NCL Pearl Review W/ Photos!!! 5-Day Pacific Coastal

[ShannonSC2]

I love your pictures. I have been on the Pearl & the Sun and the Pearl is my favorite. Friendliest people, great food and relaxing time. I look forward to seeing more of your review.

 

Also great idea on the B2B cruises. At $10 difference I would have chosen the cruise also over flying. :)

[cherrypop]

We too were on the same cruise and agree don't bother with the Lotus Garden both food and service were horrible. Funny thing was when we ate at the L G on the Star it was very good. We had the UDP and loved Le Bistro ending up going there twice. Cagney's wasn't so great lobster was crayfish and our meal from start to finish was 45 minutes! We are going on the Star in October but feel the UDP for 14 night would be too much food, we will buy as we go.

[flyawayca]

We too were on the same cruise and agree don't bother with the Lotus Garden both food and service were horrible. Funny thing was when we ate at the L G on the Star it was very good. We had the UDP and loved Le Bistro ending up going there twice. Cagney's wasn't so great lobster was crayfish and our meal from start to finish was 45 minutes! We are going on the Star in October but feel the UDP for 14 night would be too much food, we will buy as we go.

 

Thanks for the tips! I'll have to think about trying Le Bistro on our next NCL cruise. I usually try to do one specialty restaurant a cruise if I have the money to spare.

[flyawayca]

Cherrypop reminded me of this. I think I tried to forget the terrible experience.

 

Who in their right mind thought it would be better to serve lobster in the buffet rather than in the main dining room???? :mad:

 

In my opinion, NCL has always had the absolute WORST lobster on lobster night. So what do they do? Take the worst lobster and serve it in the worst possible way! Now people are forming these long lines and you have to stand around and wait for terrible lobster. Then, just to top it off, they don't actually watch the lines so there are these horrible people who think it is okay to cut in line and literally take the serving tongs from you to get lobster first. I will never wait for it again, not worth the time. But then maybe that's what they are hoping for...

 

Bring the lobster back to the main dining rooms and get better lobster. And for goodness sake stop cutting the tails in half!

 

This is what you get now:

 

[cherrypop]

Luckily we did the UDP so we never went to the seafood/lobster buffet, but honestly the so called lobster in Cagney's was the size of large shrimp. Now it even comes with pasta and shrimp and there isn't an additional $10.00 charge. I say bring back the charge and serve real lobster. I ended up having the shrimp and crayfish no pasta and shared my hubby's steak which was plenty, he never finished his portion, we feel 16 ounces of meat is too much for one of us and we hate throwing food out. Regardless if we had paid for it or not why waste it.

[flyawayca]

I may as well get my one other negative out of the way. And this is something NCL really should listen to.

 

I think I remember reading somewhere here on CC that out of the main cruise lines NCL makes the least amount of money per cruiser. Interesting since NCL costs (usually - not always) a tad bit more per person than Carnival for the same cruise. So I've always thought about that. Well I think I may have figured out part of it...

 

There are very few drink options! I don't drink often, almost never at home. But I admit while I'm cruising I enjoy getting one of those fruity drinks while cruising. Sitting by the pool, at the comedy club, wherever to relax. I looked at the Pearl drink menu. There are only a handful of choices!

 

Now I'm sure if I went to the bartender I could probably get them to create something for me. But I don't like doing that. I like looking at the menu and seeing all the different options. On Carnival there are like 10 different rum options, 10 tequila options, etc. Only about 2 or 3 with NCL. So when the couple I saw didn't appeal to me I didn't buy any alcohol at all. For having one of the best liquor stores on a cruise ship you would think the bar would have more options of mixed drinks.

 

So we only got something one night.... but I have to say I love the oriental snack mix (is it still called that?).

 

[flyawayca]

Towel animals! We only got them on two nights out of the 5 day cruise. I'm like a kid. This is always one of my favorite things about cruising, the cruise lines really should keep it up. We didn't get a single one while on Princess, I'm not sure if it was because it was only a 3 day, or maybe they just don't do them.

