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We have just arrived in Lisbon, Portugal after a 14 day cruise with 8 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Pullmantur turned out to be a pleasant surprise and certainly exceeded the negative reviews we read prior to the cruise. While the ship was different than other lines we've been on, we had to keep reminding ourselves that it is Spanish with it's unique culture.
Many things were the same: cabins, dining, activities & entertainment with unique differences:
Cabins- a little smaller, no fridge and no folded towel animals (there was no evening "turndown ")
Dining- early or first seating was 7:15 pm and second was at 9:30! Needless to say most North Americans were at first seating, including us. Food was very good but often the descriptions didn't match the plate (Salmon salad without greens, Caesar salad topped with chicken nuggets, Chinese noodles were actually fettuccine and martinis that were appertifes). Some foods ran out-lettuce, bacon, bananas, but they were creative with shredded cabbage, little weenies and grapes.
Activities-the limited activities lasted 15-20 minutes each, bingo was just calling out numbers 1-90, and the games were in Spanish with occasional English translation.
Entertainment- all shows were basically the same with two singers and 8 dancers. Costumes ranged from creative to really strange with modern ballet and a lot of wired rolling on the stage. Their male/female dances often involved violence and aggressive moves. Most shows again were in Spanish with abbreviated English and Portuguese.
We enjoyed a day in Funchal, Madeira exploring the nature and sights and luckily found one geocache. A final day at sea before landing in Lisbon and a special tour for 7 of us in the Bridge with the Captain!!
Free capuchinnos, wine & spirits but popcorn cost $$
And can soda and better wine cost per glass
Aerialists
Spanish all the way!
Many things were the same: cabins, dining, activities & entertainment with unique differences:
Cabins- a little smaller, no fridge and no folded towel animals (there was no evening "turndown ")
Dining- early or first seating was 7:15 pm and second was at 9:30! Needless to say most North Americans were at first seating, including us. Food was very good but often the descriptions didn't match the plate (Salmon salad without greens, Caesar salad topped with chicken nuggets, Chinese noodles were actually fettuccine and martinis that were appertifes). Some foods ran out-lettuce, bacon, bananas, but they were creative with shredded cabbage, little weenies and grapes.
one movie a day in English
Entertainment- all shows were basically the same with two singers and 8 dancers. Costumes ranged from creative to really strange with modern ballet and a lot of wired rolling on the stage. Their male/female dances often involved violence and aggressive moves. Most shows again were in Spanish with abbreviated English and Portuguese.
We enjoyed a day in Funchal, Madeira exploring the nature and sights and luckily found one geocache. A final day at sea before landing in Lisbon and a special tour for 7 of us in the Bridge with the Captain!!
The Bridge-we had to be "security wanded" before going in
Captain showing us the computer course and radar
The little Joy Stick drives the ship!!
Window wipers! The First Seaman does a four-hour shift just staring out of the window I guess to see where we're going. We used to have to look out for floating logs on the lake but I guess this is different..
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