Back to Back Sailing on The Beautiful Pearl - A Special Journey

[AKR2011]

Greetings, Cruise Critic! I just completed a special Back to Back on the beautiful NCL Pearl, and I wanted to jump in and get started on my review for you all. My name is Ashley, and my DH Alex and I try to cruise every two years. We prefer longer journeys, but the pandemic threw a wrench in that on our previous cruise. We ended up on a 7-day on The Gem in 2021:

 

 

Previously back in 2018 we did a 14-day on The Escape that was full of fun adventures:

 

We booked this Pearl cruise while on The Gem two years ago with the help of the Cruise Next team. I purchased three deposits, two to use for these cruises and one to gift my parents, who kept saying that they wanted to cruise with us someday. I liked the idea that this back-to-back had two different itineraries and that I could keep the same room since we booked so far in advance. I transferred the booking over to my TA after returning home, and the price went down a bit. I also signed up for price drops and rebooked when that happened briefly. Unfortunately, my TA did not rebook the same room and all of a sudden we went from a nice sideways inside midship on Deck 9 to way down on Deck 5 in different rooms for each leg. Luckily I saw the error immediately. My TA was able to get us the same room for both cruises again, but now we would be on Deck 11. Still midship, though.

 

While all of this rebooking was going on, I gifted my parents the Cruise Next for Christmas in 2021, and they wanted to join us for their very first cruise. My mom has always wanted to go to Nova Scotia, so they booked the second leg. Meanwhile, our friend Emilie loves to cruise and was interested in doing Bermuda with us. Our friend Luca is a very busy teacher and has not had a vacation for a long time. She decided to room with Emilie, and Alex and I ended up with cruise companions on both legs of our trip. This was so special!

 

I do a TON of planning and was looking forward to docking for a few days in Bermuda. Then last February we were told that the ship would leave at 8am instead of 4pm on our third day there. That was a bummer, but I love a good sea day and still figured that we could do a lot while in port.

 

Here was our final itinerary:

Friday, 8/18: Depart Boston at 4pm

Saturday, 8/19: At Sea

Sunday, 8/20: Arrive in Bermuda at 10am

Monday, 8/21: Bermuda

Tuesday, 8/22: Depart Bermuda at 8am

Wednesday, 8/23: At Sea

Thursday, 8/24: Bar Harbor, ME 8am-5pm

Friday, 8.25: Arrive in Boston at 7am

Saturday, 8/26: At Sea

Sunday, 8/27: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 12pm-7pm

Monday, 8/28: Sydney Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia 9am-5pm

Tuesday, 8/29: Halifax, Nova Scotia 8am-5pm

Wednesday, 8/30: Portland, ME 11am-8pm

Thursday, 8/31: Bar Harbor, ME 8am-5pm

Friday, 9/1: Arrive in Boston at 7am

 

So welcome aboard, and let's get started ❤️⚓

[www3traveler]

Did you by any chance keep a list of the ship's Officers?

[cruiservictor]

Is anybody able to see the pictures?  Except for one, all I am getting is a blank box with a question mark in the middle. Viewing on my iPhone. 

[ggTexasGal]

2 minutes ago, cruiservictor said:

Is anybody able to see the pictures?  Except for one, all I am getting is a blank box with a question mark in the middle. Viewing on my iPhone. 

On my computer, using Chrome.  Aside from the Freestyle Daily pics, I see a lot of alpha/numeric soup!

[JCMass.]

AKR211 we were on the Bermuda leg of the cruise with you, so it always fun to read others reviews of the cruise.  So I am really enjoying your review, but I cannot open the photo's either.   

[littlegit]

Loving your post but I can't see the photos either.

[LauraAnneC]

Loving the review but no pics either 😟

[AKR2011]

I can't believe the photos are not showing. I am SO sorry!! I am going to try and restart here. I don't know what else to do 😭 From the beginning...

 

Alex and I have used Yankee Trails' Cruise Express bus in the past, and it has worked out well, so we went ahead and booked that again. We live in The Catskills of NY two hours south of the terminal outside of Albany, an easy county road and then straight up I-87. Our friends and family also booked the bus and were coming from the Syracuse area. That about 2.5 hrs. straight across I-90. Alex and I woke up very early and left around 3:30. We wanted to find something to eat for breakfast one we got closer, and we weren't sure about the weather. There were torrential downpours from 4-5am, so I'm glad we had ample time. There was very little visibility and we made a quick stop at a Stewart's once we got close to the bus station. They have a covered pavilion at the bus terminal, and we arrived first. Soon Emilie and Luca joined us and we had our big reunion.

