Pullmantur Monarch Transatlantic-English Speakers

Hello, We are considering the May Transatlantic sailing on Monarch to Portugal. We know this is a primarily Spanish-speaking ship. DH speaks enough Spanish to get by, but I do not. I was wondering if I could find anyone on these forums who might be sailing on this cruise who are also English-speakers. I am up for the adventure, but I am afraid I will feel left out of most of the fun since I don't speak Spanish.

We were also thinking of taking this cruise.

Also does anyone know the crew makeup/backgrounds used by Pullmantur? I will be bringing some Indonesian friends and they enjoy being able to chat with Indonesian crew members.

We just returned from a Caribbean cruise on the Monarch and I recall one crew member, at least, was from Bali working in one of the bars.

There is no need to speak Spanish on the ship as all announcements are made in Spanish and English, and occasionally, on our cruise, in Dutch and Portuguese too as we were travelling to Aruba and Curacao as well as Caracas where people from Brazil got on.

This was our fourth Pullamantur cruise and English has been spoken by staff on the ships, at least well enough to deal with anything you need.

I was hoping to take the Ovation from Barcelona to Dubai in May BUT I needed to find someone to share the cabin......this trip is so economical I can have one all to myself. I have 3 friends interested in this and I haven't even put it on my facebook page.

I live half the year in Puerto Vallarta, so I am used to a Latin theme!!! I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself, just note that the cabins are extra teeny (110 sq ft including bathroom for a standard interior and they don't get much bigger from this Category K. I tried to price a junior suite but was told that everything other than inside and outside regular cabins was sold out.

I'll post back if we decide to go....hopefully we can get enough people to start a Roll Call.

Best!

CB

We just returned from a Caribbean cruise on the Monarch and I recall one crew member, at least, was from Bali working in one of the bars.

There is no need to speak Spanish on the ship as all announcements are made in Spanish and English, and occasionally, on our cruise, in Dutch and Portuguese too as we were travelling to Aruba and Curacao as well as Caracas where people from Brazil got on.

This was our fourth Pullamantur cruise and English has been spoken by staff on the ships, at least well enough to deal with anything you need.

Hi Peter and Monica!

How does this ship compare in amenities to the Brilliance of the Seas? Would you give us some idea as to the dining room food and service and especially, since drinks are included...does that include a reasonable wine with dinner?

The ship is the same as the Majesty of the Seas.

We just returned from a Caribbean cruise on the Monarch and I recall one crew member, at least, was from Bali working in one of the bars.

There is no need to speak Spanish on the ship as all announcements are made in Spanish and English, and occasionally, on our cruise, in Dutch and Portuguese too as we were travelling to Aruba and Curacao as well as Caracas where people from Brazil got on.

This was our fourth Pullamantur cruise and English has been spoken by staff on the ships, at least well enough to deal with anything you need.

Thanks for the info. I am considering this cruise but my Spanish is limited to (a very authentic) Hola! which makes people think I actually speak Spanish. Unfortunately my only other Spanish phrase is Habla usted Ingles? LOL.

Would already have booked if I could only get a reasonable one-way flight to Panama.

So I just booked 4 cabins on this cruise and airfare to Panama.

We will be a fairly eclectic group: 2 US, 1 Canadian, 3 Mexican and the list is growing.

Didn't yet find out if this is an assigned dining table or free-style seating. Does anyone know? Or how many formal nights?

I'm going to ask if we can get a Roll Call started so we can maybe get enough people to do a meet and greet.

There are 4 of us, 2 Canadians and 2 English, none of us speak Spanish but I am sure we will manage, looking forward to meeting you all, we are embarking in Caracas May 24th

Thanks for the info. I am considering this cruise but my Spanish is limited to (a very authentic) Hola! which makes people think I actually speak Spanish. Unfortunately my only other Spanish phrase is Habla usted Ingles? LOL.

 

Would already have booked if I could only get a reasonable one-way flight to Panama.

If you can get to Ft. Lauderdale, Copa has one way flights to Panama for $103 with 2 free bags. I'm on it March 25th!

There are 4 of us, 2 Canadians and 2 English, none of us speak Spanish but I am sure we will manage, looking forward to meeting you all, we are embarking in Caracas May 24th

Hi Mal60!

Noticed you are from Toronto. One of our group is from Toronto..she owns the Madison Manor Boutique Hotel and Pubs. This will be her first cruise.

We now have about 11 people going from Puerto Vallarta : 4 US; 3 Canadian, 4 Mexican. Most everyone speaks English.

Kathleen wants to know if anyone likes to play mojo canasta....she taught it to me and I can vouch it is fun.

When do you arrive in Panama?

That is great, seems there will be enough of us to socialize well, we actually embark in Caracus, Venezuela so will be able to welcome you aboard once we arrive in Panama:):)

Hello,

We are a mother-daughter team from Virginia looking forward to cruising the Atlantic again!

