Kierste

The nightly themed games in the kids clubs are the most awesome part... I bet they won't care if they aren't together. I am sure things change with the current fads, but on our trip there were games based on Divergent, Hunger Games... Plus black ops, boys vs girls... Scavenger hunts... They did a really good job. These took place from 7-10/10:30 pm nightly.

Spot on, those are the M6 category with large balconies and the framework for the balcony dividers is up but the actual walls/dividers are not in place.

 

Mine is the 7th the one back

 

It does not look like the BX frame works are up yet. The first two balconies on deck 8.

:D I am 9 back! Looks like room for a lounger :) and that was what I was wanting! :cool:

The webcam as of today, back to one shot. :o

So, forgive me and my horrible inability to figure these things out lol... but are the large balcony mini-suites just forward of that green arm thing and just above the plastic tarped area? Like I think I can see the bones of the dividers between each balcony, but they aren't closed yet?

Thanks for your comments - the good and the bad. My daughter is 9 so I'm hoping she is still entertained by the kids club. I didn't even think about the fact that there won't be many kids onboard since it's an early June cruise. Bergleflickle.

We only had 100 kids on our sailing... I think your daughter will still love kids club with reduced numbers!

We just did our first cruise, so I am on the opposite side of the spectrum of cruise experience then you are. We have vacationed all over and done many all inclusives. I read reviews before we left and if you go by the complainers it should have been a miserable trip.

The elevators sometimes took 2 minutes to show up. I saw some chipped paint on the balcony in a corner. I got fatty steak one night. The rock wall was closed the 1st time we tried to use it. They said there would be 6 mojitos at the tasting, when there were actually 5--and when we said the bartender said 6, they made a sixth for us! See, I can complain too lol.

We had a great time, the bed was comfortable, the food was way better including the desserts then many would lead you to believe. We never went hungry that is for sure, we usually were so stuffed we could barely move. People and crew members were for the most part really nice. My mom is a smoker and found where she could do that without breaking rules. My kid had a blast in splash academy. The pool after dinner was empty and fun.

I think too many people focus on the negatives. Just be on vacation and chill :cool:

Mid afternoon on the Pearl they had crisps and tortilla chips at the buffets. I would think all the ships would have them?

She will more than survive. We took our 3 kids and not once did the older 2 even think of picking up their phones. There is so much to do, she will forget about it. Just make sure she goes to the kids club the first night. That is when they do all the meet and greet games and friends are made.

This! The dolphins splash academy group (10-12 year olds) is fantastic! Register her the day you board (go early to avoid lines) and have her attend the 1st night (8 pm I believe)... She will love it!

P.S. My kid is an only too, and usually never leaves our side on vacations... I had to remind her it was her vacation too, cause she felt guilty about asking to go back to splash academy the morning after night 1.

How do I make a reservation online pre-cruise and ensure i get the seats needed without having to pay for a full adult meal?

If your children eat off the free menu, you will receive a credit to your account that night. You can think of it as prepaying for some obc :)

Splash Academy is open Sea Days 9a to 12p / 2:00p to 5:00p / 7:00p to 10:30p

Port Days Port Arrival Time to 10:30p

Late Night Fun Zone 10:30p to 1:30a there is a fee 1st child $6.00 Per Hour / $4.00 per Sibling / per hour

You register them on the 1st day you board (we went right after lunch to avoid the crowds) and they will give you a schedule of activities for the week for their age groups. I recommend having them attend the first night's activities because that is when all the meet and greet stuff happens and bffs for the cruise are made :). You may not see the 5 year old the rest of the cruise except meal time... 3 year olds are finicky... Could go either way lol

Cruising on the Sky, is there a list of daily activities the kids do?

When you register they will give you the schedule for the whole cruise. The activities differ depending on age. The 10-12 year old group my daughter was in had sports court time almost every day, lots of practice your circus skills time (for the big show at the end of the cruise), and themed "games" and/or scavenger hunts... She never wanted to leave and I thought everything was spot on age appropriate and the counselors were terrific!

Have your kids go the very first night as that is where the friends are made the easiest and then they will be hooked!

That's why we did early dinners... Dd would have been pissed to miss out on real food... She thought the buffet was meh... And we actually got to see her between 5 and 7 since the club was closed anyway :)

I saw in another thread that people are planning their dining reservations around the kid's club. We have 6:30 reservations so I wonder if it wouldn't be better to change them all to 5:30 (if I can).

 

Thanks!

So, we like to eat with our kiddo, and not subject her to the buffet again for dinner (she was good with it for breakfast, lunch was not her fave.) So, we did move all our ressies to 5:30. Some people like the idea of their kiddo doing the buffet and then the parents go to dinner after 7 while the kiddo is in splash academy. Mine would have been po'd to miss Teppenyaki, Moderno, Le Bistro, La Cucina, and Cagneys... we ate at all of them for dinner... and the Asian food place (which is free now), and they were all sooo very good. And she could order off the adult menu and get what she wanted. So that is why we did dinners at 5:30.

My wife and I and some friends were on this cruise with you. We enjoy the Pearl a lot, and this cruise didn't disappoint, except for getting sick. I missed two islands. :(

 

But will be back on her next year!

