Pullmantur Horizon Canary Island February 2018 cruise Review

I have sailed with many cruise lines But Pullmantur was a new one for me and One I could find very little information on. I knew there was a possibility that it would be different from ones Ive previously taken as it is a Spanish Cruise aimed and sold mostly to the Spanish I think .

We booked this cruise for our Honeymoon.

We had a great time and really enjoyed the Cruise we would Look at Pullmantur to book with again.

Im sure the cruise wouldn't suit everyone but it suited our needs perfectly.

Sorry its a long review and I will update parts of the cruise in separate posts so please be patient .

We booked through. pullmanturcruises.co.uk which is in association with Fred cruises we booked the All inclusive cruise , flights and transfers.

We flew to Tenerife where we embarked the ship Horizon we arrived just after 2pm and entered the terminal building we were very surprised to see lots of Pullmantur staff but no passengers waiting to check in, only us !!!

we went to the drop your cases desk first, the staff checked we had our tags on the cases and took these from us and directed us to the next desk . I will say here for anyone worried about check in all the staff had excellent English. The next desk was passenger information forms medical form, onboard account etc which we had already completed (we had been sent these to fill out prior to sailing and we did not need to do online check in)

So onwards to the full check in desk where your photograph is taken for the cruise card and we were given plastic wrist bands as we had pre purchased an additional drinks package called the total package (10 euro per day extra)

These wrist bands were a bit annoying and As a lady I didnt want it visible in the formal photographs we had taken (we took our wedding outfits) so at the port stop the next day I bought a thick sparkly bracelet that covered it perfectly.

So all checked in and with out cruise card off we went to board .

First impressions were excellent the staff were welcoming and the carpets decor curtains and soft furnishings looked new.

We went straight to our Cabin on Deck 5 mid ship outside .

(I had studied the deck plans before we booked our cabin I always like a cabin and deck with cabins above and below to lessen ship activity noise)

We just wanted to drop off our hand luggage and freshen up , as we left we noticed our cases were already outside of our door , very quick delivery.

The cabin was a Superior outside for 2 people and had a good sized rectangular Window , Its a good size cabin space with a Quadruple wardrobe !! and in total of 18 drawers !!!!!! so lots of storage space , Only 10 coat hangers though (the fixed kind) so we asked our cabin steward for some more and she brought us about 20 metal hangers plenty to share . we had took huge suitcases and unfortunately they didn't fit under the bed , one went in the wardrobe and the other next to the wardrobe and a table with chair so they were both totally out of the way . there was a large desk/vanity unit with mirror and light and another chair. Also a flat screen TV which had some ship info but also channels of newish English Films and News so totally unexpected. The plugs sockets were 1 European round pin 1 American flat pin behind the TV (we didnt look for or need another socket)

the bed we had asked for it to be a double and it was the 2 beds pushed together but HUGE 6 foot wide , only issue with this was 1 side was next to the wall so my Husband had to get out from the bottom of the bed (I had the side with the bedside drawers and lamp) . What I did like was the fact along with the duvet there was also a sheet. The bed I found a little hard for my liking, at home Is a soft mattress , It was not the firmest Ive slept on but not to my liking, the pillows were good though. under the bed was a spare duvet so I folded this as a mattress topper.

Again the carpets, curtains and chair upholstery looked new, the other furniture old but clean and usable.

The bathroom had a shower, again not a bad size room , the shower had a curtain but it was a good size shower , once again lots of storage space for toiletries and a large mirror . The Hairdrier is an old fashioned type on the wall , it does have different settings underneath I only needed to use it once and for my hair it was fine. Our female table companions did comment that it gets hot on your hand after a while so if you have long thick hair it might be an idea to take a glove to wear or take your own drier.

The Toilets flushed well and you could put Toilet paper down them but not anything else. On the first day there was a bit of an unpleasant smell from the drain nothing too bad and it either disappeared or we got use to it because after that first day I didnt notice it.

the shower had good enough pressure but at certain times of the day could be temperamental going slightly hot then cold however it did change its noise at this point so you could move away from jet of water if you needed to. a tablet of soap is supplied and the usual on the wall hair body wash (didnt use this )

One good thing about the ship being older is you don't need to put the cabin card in a slot to make the lights work , yipee you just flick the switch .

