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Pullmantur Sovereign


cruz.n.carebear
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We were on the Transatlantic to Brazil last year. Most passengers were not Spanish, but a mix of 39 nationalities. Almost all European countries were represented, as well as Brazilians. This cruise had a weird demography: because the cruise was so cheap and had gone viral on backpacking fora, most passengers were under 30. We (mid-40) have never been on a cruise where we felt so old.... A Med cruise or a Caribbean cruise will of course attract a different age group. A closed loop from a Spanish port will certainly host more Spanish passengers.

 

The announcements and shows were all in Spanish, English and Portuguese (because of the destination Brazil). Shows were of the non-verbal kind (dance, music, mime), because of all the different nationalities. A phenomenon we know from Costa. There were less games and other day activities than we are used to from US cruiselines, but in line with Costa. If you have so many different language and age groups, it is hard to host activities such as a quiz of course. The cabin staff and wait staff speak rudimentary English, sometimes we had to speak slowly or rephrase a question. Restaurant seating is done on the basis of language, we were on a table with 3 Brits, 1 Dutchman (my partner) and 1 American, all in the age bracket 42-55. Three of which are professional chefs, and we all agreed the food was very good, especially considering the price we paid. Of course, there was no really fancy stuff like lobster.

 

The ship feels and looks like a RCCL ship. We have been on 2 RCCL cruises, and Pullmantur has kept the decor, the names of the restaurants and bars, everything. Down to the curtains and upholstery in the cabin. So if you have been on one of the smaller RCCL ship before, you will see it is identical and feel right at home. We were on the RCCL Splendour OTS -> same ship.

 

Because there were so many young people on board, and the insanely low sticker price, this ocean crossing did not automatically include a drinks package. We did not buy one, because one of us does not drink. Like any RCCL cruise, there is coffee, tea, hot chocolate, ice tea and lemonade at the Windjammer buffet. The drink prices were very reasonable, a Coke was 1,50 EUR, a glass of house wine EUR 2,50. People who did get the drinks package were surprised how much was included.

 

I agree with Wayward that there were too little clothes hangers in the cupboard. We asked the friendly cabin attendant for more.

Edited by UKBayern
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  • 2 weeks later...

I just found this FB page. Looks like many passengers are very angry because Pullmantur decided to do maintenance work on the Sovereign during last week's cruise.

 

I know that maintenance is being done all the time on ships but looking at the photos I think this is a bit too much.

 

https://www.facebook.com/obraspullmantursovereing/?ref=page_internal

Edited by Skydrift
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I just found this FB page. Looks like many passengers are very angry because Pullmantur decided to do maintenance work on the Sovereign during last week's cruise.

 

I know that maintenance is being done all the time on ships but looking at the photos I think this is a bit too much.

 

https://www.facebook.com/obraspullmantursovereing/?ref=page_internal

 

Please keep in mind that work is always carried out on cruises, to keep the ship in tiptop order. On all our cruises, there was some kind of maintenance going on. On our Costa cruise, new carpet was being laid in the cabins around us. On RCCL Splendour, they were painting the deck. Last year, on Pullmantur, they were painting the railings. HAL renovated a hot tub on our sailing, and were painting in the (unused) corridors. Princess too.

 

It looks like Pullmantur was doing work in 1 staircase from the pictures. Maybe there were no guests anywhere near this staircase? We also do not know when the casino was closed and for how long. Who knows if it was closed from 8 am to 11 am? Some people are drama queens and very entitled, and will post stuff like this to weasle a few bucks out of the cruiseline.

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  • 2 months later...
The traveling solita thing is the main reason I'm going on Pullmantur..... you know, that whole double occupancy thing..... (ugh!)

 

Pullmantur did have a great Single Supplement Price, but even then, it still adds up. But, I'm looking forward to a totally cool experience!! Ya know, if I wanted to go on vaca with a bunch of 'Mericans, I'da just gone to Disney. ;)

 

I think the whole Spanish thing is cool and I'm looking forward to it in a new and adventurous kinda way. :)

 

 

 

Hi Jenny - I will also be traveling solo. Coming from FL - this is my break from Disney!! Frequently cruise solo, I refer to them as my "retreats"! Helps keep me balanced. Cruising to Barcelona and then jumping from one ship to the Sovereign. See ya aboard!

