on a side note, where are you going in the Dominican?
I've been to Puerto Plata, as nice as it was my buddy who was with me said he prefered further south, Punta Cana or Santa Domingo. The beaches in Plata are much the same as anywhere else, not white, waters not that clear nothing special. Further south your on the Carribian Sea (?) nice tuerqoise water, white sandy beaches, much nicer place to stay from people I have talked that have ben both.
My all inclusive was fantastic tho. granted you can only get 2 drinks at a time, and they are very small, but they are free and they give you a reason to walk around checking out the scenery quite often. Food was great, and plentiful during meal hours, may wanna grab some fruit or snacks if they don't have an off hours snack n grab bar. I like eaiting smaller meals thru out the day, so gorging didn't sit well with my stomach and I took fruit for the in between times.