It is called the Pullmantur Cruise Line. It is with a Canadaian Travel Company "Go Direct" First time I have ever heard of it, itinerary looks great and the price includes all drinks and food for $1199 Ca. Anyone have any input on this?
Thanks
Leigh

Pullmantur was recently bought by RCCL/Celebrity cruises

See news at bottom of page http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/news/c_news.asp

I was on the Freedom in October and I took this picture of a Pullmantur ship just for you... CLICK HERE to see it.

And that photo is of the Holiday Dream, which was formerly the SuperStar Aries, and before that the Europa. See the lineage here.

Thank you for all that info. Knew I could count on you 3 guys. That picture is great SONNYV, glad someone is thinking of me out there. Ship looks very small I wonder how well she would do in rough waters . Question is...would any of you sail this ship? The price, if I am not mistaken if for air/cruise along with all incl food & bev. I would love to talk to someone who has experienced this. Wondering what the meals are like and type of drinks you actually get??? One reason I love cruising is you are not limited to which brand of type of drink ie. Bacardi, Baileys.I know when you go to all inclusive resorts you are stuck with the no name brands and everything is served in plastic.

I wonder if the ships are still operating "business as usual" since some will be going to Celebrity and RCCL.
What ship are they offering I looked ad "Go Direct" website but it didn't give any dates or prices, that I could find.

Hi Lyn
1st cruise sails Jan 15/07. Cost for an inside cabin came up as 1399.00 total taxes incl. and Can$. Ship is only 39,000 tons. I sure hope anyone who sets sail Jan 15th is on cruise chat so we can get the scoop. Sounds interesting, like the idea of the all-incl. and airfare to D.R. + you visit 6 ports and since you are the only tour travelling there is no chance of missing the ship and if the ship is late they put you up in a hotel so you avoid the extra cost of staying the day before & after. (like we have done)Still a little unsure. Now why can't the bigger ships offer this kind of deal???
Leigh

Thanks Leigh
I wonder if they will have more Canadians than spanish passengers.
You might have a look on the cruise critic board to see if any have done this cruise.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/index.php?

From what I understand of that line, they are primarily focused on the European market. You'll definitely have a different onboard experience than you would on RCI, Celebrity or a similar line.

That's not necessarily bad, but it may not be what you're expecting.

Finally, I'm pretty sure that English is not the primary onboard language which may also be a concern for you.

Definately worth looking into. I am trying to find SOMEONE who has been on this ship but have had no luck. Guess I will have to wait till someone comes across my post. Thanks for all the input. Maybe come January we will hear more about it. Go Direct is pretty popular in Canada, Ottawa & Montreal anyway so I would think anyone booking this cruise would be from around the area. I wonder if they are refurb. before they set sail in Jan.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 .....

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