Our "Pearl" of a cruise review. Dec 16 - 23!

[hartsnvt]

Every pearl has an imperfection where the sphere is attached to the oyster. This feature does not detract from the beauty but does represent something not quite perfect. I had very high expectations for our cruise on NCL's Pearl because it was a long time coming. Since 2003 I have suffered from a myriad of health problems including lymphoma. My husband and I had to downsize to a singlewide home in Vermont and have never taken a vacation. In my former life, I was an independent cruise consultant and enjoyed over 10 cruises on various cruise lines. After relocating and remarrying we never had the ability to take a vacation and even though my two daughters took plenty of vacations with their father, the four of us did not. So, with the sale of our home in August, the first thing I did was book our cruise so we would be able to enjoy a fabulous family getaway. My oldest daughter teaches english in South Korea and my youngest is a Junior at Uconn. The hardest part was coordinating everyone's schedule. I had researched far and wide because let's face it, I had not taken a cruise in over 16 years and from what I gathered here on Cruise Critic, cruises have changed quite a bit. I decided that the "freestyle dining" concept was going to be an excellent choice as I never did like the strict structure of dining options from my prior cruises. I had also read on CC that the aft balcony experience was not to be missed so I booked a B1 aft balcony and secured the inside cabin across the hall for my daughters. We had booked this 4 months in advance and there were no extra perks offered through NCL. My PCC did a great job selling me the cruise but was lacking in service after the sale until 1-2 weeks before when I noticed that our 2 cabins were now $900 less and still available. Since I had spent quite a bit for the 2 cabins, shore excursions etc, I really felt like it would be nice to have some sort of OBC. She finally came through with $100 per cabin as well as a bottle of wine and a shrimp platter. In retrospect I would wait until closer to my sail date to book my cabins as watching the rates plummet was quite stressful. I would also book a cruise through a cruise outlet as they have many perks available and one does not have to beg for them.

Embarkation Day: We flew from Hartford, Ct to Fort Lauderdale via Southwest which was disappointing as the plane was dirty and bare bones. I also do not like not having a seat assignment. You basically have to purchase their program ($10 each way) to get priority check in so you have a better boarding position.

We arrived at FLL and went to the baggage claim area to fetch our luggage and find the NCL representative. We found our luggage but there was not a NCL rep to be found. Eventually I asked the Royal Caribbean Rep where I might find his NCL counterpart and he pointed me to a small desk between baggage carousels 4 and 5. I wish that info had been available to me in my EDocs. Once aboard the bus we motored to the pier in Miami which took about 45 minutes. We arrived at about 12:30 and boy was it mobbed. The line snaked around the side of the building out in the hot sun. Coming from Vermont it felt good but I was glad I had my bottled water as I was seeing some people melting in line. After about 30 minutes in line we went through security and found ourselves being checked in by a very friendly and helpful pier agent whose name I have forgotten (I have a baaad memory for names). We were whisked through check in and up to have our first (of many) photos taken. We did not purchase that particular photo as we were all disheveled from being up at 4:00am and looked absolutely spent. Once aboard I finally felt like we were on vacation but I did miss the welcoming champagne or juice from cruises years ago. I will add that we do not carry a credit card and it was no problem to board and add cash at the guest services desk. Our cabins were available so we dropped off our stuff and per CC recommendations we headed to the Summer Palace main dining room. We were seated at the aft window where we looked at another NCL ship that was behind us. The dining room had about 5 tables occupied and I really appreciated the CC advice to eat here instead of the crowded buffet, Thanks!!!. The food was really good and the service also. Our journey through food and ocean had begun!

After lunch (around 2:00pm) I went to guest services to add some cash and sign up my daughter (20) with a permission form to drink wine or beer. I will say that having 3 employees on embarkation day is not sufficient. (Especially when one left and then there were 2). It was easy to add the cash but the woman would not let us complete the permission form because we had different last names, really? I gave up and went the next day and it was no problem. Needless to say I was getting cranky so we went back to our cabin to find that our fridge had not been cleaned out which was not a big deal. However my youngest daughter is a diabetic on a pump and not only was their fridge not cleared out so she could store her meds, it was locked! I kept asking different room stewards if they were hers, and no one was. I did ask one if they could find her room steward and let him know that her fridge had to be unlocked as soon as possible as her ice packs were melted and her meds had to be refrigerated. It was puzzling that even though our cabins were across from one another we had different room stewards. Both of my daughters went to bed after a very quick muster drill at 3pm. DH and I decided to explore the ship and watch the sail away party on the pool deck. More to come and I promise there will be a lot of positive things!!!!:)

