Short but sweet cruise on Pearl deserves a long review

Sailed Norwegian Pearl Nov. 2-7 out of Miami on a 4-day cruise with stops in Key West and GSC. This was a last minute "too good to pass up" deal that included a balcony and the UBP at a great rate. We know the party crowd loves these short cruises and went in eyes open (though our eyes were opened nonetheless - more about that later.). Experienced cruisers with 14 sailings under our belt on a wide variety of cruise lines. As always, this review reflects only our experience and opinions. Your experience on the same sailing might well have been different.

Embarkation. We arrived at Miami Seaport around 10:40 a.m. The number of people still hanging around from the previous cruise let us know immediately that something was up. Still, we were through the check-in line and seated upstairs by 11:15. Boarding did not begin until about 12:50, a bit later than "usual" but by no means crazy late. Despite that, some yahoo in the terminal kept trying to get a "Let us on the ship!" chant going right at the dot of noon. Classy fellow. Grade: B

Ship. Perfectly good shape. No noticeable wear, problems or trouble. There was the occasional odd smell here and there, but no major issues. She lacks all the bells and whistles of the new mega-liners but shows great maintenance for a 10-year old ship. We're too old and sensible to care about giant slides and wave pools, anyway. Grade: B+

Cabin. Balcony cabin, Deck 9 forward, starboard side. This was the smallest cabin we've experienced in all our cruises. Required a good deal of shimmying by each other and we're pretty fit. The cabin was actually listed for four passengers when utilizing the sofa bed and pull-down bunk. That would have been completely claustrophobic. Bath was small, but utilized the sliding glass doors between the lav, sink and shower. Nice to not have a shower curtain stuck to you every shower. Cabin was clean and the cabin steward was friendly and efficient. Grade: B-

Ship Staff. Certain members of the staff were a genuine pleasure, but to be honest most of the staff just seemed kind of tired. Too often a smile was not met with a smile in return. No one was outwardly rude, but most seemed to be going through the motions. Our cabin steward Jardavius was a fine young man, Jaime at The Great Outdoors bar was outstanding and Clayton at Moderno was superb. Their extra effort was noticed and rewarded; the rest got what they earned. Grade: C+

Food and Drink. Listed by the venues we experienced.

Summer Palace MDR. Ate just one meal there. Disappointing. Neither of us much enjoyed our meal and the service was as attentive as at your average interstate truck stop. One of the apparent downsides to Freestyle dining is that the wait staff doesn't see any reason to invest in you. Grade: C-

Buffets. Pleasantly surprised. Good variety, decent quality. In addition to buffet staples like burgers and pizza, there was always a good main course, ethnic selection, a vegetarian option and plenty of salads. Tons of desserts and hand-dipped ice cream. Breakfast options were also good. This was true for both the Garden Cafe and The Great Outdoors mini-buffet (which most folks never seemed to find, luckily.) Grade: B

Moderno Churrascaria. Excellent. The meat selections were on par with high-end Brazilian Steakhouses on land. Salad bar was varied and interesting. Our waiter Clayton was efficient but not intrusive. The setting is pleasant with a great view. Only criticism is that the skewers came too close together. They could slow the service down a bit. Yea, the ship caught fire during our meal, but you take the good with the bad. Grade: A

Teppanyaki Grill. Very nice. Food was top notch and the whole chef performance, while a little corny, was entertaining. The kids at our grill table seemed to loved it. Good availability of sake and Japanese beers to compliment the meal. Grade: A-

O'Sheehans Pub. Terrible. A great concept really poorly executed. The idea of a casual dining spot a step above the buffet but not involving the whole 4-course event is a good one. But O'Sheehans fell well short. Slow, inattentive service. Chintzy, almost comically small portions. Order of mozzarella sticks: 3. Spinach and artichoke dip came with 11 chips. The corned beef sandwich had two - count 'em, two - slices of fatty corned beef on bread that they waved by the toaster. Grade: F

UBP. We enjoy a cocktail or two (or three or four) and found the UBP to be great. Any drink up to $15 is included. And Norwegian doesn't put you through the ringer like Carnival with time limits, drink counting and "must be present to order." When the bar server went a bit above the call, we always added a buck or two in cash as a thank you. Grade: A

Ports.

Key West. Been many times, but we got off the ship for a brisk 5-mile walk. It was hotter than blazes and we got in a good workout. Only stopped for a quick beer at the harbor, so no comments on sights.

Great Stirrup Cay. Stayed on the ship. We've done GSC before and it's very nice, but it wasn't worth the whole tender process to see it again. Almost no one stayed on the ship, so it was very peaceful and uncrowded.

Entertainment. We're not much for shows. Saw the comedian and she was funny enough. The singer had a great operatic voice but wasn't our cup of tea. The Atrium bands (Avalon and Energy Plus) were a great way to pass some time. We don't gamble so no comments on the casino. No matter your taste, there was plenty to do on the ship. Grade: B

Debarkation. Self-assist was called at 7:15 a.m. We were off the ship, breezed through customs and in our cab by 7:30. Got to the airport in time to get placed on an 8:35 flight home instead of our scheduled 11:45 flight. Grade: A

Miscellaneous rants, opinions and flame starters.

* When you hear "Code Bravo. Deck 9. Engine Casing" over the ship's intercom, it means there is a fire on board. When you next see 8 guys run by the restaurant window in full fire gear, including oxygen tanks and face masks, it's probably not a good sign. Order more wine. That's what we did.

* Kudos to the Norwegian Pearl crew for responding to the fire incident as quickly as they did. The Captain kept us updated on the incident (seeming a bit befuddled sometimes) until the all clear. To be honest, if they hadn't told us about the fire we never would have known.

