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We also received the above emails, but they're general in nature and were written without knowledge that there would be no Pullmantur in the future. (Actually, the email from Vacations To Go advising us that our Suez Canal cruise was being cancelled arrived the day after we'd been turfed off the HORIZON at Dubai. "Um, yeah...WE KNOW."

 

We're waiting for (1) some kind of acknowledgement from RCCL that we exist, and (2) pertinent information on exactly how to apply the money we paid to Pullmantur on a replacement cruise on a RCCL, Celebrity, or Azamara vessel. 

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It is strange that Pullmantur's web site does not yet mention the restructuring, and still is selling cruises post November 15.  Also we keep getting emails from "Laura de Pullmantur" (in Spanish), promoting cruising and the merits of Pullmantur.

Maybe there will be a whole new Pullmantur in a year or two with newer ex RCCL and Celebrity ships as the Spanish speaking market in Europe and South/Central America will still be there.?

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7 minutes ago, Plato123 said:

It is strange that Pullmantur's web site does not yet mention the restructuring, and still is selling cruises post November 15.  Also we keep getting emails from "Laura de Pullmantur" (in Spanish), promoting cruising and the merits of Pullmantur.

Maybe there will be a whole new Pullmantur in a year or two with newer ex RCCL and Celebrity ships as the Spanish speaking market in Europe and South/Central America will still be there.?

 

Whoa! That is bad and hopefully they're not actually taking any money from folk. Re your comment about newer ex RCCL ships, I think that it was Grandeur of the Seas that was supposed to be replacing Zenith.

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My understanding is that the most valuable remaining asset of Pullmantur is the brand name. RCI have cleverly snatched the crew, customer base and repossessed the ships, if only to scrap them. There is not much else left. The liquidators will be looking to sell the premier Spanish-speaking cruise brand to the highest bidder - including back one of the three corporate entities that make up the existing Pullmantur, but free of debt.

 

So it appears, customers with already-cancelled cruises, until mid-November, will be given vouchers to sail on one of RCI's other brands, while those with bookings after *may* be put back with the new, re-born Pullmantur with perhaps just the one ship - Pullmantur Grandeur. 

 

Now I think I understand the Spanish meaning of 'reorganisation'!

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1 hour ago, Skipper Tim said:

My understanding is that the most valuable remaining asset of Pullmantur is the brand name. RCI have cleverly snatched the crew, customer base and repossessed the ships, if only to scrap them. There is not much else left. The liquidators will be looking to sell the premier Spanish-speaking cruise brand to the highest bidder - including back one of the three corporate entities that make up the existing Pullmantur, but free of debt.

 

So it appears, customers with already-cancelled cruises, until mid-November, will be given vouchers to sail on one of RCI's other brands, while those with bookings after *may* be put back with the new, re-born Pullmantur with perhaps just the one ship - Pullmantur Grandeur. 

 

Now I think I understand the Spanish meaning of 'reorganisation'!

 

What an interesting thought. We're in the "after" category and have already used our FCC to book for next May. If that could be the same itinerary and still as Pullmantur, but on Grandeur, my but that would be a great win for me. Grandeur was the first major cruise sailing for me back in the early 90s.

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I heard back from my cruise agents, American Discount Cruises, re. Pullmantur and my March repo booking on Horizon. The only information is that there will be more information either at the end of this week or early next. My cruise agents say they will chase them up. 

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3 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

I heard back from my cruise agents, American Discount Cruises, re. Pullmantur and my March repo booking on Horizon. The only information is that there will be more information either at the end of this week or early next. My cruise agents say they will chase them up. 

 

Thanks for the update Tim. Please keep us posted with any other news. I will do likewise of course. 

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51 minutes ago, aussie cruzer said:

VTG and Cruise .com are no longer selling any Pullmantur cruises on their sites.

 

Pullmantur are still selling post mid-November cruises. It may be  grab for cash or there may actually be a plan. 

 

For us, the worst is we lose £35 each in cancelled Avios redemption flights to Dubai - assuming we would eventually get back our cruise deposits for a cancelled cruise. However, on the other side of the equation is, like Smurf says, a "big win" if we get a better ship and at least as good accommodation categories. I won't be too interested in a credit to use on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity - the main attraction of this cruise was that it was a Spanish cruise line, all-inclusive with Spanish wine, and taking us to places we have not been to before. I have lost count of the number of times I have visited Valletta or Barcelona by cruise ship. 

 

I await the next move!

 

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From cruisenews.es (translated by Google):

______________

The Monarch has left Naples, where she was stripped of all valuable machinery, and will be followed by the Sovereign, which is still disembarking goods in the Italian city. The final destination of both is the scrapping at the Aliaga naval scrapping platform in Turkey.

sovereign2.jpg?resize=838%2C559&ssl=1

The Horizon, meanwhile, will stop in the next few days in Athens to land all the valuable material and will also head towards Aliaga, where it will be dismantled.

