Just Off the Pearl-mini review

Just got off the Pearl yesterday. Just a mini review - most all of the topics have been covered.

Food - Food was outstanding in each and every complimentary venue we visited. Lots of options. The only restaurant we did not try was Asian Fusion.

Entertainment - Mediocre. With the exception of the comedian, Ted Kaminski and Jeff Hobson, the magician/comedian, we were underwhelmed. We were not there for the entertainment.

We have not been on a cruise since 2010 so it seems alot has changed. Since we purchased the UBP we did notice a slight change in the presence of servers. We used to get hounded for drinks everywhere you turned. A real hard sell. Most times we had to walk to a bar to get a drink. Bartenders had no enthusiasm at all.

The staff always greeted us. Some of them, however, had a "I wish I were anywhere but here" look about them.

The weather - it rained every day with the exception of Ketchikan. It was the only port we did not have an excursion in. It's a cute walking town. We made the mistake of walking into a jewelry store. Talk about high sales pressure. Holy moly. I was shown a 75k ring and a 135k ring. Sadly a passenger passed away while we were there. We departed 4 hours late. Prayers for the family.

This made our arrival into Victoria at 8pm. Walked to the Wharf. Everything was closing. Walked back to the boat.

We bought the weekly spa pass. Used it probably about 4 times. It was nice. We just seemed to be busy doing other things.

Embarkation - little crazy. The Pearl was late coming in. Lots of passengers curbside as others were preparing to set sail. There should have been a representative from NCL directing traffic if you will.

Debarkation - our flight was departing Seattle at 3:40 so we had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast. Got off the ship around 9:15. At the airport quickly without traffic. We took ShuttleExpress bus. Strange drop off. We were dropped off at parking garage, walked through, took elevator to 4th floor and continued walking to our airline..

Any questions....feel free to ask

Did you take any tours or do things in any of the ports?

Would be interested in hearing about them.

Thanks for sharing your review.

Keith

Was the Port of Seattle's free Luggage Valet Service not offered on the Pearl?

Sorry about the passenger who passed away. Prayers for the family.

 

 

This made our arrival into Victoria at 8pm. Walked to the Wharf. Everything was closing. Walked back to the boat.

 

 

We're sailing in 10 days and will be in Victoria Friday, September 8th at 6pm. Hoping that the fact its a Friday the stores would be open a little later........

Was the Port of Seattle's free Luggage Valet Service not offered on the Pearl?

Sorry about the passenger who passed away. Prayers for the family.

Yes it was offered.

Did you take any tours or do things in any of the ports?

 

Would be interested in hearing about them.

 

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

Keith

Keith - we did two independent tours. In Juneau we did a Mendenhall Glacier/Whale Watch Tour. It was operated by Juneau Tours.

In Skagway we did the Glacier Wilderness Safari. It was booked on Alaska Excursions dot com. All cruise ships used the same operator and it was substantially less $$ than the cruise.

Both were excellent.

In Ketchikan we walked around the pier. Visited souvenier shops.

Yes it was offered.

One more topic to add.....

There were plenty of outlets and USB ports to use. One on either side of the bed. The only downside to the USB ports on the lamps under the bed is that a shelf to place electronics on would be helpful.

In Juneau we did a Mendenhall Glacier/Whale Watch Tour. It was operated by Juneau Tours.

 

 

 

.

We have reserved the exact same excursion - did you feel that you had enough time to see things doing both in the five or so hour time?

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I can't believe your cruise has come and gone, seems like just yesterday we were chatting about it on here. What kind of cabin did you have? How was that?

Yes it was offered.

Nice to know. Thanks for the response.

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I can't believe your cruise has come and gone, seems like just yesterday we were chatting about it on here. What kind of cabin did you have? How was that?

I had an aft cabin on the 10th floor. It was a great cabin. Very convenient to go up to the Garden Cafe and Great Outdoors for meals.

Keith - we did two independent tours. In Juneau we did a Mendenhall Glacier/Whale Watch Tour. It was operated by Juneau Tours.

 

In Skagway we did the Glacier Wilderness Safari. It was booked on Alaska Excursions dot com. All cruise ships used the same operator and it was substantially less $$ than the cruise.

 

Both were excellent.

 

In Ketchikan we walked around the pier. Visited souvenier shops.

That is wonderful.

Keith

Solid review , thanks for sharing

Srpilo

Yes it was offered.

I just called them this weekend and the gentleman on the phone didn't seem to know anything about it.

Did you use the service?

Thanks for all the review of your trip. Sorry about the passenger on your cruise. How sad for something like that to happen on vacation.

I just called them this weekend and the gentleman on the phone didn't seem to know anything about it.

 

Did you use the service?

 

Thanks for all the review of your trip. Sorry about the passenger on your cruise. How sad for something like that to happen on vacation.

I did use the service. I only had one bag to check anyway. They will tell you that its up to the airline to approve your request. They charged my final bill for the luggage. I thought it was great. Your flight has to leave after noon I believe.

We have reserved the exact same excursion - did you feel that you had enough time to see things doing both in the five or so hour time?

 

 

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We're sailing in 10 days and will be in Victoria Friday, September 8th at 6pm. Hoping that the fact its a Friday the stores would be open a little later........

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