[jdvmd]

Every pearl has an imperfection where the sphere is attached to the oyster. This feature does not detract from the beauty but does represent something not quite perfect. I had very high expectations for our cruise on NCL's Pearl because it was a long time coming. Since 2003 I have suffered from a myriad of health problems including lymphoma. My husband and I had to downsize to a singlewide home in Vermont and have never taken a vacation. In my former life, I was an independent cruise consultant and enjoyed over 10 cruises on various cruise lines. After relocating and remarrying we never had the ability to take a vacation and even though my two daughters took plenty of vacations with their father, the four of us did not. So, with the sale of our home in August, the first thing I did was book our cruise so we would be able to enjoy a fabulous family getaway. My oldest daughter teaches english in South Korea and my youngest is a Junior at Uconn. The hardest part was coordinating everyone's schedule. I had researched far and wide because let's face it, I had not taken a cruise in over 16 years and from what I gathered here on Cruise Critic, cruises have changed quite a bit. I decided that the "freestyle dining" concept was going to be an excellent choice as I never did like the strict structure of dining options from my prior cruises. I had also read on CC that the aft balcony experience was not to be missed so I booked a B1 aft balcony and secured the inside cabin across the hall for my daughters. We had booked this 4 months in advance and there were no extra perks offered through NCL. My PCC did a great job selling me the cruise but was lacking in service after the sale until 1-2 weeks before when I noticed that our 2 cabins were now $900 less and still available. Since I had spent quite a bit for the 2 cabins, shore excursions etc, I really felt like it would be nice to have some sort of OBC. She finally came through with $100 per cabin as well as a bottle of wine and a shrimp platter. In retrospect I would wait until closer to my sail date to book my cabins as watching the rates plummet was quite stressful. I would also book a cruise through a cruise outlet as they have many perks available and one does not have to beg for them.

Embarkation Day: We flew from Hartford, Ct to Fort Lauderdale via Southwest which was disappointing as the plane was dirty and bare bones. I also do not like not having a seat assignment. You basically have to purchase their program ($10 each way) to get priority check in so you have a better boarding position.

We arrived at FLL and went to the baggage claim area to fetch our luggage and find the NCL representative. We found our luggage but there was not a NCL rep to be found. Eventually I asked the Royal Caribbean Rep where I might find his NCL counterpart and he pointed me to a small desk between baggage carousels 4 and 5. I wish that info had been available to me in my EDocs. Once aboard the bus we motored to the pier in Miami which took about 45 minutes. We arrived at about 12:30 and boy was it mobbed. The line snaked around the side of the building out in the hot sun. Coming from Vermont it felt good but I was glad I had my bottled water as I was seeing some people melting in line. After about 30 minutes in line we went through security and found ourselves being checked in by a very friendly and helpful pier agent whose name I have forgotten (I have a baaad memory for names). We were whisked through check in and up to have our first (of many) photos taken. We did not purchase that particular photo as we were all disheveled from being up at 4:00am and looked absolutely spent. Once aboard I finally felt like we were on vacation but I did miss the welcoming champagne or juice from cruises years ago. I will add that we do not carry a credit card and it was no problem to board and add cash at the guest services desk. Our cabins were available so we dropped off our stuff and per CC recommendations we headed to the Summer Palace main dining room. We were seated at the aft window where we looked at another NCL ship that was behind us. The dining room had about 5 tables occupied and I really appreciated the CC advice to eat here instead of the crowded buffet, Thanks!!!. The food was really good and the service also. Our journey through food and ocean had begun!

After lunch (around 2:00pm) I went to guest services to add some cash and sign up my daughter (20) with a permission form to drink wine or beer. I will say that having 3 employees on embarkation day is not sufficient. (Especially when one left and then there were 2). It was easy to add the cash but the woman would not let us complete the permission form because we had different last names, really? I gave up and went the next day and it was no problem. Needless to say I was getting cranky so we went back to our cabin to find that our fridge had not been cleaned out which was not a big deal. However my youngest daughter is a diabetic on a pump and not only was their fridge not cleared out so she could store her meds, it was locked! I kept asking different room stewards if they were hers, and no one was. I did ask one if they could find her room steward and let him know that her fridge had to be unlocked as soon as possible as her ice packs were melted and her meds had to be refrigerated. It was puzzling that even though our cabins were across from one another we had different room stewards. Both of my daughters went to bed after a very quick muster drill at 3pm. DH and I decided to explore the ship and watch the sail away party on the pool deck. More to come and I promise there will be a lot of positive things!!!!:)

 

Anxiously awaiting more!

