jackie101

we are leaving the day after Christmas from Providence, RI area there are 7 of us.

I just got home from our first Alaskan cruise on the NCL Pearl. I do admit, I was a bit nervous after reading all the mixed reviews. Some of them were horrible. This was our 6th cruise, the first time on NCL. We have been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Disney before. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how great this cruise was. I have very few negatives about the experience. I will give a breakdown and will be glad to answer any questions.

 

Ship - The ship is older and shows some wear and tear, but we were happy with it. There were always people cleaning or painting something. The decor is a little outdated, but that surely wasn't a big deal. We got a laugh out of some of the decor. There is lots and lots of velvet, bright colored velvet. One thing I did notice and that it didn't have a grand atrium like the other ships I have been on have. It was very small, cramped place. There we no glass elevators in the atrium either. Not a big deal, but this is something you usually see on cruise ships of all size. The ship was always clean and easy to navigate as well. It took us about a day to get the lay of the land. There were many bars, restaurants, and quiet lounge areas throughout the ship. It was a full cruise and the only place it ever felt crowded was getting off the boat in Juneau and the buffet.

 

Cabin - We had 2 balcony cabins on deck 10. There was a king bed, small sofa that flipped out to a bed, and an upper berth that came out of the ceiling. The cabin was small, but I don't think it was any smaller than other cruise ship cabins we have been in. The bed was by far the most comfortable bed my husband and I have slept in and the bedding was so soft and comfy too. We miss that bed already. When the beds were set up for night time it was kind of a challenge to get to the balcony, but we were able to crawl out no problem to enjoy our balcony. The bathroom was the best part of the cabin. It was the biggest shower I have seen on a boat and it was nice it has a glass sliding door instead of a curtain. There was plenty of storage in the cabin and a digital safe too. Our room steward always had our room clean and stocked with extra pillows, towels, and of course a towel animal each night.

 

Food - We ate the buffet for breakfast and lunch and ate in one of the 2 main dining rooms for dinner and did eat at Cagney's one night. The buffet was fine, nothing fancy. Had lots of choices to make just about everyone happy. Trying to find a seat in the buffet was sometimes a challenge. They do keep Lucina restaurant open for seating during breakfast and lunch when the restaurant isn't open. There was usually lots of seating in there and it was kinda quiet. Both the main dining rooms served the same menu. We preferred Summer Palace over Indigo only because of the service. The service in Indigo was very slow, like they were short staffed. Getting a drink in Indigo was a challenge as well. The dining rooms had a standard menu of about 8 things and then each night they also had about 6 feature items that changed daily. The striploin and beef tenderloin was delicious. The salmon was good too. The only think we were not happy with was the chicken alfredo (it was not pasta, sauce and chicken, it was something weird) and the turkey dinner (that seemed like a processed turkey log). Everything else we had was delicious. We also never had to wait to be seated. We went between 5:30 and 6:00 each night and there were 7 of us and we always go seated right away.

 

UBP - So glad we got this as a promotion. I booked our cruise before you had to pay the 18% gratuity on it, but even if I had to pay that it would of still been worth it for my husband and I. We totally enjoyed being able to drink what we wanted, when we wanted, and how much we wanted. Our kids were also able to drink more soda than they needed too. If you are going to drink more than 4 drinks a day, I would say the UBP would be worth it. The drinks were good and they offered all top shelf liqour as well. We never had any trouble getting drinks at any of the bars either.

 

Ports - This is where I do have some complaints. Some of our times in port were either too short or they were weird times all together. I do recommend booking your tours from independent companies. They are smaller groups and most were a lot less expensive. I saved $650 booking all of my tours independently and we were happy with all of them.

 

Juneau - We were in port from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. They asked us to be back on the ship by 9:00 pm. We enjoyed Juneau a lot. I booked a Mendenhall Glacier / Whale watch tour from a private company. They offered the same tour on the ship for more money. They picked us up at the dock area and took us to the glacier first for 2 hours. This was plenty of time to hike to the nugget falls and hang out there for a while, hike back, and explore some more of the park. From there we were picked up and taken to the boat for some whale watching. We saw tons of humpback whales. We even saw them bubblefeed. There was a pod of about 12-15 whales that we watched for almost 2 hours. They also took us to see some resident sea lions lounging on bouy in the water. When the tour was finished they took us back to the boat and it was 8:30, so we did not have any time to walk around downtown, which we would of liked to do. We would of liked maybe and hour or two hours longer in Juneau.

