REVIEW - Norwegian Pearl Oct 31-Nov 7

[Scrappygrrl]

Mother son moment:

 

 

 

Our sushi chef:

 

 

Tonights' entertainment was "Gardens of the Geisha" which we did not see. My son went with the kids club and he said he like it because there were ninjas, but he liked Sharkbait better.

 

We went bowling instead:

 

Then cocktails in the Spinnaker for the What's My Line Game show.

 

 

Side note: the traditional martinis (either straight up or on the rocks) in the Spinnaker are AMAZING!!

The game show featured Andy, Isolda (assistant CD and the "bingo lady") and the comedian Rod Long as the guessers. It started off slowly (I think use of the Second City here would be a good addition). It ended with a bang though when the last person was a female Methodist minister from Key West. Since she was from Key West, they were guessing all sorts of adult-oriented occupations, and had the audience rolling.

 

We grabbed my son at Kids Crew by 10 or so, and off to bed. Tonight was the Hot Pink Party - I should I have popped in for a bit, but the next port was Tortola and an early one at that 7a-3p. And we had an appointment to pick up a rental car at 8am.

 

To be continued....

[Scrappygrrl]

Also, I am working on scanning the Dailies and the Kids Crew - my husband can do it faster with his work scanner so I will see if he can do it tomorrow.

[tomsuelaw]

Thank you so much for this lovely and most helpful review. Looking forward to reading more!

[yazeee1]

Thank you for posting all these great pictures! I especially love the food pictures. Sushi...yum. I look forward to reading more. I hope you have time to do it before Friday. We are heading south Friday at noon and I don't want to miss the rest.

[Luvsdabeach]

thanks so much for the review!!! Loving the pics :)

[Scrappygrrl]

Tortola -

Woke up to beautiful weather in Tortola. I think we just ate a quick breakfast in the Garden Cafe since we wanted to get to the car rental place by 8 am. It can definitely be kind of a zoo at the peak times!

 

We rented a car through national which is in Duff's Bottom - about a mile and half or so from Roadtown. In retrospect I should have called and asked for them to pick us up, but we took a cab ($15). We were given a brand new Suzuki jeep type of thing. Only had 17 miles on it. It was pretty cheap too - $45 for the day. From the rental facility we headed to Smuggler's Cove. It was about 30 minutes or so, the last ten minutes being on a deeply rutted dirt road. Very worth it though! Absolutely beautiful beach with just a handful of others

 

Some signage as you approach from the parking area:

 

 

 

 

 

We sat on the left side, and there was a small beach bar there. He offered us some chairs and said they were free as long as we supported the bar.

 

 

It was only about 9:30 or so, so we had some water and juice. They had folks setting up to barbecue and you could also rent snorkel gear and kayaks.

[beetle9]

gre:)at job on the pics and review

[Scrappygrrl]

We spent some time there swimming and snorkeling. We decided to check out more beaches since we had the car. We headed to Brewer's Bay. It took about 50 minutes, I think. We did miss a turn and had to backtrack. Note about driving: you drive on the opposite side, but the steering wheel is on the left, like it is in the US. The roads are in bad condition and extremely narrow in spots. However, there is very little traffic. Overall we found driving to be fine with just a little care. Roads are NOT well-marked, however we encountered was super helpful and concerned with getting us where we wanted to go.

 

On the way to Brewer's Bay:

 

 

We passed Cane Garden Bay and it looked somewhat crowded. Brewer's Bay kind of reminded me of parts of Hawaii. Maybe it was the chickens and roosters! It is surrounded on all sides by mountains so the water has a greenish look to it. It felt lagoon-like, if that makes sense.

 

Some pics:

[Scrappygrrl]

Chicken:

 

Another view:

 

Just another day in paradise:

 

 

 

We headed off with what we though was plenty of time to spare, it was, but just barely, took an hour to get back to RoadTown!

 

In addition to chicken and goats we also came across horses just hanging out in the road.

 

We spot Road Town, finally!

 

After dropping off the car, we got right back in it as they used it to drive us back to the port. We were onboard by 2, sailaway was at 3. Grabbed a quick bite in Garden Cafe (mobbed with everyone doing the same thing!)

The drink of the day was served in a pineapple - -highly recommend!!

My son drinking a virgin one:

 

[sunlover1060]

Loving the review Scrappy. I have been trying to get one together but it keeps getting bigger and bigger so I need to edit it a lot before I can post it here. It seems to be more of a journal at this point.

[tennispretzel]

Scrappy...love all the pictures, especially the one with the horse out the jeep window!!

We took a cab to Cane Garden Bay and thought the roads were pretty scary.

[timeforadaiquiri]

Scrappy, thanks so much for all that you posted. This was one of the best reviews. You talked about great stuff. And the pictures are amazing. I'm going with my sister in March and now we are more excited than ever!

[MissRabbit]

totally awesome Scrappy! *clappy hands*

 

I had planned on taking pics of the food and menus but all that went out the window once i got on the cruise. Thank goodness you had the foresight to do so. This will be very helpful to ev1.

[catspajamasfan]

Hey Scrappy-

 

Great review! Also, your son is adorable! I think he should do NCL commercials!

