What Amber Cove and Honduras won't tell you: Star Princess

We booked our Dominican Republic and Honduras excursions through Shore Excursions Group, not Princess — here's how both shore days went. This Star Princess cruise review covers our two favourite port days on a Caribbean itinerary: Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic and a stop in Honduras. Both days were booked as independent shore excursions rather than through Princess's own excursion desk, and this video walks through exactly what each one involved, what it cost, and whether we'd book the same way again on a future Caribbean cruise. In the Dominican Republic, we took the Puerto Plata's Historic Town & Dominican Countryside Culture excursion from Amber Cove — a walk through historic Puerto Plata to learn its history, followed by a drive up into the hills to a countryside lodge for a slower, more local side of the island away from the cruise port. In Honduras, our excursion was built around wildlife: monkeys, sloths and iguanas up close, and Alison ended up with a live howler monkey on her head and two macaws perched on her arm — she leaned into it far more than either of us expected, and it's some of the best footage we've got from any port stop. Back on the ship that evening, we wound down in the Good Spirits bar sampling a few of the cocktails on the menu. Both excursions were booked through Shore Excursions Group rather than Princess directly, and for us that made a real difference — better value for money, smaller groups, and two genuinely different experiences from what we'd have got booking the equivalent trips through the ship. Neither felt like the safer, more expensive option was necessary here, though your comfort with independent excursions may vary and it's worth checking cancellation terms before you book. If you're weighing up ship-run against independent shore excursions on a Dominican Republic or Honduras cruise stop, this is exactly the side-by-side comparison we wish we'd seen before booking ours. https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/... https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/... ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 — Introduction [00:10] — Sailing into the Caribbean on Star Princess [00:30] — Amber Cove: arriving in the Dominican Republic [01:00] — Historic Puerto Plata on foot [02:00] — Up into the hills: the countryside lodge [03:30] — Honduras: monkeys, sloths and iguanas [06:45] — Cocktails in the Good Spirits bar [09:00] — The howler monkey moment (you have to see this) [11:50] — Final thoughts & verdict: would we book this way again? 👇 JOIN THE CONVERSATION Would you book shore excursions independently through a company like Shore Excursions Group, or does going through the cruise line feel worth the extra cost to you? 🔔 If you haven't already, please do consider subscribing — it's free and helps the channel a great deal. We've got more honest Caribbean port reviews and new cruise videos on the way.