 

Skagway - We were off the boat in Skagway by 8:00 am and were there until 8:00 pm. We booked the White Pass Train that went into Canada. This tour was by Chilkoot Tours and took you up to Frazier, British Columbia on the train and then drove you back into Skagway down the Klondike Highway on a shuttle bus. The ride up on the train was breathtaking and so was the ride down the scenic highway. The driver stopped at multiple places on the way back down for pictures, including the Welcome to Alaska sign. The town of Skagway is very tiny, about 6 blocks by 2 blocks. There are some stores and a few restauants and that is about it. The White Pass tour lasted about 4 hours. We shopped around for a few hours and returned to the ship. We wish we stayed in Skagway less time. Seemed like we were there a long time.

 

Glacier Bay - Beautiful, but freezing. This was the only day of the cruise that was cold. I think I may of actually saw a snow flake. The park is beautiful. The water is so calm and a aqua color. The glaciers are huge and bright blue colored. We lucked out that it was a cloudy day. The rangers that came on board said the more cloudy it is outside, the more blue colors of the glacier you can see. It was really cloudy and we got awesome pics. Sadly, we seen no wildlife in the park. We were hoping to see bears.

 

Ketchikan - We were here from 6:00 am to 1:30 pm. We did a very early snorkel tour with Snorkel Alaska. This was amazing. Who can say they snorkeled in Alaska???? They provided very warm wetsuits and everthing else you needed. I was shocked at how warm the water was (it was 59 degrees and the air temp was almost 70) and also shocked how clear the water was and how many cool critters we saw. Very cool tour. We also went to the Lumberjack show. It was fun, but mainly geared towards kids and families. Ketchikan was a cute little town as well, but we didn't have much time to explore the city.

 

Victoria, British Columbia - We were in port from 6:00 pm to midnight. Again, a very odd time. The city is beautiful, but there is not much open. The only real option for a tour at this time was to Buchart Gardens, which we had no interest in doing. Unlike the Alaskan ports, everything in Victoria does not stay open the entire time ships are in port. We just walked around to Fisherman's Wharf and the Inner Harbor. This was probably my least favorite port, but only because there was not much to do.

 

Spa - I snuck up to the spa for a few hours one day. They were offering a bamboo massage and mini facial. After seeing the spa's thermal pool and lounge area, I decided to add a day pass to that as well. The spa on the pearl is fabulous. I had Lauren, from South Africa for both my massage and facial. She gave me the best massage I ever had. I wanted to bring her home with me, she was so good. The pricing wasn't anything out of the ordinary for a cruise ship spa, but they do add 18% gratuity on to your bill. After my massage I took a dip in the thermal pool and then napped on one of the heated tile loungers. I wanted to bring on of those loungers home too. I wish I would of went to the spa earlier in the week. Highly recommend a visit there.

 

Onboard Entertainment - Nothing great, but not horrible. We enjoyed the Legends of Rock Show and the acrobat show. The shows in the Spinnaker lounge were cheezy, but we enjoyed going up there, having a few drinks and getting a good laugh. I wasn't expecting much with the entertainment. I can only remember one cruise that had excellent shows and that was Disney (hard to compare). We always found something to do or something to watch. They had a few games that were fun to watch (Newlywed game, Jeopard, Name thta 80s tune, etc.).

 

All in all the cruise was great. NCL Pearl was good and Alaska was beautiful. We seen eagles, seals, orcas, and humpbacks from our balcony. You need to be prepared because you are on the boat for long periods of time. We left Seattle at 4:00 pm on Sunday and didn't arrive in Juneau until 2:00 pm on Tuesday. On Thursday you are on the boat all day as well. We were going a little stir crazy at times, but we used that time to just chill out.

we were on the same cruise and loved it. Very accurate review. We also did the same tours in Junea and Skagway. Weather was perfect, so relaxing. I read 4 books and did the week long spa package...so worth it

Question, say I am booked with a travel agent and not happy with them. If I transfer my reservation does new travel agent get credit for it?:confused:

Thanks everyone, we are leaving Sunday on the Pearl so it looks like they have it.

