Pearl Trip Report 11/28 - 12/05

[philatiger]

Decided to start a new thread with a better title.

 

Saturday, 28-Nov-2009

Part 1

 

Woke up at 6:15 in Miami, just like a kid on Christmas morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Looked out the window of the Holiday Inn and watched a carnival ship come into port, turn around and then dock. Unfortunately I was not able to see the Pearl which made me even more anxious to check out of the hotel and head to the port.

 

Finally 10:00 rolled around and we couldn’t wait any longer. We checked out, and headed to the port. The taxi driver kept saying we are going over too early. In my opinion you can never be too early. I don’t like crowds, so for me I like to be at the front of the line, plus you get to watch the unseasoned travelers who provide great entertainment. The Pearl was docked at the far end of the pier and my first glimpse of her was when I stepped out of the cab. I just got more excited. We got to the port at 10:30, luggage checked in a matter of minutes. The guys at the port couldn’t have been nicer or more efficient. It was effortless and painless.

 

We got in line and a little after 11:00 they started letting us in. Breezed through security and since we are in a suite we went to the VIP check in. The check-in was on the left right after security. So keep a look out for it before you get in the long lines by mistake like many of the others did. The staff were very friendly at check in and we were seated and done in less than 5 minutes. They had a snack table set up with cookies, danish, coffee, tea and juice and of course I ate 3 cookies while we were waiting. Many of the suite passengers must have missed the sign and had checked in at the regular lines since they came into the room and only needed to get their room keys.

 

While we were waiting we met a couple from Kansas City who were part of our roll call. Hi Princess Cindy and Kent. Chatted with them for maybe 5 minutes and in walked Karan. He introduced himself and then escorted us all on ship. We received lots of evil looks from some of the other passengers who were waiting. We were greeted by friendly staff and Karan pulled us aside and asked us to wait for our butler Juremar and not one of the assistants. We were greeted by friendly staff offering OJ or champagne. I chose both, I wanted a mimosa. There was no problem in getting both as others had experienced.

 

Juremar could not have been nicer. He took us on a tour of the courtyard area and the private deck that we also had access to, and then we headed down to our cabin on deck 10. Our cabin number was 10504. When he opened that door we had that deer in the head light look on our faces. We were originally booked in 9670 (AE) and would have been more than happy with this cabin. The upsell fairy called the week we were leaving and offered a deal we could not resist and could afford. Now don’t get me wrong, we are just everyday people and not used to living this kind of life, but I tell you, I could get used to it real fast.

 

The cabin was unbelievable. Everyone on CC kept saying once you go suite you will never go back. Well, once you go owner’s suite you will never ever want to go back. I told Mark that if we have to eat mac n cheese for a year we are saving for this cabin again. The bath room alone was almost as big as an inside. The cabin was very clean with no smoke odor for those who might be wondering. And we are very fussy about smelling smoke anywhere we have to live or sleep. We placed our order for the liquor, soda, and mixers and then off we went.

 

We took a walk around the ship to get acclimated. The Pearl is a beautiful ship and we saw nothing showing that she is aging. Everything was clean and the staff could not have been nicer. Headed up to the courtyard and met Bev and Al from Boston who were on our roll call.

 

We headed to Cagney’s around 1:30 and met Cindy and Kent from the roll call and had a great lunch. The lunch menu offered plenty of choices and the staff was absolutely wonderful. I had the crab cakes for an appetizer and the polenta for my main course. Mark had the shrimp cocktail and the sliders. Dessert was a bowl of chocolate ice cream for me and Mark had the carrot cake. The food was very good. We are not picky eaters so as long as we don’t have to cook and clean up we are happy. I have read on CC how nice breakfast and lunch was at Cagney’s. I have to tell you I couldn’t agree more. It was so peaceful and relaxing not having to fight the crowds.

