Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Anyone cruising on the Horizon from Athens to Dubai on November 22?

Katy Hess

By Katy Hess,
in Pullmantur Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
cruiserdotcom

cruiserdotcom

Posted
Posted

I will be cruising solo on March 9, Dubai to Athens.  For those doing this Suez cruise coming up on Nov. 22, please kindly post the visa solutions that you all decided upon,  self bought or ??  Any other tips for those of us sailing this route in March would be greatly appreciated.

Have a wonderful time!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
rolling stoner

rolling stoner

Posted
Posted

We are on the Horizon cruise leaving Nov 22, 2018.  This is the information we received from Pullmantur after we checked in.

 

"Visas are required for US citizens, US permanent residents and Canadian citizens vising the following countries:

 

JORDAN requires a visa, which can typically be obtained on your behalf for an additional fee through Pullmantur.  Any fees for visas procured through Pullmantur will be charged to your onboard account.

 

EGYPT requires a visa for cruises that embark or disembark in Egypt.  Visas are available for purchase upon arrival at Egyptian airports or cruises terminals for an approxiate cost of $25USD per person.  A visa is not required for in-transit visits to Egypt.

 

OMAN requires a visa.  An in-transit visa is provided at no cost for travelers arriving in Oman by cruise ship for stays of up to 24 hours.  For stays over 24 hours, a visa fee of approximately $15USD per person may be assessed.  For cruises that embark in Oman, or for any stay in Oman that exceeds 96 hours, an Electric Visa (eVisa) must be obtained prior to arrival."

 

No information is given about UAE but from what I understand they don't require a visa.

 

I hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Katy Hess

Katy Hess

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 11/16/2018 at 11:37 AM, Northbay said:

Hi Katy and Peter.  Have a great cruise.

 

Would you kindly post what, if any visas you needed to book in advance of cruise.  We are fellow Torintonians doing this cruise in March.

Also any info on the ships appearance and tips would be greatly appreciated upon your return.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
awinkl

awinkl

Posted
Posted

The Ship leaves at 20:00 - your Embarkation times should have been posted to you with your Cruise Info? But I guess anytime around noon should be ok to check-in? Your Cabin should be ready to enter "after" 2:30 PM??

Pullmantur are a Company that need to get used to ..... They charge  "GRATUITIES - IN FULL" at the time of booking - which is one thing I totally object as I prefer to TIP Personally to people who deserve it !!

Gratuities should only apply when GOOD Service is given - and when placed on a Passenger's Daily Account should always be able to be adjusted "upwards/downwards". When they are applied on a COMPULSORY basis, they are NO longer Gratuities, but become nothing more than a CREW SALARY CONTRIBUTION!!!

The Main Language on the Ship is SPANISH, even though some Announcements are made also in English - with a heave accent. Some Shows are in SPANISH ONLY!!! Some Excursion (may) be also in Spanish only??

The Food at the Buffet is mostly COLD, since they cannot keep the food hot after it comes out from the Kitchen.... but you can ask one of the Chef's to heat-it-up!!

I have got accustomed to their (mediocre) Service and look forward to the end of my Trip!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Plato123 Great Review Rare

Plato123

Posted
Posted

I noted the comments from "awinkl" about his/her experience on the Horizon and am a little surprised.  We were on the cruise from Athens to Malaga and had a great time.  We are not surprised about the comments about prepaying for gratuities but realize that many cruise lines do the very same thing, not just Pullmantur.

We quite like the Spanish flavour of the cruise and that is one reason we have cruised so many times with Pullmantur, even though we speak no Spanish.  By the way we did a bridge tour on the Pullmantur Zenith last year and were told that the only language on the bridge is English. I expect the same policy applies on the Horizon.  Nevertheless we have never had a language problem on Pullmantur. We could easily understand the announcements too, probably better than if they were in Australian.

Also, not all the food in the buffet was cold.  There were several items on steam tables and paella under heat lamps as well as hot carved dishes at the carving station.

All in all we think Pullmantur is great value.  It is not the greatest cruise line, not even close but you generally get a good cruise experience, generally interesting ports, and for us  a fresh non-North American perspective.

Last, Pullmantur makes clear that its main market is the Spanish speaking world, so if that bothers you don't bother with Pullmantur.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Plato123 Great Review Rare

Plato123

Posted
Posted

Our cruise on the Horizon was at the end of October and we had small bottles of shampoo and conditioner as well as body wash.  We also had tissues.  We were in a Grand Suite, but if I recall correctly regular cabins have built in dispensers for shampoo and body wash that are refilled.  The library is where most people were playing card and board games. I have attached a photo of part of the library area.

IMG_0063.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
awinkl

awinkl

Posted
Posted

Hi Plato 123,

I noted your comments and since you were with "The Waves" ....??? I am not surprised that you enjoyed your Cruise in such an environment. 