[hartsnvt]

Now please understand that this is my first ever review and I am no writer, so I am adding some picture links as I am just not capable enough to have the photos just show up!

The following I copied from my Cabin 10168 post earlier this week.

 

The following are pics from our Dec 16-23 cruise. I will say that our balcony certainly looked bigger than other afts as well as it looked deeper than the mini suites above us on deck 11. It was 10 feet wide and 8 feet deep (80 sq ft). It easily fit 2 loungers as well as 2 chairs and a very small table. It was never windy (except for the very rough seas and wind we experienced the night we left Cozumel on the 21st through the 22nd). We also never experienced any ash from the funnel, though one morning (22nd) we had a table topper menu from the great outdoors 2 decks up. I hope these pics come through for all of you!

 

I would suggest copy and pasting into your browser (just the address , not the description).

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

View from door out to balcony

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

view of one side of balcony with 2 chairs

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

view of loungers

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

shower area

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

sink area

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Toilet area

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Toilet area with see through door closed.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Shower with door closed.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Turquoise tiles flooring in bathroom areas.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

 

Looking toward door showing wardrobe, shelves, safe, fridge.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Coffee maker shelf, small flatscreen is above this. 3 drawers.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

From wardrobe area with bathroom door on right. Near balcony slider is a small area with blowdryer (on left).

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Blowdryer next to balcony door. One 110v plug here and there was one behind the coffee maker.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...550/ry%3D400/I did not know that this cabin could hold four but this is a drop down berth which would make getiing out to the balcony difficult. There was a ladder in the closet for use with this berth.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D550/ry%3D400/

Twins pushed together for a queen bed. They added an eggshell queen topper and the bed was super comfortable. The round lights were great and easy to reach.

 

Embarkation Day Continued:

We watched the sailaway on deck 13 overlooking the pool deck where many passengers were just a dancin' away. It looked like so much fun! Even the infant on the lounger next to us was bopping to the music, she was so cute. I was glad her Mom and Dad were there because at one point she grabbed onto the railing and I thought she was going to climb over it and land on the dancing floor below. (no, she really was safe as they were watching her closely as were DH and myself). Of course we took a lot of pics of the seagulls and buildings as we sailed out of the port of Miami (a few of which I kept as I always take toooo many pictures of dumb stuff like buildings, lol). We kept wandering around a bit more and then we went back to our home for the week to see if our room steward was around (he wasn't), and found a notice that our Great Stirrup Cay excursion (Stingray and Snorkel, $29pp) had been cancelled. Now I had called my PCC on Friday to see if the Stingray portion had been repaired after Sandy and she assured me that it was all good. (One of the plans for this cruise was to interact with stingrays, turtles and dolphins as we are animal lovers). It said that the refund would appear in our on board account. (it did.) I wish I had known this beforehand as I would have found another Stingray excursion to prebook. Anyway, we decided to sit on our balcony and watch the sunset as we sailed further from Miami. It was so relaxing and beautiful I almost felt as though I was dreaming! My daughters were still sleeping so we decided to go to the Garden Buffet for dinner. I cannot remember what I ate, lol. I will say that the salad fixings in the buffet are so fresh and tasty. The dressings could be less watery though. I also must wonder why the lettuce is so crisp at the salad station and so limp in the sandwiches that I ate during the cruise. So, well sated, we decided to go to the casino and try our luck. We did not stay long as we were tired but I did come out $120 ahead. (and that was the last time I came out ahead, lol. ) It was only 8pm but we are early to bed and early to risers and when we went back to our cabin, we finally met our room steward , Leo. He services the suites back here and also our cabin and the other regular aft balcony next to us. I asked him if he could empty our fridge and he did...2 days later. lol.

This is the sunset as we left Miami:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef2509d9118d200000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

 

Next up: Great Stirrup Cay

[greatlakesgirl]

Thanks for the great review, you're doing fine! :)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[boopsahoy]

Thanks for the review!

[funat55]

I am enjoying this review but I had a problem looking at your pictures. I don't know if it is me or my computer or both but when I clicked on to the pictures this is what I got:

 

Exception report

message

description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

 

exception javax.servlet.ServletException: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid character: = org.apache.tuscany.sca.host.webapp.TuscanyServletFilter.doFilter(TuscanyServletFilter.java:99) com.shutterfly.application.filter.InterServerLoggingFilter.handleFilterCall(InterServerLoggingFilter.java:55) com.shutterfly.web.framework.servlet.URISkipSupportingFilter.doFilter(URISkipSupportingFilter.java:61) com.shutterfly.application.filter.RefererBlackListFilter.handleFilterCall(RefererBlackListFilter.java:50) com.shutterfly.web.framework.servlet.URISkipSupportingFilter.doFilter(URISkipSupportingFilter.java:61) com.shutterfly.application.filter.ThreadsFilter.doFilter(ThreadsFilter.java:104)

root cause

 

Did this happen to anyone else??

