A Pearl Review Nov 27 - The No Apologies Cruise, "Aaaaaarrghh"!!!

[WildcatRock]

The “I Apologize in Advance for Anything I Might Do Cruise” Review

Norwegian Pearl

Nov 27 to Dec 4

 

Let me begin this cruise review with an explanation of the title you see above. A few years ago my wife (realcindylouwho) and I took a family vacation with our best friends lorenzogonewild and kcbluejay. One morning, prior to embarking on a day of drinking and sailing on a lake, she stated that she was planning on drinking all day and that now was a good time to “apologize for anything I might do” as she correctly assumed that she would be unable to coherently utter those words later in the day. Fast forward to our cruise on the NCL Pearl this year – it was my DW and I along with our friends Lorenzo and KCBlue Jay, so we faced reality knowing it was going to be a great, fun, and wild cruise, so we apologized in advance for anything we might do on the cruise.

 

I’m not going to bore you with a day-by-day, minute-by-minute log of our cruise as frankly, thanks to the alcohol and various adventures that occurred on this cruise, I’ll be lucky to remember enough to even write this review. I will instead just hit the highlights then close with some concluding comments.

 

Roll Call

 

As most roll calls do, ours started off incredibly slow, but picked up in members and chatter as we got closer to our cruise. Then, something amazing occurred. While chatting with melligene one night about where we should meet for the “Sail Away” we realized that on NCL’s ship layout of the Pearl, the Sky High Bar on deck 13 is incorrectly listed as the Bali Hai Bar. Since many hours were going to be spent at this bar, we decided at that point that we would rename the Sky High Bar as “Our Bar”. Working with my best buddy lorenzogonewild, we came up with the symbol of R and made the decision that we should create buttons with this symbol on it; at the top we included the cruise title of “The I Apologize in Advance for Anything I Might Do Cruise” and had the R prominently in the middle of the button. Once we rolled this idea out to our roll call, everyone loved it and jumped on the idea. What occurred was simply amazing, friendships were formed on-line, excitement grew amazingly high, and we all looked forward with great anticipation to our “Sail Away” party at R.

 

Miami the Day Before

 

We flew into Miami mid-afternoon on Saturday as we never want to test fate by flying in the day of our cruises. As there were four of us we requested a van taxi at the taxi stand just outside of the luggage carousels at the Miami airport. Our hotel of choice was the downtown Hyatt and our cab ride came to $25 with tip. One must-do if you’ve never ‘gone out’ in Miami the night before your cruise, is to go to Bayside which is a collection of restaurants and shops situated alongside the harbor in Miami. It was an amazing collection of nationalities, shops, restaurants, and music. We had a great time and will definitely hit Bayside the next time we’re in Miami.

 

The Cruise – Embarkation

 

We stay in suites when we cruise with NCL which means boarding the ship is always a breeze. We arrived at the port at 10:45 and sailed through security although we did carry a bottle of champagne with us that we were going to pop open later in the day to celebrate “Sail Away”. We paid the $15 ‘corkage fee’ and then went in to the VIP room for check-in. Of Note - our $15 ‘corkage fee’ was charged to the Indigo dining room. When we reviewed our bill later in the week we saw the $15 charge at Indigo and couldn’t figure out what it was until we remembered having to pay the ‘corkage fee’. After check-in we were escorted to the VIP waiting area just outside of the gangway on to the ship. At this point we all experienced a delay of 45 minutes due to the ship going through a customs inspection. Once the ship was cleared we were escorted on to the ship and our amazing week was underway.

 

I don’t know what it is about that very first step on to the ship. I always look forward to it, and as I sit here typing this can remember making my first step on to the ship.

 

Once on the ship we made our way to Cagney’s for lunch. We were thrilled to discover that our favorite waiter from last years’ Pearl cruise, Alvin Sigua, was still on the Pearl and still worked in Cagney’s. Alvin is a wonderful person and is simply outstanding as a waiter in Cagney’s. If you go to Cagney’s ask to be seated in Alvin’s area, we won’t be disappointed.

 

After lunch we took our friends Lorenzo and KC Blue Jay on a tour of the ship, then made our way to R for the ‘Sail Away’.

 

Sail Away

 

Wow, what a great ‘Sail Away’. We had roughly 35 people from our Roll Call show up at R and gave everyone their buttons which they proudly displayed. It’s pretty funny, melligene decided to say R as a pirate would, as in, “aaaargh”, and from the ‘Sail Away’ on, for the rest of cruise, when we saw someone from our Roll Call, we all would shout, “Aaaaargghh”!!. We had a great time at the ‘Sail Away’ with our new friends from the Roll Call. It did seem that our fellow cruisers were all in festive moods as I had never seen as many cruisers dancing on deck 12 as I did on this cruise. It was awesome.

