We greet the morning looking at the beautiful sunrise that begins this post above. At 8am, we arrive at our first port of call, a small town on the north coast of the island of Hispaniola, upon which lie the nations of Haiti (on the west side) and the Dominican Republic (on the east side). The D R, as it’s commonly abbreviated, is a nation of around 12 million.
Puerto Plata (‘Silver Port’) was named by Christopher Columbus when he arrived here in 1492. He settled in La Isabela (presumably named after his sponsor), built a church and his first home in the Americas. The country is very proud of their history as the first place Columbus saw in the New World, and it would be fascinating to hear more about it if we had the time.
We are the only cruise ship in port, which is just as well, as there is only one quarter-mile long pier. We are at the West berth, which leads us to believe that the other side of that pier must be the East berth. The temperature at 9:15 when we disembark is 88 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. Our first dose of Caribbean heat. This is one of the things we came for, so there is no complaining, especially as we hear of the freezing weather at home.
We have chosen an excursion named Dolphin Swim & Ocean World Adventure. Ocean World is both a resort as well as a water park. Apparently, it has a rainforest and bird sanctuary, but the attraction for us is, of course, the dolphins. We all have walked from the ship to a very attractive welcome area, where we are given bracelets (like you would receive at a concert) identifying which tour. We board one of several buses and head out through Puerto Plata. On the way out, every five minutes, a recorded announcement comes on, nagging us about Covid restrictions and to wear a mask at all times indoors and on the bus. We surmise that this is so Ocean World can protect themselves from criticism should a guest catch the virus: “Well, we told them every five minutes to wear a mask!”
The town is small and, honestly, unremarkable. However, as we have noticed in so many developing nations, there is no lack of entrepreneurial spirit. As our bus wound through the community, we passed dozens and dozens of small shops. One supermarket, although there may well be more, but certainly no big box stores (unlike in some of the Central American countries we have visited). The side streets are narrow and full of activity.
It takes about twenty minutes to arrive at our Ocean World destination. It is quite extensive, with a resort side and a water park side. We leave the bus at 10:30, with instructions from our host Joel to be back sharp at 2:20pm. He speaks to us saying we are VIPs, and we smile, figuring that he is just joking with us. We enter the park through … no surprise here … the gift shop, with friendly staff greeting us. Our first quick stop is an opportunity to watch four very accomplished dancers performing for us.
We are then divided up by the particular tour we signed up for, and follow our guide down some ramps to several deep pools. The farther we walk along the docks toward the dolphin activities area, the fewer fellow touristas there are. We are guided to a bathroom where we change into our bathing suits and then to the area for our Dolphin Swim. We have anticipated that we would be standing around in water four feet deep while dolphins swim around us, but we see that these pools are really deep.
Doris is READY to perform! 
Cathy and Steve meet Doris
We meet our host Pedro, and are very pleasantly surprised to find we are the only two for the 10:30 Dolphin Swim. We are given life vests, which are tied tightly around us. In the meantime, our dolphin is leaping skyward from the surface, diving back in and repeating this maneuver three times. Pedro explains that the dolphins know when they are about to perform, and obviously are looking forward to it. He also tells us we will be getting in the water, and gives us pointers on what areas of the dolphin we should stay away from (eyes, blowhole, any part below the belly button)..
This is “our” dolphin. Her name is Doris, is fifteen years old and comes from Cuba. Pedro makes a quick hand gesture, and Doris glides by on her back while he shows us how to identify the gender of a dolphin. We then are guided into the pool, which is approximately 100 feet long by 40 feet wide by 20 feet deep. Pedro tells us to maneuver our legs as if we were walking in order to keep our feet below us.
For the next forty-five minutes, Pedro has Doris interact with us and explains dolphin attitudes and behaviors. She glides by so we can pat her back, and then her tummy. She gives each of us a kiss, “dances” with us as we hold her flippers, she allows us to ‘hug’ her, we get to feed her and all kinds of other gentle contact with her.
