Anyone Have Info on CDF Croisieres de France- Horizon

I am interested in taking a CDF Croisieres de France cruise on Horizon. On CC the only ship listed from CDF is the

Blue not Horizon or the Zenith. I understand this is not a large cruise line but there should still be current info .

Anyone know anything about CDF. The only thing I know is that their are owned by Royal Caribbean Inc

Should have searched first. :o There does seem to be some info but from the boards not CC itself

If you have any more info ,please post Thanx:)

Stockjock has put together some decent info on youtube. And there is a thread further down the page with some information.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2033403

I believe StockJock is booked for Jan 26, 2015 from St. Martin. We are looking at either the same week or the week before. Just trying to get decent airfare from the west coast.

Thank you Mapsmith. I did see Stockjock's video. It was helpful although as he hasn't actually sailed CDF,

much of his comments are conjecture . I'm looking into airfare. It could be worse but it is expensive.

The crazy thing is that air may turn out to be about twice the cost of the cruise itself.:eek:

Richstowe, I think that this upcoming season is the first for the Horizon in the Caribbean as a CDF cruise. ( I think it did one season as a Pullmantur ship). There are several videos and magazine articles about CDF on line but they deal with Mediterranean cruises. One of the best is the 5 HOUR youtube video.

A couple of years ago we did see one of the former X ships leaving Curacao. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

The Pullmantur descriptions also seem to work for CDF and I have found that some sites will include CDF cruises along with Pullmantur.

If only there was a Cruise Critic .FR board where we could get some cruisers input that have actually been on board.

Mapsmith

Mapsmith: The Horizon has been sailing in the Caribbean for at least four years from the Dominican Republic, two Years for Pullmantur and two for CDF.I sailed on her early 2010 when she sailed as the Pacific Dream for Pullmantur, even though the majority of the passengers were French and had booked through CDF.

The situation with Pullmantur and it's subsidiary CDF is almost analogous to airline codesharing, each booking passengers on to the other lines ships.

I have sailed three Pullmantur ships, Holiday Dream (Europa) and Pacific Dream(Horizon) in the Caribbean and Zenith in the Mediterranian. I hope to sail with CDF next year from Marseilles, but I'm waiting for the Century starting in May.

If you have any questions regarding these lines.fire away.

We are two families with boys aged 17 and 20 looking to cruise out of St.Martin this winter on Horizon.

Would you recommend this line? We have done Carnival, Costa, Norweigen and Disney. I honestly do not have a preference....we are not cruise snobs at all! Just looking for good food, and different islands.

Most of our group speaks French, but a few do not. Will this be hard for them?

Thanks for any info at all!

Hi ColleenThomas: I travelled on the very same ship and itinerary out of Santo Domingo under the Pullmantur banner( CDF's parent company) and imagine the experience will be similar. We have enjoyed all three Pullmantur ships we've sailed. Service and food have been very good and the all-inclusive aspect is a bonus. You would probably find a mixture of French and Spanish passwengers, many of whom will speak English as do most of the staff and there will possibly be some English speakers.

No idea what this cruise line is like. I didn't even know this cruise line existed till our recent Royal Caribbean cruise when the ship docked at StavangerNorway and I saw this ship.

Looks like good weather this morning. We are in Stavanger, Norway. Stavanger is also known as the oil capital of Norway. We were told that this place boomed with the advent of North Sea crude. Look, there was another ship in port!

This was the MS Horizon. This ship has an interesting history. It was first built for Celebrity cruises.

Prior to today, the ignorant me have not heard of this cruise line before - Croiseries De France.

My guess is this cruise line is pretty much catered for the French market. Probably not my cup of tea.

Check out my blog post for more information - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/08/adventure-of-seas-day-12-sailing-into.html

A video from a small fjord cruise ferry, coming back to port in Stavanger, Norway.

On the way in, we pass the MS horizon. (see from about 3:30 minute mark)

I am interested in taking a CDF Croisieres de France cruise on Horizon. On CC the only ship listed from CDF is the

Blue not Horizon or the Zenith. I understand this is not a large cruise line but there should still be current info .

 

Anyone know anything about CDF. The only thing I know is that their are owned by Royal Caribbean Inc

 

Should have searched first. :o There does seem to be some info but from the boards not CC itself

If you have any more info ,please post Thanx:)

I just booked this ship leaving St. Martin on 1/5/15 for a great price of $230 plus $240 port charges/taxes. We have been On 20+ cruises but not this one. All you can drink of not premium drinks. French language is throughout, including shows. Food is French in dining area and buffet is more international including American. Flight to St. Martin port is less than $500 from Ft. Lauderdale. Going down day early and leaving evening of 1/12/15. Itinerary goes to pretty spots and some new ones for us. We were advised if the French food, people, language annoy you, this is not for you. But for a new adventure and ability to drink if it does become annoying--we would love it!

We are two families with boys aged 17 and 20 looking to cruise out of St.Martin this winter on Horizon.

 

Would you recommend this line? We have done Carnival, Costa, Norweigen and Disney. I honestly do not have a preference....we are not cruise snobs at all! Just looking for good food, and different islands.

 

Most of our group speaks French, but a few do not. Will this be hard for them?

Thanks for any info at all!

