Pullmantur Sovereign

[tinseyp1]

We are from the UK and would be happy to meet other English speaking people (god willing as I've just heard that cruises have been cancelled, not sure about ours yet).

Fingers crossed:o

[AtlantaGa52]

I just heard the cruise for Saturday was cancelled. My parents took the liberty over and are now stranded!!!

 

We were supposed to be on the May 17th sailing and left 3 days early for Barcelona. We did not have a cellphone and saw the email which was sent out Wednesday May 14th on Friday morning the day before the trip. It was only sent out in Spanish and I had to have someone interpret.:(

We, my wife and 2 daughters spent next 15 hours panicked and making other plans. Our room had to be vacated the next morning. We had not purchased any insurance. Pullmantur says they will reimburse 125% of our cruise but the cost of the cruise was way less than the airfares. We got a flight to Rome the next morning and stayed on the outskirts of rome for 6 nights. We got to see Rome but this was more expensive and highly stressful, not the relaxing all inclusive we had planned for many months. Our preplanned port adventures now are wasted. I hope Pullmantur will step up and help more. We came back 2 days earlier than planned and we are all glad to be home.

I guess we were better off than the people stranded on the previous sailing.

Can anyone else advice if they got more assistance and if they have received their refund. we have not seen our credit yet.

What do you think they should reimburse?

[travelron]

There is a Roll Call for this cruise. Let's get everyone to go on that thread that is on that cruise so we can better keep in touch with each other. I have posted more details about the engine situation.

[letsgo4cruise]

I just got an email from Pulmantur and the Soverign is fixed and sailing right now. See you onboard in a few days :)

[Oneluckywoman]

We sailed to Barcelona on the Liberty transatlantic and were supposed to sail on the May 17th sailing as well. Unfortunately, we did not buy trip insurance. (lesson learned.) And yes, we incurred a lot of expenses with having to change flights, stay in hotels at the last minute, meals, etc. 25% of our cruise cost doesn't touch what we had to spend due to the cancellation of the cruise. I have not heard from my travel agent yet, and it is now May 27th. There has been no credit to my credit card even for the cost of the cruise yet. I guess we will have to be patient and wait to see what they decide, but I don't feel we are being compensated enough to cover our costs. That being said, we should have bought travel insurance.

[AtlantaGa52]

We sailed to Barcelona on the Liberty transatlantic and were supposed to sail on the May 17th sailing as well. Unfortunately, we did not buy trip insurance. (lesson learned.) And yes, we incurred a lot of expenses with having to change flights, stay in hotels at the last minute, meals, etc. 25% of our cruise cost doesn't touch what we had to spend due to the cancellation of the cruise. I have not heard from my travel agent yet, and it is now May 27th. There has been no credit to my credit card even for the cost of the cruise yet. I guess we will have to be patient and wait to see what they decide, but I don't feel we are being compensated enough to cover our costs. That being said, we should have bought travel insurance.

You make very good points and I hope that Pullmantur recognizes the stress (no vacation for my family) that being stranded in Barcelona is and that they reimburse our travel cost (airfare to Barcelona was twice the cruise cost)we incurred to get overseas and then not be able to take the cruise we had planned on.

[Flamencacha]

We just got back from a cruise on the Sovereign out of Valencia. We were on this ship last year, but this year we wanted to see the islands of the western med so we took this cruise. We also wanted a little more comfort than the standard outside cabin so we opted for a Grand Suite which is larger than a junior suite but more importantly entitles you to Pullmantur's Grand Class benefits which we enjoyed. Besides being all inclusive Grand Class gives you a welcome bottle of bubbly, a fresh fruit bowl (refreshed midcruise), bath robes and flip flops, a 35 euro credit in the shops, 80 minutes of internet time, canapes in the room in the afternoon, and on and on. The Grand Suite was spacious and there was a heavy curtain that you could pull across the room to make the bed separate from the living area which included a sofa bed too. There was a Lavazza coffee machine in the room too and the Lavazza expresso pods were topped up daily. There were also two 1.5 litre bottles of water provided daily.

