I did the packing myself and used a moving company to pick it all up, crate it and load into into a container destined for the DR. My stuff went from Ottawa to Halifax to Panama to the DR. Stuff picked up in Ottawa on Sept 8 delivered to my door in the DR on Dec 23rd. There are not a lot of ships coming directly to the DR from Canada.
Custom clearance here took longer than I hoped. My DR brokers were idiots, calling me at 5 pm the day before they wanted me at the port outside of Santo Domingo at 9 am the next day for the customs inspection.
Paperwork for the Residency exemption was very difficult for me, due to my nonexistent Spanish, and a Broker that appeared more interested in making money than helping me save it. Application for Residency exemption is by appointment only. After customs clearance, you can make an appointment with the tax people. Probably will not be the same day you initially contact them.
If you live near Santo Domingo and have a car, not too much of a problem travelling back and forth to get everything done. If you are not so close, might be best to consider staying in SD until everything is done.
Very important that your customs brokers know exactly what they are supposed to do, have all of your paperwork long before the ship arrives in the port and you know every required step in the process or you'll get led around like a lamb to slaughter hemorrhaging money the entire way.
You will need to pay your brokers, you will need to pay the tax people, you will need to pay the port for every day your stuff is there and you will need to pay the transport syndico to get your stuff out of the port on one of their trucks. Using independent truckers is supposed to be possible now but was not an option for me three years ago.
If you have a residency card and cedula when your container hits the port, it is easier with the tax people as opposed to just having the receipt for your residency application.
Your vehicle is not considered household goods so has its own separate process to go through with a different government department than your household items.
Expect an adventure and a lesson in Dominican efficiency also known as a snafu. Anticipate the worst this country can throw at you process wise and then if you're lucky, be pleasantly surprised.