[philatiger]

Part 2

 

After lunch we headed back to get acquainted with the cabin. Sounds funny but there was so much to figure out: The 15 or so light switches, lavazza coffe machine, bose surround system. The crew told us they had difficulty getting the passengers before us off the ship. They forgot a few things in the cabin such as slippers, shampoo and conditioner, soap, and pool towels. A call to our butler and they were in the cabin in less than 15 minutes. Oswald our cabin steward was very apologetic. Told him there was no reason to apologize, it was not a big deal, we weren’t in need of them at the moment anyway.

 

This is for Coka if she is reading this. Mark walked out on the front balcony and wasn’t there more than 5 minutes and he got sprayed with water from the window washers for the bridge. I was hysterical laughing. Thanks coka, got to chuckle at this twice. By the way, Karan said to say hi.

 

Off we went to the life boat drill. I have to say I really disliked the way they handled it. We were assigned to report to the stardust theatre for muster. We headed down early and were told to sit in the seats without putting on the life jackets and leaving no open seats. Right after the alarms, we are instructed to put on our life jackets. It’s hard enough putting them on while you are standing let alone sitting in a seat. Well we decided to cheat a little. We put on the jacket and just wrapped the strap around the vest and clasped it in front without fighting to get it around our waste and hitting our neighbors in the face. We did this since the woman in our section was checking. This was just a very awkward muster. As soon as we left, forgot all about it. We were off to have some more fun.

 

We headed back up to the pool for the sail away party. We met our friends at the bar and enjoyed watching the Miami coast disappear. The sail away was actually disappointing, very uneventful. We had a good time with our new friends and made our own fun. After we had enough cocktails we headed back to enjoy the cabin for a bit. When we got back to the cabin (5:00PM) our luggage was waiting for us. Unpacking didn’t take long. We just kept laughing that we have a walk in closet (we don’t even have one at home) and more drawers than we knew what to do with. I could have brought more clothes.

 

We decided to do the buffet for dinner since we really didn’t feel like getting dressed. The buffet was good, with many choices, and loved the Indian food. For the vegetarians, they had a full salad bar, Indian food, cheeses, hummus, tabouli salad, chilled soups, pizza and pasta. I heard they had tofu but I didn’t see any. I only eat fish, chicken, and turkey so I can’t comment on the other meat offerings. We probably won’t be doing the buffet again for dinner. I just hate having to jostle for food and dealing with people who think they are the only ones on the ship. And I detest those who eat while they are getting food, especially when using their fingers.

 

I also have to agree with other posters that the tongs are very hard to handle. I felt like I was on candid camera when I was trying to pick up grilled chicken from the skillet, it kept slipping out of the tongs. I decided after reading the boards to try the chilled soups, tonight it was peach. It was very good. Thanks CC’ERS. I’ll post at the end all the soups I tried.

 

After dinner we headed off to Spinnaker for the FOD at 8:15. We decided to skip the show tonight (Jean Ann Ryan Company – South Beach Rave). Met a great group of guys and 2 women. One of the guys did karaoke and sung 2 songs and was pretty good. Me, if I had to sing I would be on the bloopers for American Idol. Next we strolled over to check out the casino. We picked up a CAS card and played the slots for not very long. It was extremely smoky and we had a hard time with that. The one thing about the ships layout that I did not like was that if you left the Stardust theatre on deck six you had to walk through the casino through the smoke.

 

After a long day we headed back to enjoy a good night’s sleep in a king size bed. Not used to that luxury either. I have to say that the bed and the bedding were just outstanding. NCL did a great job with this enhancement. Best sleep I have ever had on any vacation.

[philatiger]

Here are a few pictures of the owners suite.

[philatiger]

A few more:

[philatiger]

The last grouping:

[Rina155]

Thank you for posting such great pictures. How wonderful to be upsold to the Owners Suite!!! I bet it was fun to be spoiled for a week like that... Maybe someday I will have this good fortune! I am glad you had a great cruise vacation. We leave for the Pearl in less than two weeks!!!!

