ANyone heard of this cruise?

[Aimless]

Eventually you'll probably hear from somebody. Your biggest challenge will be the limited audience that Pullmantur targets. They're not a line that's marketed to the US, and there's a lot of American's on this board, as a result there aren't a lot of people on this board who are very familiar with the line in the English section.

Their English language page appears to be focused on the British, so if you can find an online community that focuses on British cruisers you might have a better chance of getting more information.

[OKcruiser]

Leigh:
Thanks for the heads-up on "Go Travel Direct"s Pullmantur cruise. I might try this option when visiting my son in Ottawa in the new year. Why am I so interested?
I have already flown the Atlantic on Zoom, GTD's sister airline several times without any problems.
I have even been on a Pullmantur bus tour in Spain a few years ago, where we found all our fellow travellers were Spanish speakers, mainly from South America.Even though we were the only native English speakers, we had a great time because nearly all the others spoke some English.I would imagine the ship would probably be along the same lines.
Pullmantur Cruises have been the most prominent Spanish Cruise Line since forming 4-5 years ago.
As far as the ship is concerned. It was German built in 1981 and originally sailed as the Europa for Hapag Lloyd cruises of Germany. I don't know what shape she is in now, but do know that one of their other older ships "Oceanic" still is a good cruise experience. In the eighties when "Europa" sailed for HL cruises, many knowledgable cruisers considered it the world's best cruise ship.
If you decide to try it, let us all know what you think of it.

[laceglove]

I am considering this cruise too. It is very Spanish. So the entertainment is in Spanish. And most of the staff speak Spanish. The people who went on previous cruises seem to have enjoyed them very much

I found some stuff about the ship and the cruise on google. Until the hurricane the year before last, it left from Mexiaco, and the cruise included Havana. So the reactions are based on that. Here are some links. Be sure to click on "translate" as they are mainly from Europeans.

www.croisierenet.com/comp_31/croisiere/croisieres/pullm...ream/194/bateau.html

Here is a forum: (highlight the whole address, copy it, and past it into the address line of the browser)It is automatically translated, so you will have to use your imagination to understand the comments. It's quite funny, actually.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=htt...-36,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN

[ChucksOK]

Saw one of the Pulmantour ships in Rio last week (12/22) coming into port after we had docked. She didn't look that appealing to us but that was from a perspective of 1/2 klick away from where we were. Saw her sail out again from our hotel balcony later that same afternoon. Took some pics but have not had a chance to upload yet.

[Leigh]

Thanks so much you guys for the help. Yes it was rather funny the translation part of it. I guess I need to wait and hear from people who have actually sailed it. I have 2 children, 12 and 16, not sure if there will be enough to keep them entertained. Last cruise they were on was the Grand P and it listed so I really have to choose the right cruise in order to get them back on track again. It just looked appealing due to the incl transportaion, free drinks and the great itinerary. Again thanks for contributing, and any pics would be appreciated.

[OKcruiser]

Hi Everyone on this thread:
I will be sailing on this ship and itinerary Feb 12th. flying from Ottawa. If it's anywhere as nice as my previous cruises it will be OK. Will post my impressions.

Alan

Aegean Dolphin- Dolphin Hellas-Greek Isles 1995
Stella Solaris- Royal Olympic- Greece Turkey 2001
MSC Opera- MSC- Western Med- 2004
Holiday Dream- Pullmantur- Carribean- 2007.

[Leigh]

Good, anxious to hear all about it. I decided to go ahead with the Explorer in March. But if this proves to be a good cruise I will do it next year or perhaps sooner...
Leigh

[dingo44]

Just got back!

Now I don't have a frame of reference as this was my first cruise, but we had an amazing time!
The only drawback was 95% of the passengers were Spanish speaking and so were most of the shows but otherwise we had no issues with language.
The food and service was absolutely amazing!

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

[frankie]

I am also very interested in this cruise out of Ottawa..please post any details
I am sure it will be different from the traditional North american experience
Is the food & entertainment & facilities up to snuff
all inclusive is great but if the ship is sub-standard than no amount of freebies
will make that up .....

[Leigh]

Very interesting. Dingo44 waht were the cabins like? Any pictures you can upload? I'd love to see them. Did you find the boat too samll? a little rocky at times? The ports must have been great. Looks like it was a good itenerary. Would you go back again?
Thanks Leigh