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Pullmantur to the Fjords


kaymoz
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We want to cruise the fjords of Norway in summer 2019, and are intrigued with the unique Pullantur itinerary, with the Zenith going back and forth weekly between Malmo, Sweden, and Trondheim, Norway.

 

We seek feedback from anyone who has sailed the fjords with Pullmantur.

 

One concern is language. My husband and I are mid-sixties English-speaking US citizens, with rudimentary Spanish and passable French between us, so we wonder how much of a minority we would be. While our focus isn't socializing, there are still lots of waking hours aboard even on port intensive sailings like the fjord cruises, and who wants to feel isolated? Not to mention the excursions and their suitability for English speaking passengers.

 

A second question is how we might marry this kind of Pullmantur cruise with a few days sailing furhter north with Hurtigruten, since we'd really like to see the North Cape of Norway and haven't quite found the right single cruise that does it all economically. Has anyone tried this?

 

We are happy to hear of any related experiences you have had or advice you'd like to share!

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We want to cruise the fjords of Norway in summer 2019, and are intrigued with the unique Pullantur itinerary, with the Zenith going back and forth weekly between Malmo, Sweden, and Trondheim, Norway.

 

We seek feedback from anyone who has sailed the fjords with Pullmantur.

 

One concern is language. My husband and I are mid-sixties English-speaking US citizens, with rudimentary Spanish and passable French between us, so we wonder how much of a minority we would be. While our focus isn't socializing, there are still lots of waking hours aboard even on port intensive sailings like the fjord cruises, and who wants to feel isolated? Not to mention the excursions and their suitability for English speaking passengers.

 

A second question is how we might marry this kind of Pullmantur cruise with a few days sailing furhter north with Hurtigruten, since we'd really like to see the North Cape of Norway and haven't quite found the right single cruise that does it all economically. Has anyone tried this?

 

We are happy to hear of any related experiences you have had or advice you'd like to share!

Most of the passengers are Spanish and then a mix. Primary language is Spanish but they usually have menus and daily programs in English. Crew are latin american, most speak English. Announcements are also in English.

 

Enviado desde mi SM-T813 mediante Tapatalk

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Recently spent 3 weeks on Zenith from Dominican Republic to Germany. Also mid-60's, English-speaking, USA citizen. There were only about a dozen English-only Americans on board to Lisbon and fewer from there on to Germany. Announcements were in Spanish then English then sometimes Portuguese.

 

Shore excursions were almost always Spanish-only. The S/E Desk cannot tell you if any particular excursion will have an English-speaking guide until usually the day before. This makes planning your port activities very difficult. I was lucky when most of the English pax booked the same excursion in Lisbon so we hit the 10 minimum required for an excursion to be given by an English speaking guide. The ship excursion I took in France was Spanish only and while it started off OK by the end I was really ready to leave the tour bus (it didn't help that the weather was cold and overcast). My privately arranged tours were more expensive but, for me, a much better value.

 

Overall, I had a great cruise. The ship is in great shape with minimal signs of wear. The crew is excellent. I had problems with ALL purchases made online in advance (shore excursions, WiFi). Would not ever buy in advance again. Worked with the Hotel Director and Chief Purser (both very personable) to resolve errors in my on-board account caused by their Home Office. Had fun with Beverage Manager when I discovered they did not stock Ginger Ale (apparently not very popular in the Spanish community) as it is my favorite beverage. I purchased some ashore and the Happy Hour bartenders quickly learned what drink I wanted since I would bring a can with me each evening.

 

I happened to upgrade to their so-called Junior Suite (aka a large ocean view or balcony cabin) from my original much cheaper Interior. One amenity of the upgrade was access to the Waves Lounge that is restricted to suite pax only.

 

While the rest of the pax were having a great time themselves (in the packed Cafe Cafe, etc.) they were not exactly quiet about it. The peaceful atmosphere of the Waves Lounge (with WiFi, food, beverages and excellent staff) quickly became my favorite place on the ship.

 

For me, knowing what to expect on any trip avoids problems and stress. Given the right itinerary and price, I would sail Pulmantur again. Hope your travel plans all work out for you.

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We have just been on Horizon around the Greek Islands, we are English living in Australia and 70years. There were quite a few English speakers,on our table of 10 all spoke English, we even found another Australian couple a lot of English and quite a few Americans. We had no expectations before the cruise but had a great time, everything was good-cabin/ advance purchase trips/spa/staff/food. Now like you we are also looking at the fjords next year or 2020.