[philatiger]

Sunday 29-Nov-2009

Part 1

 

Sunday was going to be a busy day, lot’s of parties. We woke up at 7:00 and I headed to the gym ; I need to do something to work off all the food we have been eating. And it was only the start of day 2. The gym was well equipped with treadmills, elliptical machines, bicycles, dumb bells up to 65lbs and a complete circuit. Being forward we were definitely getting more exercise in addition to the gym. But we really don’t mind it. Walking from the bow to the stern down the long corridors reminded us of the hallway in the shining , if we saw two girls standing at the end of the hallway not sure what we would have done…lol One of those hallways that never ends when you are going from fore to aft. When I got back from the gym Mark informed me we had a leak from the front balcony door. Our fault….we forgot to shut the bulkhead door and it had rained all night. We had to call housekeeping to suck up all the water.

 

After my 3 mile run at the gym we headed up to Cagney’s for breakfast. Again the staff was very friendly and courteous. I am very easy to please..keep my water glass full and I am a happy camper. Breakfast was a few chocolate croissants, egg omelet and potatoes. Mark had the crab cake Benedict. Food was very good this morning. Did I say this already..love love love this perk.

 

After breakfast headed back to the cabin to get ready for the meet n greet I had organized. Tracy the group services coordinator set us up to meet in the Indigo lounge at 11:00. We had 34 people out of 60. I expected 50% so we had a good turnout. The gift exchange went well and some got some pretty cool gifts. Shona the cruise director made an appearance, as did the hotel director and food and service director. They did things a little different this time which I liked. Rather than standing up in front of the group, they made it much more personal and walked around to each of the tables. I thought this was a great way to get people to interact who might feel intimidated to ask questions in front of a group of people. I gave positive feedback to Tracy the group services coordinator. NCL did a real nice job supplying the meeting space, juices, coffee, tea, and snacks. Like we haven’t had enough food already. We thought Shona looked familiar and it turned out she was CD on POA in 2006 when we sailed on her.

 

Headed back to the cabin, dropped off the meet n greet stuff and headed back to Cagney’s for lunch. Again the food was very good and the service was as well. I had the chilled pineapple soup which was very good and Mark had the chicken gumbo that he said was very good and spicy, just the way he likes it.

 

After lunch we head up to Spinnaker for the latitudes party, had way too many rum punches on top of the bloody Mary’s in the cabin. Hey, I am on vacation. There was a pretty big turnout for the party. Just remember to bring your invitation; this is your raffle ticket. Mark won the first raffle…. 2 photo albums, each with a picture of the Pearl on the left and a space for an 8x10 on the right. Our new meet n greet friends Bev and Al won 2 tee shirts and free bingo. A good time was had by all. Winning definitely helps.

 

Weather was really bad today, heavy wind and rain, and a very rocky ship so of course everyone was inside. We headed up to the courtyard to relax in the pool and the hot tub. It was so nice to have this option. It was so quiet and peaceful up there. This was another really nice perk. I’ve been eating way too many chocolate chip cookies. Between the hot tub and the bloody Mary’s I was definitely ready for a nap. I am not a big drinker so a few drinks gets me buzzed.

 

Mark headed off to the casino to gamble and the living room chaise lounge was calling my name. Many snores later (about an hour nap) I woke up in time for the captains party at 6:30.

[philatiger]

Sunday 29-Nov-2009

Part 2

 

Captains party was nice, wasn’t crowded at all and drinks were free flowing. Captain would not shake hands for fear of H1N1. All the other officers shook hands. Thought it was a little odd. It wasn’t like the entire ship was there and they had spray bottles everywhere. To each his own I guess.

 

We had dinner in Le Bistro with the Romance package. House white wine was pretty good as long as it stayed chilled, once it got warm it tasted tart. For starters I had the onion soup and Mark had the foie gras with smoked duck and escargot. For dinner I had the swordfish and Mark had the lamb. All the food was excellent and the service was good. We really loved the décor and the original Renoir was beautiful.

 

After dinner we went to see Sam Fedele the comedian. Very funny and really got the audience involved by picking on them. Sad to say after such a busy day and wine at dinner I fell asleep for the second part of the show. But I was told he was funny. At least I wasn’t snoring.

