Pearl RT Panama Canal (12/10-21) - My brief review

[drvalo]

Let me start by saying this was a wonderful cruise. The itinerary was good, although different than when we first booked, but the star was the Panama Canal. We also visited Costa Rico for the first time. We booked an OV guarantee and got an obstructed view on 8. Great location and the promotion at the time made it very affordable for us.

 

This was the first cruise after a couple more charters for the Pearl. The charter season had not been without it challenges. The reggae cruise immediately preceded this one and a couple of cruise before a young woman jumped off the ship.

 

The Pearl has a fantastic crew. We were on her long enough that quite a few remembered us each time they saw us. Many of them were new to the ship because it has just come off the charters, but I don't think I have ever seen a crew with more smiles than on this ship. Perhaps they were happy also to have a non-charter cruise.

 

One thing a bit unusual about this cruise was how gray it was. I don't think I have ever been on such a gray NCL cruise. There were a few younger PAX, but I think I saw maybe 8 children, including infants in strollers. I am not sure if it was the time of the cruise (although we always cruise the same time of year) or how expensive it was that resulted in so few younger people. Maybe that was why the crew was always smiling. Except that we had to speed back to Miami the last sea day in somewhat bad weather, because of a medical emergency, it seemed to be a pretty calm cruise.

 

The entertainment was very good, as usual. We had a couple of comedians (Tim Kaminski was one), a surprisingly good violinist, a magician, production company shows, and that Jersey boys pretty good imitation. The evening game shows were not well attended, however. If you went, you got to play. :) There was music in Magnums and the Atrium as well as the dance band and DJ in Spinnaker.

 

We ate in Indigo, Summer Palace, Moderno (see below), La Cucina, OSheehans, and the buffet and Great Outdoors. All served good food (eventually, see below!).

 

We stayed on the ship for the Panama Canal. We considered an excursion and we knew folks who took the one that takes you through the whole canal and thought it was a terrific excursion, however we were invited to view the return portion of the transit from one of the forward suite balconies. It was a great view and a lovely afternoon.

 

We booked the Costa Rico tour by Bus, Train and Boat. We like that sort of excursion to get a good introduction to a new country. We enjoyed the excursion quite a bit. It was hot but the bus was air conditioned (the train and boat were not), and you returned to the bus between the other parts of the tour. We had a great tour guide. She was very knowledgeable about her country's history, government, people and wildlife. And we saw a lot of wildlife, including a caiman, lizards, howler monkeys, two kinds of sloths, iguana, birds, and other animals.

 

At the meet and greet the Hotel Director, Tony Rosa, asked us to please call him if there was a problem. He wanted to fix it while we were on board and he did not want to read about it on Cruise Critic. Well, the first sea day we ate a Moderno's and it was not good for a variety of reasons. Another couple who were also members of the roll call were there the same evening and had an equally disappointing experience, although we did not see them until we were leaving. The next day I called Tony. He answers his phone btw! He then had Rumi, the food and beverage director, call me. He listened to me carefully, apologized and invited us (and the other couple) back for a do over. Long story short, because of an unexpected event we had to cancel that do-over reservation at the last minute. Rumi very graciously did so and we had a dinner a few nights later. It was simply perfect, with one exception that was out of their control. Evidently, corporate decided to change the recipe for the cheese rolls....why did they mess with perfection? Anyway, other members of our roll call who ate later in the week after my complaint reported the food and service were good. So, takeaway here is to let them know when something isn't right and they will try to make it right. They did in this case and we were completely satisfied with the outcome. So, Tony and Rumi, if you are reading this, thanks for the great experience!!!

 

Finally, I can't say enough about what a great roll call we had. We planned several events over the course of the cruise including a first sea day breakfast at OSheehan's, the meet and greet, a roll call member organized excursion in Cartagena that many participated in, a mid cruise get together that was very well attended and for which Rumi supplied a fantastic cake, and we were all invited to a final recap and feedback meeting on the last sea day with the Tony Rosa and his senior staff. I was very impressed at how each staff member took notes. Bobby, the cruise director, even caught up with me at the end of the meeting to clarify some comments/recommendations I had made. I know other staff members were also talking to other various roll call members after the meeting as well. It really seemed they valued the feedback, but honestly, there were not any actual complaints, at least of the kind that ruined vacations. It was a wonderful cruise.

