Anyone Have Info on CDF Croisieres de France- Horizon

[*helena*]

Hi Eileen / Sean, look forward to meeting you on board, did you book through a UK travel agency? I tried but couldn't, then a couple of months later I had an email telling me that CDF in UK were now being handled by some Fred Olsen subsidiary agency.

Anyway by then I had booked in US and it seemed a good price.

 

Hi Griller, we booked with VTG in the US, they were half the price of booking in the UK. Looking forward to the experience, we usually cruise with RCCL but as they had no transatlantic crossing stopping at caribbean islands this Spring we decided to look elsewhere and fell upon CDF. St Martin is our favourite port of call. Hoping for good weather crossing the pond.

[Jxsooz]

Hello all,

We booked this in January along with another couple for the great price and the itinerary on VTG. Like the idea of a smaller ship and looking forward to a new cruise experience. This is our 4th crossing and really enjoy the longer cruises. Traveling from Jacksonville, FL flying Jet Blue to FLL then on to Santo Domingo a couple days ahead of departure in the Zona Colonial. We've not seen the DR, Martinique or Gibralter. Really happy to see everyone's posts. Hoping for safe travel for all, see you on the 11th!

 

Mark and Suzy

 

Cruised with Costa-1, Celebrity-3, Princess-2, RCL -12, ;

Edited March 27, 2015 by Jxsooz
change spacing

[DrJay]

Glad you'll be joining us Judy! My husband and I are from Texas too! We booked an airbnb apartment in Barcelona. Stayed in one there last October and couldn't have been happier. We're at a B&B in Santa Domingo but she only has the one room so that won't help you. Check this thread for where the other's are staying.

 

In case you are interested - and any other's as well - any of you interested in meeting the other English speakers on this cruise, we're doing a quick meet up at the back of the ship at the Terrasse Et Grill at the beginning of sail away. Please wear Mardi Gras beads so we can find one another. :)

 

From info I received, the ship departs at 23:00 (11 PM) that is past bedtime for me...

Does anyone know what time we can board the ship?

[collfosh]

Our travel agent told us to head over around 1pm.

[NavyVet1959]

I stumbled across the listing for this cruise on VTG on 3/23 and figured to give it a try, not really knowing what I might be getting myself into. I figured for $119 per person, it couldn't be *that* bad, as long as the air fare wasn't ridiculous. The port charges and taxes ended up being more than the actual cruise, it still seemed like a good deal. Decided to make it more of a real vacation by arriving in Santo Domingo a week early and leaving Barcelona a week late, so it'll be a one month vacation.

 

The return flight goes through Istanbul, but there's probably not enough of a layover to actually both with going through customs and leaving the airport. I wish I could have had a couple of days layover and the flight price would have been the same. :)

 

I was surprised when the booking email arrived telling me that it was going to be all-inclusive for soda and alcohol. I normally avoid sodas and alcohol on cruise ships since I don't like their inflated prices.

[DrJay]

If all goes well a week from this time today, we should be in Santo Domingo..this will be3 my first time in Dominican Republic...sort of looking forward to sampling some good rum. Any suggestions?

[collfosh]

Welcome @NavyVet1959. Looks like we are going to have a good number of English speakers on board for this 2 week adventure.

 

In case you are interested in meeting the other English speakers, we're doing a quick meet up at the back of the ship at the Terrasse Et Grill at the beginning of sail away. Wear some Mardi Gras beads so we know you are one of "us". Merci. :)

[NavyVet1959]

Welcome @NavyVet1959. Looks like we are going to have a good number of English speakers on board for this 2 week adventure.

 

In case you are interested in meeting the other English speakers, we're doing a quick meet up at the back of the ship at the Terrasse Et Grill at the beginning of sail away. Wear some Mardi Gras beads so we know you are one of "us". Merci. :)

 

My wife might have the beads... She's been reading here and knows about the meet&greet.

 

Don't care if anyone speaks *English*... I would rather they speak Texan... :)

 

I'm down to only 9 hours before I need to head to the airport for this trip. We're spending a week in Santo Domingo prior to the cruise and a week in Europe after it. Still got to pack my laptop and electronics to pack though... Was hoping to get my taxes done before the trip, but it looks like I'll be finishing them up while in Santo Domingo before the cruise. I wonder if they have an official post office aboard the ship and they'll postmark an envelope on 4/15 even if we are at sea... That would give me a few more days... :( I wish the US would just switch to a strictly consumption based tax system so that April 15th would just be another day in the year...

