Cruising with Pullmantur

The most bizarre thing that we didn't think about is that excursions are done in Spanish - bizarre when you're English speaking visiting an English speaking country. However Pullmantur provide a Spanish speaking guide, but most destination hosts were happy to do the tour in English and let the Pullmantor guide translate.:cool: A number of US passengers we spoke with took independent tours and had no problems.

In looking at the tours online for my Coastal Norway sailing there is a note that if they have 10 or more English speaking participants request a tour, they will offer it in English. As mostly we like to DIY on shore, this won't be a problem. There is a tour I'm considering booking with them due to time constraints, but I think it will most likely end up with a decent size English speaking group; if not, no worries, it's mostly a scenic tour.

Here's a link to my review - Zenith Oct. 21-28 from Santo Domingo

http://click.email.cruisecritic.com/?qs=d45a3453a18131286c839be59e35025c013b98164eded5ed35a7f118d7d56ef2c94ae627f7911027c5e4cdf95f10902916b84447c6b8ac33

Here's a link to my review - Zenith Oct. 21-28 from Santo Domingo

http://click.email.cruisecritic.com/?qs=d45a3453a18131286c839be59e35025c013b98164eded5ed35a7f118d7d56ef2c94ae627f7911027c5e4cdf95f10902916b84447c6b8ac33

Thank you, enjoyed it very much.

I think they wait 24 hours before posting. In summary, this was the best value cruise we have done. One has to accept that Pullmantur ships don't dock in US ports for a reason - they would likely fail CDC standards, but the Zenith was clean and comfortable, and having a smaller crowd (few US travelers) a great sense of ambiance. They will seat English speakers together at dinner if requested. Given the itinerary - the back to back cruise visits 8 islands plus offers excursions in Santo Domingo and most drinks included - no other cruise line comes near in terms of value. I think having to travel to Dominican Republic is the greatest challenge but if you're able bodied and adventurous, the challenge is easily overcome.

It's not the CDC standards but the immigration process.Therefor nearly every European ship homeports outside the US islands like Barbados, Martiniqe, Cuba or Dominican Republic. Because if a ship that doesn't homeport in the US and they touch US soil everybody - including the crew - has to go through Immigration with fingerprinting, so this would take the whole day!

Here's a link to my review - Zenith Oct. 21-28 from Santo Domingo

http://click.email.cruisecritic.com/?qs=d45a3453a18131286c839be59e35025c013b98164eded5ed35a7f118d7d56ef2c94ae627f7911027c5e4cdf95f10902916b84447c6b8ac33

Hi P&K,

Did you stay overnight in Santo Domingo then before your cruise? May I ask where you stayed? I've booked on the April 7th cruise on the Zenith out of S.D. and I was wondering if I could just arrive the morning of the cruise ie. flight arrives at 11am, ship departs at 10pm....

Thanks, ali

Hi P&K,

 

Did you stay overnight in Santo Domingo then before your cruise? May I ask where you stayed? I've booked on the April 7th cruise on the Zenith out of S.D. and I was wondering if I could just arrive the morning of the cruise ie. flight arrives at 11am, ship departs at 10pm....

 

Thanks, ali

We stayed at the Hotel Europa - not bad and in the colonial district - a friend recommended me not to stay outside of the colonial district. If you stay for more than one day you have to buy a $10 tourist card and pay $20 taxes on boarding the ship. We're returning on March 3rd and going directly from the airport to the port. It's worth pre-paying for a minibus shuttle - there are a number of online companies. Its about 1/2 hour drive and costs around $30-40.

Here's a link to my review - Zenith Oct. 21-28 from Santo Domingo

http://click.email.cruisecritic.com/?qs=d45a3453a18131286c839be59e35025c013b98164eded5ed35a7f118d7d56ef2c94ae627f7911027c5e4cdf95f10902916b84447c6b8ac33

Thanks for the information here on the board and also on the main Cruise Critic page for this ship.

We stayed at the Hotel Europa - not bad and in the colonial district - a friend recommended me not to stay outside of the colonial district. If you stay for more than one day you have to buy a $10 tourist card and pay $20 taxes on boarding the ship. We're returning on March 3rd and going directly from the airport to the port. It's worth pre-paying for a minibus shuttle - there are a number of online companies. Its about 1/2 hour drive and costs around $30-40.

Thanks for your answer! Sorry, I lost track of this thread once I discovered the Roll Call one!

Those of you who booked a cruise, did you go through Pullmantur directly or another agency like Vacations to go?

I am having very slow replies to my emails and no help in finding another cabin on the same ship without having to cancel and rebook and losing my deposit.

Here in Brazil, Pullmantur cruises are sold mostly by CVC tour operator (https://www.cvc.com.br/cruzeiros?orig=sitenovo_cruzeiros).

Hello

We are arriving in Panama on Sunday 7th May and have opted to stay at the 5 star Grace Panama, it has outstanding reviews and the contact we have had with the Hotel has all been positive.