:confused:Does it work and is there a fee:)

The one-hour trolley tour is fairly cheap, and an easy way to get up to Saxman Village to see the totems and the rainforest (it would be a bit of a hike on foot). You also get a nice overview of the sites in town and its history - our driver, Dylan, was funny and informative, gave us plenty of time to explore the totems and told us lots about their history and traditions, and we had time to browse the Saxman Village Gift Shop, which has many nice, affordable made-in-Alaska items and some beautiful art. Afterward, he dropped those of us who wanted to wander Creek Street off at the entrance, and took the remaining few back to the pier.

 

Ketchikan really is a great town just to wander. I walked all of Creek Street, up around to the salmon ladder, then back to Creek Street via Married Man's Trail, and finally just wandered the streets going into any shop that looked interesting, all the way down to the far west pier where the last of the ships was docked.

At the west end of Creek Street, there is the Tongass Historical Museum - admission is about $5. Small museum, but very interesting and an easy way to spend an hour or two. The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is bigger and more devoted to natural history, but also very interesting and well worth the donation.

should we prebook 1 hr trolley tour or are they easy to get right off of ship?:)

Not in insides or oceanviews.

thanks

are they only in balcony rooms or all rooms?

After that excursion we rushed to the Princess excursions desk and cancelled the rest of them. We haven't taken a ship's excursion since.

 

It turned out to be a long, long day on a bus to a dusty "dog camp" that served cheap "barbecue" chicken. The train ride is OK ... but you can do that yourself. The bus ride was horrible.

oh no, that doesn't sound good. It is not through cruise

I did this same tour through the cruise line (NCL), so I can't comment specifically on the tour company, but I can speak generally that this is a great excursion. It was my favorite experience of the whole trip. The bus portion was excellent, and the train ride was even better. We did the bus part first, then train back down to Skagway. On the bus we saw several mountain goats as well as four different bear sightings. We stopped at the Yukon sign, Carcoss, and Emerald Lake for a few minutes.

 

Lunch at Caribou Crossing was barbecue chicken and potato salad. Nothing amazing, but not bad. They also have some little homemade donuts for free.

 

We didn't participate in the dog sledding at Caribou Crossing, but did watch others ride. To be honest, it didn't look that interesting to me. You sit on a wooden platform and dogs pull you around on a gravel road. But, I'm not really a dog person, so others might find it more appealing. It also seemed like some construction was going on in this area, like they were building a couple of new structures for the dog sledding team.

awesome, thanks

Anyone do? Going on Pearl in August

I found where to book just was looking for reviews

https://chilkootcharters.com/package/yukon-rail-bus-w-dogcart-experience/#reviews

anyone do this one? Did a search but could not find anything

I was on the May 15-22 trip on the Pearl. My husband and I absolutely loved the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (booked independent though Alaska Excursions) from Skagway and Orcas Cove kayaking (through Southeast Sea Kayaks) from Ketchikan.

 

Glacier Point: 6.5 hours which involved just over an hour each way on a 24 person boat, 5 min each way on an old school bus through the forest, a 15 min hike each way through the forest, basic turkey sandwich lunch, and in between, an amazing 10 person canoe trip out to Davidson glacier. We got to get out of the canoes and walk up pretty close to the glacier, wading through the runoff. 360 deg beautiful views. There are 11 guides that live on the island April-October without power or running water. They take up to 70 people once or twice a day. I think this is the closest you can get to a glacier without flying or taking a strenuous all day hike. $219pp and I thought it was a great value.

 

Orcas Cove: 4 hours with about 2.5 hours in kayaks. Involved a 20 min 6 passenger boat ride each way to a larger boat where we transferred to kayaks. Max group size of 6 per guide (we had 4) in double kayaks. Beautiful scenery, sea life, and wild life. Included an amazing smoked salmon light lunch too. $169pp and I thought it was a great value.

 

In Juneau we did the Mt Roberts Tram (nice views) and Alaskan Brewing Company ($22pp for a shuttle from their store to the brewery, which includes a "tour", a few beer samples, and a coozie; my hubby is the beer fan and although we get all their regular stuff in Seattle, there were quite a few special releases on tap).

 

In Victoria we just walked around and picked up some special souvenirs at a liquor store.

 

 

As a side note, we weren't too impressed with the NCL Pearl. We thought the food and service was even worse than the NCL Pride of America a few years ago, which we also weren't that impressed with. I really like the idea of NCL, so since the POA is U.S. registered (and crewed) and the Pearl isn't, I wanted to give them another chance. Especially with the drink package promotion (we booked over a year out and got a great deal on the cruise and didn't have to pay gratuity on the UBP either).