[Stockjock]

I think a lot of you guys have seen my video on YouTube about CDF and/or my review on a 7 day sailing on the Horizon that ended weeks back. If not, let me know and I'll link you to those.

 

I did have a couple of suggestions...

 

In the Dominican Republic, we did a "Safari to Bayaguana" tour, which took us on dusty roads into the back country for something like 7 hours. While the tour guides did a good job, most of the tour wan't that interesting and it was expensive and killed a lot of time.

 

But what made it really, really bad was the lunch they served. Beef, chicken, spaghetti, rice, beans, soup, looked great. And I didn't see any refrigerators around (thatched hut area) but maybe I just didn't see it.

 

You see where this is going, right?...

 

After the first few bites of lunch, I told my girlfriend, "They use some really different seasonings here in the Dominican Republic". Few more bites and I realized the food was spoiled. While I stopped eating, it was too late.

 

To say I got sick, is an huge understatement. I was basically non-functional for days, and that's no exaggeration. Couldn't eat much of anything after that. Couldn't even get off the bed to pack my bags. Tried to eat lobster in St. Maarten, but left it on the plate (I love lobster). Couldn't handle a wonderful margarita beyond a half sip. In fact, I was sick for weeks.

 

Went to the doctor and they confirmed food poisoning via the bacteria found in a stool sample. I asked CDF for a refund for the tour (at a minimum), but it's been weeks and I don't have a reply. I also had a bad situation in Venezuela, but I don't think you guys are stopping there.

 

Good bet in the Dominican Republic is to simply walk or take a very short cab ride (few minutes literally) to the "old town" or properly, Zona Colonial in Santa Domingo. Tons of shops, restaurants, 2 for 1 mojitos, many locals, history, interesting old architecture, etc.

 

And it's basically free and right next to the ship.

 

Again, you can take a cab or walk. If you walk...

 

Leave the ship and head away from it towards the main street (only 1 way to go). Turn left and stay extreme left. There are tourist police literally every block to show you the way. Eventually, you'll come to a large bridge. Cross it and you're there. A taxi is maybe $10 max and again it's quite close.

 

Have a great time and let me know if you have any questions.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Stockjock

[collfosh]

My wife might have the beads... She's been reading here and knows about the meet&greet.

 

Don't care if anyone speaks *English*... I would rather they speak Texan... :)

 

 

My husband Tony and I speak Texan fluently. Specifically Dallisan. :) We are staying at a B&B in the Colonial Zone and will arrive on Wednesday. If you would like to meet for dinner or a drink sometime on Thursday or Friday, email me at colleen at foshee dot biz. Otherwise, we will see you on board ready to have some Texas size fun! Have a great flight! :)

[Griller]

I have learned not to go ashore to have fun with Texans, last time we nearly missed the ship, had a great time though in Fortaleza Brazil in a bar with Texans teaching the locals how to sing the chorus about the stars at night are big and bright etc.

It should be OK actually on board the ship though................ look forward to meeting you

[*helena*]

Hi, Happy Easter. Getting ever closer to our Tuesday departure really looking forward to this trip and meeting some new folk. I just went to apply our API (advanced passenger information) for the flights from Madrid to Santo Dominica and one of the areas that needed filling out was the Visa information for entry to the Dominican Republic. Major moment of panic set in as no time left to apply online. A quick google search reduced the stress levels as it revealed we only needed a tourist card which could be purchased on arrival at SDQ for US $10 per person. I understand that purchasing on arrival can delay entry into the Dominican Republic as the lines can be very long. Still it was a major relief to find this option available (note to self check entry requirements prior to booking late deals)

 

We will look out for folk wearing the Mardi Gras beads at sailaway (no luck getting them here in the UK)

 

According to the website below nearly ALL visitors require the Tourist Card.

 

http://www.dominicanembassy.org.uk/Touristcard.html

 

Safe travels,

 

Helena and Sean

[*helena*]

Hi again,

 

I have just had another read through the thread and noticed that we have shared the same ship on 2 previous TA crossings with SAlien17. The Brilliance April 2013 and the Independence last November, might to get to meet you this time as us English speakers could be few and far between.

 

Safe travels,

 

Helena and Sean

[aerospace]

Wondering if anyone knows which port in Santo Domingo the ship will dock at(or maybe the street address)? From my research there appear to be 2 so I guess the taxi driver will need to know...thanks

 

Edit: Also anyone find a shuttle to the port that's cheap? Seems like goshuttle is only doing private at 69 while a taxi should be 35-45.