 

There was a Tornado Warning for the Boston area as we were riding along, and we were very thankful to have booked the bus at this point. I hate driving in general, and it was good to have someone else in charge. We arrived in Boston around 10am and tipped our driver and the porters as we ran into the terminal to check in. I always carry a small travel umbrella, and this came in handy. A few weeks ago I fell flat on my face walking to my car coming out of work. Luckily I was ok, but my right knee was very bruised and my left one had a cut that was just not healing. I decided to get a spray tan the day before this cruise, which I hadn't done since college. With the rain, tanner was getting on my clothes and would eventually leave my body streaks. I don't think I will be getting one of those again! But I wanted to point this out since you will watch my tan fade a lot throughout this review 😄

 

Once in port we were checked in quickly and had our Embarkation photo together. I always buy this and look forward to it every cruise:

 

 

 

[AKR2011]

Although we were check in very quickly, it took a while to be let on the ship. Alex and I are Platinum, and the check-in team allowed Emilie and Luca to join us in Group A. The Haven guests went first of course, and then we made our way on board next. It was about 11:30 when we were finally able to walk across the gangway. We had different muster stations and did that first, then agreed to meet at the bars on Deck 6 for drinks before lunch. We were all starving, but embarkation drinks are a must! My traditional beverage is a Limoncello and Vodka Martini. The bar was supposed to open at 11:15, but they were not quite ready for us. Luca and I waited at the bar while Alex and Emilie made faces at us and were none too quiet about their hunger:

 

[AKR2011]

Alex will make fun of me, but he had to have a martini too. His was just a regular Lemon Drop, though.

 

I realize that the drinks look pretty identical, but I can attest that Limoncello is always the better option. We then ducked into the atrium quickly for the Freestyle Daily and so Alex and I could sign up for the Platinum Behind the Scenes Tour and Wines Around the World Program. Schedules in hand, we headed to Summer Palace for lunch.

 

A bit of a warning, Alex hates it when I take photos of food and menus, so I do not have many photos of this, but I highly recommend Professor Cruise's website for all of the NCL menus. She runs a terrific blog! Another one of my many traditions is having Fish and Chips on Embarkation Day, so I definitely ordered that. There are three rotating lunch menus. My favorite desserts are on Day 2 (Milk Chocolate Cheesecake) and Day 3 (Peanut Butter Cheesecake). In general, the food in the main dining room is delicious and the crew are always fantastic!

[AKR2011]

After lunch we walked outside to tour the ship from top to bottom and get photos of the port. The Black Falcon Cruise Terminal is very industrial, and there is a lot of non-cruise traffic rolling through as well. We noted that anyone driving in would want to leave some time to navigate and find parking.

 

Soon we decided to grab drinks at the pool deck and grab a table to play our first game of Spades. We are all gamers and play virtually a few times a week. Lots of our downtime on this cruise was spent with the games that we brought with us.

Although the pool deck was hopping, bartenders were walking around taking orders. I typically throw a dollar at my bartenders when they bring me drinks, so I started this immediately. Our table was not forgotten. They have some sangria here that I like, although I miss the days when NCL made it fresh every cruise. Does anyone else remember that? I even did a tasting where they gave me their recipe for it and I made it when I came home.

 

Cruise Critic does not want me adding more photos to this post, so I will make a another one. I was just asked about the officers on board too, so here you go:

 

General Manager: Cary Turecamo

Cruise Director: Will Oliva (We had him both weeks and then the previous CD Carol came back this week)

Food & Beverage Director: Oscar Fernandes

Guest Services Manager: Ana Roncesvalles

Executive Housekeeper: Osley Ollivierre

Executive Chef: Rodney Bennet

Beverage Manager: Rodelio Raydanas

Restaurant Manager: Furtoso Gonsalves

[AKR2011]

Spades is often our game of choice, and we enjoyed playing while The Funky Roots Band was playing poolside. 

 

We heard that rooms were ready and headed out, just as the rain started coming down really hard again. Sadly, the announcement was not for our decks, but it didn't take long before we were allowed to get inside. Our room was small but efficient

 

Is anyone else following Saint Greg's review? He posted a photo of the weird toilet on The Jewel and we had the same one. You had to sit sideways, unfortunately, but we made it work. Our two smaller bags arrived and soon the bigger ones did too, so we unpacked and got settled in. We played some Trivia at 5:00 and then had dinner together at Cagney's. I had my first lamb of the cruise and it was amazing, as was the 7-layer cake. That evening Comedian Jose Sanduy was supposed to be on board for the opening show, but he didn't make his flight and would have to join us in Bermuda instead. They had a Broadway Cabaret in the theater, but this was a show meant for Spinnaker, and sadly it showed. There were no sets or costume changes, and this was really needed for a theater show. The singers were mostly good, although the blond girl always sounded like she was screaming into the microphone. I know that they had to have an opening show of some kind, but this one was a bit disappointing, to say the least. We were all very tired after being up so early and ended up retreating to bed shortly after.