Edited December 30, 2015 by drvalo

[Tarheel_Cruiser]

Thank you so much for this encouraging review. We're on the same cruise in Dec. '16.

[mugtech]

On our 19 day Tampa to Vancouver through the canal cruise last April 19 there were 4 children on the Sun. The longer the cruise during school time, the less children is the general rule. About 50 children were on our 10 day Alaska cruise which immediately followed the canal cruise, more Canadians than Americans, so also a very mellow trip.

[drvalo]

Thank you so much for this encouraging review. We're on the same cruise in Dec. '16.

 

It was one of our best cruises. I hope you have an equally enjoyable experience!

[QuattroRomeo]

Hi Val! Glad to hear the crew and overall cruise experience were great!

Sorry about the cheese rolls..we too found them different on our last cruise, compared to the year before, and not in a good way!

 

Thanks for your comments about excursions, too. There are next to none for the ship ones in Panama especially, so hopefully those who took one of them will review them.

 

Did you like the layout of the ship? Easy to get around and good variety of vantage points and nice spots to hang out?

p.s. any trivia!?

-Pam

[drvalo]

Hi Val! Glad to hear the crew and overall cruise experience were great!

Sorry about the cheese rolls..we too found them different on our last cruise, compared to the year before, and not in a good way!

 

Thanks for your comments about excursions, too. There are next to none for the ship ones in Panama especially, so hopefully those who took one of them will review them.

 

Did you like the layout of the ship? Easy to get around and good variety of vantage points and nice spots to hang out?

p.s. any trivia!?

-Pam

 

Hi Pam!!!!! Happy New Year!

 

Yes, it was a great cruise. Wish you could have joined us!

 

About the Panama excursions: We knew three people who took the little ferry through the canal and loved it, but it was long. They were one of the last excursions back and it took about 12 hours total...they were late returning.

 

The other was the train. I heard one good and one bad review about that. I don't have details about the good one, but the bad one said all she saw were trees. I think that was an exaggeration, but, nevertheless, she was dissatisfied.

 

When you transit the canal the first time, it is really early in the morning. They open the very forward crew deck on 8 for PAX. It's a great view and very close to the action, and it stays open all day for the return transit as well. They also do a narration and provide some history and background through announcements ship-wide and on the TVs. Unless you really want to do the whole canal, staying on the ship is a terrific option. Most of the excursions are really long days. Ray must have done a full transit before? Maybe the new canal will be open when you do it, though.

 

The Pearl has a Great Outdoors and Spinnaker for daytime hanging out. There also seems to be more happening in the Atrium than I remember from being on the Pearl before. It's very much like the Jade as far as I understand. It's just about the right size for getting around and still having stuff to do.

 

Some trivia, but, honestly, not enough. :( That and the cheese rolls were the only disappointments. :)

[CoconutOne]

Glad to read another good review of the Pearl.

 

I'll be on board February 19th, which was a charter cruise turned non-charter, but a "big group" will be there. I'm a little worried it won't be up to par since they will be catering to two different types of guests. I have a Moderno reservation, so I'm hoping it remains good!

[drvalo]

Glad to read another good review of the Pearl.

 

I'll be on board February 19th, which was a charter cruise turned non-charter, but a "big group" will be there. I'm a little worried it won't be up to par since they will be catering to two different types of guests. I have a Moderno reservation, so I'm hoping it remains good!

 

If it is a short cruise between other charters, it might not be what you might get otherwise. Probably you will not have regular entertainment such as the production company, for example, but I would imagine it would still be good as entertainers seem to come and go on ships fairly regularly. Deck 7 Promenade has some great loungers to spend an afternoon away from it all. If Moderno isn't good, you know what to do! :) Also you can speak up in the restaurant. We actually complained about the meat while we were there the first time and they brought us out some better meat....but we should not have had to ask.