 

I know on Carnival they have a class to teach you how to make one. I'm pretty sure NCL does a class as well. I think I remember seeing it in the schedule.

 

Here are the two I got on the Pearl

 

 

[flyawayca]

Canadian customs, so much better than the US! We just turned our custom forms into guest services and we were done. That was it! No custom lines at all. Just get off the ship and get your bags.

 

Now if only the taxi line could have been that easy. Longest line ever! I think there were quite a few people, like me, who thought we were docking at Canada Place and could simply walk to our hotels downtown. Nope. Looked out in the morning and went, where are we??? Haha. We ended up at the terminal a few miles away. So, expecting to walk turned into waiting in a very long taxi line. And guess who tried to cut in the taxi line... the same woman who cut in front of me in the lobster line! Go figure. However everyone else was extremely friendly around us and helped make the wait more bearable.

 

We ended up staying the night at the Hampton Inn downtown on Robson Street (sp?). The hotel was actually awesome. Very clean, big, walking distance to everything, staff was friendly (Walter was amazing!). Plus they have free shuttle service to Canada Place, Stanley Park, and other local attractions.

 

While in Vancouver we walked to Stanley Park. Very nice park with trails specifically for bicyclists, walker/joggers, and rollerbladers. This is also where you find the aquarium.

 

 

 

 

 

Also in Vancouver we were able to see the Olympic Cauldron

 

 

 

And also the steam clock located in Gastown

 

 

And speaking of Gastown... If you're in Gastown in Vancouver you HAVE to eat at The Flying Pig. I loved this place! It's a restaurant/bar. It has the most amazing food. And all sorts of drinks. We weren't all that hungry when we went so we ordered two sides (lobster risotto and pulled pork poutine) amazing!! And I recommend the Red Roof cider. Yum!

Edited May 18, 2014 by flyawayca

[Keith1010]

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[janpo]

Great review!!

 

We sailed the Pearl to the Caribbean in November 2012. Had an ocean view cabin. We had a fantastic time. Due to sail on the Getaway this September.

 

Loved looking at your pics! Lost quite a bit of money in their casino. ;)

[Linda the Book Lover]

I am loving all of the pictures.

[OurDogCisco]

We will be on the pearl soon so loving the pictures... Thanks,for sharing

[flyawayca]

I'm happy you enjoyed the pictures. I have more if anyone wants to see anything specific.

 

To summarize my experience and my thoughts:

 

Overall I really enjoyed this cruise and the ship.

 

Like I said before, the staff on this ship were amazing. Very friendly and sincere. I do think NCL employs some of the nicest staff.

 

The ship itself was nice. I didn't have any problems. I wouldn't say it's the best ship for cool weather cruises likes the Pacific Coastal or Alaska. Because all the pools are outside it gets a little too cold so most people are indoors. But people did take advantage of the hot tubs. Not a huge deal to me though because I don't typically use the pools on cruise ships anyway.

 

There is lots of entertainment. I thought the NCL dancers did great. There were two singers, one wasn't all that great but the other was good. The shows though were good and worth watching. I loved The Second City, I saw them on the Epic and they were just as good on the Pearl. The comedian (I forgot his name) was okay, not great.

 

The food on the Pearl is good, but not great. This is the only place I feel NCL is lacking compared to Carnival and RCI.

 

I love love love the freestyle aspect of NCL cruising! Makes cruising so much easier not having to race to dinner because you're on a set schedule. Sometimes you just don't have the time or are not hungry at exactly the time dinner is scheduled. NCL does great fixing this. Plus they have tons of 2 person tables so if you don't like sitting with strangers you won't have to.