 

Dinner – Lobster Tail – Indigo

 

For those who are cruising on the Pearl it should be noted that lobster tail night is now on Sunday’s, not on Thursdays as it had been on previous cruises. We ate dinner Sunday night in Indigo with Lorenzo and Blue Jay along with another friend we had made on our Roll Call, Ian from Toronto. Our service was outstanding as our waiter was Christian. He is the most requested waiter in Indigo and for good reason, he is wonderful. If you want great service when you’re in Indigo, make sure you request to be seated in Christian’s section, you won’t be disappointed. As far as the lobster itself, it was small and chewier than what I recall from our previous lobster tail nights on the Pearl. If you’re one lobster tail doesn’t satisfy your hunger, don’t be shy about asking for more. We asked for five more lobster tail which we quickly received. My DW, realcindylouwho, loves crème brulee and asked Christian if she could have some. It’s not listed on the menus for any restaurants, other than Le Bistro, but if you want some and ask your waiter very nicely, I’m sure they’d be very happy to oblige you.

 

Great Stirrup Cay

 

This stop is on Monday, the first full day of the cruise. We were able to go to GSC and found out from the crew that the Pearl had only been able to stop roughly 50% of the time since it began its’ Caribbean itinerary, though most of the misses were earlier this fall. The seas were very choppy the day we were there which meant a fairly rough tender ride and a few cruisers showing the rest of us what they had for breakfast that morning. A suggestion, if you get sea sick, before taking a tender to GSC, pop some Dramamine or whatever you take or do to avoid getting sea sick. The rest of your cruising family would greatly appreciate it.

 

Due to the rough seas, snorkeling at GSC was a little challenging. The water closer to the beach was pretty murky all day due to the sand being stirred up by the wave action. The snorkeling between the large rocks where the bay meet the sea was very dangerous and visibility very poor. There was good snorkeling with excellent fish counts about two thirds the way out in the bay. The water here isn’t too deep ranging from 7 – 10 feet and is easy snorkeling for all.

 

There have been A LOT of changes to GSC since we were there last year. First, the tenders now drop you off at a dock in a man made bay. There are little shops where you can by shirts, etc. There is also a large food area where the buffet is set up with plenty of picnic table seating set up on both sides of the buffet area. These areas all have roofs on them.

 

We rented a couple shells and if this something you want to do on GSC just go over to the shell area once you get there and a crew member will be waiting there to assist you. The rental charge for a clam shell is $29.99.

 

Meet and Greet

 

We had a very good meet and greet, that was organized by ridinggirl, and was held in the Star Bar. Nine of the Pearl’s officers attended the meet and greet and they were:

 

Kaj Turunen - Hotel Director

Jorge Martinho – Food and Beverage Director

Cesar Hapa – Executive Housekeeper

Julie Valeriote – Cruise Director

Joao Paulo Miranda – Guest Services Manager

Messiah Ritzinger – Executive Chef

Nedjelko Leventic, Restaurant Manager

Barani Rao – Beverage Manager

Rashida Ramos – Group Services Coordinator/Access Officer

 

Each officer introduced themselves, gave us a little of their backgrounds, and told us of their responsibilities. We had great interaction with these officers during the meet and greet and they all genuinely wanted to ensure that we had the best cruise experience. The meet and greet lasted maybe 45 minutes. A little secret for those cruisers who’ve never attended a meet and greet – if you go to the meet and greet and meet the ships officers and spend some time with them, they’ll remember you throughout the week and will be accessible to you if you need to speak with them. It’s pretty coo; when you’re walking around on the ship and Kaj, the hotel director, remembers you and asks how your cruise is going. So, if you sign up for a meet and greet, go to it. You’ll enjoy it.

 

Jamaica

 

Jamaica is a beautiful island. We didn’t sign up for any excursions and instead wanted to limit our day to a visit to Margaritaville then back to the ship. In hindsight, this was probably my mistake. Margaritaville is right next to the port and is a quick walk from the ship. Unfortunately, you have to walk through a gauntlet of cab drivers who all want to give you tours of the island, and an array of shops trying to sell you their wares. We made it to Margaritaville, had some drinks, and about two hours later went back to the ship. Not a lot of fun.

 

Our friends went off on their own and spent time walking through a couple shopping areas in Ocho Rios near the port. Some roll call friends of ours went on the float trip down the White River and loved it. The next time we’re in Jamaica we’ll make sure to go on an excursion that gives us a chance to see the island.

 

Be aware though, and be prepared, to walk through the gauntlet of taxi drivers, shops, and other local residents hawking their wares at the port entry.

 

Grand Cayman

 

A truly amazing and wonderful day. Due to rough seas, the cruise ships could only tender on the south side of the island where there is one, small, concrete dock. We were the first cruise ship there and watched as both the RCL Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Magic bypassed the island. We found out later that Carnival and RCL bypassed Grand Cayman due to the small dock size and lack of available tenders. So, we were the only cruise ship at Grand Cayman. Most excellent.

