Anyone Have Info on CDF Croisieres de France- Horizon

[DrJay]

Hi all... putting the last minute items into our suitcases...making a list of last minute items to do when we leave the house at 4:30 tomorrow morning for the airport and our flight from Palm Springs to SDO...

Hope all are getting set for the cruise.

[Griller]

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.

 

hey Phil it would have been good to see you again, are you still on NCL much, I abandoned it a while ago.Mike

[collfosh]

For those of you already here in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, in the Plaza de España where the Diego Colon house is, there is live music and dancing every Friday evening at 8pm.

[insidecabin]

Hi mike mixing it up these days no loyalty.

Still do NCL when the deal is right which seems to get at least one a year.

 

Looking at MSC and Costa for deals seem to be some good packages with some Agents.

 

Sure we will bump into each other again.

[NavyVet1959]

NOTE: Current exchange rate is $1 US = $44.75 DOP (Dominican Pesos)...

 

On Tuesday, we drove to Sabana de la Mar so that we could visit Los Haitises National Park. The GPS routed us via San Jose De Los Lllanos, San Geronimo, and Hato Mayo del Rey. This is definitely NOT the way to go! It *will* get you there, but it is basically a rock trail after awhile.

 

GPS Route Link

 

At one point, the road descended down to a stream and there was no bridge. It seemed a bit of a steep descent and ascent up the other side for the little Kia Picanto I was driving and combining that with having to drive through the water, I figured I was done for at that point and neeeded to turn back and endure a couple more hours of that "road" on the way back. :( There was a guy walking in the water and he motioned that I should drive across. Not being one to trust someone on blind faith, I got out of the car and walked across the stream to see how deep it was and how solid was the bottom. It was hard rock and only slightly above ankle height, so I decided to give it a try. The crossing and ascent up the other side was successful.

 

Satellite view of the crossing

 

This is the route that we *should* have taken. We took it on the way back and although it wasn't paved all the way, it was mostly paved.

 

Google Maps Route link

 

Eventually, we made it to Sabana de la Mar and ate dinner at a large red building / restaurant near the coast. My wife learned a lesson at this restaurant -- if they don't have a menu with prices, don't order eat there. She had ordered was was *supposed* to be "shrimp for two", but there was hardly enough for *one*, much less *two*. The shrimp were kind of small and when she got the bill, she realized that by not seeing the prices beforehand, she had given them a blank check to rip us off.

 

There was a "tourist info" stand near the restaurant and one guy originally quoted $200 DOM per person for what we were thinking was a boat tour of the park. That was a really good deal, but looking back, it might have just been for a boat ride to the other side of the bay. There definitely was a language barrier going on. There was also something about us not being able to go at that time since it was after 5pm. Another guy said $50 US per person, but he said we would need to drive 20 minutes to get to where the boat was docked. That didn't make sense to me since I had seen the boats not more than 5 minutes away from the restaurant. At this time, our inflated restaurant bill arrived ($600 DOP per person for just the shrimp) and that just didn't give us a warm and fuzzy feeling about the locals, so we just decided to call it a loss and drive back to the hotel (albeit via another route to hopefully avoid the previous "road"). I had seen a "road" that went into the park on Google Maps and got to wondering if maybe that was the 20 minute drive that the 2nd guy had wanted us to make. We still had some daylight, so I decided to give it a try and see if I could get there. It was one of those "roads" where you see more people on horses than you see on cars / trucks / motorcycles. Eventually, we ended up somewhere around <here> and as we stopped to see whether to continue on, a guy came up and asked if we wanted to tour park by boat. He wanted $2500 DOP (total) for the tour and we rode through the mangrove swamps, along the coast, and then a short hike to the cave / cavern.

[NavyVet1959]

On Wednesday, we walked along the Boca Chica beach and got to experience the high pressure sales tactics of all the street vendors. Apparently, the Boca Chica beach is home to at least 20 different bars that claim that they have the best pina coladas on the island. Now, if someone had actually claimed to have the second best pina colada on the island, I might have been a bit more inclined to believe them. :)

 

There were street venders offering fish cooked in their "traditional way" (whatever that is). Considering the fact that the fish were not on ice / refrigerated and there were numerous flies swarming around / landing on it, we decided to pass on that experience.

 

Later in the day, we drove to Punta Cana. There are 3 toll booths along the route from Boca Chica to Punta Cana -- $100 DOP, $50 DOP, and $100 DOP. The actual beach is difficult to find. It seems that most of it has been bought up by resort properties and they don't allow public access. I found a "road" on the north side of the airport that eventually led me down to the water, but it was not a sandy beach -- more of a rock cliff / coral outcropping shoreline. I found the remains of was was probably supposed to be some sort of resort / beachfront development at one time and we started to encounter some sand. I nearly got stuck, but manged to just barely get out of it. It looked worse for driving the further I went, so I turned around and managed to make it back to more solid footing. Eventually, I found the way back to the main highway. As far as I can tell, this is the route that I ended up taking while trying to find the beach:

 

Google Maps link

 

We eventually drove further north and found a public access beach, but it was not that easy to find. My wife was navigating on that portion of it, so I'm not sure exactly where we ended up.