Then the most amazing trick: Pedro hands Steve a boogey board, tells him to put his body on it, with his legs slightly separated behind the board. He also says to have the bottom of his right foot facing behind. Steve paddles to the middle of the pool as instructed. Then Doris swims behind him, finds his right foot, puts her nose against it and swims – HARD. Steve takes off as if he were surfing a huge ocean wave and is driven 30 yards across the pool in about five seconds!
Cathy is next, and the trick is repeated. She is thrilled. Gone is the trepidation she had felt when she entered the water thirty minutes ago. Both of us trust Doris the Dolphin as a friend. We haven’t had this much fun in who knows how long.
We have two or three turns having Doris propel us across the pool. We settle down by being playfully splashed by Doris and listening to Pedro the trainer. We finally emerge from the pool having had an amazing experience. We shed our life vests, and have a few minutes to chat with Pedro about the facility, the raising of the dolphins, how they interact with each other, and the incredible training involved in his work.
One last trick (photo 1) 
One Last trick (photo 2)
After the Dolphin Swim, it takes a few minutes to take in the surroundings. A Dolphin Show is about to start, with two of the nineteen dolphins at Ocean World. They are full of amazing tricks, particularly with two of the trainers. These trainers ride the dolphins, are propelled into the air by them, are able to twirl hula hoops, and all kinds of things. One trick has one of them circling the edge of the pool splashing all the spectators. It is a-mazing to see what they’ve been trained to do, and they do it all enthusiastically! The show goes on for about a half hour, but we could have watched for five times that time.
Next we visit the Photolab. We noticed during the Dolphin Swim that a couple of people are taking photos of the event, and we definitely want to have a record of it. We purchase the whole package, which includes a 7-minute video of highlights plus around a hundred still photos. They send it right to your email, which means that the photos are digital and we can include some in this post.
Time to relax, so we find some beach with chairs overlooking a large pool for swimming. There are several local families there, and we remark that Ocean World is not just for us tourists but is primarily a park for local families to enjoy. We listen to lively Latino music and spend a leisurely hour people-watching and reading.
It’s time for lunch now, so we head for the restaurant. There are two sections: one is a large buffet of Dominican food and the other a sit-down restaurant with burgers, fries, etc. We opt for this delicious-looking Dominican fare. There are at least two dozen dishes, and we both have Beans and Rice, fabulous Sancocho Stew, and Flan for dessert. Steve has a rare treat: Coca-Cola made with real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. It really does taste better.
As we eat, we notice that there is a Sea Lion Show, a pool where you can go snorkeling through a long, winding area where there are all kinds of fish and other interesting things to look at. We see several families doing just that. Looks like a fun time. We also take note of the surf, which is very strong, with a fast on-shore breeze blowing. We cannot figure out how to get to the beach, however. Looks inviting, though.
We board the bus, and tell our guide Joel that now we get why he was telling us about the VIP treatment. He gives us information about his beautiful country and its delightful people. The bus drops us off at the cruise terminal, and we remark once again about how well designed and attractive it is. Puerto Plata no doubt will grow as a tourist attraction, as our trip to Ocean World is but the beginning of a long list of things to see and do (including the only cable car ride in the Caribbean to the top of Mount Isabel de Torres.
Riviera,. taken from the cruise terminal 
Quarter-mile-long pier
Sailaway takes place at 5pm. We watch from our balcony as the ship casts off lines and passes a park with a few of the people there are waving goodbye. We return the greeting and reminisce about this amazing day, our first but, hopefully, not last visit to this beautiful country.
Fast forward to dinner at the Grand Dining Room. We have a habit of going early (there are no set seating times), and the place is empty. It’s times like these, and walking through some of the public areas, that we take note of how unpopulated the ship seems. We have confirmed that, indeed, the ship is only half full (we hear a couple of days later that there are 602 guests -less than half the capacity – and the crew complement is 600, 200 shy of the normal 800). It’s certainly great for us to have a 1:1 ratio of crew to passengers, but it certainly isn’t sustainable for Oceania.
Lights out around 8:30 as usual. A real red-letter day for Cathy and Steve, especially thanks to Doris, our new dolphin friend.