 

For a quick vacation, though, any cruise is better than not being on a cruise. Have a good time!!!!

[Keith1010]

Thank you very much for your review.

 

Keith

[Barb Nahoumi]

Like the OP, I do notice more older cruisers and fewer children on the longer cruises. Maybe the time elements and extra expenses prevent younger families from booking these

trips. School and work schedules also play a part.

 

My friend and I took the Panama Canal cruise on the Pearl many years ago. The entire trip was truly amazing. Someday, I'd love to take this cruise again.

[cruisenfromjersey]

Let me start by saying this was a wonderful cruise. The itinerary was good, although different than when we first booked, but the star was the Panama Canal. We also visited Costa Rico for the first time. We booked an OV guarantee and got an obstructed view on 8. Great location and the promotion at the time made it very affordable for us.

 

This was the first cruise after a couple more charters for the Pearl. The charter season had not been without it challenges. The reggae cruise immediately preceded this one and a couple of cruise before a young woman jumped off the ship.

 

The Pearl has a fantastic crew. We were on her long enough that quite a few remembered us each time they saw us. Many of them were new to the ship because it has just come off the charters, but I don't think I have ever seen a crew with more smiles than on this ship. Perhaps they were happy also to have a non-charter cruise.

 

One thing a bit unusual about this cruise was how gray it was. I don't think I have ever been on such a gray NCL cruise. There were a few younger PAX, but I think I saw maybe 8 children, including infants in strollers. I am not sure if it was the time of the cruise (although we always cruise the same time of year) or how expensive it was that resulted in so few younger people. Maybe that was why the crew was always smiling. Except that we had to speed back to Miami the last sea day in somewhat bad weather, because of a medical emergency, it seemed to be a pretty calm cruise.

 

The entertainment was very good, as usual. We had a couple of comedians (Tim Kaminski was one), a surprisingly good violinist, a magician, production company shows, and that Jersey boys pretty good imitation. The evening game shows were not well attended, however. If you went, you got to play. :) There was music in Magnums and the Atrium as well as the dance band and DJ in Spinnaker.

 

We ate in Indigo, Summer Palace, Moderno (see below), La Cucina, OSheehans, and the buffet and Great Outdoors. All served good food (eventually, see below!).

 

We stayed on the ship for the Panama Canal. We considered an excursion and we knew folks who took the one that takes you through the whole canal and thought it was a terrific excursion, however we were invited to view the return portion of the transit from one of the forward suite balconies. It was a great view and a lovely afternoon.

 

We booked the Costa Rico tour by Bus, Train and Boat. We like that sort of excursion to get a good introduction to a new country. We enjoyed the excursion quite a bit. It was hot but the bus was air conditioned (the train and boat were not), and you returned to the bus between the other parts of the tour. We had a great tour guide. She was very knowledgeable about her country's history, government, people and wildlife. And we saw a lot of wildlife, including a caiman, lizards, howler monkeys, two kinds of sloths, iguana, birds, and other animals.

 

At the meet and greet the Hotel Director, Tony Rosa, asked us to please call him if there was a problem. He wanted to fix it while we were on board and he did not want to read about it on Cruise Critic. Well, the first sea day we ate a Moderno's and it was not good for a variety of reasons. Another couple who were also members of the roll call were there the same evening and had an equally disappointing experience, although we did not see them until we were leaving. The next day I called Tony. He answers his phone btw! He then had Rumi, the food and beverage director, call me. He listened to me carefully, apologized and invited us (and the other couple) back for a do over. Long story short, because of an unexpected event we had to cancel that do-over reservation at the last minute. Rumi very graciously did so and we had a dinner a few nights later. It was simply perfect, with one exception that was out of their control. Evidently, corporate decided to change the recipe for the cheese rolls....why did they mess with perfection? Anyway, other members of our roll call who ate later in the week after my complaint reported the food and service were good. So, takeaway here is to let them know when something isn't right and they will try to make it right. They did in this case and we were completely satisfied with the outcome. So, Tony and Rumi, if you are reading this, thanks for the great experience!!!

