Just left the Holiday Dream in Santo Domingo yesterday after an excellent weeek's cruise, I could'nt agree more with Dingo44.Food, service and all the other facilities were great,and our outside cabin was by far the largest ever on this immaculately maintained smaller classic cruise ship. Many of our group from Ottawa and Montreal, experienced cruisers on the like of Princess, Carnival, and even Celebrity thought this one a better cruise experience.Leigh, the ship was very steady with just a little motion when the seas were a little rougher: and yes I would go back in a minute.

I am so glad to hear that. I am most definately going to try this out. Thanks SO much for your info. Are there balconies on these outside cabins or is it just the oceanview?
Thanks Leigh

Leigh:
Because this ship is an older ship very few balcony suites on board,eight I believe.
Our outside cabin on deck 8 was the largest we've ever had on a ship, very comfortable and nicely decorated in a non glitzy way. In fact the whole ship is nicely maintained,but some of the public rooms are a bit dated in style, not a bad thing in my opinion.

Hi. Any idea of sq footage or comparables from other cruise lines. What did the balconies look like?

Dingo, We are leaving on March 12 for this cruise. Your comments were very interesting.

I have a few questions:

- do you need money on board to play at the Casino or can we use the credit card?
- do they have an foreign exchange office on board?
- did you bring Euros or US money?
- How were the shores excursions and which one do you recommand?

Thank you for the information.

Actually you must use a credit card...well perhaps you can pay your bill in cash at the end, I'm not sure, but when you board the boat you 'open an account' with a credit card. All expenses (gambling, spa, specialty shops) including the 65 euros per person (gratuities for cabin steward and dining staff) are charged to this account. You get a final statement in your room the night before you leave.
I'm not sure if they have a foreign exchange office on board but there are plenty in any of the ports. You won't need a dime while on board.

I can't recommend any excursions as we didn't do any, however I can say, if you plan to go to the Virgin Gourdas whilst in Tortola, and if you plan to do it yourself (i.e. not with the excursion) leave as early as possible (like 8am) to allow yourself time to get the ferry back since the cruise leaves at 3pm that day.
There is an information kiosk at the end of the dock in Tortola...they will give you all the info.
It is roughly half the price to 'do it yourself' as opposed to doing the excursion.

I found the excursion prices a bit high but they do make sure everything is taken care of (transportation, english speaking guides, etc) but make sure you mention to the excursion woman if you have any special requests. She is super nice...but then, everyone is on the boat!

As I said in my original post, I've never been on a cruise before but I would rate the boat and facilities at about 4.5 and the food would be a 6 (on a scale of 1 to 5). If you REALLY want to see the shows, know they are in Spanish. That didn't bother us so don't let it bother you!

I know it's been a while since anyone posted on this topic, but I was hoping to get some insight as to how you booked the Pullmantur Cruise! Many Thanks, Kathy

I'm a little behind in responding to the last post, missed it. There are a couple of lines with a very Europen flair that are more common to Noth American passengers. Costa (part of the Carnival group) and MSC are handled by many if not most US and Canadian agencies as they both have many N. Amer. passengers (although on some itineraries still the minority onboard). Pullmantur is not among the lines typically represented by US and Canadian agencies. You should be able to find a booking source online though.

Welcome to Cruise-Chat, hope you're still around.

Cheers, Neil

Kathy:
The people on this thread who sailed on Pullmantur last winter booked through an Ottawa internet TA who marketed it as one of their Dominican Republic (La Romana) all-inclusive resorts, even though it was a cruise, and included the flight. Unfortunately Pullmantur has not had a ship sail out of Santo Domingo this winter, so they haven't been offering it.
I believe the Empress of the Seas will be sailing for Pullmantur out of La Romana next winter after her transfer from RCCL, so possibly we'll see that all-inclusive being offered again.

Thank You for your responses. My searches lead me an internet TA in New Jersey who says she is affiliated with a European agency that we can book through. I certainly hope so. We are wanting to do the Greek Islands cruise and the Pullmantur ship is smaller than the mass market lines currently in the Mediterranean and goes to different islands. Again, I thank you for your responses.

I have just returned from a 7 day cruise on Holiday Dream, sailing from Aruba. I agree with previous reports that the cabins are spacious,the food is excellant and it is good value for money but I must stress that the dominant speaking language is Spanish. As a party of 4 English speaking passengers out of a total of only 7 English speaking on board we did feel excluded from some information. Particularly during ships anouncements and most of the entertainment programmes. Also on shore excursion guides were not made aware that non Spanish speaking passengers would be joining. However this did not entirely spoil our holiday but we were mislead by our travel agent to expect more English, American and Canadian passengers on board.