Over the week the cabin was quiet we couldn't hear our neighbours and we hope they couldn't hear us . only 1 night I heard engine/ship noise it was a rough night on the sea and I think maybe the ship has side propulsion or something to keep it steady .

Sorry this will be all for now I will write more when I have more time

Sounds great so far....looking forward to hearing more!

Sounds like the start of a very good cruise .So glad all went well . Your review is detailed ...but im sure its what most of us would prefer. Thanks once again.

It's like a soap, you get bits at a time! Thanks Glittergal and again glad you had a good time. We are travelling next Thursday to Gatwick, night there and then a night in Gran Canaria. Ever so glad that it isn't this week! Feel sorry for the people who are trying to get out of the UK.

Fingers crossed the weather improves for all travellers . Our flight home from Tenerife on Sunday was first delayed and then cancelled we spent 22 hours in the airport because of the rain they had that day.

Safe travels anyone going anywhere

Pullmantur review continued

Passengers and staff

Being a Spanish cruise line and having found little information on the line we we a bit apprehensive as we only speak English Im happy to say there was no need to be worried.

We were very surprised at the large amount of passengers who were from The UK and Ireland.

Most of the Staff spoke excellent English and the rest had adequate English. All the written information given to us was also in English . Any announcements were in Spanish and English .

The majority of the passengers were of an older age group 50+ with many I would say retired and older , there were a few young families with children but not many .

Entertainment

For this cruise we went for some sun and relaxation so this Ship suited our needs perfectly . I would say of all the lines/ships Ive sailed with this had the least amount of onboard activities which pleased us especially around the pool.

The pool deck was very relaxing there were comfy sofas and chairs to relax in (1 side smoking 1 non smoking) along with the usual sun loungers and tables and chairs for outside eating.

What pleased us during the day was No activities around the pool , there was only some taped quiet back ground music.

The Evening entertainment in the theatre was hmmmmm different there was only 1 show either 8.45pm or 9pm it changed on some days . Even though it was hmmm a bit Odd it was still watchable (our last cruise with RCI the shows were not even watchable)

there were 2 music tribute shows .The Beatles and Abba and these were accompanied by dancers , Ballet Dancers that is. There was a Humour and Magic show which we started to watch but did give up because it was all in Spanish and what I guess was the Humour part went on too long with no magic. the other shows were also dancers of Ballet and a little acrobatics .

We didnt really see or listen to any of the music in the lounges for a great deal of time as we had the 7.30 dinner sitting.

Bingo Bingo Bingo I think was a popular occurrence you regularly heard the announcements . I did attend 2 Adult craft activity sessions the first I made a gift bag out of Recycled daily cruise news sheets, Thankfully the staff member leading it spoke English because Ive never been good an Origami I will admit I needed help . The second craft I attended I made a paper flower luckily I could easily do this without help as the staff did not speak English.

The library looked a comfortable room and there were huge jigsaw puzzles for passengers to complete, I think you could use board games and there was a card games room.

We didnt use the casino or go to any of the theme parties or discos.

Pullmantur review continued

Pool deck and upper deck

There were 2 pools one I think deeper than the other, We didnt go in either so not sure if they were heated or not or salt water , these pools were also different to others on cruise ships as you couldnt really sit on the side and dangle your legs in or be holding the side and chatting to family because the water was quite low down you had to climb down the ladder to get in .

We did go in one of the 2 Jacuzzi but this was very disappointing as it wasnt really a jacuzzi it didnt bubble or have jets it was simply a warm bath .

The sundeck had plenty on sunbeds .

Review continued

Theme nights

Formal night ,

White night

Tropical night

Arabic night

Formal night had a special dinner menu and the captains gala night with photo should you wish. Most passengers made an effort to dress up , in fact of all the cruises ive done this had the smartest dressed passengers every night.

Review continued

Dining

I will start with the Buffet, I will say I have hated the buffet experience on all the cruises I have taken so far however the experience on Horizon was the best , it was not as stressful (less cattle market pushing and shoving ) and it is well laid out , there could be an issue with seating I suppose if the weather was really bad and outside couldnt be used but we had no problem finding seating (we did only use the buffet twice) Food wise the choice was not huge but did change and as usual with buffets not as hot as I would like The food was tasty and good quality there was a separate vegetarian area (and a special diet area somewhere I would think as the dining room had this)

Main dining room we had first sitting 7.30pm second sitting was 9.45pm The theatre shows started at 8.45 or 9pm so we did miss the beginning of the show on our first day .