 

Finally, I can't say enough about what a great roll call we had. We planned several events over the course of the cruise including a first sea day breakfast at OSheehan's, the meet and greet, a roll call member organized excursion in Cartagena that many participated in, a mid cruise get together that was very well attended and for which Rumi supplied a fantastic cake, and we were all invited to a final recap and feedback meeting on the last sea day with the Tony Rosa and his senior staff. I was very impressed at how each staff member took notes. Bobby, the cruise director, even caught up with me at the end of the meeting to clarify some comments/recommendations I had made. I know other staff members were also talking to other various roll call members after the meeting as well. It really seemed they valued the feedback, but honestly, there were not any actual complaints, at least of the kind that ruined vacations. It was a wonderful cruise.

 

I know I keep asking you alot of questions but inquiring minds need to know!

 

What did you think of the Costa Rica excursion? We are looking at that and i'm not sure about the train part. Was it worth it? What was the best part? Can you help with some of the details like which part comes first?

Thank You!

[drvalo]

I know I keep asking you alot of questions but inquiring minds need to know!

 

What did you think of the Costa Rica excursion? We are looking at that and i'm not sure about the train part. Was it worth it? What was the best part? Can you help with some of the details like which part comes first?

Thank You!

 

We enjoyed the excursion and learned quite a bit about Costa Rico. If you enjoy those sorts of tours, you will likely enjoy it.

 

For me the most interesting part of the train ride was the train itself. It is beautifully restored. It's a very short and slow ride through what is mostly industrial areas. In fact, Puerto Limon seems to be mostly industrial with nearby agricultural areas. There did not seem to be any colonial-type buildings or other such points of interest. The tour guide was fantastic and, evidently, all the tour guides for this excursion are good from the reports we heard. They seem to go through a lot of training/education and have to have a "certificate" to be a tour guide in Costa Rico.

 

We saw a lot of wildlife. The wildlife seems to be the star of the excursion. We had been on similar tours in other central American countries and seen almost no wildlife.

 

You ride on the bus to a banana plantation, then on the bus to the train, then on the bus from the train to the boat, and then back on the bus to the port.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited January 2, 2016 by drvalo

[cruisenfromjersey]

That helps a lot. Not a enough info on ports of call board so I really appreciate your help.

[cruisenfromjersey]

What excursions did you do in Belize....roatan..... And costa maya ?

[drvalo]

What excursions did you do in Belize....roatan..... And costa maya ?

 

None. Can't help you there. In Roatan we used the cheap Wifi at the port and caught up with everything. There was also cheap wifi at the terminal building in Cartagena, in case that is important to you.

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

My missus and I really enjoyed the cruise! I just got my desktop PC moved to my new house and will be editing some videos soon.

[drvalo]

My missus and I really enjoyed the cruise! I just got my desktop PC moved to my new house and will be editing some videos soon.

 

I look forward to seeing them!!!! Happy New Year to you and Debra!

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

I look forward to seeing them!!!! Happy New Year to you and Debra!

 

Thanks! It was great meeting you, I hope you both have a great year in 2016 and hope to sail again with you.

[QuattroRomeo]

Hi Pam!!!!! Happy New Year!

 

Yes, it was a great cruise. Wish you could have joined us!

 

About the Panama excursions: We knew three people who took the little ferry through the canal and loved it, but it was long. They were one of the last excursions back and it took about 12 hours total...they were late returning.

 

The other was the train. I heard one good and one bad review about that. I don't have details about the good one, but the bad one said all she saw were trees. I think that was an exaggeration, but, nevertheless, she was dissatisfied.

 

When you transit the canal the first time, it is really early in the morning. They open the very forward crew deck on 8 for PAX. It's a great view and very close to the action, and it stays open all day for the return transit as well. They also do a narration and provide some history and background through announcements ship-wide and on the TVs. Unless you really want to do the whole canal, staying on the ship is a terrific option. Most of the excursions are really long days. Ray must have done a full transit before? Maybe the new canal will be open when you do it, though.

