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

[mousecrazy]

Thanks for your review! Nicely written!

 

Did you happen to take pictures of the MDR menus?

TIA.

[Shellbelle28]

FraudBroad you're killing me! What happened to the rest of your review!?!?

[FraudBroad]

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.

 

I honestly can't say whether each butler meets their passengers when boarding. All I know was that there was a butler there that escorted us all on board. We were in a group of about 25-30 people when we boarded and there was only one butler. Hope that helps!

[FraudBroad]

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!

 

I know...right? We've always LOVED LaCucina and especially the calimari! I don't know what the deal was that night! We've NEVER experienced a problem there!

[FraudBroad]

I'd love to see the dailies in PDF....that makes it easy to zoom in and read them a little better!

 

We set sail in about 22 days!!!

 

I will for sure scan them today and post. So sorry the pictures didn't work!

[FraudBroad]

So sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the review...too much going on over the holiday weekend and work has been crazy...so here we go!

 

Monday night Jordan and I joined Rob and Jack for dinner at Cagney's. All I can say is PERFECTION!!! The meal was amazing!

 

I ordered the Wagu beef sliders to start followed by the Mexican Caesar salad. For my entree I went with the small filet accompanied by the creamed corn and mac and cheese. Everything, and I do mean everything I ordered was perfect!

 

Jack's steak came out WAY too over done. We told the waitress and within minutes he had a new steak. Easy breezy! Everyone was thrilled with their meals.

 

And for whatever reason...I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES!!! Shoot me now...just take my word...dinner was delicious!

 

We ended up skipping dessert because we wanted to make it to the show that night "Man from Mars." The show was a bit comedy, a bit acrobatic, it was different...but excellent! We all agreed that we loved the performance. The same man would be back later during the sailing for a magic show.

 

When leaving the theater we noticed a TON of people out on deck. Whales perhaps? We had to head outside to see what was going on. Low and behold, this is what we saw...and mind you...it was 10:30 at night. Simply beautiful!!!

 

 

 

What a breathtaking sunset...and so late at night! It was simply the perfect ending to the perfect day!

 

Rob and I then headed to the casino, Jack headed to bed and Jordan to the teen club.

[FraudBroad]

So now it's the day we've been waiting for. Day three and we will be arriving in Juneau at 2:00. Mind you, Juneau is the BIG stop for us...the helicopter to the Mendenhall Glacier with dog sledding. This is the THIRD time we've tried to take this excursion...each and every other time it had been cancelled...I think I woke up holding my breath, worried about how the weather would be.

 

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that the ship was blowing the horn...a lot...and then I pulled back the curtains to our balcony and what did I see?

 

A whole lot of nothing...and I do mean nothing...BECAUSE I COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING AS WE WERE FOGGED IN...I mean I was looking at a WALL OF WHITE!!!

 

I got dressed and hurried upstairs...I'm not kidding when I say that decks 12 and 13 were completely fogged in!!! I had a terrible sinking feeling in my gut...I knew how terribly disappointed Jordan would be if once again the dog sledding was cancelled!

 

Headed to Moderno for breakfast...this time opting for the delicious eggs Benedict. They are always perfect!!!

 

 

After breakfast I headed back to the spa to be poked with 25 needles. Although I didn't feel much relief from the first treatment...I did get relief from the second!

 

By the time I'd finished with my acupuncture treatment I headed back on deck and the fog was starting to clear out. You couldn't see the water, but the tops of the mountains were becoming visible. Not much later you could see the water...eventually the fog would burn off and it became a bright and beautiful day!!!!

 

 

 

Here is picture as we came into Juneau. The Jewel had to pull out so we'd have a place to dock!

 

 

There was also a Princess ship in port with us.

 

[lizziez00]

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

 

Yes!! We leave for Seattle on Friday! Could you email them to me? Never mind...I saw the link Thanks!!!!

Edited July 9, 2015 by lizziez00
didn't read far enough :)

[jeffregpuck]

Geez! Can't you just take a day off or something to finish this review!! LOL

 

Just kidding of course, but am looking forward to hearing more. We leave in about two weeks...so really starting to get pumped!