[NavyVet1959]

Today (Thursday), my wife decided that she wanted to go to La Romana and see Casa de Campo. She said that they had created an imitation Roman village there and she wanted to see it. Well, we've been to Italy and seen the real thing and this was a complete waste of money. You get to pay $25 per person to have the "privilege" of driving around their neighborhood and seeing houses that you could see in a lot of other golfing communities in the US. Eventually, you encounter the "Roman" village. I have to wonder how long this will last before it ends up like the other abandoned resort community developments that I've seen in the Dominican Republic. All in all, it looks nice -- in a "Disney Does Ancient Rome" sort of way. :)

 

Back to the hotel to rest and cool off, only to find that the damn hotel (Villa Capri) turned the air-conditioner off to our room and it was rather warm in there (especially since the windows face west). On the first day I was here, I tried to tell them that the air-conditioner was not working correctly. I have it on it's lowest setting (17C) and it has to run all night before it gets comfortable in the room. They said that they called an air-conditioner guy to work on it, but I doubt he knows what he is doing. Either that or the hotel doesn't want to spend the money for the repairs. With an air-conditioner, there should be around 10F (5-6C) temperature differential between the intake air and the output air. There is no way that there is this sort of temperature differential coming from this unit. So, the air-conditioner ends up running constantly instead of cycling on and off as necessary to keep the proper temperature. As such, it uses more electricity while not keeping the room at the desired temperature than it would if it was working properly. There's enough of a communication gap that I can't quite explain this to the hotel management though. I just need to remember to hide the air-conditioner remote control so that the maid won't be able to turn the air-conditioner off on me again. Luckily, only two more nights here. Another thing I have noticed is that the sinks in the bathroom don't have traps under the them, so the sewer gas is not prevented from coming back into the room.

Edited April 9, 2015 by NavyVet1959

[collfosh]

Lol NavyVet1959. I really enjoy your adventures. Can't wait to meet you and your wife!

[NavyVet1959]

Lol NavyVet1959. I really enjoy your adventures. Can't wait to meet you and your wife!

 

I will be the one with the sunburn on most of the head. :(

[Griller]

That's the transatlantic over with, somewhat eventful and what with the confusion and late departures I never found the Meet and Greet, nor did I see anyone - except myself - wearing Mardi Gras beads.

So I never got to meet any of you! Disappointed.

I kept asking Anglophones on the ship if they were on the CC forum but

no-one admitted to it.

[Stockjock]

That's the transatlantic over with, somewhat eventful and what with the confusion and late departures I never found the Meet and Greet, nor did I see anyone - except myself - wearing Mardi Gras beads.

So I never got to meet any of you! Disappointed.

I kept asking Anglophones on the ship if they were on the CC forum but

no-one admitted to it.

 

Did you have a nice time at least?

[aerospace]

How did you find it with everything in French? Or did they do many activities/shows in English as well.

 

I decided to go Ncl, paying more, leaving Monday instead simply because I thought I might be bored for 14nights not understanding anything.

[Stockjock]

For me at least, the language wasn't a major problem. All crew spoke English. Dailies were in English, etc. It was hard to interact with most passengers, but not a real big deal for us.

[Griller]

Did you have a nice time at least?

 

A bit mixed but overall yes, all the crew spoke good English, some struggled with French, they are getting lessons in French, and many come from Mauritius where French is used as well as English.

 

It was great value, particularly for solo cruisers. And I loved the meals. Never went to any of the activities, made our own with

other English speakers.

The poor guy who went overboard was named Dominick O'Carroll apparently. I was trawling some old posts on CC and found mention of a man with that name who was a rep many years ago for SingleWorld, a travel agency which foundered.

I wonder if it was the same person?

Edited April 25, 2015 by Griller

[Stockjock]

Are they sure it suicide? What a bummer! If you're going to end it on a cruise ship, make it a suite on Crystal or Regent, charge it to your credit card and let your heirs figure it out!

 

We saw quite a bit of the entertainment. It was very good. There wasn't a lot of talking anyway and during the Beatles tribute (excellent), most was in English. The only thing that sucked was the really (really) lengthy speeches in multiple languages after the performances. They went on and on and on and...

[Griller]

There is very little fact except that he was missing and that no one was found during the search at sea.

There has been no mention of foul play or anyone else involved.

Scuttlebutt had it that he was seen on deck with a suitcase tied to his wrist and that he had lost heavily at the Casino. This is unsubstantiated and may well be total invention, even though plausible sounding.

Fact remains that when he was missing it was by no means the end of the voyage.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Griller

[NavyVet1959]

His cabin was a couple of doors down from ours and according to our cabin cleaning person, he tipped the workers $100 each before his "disembarkation". We were pretty close to Puerto Rico when he "disembarked".