 

Went to Bliss lounge for the FOD get together and met a few new people. One couple lived 5 minutes from our home in Philadelphia. Small world. We liked the décor in Bliss lounge too. All four bowling alleys were working and the cost was $5.00 per game.

 

Hung out there for a while and then headed to Spinnaker for the 70’s disco party that was a lot of fun, especially since I was a teenager in the 70’s, the music brought back some good and not so good memories. The seas were still pretty rough due to the bad weather and it was difficult at times to keep your balance. Off to bed at 11:00. Tomorrow Samana.

[Planer's Edge]

Nice review so far.

 

Which Captain was aboard for your sailing?

 

PE

[coka]

Hi Philatiger! I LOL'd at Mark's "shower." The owner's suite looks awesome. Thanks for posting the pics. Nice to the see the meet and greet was done a little differently on your sailing. Don't you just love all the parties? Even better when the weather is not good...makes you feel like you are not missing out on something else. CD Shona must be a traveling CD. She was on the Dawn last April.

 

coka

[realcindylouwho]

Chuck - We finally arrived home at 9:40 last night. The boys were flabbergasted at how tan I was! Unfortunately we have swine flu at our house AGAIN!!! Yes, son #2 came down with it early Saturday morning, but symptoms are mild, thank goodness. He did have the vomiting, which neither son #1, or myself experienced.

I swear that our home is pitching left and right, up and down. Kind of a good feeling actually, extending the vacation for a time. I miss the Pearl already!!!

I am still in my pj's, slippers and robe. I hope to post our review later in the week.

-Princess Cindy

[philatiger]

Monday 30-Nov-2009

 

Woke up to a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and no rain. Headed to Cagney’s for breakfast and then down to the stardust for our excursion. This was another area where I think they need improvement. Everyone was scattered all over the theatre. When they announced boarding for an excursion it became a free for all on all the aisles. We were on DCL last year and liked the way they handled it. They had everyone sit in sections so that everyone was sitting together for each excursion; Much easier to ensure accurate head counts and less confusion.

 

We booked the Cayo beach escape. There was only one ship in port so the beach was not real crowded. We found some loungers, dropped out bags and headed for the water. Crystal clear, no fish, jelly fish, or seaweed. Bottom was just sand. They do a nice job keeping the beach free of debris. As a tip, when heading to the beach avoid the far right side, this is where the locals go. The beach was beautiful and quiet, just what we needed. In our opinion t was worth the price. They had food and drinks for sale, and were not over priced. There were vendors set up for souvenir shopping. After a few hours we headed back to the ship. Met a few people later in the day who did the Bahia all inclusive and they said it was unbelievable. If we ever end up in Samana again we will probably do this excursion.

 

We had a late lunch in Cagney’s. I can’t say enough about his perk. The menu stays the same so once in a while we would request something from another restaurant or the buffet as an addition. I like hash browns that they don’t serve there and I do not eat red meats so they would get turkey bacon or sausage for me.

 

After our late lunch we headed to the cabin, made myself a bloody Mary and headed out to get some afternoon sun. I was pleasantly surprised that there were actually chairs available by the pool. One of the good things about traveling this week is that there were not a lot of children so this was a very nice surprise. And the adult only pool was great as well. I actually took a stroll by the pool right before breakfast to check out the chair hogs. I was shocked to see only a few chairs with towels. This was around 8:00AM. Doesn’t really matter to me though since I spend my time on the freestyle deck. No trouble finding a lounger there…lol. I just head down to the pool to cool off when I need to, and yes I did remember to put my suit back on..<G> Although it’s funny laying up there with cameras right over your head.

 

It was a little entertaining once in a while when people strolled up there and didn’t realize what the deck was for. You would hear “Oh my”, or oops, not for me and they would turn around. NCL really needs to put up a sign. It just says freestyle. One person complained and a staff member came up and said something to one of the couples. Glad I wasn’t there, I would have asked for the hotel director. The staff member should have explained to the passenger what the deck was for and not say anything to the couple who were up there. I will probably write them about it and recommend that they put the sign back up or some kind of warning.

