Pearl Questions

[Twoboyzandadog]

We are about to book the Pearl for 2/20/11. We are new to NCL having cruised on Carnival 4 times and RCCL once. We are actually booked on Liberty of the Seas but are planning on cancelling because we feel we are being ripped off! 599 for each kid! Are they crazy!

 

Anyway, a few questions about the Pearl and NCL.

 

Is there free soft serve ice cream available?

 

Is the basketball court always open?

 

Is the a place that shows movies?

 

Is the food in the main dining room the same every night?

 

What are the outdoor pool tables like? Would love pictures.

 

That's all for now, I'm sure we will come up with more.

 

Thanks

[newmexicoNita]

We are about to book the Pearl for 2/20/11. We are new to NCL having cruised on Carnival 4 times and RCCL once. We are actually booked on Liberty of the Seas but are planning on cancelling because we feel we are being ripped off! 599 for each kid! Are they crazy!

 

Anyway, a few questions about the Pearl and NCL.

 

Is there free soft serve ice cream available?

 

Is the basketball court always open?

 

Is the a place that shows movies?

 

Is the food in the main dining room the same every night?

 

What are the outdoor pool tables like? Would love pictures.

 

That's all for now, I'm sure we will come up with more.

 

Thanks

 

I can't answer all your questions I am sorry, but others will I am sure: I will say the ship is one of the nicest we have ever cruised and we certainly have cruised a lot.

 

Yes, they do show movies; I think almost every afternoon. Check the Freestyle Daily.

They are viewed in the Showroom

 

The main dining room with have 3 different entrees each night plus several that are the same each day but are a great selection. The "always available" choices are, Salmon, steak, chicken breast, pork and usually one other choice. You shouldn't have any trouble finding something you can enjoy. Oh, also, of course there are things like baked potatoes, certain veggies, ceaser salad always available.

 

I think there is soft serve Ice cream. I don't know about the pool tables. normally the sports section, including basketball is open most of the time during day and early evening hours.

 

Nita

[Twoboyzandadog]

Thank you. Do you know about the Wii being played on a big screen somewhere?

[InternetAgeTraveler]

Is there free soft serve ice cream available?

 

> Yes, not always available but they have them. They also have an ice cream 'parlor' with a variety of flavors and sorbets.

 

Is the basketball court always open?

 

> Generally, although its a shared area with the tennis court so always could be something else going on.

 

Is the a place that shows movies?

 

> They have an indoor theater

 

Is the food in the main dining room the same every night?

 

> They have a set menu that is the same every night. They also have a section that varies from night to night with a few selections (although less variety than on Carnival which we have always sailed).

 

What are the outdoor pool tables like? Would love pictures.

 

> you mean the gaming tables? I don't recall seeing any pool tables, but maybe just missed them.

[Jen731]

 

Anyway, a few questions about the Pearl and NCL.

 

Is there free soft serve ice cream available?

 

Yes - chocolate, vanilla or swirl. Yum yum. They also have 8 flavors of ice cream and sherbet right next to the soft serve, like a mini-ice cream shop, with toppings and candy for sundaes. Both are in the back part of the buffet.

 

Is the basketball court always open?

 

No, you would need to check the schedule.

 

Is the a place that shows movies?

 

The main area next to the reception desk has a 2 or 3 story screen where they show movies. I didn't think the screen quality was very good and there was a ton of action in that area since there was reception, excursions desk, a bar, the Blue Lagoon Upstairs, etc. They just set up chairs in front of the screen. They also use this screen for Wii play. There is not much time when it is used for the Wii, because there are also a lot of presentations on ports, shopping & jewelry in this area.

 

Is the food in the main dining room the same every night?

 

No, not the same, there are 3 appetizers, entrees and desserts that change daily.

 

What are the outdoor pool tables like? Would love pictures.

There were lots of tables under shade, some tables with wicker chairs out in the sun, and even some beds for two people looking over the water.

That's all for now, I'm sure we will come up with more.

 

If you want to see the current dailies and food menus (these are for Alaska and of course will change some by next year & with your cruise schedule), they were uploaded by another CC member here: http://community.webshots.com/user/pmd98052

 

That will at least give you an idea of the food menus and basketball court use.

Thanks

 

Have fun! I thought the Pearl was a great ship.

[ramidon1]

I think there were pool tables out by the swimming pool, if I remember correctly.

 

I remember soft-serve ice cream at the "outdoor" section of the buffet restaurant. They also had "hand-dipped" ice cream at the indoor section of the same buffet line.

 

They use the huge screen in the center atrium to play wii. Usually quite a few kids in line to use it....it was at various times during the day...they would put it in the daily activities guide.