 

The Pearl has a Great Outdoors and Spinnaker for daytime hanging out. There also seems to be more happening in the Atrium than I remember from being on the Pearl before. It's very much like the Jade as far as I understand. It's just about the right size for getting around and still having stuff to do.

 

Some trivia, but, honestly, not enough. :( That and the cheese rolls were the only disappointments. :)

 

Thanks for the information! We have actually done a full transit of the canal so for this one, thought we might try one of the excursions. Because we can only do ship excursions for that day, I checked the NCL site for reviews of the Panama excursions, and I think there was but one review! So hopefully that will change as people come back from this itinerary.

 

We thought the Jade was a really good size, so it sounds like the Pearl will appeal to us! Plus your experience with the crew sounds pretty great.

We're considering a Med cruise in 2017..will let you know if we pick one!

[CindyFooWho]

Glad to read another good review of the Pearl.

 

I'll be on board February 19th, which was a charter cruise turned non-charter, but a "big group" will be there. I'm a little worried it won't be up to par since they will be catering to two different types of guests. I have a Moderno reservation, so I'm hoping it remains good!

 

Looks like you will be on this cruise: http://www.gronkspartyship.com/ so just kind of prepare yourself. They will be partying!

 

I'm a regular sixthman cruiser, but we sail the Rock Boat. Sixthman is an EXCELLENT company but each cruise has a different set of guests (obviously). If I were you, I'd surf around on the festival's website and become familiar with the activities taking place so you know what to avoid. At some point very soon, they will release an actual schedule of activities and entertainment which should be listed in the "festival" section of the website.

 

Honestly, I would think Norwegian would be more up front with you about this. Perhaps the group isn't that large in size, but I would guess that they will be a prominent force.

[Lorey2007]

 

 

The Pearl has a Great Outdoors and Spinnaker for daytime hanging out. There also seems to be more happening in the Atrium than I remember from being on the Pearl before. It's very much like the Jade as far as I understand. It's just about the right size for getting around and still having stuff to do.

 

:)

 

Can you tell me what kind of activities were happening in the Atrium?

[Lorey2007]

 

The entertainment was very good, as usual. We had a couple of comedians (Tim Kaminski was one), a surprisingly good violinist, a magician, production company shows, and that Jersey boys pretty good imitation. The evening game shows were not well attended, however. If you went, you got to play. :) There was music in Magnums and the Atrium as well as the dance band and DJ in Spinnaker.

 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise we have a long wait but I enjoy preplanning so I'm already on it.:)

Was there some kind of entertainment every night in the theater? Besides music in the Atrium did they do trivia or games there? Did they show movies anywhere on the ship? It's all about the ship now and then on to planning excursions.

[lillulu]

 

 

We booked the Costa Rico tour by Bus, Train and Boat. We like that sort of excursion to get a good introduction to a new country. We enjoyed the excursion quite a bit. It was hot but the bus was air conditioned (the train and boat were not), and you returned to the bus between the other parts of the tour. We had a great tour guide. She was very knowledgeable about her country's history, government, people and wildlife. And we saw a lot of wildlife, including a caiman, lizards, howler monkeys, two kinds of sloths, iguana, birds, and other animals.

 

.

 

Did you book that particular excursion from NCL? I can't seem to find one like that and it sounds like a wonderful trip.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Imalismom]

<snip>

 

At the meet and greet<snip>

 

Finally, I can't say enough about what a great roll call we had. We planned several events over the course of the cruise including a first sea day breakfast at OSheehan's, the meet and greet, a roll call member organized excursion in Cartagena that many participated in, a mid cruise get together that was very well attended and for which Rumi supplied a fantastic cake, and we were all invited to a final recap and feedback meeting on the last sea day with the Tony Rosa and his senior staff. <snip> . It was a wonderful cruise.

 

How many people were in your roll call that participated? We are going in March and starting to have quite a few in our roll call, but not sure how many people you really need to do this...

 

thanks in advance!

 

Gale