Why not Mallorca? - Pls let me know

[Mallorcan girl]

Hi folks, I live in Mallorca and working in a tourism consultant office right now :( . My boss and I are trying to receive the most of thoughts, impressions or any kind of suggestion from the medcruisers that have been here anytime as a part of a cruise, because our clients from the Govern are interested in Mallorca turn out to be a reference port for cruises in the Med. So PLS I NEED HELLLLPPP!! If you are one of those guys pls let me know :D . I would like to know three things for starting:

1. ¿What do you think of Mallorca's port / city in comparison with the others you have visited?

2. ¿What would you expect of an "ideal" city when you dock? ¿what port of call is your favourite one so far and why?

3. ¿Are you coming to Mallorca in the near future? ¿what image do you have of my city and what do you expect to find?

 

Oh, and if you have never come.... why is that???

 

Th:D nks!!

 

Mallorcan girl

[Andym]

Hello Mallorcan Girl,

 

We have cruised from Palma for the last 2 years and just adore the city.

[BJS]

Oh, and if you have never come.... why is that???

Mallorcan girl

Cruise line we sail on doesn't stop there also I had never heard of Mallorca until you posted this.

[Globaliser]

¿what image do you have of my city and what do you expect to find?

 

Oh, and if you have never come.... why is that???

To be honest, I have never been to Mallorca because the image that I have of the island (not "city") is that it is full of drunken low budget British package tour holidaymakers who are after a hedonistic and unsophisticated week (or two) of sun, sea, sand and sex.

 

Now, I know that this image is only partly deserved, and there are some very nice aspects of Mallorca. But people who cruise tend to be older and more sophisticated, and many will be put off by this image. If Mallorca is to become more attractive to cruise lines and cruise ship passengers, it will have to work on changing this public perception.

 

I am not sure what you mean by "reference port". If you mean a home port or turnaround port, where cruises start and finish, there is one more big problem. Most cruise lines depend on a large proportion of American passengers. As far as I know, there are no direct flights from Palma de Mallorca to any American destinations, and I am not sure whether the airport would actually be big enough to handle aircraft flying that far. This factor would limit home porting to cruise lines intended only for European passengers - which is a small segment of the market.

 

[Note for CC members unfamiliar with Mallorca: Often spelt "Majorca" in the UK, this island's airport receives more British package tour holidaymakers than any other airport. Palma itself is a very pleasant city, with culture and history, but there are inevitably a number of concrete jungle "resorts" which have grown up on the island.]

[Tatka]

When I was a kid my grandfather (now 75 yo) cruised Mediterranean several times and visited Mallorca. He liked it very much, made tons of pictures and if he could he would visit it often. But at that time we were citizens of USSR , so this info won't probably interest you that much.

 

I think majority of North Americans cruise Med for historical purposes (as opposed to European cruisers) and they more interested in ancient places like Rome, Florence, Greece etc. Just for "relaxing" gateaway they cruise Caribbean and Mexico (which should be close to what Mallorca would offer in my opinion). Maybe I am wrong.:o Euros and costly air R/T is making it out of reach for majority of them.

 

But I am sure if major cruise lines offered it as a stop people would love it. I don't think X, RCI or Princess has this stop. Maybe this should be a stop during port intensive itinerary, when people are tired after 9-10 hours every day in Rome, Frorence etc(we were dead!!!).

[roothy123]

I kind of agree with Tatka - most American cruisers are probably more interested in the biggies of tourism (especially with history) like Rome, Venice, Seville, etc. - or at least something that offers more than lying in the sun. However, I found Mallorca (the little I saw) to be much, much more than just a place to relax, and while I had read that it DOES have a lot of partying Brits, that wasn't noticeable to me as a casual visitor. (And I certainly didn't see any drunk ones, but I really didn't look!!!) Anyway, I was on a cruise in May (Oceania) that stopped in Mallorca (Palma) for a day. I had heard of Mallorca before, but knew nothing about it. Once I started researching it, I found it was fascinating - and sounded like my kind of place. I'm not much of a beach person, but I DO love beautiful scenery, and that's where Mallorca excelled. In short, I LOVED it, and it was especially nice to go somewhere on my cruise that was not just the big, well-known cities. We rented a car and drove out to the coast, which was fabulous. However, the city of Palma has its own things to do and see as well. I didn't find Palma, or the parts of the island I DID see (mostly southwest coast) to be too built up with concrete - but I suppose everything's relative. (I live in Washington DC, which certainly has its share of concrete!)

[navel1ring]

Have never cruised to Mallorca, but spent 2 weeks vacationing on the island & absolutely LOVED it. The airport is very large, flew from Washington Dulles to Madrid & on to Mallorca. We were were there in mid September, warm days, cool nights & no rain.