 

We went on the Pearl last Christmas week for our 7th cruise....only our 2nd NCL....it was "okay". We had a balcony & our kids had an inside cabin (teens). My first choice would be RCCL for the future...but their prices have been ridiculous recently.

[NEcruisers????]

The Wii is in the atrium and seemed top be always on if there was not a presentation going on (mostly spa type things).

[Kaboochi]

OP, thanks for starting this thread. We booked our frist NCL cruise yesterday and we are also on the Pearl.

 

We have not done free style dining before. Are there several restaurants included in the cruise price or do you have to pay to eat at any other than the MDR?

 

Does the Pearl have room service?

 

thanks for your help

[newmexicoNita]

OP, thanks for starting this thread. We booked our frist NCL cruise yesterday and we are also on the Pearl.

 

We have not done free style dining before. Are there several restaurants included in the cruise price or do you have to pay to eat at any other than the MDR?

 

Does the Pearl have room service?

 

thanks for your help

 

Yes, they have room service, but the menu is pretty limited, mostly snack type of foods like sandwhiches and cont breakfast.

 

here are the inclusive dining choices:

2 Main dining rooms

an awesome buffet

outdoor grill for breakfast and lunch

Blue Lagoon which is a comfort food type of diner. It offers a limited menu, but very popular. They serve breakfast (not an elaborate choice, but basic) plus sandwhiches, fish and chips, baffalo wings, good soup, salads, and other snacky type of foods.

 

Nita

[InternetAgeTraveler]

The Pearl also has a number of specialty restaurants that range from $10 to $25. There are a number of threads on this forum debating the value of these extra fees. These include a tex mex, italian, french, steak house, chinese and Japanese Teppanyaki (one of our favorites) but these are completely optional.

[Barb Nahoumi]

I didn't recall seeing pool tables but there are two ping pong tables on the pool deck.

 

There were also tables & chairs out there, if that's what you meant.

 

Soft serve ice cream is available in the buffet.

 

Movies were shown nightly in the Atrium on a large screen.

 

The menu varies every day but there are some "always available," items, including steak, grilled chicken, salmon, and a pasta dish.

 

I loved this ship. Spent 14 days aboard for the Panama Canal Cruise.

[newmexicoNita]

I didn't recall seeing pool tables but there are two ping pong tables on the pool deck.

 

There were also tables & chairs out there, if that's what you meant.

 

Soft serve ice cream is available in the buffet.

 

Movies were shown nightly in the Atrium on a large screen.

 

The menu varies every day but there are some "always available," items, including steak, grilled chicken, salmon, and a pasta dish.

 

I loved this ship. Spent 14 days aboard for the Panama Canal Cruise.

 

Movies are also shown during the day in the showroom.

 

Nita

[Twoboyzandadog]

Thank you everyone. I think we may be hooked on NCL already. The videos on youtube are great. That screen in the lobby is huge. Can't wait.

[GORDONCHICK]

We thought the Pearl was a great ship! Best buffet afloat (and I'm not a buffet person). For younger kids, there's even a little buffet w/burgers, hotdogs, fries, and mac & cheese:

 

The basketball court is also the tennis court, so I guess who ever is first gets the court? Rock climbing overlooks the basketball/tennis court.

 

 

Playing the Wii in the atrium:

 

Don't forget bowling:

 

 

Great Outdoors:

[GORDONCHICK]

DH & DS loved playing chess:

 

The waterslide is always a hit:

 

Officers are awesome!

[Twoboyzandadog]

Wow Carmen! Great pictures. They answered many of my questions. Thanks so much.

[MNFreeze]

We have sailed NCL three times and are book on the Pearl for the 3/2/11 cruise.

 

I know on the Jewel (sister ship of the Pearl) there are rooms off of one of the bars. They are private rooms that you can do karoke in but they also have Wii in them. We had fun last time in one of those rooms with another family laughing and playing Wii.

 

As for the food in the MDR. I notice the menu's do change everything night but as some people say there are a few items that you can always get if you want them. So they feature new appitizers, salads, soups, entrees and desserts everynight but there are also items that you can order if you don't see something you like. I personally have never had the problem of not finding something that looked good to me (usually have the problem of picking just one thing or two things).

 

We haev two kids so Free Style works best for us. With kids and on vacation it is nice not to be on a set schedule. Also with port days you may want to come back and take a rest before going to dinner so you go at your own pace.

 

Trust me book the Pearl and you will love it.

[GORDONCHICK]

Wow Carmen! Great pictures. They answered many of my questions. Thanks so much.

 

Glad I could help! NCL is very laid-back, which we enjoyed. We have also done traditional dining and like that too, but not having to lug formal clothing was great - and we never felt out of place, even at a cocktail party with the captain in his dress uniform.