Edited April 5, 2015 by aerospace

[collfosh]

The Horizon will dock at Sansouci pier. They have used that pier for 5 years. I've read a taxi from airport to port is around $40us. 6 days!!!

[aerospace]

Thanks!

 

Got another dumb question(probably not the last), is gratuity included if not what's the daily rate?

[collfosh]

Thanks!

 

Got another dumb question(probably not the last), is gratuity included if not what's the daily rate?

 

What I was told by my TA. "CDF usually charges 72 Euro per person and per week. As this is a two week cruise, gratuities should be a total of about 144 Euro per passenger".

[Stockjock]

What I was told by my TA. "CDF usually charges 72 Euro per person and per week. As this is a two week cruise, gratuities should be a total of about 144 Euro per passenger".

 

Yes, on my 1 week cruise, 72 Euro per person gratuity.

[collfosh]

Thanks for confirming @stockjock

[NavyVet1959]

Well, we survived the flight to Santo Domingo from Houston on Saturday morning. Spent yesterday driving to the NE and coming back via some "road" called #41. Went through some sort of national park (Valle Nuevo).

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@18.8341197,-70.7255218,13z

 

It would be a lot more fun in a Jeep or ATV instead of the subcompact Kia that I rented, but it was drivable in the subcompact even though it had no ground clearance -- it just took more skill at plotting you line to avoid the ruts and rocks. Some places it seemed more like a goat trail than a road though. Underneath the dust and water is basically solid rock, so it would probably be rather difficult to get stuck as long as you stay out of the ruts and don't bottom out. The poor little 2 hp (hamster power) Kia had a bit of difficulty getting up some of the *paved* hills even before we got to the goat trail portion of the road. I had to drive it downshifted to 1st gear with the auto transmission quite often. I really wish it had had a standard transmission (and a couple more hamsters under the hood). Although the road/goat trail looks pretty bad, as long as you take it slow, none of it is any worse that the speed bumps and potholes around here.

 

We are staying in Boca Chica. We drove to the old colonial section today and ate at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. I had the beef noodle soup. It wasn't what I would consider "great", but it was better that anything I've tasted elsewhere on this island so far. We walked around the old colonial part of town and took some photos of the old stone archicture. They pretty much roll up the sidewalks around there at 5pm and then you get to experience their traffic. Even on our worst days, Houston and Dallas have great traffic compared to here. You will get honked at if you stop at a red light and no car is coming from the other way. The small motorcycles / scooters are zigging between cars, cutting in front of you and crossing, passing you on the right when you have your blinker on to make a right turn, and even the cars won't stay in their lane. The lane line are mere suggestions and most people don't even pretend to care about them.

 

Found the cruise ship terminal today after we had finished with the old colonial portion of the town. It is located on the east side of the river, a bit south from highway #3 (the major E-W road around here). I think this is it:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@18.470703,-69.876388,18z

Edited April 7, 2015 by NavyVet1959

[collfosh]

Thanks for the review @navyvet1959. You are adventurous! The driving there is ultra crazy. Glad you made it safe and sound. We will lay low and just be exploring the Colonial Zone when we get there Wednesday. I'll let you know if I find the good food. :) Generally I like the basic fare of the DR diet. My favorite is there recipe for oatmeal in the morning. Yum.

[Skipper Tim]

Does anyone know if CDF has a loyalty programme?

 

I am booked on the Zenith's repo from Venezuela to France next March and it struck me odd that a cruise line would not have a loyalty programme.

[Stockjock]

Does anyone know if CDF has a loyalty programme?

 

I am booked on the Zenith's repo from Venezuela to France next March and it struck me odd that a cruise line would not have a loyalty programme.

 

They do offer discounts for past guests. The discounts I've seen seem pretty modest and I'm not sure if they apply to every sailing, but I have seen CDF past guest discounts. I haven't seen other perks such as those that most of us are used to, but I might just not be aware of that.

[collfosh]

:)

 

Leaving Dallas early in the morning for Miami and on to SDQ!!!

 

See you all soon on board the Horizon. Happy travels and Bon Voyage! :)

[insidecabin]

HAve a great time, I only picked up on this trip while searching for a deal having overlooked it before.

 

it would have fitted the gap we have but I think we are to late now.

 

Seems like the bargain of the year, as good as the MSC special TA a couple of years back.

Edited April 8, 2015 by insidecabin