The food was very good to excellent in the dining room and the buffet and the majority of the staff on the ship seemed to be from Brazil.

We started out with fine weather in Valencia and Malaga but is slowly deteriorated to the point where we had to spend an extra day at sea as we could not dock in Cagliari in Sardinia. The seas were rough and two nights we were rolling and bucking up and down a lot and as a result there were few on deck activities, making the ship a little crowded at times.

Overall we enjoyed this cruise quite a bit and recommend the Grand Class as a nice way to travel on Pullmantur.

Hi thanks for the info, I am also taking the Sovereign out of Valencia late October 2014. I was glad to hear you got some nice perks by booking the Grand Suite. I am booked in the Suite Deluxe . Never been on Pullmantur, and this is only my second cruise (Carnival Valor 2013, Caribbean out of San Juan PR. I live in Spainnow, but booked with my travel agent in the states. I am fluent in Spanish and English. This international Representative, is it a must? My travel agent advised me that I would get one. Any way reading the reviews I will probably be seated with Americans (its all good). Any way so if anyone else on this board leaving on October 25 out of Valencia, give me a heads up. I will write a review when I return and my booking in October should guarantee a few less kids on board enjoying their summer vacation, or not.

[Esperanza7]

Hi thanks for the info, I am also taking the Sovereign out of Valencia late October 2014. I was glad to hear you got some nice perks by booking the Grand Suite. I am booked in the Suite Deluxe . Never been on Pullmantur, and this is only my second cruise (Carnival Valor 2013, Caribbean out of San Juan PR. I live in Spainnow, but booked with my travel agent in the states. I am fluent in Spanish and English. This international Representative, is it a must? My travel agent advised me that I would get one. Any way reading the reviews I will probably be seated with Americans (its all good). Any way so if anyone else on this board leaving on October 25 out of Valencia, give me a heads up. I will write a review when I return and my booking in October should guarantee a few less kids on board enjoying their summer vacation, or not.

 

Hi, we're on the Sovereign cruise out of Málaga on 19th October, so when you board on the 25th in Valencia that will be our last day!

We've never cruised with Pullmantur so it will be a new experience for us too.

Our Spanish travel agent hasn't given us too much information overall, but I have managed to learn more from the Pullmantur website.

We are British & Italian but have been living in Spain for 25 years.

I will also do a review on our return.

Esperanza

 

[Flamencacha]

Hi, we're on the Sovereign cruise out of Málaga on 19th October, so when you board on the 25th in Valencia that will be our last day!

We've never cruised with Pullmantur so it will be a new experience for us too.

Our Spanish travel agent hasn't given us too much information overall, but I have managed to learn more from the Pullmantur website.

We are British & Italian but have been living in Spain for 25 years.

I will also do a review on our return.

Esperanza

 

 

Well would luv to meet up and get some details. Plan to board early around noon.

[Esperanza7]

Well would luv to meet up and get some details. Plan to board early around noon.

 

That could be nice :-) We've been to Valencia a few times already, so won't be doing any big excursions that day.

If you like, email me at: esperanza746 / at / outlook / dot / com and we can exchange some details.

 

Sorry not having replied sooner, have not been on this site for the last week.

 

Esperanza

[leonardofan]

Pullmantur just posted their 2014 catalog on their website. We will be going to Ajaccio,Corsica; Tunis, Tunisia, and Civitavecchia, Italy. Very happy with the itinerary.

 

Ajaccio town is the most boring port call I have ever visited--apparently the trick is to rent a car and see the countryside...;)

[webkiwi]

sorry, wrong spot

Edited June 26, 2015 by webkiwi

[webkiwi]

I am from New Zealand and travel with my 9 year old daughter Poppy.

We have taken advantage of the 100 euro tickets for 8 days in November

and will be travelling with a bunch of other digital nomads

all 'unplugging' for a week and networking together (mainly in English).

 

It would be awesome to start a roll-call for this journey.

 

Adrienne & Poppy Ford

 

[UKBayern]

I am from New Zealand and travel with my 9 year old daughter Poppy.

