Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

Columbus may have discovered the Amber Cove region of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic in the 1490s, but he wouldn’t recognize it now. Carnival Corporation invested $85 million in constructing the 25-acre Amber Cove port complex, which opened in 2015. This certainly qualifies as a port that cruising built since cruise ships hadn’t visited this area in almost 30 years.

Amber Cove features a massive pool with a swim-up bar, waterslides, a lazy river, and over-the-water cabanas to rent. Nearby, active cruisers can zip line over a rain forest; go exploring on an ATV or in a helicopter; or swim with dolphins, stingrays, or sharks. Guests will find onsite retail shops, restaurants, and bars; and history lovers will notice touches of Spanish colonial architecture in the nearby town of Puerto Plata. Amber Cove has an impressive transportation hub where shore excursion buses embark, or visitors can rent a taxi bound for a nearby beach.