They have arranged for a Car to Pick us up at the Airport at a cost of about $40, payable direct to the Hotel when we arrive, they have also said they will be able to arrange a transfer to Colon Port on the Wednesday and it will be fine to sort out the details when we arrive.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Forums mobile app

Every time I book Pullmantur, I do it with VToG. Samuel is wonderful

Our party of 13 booked a cruise on Sovereign with Vacations to Go - no complaints. Frank Alegria was most helpful.

On 4/16/2017 at 9:54 PM, Downdie said:

Hi Bill: Suite 1103 on Horizon is definitely a Royal suite with balcony,one of the two best accomodations on the ship. We were in 1102 in November 2016 from Marseille under CDF, and our French dinner table mates gave us a tour of their suite 1104, lovely. Separate bedroom and lovely double bathroom with shower and bath.

Lavazza coffee and tea machine and well stocked bar fridge. Sparkling wine fruit basket in suit on embarkation with the fruit basket renewed later in the week. Appetizers or goodies delivered every afternoon.

There is no Waves Club bar on Horizon, but there are many perks for embarkation and debarkation and for dining as previously stated, priority access to the captain on Gala night, significant free internet access etc.

Hope you enjoy your week on Horizon. We did.

Hi Downdie,

I'm looking at cabin 1102 on the Horizon.  Any pluses or minuses?  Specifically, e.g., noise or smoke from the stack?  Thanks in advance for your response.

There is definitely no noisy or smoke. Especially as it is a a forward facing cabin. It's classed as a junior suite (waves white). I personally didn't like the look of it as it would be very windy and I think for this reason it is an enclosed balcony with a sliding window. There are also some very minor obstructed views from ships structure. Hope this helps

We are thinking about the Zenith.....on Jan 26th 2020....for 7 days about the Canary Islands....never been on Pullmantur before but looks really interesting and quite inexpensive compared to main stream lines we have been on......any suggestion about a cabin.....looks like not many balcony ones but we are quite easy with an ocean view one.......prob will book with VtoGo and use them lots...have not booked yet.....looked at booking on the Spanish site but my Spanish is not all that great....lol.....Thought we would stay in Malaga for a week and then do the cruise or some sort of similar plan and perhaps stay in the Canary island for a week also....prob about three weeks overall......any other tips about the line are welcome......says drinks included...is that real???

7 hours ago, Kelownabccan said:

We are thinking about the Zenith.....on Jan 26th 2020....for 7 days about the Canary Islands....never been on Pullmantur before but looks really interesting and quite inexpensive compared to main stream lines we have been on......any suggestion about a cabin.....looks like not many balcony ones but we are quite easy with an ocean view one.......prob will book with VtoGo and use them lots...have not booked yet.....looked at booking on the Spanish site but my Spanish is not all that great....lol.....Thought we would stay in Malaga for a week and then do the cruise or some sort of similar plan and perhaps stay in the Canary island for a week also....prob about three weeks overall......any other tips about the line are welcome......says drinks included...is that real???

Yes beer, wine and well drinks are free.  We cruised on the Sovereign last spring and I was happy with the value.  It's an old ship as I believe all of their fleet is, but that was okay with me as I care about itinerary and price.  We booked through VtoGo and it worked fine.  I also left a message with Pullmantur and they called me.  VtoGo had the better deal.  Breakfast was buffet style as was lunch on our sea day.  The food at lunch was good.  We were crammed in the dining room for lunch and dinner was tight as well.  I would definitely sail with them again.  Most of the passengers speak Spanish.  The staff speaks English.  Unless your excursions have at least 10 English speakers, it will not be in English.  That was not a problem for us.  We would ask the tour guide where and when to meet and then see the exhibits on our own.  

Bob

We have been on all the Pullmantur ships and have had good experiences overall.

We normally try to get a Grand Suite or a Penthouse/Royal Suite as the benefits are worth it in our opinion.

On the Zenith we had the Royal Suite and that was our least favorite because the cabin was in quite run down condition, but hopefully they will refurbish it soon or have already.

Drinks are all included but with limited choices unless you upgrade to a premium package.

Here is a link to the drinks menu:

http://fliphtml5.com/tqui/hojf/basic

We also book with VtoG but have booked directly with Pullmantur in Spain.  The only advantage of booking with Pullmantur in Spain is you can get access to special charter flights that Pullmantur offers from Madrid or Barcelona to the start or end ports for many of their cruises, and the prices are good and you don't have to worry about transfers.  Language was not an issue for booking with Pullmantur in Spain and they will call you back to work out the details.