We have taken advantage of the 100 euro tickets for 8 days in November

and will be travelling with a bunch of other digital nomads

all 'unplugging' for a week and networking together (mainly in English).

 

It would be awesome to start a roll-call for this journey.

 

Adrienne & Poppy Ford

 

 

Are you on the transatlantic to Brazil? In that case, we have already started a roll-call! (no takers yet though)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2178369

[MrH500]

Will also be boarding the sovereign in November.

I have created a thread if you'd like to join :)

[WayWard99]

Plan on cruising on the MS Sovereign on June 3, 2017 from Barcelona .... can anyone tell me what the cabins are like?

 

Could not find a roll call ...

 

Thanks ...

[kcross3625]

Hi WayWard,

 

I just got off of the Sovereign on October 22, 2016. I had an inside cabin on deck 6. Although the cabins are small, I have had smaller cabins on larger ships. We had the room configured into two twin beds with a small table in between. You can fold up the table flat to the wall and push the two beds together, but it doesn't leave you much room. Our dinner companions initially had their room set up with the beds pushed together, but ended up separating them after one day. The bathroom was decent sized. The shower drain was in one corner of the shower and if the ship was leaning the other way, the water wouldn't drain. I ended up flooding the bathroom one night.

 

My main complaint was no cupboard or shelves to put away your clothes. The closet had two small hanging rods with a few hangers. My suitcase did not fit under the bed, so there was no place to store it. I ended up shoving it between the beds under the table.

 

At first the room smelled like old broccoli and feet, but we left the door open a few times to air out and it was ok. The air conditioning was very good. We are from Florida and are used to sleeping in a very air conditioned room. The beds were very comfortable.

 

Thanks, Kim

[mackfam]

Considering taking one of their cruises in the Caribbean due to the cheap prices so interested to read the reviews and experiences others have had recently.

 

I'm assuming as it is a Spanish line that all entertainment on board is in Spanish. Are cocktails included as part of the drink package or just wine and beer? Just wondering what percentage of passengers are English speakers usually. Thanks in advance.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kcross3625]

Hi Mackfam,

 

Some of the shows were in Spanish and some in both English and Spanish. The daily ship diary, which you receive each night, will indicate which shows include English.

 

The drink package includes some cocktails such as pina coladas, daiquiris and margaritas. Each bar has a menu which will tell you which cocktails are included with the basic drink package and which are upgrades. The upgraded drink package, which I think was about $75 USD, included bottled water. This was a plus for us as we liked to take a bottle with us into the port.

 

There were 15 English speaking people aboard our cruise. Some Americans and some Brits. We were seated at dinner with all native English speakers. There were also groups of people from India, Thailand and Germany for whom English was their second language. Our cruise left from Barcelona. If you are considering a Caribbean cruise, you would probably have more English speaking passengers.

 

Is this a luxury cruise liner ? No. But for the price, I would sail on this ship again.

 

Thanks, Kim

Edited November 10, 2016 by kcross3625

[WayWard99]

Hi WayWard,

 

I just got off of the Sovereign on October 22, 2016. I had an inside cabin on deck 6. Although the cabins are small, I have had smaller cabins on larger ships. We had the room configured into two twin beds with a small table in between. You can fold up the table flat to the wall and push the two beds together, but it doesn't leave you much room. Our dinner companions initially had their room set up with the beds pushed together, but ended up separating them after one day. The bathroom was decent sized. The shower drain was in one corner of the shower and if the ship was leaning the other way, the water wouldn't drain. I ended up flooding the bathroom one night.

 

My main complaint was no cupboard or shelves to put away your clothes. The closet had two small hanging rods with a few hangers. My suitcase did not fit under the bed, so there was no place to store it. I ended up shoving it between the beds under the table.

 

At first the room smelled like old broccoli and feet, but we left the door open a few times to air out and it was ok. The air conditioning was very good. We are from Florida and are used to sleeping in a very air conditioned room. The beds were very comfortable.

