La Romana is best known for its Casa de Campo Resort, and for Dominicus and Bayahibe resorts that cater to Italian tourists. The area is served by a jewel of a small airport, the La Romana International Airport (Casa de Campo), LRM. The airport is located between the two giants of the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), about half an hour away, and Las Americas International Airport (SDQ), about an hour away.
The airport has one runway and two gates, and a large parking area, and that’s it. Fly in and you clear customs and luggage area in around 15 minutes.
What is particular about the airport is how it has become a big player as a home port for cruise ship travelers. La Romana International Airport is home-porting big ships, and handling thousands of passengers at the same time. The passengers usually arrive in the morning, say you can have eight 777s landing there at one time.
The airport’s small customs and immigration facilities are enough. Most travelers are arriving with a European passport, which the Dominican Republic accepts for expedited entry.
The large parking area facilitates the travelers arriving and then leaving by ship.
Norwegian Cruise Line has taken hold of this space and today the La Romana International Airport serves as a significant departure point for NCL cruise ships, operating from the La Romana tourist terminal as its home port since early 2024.
Overall, cruise ship stops have been increasing in the Dominican Republic as more airports and seaports open to cater to these tourists. The director of the Dominican Port Authority, Jean Luis Rodríguez recalls that in pre-pandemic year 2019 the country’s ports had received 900,000 cruise ship travelers. By 2023, this has increased to 2.3 million, up 110%.
New ports scheduled to open in 2025 are those in Barahona in the southwest, Manzanillo in the northwest and San Pedro de Macoris in the southeast and Samana in the northeast. Cruise ships are already testing the new cruise terminal in Pedernales in the southwest.
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NCL
Dominican Port Authority
2 October 2024