Hi colleen, im in kelowna :) Have you decided on booking? We have booked this cruise in march. Would you fly out the same day? The latest flight is 340 pm...do you think we'd make it? Anyone else considering taking the same day flights? Hope those who sail early in Jan can come back with some answers as there just isn't alot of info... Di

We sailed the Pullmantur Horizon in 2011. Pullmantur is the Spanish cruise line. We are booking with them again. We did a 7 night that sailed from Mexico. The ship was smaller but in great shape. The staff was international and most spoke English. The clientele was mostly from Spain or Mexico .I found the food not the same as main cruise line food. It was very acceptable. Room service was not included in the all inclusive.

They have transferred the ship. I would love to try the French version but as stated the airfare is high.

We are booked on the CDF Horizon for a 14 night transatlantic cruise to Barcelona. We depart Santo Domingo Apr 11. The ports of call are La Romana, St. Maarten, Martinique, and Gibraltar.

My wife and me also booked today the CDF Horizon for the 14 night transatlantic cruise Santo Domingo to Barcelona.

@CrossBluePerchance:

How do you get to Santo Domingo? We're right now looking on good flight connections from Fort Lauderdale using Spirit Airlines.

We would love to "meet" other people here who are booked on the same cruise...

@ SAlien17

We are flying from Toronto - with a stopover in Atlanta - on Delta. We will arrive in Santo Domingo on Apr 10th, and have made arrangements to be picked up at the airport and taken to the Santo Domingo B&B.

My wife and me also booked today the CDF Horizon for the 14 night transatlantic cruise Santo Domingo to Barcelona.

 

@CrossBluePerchance:

 

How do you get to Santo Domingo? We're right now looking on good flight connections from Fort Lauderdale using Spirit Airlines.

 

We would love to "meet" other people here who are booked on the same cruise...

This is the least expensive cruise I have ever seen, currently advertised at eight dollars a night per person on repositioningcruisedotcom!! Would love to try it, but conflicts with current travel plans.

My wife and me also booked today the CDF Horizon for the 14 night transatlantic cruise Santo Domingo to Barcelona.

 

@CrossBluePerchance:

 

How do you get to Santo Domingo? We're right now looking on good flight connections from Fort Lauderdale using Spirit Airlines.

 

We would love to "meet" other people here who are booked on the same cruise...

Just booked the same cruise ....flying from St. Croix via Puerto Rico on Jet Blue to Santo Domingo.

It would be nice to meet up with folks we could converse with...hope to see you!!

Booked the 4/11/15 TA a few days ago. Attempting to find flights out of Portland Maine or Boston. Jet Blue has a decent price out of Portland, near our home, but arrives at 2AM on the 11th! Has anyone found a hotel or B&B that provides transfers from SDQ and/or the cruise terminal, if arrival is during the day on the 10th?

Does anyone know how early we can board, with the 10PM departure?

Can't seem to change the "signature" showing cruises, but returned last month from a 14 day NCL repo Boston to NOLA. Was booked on the NCL Star Miami to Copenhagen 4/27/15, but cancelled for this lower cost, different type cruise adventure.

Looking forward to the posts during the next few months.

@ islandterrace

My husband and I are arriving on the 10th and will be staying at the Santo Domingo B&B, 10205 Santo Domingo, Calle Bernardo Pichardo 11 Gazcue.

You can check the reviews on this trip advisor link:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g147289-d6396352-Reviews-Santo_Domingo_Bed_and_Breakfast-Santo_Domingo_Santo_Domingo_Province_Dominican_Republi.html

mail@santodomingobb.com

We have arranged for transfer from the airport to the B&B (~$35 US) and transfer to the port (~$5 US).

Not sure what time we can board.

Hi, CrossBluePerchance. Thanks for the reply. We have settled on a Delta flight that will arrive on Saturday, the 11th around 1PM.

Hi I've just seen the 14 day repositioning cruise for £80 leaving on the 11th April. Does anyone know if this is an all inclusive cruise please ????

I think this is an all inclusive cruise line, but cannot imagine that this price is for an all inclusive 14 day cruise.

Thank you in advance x

We are booked on the CDF Horizon for a 14 night transatlantic cruise to Barcelona. We depart Santo Domingo Apr 11. The ports of call are La Romana, St. Maarten, Martinique, and Gibraltar.

Hi @crossblueperchance, @salien17, @davidtupaj, and @islandterrece! My husband and I just booked this cruise as well. Looking forward to it and to meeting all our English speaking buddies! :)

For those people looking for ways to Santo Domingo --

Consider looking for better fares to San Juan, Puerto Rico. From there it's usually a sub $100 one way, one hour flight or there's a ferry that leaves 7:00pm on the 10th and arrives 9:00am on the 11th that might be a fun way to start this trip, just over $100.

I also am wondering if this will be an all-inclusive sailing, a phone call confirms that it will but that seems too good to be true.

Hi I've just seen the 14 day repositioning cruise for £80 leaving on the 11th April. Does anyone know if this is an all inclusive cruise please ????

 

I think this is an all inclusive cruise line, but cannot imagine that this price is for an all inclusive 14 day cruise.

 

Thank you in advance x

My travel agent told me because this is a special TA cruise, it was not all inclusive. Drinks are not included as they usually are.

Re all inclusive - My TA indicated wine and a limited list of alcoholic drinks were included, however a $12.00 or $12.50 PP per day service charge would be added to your bill on this cruise. We shall see, regardless this seems to be a good deal.

For what it is worth. When we purchased our Delta tickets, they offered their AMX Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card. $50 off the flight, free 1st Bags, and priority boarding, plus 30,000 SkyMiles after spending $1000 within three months. Free for the first year, $95 a year thereafter if you continue holding the card.