[Scrappygrrl]

I need to wrap this review up at some point, huh? Will try to get to it ASAP!!!

[tomsuelaw]

Hey Scrappygirl, I am really looking forward to the rest of your review. I know this is the busy time of year so no pressure. Just wanted to let you know that I did not forget about you or your lovely review and would love love love to see it finished if and when you have the time :D Great Job!!

 

I am looking to set up a Meet and Greet for my roll call. So far I left a message with my PCC today and am waiting for a response. How did you get yours set up? Thanks.

[debbie2000]

I am looking to set up a Meet and Greet for my roll call. So far I left a message with my PCC today and am waiting for a response. How did you get yours set up? Thanks.

 

I can help you with this, as I was the contact for our 11/28/10 Pearl M&G.

 

 

Send an Email to Maybelin & ask if she will set up a time & place for your M&G. It's usually at 11AM on Monday in the Indigo Dining Room.

 

Maybelin Gutierrez | Group Event Pearl Coordinator

groupeventpearl@ncl.com

 

Include your contact info & also your resevation # & Cabin #. I recontacted her the week before the cruise with a head count. She provided my with the name of the on-board Group Coordinator & when I got on the ship, I left a note for her at the Guest Services Desk, with a final count. The officers & crew on the Pearl are WONDERFUL!!!

[tomsuelaw]

I can help you with this, as I was the contact for our 11/28/10 Pearl M&G.

 

 

Send an Email to Maybelin & ask if she will set up a time & place for your M&G. It's usually at 11AM on Monday in the Indigo Dining Room.

 

Maybelin Gutierrez | Group Event Pearl Coordinator

groupeventpearl@ncl.com

 

 

Include your contact info & also your resevation # & Cabin #. I recontacted her the week before the cruise with a head count. She provided my with the name of the on-board Group Coordinator & when I got on the ship, I left a note for her at the Guest Services Desk, with a final count. The officers & crew on the Pearl are WONDERFUL!!!

 

Thank You, greatly appreciated!!! :D

[DarceyJK]

OMG - where's the rest?? We leave on the Pearl on the 26th and this has been the best info I've ever gotten!! Thanks a Mill!!!!

[Scrappygrrl]

We had a great day in Tortola and I recommend a car rental and a visit to Smuggler's Cove if you want an option other than the Baths. We returned the car and they drove us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. Since this was an early day, I think most folks did not eat onshore, thus the buffet was crowded. It was fine, we made do.

The drink of the day was served in a pineapple, divine! We ordered a virgin one for DS.

 

 

I am not sure if they pick up pineapples in Tortola, but for the next 2 nights the pineapple at the buffet was really delicious!

[Scrappygrrl]

After naps and showers, my son opted (yet again) for room service dinner for that he could get to the kids club quicker. Embarrassing story: I called room service, and was told 35-45 minutes. OK, fine. My husband left to check out the dutyfree liquor and I jumped in the shower while my son watched Andy the cruise director on TV (he loved watching him). Anyhoodle, it could not have been more than 10 minutes since I called room service, and in the middle of my shower my son comes in to tell me someone's knocking at the door!! So I quick jumped out, hid behind the cracked bathroom door and told me son to open the door. I watched the gentleman bring in the order through my cracked door, all the while calling out "i am so sorry I would tip but I am a bit indisposed. Thank you ever so much!!"

Anway, my son got his dinner early was pleased at least.

 

 

 

He headed off to the kids club and DH and I had a lovely dinner at the Summer Palace ( I had quesadilla and prime rib, hubby had a red snapper special, I think).

 

 

I think tonight might have been Quest? It was a lot of fun and the only night we used the kids club after hours. My son was there til a bit after 12 and loved it. Thank god for naps!!

 

Towel monkey before bed:

 

[Scrappygrrl]

Friday was scheduled sea day but the Captain informed us it would likely be getting rough as well as we were outrunning Hurricane Tomas. He advised us to take the free meds they were offering because it is better to prevent than try to cure (we did and had no side effects). He also said it was unlikely that we would be able to tender at GSC and that he checked with Freeport and Nassau and we could not get a spot there either.

We ended up with 2 days at sea. First day was still warm and sunny, but Saturday was cool and windy. We spent that day doing trivia, and catching the staff talent show. The last night was a wrap up of entertainment that week. My son saw some kids club friend and sat with them:

[catlady922]

Thank you so much for this review and pics. I sailed on the Pearl this past Feb and I love, love, love her!! This has brought back so many wonderful memories for me as we sailed the same itenerary. Thanks again!!:)

[Scrappygrrl]

Glad you enjoyed - 1 more installment and I should be done!! I am terribly embarrassed for the delay in finishing, but at least I am finally getting there!!

[Livabeth]

Hi Scrappygrrl,

 

I enjoyed your review and especially the pictures. We are booked on the Pearl's Hallowe'en cruise this year with our 2 dd. I was just wondering what hallowe'en events they planned for the kids?? Did the kids have an opportunity to go trick or treating or do any hallowe'en themed activities?? Where the kids dressed in costume??

 

Thanks.