, property highlights include a two-level, beachfront pool complex with two pools, a spa branded by French company L'Occitane and a private beach.
Dining options include Agua Azul, an Asian-Peruvian fusion restaurant; the Wine Cellar, featuring small bites, specialty wines and aged rums; and Peperoni Costa Norte featuring Italian specialties and international cuisine.
The Ocean Club is one of three hotels in which the Ocean Club Group, a conglomerate of Dominican and international investors, is investing $350 million to develop and operate on the Dominican north coast through an alliance with Marriott, said government officials.
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