 

Sad to report…we ran into 2 guys we had met at the FOD on Sunday night. They told us a passenger on the Pearl had drowned at the beach they were at while he was snorkeling. Apparently he, his son, and not sure if it was the son or nephew were snorkeling and got pulled out in the current. They were able to save the son and young boy but not the older gentleman. Again, you never know for sure but we had heard they were out in an area where they shouldn’t have been. There was a doctor ( a passenger ) there who tried to resuscitate him but was not successful. It was pretty said to hear this news. Since there was no airport there, we heard they had to bring him on board to be flown home from St Thomas the next day. Not sure if this is true, just what we heard. Someone else may now more. We also heard another passenger was robbed on an excursion. Not sure if this was an NCL or independent excursion.

 

Dinner tonight was at Indigo. Karan made a reservation for us at 8:00 so it was nice to walk in even though there was a wait. Dinner was very good, but I do have to say that the service was not. Very long waits for water, bread, appetizers, and the rest of dinner. He was not attentive at all, at least stop by once in a while and check on us. Not sure what the problem was. We heard similar complaints from other passengers later that evening about other servers. We still enjoyed dinner and chalked it up to maybe he was having a bad night, but we weren’t sure we would be going back again.

 

We skipped the show again tonight, Jean Ann Ryan – Sea Legs, a Showgirl Review. We headed to Bliss after dinner and partied with some people we had met the night before. Headed to bed around 11:30.

[Planer's Edge]

I thought the Freestyle Deck was meant for topless sunbathing not full nudity? Not, that I care one way or the other. Just curious.

 

PE

[philatiger]

I thought the Freestyle Deck was meant for topless sunbathing not full nudity? Not' date=' that I care one way or the other. Just curious.

 

PE[/color']

 

I had inquired about this and was told both. Most were full. I think NCL really needs to clarify this. That's why I thought I would write them. I am a rule follower as long as the rules are clear.

[Planer's Edge]

I had inquired about this and was told both. Most were full. I think NCL really needs to clarify this. That's why I thought I would write them. I am a rule follower as long as the rules are clear.

 

Please let us know what you find out. I am curious as to the rule also.

 

I, for one, am very familiar with what that deck is for and don't go there for that reason. But, I have overheard guys talking about going up to see what they could see when a few of the dancers were seen heading up there. That is just rude. IMHO!

 

PE

[mejoe39]

Hi Chuck,

 

This is Joe from Maryland. I'm sorry Tim and I didn't make it to the Meet and Greet. I forget what we were doing but something else came up that conflicted with the Meet and Greet. But from the sounds of it everyone made a lot of new friends.

 

We did try to go to the FOD meeting in the Bliss lounge several nights but I couldn't figure out where the VIP area was. There were two rooms (one at each entrance near the bowling lanes) but we didn't see anyone there.

 

The pictures of the cabin look great. I will have to save up so I can have that room someday.

 

Unfortunately we came back to snow in Maryland.

 

I hope you are enjoying your extra week off.

 

Joe

[dlorenzo]

How do I get the upsell fairy to call me? We are leaving on the 12/26 cruise on the Pearl!

[philatiger]

How do I get the upsell fairy to call me? We are leaving on the 12/26 cruise on the Pearl!

 

No one can really figure out how the upsell fairy works. Just keep your fingers crossed that she calls.

[philatiger]

Tuesday 01-Dec-2009

Went to the gym again this morning to try and stave off weight gain. Then off to Cagney’s for breakfast.

 

We have been to St Thomas before so we decided to do the sky ride to paradise point. It provided a beautiful view of the Pearl and the port. Personally I don’t think it was worth what they charged but the view was spectacular. They had some really good Christmas tree ornaments and I wish we would have picked up one. Didn’t see any to this caliber in town.