[Molokai-Chuck]

Yep...no can view the photos either.....

[woodmews]

I am enjoying this review but I had a problem looking at your pictures. I don't know if it is me or my computer or both but when I clicked on to the pictures this is what I got:

 

Exception report

message

description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

 

exception javax.servlet.ServletException: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid character: = org.apache.tuscany.sca.host.webapp.TuscanyServletFilter.doFilter(TuscanyServletFilter.java:99) com.shutterfly.application.filter.InterServerLoggingFilter.handleFilterCall(InterServerLoggingFilter.java:55) com.shutterfly.web.framework.servlet.URISkipSupportingFilter.doFilter(URISkipSupportingFilter.java:61) com.shutterfly.application.filter.RefererBlackListFilter.handleFilterCall(RefererBlackListFilter.java:50) com.shutterfly.web.framework.servlet.URISkipSupportingFilter.doFilter(URISkipSupportingFilter.java:61) com.shutterfly.application.filter.ThreadsFilter.doFilter(ThreadsFilter.java:104)

root cause

 

Did this happen to anyone else??

 

I got the same error!!!

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review and pictures, looking forward to more of it.

[mitsugirly]

Just a "friendly" suggestion...when you are writing your review, hit the return button to make paragraphs. It makes it a lot easier to read instead of all together. (I'm saying this in the most friendly helpful way) :)

 

I just wanted to share a picture I took of you guys in port while you were on your cruise (we were on the Star at the same time... and we were on the Pearl last March...so we had to take pictures of her whenever we seen her) :)

 

[hartsnvt]

Just a "friendly" suggestion...when you are writing your review, hit the return button to make paragraphs. It makes it a lot easier to read instead of all together. (I'm saying this in the most friendly helpful way) :)

 

I just wanted to share a picture I took of you guys in port while you were on your cruise (we were on the Star at the same time... and we were on the Pearl last March...so we had to take pictures of her whenever we seen her) :)

 

 

Thanks for the writing tips, I do appreciate them and promise to do better!

 

Here is the link to my post with the cabin pics. I went there and the pics came up.:D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1760638&highlight=pearl+10168+pics

[coka]

Enjoying your review! The pics came up in the last post's link. Thank you for taking time to do it! Looking forward to reading more about your trip.

 

coka

[hartsnvt]

DH and I awoke at 5am (typical). I sat out on the balcony to just hear the water of the wake and relished the darkness and quiet. We always enjoyed watching the Captains' log on the TV to see where we were and the weather forecast. I know that the bahamas can be "cool" at this time of year and was pleasantly surprised to see that all of my research on weather.com before our cruise was spot on for today on GSC. (82 degrees.)

 

AT 6am we went up to the Garden Cafe (the only place we ate breakfast). My daughters showed up at 6:30 with our youngest saying, "6:30..really?". (As a college student this timeframe is not on her radar at all, lol) I believe that since they slept from 4pm yesterday, they were well rested and ready to face the day being lazy on the beach.

I enjoyed my first breakfast which consisted of scrambled eggs (disappointing as they were cold and powdered), a croissant with the best butter pat I have ever had, it comes from Wisc and starts with a G. I have decent Cabot butter in VT but this little pat blew me away! (yes I am actually getting giddy over a foil wrapped pat of butter!). I should have taken a pic of it. I also added pancakes and syrup. Only at later breakfasts did I discover the whipped cream (my fav!) and strawberries in syrup to pour over my 2 pancakes. I also truly enjoyed the fact that I could have a choice of crispy or chewy bacon. I am a crispy bacon type of gal as I have an upper denture that hates chewy things lest they fall out onto my plate.:eek:

 

We all met up after the ship was ready for tendering and were able to get onboard the first or 2nd tender without a problem.

Tip: Everyone sits on the top level probably thinking that they will exit from the top deck. But no......You actually exit the tender from the lower level which is where we sat!

After disembarking the tender we had our pics taken with either a dolphin or shark costumed critter. I did buy these as they were funny. So we scouted out the beach chairs and there were hundreds to choose from. We headed left and were in the 3rd row from the water.

