New cruise port, Amber Cove, to open on the north coast of Dominican Republic

 Tours planned to an untapped region 

Carnival Corp.'s Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic

In the mountains near the north coast of the Dominican Republic, our canopied tour bus stopped on a shady country road for a visit to a four-room, wood house of a family of five. A fifth room, the kitchen for making beans, chicken and rice, was in a separate building so as not to spread cooking smoke to the sleeping quarters.

A cruise excursion operator, Outback Adventures, pays this family, and several others nearby, an occasional stipend so that small groups of travelers can poke around their house and backyard garden for a look at an authentic Dominican home where people live off the land.

This tour is one of more than 30 available to passengers who will begin arriving Oct. 6 at Carnival Corp.’s new cruise port at Amber Cove.