 

Anne

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Thanks very much for advice. I've gained more idea about what it's like to be a solo English speaker on Pullmantur from this forum than anywhere else. I'm sailing on Horizon soon, so I'd be grateful for any tips:

  • Did most ladies wear dresses on the formal night?
  • Did they have exercise/dance by the pool, yoga in the gym, and so on? Karaoke?
  • Was the muster drill done early, and did it take long? It seems passengers embark and disembark at most ports.
  • Were the internet packages fairly priced/ reasonable speed?
  • Were the excursions good? Some look reasonably priced.
  • Did they charge for port shuttles, and were they disorganised?
  • Did anyone try the spa, and how would they rate it?
  • Any other advice and tips?

Thanks!

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Thanks very much for advice. I've gained more idea about what it's like to be a solo English speaker on Pullmantur from this forum than anywhere else. I'm sailing on Horizon soon, so I'd be grateful for any tips:

  • Did most ladies wear dresses on the formal night?
  • Did they have exercise/dance by the pool, yoga in the gym, and so on? Karaoke?
  • Was the muster drill done early, and did it take long? It seems passengers embark and disembark at most ports.
  • Were the internet packages fairly priced/ reasonable speed?
  • Were the excursions good? Some look reasonably priced.
  • Did they charge for port shuttles, and were they disorganised?
  • Did anyone try the spa, and how would they rate it?
  • Any other advice and tips?

Thanks!

 

 

Hi Cardiff Girl!

 

 

Most of the older Spanish ladies dressed up for dinner. The only night we "casual Americans" wore dresses was the Captains Night and we wore cocktail dresses. The other nights we were pants or capris. We never felt out of place.

 

 

There was a dance party by the pool every afternoon. I did not see any yoga or karoke butI wasn't out there much. The muster drill was done early afternoon and was over very quickly. We only had to do one on the day we embarked in Barcelona. The internet package was pricy, very slow and kept cutting out. One of my group had some last minute work she was trying to get done and she was very frustrated by the slow and intermittent wifi.

 

We ended up doing more of the ships excursions than we planned as one of our group fell on our first day and tore a ligament in her knee. If we did the ships excursion, they let her use the ships wheelchair on the excursion. We felt the prices were good. They were very organized but a bit rushed. Would have like to have more time in each port. We did ships excursions in Rome, Naples/Pompeii and Aix on Provence. The shuttles were $8 and were very organized. We never used the spa.

 

 

For the money, I would definitely cruise again with Pullmantur.

 

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

 

Kim C

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Hi there,

I'm just back from Pullmantur Horizon, so thank you very much for all your useful advice, particularly Kim, which helped me with packing.

For others' benefit, around 70 per cent dressed up for the Captain's Gala Night (I wore a cocktail dress), though some at my MDR table didn't.

As Kim says, there was dancing each afternoon by the pool (except when it was too windy). The pilates class in the gym cost 6 euros, and there was a range of activities such as quizzes, though less than with other lines I've been on.

The muster drill was short and done in the theatre, rather than out on deck.

I didn't try the internet and found plenty of Wi-Fi except in Casablanca, where I was on an excursion.

That excursion cost 39 euros for four hours to Rabat, including the main mosque and a shop in Casablanca.The guide spoke English and Spanish.

There weren't port shuttles at Tenerife, Lanzarote or Casablanca, and I was advised to take a taxi or walk. There's a local 3 euro shuttle at Malaga, not well marked and every 15-20 mins, so I missed it and walked.

On the first day I won the competition for one of two spa treatments. My massage was pleasant, but I would have been disappointed if I'd paid full Steiner price for it.

As stated, most staff spoke English, though announcements began in Spanish, as the majority of the passengers were Spanish. There were more English speakers than I expected, and the entertainment included Beatles and Abba nights.

The staff were hard working and friendly, the all-inclusive was generous, and overall, I thought it was great value for money.

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I apologize if this has been covered here, but I have read that on Pullmantur's Sovereign the dinner menu is the same each night, even though there are sufficiently many options for each course. Is it true?

 

How many courses is a typical dinner menu, and how many options are there for each course?

 

Also, where can I find a typical Pullmantur menu, please?

 

Thank you in advance.

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I haven't seen sample menus online. On Horizon, each night's menu had three or four fresh choices for starter, main course and dessert, along with regular choices including Caesar salad and braised beef cheek with mashed potatoes. Premium choices including giant prawns cost 10 euros extra. Main choices included confit duck, rabbit, fish, pasta, risotto & vegetarian dishes. We were invited to choose one starter, main and dessert, and you could try other choices in the buffet if you want.

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Forums mobile app

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I apologize if this has been covered here, but I have read that on Pullmantur's Sovereign the dinner menu is the same each night, even though there are sufficiently many options for each course. Is it true?

 

How many courses is a typical dinner menu, and how many options are there for each course?