I really wanted to snorkel so DH and I went and rented the mask, snorkel and fins and vest for $29.00. (If you can, bring your own, you will need to rent the vest ($5), but I did think this was pricey for all of the equipment)

 

DH had never snorkeled before and there did not seem to be anyone to teach him properly as my instructions were obviously not adequate and he was not able to master it. (Vermont native=never snorkeled in ocean).

 

My DDs decided to do it too although we lost our youngest as she went around on her own and all of the snorkelers looked alike while snorkeling.

My oldest DD and I went to town snorkeling out at the farthest rock formations but still not behind them where apparently it is 30 feet deep. We stuck to the inner area and saw tons of fish. People had brought some bread from the BBQ area and the fish just swarmed us. It was hilarious and a little scary because they were so in our faces.

I never did see the trail of white buoys that marked treasure, but managed to find some of the sunken artifacts by myself.

 

We decided to head in as we were getting hungry. As I neared the shore I was stung by a jellyfish that I never did see. It was not a massive one but I did head to the lifeguard stand to find some vinegar. He sprayed it on my neck and jawline and it was then that a waiter came and I decided to have my 1st strawberry daicqueri in over 12 years. It was $11.95 plus grats but was in a huge plastic container and had lots of rum and was probably the size of 3 regular drinks they were serving on board. This was the biggest drink I had on the cruise and was worth every penny. I did go back for another squirt of vinegar and that , along with the drink took care of my jellyfish encounter quite nicely. (There were no other lasting effects, like itching as I have experienced before when I was stung by a massive jelly in Hilton Head whose effects lasted for weeks).

 

We did all of our Christmas shopping for relatives here and I can only hope that the $5 T shirts will last a couple of washings!

 

At this point it was probably 2 or 3pm and we decided we had had enough and easily boarded the tender back to our Pearl. We showered and napped for about an hour.

Oldest (jetlagged) daughter went to bed and stayed there. (Note to self: Do not schedule a cruise one day after DD has flown to the states from S Korea..she spent an enormous amount of time fighting jet lag by sleeping the cruise away).

 

DH and DD (youngest) and I were going to eat in the Summer Palace but DD was wearing dressy shorts and a silk shirt but we were turned away because of her outfit. So...off to find Indigo (which allows shorts). We were served by Estellito who was hilarious and just a great guy. We would return to Indigo just to have him again!

After dinner we walked around the ship for a while to discover new things and found ourselves back in the Casino. Won $10 (I see a pattern here, the winnings are decreasing with each day, lol)

Since we are now very tired and have made it to about 9pm we decide that it is time to repair to our cabin and enjoy the most comfortable bed in the world!

Hopefully the links below will show some pics of the day:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef2513140b92900000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

GSC Fish

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef251fb35b93900000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

GSC Fish

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef2504173185e00000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Fish in my Face

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef2514e2278dc00000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

GSC (notice the brown palm fronds from Sandy)

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef251e458f9c300000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

 

Pearl at anchor

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef2515097786600000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

 

Great Stirrup Cay from anchor position.

 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3df23b3127ccef25139e738ba00000030O00CcsWTlmyaNge3nwI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

 

DH in the most beautiful water! (That's the RCCL ship in background at their island.)

 

Next Up: Day 3 (Sea Day)

[camz]

Thanks for your review. Looking forward to learn more about the Pearl.

[lnrc]

Your review is wonderful....anxiously awaiting the rest....Keep up the great job....we go on the pearl in 1 month!!

[mitsugirly]

I am enjoying this review but I had a problem looking at your pictures. I don't know if it is me or my computer or both but when I clicked on to the pictures this is what I got:

 

Exception report

message

description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

 

exception javax.servlet.ServletException: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid character: = org.apache.tuscany.sca.host.webapp.TuscanyServletFilter.doFilter(TuscanyServletFilter.java:99) com.shutterfly.application.filter.InterServerLoggingFilter.handleFilterCall(InterServerLoggingFilter.java:55) com.shutterfly.web.framework.servlet.URISkipSupportingFilter.doFilter(URISkipSupportingFilter.java:61) com.shutterfly.application.filter.RefererBlackListFilter.handleFilterCall(RefererBlackListFilter.java:50) com.shutterfly.web.framework.servlet.URISkipSupportingFilter.doFilter(URISkipSupportingFilter.java:61) com.shutterfly.application.filter.ThreadsFilter.doFilter(ThreadsFilter.java:104)

root cause

 

Did this happen to anyone else??

 

Yep...no can view the photos either.....