Thanks for the comments.....looks fine for us....have sailed on MSC and quite enjoyed the European experience.....just got a quote for a balcony....cabin #9105.....price was great but looking at the ship plan it is over the disco on deck #8.....not sure about that as can not stand all that thump thump thump from the music.......will do some more research.....prob could ask for a different on on deck 10 or 11......?????seems the only difference to main stream cruises for us Canadians is the deposit is not refundable after booking.....not sure if I like that.....maybe wait until within the 3 month booking period and then make our minds up.....what about staying in the islands for a week....or Malaga for a week....will look up AirB&B and see what comes up.....Thanks....Ken

On 4/1/2019 at 1:28 AM, Kelownabccan said:

We are thinking about the Zenith.....on Jan 26th 2020....for 7 days about the Canary Islands....never been on Pullmantur before but looks really interesting and quite inexpensive compared to main stream lines we have been on......any suggestion about a cabin.....looks like not many balcony ones but we are quite easy with an ocean view one.......prob will book with VtoGo and use them lots...have not booked yet.....looked at booking on the Spanish site but my Spanish is not all that great....lol.....Thought we would stay in Malaga for a week and then do the cruise or some sort of similar plan and perhaps stay in the Canary island for a week also....prob about three weeks overall......any other tips about the line are welcome......says drinks included...is that real???

I just booked the Zenith for Sept. It does look interesting and the price was great. I booked a balcony cabin. I looked around for how to book and ended up booking directly with Pullmantur but on their .travel site which is in USD and in English. 

On 4/1/2019 at 7:18 PM, Plato123 said:

We have been on all the Pullmantur ships and have had good experiences overall.

We normally try to get a Grand Suite or a Penthouse/Royal Suite as the benefits are worth it in our opinion.

On the Zenith we had the Royal Suite and that was our least favorite because the cabin was in quite run down condition, but hopefully they will refurbish it soon or have already.

Drinks are all included but with limited choices unless you upgrade to a premium package.

Here is a link to the drinks menu:

http://fliphtml5.com/tqui/hojf/basic

We also book with VtoG but have booked directly with Pullmantur in Spain.  The only advantage of booking with Pullmantur in Spain is you can get access to special charter flights that Pullmantur offers from Madrid or Barcelona to the start or end ports for many of their cruises, and the prices are good and you don't have to worry about transfers.  Language was not an issue for booking with Pullmantur in Spain and they will call you back to work out the details.

Have you traveled in the Royal Suite on Sovereign? If so could you possibly post of that experience and observations especially embarkation  and your MDR  arrangements on this board. How did you enjoy the Black/White Waves perks. Have booked this suite for our cruise in Oct. 19, and would be grateful for any information and tips you could share.

We have been in the Grand Suite on the Sovereign, not the Royal Suite.  The Grand Suite was spacious and comfortable and our butler was excellent. Instead of a separate bedroom, a heavy curtail divided the sleeping area from the living area.  We have been in the Royal Suite on the Zenith but were not at all happy with it.  We are booked on the Horizon in the Royal Suite this fall and in the Royal Suite on the Monarch at the end of the year.  Most recently we were in a Grand Suite on the Horizon and it was comfortable, but we missed not having a balcony.  The embarkation process was smooth and we had extra attention being a Suite guest.  We always enjoy the Waves Club perks, especially the reserved deck area and the Club itself where you can often get drinks that are not otherwise available in other bars. For dinner the two of us were seated at a premium table for four in an area of the MDR reserved for Suite guests.  For breakfasts there was a special dining room off the MDR where there was a mini buffet for suite guests but you could still go to the buffet area of the MDR or order a la carte too.

10 hours ago, Plato123 said:

We have been in the Grand Suite on the Sovereign, not the Royal Suite.  The Grand Suite was spacious and comfortable and our butler was excellent. Instead of a separate bedroom, a heavy curtail divided the sleeping area from the living area.  We have been in the Royal Suite on the Zenith but were not at all happy with it.  We are booked on the Horizon in the Royal Suite this fall and in the Royal Suite on the Monarch at the end of the year.  Most recently we were in a Grand Suite on the Horizon and it was comfortable, but we missed not having a balcony.  The embarkation process was smooth and we had extra attention being a Suite guest.  We always enjoy the Waves Club perks, especially the reserved deck area and the Club itself where you can often get drinks that are not otherwise available in other bars. For dinner the two of us were seated at a premium table for four in an area of the MDR reserved for Suite guests.  For breakfasts there was a special dining room off the MDR where there was a mini buffet for suite guests but you could still go to the buffet area of the MDR or order a la carte too.

Thanks for the helpful information. Below are some photos of our suite 1102 on Horizon. I hope you find them helpful also.

Thanks for the photos. The living area is very similar to that on the Zenith RS but the fabric on the couch looks the same slippery fabric as that on the sofabed in the Horizon GS.  The bathroom actually looks smaller than that on the Horizon GS which had a separate shower stall and a full non jetted bathtub.  See photos.

On the Zenith the island between the bedroom and the living area was actually a large TV that was supposed to be raised up from a wood framed island of the same shape, but some kids has damaged the remote control for it on a previous cruise so it remained in the upright position only.

So, we have cruised on one European line in the past, Costa, and the least likable thing about it were the fellow passengers.  Many were friendly and out going and no matter the line there will always be people who aren't so much but our experience on Costa was an inordinate number of the latter.  Would the guests of Pullmantur, in your experience, be mostly delightful or not so much?