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3rd Times the charm. Pearl to Alaska 6/21 review with pictures

FraudBroad

By FraudBroad,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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spotfish

spotfish

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Posted

Great review, we were on the jewel a day ahead of you and also in a mini suite under the overhang, while like you said I would have liked it not being there it was a wonderful room none the less (11050).

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GoAndHaveFun

GoAndHaveFun

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Hi Terry,

To be very honest I have NO idea how I ended up on the VIP list. But my mamma always taught me not to look a gift horse in the mouth! I just went with it an enjoyed!!!

 

Cheers,

Natalie

 

I think Terry probably wanted to ask..are you Gold or VIP with CAS?

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Great play by play!! We leave on the Pearl on July 26th, so it's getting close. Thanks for all the detail....can't wait to see which excursions you took, and what you thought about them. Also interested in MDR fare, and any specialities you tried.

 

Another question....were there many folks with the UBP promotion, and was it slow/difficult getting drinks?

 

Yes! There were a lot with the UBP...in fact Rob and Jack both had it. There only place I experienced a problem with getting a drink was in the casino while playing the slots (there are just never enough waiters). But at the bars on the ship it was find...no delays!

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Onwards with the review!!!

 

Before I forget we did have several pieces of information waiting in our stateroom along with my "Platinum" latitudes gifts!

 

Chocolates - Godiva box of 4

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There was also a bottle of champagne but I forgot to take a pictures!!

 

Here's the other information:

 

VIP Note from the Concierge

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The week ahead

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Letter from the Bridge

 

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And how could I forget the chocolate covered strawberries!!!

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Also included, but not pictured:

Invitation to the latitudes party (First Sea day - Monday @ 1:00 in Spinnaker)

Gold/Platinum latitudes party (Friday - Ketchikan @ 1:00 in Bliss)

VIP Cocktail party invitation (Monday @ 6:00 in Bliss)

Latitudes Platinum Laundry certificate

A letter from the Group Services Coordinator (Iris) confirming the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet to be held Monday at 11:30 in Bliss

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Jordan talked me into heading up for a Spa tour. We fell in love with the Thermal Suite and booked it for the both of us for the week ($149 each). It's important to note. They normally do not sell the passes for the Thermal Suite to people under 18. BUT, since we agreed that Jordan would not be able to go without me the manager agreed. They affixed a sticker to the back of our cards and we were good to go!

 

At this point I'm wondering if I've just lost my mind...booking a spa pass for my 16 year old??? I either win the title "Worlds greatest mom" or "Worlds craziest mom." The jury is still out on that one...

 

I also booked an appointment with the acupuncturist to hopefully help with some issues I'd been having with my neck and shoulders...guess I'm to the point that I'd try anything!!!

 

We ended up finally receiving our luggage sometime between 5 and 5:30. I was REALLY getting worried and at one time even went down to guest services. We were some of the first to check in, so when everyone else in the hall had their luggage and ours wasn't there...I started to worry a bit....

 

We unpacked what we could then hiked it up to 12 aft to La Cucina for dinner. I'll also note, we had the UDP.

 

Also, when I booked I had the choice between the UBP, UDP or OBC. I chose the UDP only because I was traveling with my 16 year old. I didn't see myself drinking like crazy when traveling with my kid!!!

 

Also to note, I'd make all of our dinning reservations online as soon as I could. I'd been reading on Cruise Critic that it had been difficult to get reservations once on the ship. There were a couple of changes that needed to be made (add 2 people to a reservation, change venue) that I was able to have Elvina take care of for me.

 

La Cucina is Jordan's favorite restaurant on the ship and I'd promised that we'd go early in the evening since we knew that the teen club stuff usually starts between 7:30 and 8:00. Heaven help us if she missed any of the fun!!!

 

We both started with the calamari appetizer

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And then both had the Caesar salad

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Since we both felt we'd just eaten we just split one of the pizzas for dinner!

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Dinner was a miss for me. I've always enjoyed La Cucina but this time things just felt a bit off. The calamari was a bit soggy...no crunch to it. And why the salad and pizza were okay...they just weren't great. As I say that I also realize neither of us was really that hungry so it may have been more that than anything actually lacking in the food itself!!!!

 

We headed back to the cabin after dinner so that Jordan could change, we could finish unpacking and Jordan could ditch her old mamma and head out for some fun! Jordan was off to the teen club and I was then off to the CAS VIP cocktail party.

 

Rob met me at the party and we each had a couple of drinks. I don't know what drink they were serving (I think it was rum punch?) but it was terrible. The bartender was nice enough to get us each something else. We both ended up spending the remainder of the evening in the casino before heading to bed. It had been a long couple of days and I was exhausted. Day one of the cruise was officially OVER!!!

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FraudBroad

FraudBroad

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Day two dawned and we were at Sea! It wasn't exactly what I'd call "warm" outside but it certainly wasn't cold. On my prior two cruises to Alaska we'd had very cold, rainy days each day at sea.

 

I headed to Moderno while the kid slept to enjoy a wonderful breakfast. This morning I went for the Belgium waffle with fresh berries and whipped cream. Can you say YUMMO!!!!

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Moderno also offers a beautiful breakfast buffet

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The buffet has a large assortment of different offering. Meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, pastries, bagels and hot oatmeal. There's something there for everyone.