 

We booked an excursion through a non-NCL affiliated, local company called Native Way. My DW and I love snorkeling and if you want a fun excursion, contact Native Way. They met us at the southern dock and drove us to the marina on the west side of the island. From there we boated out to Stingray City. Prior to getting to the Stingray sandbar we stopped for a quick 20 min snorkel over the largest starfish I have ever seen. The water was incredibly clear and was only about 12 feet deep. The stingray sandbar was awesome and is truly an experience all should enjoy. The water is roughly waist deep and is very safe. After the stingrays we boated about a mile south for 45 mins of snorkeling over a reef in about 12 ft of water. There was an incredible fish count and array of fish varieties. The water was incredibly clear and had the clarity of a swimming pool. Simply amazing.

 

From there we boated north to Run Point where we had one of the coolest holiday experiences ever. We hopped off the boat at a resort on the shoreline at Rum Point (sorry but I don’t know the name) and went in to a bar where we had some local brewed beer and watched the surf while listening to Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and the gang sing holiday music. We were on a beach listening to holiday music. For a minute I thought I was in a Corona commercial.

 

We were then driven from Rum Point back to the dock so we could tender back to the Pearl. The cost for this wonderful excursion was just $40 per person. A great day in Grand Cayman.

 

Cozumel

 

The Pearl was one of 6 cruise ships at Cozumel with NCL having three ships in port (Pearl, Star, and Spirit), two from Carnival (one being the Magic that missed Grand Cayman), and the Freedom of the Seas from RCL (it missed Grand Cayman too). The Star and Spirit both docked at a port a couple miles north of where the Pearl and the other ships were. The Pearl and Freedom of the Seas used on dock with no issues at all. The two Carnival ships used a separate dock.

 

We went on the NCL excursion Fury Catamaran Snorkel that departed our dock at 12:45 pm. We had a pretty good group of roughly 40 fellow cruisers from the Pearl. We motored a few miles south of the port and snorkeled over the national park reef. A few words of caution, this was what I would call a deep water snorkel with ocean depths ranging from 20 feet to 50+ feet. The ocean swells were also pretty robust. I think the water depth and rough seas took many by surprise as the crew had to jump in the water and assist two snorkelers who were overcome by the wave action. Also, there were several snorkelers who panicked due to the depth of the ocean where we snorkeled. So, if you are someone who does not like deep water or are not a confident swimmer, be cautious and aware if you go on this excursion.

 

That being said, my DW and I loved the excursion as we saw good fish count, numerous species, and had good water clarity. Upon completion of the snorkel we boated down to Fury’s private island for about 45 minutes of play time on the inflatable slide, trampoline, etc. It was then back on the catamaran for a booze and music filled trip back to our pier.

 

High Light of the Trip for Me

 

I still can’t believe this happened. I think we’ve all seen the videos on YouTube of the cruise ship leaving the hubby and wifey dockside because they missed the departing time for the ship, or we’ve all heard stories about this happening. Well, we almost saw it happen in Cozumel. As we were staying in an aft penthouse, we had a sail away party for many of our friends we had made on the cruise. The ship’s departing time from Cozumel as 6 pm and we could not believe the number of people that were walking down the dock at 5:45 pm. Right at 6 pm the Pearl dropped her mooring lines and at the same time, a white van taxi cam barreling down the street, through the port gate, down the peer at a high rate of speed and past our vantage point. About 30 seconds later the van taxi slowly drove past us back up the peer and the Pearl’s propellers turned on. Whoever was in that taxi made it on to the Pearl with 30 seconds to spare. Simply incredible.....hilarious...but incredible.

 

In all seriousness, Grand Cayman was the highlight for me..........but this was a close second.

 

Debarkation

 

We walk off with our luggage and debarkation is always a breeze. This cruise was no different - easy and quick.

 

Final Comments

 

I wanted to highlight a couple neat things that happened to us on the cruise. First, we were invited by Kaj Turunen, Hotel Director, to dinner on Thursday night in Summer Palace. Dinner was with Kaj and the environmental officer of the ship (who’s name I can’t remember) and three other couples. During dinner I commented to Kaj that the Pearl’s crew are wonderful and are so focused on ensuring we have a great cruise experience. We learned that the Pearl consistently leads the NCL fleet in customer satisfaction and I asked him what they did on the Pearl that leads to the high satisfaction scores. Kaj stated that they’re very picky on whom they hire and that the crew is constantly going through training. Credit, I believe, must also be given to the ships officers who work just as hard as the crew. I don’t know when the officers and crew sleep because it seems you see them early in the morning and late at night. Simply put, the Pearl crew is amazing.

 

The second neat thing that happened to us was receiving an invite to the Gold, Silver, and Platinum Latitudes party. We didn’t know why we were invited as we were Bronze members, until we got home and discovered that we were now Gold Latitudes members due to the changes NCL had made to the Latitudes program. Pretty cool.