 

Also, where can I find a typical Pullmantur menu, please?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Hi Robert,

 

Except for the Captain's night the menu was the same each night. There were approximately 6-8 appetizers and soups and salads, 5-6 entrees and about 4-5 desserts. There were a lot of fish dishes, some chicken, one steak and one beef tips entrees. You chose one appetizer, one entrée and one dessert. I wish I had thought to take pictures of the menus but I will ask my travel companions if they remember the menu better. I think Tina took pictures of the food. On the Captain's night there was a different menu with fewer choices.

 

Kim C

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Thanks for the review.

 

We are looking into the possibility of this cruise later in the year.

 

What did you think of your cabin? Do you have any photos?

 

Thanks :)

Here are some photos of our Grand Class cabin on the Sovereign (resized for posting).

IMG_0601.jpg.2d380f1de9270fd0d68f022bd2e6eb54.jpg

IMG_0602.jpg.a2a4345d237235aa55c4d3f798c19dcd.jpg

IMG_0603.jpg.148274d41fcb91c5f7804f8f3a9470cf.jpg

IMG_0604.jpg.ccb1e1f52cd56ad138477ea094c63fb0.jpg

IMG_0605.jpg.20607bedb84ca9fd2d3d57785c05686d.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Will be sailing with the Sovereign on June 10, 2017.

Also booked the Monarch transatlantic on May 9.

We will be joined by my 4 Dutch high school girlfriends.

Looking forward to this trip and spending time with them.

 

We live in Florida

 

Peter & Willie

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  • 2 months later...

OK. I just did this trip and thought that I would come back and post my thoughts as a service for all of the people "just like me" out there that want to know what to expect.

 

I was on the Sovereign. I went on it thinking that the Vision Class was always my favorite class anyway (don't like the big monsters), and this is still kinda owned by RCI so how bad could it be, right?!? ... well, it definitely was NOT what I was expecting.

 

The ship was old and dirty and not taken care of. I felt like they just bought it "As-Is" and then never did a single thing to it to keep it up. Royal Caribbean would cry if they saw it now. I was shocked. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't RCI either.

 

The chairs in the dining areas have never been cleaned. They are VERY worn and dirty. They are mix-matched, and there is not enough seating. All of the cool storage stuff in the staterooms is gone. No night stands or end tables. No shelves in the closets. It's like, if something ever broke, they just took it out and never replaced it. Beds were clean and comfortable. There were about 3 TV stations that worked. Food was good, but portions were Very Small. The Help was the B-Team, not your usual Superstars. If Holiday Inns and Old Country Buffets are OK with you, then you will LOVE this cruise!! If you are a Loyal RCI Traveler and have expectations - stay with RCI. I would do this cruise again, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is PICKY at all.

 

Most everything was in Spanish. Shore Excursions were HIGHLY unorganized. Announcements for Shore Excursions were mostly made in Spanish until the English Speaking Passengers started to near riot to get them to make announcements in English.

 

Passengers were mostly from Spain and mostly Spanish Speaking. They were all very friendly. Dress was pretty casual, even in the dinning room - but NO SHORTS!!

 

I have been on about 25 cruises. I'm pretty adventurous and have relatively low expectations. I would do it again because it's CHEAP and you get what you pay for. I am single and travel alone, so the Low Cost and Single Supplement brought me here. It's not RCI.

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!! Bon Voyage!! :)

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  • 5 months later...

Wehad an excellent cruise with Pullmantur Sovereign! We sailed transatlantic from Lisbon to Brazil. But having saidthat, you need to take into account the following:

 


  • Sovereign just came out of three weeks drydock. Carpets, upholstery and furniture are all new. Only the layout of the ship reminds you its in fact 30 years old.
  • The rooms are really incredibly small. I´m an experienced cruiser with RCI, NCL, Celebrity and so on, this is really the smallest I have seen ever. We paid for an upgrade, and then got a room with no reading lights. Thats also strange....
  • Rooms are noisy, too! Neighbours speaking on normal volume can be easily heard.
  • English does not really work on board, except for guests services or ordering food and drinks. If you don´t speak Portuguese or Spanish forget about entertainment. You will not understand a thing.
  • Pullmantur is awful in answering. It either takes them an eternity to answer an email or question or they just never answer.
  • WiFi works good but they changed prices during our cruise. Unheard of! We asked a compensation, of course never got a reply.
  • Tips are fixed, without any indication for whom and how much. You cannot change it. We paid $134 per person for an 11 day cruise. I got the impression that the tips don´t even go to the staff, its just extra profit for the company.
  • Apart from three nice production shows there is little entertainment. Also bands are very repetitive. One band only played Brazilian music, in 10 days I have not heard them play one song that I know.