[FraudBroad]

As we were heading into Juneau I finally found Jordan on deck...she was running towards me with the biggest smile I've ever seen on that kids face! She knew that THIS WOULD BE THE TIME!!! Nothing was going to stop us from dog sledding on the glacier. The excursion would FINALLY happen!

 

I was so excited I took a picture of the excursion ticket...even I couldn't believe this was actually going to happen!

 

 

We headed off the ship around 2:45 and met the bus in the parking lot. One warning for the ladies...the FIRST thing they do when you meet the bus driver is ASK FOR YOUR WEIGHT. They do this in order to distribute the weight on the helicopter. On the bus we all had to sign waivers as we were on our way to the helicopter place.

 

Once there we watched a very short safety video and were then all issued special boots that went over our shoes. They were supposed to make it easier to walk on the glacier. They were just adorable...NOT!!!

 

 

The rest of the group from our ship was on this particular excursion was a family of 13. It was the dad/grandpa's 70th birthday and he'd taken the whole family to celebrate. Jordan ended up becoming friends with one of his sons at the teen club. Come to find out they were all staying in the huge Haven suite onboard. The grandson took a group of kids from the teen club up there one night to check it out. Poor Jordan...she's now seen how the other half lives and will now forever be disappointed when we don't sail in a suite!!!

 

On our helicopter it would be me and Jordan in back, and the birthday boy and his lovely wife up front with the pilot. We were all let outside and given specific spots in between two yellow lines. We were told not to move until we were instructed to and that when we walked to the helicopter we had to stay inside the yellow lines.

 

Soon, the helicopters arrived. There would be 15 total in our group going up on 4 different helicopters.

 

 

Here you can see the yellow lines:

 

We boarded the helicopter and Jordan was all set to fly!

 

[FraudBroad]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...so I'll let the pictures do the talking...these were all taken while in flight to the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

 

 

 

The Glacier

 

 

[FraudBroad]

 

 

 

 

Approaching the dog sled camp

[FraudBroad]

The flight to the dog sled camp only took about twenty minutes. The scenery and views were just absolutely breathtaking. The helicopter ride did freak me out just a bit...I am terrified of heights...I can't say that I wouldn't ever do a helicopter ride again...and for sure I'm glad I tried it once...but it will take a LOT more convincing to get me on the second time around :)

 

After landing we were given very strict instruction on where we were to walk to when exiting the helicopter (they're trying to keep you safe and away from the blades of death). We were promptly introduced to our musher and we were off to meet our dog sled team.

 

They had 280 sled dogs at the camp. Here are a few we met!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's our Musher for the tour:

[FraudBroad]

Geez! Can't you just take a day off or something to finish this review!! LOL

 

Just kidding of course, but am looking forward to hearing more. We leave in about two weeks...so really starting to get pumped!

 

Duhhhh...all of my vacation time is used to cruise! I don't have any time off left over to write a review with :)

[crayola1932]

We were on the Pearl a month ago and also somewhat disappointed in La Cucina. Service very slow (it appeared to be the kitchen rather than the waiters, who were quite responsive). Food was so-so--best I found was the ossobucco. But the Affogato dessert is to die for and keeps me coming back--best dessert on the ship in my opinion. Be sure to order it with the Macadamia nut ice cream.

[FraudBroad]

Jesse was our Musher and he was great! He even let me take a picture of his awesome tattoo!

 

 

We were given the choice of either sitting or driving while on the dog sled. Jordan and I chose to sit (we were seated in front of Jesse, who was driving). There were two sleds attached to each other. The other couple was on the back sled. She sat and he drove. At one point we stopped and Jordan and I moved to the back sled and she was able to drive. She loved it!

 

Jesse getting the team ready to go!

 

On the sled with Jesse

 

Jordan and Jesse

 

Away we went!

 

 

Amazing scenery!

[FraudBroad]

More...random pics from our time on the glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FraudBroad]

We were on the sleds for about a half an hour. It was quiet (except for the barking dogs), the scenery majestic. I don't even have the words to quite describe the whole experience. Maybe amazing? Amazing just seems to short change the whole thing...it's was just quite magnificent!