 

Some comments on the food. We have all seen the posts regarding the quality of food on NCL ships and I must say that of the now three cruises we’ve been on with NCL, the food we tasted on the Pearl for this cruise was by far the best we’ve had yet. The menus changed daily and the quality of the food was very good.

 

The only negative for our cruise was in the casino. The DW had come across slotplay coupons that enable you to buy $50 in coupons for only $25. You take the coupon to the casino and they give you $50 in credit and you have to spend $25. We tried to do this but were told that there was only one person that could assist us and they always seemed to be busy. It wasn’t a big deal to us as we’re not gamblers. Just a word to the wise that if you try slotplay coupons, it may be challenging to actually cash them.

 

I wanted to highlight some members of the crew who contributed to a truly wonderful cruise experience for us:

 

Kaj Turunen – We got to know Kaj on this cruise and greatly appreciated the occasions we had to spend time with him. He’s been doing this a long time and had some great stories to share. I don’t know when the man sleeps but he genuinely went out of his way to give us a great cruise experience.

 

Anoop Bhanu – he is the Pearl’s Concierge. We found Anoop to be wonderful to work with and incredibly responsive to any request we had.

 

Jeffrey – our butler. For anyone who will be sailing on the Pearl and get Jeffrey as your butler, you will love him. He’s the best butler we’ve had in our three sailings on the Pearl. What made him so wonderful was that he would anticipate our needs. In addition to the canapés that come every afternoon at 4 pm, on port days he would also bring a plate with club sandwiches and chips as he knew we’d have an appetite when we got back to the ship. He’s incredibly nice, and a wonderful person.

 

Alvin Sigua – waiter in Cagney’s. I’m proud to say that Alvin is a friend. If you want great service in Cagney’s, ask for Alvin. He will take great care of you.

 

Christian – waiter in Indigo. He provided us with the best service we’ve ever had in Indigo. Ask to be in his area and you won’t be disappointed.

 

Santosh – bar tender/waiter in Bliss. We met Santosh last year when he was a waiter at the Sky High Bar (the R from above). He is now at Bliss and also leads the various alcohol tastings. He did a great job leading these tastings but also does a great job at Bliss. He’s a wonderful person who does a great job ensuring your glass doesn’t go dry and that you’re having fun.

 

Conclusion

 

Overall, of the three cruises we’ve taken on the Pearl, this was by far the best one yet. I attribute that to going on the cruise with our best friends, having a great roll call, making many new friends, but mostly to the Pearl’s officers and staff - they worked incredibly hard to ensure we had a great cruise experience.

 

We love the Pearl and are sad that she’s being moved up to NYC next year to make the NYC to Florida and Bahamas run, but are looking forward to new experiences next year as we take our first cruise on the Star.

[Sauer-kraut]

No apologies needed...nice review.

[valleyvillage]

"I don’t know what it is about that very first step on to the ship. I always look forward to it, and as I sit here typing this can remember making my first step on to the ship."

 

Great review, thank you for your generosity in sharing. I totally understand that first step on the ship.

 

I think a lot of us do!

 

It's the kind of thing that's hard to explain to others who just don't get it.

 

And isn't that the best, finding an old friend on board? On our last cruise we approached the front podium at Cagney's and as she looked up, our old buddy from a previous cruise lit up and rushed over to hug us!

[oldguysandgalls]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. And yes...we still get that 'first step' on the ship feeling, no matter how often we cruise. Thanks again!

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Thank you so much for your review. Your loss is our gain in NY! We are booked on the Pearl for next Thanksgiving and after reading your review we cannot wait! I've been reading as much as I can about her. One question for your, we will be staying in the 2 room CV on the Pearl. One of the perks we read about is having a dining room for dinner just for suites. Is this true? If so, do you know which one it is. Any other insider information you can provide, would be greatly appreciated.

[melligene]

The “I Apologize in Advance for Anything I Might Do Cruise” Review

Norwegian Pearl

Nov 27 to Dec 4

 

Let me begin this cruise review with an explanation of the title you see above. A few years ago my wife (realcindylouwho) and I took a family vacation with our best friends lorenzogonewild and kcbluejay. One morning, prior to embarking on a day of drinking and sailing on a lake, she stated that she was planning on drinking all day and that now was a good time to “apologize for anything I might do” as she correctly assumed that she would be unable to coherently utter those words later in the day. Fast forward to our cruise on the NCL Pearl this year – it was my DW and I along with our friends Lorenzo and KCBlue Jay, so we faced reality knowing it was going to be a great, fun, and wild cruise, so we apologized in advance for anything we might do on the cruise.

 

I’m not going to bore you with a day-by-day, minute-by-minute log of our cruise as frankly, thanks to the alcohol and various adventures that occurred on this cruise, I’ll be lucky to remember enough to even write this review. I will instead just hit the highlights then close with some concluding comments.