Pullmantur sources comment that despite the loss of their current ships, which are owned by Royal Caribbean, they will continue to seek viability for the company. This viability could come from operating with other ships that the Royal Caribbean group could make available to it, or exploring other business opportunities.

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://www.cruisesnews.es/Portal/2020/06/30/los-barcos-de-pullmantur-camino-al-desguace/&prev=search&pto=aue

___________

 

 

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58 minutes ago, Skipper Tim said:

From cruisenews.es (translated by Google):

______________

The Monarch has left Naples, where she was stripped of all valuable machinery, and will be followed by the Sovereign, which is still disembarking goods in the Italian city. The final destination of both is the scrapping at the Aliaga naval scrapping platform in Turkey.

sovereign2.jpg?resize=838%2C559&ssl=1

The Horizon, meanwhile, will stop in the next few days in Athens to land all the valuable material and will also head towards Aliaga, where it will be dismantled.

Pullmantur sources comment that despite the loss of their current ships, which are owned by Royal Caribbean, they will continue to seek viability for the company. This viability could come from operating with other ships that the Royal Caribbean group could make available to it, or exploring other business opportunities.

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://www.cruisesnews.es/Portal/2020/06/30/los-barcos-de-pullmantur-camino-al-desguace/&prev=search&pto=aue

___________

 

 

 

Well spotted Tim. Thanks for sharing.

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I think we all hope for a rebirth of Pullmantur cruises as many of us have enjoyed the distinctly different vibe of their ships, crew and itineraries. Unfortunately we are not getting any younger and the pandemic has stolen some valuable time we had hoped to use to enjoy our travels in retirement. Don't shut down this board prematurely, and maybe we can all share some of our experiences on Pullmantur until they get reorganized and start cruising again.

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I feel that the Sovereign of the Seas and Monarch of the Seas that are currently in the Pullmantar fleet should go to another cruise line like Celestyal as I heard that the company is looking for a third ship and I feel that they have a number of years in service left. Also, if that fails, they should be preserved as hotel and museum ships rather than scrapped as they were the largest cruise ships in the world when built, have a distinctive and sleek design, and the first cruise ships to have a multi story atrium.

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BurjKhalifa, sadly it is already too late for that. They have been stripped to the metal and on their way for scrap. The contracts gave been done and dusted. It is an awful shame, I agree.

 

I don't understand how all these companies can predict the future, post pandemic, when we have not had one in modern times. There are a lot of businesses rushing to shrink their workforce and shed their assets on the back of their predictions, in essence being a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can imagine a year from now there could be a huge shortage of cruise ship capacity as all that pent-up demand is unleashed. 

 

I am intensely sorry that, having studied and feel I have got to know the Horizon, I now will not have the chance to meet her in person. 

 

I cannot imagine RCI offering a remotely similar itinerary - Suez Canal passages by cruise ship are relatively rare and do not feature on the current Celebrity or Royal Caribbean schedules. Maybe, just maybe, my old friend the Grandeur of the Seas will be transferred to Pulmantur as scheduled and we will be offered the reverse direction sailing in October/November 2021. I am not sure I could go back to the hard-sell of Royal Caribbean - my defences have weakened through lack of practice. Still, if it were all-inclusive and they have me a badge or hat to tell the crew not to pester me me, I could consider it. 

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24 minutes ago, Skipper Tim said:

Maybe, just maybe, my old friend the Grandeur of the Seas will be transferred to Pulmantur as scheduled and we will be offered the reverse direction sailing in October/November 2021. I am not sure I could go back to the hard-sell of Royal Caribbean - my defences have weakened through lack of practice. Still, if it were all-inclusive and they have me a badge or hat to tell the crew not to pester me me, I could consider it. 

 

My memories of Grandeur are from the first year that she sailed. Those halcyon days with no speciality dining and midnight chocolate buffets and ice carvings. The only soft sell was from photography, but never intrusive. 

 

The latest from my contact within Pullmantur was yesterday. They said that the company does not want to close so has submitted reorganisation plans to the Spanish government. If they do not accept the plan, then the company will fold.

 

I raised the point about cruises still being offered for sale on Pullmantur's European websites and they confirmed that was the case and that staff had not been told anything about cancelling the remainder of the season. They stressed that while you can book anything, no payment at all is required until 26 days before departure. That has given them hope that there is an alternative plan in place. I sincerely hope they are not disappointed. 

 

With conditions like that, I might just get the 'brochure' out again. There's nothing to lose, not even a deposit.