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No not all tables had only English speaking, the next table had kiwis USA and Croatian, the other Australians were on a table for two which is nice but cant help but think they missed out on a lot of fun

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was on the May 26 to June 2 cruise from Trondheim to Rostock, traveling solo. I have cruised before on Princess, Holland America Line, and Carnival. I found this to be a very nice cruise. I am elite on Princess, but this cruise cost much less for me as a solo than Princess would have due to the 100% Princess solo supplement. Pullmantur was only 50% solo supplement and the cruise went to more ports and to more ports that I wanted to go to. I am of Norwegian descent, and I was seated for dinner with a group of four American siblings and their spouses, also of Norwegian descent. I understand very little Spanish and this was generally not a problem at all. Many of the staff speak both English and Spanish. There were also some German-speaking passengers and a group of Polish-speaking passengers on this cruise. Most of the passengers were middle-aged, and generally a very pleasant, happy bunch of passengers. Did not go to the shows, as was so busy with the ports every day. Could walk into town easily from all Norwegian ports, and did not go on any cruiseline-sponsored excursions but did go on Flam railroad and on the Lysefjord cruise in Stavanger (prebooked each individually online). Very easy short walk to each from where we were docked. Really enjoyed the ports and the cruise.

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Below are links to the daily menus and the gala evening menu. The Norwegian fjords cruise I took in May pretty much followed these menus; there may have been a few very slight variations. I thought the food was very good as did the other people who were seated at my table.

https://www.pullmantur.es/media/pull/responsive/images/landings/gastronomia/carta-paco-roncero.pdf

https://www.pullmantur.es/media/pull/responsive/images/landings/gastronomia/carta-menu-gala-es-en.pdf

Here is a link to the page where these two menus come from, in case the menus themselves don't link correctly:

https://www.pullmantur.es/gastronomia

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I preferred the Trondheim embarkation point because I have relatives in Stavanger and wanted to save that port for later in the cruise, but either way I would recommend giving yourself enough time in Trondheim to see some of the things in Trondheim; it is an amazing and interesting city. I arrived the evening before the cruise departure date and had part of the embarkation day to see some of the sights in Trondheim. The Niadros Cathedral has tours available in English, and the Archbishop's Palace and the Norwegian Crown Regalia are also available in the nearby vicinity to tour. I took the airport shuttle into Trondheim from the airport, but others I met took the train and had an easy trip into town. I did not use any transportation except foot when in Trondheim and was able to get from the hotel to Nidaros Cathedral for the morning tour, to the ship to check in and get my luggage on, and then back to Nidaros Cathedral for an afternoon service and to see the Archbishop's Palace and the Crown Regalia before walking back to the ship. https://www.nidarosdomen.no/en/ It was a bit of walking that day for sure, but it was a great day. In Bergen, I took tours of the Hanseatic museum, Schøtstuene, and St. Mary's Church; all were easy to book on arrival and an easy walk from where we were docked. It was not any trouble to find English-language tours available to book independently on this trip. https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/bergen/listings-bergen/the-hanseatic-museum-and-sch%c3%b8tstuene-museum-vest/2583/

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I stayed at the Radisson Blu in Trondheim and at the Thon hotel Gardermoen near Oslo airport. Both were very good and had excellent included breakfasts. My folks have stayed in the Comfort hotels in Norway and liked those very much as well.

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Below is a link to transportation options from Trondheim airport. I took the Flybussen (Nettbuss). It was right outside of the baggage area, and I bought a ticket from the driver. I arrived the night before the cruise. The others who sat at my dining table arrived the day of the cruise and took the train into town, but they didn't get a chance to see much of Trondheim. I don't think Pullmantur offers transfers for independent travelers, but I did not find any of this transportation hard to arrange or manage on my own, even though I was traveling alone.

 

https://avinor.no/en/airport/trondheim-airport/to-and-from-the-airport/bus-train-and-taxi/bus

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In Stavanger, I took a cruise excursion to Lysefjord. My great grandfather's family (three brothers) originally lived at and emigrated from the area across the fjord from Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), and I wanted to travel on the fjord itself. https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/ryfylke/hiking-to-the-pulpit-rock-preikestolen/ Others at my dining table arranged their own excursions to hike Pulpit Rock. The excursion boat that I took also had a large group of Spanish-speaking passengers aboard who were taking the same trip as a Pullmantur-organized excursion from our ship. Here is a link to the Lysefjord cam - one of the camera views shows the bridge that we traveled under when we went into the Lysefjord on the excursion. https://www.lysefjordcam.com/

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