 

Roll Call

 

As most roll calls do, ours started off incredibly slow, but picked up in members and chatter as we got closer to our cruise. Then, something amazing occurred. While chatting with melligene one night about where we should meet for the “Sail Away” we realized that on NCL’s ship layout of the Pearl, the Sky High Bar on deck 13 is incorrectly listed as the Bali Hai Bar. Since many hours were going to be spent at this bar, we decided at that point that we would rename the Sky High Bar as “Our Bar”. Working with my best buddy lorenzogonewild, we came up with the symbol of R and made the decision that we should create buttons with this symbol on it; at the top we included the cruise title of “The I Apologize in Advance for Anything I Might Do Cruise” and had the R prominently in the middle of the button. Once we rolled this idea out to our roll call, everyone loved it and jumped on the idea. What occurred was simply amazing, friendships were formed on-line, excitement grew amazingly high, and we all looked forward with great anticipation to our “Sail Away” party at R.

 

Miami the Day Before

 

We flew into Miami mid-afternoon on Saturday as we never want to test fate by flying in the day of our cruises. As there were four of us we requested a van taxi at the taxi stand just outside of the luggage carousels at the Miami airport. Our hotel of choice was the downtown Hyatt and our cab ride came to $25 with tip. One must-do if you’ve never ‘gone out’ in Miami the night before your cruise, is to go to Bayside which is a collection of restaurants and shops situated alongside the harbor in Miami. It was an amazing collection of nationalities, shops, restaurants, and music. We had a great time and will definitely hit Bayside the next time we’re in Miami.

 

The Cruise – Embarkation

 

We stay in suites when we cruise with NCL which means boarding the ship is always a breeze. We arrived at the port at 10:45 and sailed through security although we did carry a bottle of champagne with us that we were going to pop open later in the day to celebrate “Sail Away”. We paid the $15 ‘corkage fee’ and then went in to the VIP room for check-in. Of Note - our $15 ‘corkage fee’ was charged to the Indigo dining room. When we reviewed our bill later in the week we saw the $15 charge at Indigo and couldn’t figure out what it was until we remembered having to pay the ‘corkage fee’. After check-in we were escorted to the VIP waiting area just outside of the gangway on to the ship. At this point we all experienced a delay of 45 minutes due to the ship going through a customs inspection. Once the ship was cleared we were escorted on to the ship and our amazing week was underway.

 

I don’t know what it is about that very first step on to the ship. I always look forward to it, and as I sit here typing this can remember making my first step on to the ship.

 

Once on the ship we made our way to Cagney’s for lunch. We were thrilled to discover that our favorite waiter from last years’ Pearl cruise, Alvin Sigua, was still on the Pearl and still worked in Cagney’s. Alvin is a wonderful person and is simply outstanding as a waiter in Cagney’s. If you go to Cagney’s ask to be seated in Alvin’s area, we won’t be disappointed.

 

After lunch we took our friends Lorenzo and KC Blue Jay on a tour of the ship, then made our way to R for the ‘Sail Away’.

 

Sail Away

 

Wow, what a great ‘Sail Away’. We had roughly 35 people from our Roll Call show up at R and gave everyone their buttons which they proudly displayed. It’s pretty funny, melligene decided to say R as a pirate would, as in, “aaaargh”, and from the ‘Sail Away’ on, for the rest of cruise, when we saw someone from our Roll Call, we all would shout, “Aaaaargghh”!!. We had a great time at the ‘Sail Away’ with our new friends from the Roll Call. It did seem that our fellow cruisers were all in festive moods as I had never seen as many cruisers dancing on deck 12 as I did on this cruise. It was awesome.

 

Dinner – Lobster Tail – Indigo

 

For those who are cruising on the Pearl it should be noted that lobster tail night is now on Sunday’s, not on Thursdays as it had been on previous cruises. We ate dinner Sunday night in Indigo with Lorenzo and Blue Jay along with another friend we had made on our Roll Call, Ian from Toronto. Our service was outstanding as our waiter was Christian. He is the most requested waiter in Indigo and for good reason, he is wonderful. If you want great service when you’re in Indigo, make sure you request to be seated in Christian’s section, you won’t be disappointed. As far as the lobster itself, it was small and chewier than what I recall from our previous lobster tail nights on the Pearl. If you’re one lobster tail doesn’t satisfy your hunger, don’t be shy about asking for more. We asked for five more lobster tail which we quickly received. My DW, realcindylouwho, loves crème brulee and asked Christian if she could have some. It’s not listed on the menus for any restaurants, other than Le Bistro, but if you want some and ask your waiter very nicely, I’m sure they’d be very happy to oblige you.