 

 

I am getting the same error and can't view the pictures. :(

 

The last post and set of pictures are working though. :)

[hartsnvt]

I am sorry that I have not completed my review. I am having surgery today so I will get back to it as soon as I can. The pic links worked for me in my last post, I will see what else I can do!

[signora]

Your pictures are gorgeous! I am having no trouble viewing them (perhaps because I have a Mac?). Good luck with your surgery and take your time with more reviewing: we have time to wait as we sail on the Pearl in 5 weeks. Thanks again and take care--Amy

 

P.s. Great pics of the fish! BTW they're yellow snappers. Thanks again for your review!

[hartsnvt]

We were up at 6am so we are slowly sleeping in later and later! Our oldest DD was up as well so we (once again!) enjoyed breakfast at the Garden Buffet. I want to say that I enjoy the hand sanitizers when entering from the aft staircase but so much more entertaining are the singing washy washy folks that are stationed at the midship entrance to the buffet. The scrambled eggs were hot this am but I am still not a fan of powdered eggs. Not being an adventurous eater I , of course, stick to the pancakes and crispy bacon..(no bacon police here!!!). We are now ready for a fun filled day!

 

After fueling up on food we explore the atrium "deals" of the day. I did end up buying a cx amethyst ring as purple has always been my fav color since I was 4 or 5. While we were waiting for our DDs to join us there was a Botox presentation by a DR. Really? Botox? On a cruise ship? That was new to me. I am not sure that I would pursue cosmetic procedures on a vacation, but to each their own. We sat down and listened because no one else was listening and we felt bad for the presenter. I think he thought we were really interested and came up after to see if we needed any additional info but we politely declined and thanked him for his time.

 

Our DDs still had not arrived so with our daily schedule in hand we made our way to Trivia in bar city and had a ball! We only got 12 out of 20 right but it was very entertaining and Beverly was tops! I also learned that MLKs 1st name was Michael. I can't believe that I never knew that.

 

Armed with new knowledge we headed to ...yes the Casino. I broke even and DH was having so much fun at some quarter machine..you know the bulldozer ones where the quarters are just dangling off of the edge so you add quarters to make those quarters fall? Those machines were full almost everytime I saw them. I think they are quite a ripoff but DH had so much fun he missed our M&G at 11am.

 

I was late to the M&G by about 3 minutes and I missed quite a bit of what the crew was saying. I believe that about 30 had signed up to go and 23 showed up which I see is typical. (75% or so). SO I only met a few of our members . I did find it interesting that one person was complaining to the officers about this and that which I thought was pretty disrespectful. (We were also not offered a bridge tour which many smaller groups get and maybe it was because of the complaints they heard?!) I will also say that at one of our port disembarkations the same person literally walked right into my DH and blamed him for it. (We were standing still). I guess there is always a complainer who expects the world to revolve around them but I was pretty embarrassed by their behavior.

 

Since our DDs did show up at the M&G, we were able to decide what to do next. We opted to have lunch in the Summer Palace and our waiter was extremely entertaining and charming. (I did forget to write down his name and I am sorry for that). I had the chicken Milanese which was lightly breaded and quite tasty! Everyone really enjoyed their meals and the service was outstanding! I do want to add that when I used to cruise those many moons ago, there were always drink wait staff that came around constantly (almost overkill) and I really enjoyed not being pushed to buy a drink at every meal.

 

After lunch the girls wanted to join us for the slot tournement. I cannot remember how much it was (sorry again), but we basically had 2 teams, DH and me and my 2 DDs. It was a way to save some money and fun at the same time. DH and I had an awful machine, of course the one next to ours was fabulous. DDs did a little better but none of us advanced to the next round.

We really did not get into a great schedule of highlighting activities that we wanted to do until the end of the cruise so we were a bit all over the place trying to find things to do. We did a lot of exploring and I guess we missed listening to bands on the pool deck, which we should have been doing all along as it was relaxing and fun to watch people. ( we discovered this later on in the cruise).

 

We dressed up for formal portraits as this was an important Christmas gift for the DDs grandmothers, but the next day the DDs did not like them so we would have to do them again another night. We did wear these clothes for dinner but then returned and changed into comfy clothes for the rest of the night. I love the fact that there are no "formal, you HAVE to dress up" nights on NCL. It is very liberating and if you want to dress up, fine. It was fun to for us as we live in the sticks of VT and the only fine dressing we see is what is stuffed in the turkey on Thanksgiving, lol.