 

And they had my all-time favorite on the buffet...muselli!

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I love that they have a ton of different toppings you can add to the muselli or oatmeal, slivered almonds, pecans, craisins, brown sugar, blueberries, strawberries...the list goes on and on!

 

As soon as I was done with breakfast I headed to the spa for my first acupuncture treatment. I'd never had acupuncture before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The woman who gave me the treatments (her name was Song) was quite nice. She spent a long time massaging my neck and shoulders before inserting the 20 PLUS needles. I have to admit, though a few of them pinched, it really didn't hurt at all. The then left me covered for 15 minutes to "relax". Imagine laying face down on a massage table, your top half naked, pricked with 20 plus needles, covered in a plastic sheet, and being told to "relax." Easier said than done!!!!

 

She returned after the 15 minutes, removed the needles, massaged a bit more and finally sent me on my way. Oh, and also told me that I should have at least two more treatments that week. The total for the 3 treatments including the mandatory 18% gratuity was $400. The amount may sound outrageous but you do what you can when you're dealing with pain!!!

 

After going back to the cabin to check and make sure the kid was still alive (she'd actually already been to the gym and breakfast) I stopped by the casino for a bit to make another deposit before heading to Bliss for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. We were scheduled to meet at 11:30.

 

We had approximately 18 people at the Meet & Greet and SUCH a nice crowd! All of the officers were present and the Captain even stopped by for just a minute and shook my hand. He was pretty funny. He walked up to me and asked "are you the boss?" He then stated that we were all invited up to the bridge at 3:00 for a tour. Not a bad start to our Meet & Greet!

 

All of the officers were present and Cary, the Hotel Director, introduced each one and said where they were from. Here's the card that they gave each of us with their contact information:

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Cary also let us know that we'd be receiving an invitation for a "re-group" to be held Friday afternoon so they could get our feedback from the week. They stressed for us to reach out to them right away with any questions or concerns.

 

One great thing that did happen at the meet & greet was we were able to ask the Cruise Director, Dingo Dave, if he could put something in the Freestyle Daily for kids between the ages of 18 and 21. Currently, there really is no venue for them to meet up. Dave said it wouldn't be a problem and he'd be happy to take care of it. The kids that were there (I say kids, but what do you call young adults that still live at home between that ages of 18-21???) were thrilled and excited that there'd be a way to meet new people.

 

By now it was almost 12:30 and I hadn't eaten since 8:00 so my tummy was rumbling. After all, it's a cruise...I should be grazing every two hours!!! So back to Moderno I went!!! Jordan actually graced me with her presence at lunch. The boring people we are we each ordered exactly the same thing we'd had the day before. Burger for me...steak for her...hence no pictures!!!

 

After lunch I had to stop by the casino again...this time I think I actually made a "withdrawal" rather than a "deposit." The casino angels were being generous that day but I was getting sleepy. Still struggling to adjust to the two hour time difference. So after the casino...it was time for a nap!!!

 

More to come later today...thanks for reading :)

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jenseib

jenseib

Posted
Posted

Loving the review.

I noticed you said the butler met you when you boarded...is that because you are VIP? We are staying in a suite and will have a butler and I wondered if he is waiting when you board or how you find him? I guess I never thought about it till you posted that.

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Shellbelle28

Shellbelle28

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We both started with the calamari appetizer

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Bummed your calamari was not outstanding, it looked great in the photo and got me interested in trying La Cucina. When your spouse is of Italian descent and grew up on grandma's marvelous cooking, you tend to avoid Italian restaurants LOL.

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jeffregpuck

jeffregpuck

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Bummed your calamari was not outstanding, it looked great in the photo and got me interested in trying La Cucina. When your spouse is of Italian descent and grew up on grandma's marvelous cooking, you tend to avoid Italian restaurants LOL.

 

We have eaten in LaCucina before and had the Calimari....it was very good! Hopefully this was just a bum night, and the Pearl normally does it right. Light breading and very crispy!

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Melstamps

Melstamps

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Posted (edited)
We were on this cruise too and had a BLAST. The weather before and after in Seattle, as well as all over Alaska, was the best I've ever seen. I have PDFs of all the dailies, if anyone is interested.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'd love to see them. I can't make the photos quite big enough to read. Thanks! I saw the link after I posted

Edited by Melstamps
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Melstamps

Melstamps

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Hi,

I'm still trying to navigate so sorry if there is a way to send a private message and I missed it.

I live close to you and was wondering about airfare. Which airport and airline did you use and how far in advance did you book your flights?

thanks

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LoraJ

LoraJ

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Okay...onward we go with this review that I think is going to turn into a novel!!

 

Dinner at Daniel's was simply AMAZING!!! Please understand...when I'm at home the most we do for a night out is the local Chili's (now you have a better understanding of the chips and queso for breakfast) so Daniel's was a HUGE treat!

 

I just got back from Seattle. We stay down the street from this restaurant and have yet to go there. Maybe next time. We always stay at the Silver Cloud Inn. They have a shuttle service too and I have never had a problem with it. There's a nice free breakfast every morning and I think the rooms are good.

 

Thinking of doing an Alaskan cruise on the Pearl next year so I am checking out your review and enjoying it so far.

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