We had a round table for 9 of us and we had all table mates from the UK .

Bread baskets were placed on the table which is much better than the waiter just giving you 1, the bread changed over the week ans was fresh and tasty , Butter though was not on the table we had to ask for this the first 2 nights but after that the waiters knew to bring this too.

We had the total drinks package so had bottled water however if you didnt the waiters would top up your glass from a jug.

Food choice was limited compared to other cruise lines in that the menu mostly stayed the same with just 4 chefs choices changing daily , As someone who mainly eats vegetarian I was more limited . On Gala night there was a special 7 course menu you didnt order from it was just brought out to you , I did need to ask for a Vegetarian alternative.

The food portions some would say were small however you could just order more than 1 , vegetables didnt come with the meal But ive never had enough on any cruise line so just asked for a side order of veg each night it was the same though carrot cauliflower and broccoli .

The Food I would say is the tastiest Ive had on any cruise so far the flavours were amazing and good quality food , it was however not hot enough for my preference. 5 of our table companions who now live in Spain did comment that they never have hot enough food in Spanish restaurants so maybe thats the way they like it?

Breakfast

We always tried to eat breakfast in the main dining room however be aware the opening times did change so check the daily planner

The waiters showed you to a table and served tea/coffee orange juice and then you helped yourself to the hot and cold buffet, it was a great selection and had a separate area for special diets even have lactose free milk which I was really happy about as I dont like Soya milk .

For tea drinkers they had a wooden box with a choice of many different teas , I just had English Breakfast tea which was a lovely tea.

The staff stocked up the food on a regular basis and there was a staff member toasting the bread .

Before the buffet was closing each morning the waiters did come round to tell you this so you could get more before it was taken away.

Many thanks

Thanks Glittergal, sounds like a lovely honeymoon. I mainly ate breakfast up in the buffet and didn't find it too bad for queuing and seating. I also found the shows odd, though others enjoyed the ABBA and Beatles nights. Did you do any excursions?

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We booked a private excursion in Agadir and only did 1 ship excursion in Lanzarote , Im glad we did the excursion in Lanzarote because apparently taxis were expensive to Arricefe and many things were closed due to it being siesta time

Yes, I was surprised how much less there was to do in Arrecife than Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and it was a fair walk in, so I did an excursion the second time I went.

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Are there pullmantur shuttles to the ports or whatever.

Like Agadir?

And what is better DIY excursions or with Pullmantur? Im looking at the vulcano in lanzarote.

Are there also shadow spots on the ship/deck? I cant find shadow spots at the poolzone on the 360 tour.

there was only 1 free shuttle in Feurtventura and I think that was only because we were not allowed to walk as it was unsafe because a ship next to ours was being worked on . Agadir would have been not nice to walk as its a big working port the taxi cost was 10 euro

lanzarote we did a ship excursion to the timanfaya national park , you would need a private or ship exursion for this .

Walking into arricefe would be quite away and taxi was expensive

other ports you could walk out of

Thank you. I think the ship excursions have a good price. Not so expensive as other cruiselines.

Yes I too thought the price compared to other cruise lines was reasonable the only issue is that only a hand full are in English unless 10 or more people book them so its best to wait until onboard to book if you require English

Thank you.

Thanks to glittergal who has taken the time to post her review not only on here, but on Tripadvisor as well. It's just about as comprehensive a review as I've seen, and thankfully there does not appear to be any miserable old curmugeons on here to thrown spanners into the works, and cast doom and gloom all over the place.

Based on everything we have read, we have decided that we will use Pullmantur for our next cruise. Not on this ship, as the itinerary at the time we're travelling is similar to one we have already done on Costa. We are going to be sailing on the Zenith, but my guess is there is probably little difference between the ships.

Yes we know the ships are old, but being old does not make you of no use. They used to make things to last in the old days!! Yes the decor and furnishings are bit suspect, unless you are especially in favour of retro but so what. Surely it's the cleanliness and comfort of the cabin and ship generally, the atmosphere on board, the friendliness and efficiency of the staff, the food, the fact that you don't have to pay extra for drinks unless you choose to, and the itinerary. And going with an open mind, and a willingness to see the positive in what you are experiencing, rather than seeking out the negative all the time. (and from our experience there are many cruisers who do just that).

Value for money is what we are seeking, and it looks like this might be it.