 

After the pictures were taken we went to the Summer Palace for dinner. There was no wait as it was just before 6pm and we were seated in Michael and Erics' section. They were the bomb! Fabulous waiters and very funny! I had the lamb and asked for mint jelly and Michael brought me a bowlful! I ate every drop! When he asked for our dessert order, nothing really appealed to me so I told him that I was a chocoholic and that it was ok that there was nothing there that I wanted. A few minutes went by and he brought everyone else's desserts and brought me a nice bowl of chocolate mousse! Both he and Eric went out of their way to make our dinner special!

(DH and I saw him the next morning at the pool deck and he greeted us by name . He was such a special person and we really enjoyed his service!)

 

After dinner my oldest DD still adjusting to the time zone went to bed and the 3 of us went to Deal or No Deal in the stardust theatre. It was $19.95 for a card. The emcee was Maria (from Croatia) and she was the best entertainer that we had the pleasure of experiencing. She could have been a stand up comedian in her own right. DH won an instant ticket, DD won $50 and I had the goose-egg card of the night.

 

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Pool Deck

 

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Palm tree lights on pool deck.

 

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Sunset 12/18/12

 

Next up: Ocho Rios

[lnrc]

Glad youre back....enjoying the review and hope youre feeling better.

[dustyroad]

please give us more. love the pix. can you tell us if you got a free glass of champaine or juice when you boarded. i hope your surgery went well. take care.

[hartsnvt]

Thanks Dusty. I am still somewhat puzzled by how I am healing and await my surgeon's call about my results. As to the welcoming glass, unfortunately there is no longer that special welcome that I had been accustomed to on my prior cruises in the 90's. Some people report that there are waiters with such refreshments these days but you have to pay for them. I did not see any of that either. It is such a simple gesture and I think they need to bring it back for the weary travelers who have finally made it aboard. Maybe it is just a perk for the suite guests but I do not know as they are usually escorted aboard by their concierge.

[hartsnvt]

We awoke at 5 am (yes, for some reason we cannot get our internal clocks to change, lol). I showered in our very comfortable shower stall (with sliding door , so no curtain to stick to). I will also add that the water was always hot and it was handy to have the soap and shampoo dispensers right there. However the soap had no nice aroma (i know some people have allergies), but it was not soapy either so I had to use a lot. The shampoo was adequate and I did bring my own conditioner.

 

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Shower. The shower siding is the same material as the walls in the cabins and hallways in a soft light cherry finish.

 

After my shower I sat on our balcony and caught up in my journal and proceeded to see a spectacular sunrise that I use as my wallpaper on my computer. It just brings me back to our wonderful cruise everytime I look at it.

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Sunrise 12/19/12

 

We had breakfast in......you guessed it..The garden Cafe. lol we are creatures of habit.

Here is my go to breakfast.. pretty self explanatory.

 

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Yes there are 2 small pancakes under that GOB of whipped cream!

 

We were docked at Ocho Rios which was not a pretty port as the starboard side overlooked an old mill with rusted cranes all around, but, NO WORRIES!, we are in Jamaica!

 

We were to meet our River Tubing Safari (thru NCL) at 8:50am so we disembarked and wound our way to the staging area for the tours. It was a madhouse! There were so many groups trying to find others in their tour. I called it somewhat organized chaos (not really organized but they were doing the best they could with all of us cruisers blindly trying to find the right sign). We actually met another couple from Vermont as the husband had read my DHs Tshirt with the BMU Bucks high school logo on it. He said when he saw the deer he figured we may be from VT, it was funny. (Well, you probably had to be there, lol).

 

Finally, as crowds began to embark on their tours we finally found the sign for ours and we repaired to a 10 passenger AIR CONDITIONED van. (Did I mention how flipping hot it was out there?). DH as able to sit in the front passenger seat on the left side as they do drive on the opposite side of the road which was very entertaining for him as he kept trying to use his brakes and steer his imaginary wheel. Once again I forget our drivers name but he was so informative (gas is $7.00/gallon) and joke teller extraordinaire! We had history lessons galore and it made me really appreciate the single wide home that I live in here in Vermont. There was a true beauty seeing the proud people and small adobes on the side of the road as we climbed higher and higher on gravel roads as we left the bustling town behind us. We live in a depressed area on dirt roads and apart from the flora and of course the nice warm temperatures, we could have been in the green mountains of VT.

 

The views as we continued were Jungleicious (my new made up word). The dirt road narrowed and had numerous switchbacks and we finally made it to the base area to get our safety helmets, rental locker and our guides. Back to the van and our final trip to the top where we would enter the White River for our tubing experience.

 

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Entrance to tubing on the White River.

