December 17, 2025 – Santo Domingo, DR – Mostly Cloudy – 85F

December 17, 2025 – Santo Domingo, DR – Mostly Cloudy – 85F

We are back in Santo Domingo, the only port we are visiting twice in this triple segment cruise.  Last time we were here, we took the port shuttle and checked out the shops in the Colonial Zone – Ellen bought some stuff and we sweated our way back.

I watched the approach and docking in Santo Domingo during breakfast up in the Marketplace. 

Today, we are planning to see more of the city and perhaps find a spa offering inexpensive massages. To avoid wandering around and finding nothing, we checked with Thomas, the Chief Concierge on where we should walk and how we could find an inexpensive spa.  He looked things us in Google and came up with a spa in what he said was a good area (good meaning safe, I hope).  He came up with Solencia Spa (I had also found this spa on Google but there was no information on line about the location and the prices). This spa was only about a 15 minute walk.

Thomas did the direct thing – he called the spa.  He doesn’t look like it (tall and very Canadian or US looking) but he speaks perfect non-accent Spanish.  He got hold of the spa and found out that there were openings around 11:30 AM. He found out that the one hour masaje relajantes (relaxation massage) at Solencia Spa was $25 per person.  He printed out a route to the spa (maybe a little over a mile).  I checked out the route and put together a more direct route (with helpful landmarks).  

We were off.

We took the port shuttle to the Atarazana Gate (about a 10 minute ride).  Along the way, we noticed a very obvious police presence (cars, officers).  Near the gate, there were several police cars and personnel.  The last visit – a couple of weeks ago – there was no police activity.  We hiked up the hill to the Plaza Espana – all decked out for the holidays.  

A block up from the street bordering the plaza (where the restaurants were) we found La Calle Isabel la Catolica. There was shade and Ellen was taking full advantage.

I picked that street because it was a shopping street (had good sidewalks and some interesting plants and trees like these ferns) 

and ended at a landmark that we could recognize – Plaza Colon.  It was maybe four or five blocks to the Plaza. There were lots of locals on the street which did have a lot of shops.  

The Plaza Colon was a pretty impressive site.  Bordering the plaza on the North were restaurants with Al Fresco dining (and they were full).  

The plaza itself is home to a statue of Cristobal Colon (outstretched arm pointing North) 

which is very similar to the statue in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Behind Chris is the famous Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor, 

which is the first cathedral in the New World (built in 1504 and finished in 1550).  Chris’s remains were buried there (his request) but moved during the annexation of Hispanola by the French – today, the bones are split between the Faro Colon in the Dominican Republic and the Cathedral of Seville, Spain.

Earlier in the walk, we had some across a bust of Bartolomeo Colon, who founded Santo Domingo as the first permanent settlement in the New World in 1496.

At the Plaza Colon we turned right (West if you use Columbus as a guide) onto La Calle El Conde, a pedestrian walkway and one of the main shopping areas of Santo Domingo. There were police on the intersections.  We found fast food 

and nice restaurants on this street as well as artists trying to sell their works.  The street we were looking for Calle Sanchez was about four or five blocks up the walkway.  The streets weren’t all marked but one of the cops told us where it was.  We turned right again looking for the spa.

The street was rustic with few shops open.  We turned into a mall on the right side of the street.  There were some shops open – I asked someone and was told that the spa was on the second floor.  Up the stairs and we found it among closed or empty stores (I forgot to take a picture so this is from the internet).  

The door was locked and we knocked.  Then one of the girls who worked in the spa showed up a let us in.  She didn’t say anything about our appointment but I guess since we were the only people around, we must be the 11:30 appointment.  The bano was across from the spa and very rustic. 

There were two rooms with a single massage table in each. In a few minutes, another girl showed up and we got settled in the rooms. The tables were really tall and I had quite a time getting up on them – Ellen must have really struggled.  The place did seem clean (and had no smell) and they asked us to sanitize our hands before starting, which I thoutht was strange.  The ladies were wearing logod uniforms.

The massages went the full hour and they were great.  They were indeed $25 dollars for each of us – we tipped each of our girls $3 and they looked like they didn’t expect to get a tip.  One more trip to the bano and we started back to the bus pick up location.

We retraced our route 

and stopped again at the Plaza Colon to get a picture of the enormous trees that line the plaza.

We got to the gate and the bus was there.  After a bit of a wait, we returned to the ship – there was essentially no traffic so the trip took maybe five minutes.

At the Sansouci Cruise Terminal, I got a couple of pictures of the signs

as well as a nice picture of Serenity docked.

We were able to get something to eat in the Trident Grill – I had the salmon sandwich along with the gazpacho.

While getting ready for dinner, I caught another sunset and some spectacular clous from the stateroom.

We had dinner in the Waterside Restaurant.  We had ordered special meals (through the Guest Services Desk) for tonight – duck for Ellen and a hamburger for me.  I had written down the orders but the email to the Maitre D’ had a burger, fries, and a baked potato but no duck.  The kitchen was able to find another burger so we both had hamburgers.  The burgers were small and a little over but I liked mine. 

On the way out we ordered lamb chops and two hot dogs for tomorrow.

We passed on “Icons in Concert”.

A nice day of exploration and relaxation in Santo Domingo.