 

Great Stirrup Cay

 

This stop is on Monday, the first full day of the cruise. We were able to go to GSC and found out from the crew that the Pearl had only been able to stop roughly 50% of the time since it began its’ Caribbean itinerary, though most of the misses were earlier this fall. The seas were very choppy the day we were there which meant a fairly rough tender ride and a few cruisers showing the rest of us what they had for breakfast that morning. A suggestion, if you get sea sick, before taking a tender to GSC, pop some Dramamine or whatever you take or do to avoid getting sea sick. The rest of your cruising family would greatly appreciate it.

 

Due to the rough seas, snorkeling at GSC was a little challenging. The water closer to the beach was pretty murky all day due to the sand being stirred up by the wave action. The snorkeling between the large rocks where the bay meet the sea was very dangerous and visibility very poor. There was good snorkeling with excellent fish counts about two thirds the way out in the bay. The water here isn’t too deep ranging from 7 – 10 feet and is easy snorkeling for all.

 

There have been A LOT of changes to GSC since we were there last year. First, the tenders now drop you off at a dock in a man made bay. There are little shops where you can by shirts, etc. There is also a large food area where the buffet is set up with plenty of picnic table seating set up on both sides of the buffet area. These areas all have roofs on them.

 

We rented a couple shells and if this something you want to do on GSC just go over to the shell area once you get there and a crew member will be waiting there to assist you. The rental charge for a clam shell is $29.99.

 

Meet and Greet

 

We had a very good meet and greet, that was organized by ridinggirl, and was held in the Star Bar. Nine of the Pearl’s officers attended the meet and greet and they were:

 

Kaj Turunen - Hotel Director

Jorge Martinho – Food and Beverage Director

Cesar Hapa – Executive Housekeeper

Julie Valeriote – Cruise Director

Joao Paulo Miranda – Guest Services Manager

Messiah Ritzinger – Executive Chef

Nedjelko Leventic, Restaurant Manager

Barani Rao – Beverage Manager

Rashida Ramos – Group Services Coordinator/Access Officer

 

Each officer introduced themselves, gave us a little of their backgrounds, and told us of their responsibilities. We had great interaction with these officers during the meet and greet and they all genuinely wanted to ensure that we had the best cruise experience. The meet and greet lasted maybe 45 minutes. A little secret for those cruisers who’ve never attended a meet and greet – if you go to the meet and greet and meet the ships officers and spend some time with them, they’ll remember you throughout the week and will be accessible to you if you need to speak with them. It’s pretty coo; when you’re walking around on the ship and Kaj, the hotel director, remembers you and asks how your cruise is going. So, if you sign up for a meet and greet, go to it. You’ll enjoy it.

 

Jamaica

 

Jamaica is a beautiful island. We didn’t sign up for any excursions and instead wanted to limit our day to a visit to Margaritaville then back to the ship. In hindsight, this was probably my mistake. Margaritaville is right next to the port and is a quick walk from the ship. Unfortunately, you have to walk through a gauntlet of cab drivers who all want to give you tours of the island, and an array of shops trying to sell you their wares. We made it to Margaritaville, had some drinks, and about two hours later went back to the ship. Not a lot of fun.

 

Our friends went off on their own and spent time walking through a couple shopping areas in Ocho Rios near the port. Some roll call friends of ours went on the float trip down the White River and loved it. The next time we’re in Jamaica we’ll make sure to go on an excursion that gives us a chance to see the island.

 

Be aware though, and be prepared, to walk through the gauntlet of taxi drivers, shops, and other local residents hawking their wares at the port entry.

 

Grand Cayman

 

A truly amazing and wonderful day. Due to rough seas, the cruise ships could only tender on the south side of the island where there is one, small, concrete dock. We were the first cruise ship there and watched as both the RCL Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Magic bypassed the island. We found out later that Carnival and RCL bypassed Grand Cayman due to the small dock size and lack of available tenders. So, we were the only cruise ship at Grand Cayman. Most excellent.

 

We booked an excursion through a non-NCL affiliated, local company called Native Way. My DW and I love snorkeling and if you want a fun excursion, contact Native Way. They met us at the southern dock and drove us to the marina on the west side of the island. From there we boated out to Stingray City. Prior to getting to the Stingray sandbar we stopped for a quick 20 min snorkel over the largest starfish I have ever seen. The water was incredibly clear and was only about 12 feet deep. The stingray sandbar was awesome and is truly an experience all should enjoy. The water is roughly waist deep and is very safe. After the stingrays we boated about a mile south for 45 mins of snorkeling over a reef in about 12 ft of water. There was an incredible fish count and array of fish varieties. The water was incredibly clear and had the clarity of a swimming pool. Simply amazing.

 

From there we boated north to Run Point where we had one of the coolest holiday experiences ever. We hopped off the boat at a resort on the shoreline at Rum Point (sorry but I don’t know the name) and went in to a bar where we had some local brewed beer and watched the surf while listening to Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and the gang sing holiday music. We were on a beach listening to holiday music. For a minute I thought I was in a Corona commercial.