 

After the cruise arrived on Saturday, I drove from Barcelona to Toulouse. We spent Sunday n Toulouse and then drove towards Paris that evening. We stopped in Limoges for the night got a hotel. On Sunday, we drove to Château de Chambord, toured it, and then drove onto Paris. Drove via the local roads for most of the way and got to drive through a LOT of small towns. Discovered that my phone uses up battery power faster than the car power adapter can resupply it when the GPS is turned on and the display is set bright enough to read during daylight, thus the battery eventually runs down even though the unit is plugged in. Stumbled across a Chinese buffet restaurant that included unlimited wine and beer in the cost of the buffet. First time I ever encountered that... Didn't drink that much though since still had a couple hours of driving until getting to Paris.

 

I think this was the route we ended up taking:

 

Google Map Link

Edited April 28, 2015 by NavyVet1959

[CrossBluePerchance]

Trundled our bags off in Barcelona, (the Horizon mooring close to La Rambla made that very convenient), and then walked up LA Rambla to our overnight stay, (in a narrow alley, where we had a balcony about 2 feet wide ☺); enjoyed coffee and a sandwich on the balcony and then refamiliarized ourselves with Barcelona.

 

Short walk to the Airport bus in the a.m........flew to Lisbon, Metro ride to the Alfama, and a short walk from the station to our studio, (operated by a charming lady).

 

Some day trips; train ride to Obidos, ferry trip to Cacilhas, etc, and LOTS of walking.

 

Tomorrow, (Saturday), take the train to Porto, and Monday fly back to Toronto.

 

Late October we're back to take the last Med/Adriatic cruise of the season on the Horizon, (which is now our favorite ship by far.......of those we've been on)......more good days to come!

[Stockjock]

We too liked the Horizon. Older ship, but great bones and a nice layout.

 

I'll be in Barcelona for the first time on MSC in a few months. Any particular recommendations?

[NavyVet1959]

We went to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triumphe on Monday... Only problem was that the Louvre was closed on Monday... Walked the exterior of it and took some photos... Came back on Tuesday and went inside... It is *massive*... We definitely did not see all of it, but after the first couple of hundred painting and statues, they all kind of look alike... The layout is not exactly what you might consider straightforward though... There's a lot of going up and down a half floor (or more) for no apparent reason... I think the floorplan was designed by a drunk Frenchman... Drove around Paris a *lot* and the street design is totally screwed up... Parking is hard to find and the underground parking is so narrow that you need a *really* small car to get into it comfortably... I was in an SUV and it was a VERY tight fit...

[CrossBluePerchance]

We too liked the Horizon. Older ship, but great bones and a nice layout.

 

I'll be in Barcelona for the first time on MSC in a few months. Any particular recommendations?

 

Previous time we were there, about 18 months ago, we just walked *everywhere*; from the Gothic area, up and down EVERY alleyway, out to the old bullring, (which is now a shopping mall), through the market off La Rambla, up Montjuic.......we also did a day trip by train to Girona, and another to Montserrat.......there's plenty to see!

[NavyVet1959]

Arrived back in Houston at around 6pm this evening. Spent the last two nights in Barcelona and left the hotel at 03:00 local time (which would have been 20:00 Houston time. Arrived back at around 18:00 Houston time and by the time we got through Customs and got home, it was 21:00 local time, , so 25 hours traveling "today". The food on Turkey Airways was actually pretty good and they complementary alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, vodka, etc). Couldn't really get any sleep on the flight because the couple behind us had two toddlers that kept crying during the pressure changes and when they weren't crying, they were kicking the back of our seats. No matter how many times I gave them dirty looks or even resorted to asking them to control their kids, it did not make a difference for very long. To say the least, I'm dog tired right now.

 

So much for our 4 week vacation... Now just wait for the A/C to cool down the heat soaked house to 70F so I can sleep until next week.

[insidecabin]

I noticed next March trips are hitting the cheap deal radar again.

 

Time to investigate the flight situation

[CruisinGirl777]

Please post any good deals! I find it so hard to navigate the website.

[insidecabin]

16 Mar 24,2016 Margarita Island, Venezuela Barcelona, Spain, Horizon (CDF) $250 $15 Per Night!

12 Mar 28,2016 St. Maarten, Barcelona, Horizon (CDF) $200 $16 Per Night!

13 Mar 06,2016 Salvador, Brazil, Barcelona, Spain Pullmantur / Sovereign $278 $21 Per Night!

19 Mar 22,2016 Guadeloupe Marseille, France Horizon (CDF) $466 $24 Per Night!

18 Mar 23,2016 Fort-de-France, Martinique Marseille, Horizon (CDF) $466 $25 Per Night!

14 Mar 26,2016 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Barcelona, Spain Horizon (CDF) $363 $25 Per Night

 

 

From there go try to find the real price with taxes and flight availability.

Edited May 11, 2015 by insidecabin
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