December 18, 2025 – Samana, Dominican Republic – Mostly Sunny – 87F

December 18, 2025 – Samana, Dominican Republic – Mostly Sunny – 87F

A beautiful day in Samana.  I could have sworn we have been here before but I could not find any mention of it in my cruise logs.  I even remember visiting a port called Semana Bay and going on an excursion there.  Twilight Zone.

Still on my breakfast streak of pancakes and fried eggs (chocolate syrup and walnuts).  Really good.  Today, I was able to capture a sunrise over the Caribbean.

Samana is a tender port and it looks like a bit of a ride to shore.

I looked into Samana and found out that the only thing near the tender port was a fancy hotel; we decided to stay on board. That meant a nice lunch in Trident Grill (not very crowded - I checked the back deck and got a nice picture of Ellen)

and relaxing afternoon tea in Palm Court (with delicious scones).  There was some tropical rain in the afternoon.

We had our special meals in the Waterside Restaurant.  Big disappointment – the ship is out of the big Polish Sausages and the hot dogs are now small and very red and not too tasty.  The lambchops looked good.  I guess, I ate all of the dogs during this cruise.

We ordered special meals for tomorrow – Ellen requested a ribeye steak and I put in an order of spaghetti marinara. 

After dinner we spent some time in Crystal Cove, where I finally got a shot of the sculpture adorning the venue.  The theme on Serenity is music.

We have missed her other appearances but tonight we went to the Stardust Lounge to take in Karin Kovacova Unplugged at 8:30 PM.  

It was a really good show.  Highlights incuded Sarah McLachhlin's “In the Arms of the Angels” and Adele's “Someone Like You”.  We didn’t stay for Daniel Allain's late show - too late.

Clocks move backward tonight to put us on Eastern Standard Time.