 

Thanks, Kim

 

Thanks for all this information .... I am also from Florida and have booked the Sovereign from Barcelona for June 10 and will be sailing together with husband and 4 Dutch high school friends; it will be our yearly reunion. Any input on the ship is greatly appreciated. I have cruised many times and do know that this will be a different experience; my agent made sure I was aware what to and not to expect. We are looking forward to this cruise; it has a great itinerary.

[jennny]

Hello All!!! I just booked this trip the other day. I have had a hard time finding any real information and decided to try here.

 

I'm actually a long time CC member, but after 25 cruises I took a break and haven't been on in so long I guess my profile got deleted?!? Anyway, had to create a new one.... :cool:

 

CC has always been so helpful in the past I know you guys won't let me down.

 

I'll be sailing on the May 13 cruise. I'm already booked and paid for including air, so I hope I didn't make a huge mistake by not doing my research first. I am traveling solo and I don't speak Spanish. I'm good with both of those, but I'm worried after finding out that excursions aren't guaranteed in English? That worries me just a tad. (I don't speak French either.) I was hoping to book English excursions. All of the other cruise lines offer excursions in so many languages. I've never had any problem on Carnival, Costa, MSC, RCCL, Norwegian, etc booking English Excursions in the Med..... I guess I just took it for granted that it wasn't going to be a problem. :(

[kcross3625]

Hi Jenny !

 

We did 3 of the ships tours and all of them were in Spanish and English, even though they weren't guaranteed English. It seemed the most of the tour guides speak English and Spanish (and also French and Italian), so it was just a matter of doing the tour all in both languages. There were also groups of cruisers from Germany, Thailand, Phillipines and India for whom English is a second language that were on our tours. I really feel you'll be ok with the ships excursions. Speak to the staff at the Excursion Desk. They were so helpful and if they find out you speak English, I think they'll make sure the guide speaks both languages. As I said, all of the guides they used spoke English, Spanish, Italian and French, so it was just whether they did the commentary in Spanish only or in both languages.

 

As far as on board the ship, you'll be fine with English only. I never had any trouble getting around or communicating. Although some of the shows were in Spanish only, but honestly, the shows weren't very good so I skipped them altogether.

 

Thanks, Kim

[kcross3625]

You're welcome WayWard.

 

I always check Cruise Critic before I cruise and was frustrated with the lack of information on the Sovereign. So if you have any questions, please ask !

What is your itinerary, if I may ask ? We left from Barcelona to Mallorca, Naples, Rome (Civitavecchia), Porto Torres Sardinia and La Seyne sur Mer and back to Barcelona. All good ports except for Porto Torres.

 

Kim

[jennny]

Thank you so much for the reassurance Kim!! I really appreciate that!!! :D

 

The Itinerary is Barcelona, Nice, Toulun, Naples, Rome, Florence... I'm taking two weeks off work so that I can spend 5 nights in Barcelona. 2 nights pre-cruise and 3 nights post. (I loved Barcelona!!!). I also found out that there is a home game Sunday night after we return Saturday morning, so I'm hoping to get to see my first live Futbol!! :D

 

I probably won't be as adventurous traveling solita as I would if I had a running buddy, but no one else wanted to go and I'm only sitting out one summer. (This is my first time in 8 years NOT going to Europe and I hated not going!!). I've got a new guy and he doesn't like to travel quite as much as I do..... (pooey on him).

 

The only stops on this itinerary that I have been to are Barcelona and Rome, the rest are all new to me. I have never been to France. A few years ago I discovered the Greek Isls and .... well, they are amazing!! But it's time for me to see something other than Greece. I appreciate any and all input. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

 

This is why I LOVE CC. You guys ROCK. :)

[jennny]

The traveling solita thing is the main reason I'm going on Pullmantur..... you know, that whole double occupancy thing..... (ugh!)

 

Pullmantur did have a great Single Supplement Price, but even then, it still adds up. But, I'm looking forward to a totally cool experience!! Ya know, if I wanted to go on vaca with a bunch of 'Mericans, I'da just gone to Disney. ;)

 

I think the whole Spanish thing is cool and I'm looking forward to it in a new and adventurous kinda way. :)