 

Everything seemed really average...stateroom cleanliness, service, ship upkeep, food quality, desserts didn't have any flavor and you could only get cookies from the $8 room service, very slow bar service, not able to get a mixed drink at the buffet (only a few beers & wines, we never saw tableside drink service, & the Great Outdoors bar was often closed), had to specifically ask to get a drink from the bar at a sit down restaurant and it took awhile to get it, boring shows and poor scheduling of activities - good stuff often when we were in port (and half of the items seemed to just be trying to sell you stuff), not too many Alaska-themed special things (they had Alaskan beer and showed a few documentaries, but didn't have local seafood or too many other Alaska-themed activities), cigarette smoke lingered from the casino throughout the ship, etc. Lots of little stuff kept adding up. Our favorites were shortest embarkation time of 4 cruises, having spa passes (great forward views and an indoor hot tub, although we had great weather except in Juneau), having a beverage package, Teppanyaki, Sushi, & Lotus Garden (best food & service), Spinnaker Lounge, and Magnums/Shakers/Maltings bar (best selection & service).

 

We were even let off the ship significantly late at each port (I know they don't have control over when they are cleared, but they need to arrive earlier or publish a later time as guests count on having the full published time; good thing we didn't miss any private excursions). It was a repeat Alaska cruise and we live in Seattle so it won't be our last, so maybe we should have chosen a "better" ship as that was a decent priority. We definitely didn't let our disappointments deter us from having a great vacation, but I don't see us considering NCL again. We've enjoyed Princess and Royal Caribbean in the past, and want to try Celebrity.

thanks for al the information

Thoughts...

• the first to sell out are marine and flight excursions due to limited capacity.
  
• I booked the Best of Skagway the night before on a HAL ship back in 2012.... that tour did not sell out.
  
• excess onboard credits? photos, internet, dining and excursions are my weaknesses.
  

thanks

Skagway - check out the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic park. (Note: this is the Skagway section of this park. There is a Seattle Section of this park. I recently visited this and wish I had done it prior to cruising. So I suggest you do it before you cruise if you have time. Pictures Here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2355797&page=4) Also walk the town and do some shopping.

 

Juneau - Alaska's State Capitol City - If you have time to visit the Capitol building, do. Mt Roberts tram - if you want to do this, wait till you are in port and make sure it is not fogged in. pictures: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49379501&posted=1#post49379501 (just scroll past Skagway)

 

Ketchikan - great port to walk around. If you get in early in the day, get off early and go have breakfast at the pioneer café. Walk creek street, and go shopping! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2328216&page=2

will check out thanks

Like I mentioned above, the tour did not sell out either time we did it, so booking it on the ship shouldn't be a problem. Plus there is a large contingency of people who book private tours, and don't do the ship tour.

 

We had a private car on the train for only our excursions people. It wasn't packed and we were able to spread out. Plus Best of Skagway is a higher priced excursion, which will drive away a certain portion of the cruise clientele.

 

Which Feel free option did you choose for your cruise and which ship are you sailing?

Pearl and free drink package and OBC

My wife and I did this tour twice on two separate trips to Alaska. It was a great tour, and we had a blast. The show at Liarsville was hilarious although some people do not like it. Here is a link to some pictures I took on the best of Skagway tour in 2009. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49379501&posted=1#post49379501

 

I would go straight to the shore excursions desk on board the ship and book it then. It did not sell out either time we went on it. The salmon bake lunch was my wife's favorite part. After the saloon, just walk around town instead of getting on the bus back to the dock.

awesome, thanks. This is our 1st time going to Alaska and do not want to miss anything. There are 4 of us 2 moms and 2 teen girls. Any other suggestions? Norwegian Pearl out of Seattle

Can you reserve ahead but not pay until after you board?

they make you pay when book

Cruise line?

 

Nobody is going to be able to predict sales for excursions. Some cruises they will sell out, some they won't. White Pass Railroad is a limited capacity situation, so I would be worried about that one.

Norwegian

We were on that cruise but I didnt save the dailies, could answer any questions for you though!

we are doing this cruise in August, any excursion recommendations?

We are going to Alaska in August and have a lot in OBC, do excursions sell out?:confused: Looking at doing Best of Skagway and White pass Railway

I know they have scaled back on dry dock, but will they still be adding poolside movie screen?:D