 

As I said before..they had 280 dogs at the camp...what I didn't mention was that they also had eight 11 day old husky puppies!!! They didn't even have their eyes open yet!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! This was probably the best part!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jordan was in her glory. She wants a puppy SO BAD now it isn't even funny! Thankfully she didn't try to steal one! I understand that Huskies are more work than teenagers!!!

[FraudBroad]

One last picture...probably my favorite of Jordan with the pups!

 

 

Puppy time was over and it was time to head back to the helicopter and back to Juneau. We had to stand next to the American Flag.

 

 

We sat in the helicopter in the same spots we had on our way up. Jordan and I in back and the other couple in front with the pilot. Here are some pictures of the views on the way back.

 

Helicopter on the glacier

 

 

 

 

 

This is where we took off and landed from:

 

[FraudBroad]

After landing we had to go inside to remove the nifty boots they'd supplied and then get on the bus to head back to town. After already getting on the bus they announced that they needed two people to get off (they'd take them into town in one of their vans) so that the big family could all stay together. Jordan and I volunteered to get off as I always like more time to chat with the locals.

 

Our driver recommended several places in town before dropping us off downtown right in front of the Mt. Roberts Tram. I'd initially thought about taking the tram up but since we'd just gotten off of the helicopter I couldn't imagine the views being half of what we'd just seen.

 

Jordan and I opted to shop for a bit before Jack and Rob got back from their adventure (glacier hike) so that we could all have dinner together in town. We had enough time to pick up a couple of sweatshirts and tshirts before Rob called to say they were back. We all met up in front of the Red Dog Saloon. The place was packed so we skipped a drink and headed back towards to tram to eat at "Twisted Fish."

 

Had to stop and get some pictures in front of the bear!

 

 

 

Oh, and with the other bear...

 

We chose Twisted Fish for dinner because Jordan and I wanted crab and Rob is allergic...he was looking for halibut so Twisted Fist was the perfect place. Of course Jordan and I ordered the King Crab Legs!!!

 

 

Jack and Rob both had halibut and Jack helped finish my last crab leg!

 

We did some shopping right next door to the restaurant. They had a crab pot out front. As I'm a huge fan of "Deadliest Catch" I've always wondered what one looked like in person!!!

 

[FraudBroad]

By the time we'd finished shopping it was after 9:00 and a line had formed for the shuttle bus back to the ship. Jack and Rob opted to walk the 1/4 mile while Jordan and I waited for the shuttle. She'd met up with some of her new friends from the teen club and they were busy exchanging stories of the day.

 

After getting back to the ship I met Rob and Jack on deck 13 for a night cap and to enjoy the amazing sunset.

 

 

 

It had been a long day and we were all exhausted. Jordan and I had to be off the ship bright and early the next day as we were arriving in Skagway early and had to be off by 7:45. It was time to call it a day!

[FraudBroad]

I think we arrived in Skagway before 7 as I never did hear an announcement that we could get off the ship!

 

Jordan and I headed to Moderno for breakfast at 7 and then disembarked around 7:45. Our guide was right where she was supposed to be to meet us. We'd booked a horseback excursion through AlaskaExcursions.com. The cost for the two of us was $333 and the excursion would last around 3 hours.

 

We hopped in the van and had to make a stop at the other pier to pick up folks from the Princess and Celebrity ships that were also in port. Also in Skagway with us with the NCL Jewel. The Jewel, Celebrity Millenium, and Golden Princess were in almost all of the ports with us.

 

Once everyone was in the van we took off for the location from where we would ride. There were almost 20 people in the van...Jordan being the only "minor." Because of this, everyone would affectionately call her "minor" for the remainder of the day! I had to fill out a special waiver for her but nobody else needed to fill anything out.

 

It was about a 20 minute ride to the facility. Most of the way was a paved road but the last 10-15 minutes was dirt and gravel.

 

Once we arrived we were given helmets and a place to stow our bags/purses. We were asked what our experience level with riding was and were asked to line up shoulder to shoulder so they could figure out which horses would be best for each of us. Jordan rode "Rooste" while I rode "Spike." Off we went on our next adventure.