 

We were then driven from Rum Point back to the dock so we could tender back to the Pearl. The cost for this wonderful excursion was just $40 per person. A great day in Grand Cayman.

 

Cozumel

 

The Pearl was one of 6 cruise ships at Cozumel with NCL having three ships in port (Pearl, Star, and Spirit), two from Carnival (one being the Magic that missed Grand Cayman), and the Freedom of the Seas from RCL (it missed Grand Cayman too). The Star and Spirit both docked at a port a couple miles north of where the Pearl and the other ships were. The Pearl and Freedom of the Seas used on dock with no issues at all. The two Carnival ships used a separate dock.

 

We went on the NCL excursion Fury Catamaran Snorkel that departed our dock at 12:45 pm. We had a pretty good group of roughly 40 fellow cruisers from the Pearl. We motored a few miles south of the port and snorkeled over the national park reef. A few words of caution, this was what I would call a deep water snorkel with ocean depths ranging from 20 feet to 50+ feet. The ocean swells were also pretty robust. I think the water depth and rough seas took many by surprise as the crew had to jump in the water and assist two snorkelers who were overcome by the wave action. Also, there were several snorkelers who panicked due to the depth of the ocean where we snorkeled. So, if you are someone who does not like deep water or are not a confident swimmer, be cautious and aware if you go on this excursion.

 

That being said, my DW and I loved the excursion as we saw good fish count, numerous species, and had good water clarity. Upon completion of the snorkel we boated down to Fury’s private island for about 45 minutes of play time on the inflatable slide, trampoline, etc. It was then back on the catamaran for a booze and music filled trip back to our pier.

 

High Light of the Trip for Me

 

I still can’t believe this happened. I think we’ve all seen the videos on YouTube of the cruise ship leaving the hubby and wifey dockside because they missed the departing time for the ship, or we’ve all heard stories about this happening. Well, we almost saw it happen in Cozumel. As we were staying in an aft penthouse, we had a sail away party for many of our friends we had made on the cruise. The ship’s departing time from Cozumel as 6 pm and we could not believe the number of people that were walking down the dock at 5:45 pm. Right at 6 pm the Pearl dropped her mooring lines and at the same time, a white van taxi cam barreling down the street, through the port gate, down the peer at a high rate of speed and past our vantage point. About 30 seconds later the van taxi slowly drove past us back up the peer and the Pearl’s propellers turned on. Whoever was in that taxi made it on to the Pearl with 30 seconds to spare. Simply incredible.....hilarious...but incredible.

 

In all seriousness, Grand Cayman was the highlight for me..........but this was a close second.

 

Debarkation

 

We walk off with our luggage and debarkation is always a breeze. This cruise was no different - easy and quick.

 

Final Comments

 

I wanted to highlight a couple neat things that happened to us on the cruise. First, we were invited by Kaj Turunen, Hotel Director, to dinner on Thursday night in Summer Palace. Dinner was with Kaj and the environmental officer of the ship (who’s name I can’t remember) and three other couples. During dinner I commented to Kaj that the Pearl’s crew are wonderful and are so focused on ensuring we have a great cruise experience. We learned that the Pearl consistently leads the NCL fleet in customer satisfaction and I asked him what they did on the Pearl that leads to the high satisfaction scores. Kaj stated that they’re very picky on whom they hire and that the crew is constantly going through training. Credit, I believe, must also be given to the ships officers who work just as hard as the crew. I don’t know when the officers and crew sleep because it seems you see them early in the morning and late at night. Simply put, the Pearl crew is amazing.

 

The second neat thing that happened to us was receiving an invite to the Gold, Silver, and Platinum Latitudes party. We didn’t know why we were invited as we were Bronze members, until we got home and discovered that we were now Gold Latitudes members due to the changes NCL had made to the Latitudes program. Pretty cool.

 

Some comments on the food. We have all seen the posts regarding the quality of food on NCL ships and I must say that of the now three cruises we’ve been on with NCL, the food we tasted on the Pearl for this cruise was by far the best we’ve had yet. The menus changed daily and the quality of the food was very good.

 

The only negative for our cruise was in the casino. The DW had come across slotplay coupons that enable you to buy $50 in coupons for only $25. You take the coupon to the casino and they give you $50 in credit and you have to spend $25. We tried to do this but were told that there was only one person that could assist us and they always seemed to be busy. It wasn’t a big deal to us as we’re not gamblers. Just a word to the wise that if you try slotplay coupons, it may be challenging to actually cash them.

 

I wanted to highlight some members of the crew who contributed to a truly wonderful cruise experience for us:

 

Kaj Turunen – We got to know Kaj on this cruise and greatly appreciated the occasions we had to spend time with him. He’s been doing this a long time and had some great stories to share. I don’t know when the man sleeps but he genuinely went out of his way to give us a great cruise experience.

 

Anoop Bhanu – he is the Pearl’s Concierge. We found Anoop to be wonderful to work with and incredibly responsive to any request we had.