 

Would I sail NCL again? Of course! I love to cruise and I'm not one to stick to a specific line (just look at my signature). I cruise base on itinerary and then price. The Pearl was a great ship with great staff.:D

 

 

I will be posting a review of my Star Princess cruise back to San Francisco. We had a stop in Victoria were we went to the Butchart Gardens so if anyone wanted to see it check over there. :)

Edited May 18, 2014 by flyawayca

[Linda the Book Lover]

I'll keep my eye out for the Star review. The DH showed a spark of interest especially because it meant we would disembark in San Francisco.

[valleyvillage]

Thank you for your kindness and generosity in posting these wonderful photos!

[meatball_nyc]

Loved your review and photos.

Thanks for sharing and glad you had a good cruise :)

 

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[logan25]

It's been a couple of years since we sailed Pearl. Still one of our favorite ships.

 

Could you tell me whether the buffet has a hot chocolate dispenser? We ran across one on another cruise line and my husband now wants to know whether NCL offers such on any of its fleet. It was a sole-purpose dispenser equipped with hot water and powdered cocoa mix cylinder on top. The machine did the mixing and dispensed hot cocoa.

[Susie51]

Luckily we did the UDP so we never went to the seafood/lobster buffet, but honestly the so called lobster in Cagney's was the size of large shrimp. Now it even comes with pasta and shrimp and there isn't an additional $10.00 charge. I say bring back the charge and serve real lobster. I ended up having the shrimp and crayfish no pasta and shared my hubby's steak which was plenty, he never finished his portion, we feel 16 ounces of meat is too much for one of us and we hate throwing food out. Regardless if we had paid for it or not why waste it.

 

What is UDP?

[Susie51]

Thank you for your great review and pics. I enjoyed being on the Pearl in 2012 and your photos brought back great memories.

[cherrypop]

What is UDP?

 

Ultimate dining package. For our five night cruise we could eat at any specialty restaurant for the five nights for $59.00 each. Was a good deal considering Cagney's was $30.00.

[flyawayca]

It's been a couple of years since we sailed Pearl. Still one of our favorite ships.

 

Could you tell me whether the buffet has a hot chocolate dispenser? We ran across one on another cruise line and my husband now wants to know whether NCL offers such on any of its fleet. It was a sole-purpose dispenser equipped with hot water and powdered cocoa mix cylinder on top. The machine did the mixing and dispensed hot cocoa.

 

I wish they did!! I'm a hot chocolate addict and I have to say that is my favorite thing about Carnival. Sad to say my favorite thing about a cruise line is their hot chocolate... Haha. BUT NCL does have hot chocolate 24/7 which is awesome, they just use the regular Nestle hot chocolate packets and you mix it yourself with hot water.

[herdercruiser]

We are taking this cruise in 2015. Loved seeing your pictures and reading your reviews. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Okmyx]

Great review! I was also on this cruise and hope you don't mind my adding a few pictures of SF for all to enjoy. The weather was perfect and the view of the Golden Gate on the way out at the end of the day was fantastic. I was up at 5:50am as we passed under the bridge and since it was before sunrise and a bit overcast the view was...not as good as when we left. ;)

 

 

 

 

[Okmyx]

We had a wonderful tour of the bridge courtesy CC and the M&G (thanks again for coordinating this!).

 

 

 

[Okmyx]

The food on the Pearl is good, but not great. This is the only place I feel NCL is lacking compared to Carnival and RCI.

 

Yes! I'm pleased to see that you also thought the food could have been better, since it was clear in another thread where I posted concern about the food that I had too high standards (which is my way of interpreting the accusation that I am a "food snob" :D). It's also refreshing to see that the same negativity did not extend to this thread once food was mentioned. For those who are curious, you may read it (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2039212) and reach your own conclusion...

 

I hope NCL improves the food. I just saw another new thread which refers to the food on a different NCL ship being less than thrilling, so it seems we may need to lower our expectations for NCL in future. We need balanced and honest reviews on CC in order to help others choose which cruise fits their needs, and I'm glad you included your thoughts on the food in your review.