 

Thanks for posting!:)

Awww bummer you were in the group that got sick! We actually sat next to some people in one of the MDRs one night and 3 nights later ran into them and they asked if we were feeling okay. Apparently she got sick overnight that night we met them, ended up with 2 IVs of fluid by day 2, and he never got sick. So weird the way that works. They missed St Lucia, but she was on the mend in time for Kitts and Thomas.

*&%$! I am bummed about the waterslide - my kid is 9, she would have loved it. Well, thanks for letting me know so I didn't get her hopes up. Why on earth did they remove it?

 

We're slotted for an 11:30am check in at the port in Seattle. Where do we go (on the ship) to sign her up for the evening kids program? Is NCL a pretty good cruise line for kids? She's coming from DCL.

 

Either way, thanks for the info on Splash Academy and the heads up on the water slide!

So go right to splash academy to sign her up... It's on deck 12 in the same hallway with the bank of elevators as the buffet and the doors out to the pool. It's super easy to find. They will give you the schedule for the week, and tell you all about how you go about signing her in and out and what times they are closed (lunch and dinner basically.). It took us about 10 minutes to do.

Oh great idea! I'll check her into the evening program on the first day. And I'll remember to ask her about those counsellors! Thanks for the suggestion. :)

Its best to go the first night... They really make friends easiest then :)

My dd exchanged emails with a girl from the UK, one from Canada and one from Florida... They were all pretty tight after 11 days!

We just had a mini suite... I can't imagine there would be an issue with using a bath bomb... The showers are on a wand so you can rinse things down too... The baths are very deep... Quite a step to get out, but not any wider than a normal tub at home.

We soaked our snorkel gear in the tub... Was very handy for that!

Thanks for the insight! My daughter is 9 and she loves buffets so that is great to hear. :)

For sure check your daughter into splash academy the first afternoon, and have her go that 1st night from 8-10 pm (the other nights the fun stuff starts at 7 pm, but the first night it's 8.) The splash academy is super fun, well supervised and safe. Don't make your kid feel guilty if they would rather be there than hanging out with you! ;)

Oh and if she gets Asia or Nacho for her counselors... She will be in for a treat... They were both amazing :)

We only tipped our steward extra and the kids club staff (just the two that were with my kid all week)... Everyone else got the service charge or the automatic 18% gratuity. I figure 18% is better than I pay at home, unless the service is over the top stellar... So that is good enough.

A note though... The kids club staff... Both of them practically cried when I gave them each $10. I mean $10 for basically 10 nights of watching my kid and keeping her entertained. One tried to give it back, and asked if it was just for her. Which I assured her it was.

Our steward... He got $20 on day one and $20 on the last night, for two cabins. We loved him, he never did anything extraordinary for us, but he was always around, cleaning or in the hall... So we saw him 5 or 6 times a day and he became our friend. So I was happy to tip him. It didn't seem like much, but he was very grateful as well.

I was just on the Pearl for an 11 day cruise... Not Alaska, but I didn't really discuss the ports in my 1st timer review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2205041&referrerid=921204

We did juice boxes a month ago, along with our soda and vitamin water. No problem. Also had protein bars and such... No issues.

We were on and 11 day on the Pearl a month ago... Ate in one or the other mdr 5 nights... (Did speciality all the other nights.) Everything we ordered was good to really good... I think I am the only one who thought the steak (it was on the left side, so the nightly menu side) was slightly fatty... Hubby ordered it another night and loved it. We mostly ordered from the right side (that night specials) and everything was really really good. Oh, the lasagna... Both variations (al forno and one with kale I believe) were both excellent. Dd ordered the roast chicken (left side of the menu) every night we were in the mdr, with extra veggies in lieu of the potatoes, it was her favorite meal.

FLL is for sure further away than MIA... My guess is twice as far, but I am sure a Floridian will chime in. For us, 4 people flying in to FLL was so much cheaper that it made sense even though the taxi fare was more. Plus we stayed overnight in Lauderdale by the Sea for significantly less than the Miami hotels were running during spring break.

No idea about the porter... We only gave him $5.

Boarding time for the Pearl at ports of call.

When the itinerary says the ship departs Juneau, what is the latest time we need to be back on the ship?

Should be a half hour before... Plan on an hour so you aren't "those people" everyone is watching as they run toward the ship because they are late ;)

Ahhh, I see! I guess that will be nice for Alaska as it may keep the wind down some. Yes we are below the kids club but I do not expect too much noise as I don't think there will be too many kids on our sailing given the time and itinerary.

Even when the wind was howling on the pool deck, it was lovely on our balcony! We only had about 100 kids on our sailing... Because it was such a long cruise... The kids club was a blessing so the few that were there could get together!

We were on your sailing also and have to second what a great job the crew did to combat the outbreak. Have to admit that I too preferred the buffet with all the serving being done by staff. It did move more quickly and just seemed cleaner. However one morning I asked for one slice of bacon and got a half plateful dropped on my plate but I guess there is no such thing as too much bacon. LOL

 

Nice cruise though and one of my favorite itineraries.

if too much bacon is the worst that happened... it was a good day ;)