 

We were outfitted with vests and were plopped in a tube with a playful "get wet" splash from one of our guides which was shockingly refreshing. (yeah right!) The water was cool but since it was in the mid eighties it really took only a few minutes to get used to the temp of the water. Once there were about 20 of us, we began our river adventure! It was a blast! There were some relaxing slow moving portions and some faster rapids (but easily traversed and we had all ages from 10-70). Even I was never uncomfortable with all of my health and pain issues. At one point another tuber (like that one, lol) went too close after me down a faster portion and I thought I was going to flip, but I didn't! (see pic below). Our two guides were very helpful when we got stuck in an area where the water did not move and they were also informative about the river and the flora and fauna (only heard birds, did not see any fauna). The bamboo was impressive as I did not know bamboo even grew here. (Botonist, I am not).

 

The trip lasted at least an hour. I did not have my watch and was just enjoying the way time seemd to stand still. At one point in a slow moving pool area of the river the smell of ganga permeated the air. I think some tubers wanted to leave the river and follow the intoxicating odor, lol. Yeah Mon, we definitely knew we were in Jamaica.

 

At the end of our river journey we ended up back at the base place where we were able to purchase pictures they took of us during the rapids spots where we were looking our best. The photos (on a cd disc) were 7 for $25 which was pricey but well worth the price. I spent too much time picking out shots that I never had time to shop in their gift area. Hubby found the time to experience 2 Red Stripe beers, which were a new experience for him. Our return trip was again informative and fun with quirky facts from our trusty driver. This was a great excursion and we were never bothered by people trying to sell us a bunch of stuff.( apparently they do at Dunns River Falls). I highly recommend this NCL excursion!

 

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I am still in my tube!

 

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Youngest DD and DH (in background)

 

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Oldest DD, myself and DH

 

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DDs on river

 

 

We were dropped off at the pier and oldest DD was tired and went aboard. The 3 of us decided to walk from the pier to the closest shopping and we did encounter many people trying to put necklaces on us and such. We politely declined their fines wares and the next thing we knew a pretty female police officer stopped us and gave us advice about ignoring those folks. She said if we felt in any kind of danger to yell and she or one of her fellow officers would step right in because they were always close. We were never afraid at all, but it was nice to have the presence of those officers nearby.

 

We went to some shops on one side of the road where there was a Santa (he must have been hot in his outfit). DH tried the blue mountain coffee and loved it so he bought a pound to bring home. (He finished it last week and is bummed that he does not have anymore!). It was odd to see so many Christmas Decorations in such a balmy place. I just loved it! We went across the main road to a "mall" with plenty of stores and a Margheritaville. I had never been to one and suffice it to say that I will never return to one again. I thought we could just get a seat and have a quick drink and relax. Well, I guess it is spring break here all of the time as they had vacationers being urged by the DJ to dance on tables and drink a lot while being judged by the drunks in the crowd. Not my type of atmosphere. Had a $50 bill for 3 drinks . Live and learn.

 

We walked back to the ship and politely declined the locals offers of $2 necklaces and met up with DD who had taken a brief nap. We were not very hungry for some reason so we decided to go to the Blue Lagoon. I had read here that the wings were spectacular and not to be missed. Maybe they were having an off day as all of the food was very average and once again the lettuce on my burger was limp and stringy. Even the waitstaff seemed lethargic and very unsmiley like someone had died.

 

We went to afternoon bingo at some point during the afternoon. Here is my take. They make A LOT of money at bingo. The pots are small considering the cost of the cards. In the old days the cards were like $10 for 3 games. They played games that at least took more than 5 minutes to play and always had the coverall for about $2000. The lesser pots were 2-300 dollars but we had only paid $10 for the session. Today there were 3 packages. $39 for 6 cards and 3 games. $49 for 12 cards and $69 for 18 cards. Now these packages did change somewhat depending on which day you played. People were splitting pots of $100 so when 3 people won they got $33 each. This has to be changed to make it worth playing.

 

We played trivia in Bliss which has the most comfortable couches and beds I have ever seen in a lounge. We only got 12 right again. After trivia we hit the casino and I began my losing streak. LOL I only lost $10 this night but everynight it was a little bit more. I do not gamble a lot thank goodness! I think we were there for 10 minutes so it was calculated to be more per time spent.

 

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Shopping Santa

 

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Sign when you return from Jamaica

 

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Jamaica from balcony

 

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Leaving jamaica aft wake

Up Next: Grand Cayman

[Tak8]

Thinking of taking The Pearl for a Christmas cruise. Really enjoying your review.