 

Wendy

[Tatka]

Lines that stop there (at least once this year)

 

Cunard

SilverSea

Crystal

Seabourn

 

 

Costa

Orient

Windstar

MSC Cruises

 

 

RCI has it. Brilliance 3 days cruise. ;)

 

HAL also stops there (Westerdam) 12 days cruise.

 

Future Carnival ship Liberty will stop there during repo cruise to Pt. Canaveral.

[roothy123]

Oceania Cruises, a new and fabulous line, also goes to Palma for a day on one of its 12 day Med cruises.

 

I was surprised to see how many other cruise lines go there.....

[drjdm]

We are looking foward to the visit as we have been to the Med 3 times. It will give us a different view of the region. I enjoy the beach but dont need to travel 6,000 miles to do so(we live in Los Angeles, Ca). My wife enjoys shopping and visiting with locals. We enjoy old buildings,ruins but are not much for museums.

 

We rented a car and will venture on our own. Does anybody know of local tour guides? and what can they offer.

 

Jeff

[Mallorcan girl]

Hi Jeff,

Glad you came to visit us, what is your wife interested in? fancy shopping or low cost souvenirs? There are a lot of places, but to tell you more I should know. Definitely don't recommend you to go to the beach if you don't have much time to look for a nice not massive "Cala" in country sides.

About museums I should agree with you that before Es Baluard came up (modern art museum just in front of the port) there was only few expositions and the Joan Miró foundation to visit near the centre.

About the local tour guides, let me see, you are talking of a english speaking person to guide you through your way in the car or you refer to a professional guide or so?

The itineraries are varied depending on what you are lookiing for but I think the best you can do on your own is to visit Cala Deiá, a small bay far away the city centre.

[Mallorcan girl]

To be honest, I have never been to Mallorca because the image that I have of the island (not "city") is that it is full of drunken low budget British package tour holidaymakers who are after a hedonistic and unsophisticated week (or two) of sun, sea, sand and sex.

 

Now, I know that this image is only partly deserved, and there are some very nice aspects of Mallorca. But people who cruise tend to be older and more sophisticated, and many will be put off by this image. If Mallorca is to become more attractive to cruise lines and cruise ship passengers, it will have to work on changing this public perception.

Hi Globaliser, I really appreciate your thoughts, that's the problem, some people (not only in America) think that Mallorca is only an all-year beach full of low cost tourists, that the locals call "giris". It is quite different from what you may find if you come without any preconception..

I'm surprised when you mention the "older and sophisticated" people on the cruises. Is that really so? I have read that most of cruising American people is in their fifties and still working, but I not consider that so old... is that wrong?

[BJS]

I'm surprised when you mention the "older and sophisticated" people on the cruises. Is that really so? I have read that most of cruising American people is in their fifties and still working, but I not consider that so old... is that wrong?

The majority are in their 60s and retired. Each year more and more people of a younger age are discovering cruising and the age is becoming younger but I would not say the majority are now below 60 on the cruises we have taken. The previous majority, 5 years ago, were nearer to 70 years old. Younger working people often can not get the time off from work or are raising and educating families and tend to cruise in the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska where cruises and air fares are less expensive and that might be what you have been reading. The majority on these cruises are in their 40s and 50s.

[Mallorcan girl]

Hi folks, thank you for your answers, I really appreciate them.

If you have any other comment about Mallorca pls let me know at mhuaynalaya@sab-web.com

 

I'll stay in touch.

 

Bye,

 

Marisa

[Joanandjoe]

Mallorca girl, our two weeks on the Windstar Wind Surf (November 7 and 14 cruises) will include three days in the Balearics: Saturday 13/11 in Mahon, Monday 15/11 in Palma, and Tuesday 16/11 in Ibiza. We'll be in each port for 8 to 10 hours, beginning at 7 (Palma) or 8 a.m. (Ibiza and Mahon). Presumably we will not have beach weather.

 

We'd appreciate your suggestions. Maybe your company has tours from Palma that are better than the ship's tours or maybe you company DOES the ship's tours). The tours are: Valldemosa and Chopin (3 1/2 hours, $68), Palma City Tour (4 hours, $48) and Mallorca Uncorked (4 1/2 hours, $68, with visit to Els Calderers de San Joan). Whatever we do, we are excited about our upcoming visit to your island.

[navel1ring]

Spent 2 weeks in Mallorca, stayed in Fornalutx, so we had plenty of time to see the whole island. Our favorite villages were Cala Deia & Soller/Port de Soller. Also quite interesting was Castle Alaro....quite a hike to the top, thought we are on the top of the world. Outside of Palma everyting was very quaint & we enjoyed everywhere we went, great shops in Valdemosa.

 

Wendy