We are arriving in Panama on May 26 and we were wondering how many of the other passengers will be traveling from Panama to Colon in the morning of the 27th. Does anyone want to share a ride? We haven't found any good information on shuttles thus far, but I have e-mailed someone who was mentioned on Tripadvisor: jose@goldenfrog.net--just waiting for an answer now.

Your best bet would be to take a Bus at the Gran Nacional Bus Terminal at Albrook straight to Colon. That is the way we and some others we know are heading to Colon for the cruise.

Concerning wine on the Pullmantur Monarch:

The "free" wines on our cruise were all from Spain and very acceptable.

The red was from Navarra as was the rose. The white was from Rueda and the sparkling wine was a Cava.

If you want other wines they are available too at a small price of from $1 to $3 a glass, if you do not purchase the Todo Incuido package. They include wines from Portugal, other Spanish, Argentine and Chilean.

The food in the dining room was good and interesting too. The service was good too and quite enthusiastic to please without being annoying.

The ship is comfortable but not as flashy as the newer Brilliance of the Seas.

As an aside we flew back from Curacao via Panama City on COPA and the service was great as was the free food and wine on the leg from Panama City to Toronto.

Thanks so much for this information!!!

My friends will be very happy to hear about the good vino and even cava!!!!

I'm happy to hear that the food is good too.

I'll pass along to my Toronto folks that Copa is a good airline for them to take.

If you've decided to take this cruise, please go to the roll call section of cruise critic, click 'other' (because it appears that Pullmantur doesn't get its listing in the regular section) and post on the roll call site.

If we get enough people signed up, the other ships I've been on put together a 'cruisecritic' party onboard with free gifts and a place to socialize with other cruise critic peeps.

This link might work: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2323310

Hope to see you there!:D

If people have not booked the May transatlantic they could book the return to Panama.

We are booked on the September 17th departure out of Bilboa, Spain to Colon.

We have a large exterior for a total of $1,140 including port charges for two including the drinks package. I will start a roll call soon to see if there is anyone else going.

We like to spend some time in Europe and become haggard travelers then chill out on the ship back to the west.

Also, for those of you going to Colon to take the ship spend some time in Panama. It is a beautiful place if you get of Panama City.

We live about an hour west of Panama City. It is very tropical and like Hawaii in weather and vegetation.

Copa is THE BEST airline to Panama however Spirit also has non-stop filights out of FLL that can be cheap even after all the add on fees.

If you are not familiar with Panama I would advise getting a transfer to Colon directly to the port. Yes you can go to Albrook and take a bus but Albrook station is usually bustling with alot of buses going everywhere. If you stayed at the Wyndhum Albrook Mall then it would be convenient to take a bus from Albrook. It use to be the Tryp. It is a nice hotel and Albrook Mall is HUGE.

We have used My friend Mario for transfer and tours in Panama. http://www.bscpma.com/mfm/index.htm . There a lot of Tripadvisor reviews of Mario.

Linda

I seems that there are two Roll Calls for this Pullmantur Monarch sailing from Colon to Lisbon (May 27 -June 9, 2016). I don't know how to combine them, but here is the other link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2323310

PS: The people who have posted on the other Board are:

ColoradoBelle

jules1219 (my daughter)

dccruisin

wanderwoman24

and I, Miewies

Hello,

We are a mother-daughter team from Virginia looking forward to cruising the Atlantic again!

We are arriving in Panama on May 26 and we were wondering how many of the other passengers will be traveling from Panama to Colon in the morning of the 27th. Does anyone want to share a ride? We haven't found any good information on shuttles thus far, but I have e-mailed someone who was mentioned on Tripadvisor: jose@goldenfrog.net--just waiting for an answer now.

That quote was $100 for two people.

Hi Peter and Monique,

Have you posted a full review of your cruise? We would be very interested in hearing all about it, especially as there are so few reviews of this ship and itinerary to be found. Did you find the trip enjoyable? How about the ports? Did you go ashore in Venezuela and did you feel safe? Please share some details :) Thanks

Hello - My husband and I are planning on taking this "adventure" as well...we reside in Florida and are not troubled by the lack of English.....in reality most people traveling do speak it. Since the ship is sailing from Panama, I am sure many that board there will know the language. My biggest issue is how to go from Panama City to Colon?

I received a quote of $110.00 USD for 2 in a private car, but I am still shopping around for a better rate......I am willing to share a car service if anyone is interested

Flights one-way to Panama from Florida are around $100.00, you can use COPA or Spirit Airlines.

Hello, We are considering the May Transatlantic sailing on Monarch to Portugal. We know this is a primarily Spanish-speaking ship. DH speaks enough Spanish to get by, but I do not. I was wondering if I could find anyone on these forums who might be sailing on this cruise who are also English-speakers. I am up for the adventure, but I am afraid I will feel left out of most of the fun since I don't speak Spanish.

Don't worry, there will be a number of English-speaking passengers. I hope some of the information from the crew is given in English!