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Here is the daily dose of Pullmantur news :-( According to this report,

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-transportes/cruceros-transportes/pullmantur-royal-ofrece-devolver-el-dinero-o-bonos-del-125-301580.html&prev=search&pto=aue

 

Pullmantur customers will be offered a refund of any monies paid or 125% future cruise credit on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity departures up to 30th April 2022, increased by 100% of any out-of-pocket expenses such as non-refundable flight fares, hotel costs etc.. Apparently a web portal is being set up especially for travel agents and customers to claim, either way.

 

Because of the bargain that Pullmantur, all-inclusive, early-booking rates were, if this report is true, it is quite a disappointment to me. Neither Royal Caribbean nor Celebrity have any itinerary as remotely attractive and I would lose the all-inclusive, the Spanish vibe and my 'Grand Suite'. I shall await the offer.

 

I am hoping that Pullmantur rises from the ashes, the Grandeur transfer goes ahead and I can have a cruise on her on similar terms to the one booked. We shall see. 

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Thank you  for  sharing latest updates.  Hope to hear officially from RCI & VTG.  We are mostly Royal fans but wanted to try Pullmantur as only heard good things about the crew, food and of course destinations.  

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On 7/2/2020 at 11:07 AM, Skipper Tim said:

Here is the daily dose of Pullmantur news :-( According to this report,

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-transportes/cruceros-transportes/pullmantur-royal-ofrece-devolver-el-dinero-o-bonos-del-125-301580.html&prev=search&pto=aue

 

Pullmantur customers will be offered a refund of any monies paid or 125% future cruise credit on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity departures up to 30th April 2022, increased by 100% of any out-of-pocket expenses such as non-refundable flight fares, hotel costs etc.. Apparently a web portal is being set up especially for travel agents and customers to claim, either way.

 

Because of the bargain that Pullmantur, all-inclusive, early-booking rates were, if this report is true, it is quite a disappointment to me. Neither Royal Caribbean nor Celebrity have any itinerary as remotely attractive and I would lose the all-inclusive, the Spanish vibe and my 'Grand Suite'. I shall await the offer.

 

I am hoping that Pullmantur rises from the ashes, the Grandeur transfer goes ahead and I can have a cruise on her on similar terms to the one booked. We shall see. 

 

Thanks again Tim. I'm not quite making sense of the article you posted, so will wait either for my email or until the website reffered to is up and running. From the comments under the article it appears neither the agents or Joe Public are able to access it yet. 

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On 7/1/2020 at 12:45 PM, Skipper Tim said:

Suez Canal passages by cruise ship are relatively rare and do not feature on the current Celebrity or Royal Caribbean schedules.

Wonder will have to transit Suez sometime in 2022, though far from certain it will be a revenue sailing.

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I'm a member of LinersList (LinersList@groups.io) which is a forum for people interested in sharing information and experiences having to do with passenger ships. Many members have worked aboard various ships, or written books about liners, and almost all members have been on many, many crossings, cruises and line voyages - in some cases going all the way back to the 1950's. It is a very knowledgeable group, and there is quite a bit of sadness being express on the site over the fact that the three Pullmantur ships are being scrapped. There was a time when all three vessels would have been snapped-up by second or third-tier lines, such as Chandris or Lauro. Some of you might be interested in joining LinersList.

 

My husband and I first sailed aboard the brand-new HORIZON in 1990; weeks after she entered service on the New York -Bermuda run. When we left the ship at Dubai this past March 15th - following the cancellation of her voyage to Athens - it never occurred to us that we were the last passengers who would ever occupy our suite - which was newly carpeted, with all new soft furnishings, and was absolutely pristine!  

 

Like many of you, we are hoping Royal Caribbean - which was already planning to transfer GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS to Pullmantur - will decide their current fleet is too large for post-COVID-19 operations and will transfer not only GRANDEUR, but several other ships as well. It would be a shame if Pullmantur just disappears.

 

In addition to our cancelled, paid-in-full HORIZON cruise, we are also deposited on a 2021 SOVEREIGN cruise, which obviously isn't going to happen either. That booking was originally for a January, 2020 Canary Islands cruise aboard ZENITH; cancelled when that vessel was sold. Our booking was moved to a SOVEREIGN sailing in June, 2020. It was cancelled as well, due to the virus. Pullmantur re-booked us again, for a similar SOVEREIGN cruise in 2021... So basically, we are batting zero with this company! And are curious to see how things will all play out.

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6 hours ago, ssFLANDRE said:

It is a very knowledgeable group, and there is quite a bit of sadness being express on the site over the fact that the three Pullmantur ships are being scrapped.

Not sure that has been settled.

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