 

Headed back down from the top and then headed to the K-mart up the street. If anyone needs any supplies it is about 4 or 5 blocks from the port heading into town. I needed some tums and we wanted to get some febreeze. The leak from the balcony door left a strong musty odor that the cabin steward could not get rid of for some reason. The febreeze worked great and by the end of the day the odor was gone.

 

We then headed into town to walk around a little. We are not big shoppers so they made nothing from us there. We headed to Cuzzin’s so Mark could get his conch fritters that he loves. We decided to do take out this time so he did not get the conch soup too. At this point we were ready to head back to the ship and enjoy the quiet while everyone was off the ship.

 

The ship was empty and we decided to eat in the buffet for a change. Great selection of food and it was not very busy since most had gone ashore. I tried the pizza and I have to say it was not that bad. After lunch I headed out to work on the tan and read my book. We are usually always on the go but this trip decided to schedule in a lot of down time. I really liked the adult pool and they enforced the no children. It was wonderful being able to relax in the pool without a lot of splashing.

 

The only disappointment of the entire cruise came this afternoon when we got back to the cabin to get ready for the evening. There was a notice on our door informing us that the excursion to the baths had been canceled. Apparently they closed the beach there due to rough waters. This was the one excursion I was looking forward to the most. It got me down for a little bit, but then we looked around and just smiled, we had a great cabin, met some great people, and the cruise has been terrific so far. We will find something to do, we were not too worried. I am sure we will be here again someday.

 

We called Juremar our butler this afternoon and asked him to set us up for a small cocktail party in our cabin for 6:00PM. He brought a cheese and cracker tray and a vegetable tray. Set the bar with tomato juice, hot sauce, pineapple juice, orange juice, tonic and lime, and pepsi and diet pepsi to go with the vodka, gin, and rum that we chose from the liquor list for the cabin. The one thing we were surprised about was the size of the bottles, 1 liter. We invited Cindy, Kent, Bev, Alan, and the couple in the cabin next to ours. I am embarrassed that I have forgotten their names. Bev and Alan had their butler deliver shrimp and they also brought 2 cans of fruit punch to make rum punch. It was a nice warm up for our dinner at Teppanyaki. Our reservation was at 7:30.

 

Since the tables at Teppanyaki are for 8, they seated another couple with us. Funny thing that as the conversation got going they told us they were lurkers on our roll call but never posted. We all had a great time, very entertaining and the food was very good. I had the chicken Yakisoba which was the best I have ever had. Dessert was frozen ice creams balls that had this gelatin like coating, strange texture but good.

 

After dinner we headed over to the Stardust theater to watch Second City. It was really nice having the owners suite because one of the perks was reserved seating for the shows. We never had to rush to get good seats so we could really enjoy dinner without feeling rushed. The show was excellent and we laughed a lot. I stayed awake this time. We would have enjoyed another night of Second City and Sharkbait and one less of the Jean Ann Ryan shows. Just my opinion.

 

Tomorrow Tortola

[coka]

Sorry you did not get to the baths. I am hoping a third time is a charm for me. The baths will be my one goal next trip. The ice cream balls are something funny huh? I think they were surrounded in minced rice or minced something funky!

 

Looking forward to reading more!

 

coka

[nikita]

Thanks so much for the great review and photos. I'm looking forward to reading the rest!

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Great review so far!:) I love the details. I'll save my question until after you are done since you may answer it anyway.

[marelind]

philatiger, your review is outstanding! Thank you!

 

We were in 10504 two years ago and will be in 10004 in April. We also were upsold, and it was a pleasant shock walking into the cabin and seeing everything that is there.

 

BTW, what is FOD?

[racepoint]

Great review. I am enjoying the details and loving your view of the "suite life." Don't be afraid to correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought FOD = "Friends of Dorothy" : A group meeting for gay men.

[philatiger]

Great review. I am enjoying the details and loving your view of the "suite life." Don't be afraid to correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought FOD = "Friends of Dorothy" : A group meeting for gay men.

 

Hi, yes you are correct about FOD, includes women as well.