 

Jeffrey – our butler. For anyone who will be sailing on the Pearl and get Jeffrey as your butler, you will love him. He’s the best butler we’ve had in our three sailings on the Pearl. What made him so wonderful was that he would anticipate our needs. In addition to the canapés that come every afternoon at 4 pm, on port days he would also bring a plate with club sandwiches and chips as he knew we’d have an appetite when we got back to the ship. He’s incredibly nice, and a wonderful person.

 

Alvin Sigua – waiter in Cagney’s. I’m proud to say that Alvin is a friend. If you want great service in Cagney’s, ask for Alvin. He will take great care of you.

 

Christian – waiter in Indigo. He provided us with the best service we’ve ever had in Indigo. Ask to be in his area and you won’t be disappointed.

 

Santosh – bar tender/waiter in Bliss. We met Santosh last year when he was a waiter at the Sky High Bar (the R from above). He is now at Bliss and also leads the various alcohol tastings. He did a great job leading these tastings but also does a great job at Bliss. He’s a wonderful person who does a great job ensuring your glass doesn’t go dry and that you’re having fun.

 

Conclusion

 

Overall, of the three cruises we’ve taken on the Pearl, this was by far the best one yet. I attribute that to going on the cruise with our best friends, having a great roll call, making many new friends, but mostly to the Pearl’s officers and staff - they worked incredibly hard to ensure we had a great cruise experience.

 

We love the Pearl and are sad that she’s being moved up to NYC next year to make the NYC to Florida and Bahamas run, but are looking forward to new experiences next year as we take our first cruise on the Star.

 

 

 

Great review. Although we were unable to participate in some things, due to the wife's situation health wise, it was great meeting the few that we did.

TIP: Want to avoid sitting in that large room with 2,000 other people waiting for a seemingly endless time waiting to board? Buy yourself a cane...take all elevators and act crippled. Unfortunatly my wife's situation was a reality but, as far as boarding you will be in a priority boarding line. At first glance it appears they are catering to the disabled (which may be true) but, afterthought suggests to me that they want your slow crippled ass on the ship a.s.a.p. so everyone else can get on board.

Either way....it works. Just sayin.......

[The Hoff]

Great review! We leave in 3 weeks! Can't wait. Thanks for taking the time to write down your positive thoughts.

[WildcatRock]

Thank you so much for your review. Your loss is our gain in NY! We are booked on the Pearl for next Thanksgiving and after reading your review we cannot wait! I've been reading as much as I can about her. One question for your, we will be staying in the 2 room CV on the Pearl. One of the perks we read about is having a dining room for dinner just for suites. Is this true? If so, do you know which one it is. Any other insider information you can provide, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Currently, the perk is breakfast and lunch in Cagney's, not dinner. Trust me, if you partake of the breakfast and lunch, you'll love it. I think on the Epic one of the suite perks is dinner in a VIP only dining room, but I could be wrong. You'll enjoy the 2 room CV on the Pearl. The Haven is a very quiet and private area of the ship that isn't used extensively during Caribbean cruises as most cruisers want to be at an outside pool. This means you usually get the Haven Jacuzzi to yourself or can lounge peacefully and quietly by the Haven pool. There is a private sundeck up some stairs to deck 14 if you want a little privacy when you lay out and get some sun.

 

I would recommend that you get to the port by 11:00 am so you can be one of the first on the ship - VIP embarkation is a breeze. After you check out your CV head to Cagney's for lunch. That's a great way to start your cruise. Have fun on the Pearl!

[RichNY]

Nice review can't wait for the Pearl to get to NY...Glad you had a good time.

 

It's good to hear Anoop is doing well.....

 

Thanks again.

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[melligene]

Arrrrrrrrrrrgh. Just because.:eek:

[melligene]

Arrrrrrrrrrgh. Just Because:eek:

[melligene]

To the friends we met on this cruise (and those who know her situatioin) my wife is doing well and should be home from the hospital tomorrow evening. More to follow..........my Dog has to go Pee now. Sorry...cya...

[gschwartz001]

My DH and I both purchased slot play coupons as I am a big slot player. I am disappointed that you were unable to cash them. My Dh and I are both CAS guests on the cruise so I hope we will not encounter similar issues. Do you remember who you had to talk to so you could use them?

[laxmom34]

My DH and I both purchased slot play coupons as I am a big slot player. I am disappointed that you were unable to cash them. My Dh and I are both CAS guests on the cruise so I hope we will not encounter similar issues. Do you remember who you had to talk to so you could use them?

 

I am just off the Pearl. We purchased slot play coupons for the four of us, we didn't have any problems redeeming them. We redeemed them at different times during the cruise. Good Luck!

[Chuck2810]

Thanks for the great review - brought back a lot of memories for me too - and sorry....:D Shows how you really can have a memorable time on these vessels, thanks to an extremely great officer crew.