 

Here are all of the horses just waiting for us

 

 

Jordan riding Rooster

 

The first part of the ride was through the forest. We were SO lucky...NO mosquitoes at all!!! We rode single file throughout the entire ride

 

 

We finally started to come out of the woods...much more flat land with less trees.

 

Before we knew it we were in wide open spaces!

[FraudBroad]

The entire ride was about an hour and a half. When we got back to the camp we returned our helmets and were treated to some refreshments including a wonderful salmon spread and crackers. It was delicious! And the fresh lemonade was welcome after the long ride!

 

Here are some more pictures from along the ride

 

 

 

 

While the horseback riding was fun...it wasn't the greatest excursion I've ever been on. The scenery was beautiful but I was kicking myself in the pants for not having convinced Jordan to take the White Pass Railway ride. I'd done that last year and it was spectacular. Oh well...this was HER trip and we were doing the things she was had chosen. She was happy so therefore so was I!

[FraudBroad]

The bus driver was nice enough to drop us all back in town rather than all of the way back at the ship and Jordan and I spent an hour walking on the clapboard sidewalks checking out the tshirt and jewelry stores before heading for lunch. The guide from our Horseback ride and suggested the Red Onion for lunch so we headed there for some pizza.

 

The place is super cute...set up like an old time saloon from days gone by. All of the waitresses were dressed up in old time costumes. Here are some pictures from inside the Red Onion.

 

 

 

 

And our pizzas! They were pretty good!

 

 

Jordan was pretty tired and didn't feel like doing anymore shopping so we just headed back to the ship. We did take advantage of the shuttle to take us back...not realizing that this trip our ship was docked MUCH closer than it had been last year!

[FraudBroad]

Once back on board Jordan headed to the cabin for a nap and I headed up to my spot on deck 13 for a drink. I made a few calls back home and was struck by the scenery. Here I was on the ship with snow capped mountains in the background!

 

 

 

I'd realized on Tuesday that for whatever reason my phone had not logged out of the ship's wifi correctly the night before. Therefore the balance of my 250 minutes that I'd purchased online prior to sailing was gone. I went down to the Internet Cafe and spoke with the Manager. While we were talking he mentioned that I'd paid the same amount for my 250 minutes that people were now paying for UNLIMITED. Well, what can I say, I'm a woman of few words. I looking him straight in the face and said "Well, that really pisses me off." I explained that I wasn't upset with him at all...after all, he doesn't set the policy or pricing and he doesn't ever work for NCL!!! He was super, super nice...he made a phone call and before I knew it I had unlimited internet for the remainder of the cruise. Now that's what I call excellent customer service! I made sure to include a "Hero" card for him at the end of the cruise!

 

I took a nap that afternoon (being careful not to wake the sleeping teenagers when entering the cabin). We weren't leaving Skagway until 7:00 and Jordan and I had reservations that evening at Moderno.

 

Moderno has never been a favorite of mine...and let me explain why...while in high school I lived in Brazil for a year. Therefore I have a totally different expectation than other when it comes to Brazilian food. I've found Moderno to always be off the mark. I'd eaten there twice on the Star and once previously on the Pearl. Each time I'd been disappointed.

 

I find that when you do something or go somewhere with lowered expectations more often than not your expectations are met or exceeded. In this case, my expectations were BEYOND exceeded!!!

 

I don't know what changes NCL has made to Moderno but whatever it is that they've done I hope they don't ever undo them! The meal was EXCEPTIONAL. In fact, it was probably the BEST meal we had on the ship! The pao de queijo (cheese breads) were perfect, the fried bananas amazing, and each piece of meat we tried was cooked to perfection! There was not ONE SINGLE THING I would have changed about that meal. Except for maybe finding more room in my tummy to be able to put more away!!!!

 

I met Rob and Jack later for a drink and then it was time for the daily casino deposit. Before we knew it it was almost midnight and time for bed.

 

So far the weather had been perfect...but tomorrow would be the ultimate test. Would the weather hold out for Glacier Bay? We'd find out in the morning!