* I have nothing against smokers. Used to be one myself. But, please, when you are rude enough to light up any place you feel like it, don't get indignant when people ask you to move or put it out.

* Likewise the chair hog that had two chairs with towels on them at 8:45 in the morning when we parked next to her. At 11:30 when a nice older couple asked us if these chairs were taken, we told them they'd had towels on them since 8:45 but we'd never seen the people. It took the wife about 3 seconds to move those towels and claim the chairs. Of course, the hog showed up within 15 minutes bitching to the high heavens. Claimed she'd been in the hot tub for an hour. Did not take it well when the sweet old lady said to her "then why aren't you wet?" Classic.

* Tattoos are now as common as toenails. And not just little, adorable tattoos. Giant full-back, over the shoulders and down each leg tattoos. Not a fan.

* Some men never take off their baseball cap. Not at breakfast, not in the pool, not at the buffet, not in the upgrade restaurants, not on the dance floor, never. One wonders if they will be laid to rest wearing it.

* Used to be a certain level of fitness was a prerequisite to wearing a bikini. Apparently not any more. 300-pound men, however, seem to have the good sense to avoid a Speedo.

* Wranglers, t-shirts and sneakers are not evening wear. C'mon. You packed for a cruise. You knew there would be fine dining. Find a collared shirt and some khakis.

* No doubt that cruising is our favorite vacation. There is always something to see, someone interesting to talk to, a new adventure to find. Go with the flow; realize that with 2000 or more people around there will be some boors. Don't let those types get you down and keep looking until you find what you like. It's out there.

What a delightful read!! I couldn't help but think you were a teacher with those - and + grades :) Great sense of humour! Made me chuckle quite a few times. You sound like you would be great to encounter on a cruise!

Thanks for the review!

Another Ottawa vote for a thoughtful, insightful & informative review.

Cheers,

Sandra

Thanks for your great review. We will be on the Pearl in about a month for a much longer cruise. It's nice to hear she is in good shape.

It was disappointing to hear how disappointed you were with OSheehan's. That was one of the few things we enjoyed on the Epic. Now we know to ask for double orders of things though. We also love the Great Outdoors buffet.

I fear the crew will be tired for us too as there is a (music, I believe) charter right before our cruise.

Totally with you about the tattoos...:D

Loved your review. Laughed at loud at the opinions and rant section...and a lot of head nodding in agreement.

Thanks for your review of my favorite ship.

Surprised about the lack of smiles on the crew members, not something I experienced yet, so I hope that doesn't continue.

Totally agree with with on O'Sheehans. Every time I've gone to it on the Pearl, the service has been horrible.

Great review!

"Some men never take off their baseball cap. Not at breakfast, not in the pool, not at the buffet, not in the upgrade restaurants, not on the dance floor, never. One wonders if they will be laid to rest wearing it."

This is my husband. He thinks of it as part of his attire. He won't leave the house without it. 🤓

As far as overweight gals in bikinis, yes they are out there, but kudos to them for having enough confidence to rock them! I wish I did when I was young enough to pull it off.

Thanks for the review.

Delightful review. I will boarding this coming Sunday for the Cruise to the Edge. Won't have time for the MDR anyway so it is good to know the buffet or trough as we call it, is decent fare. And I will remove those abandoned towels tout suite and claim I never saw them. They were gone when I got there. Oh dear. :D :cool:

I was on this cruise too. I enjoyed it but will not do another short cruise in between music charters again. I arrived at the port about 11:30 and didn't board until 1:30. I think the delay was because of all the tear down work needed on the pool deck after the music charter, but it would have been nice if an announcement had been made in the port terminal instead of just standing around for 2 hours wondering what was going on. Good news is my room was ready and I carried my luggage on.

I thought the guest entertainment was ok. I saw the comedian twice and the card trick guy twice. I missed the singer. And was sorry to see no one playing in the bar city venue any of the nights.

I was surprised by the large number of kids on board, but they seemed to be having a great time. The bars were overwhelmed sometimes - everyone had the UBP. It was kind of strange the last night when they shut everything down early and started doing all the work for the next music charter: moving all the chairs and seats to the pool deck and draining/covering the larger pool. And they also closed the UBP the last night so you had to buy any drinks you wanted in the morning. I wish I had done the early walk off at 7:15 - I could have caught a much earlier flight. Instead my 12:25 flight was delayed 2 hours and made for a very long day.

I ate at summer Palace twice and it was alright. I avoided Indigo completely - long waits with lots of people in shorts and ball caps. I thought the service in Lotus Garden was pretty good. The menu is limited but acceptable. O'Sheehan's was great for breakfast. Only 1 day (the sea day) was the food delivery backed up and took too long.

The code bravo was interesting and who knows what the full story is. Did you hear the code alpha the next night on deck 9?

My first time to Key West and I enjoyed walking around, but not that heat and humidity. The shopping was fantastic - a lots of Croc's sandals came home with me. I went over to GSC to just walk around and see it. The ship was nice an un crowded, but how did you stand that maintenance work going on around the pool - lots of banging and chipping of paint.

Happy cruising.

Sailed Norwegian Pearl Nov. 2-7 out of Miami

 

* Likewise the chair hog that had two chairs with towels on them at 8:45 in the morning when we parked next to her. At 11:30 when a nice older couple asked us if these chairs were taken, we told them they'd had towels on them since 8:45 but we'd never seen the people. It took the wife about 3 seconds to move those towels and claim the chairs. Of course, the hog showed up within 15 minutes bitching to the high heavens. Claimed she'd been in the hot tub for an hour. Did not take it well when the sweet old lady said to her "then why aren't you wet?" Classic.

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Absolutely hysterical!! I wish I could have seen her face.

Great review. Thank you for sharing [emoji4][emoji106]

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