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  • 1 month later...
Wehad an excellent cruise with Pullmantur Sovereign! We sailed transatlantic from Lisbon to Brazil. But having saidthat, you need to take into account the following:

 


  • Sovereign just came out of three weeks drydock. Carpets, upholstery and furniture are all new. Only the layout of the ship reminds you its in fact 30 years old.
  • The rooms are really incredibly small. I´m an experienced cruiser with RCI, NCL, Celebrity and so on, this is really the smallest I have seen ever. We paid for an upgrade, and then got a room with no reading lights. Thats also strange....
  • Rooms are noisy, too! Neighbours speaking on normal volume can be easily heard.
  • English does not really work on board, except for guests services or ordering food and drinks. If you don´t speak Portuguese or Spanish forget about entertainment. You will not understand a thing.
  • Pullmantur is awful in answering. It either takes them an eternity to answer an email or question or they just never answer.
  • WiFi works good but they changed prices during our cruise. Unheard of! We asked a compensation, of course never got a reply.
  • Tips are fixed, without any indication for whom and how much. You cannot change it. We paid $134 per person for an 11 day cruise. I got the impression that the tips don´t even go to the staff, its just extra  profit for the company.
  • Apart from three nice production shows there is little entertainment. Also bands are very repetitive. One band only played Brazilian music, in 10 days I have not heard them play one song that I know.

 

Thanks for posting your recent updated info on this ship.

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  • 1 month later...

Have cruised with them before on the Zenith and will be on the Sovereign next month out of Barcelona.

They are a very Spanish line and most of the other guest will be Spanish but don’t let that put you off,as all the staff speak English and tannoy messages are repeated in English. They may not have all the bells and whistles of some of the bigger lines but they are good at what they do. The shore excursions are mostly in Spanish this is true but they do some in English if they get enough takers or they may have a guide who speaks a couple of languages,say German and English and will repeat in both. The other good thing is all your drinks are included in the price. They also say the gratuity’s are also included in price but not sure about as I have read a few comments saying this is not the case and that gratuity was added to account at the end of cruise,will have to see next month. The entertainment is mainly dance based but the CD speaks mainly Spanish. But there are plenty of bars around the ship and the Spanish love to dance, ballroom and Latin.

Hope this helps.

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Have cruised with them before on the Zenith and will be on the Sovereign next month out of Barcelona.

 

They are a very Spanish line and most of the other guest will be Spanish but don’t let that put you off,as all the staff speak English and tannoy messages are repeated in English. They may not have all the bells and whistles of some of the bigger lines but they are good at what they do. The shore excursions are mostly in Spanish this is true but they do some in English if they get enough takers or they may have a guide who speaks a couple of languages,say German and English and will repeat in both. The other good thing is all your drinks are included in the price. They also say the gratuity’s are also included in price but not sure about as I have read a few comments saying this is not the case and that gratuity was added to account at the end of cruise,will have to see next month. The entertainment is mainly dance based but the CD speaks mainly Spanish. But there are plenty of bars around the ship and the Spanish love to dance, ballroom and Latin.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

Good to know, thanks. Pullmantur may be our ticket to Europe in a year or so.

 

 

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  • 7 months later...
On 3/14/2017 at 12:40 PM, Plato123 said:

Here are some photos of our Grand Class cabin on the Sovereign (resized for posting).

IMG_0601.jpg.2d380f1de9270fd0d68f022bd2e6eb54.jpg

IMG_0602.jpg.a2a4345d237235aa55c4d3f798c19dcd.jpg

IMG_0603.jpg.148274d41fcb91c5f7804f8f3a9470cf.jpg

IMG_0604.jpg.ccb1e1f52cd56ad138477ea094c63fb0.jpg

IMG_0605.jpg.20607bedb84ca9fd2d3d57785c05686d.jpg

Thanks for sharing your photos. This cabin looks fantastic. Can i ask if you remember what cabin this was? We are booked on Sovereign for next year and have booked suite 1510, and would be delighted if it was similar to yours.

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I will get back to you next week with the room number as at the moment we are on the Pullmantur Horizon on the way to Malta.

I will say that the Grand Suite on the Sovereign is much bigger than the Grand Suite we have on this cruise but it is still quite nice on the Horizon.

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5 minutes ago, Plato123 said:

I will get back to you next week with the room number as at the moment we are on the Pullmantur Horizon on the way to Malta.

I will say that the Grand Suite on the Sovereign is much bigger than the Grand Suite we have on this cruise but it is still quite nice on the Horizon.

Oh I hope you have a fantastic cruise on Horizon. We were on it in May and enjoyed it so much . we had suite 1104 then and it had plenty of room. Look forward to hearing from you when you return.

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