I have also been on the Athens to Malaga Sector - in fact, I have been on the Horizon since 1st October..... and I look forward to get to Dubai, so I can get off. 10 weeks on Horizon are just too long - but entirely my fault as I have only booked (cheap) Cabins. However, even when cruising in a cheap Cabin, the Food served should be HOT - a very basic requirement - but with the assistance of the Assistant Chefs who re-heat my dinner-plate for me, I still get (reasonable) Hot food. However, such actions should NOT be necessary on any Ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
awinkl

awinkl

Posted
Posted
On 12/14/2018 at 2:27 AM, aussie cruzer said:

How did the cruise go...any tips.

Hi - Aussie Cruiser,

Well - let's just say, I was quite happy to get off that Ship when it reached Dubai - 10 weeks was just too long on that one. Pullmantur Ships are more geared for shorter Cruises - mostly 7 day's  turn-around - and since I had booked 9 Segments consecutively, things became a bit predictable - including the Kitchen Menu's. I knew in advance what would be served on any Embarkation Days etc.... and the Shows - I could have seen the same ones on every Segment..... Anyway, I knew all that in advance and the Itineraries suited me personally, so it was not a real surprise.

What really annoyed me was the "compulsory Gratuity" that had to be paid at the time of booking - and I truly prefer to give a Gratuity for excellent Service - not for mediocre Service ..... and for my time on that Ship,  I was charged a "compulsory" Gratuity of about 1000 Euros!!!! .... for a Service that did NOT warrant any Gratuity!! However, I still provided (personal) Gratuities to People who actually deserved it.

So be fore-warned when booking a (longer) Pullmantur Cruise. Since they were bought by Royal Caribbean this "compulsory" Gratuity charge has been applied!! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rolling stoner

rolling stoner

Posted
Posted

We did the November 22nd cruise, Athens to Dubai.  We enjoyed the cruise very much.  The itinerary was interesting, the days at sea were relaxing and the crew was fun and friendly.  We also enjoyed the food very much.  My husband is fairly picky and always wants to know what he's eating, I will try anything.  We both found dishes we liked every day.  There were several dishes that were always available and then another section that changed every day.  

 

The balcony cabin was average sized and showed some signs of wear but nothing terrible. The boat was a manageable size especially since my husband had just had hip replacement surgery.  The elevators always came very quickly.

 

We usually ate bread and pastry that I would bring to the cabin in the morning.  That was after I went and got two delicious lattes at the included specialty coffee shop.  Lunch was at the buffet and there was always an interesting mix of items, including a carving station.  Pizza, pasta and salad were always available.  There was often a specialty stand that made chef salads or ceasar salads to order.  A perfectly satisfactory wine was served at all times.  Most other drinks were also included.  There was an upgrade liquor package but that wasn't necessary for us.

 

We only went to 3 or 4 shows during our cruise.  We peaked in at some others and decided to skip them.  There was often music playing at different spots.  I wished they played longer than 30 or 45 minutes at a time.  Everyone would start dancing and having fun and it would be over.  We played slots at the casino almost everyday and they only took a little money from us.

 

We have cruised a couple years ago on Pullmantur on a Baltic cruise and had a similar good experience.  As far as included gratuities go, I did not find them high.  If everyone actually tipped the crew, these would not be necessary.  We added just a little extra to our cabin attendant and waiters.

 

For reference, we are in our early 60s, have cruised many times with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess, MSC, Costa, Norwegian and Carnival.  We loved this cruise and would gladly travel with them again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruiserdotcom

cruiserdotcom

Posted
Posted

Thanks so much for your review.  I am looking forward to the March Suez cruise.

 

  Can you write some tips regarding the port tours, either sponsored by Pullmantur or private?  Were there private operators waiting for prospective clients at the ports--first come first served?  Did you arrange your own private tours prior to boarding?  Did you partake in any of the Pullmantur tours? 

 

Some of us that write on this board have attempted to contact English speakers to make sure that there are some commentary in English on Pullmantur tours.  Are there any UK sites that are favored for Pullmantur reviews and comments so that we can contact any other sailors?

 

Again, thanks so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rolling stoner

rolling stoner

Posted
Posted

If you get on Pullmantur.es (I think) and ask for google translate, you can enter your booking number and sail date and get the ship sponsored tours.  On our cruise, a package was offered that included most ports and individual tours were offered.  The price was reasonable.  I believe they said if there were 10 or more people, English speaking tours would be offered.  We chose to do our excursions.  Usually a ship or port shuttle would get you into town.  From there, your negotiating skills will be tested.  We usually read about the ship excursions to see what would be interesting to see, and then spoke with one or more taxi drivers to see about their English and the price.  We travel a lot but Oman and UAE were a little intimidating to us.  As usual, once we were there the people were nice and we had a great time.

 

There was always English commentary on board.  Sometimes the Spanish announcements were much longer but I believe we always got the important information.  As far as visas, all those were arranged by the ship.  You had to submit your passports a couple of times and the ship got the visa stamps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...