 

[AKR2011]

Here is the first Freestyle Daily:

 

[AKR2011]

I am a true early riser on cruises. I think part of it is my excitement and part of it is that I wake up with the need to pee after consuming so many beverages. Whatever the reason, I have trouble sleeping in and always pack my clothes for the next day on the shelf under the bathroom sink. That way and I can get up and dressed without disturbing Alex. I love walking laps around the promenade while the sun is rising. I signed up for a free trial of Pandor Premium a couple weeks before we cruised so I could listen to sea shanties on my morning walks. I even had a cruise playlist made that took us from home to Albany on that first day. I don't think I'm keeping this service after the trial is over next month, but it was lovely to have all my music ready for offline listening. I tried to walk around 20,000 steps each day and had close to half most mornings by the time I finished what I liked to call my Shanty Walks/ Soon the sun was coming up and I was excited that it looked like a great day!

 

[AKR2011]

Here is today's Freestyle Daily too:

 

[AKR2011]

I forgot to mention that before I started my walk I also hid some ducks. I purchased 24 for each leg and was excited to play along in this game. Originally Alex was willing to help too, but then he decided that it was too wasteful and wanted nothing to do with the ducks. I do get that, but I also saw how much people liked finding them. It was easy to hide when most of the ship was sleeping. Luca hid ducks as well, but she had to be extra sneaky about it since it was later in the day for her. She found one duck; I did not find any, unfortunately. I did see a couple of people find mine and they were excited. I also gave a couple to crew members. They would see me hiding the ducks and ask for them. Luca gave a couple as tips along the way too. The crew really enjoy the ducks and some have little keychain ducks that they carry too.

 

After my walk I read a book for a bit until the main dining room opened a 7:30. Did I mention that I started my walk at 4:30am? Yes, I really am an early riser! After breakfast I did the Sudoku Challenge and the crew joined me for Trivia. Everyone was up by then, and we had a great time. We befriended a sweet older couple, CC and Raymond, who have been on 72 NCL cruises. They knew most of the answers since they cruise so much, and we had a great time with them all week as teammates. Funny story, the following week we met friends of CC's while playing Trivia again. It really is a small world sometimes. Emilie and Luca stayed put for the Sushi Demo, but Alex and I had the Platinum Behind The Scenes Tour. There were 17 of us, and this was our first time getting to do it. The last cruise was still during Covid and they weren't doing the tours.

 

First was laundry, and that was really cool in case you have not seen photos of this. The washers and driers are HUGE, we watched how they made the little yellow clothing tags, and they have some really neat folding machines as well:

 

[AKR2011]

Next up was the food storage. They have more than 1 million dollars of meat on board, and wholly potatoes! The produce room was wild!! Even though it seemed like there was a lot of food, they only have enough for the cruise. After that they have dry storage for just a few days. Good thing we didn't get stranded. Later in the cruise we learned that they ordered 900 dozen eggs for our cruise, and that number actually seems low with over 2700 passengers and crew eating breakfast for seven days and consuming all kinds of baked goods. This was a fun end of the ship to check out:

[AKR2011]

Next up was The Galley, and everything was so shiny and clean. They were prepping all kinds of things and it was a brief stop but still very cool.

 

We had a great time on this tour and definitely want to check it out again on our next cruise. We didn't go the following week since it would be a repeat and we wanted to make sure that others had the chance to go. We met up with the ladies again in the atrium after and then headed to Lotus Garden for lunch. I wanted to friend rice with just the shrimp and not the other meats. However, the chef interpreted that as wanting just the rice and shrimp and no other veggies or flavors that come with the fried rice. Definitely my fault for being complicated, but overall it was not my favorite and I never returned. I also had dumplings and found the sauce to be too spicy for my palette. We had drinks after and then went to Deal or No Deal. None of us were chosen to play and we only ended up with some instant win pull-tabs that amounted to nothing, but it's always fun to go. 

[AKR2011]

We then wanted to play games, so I ran back to the room to grab a few options and I found my first friend of the cruise.

 

I always top my steward at the beginning and ask for animals. I am a big kid and love finding these. I also learned that we would lose an hour of sleep tonight. That's ok, maybe I could sleep in a little tomorrow.

 

We all met up at Garden Buffet for some games. We wanted a bigger table to play at and most of the bars had small tables. We also wanted drinks. The original plan was the Great Outdoors area, but it was really windy. We ended up settling into a booth by the back door of the Garden Cafe instead. This gave us easy access to the bar and it was not a highly sought-after place for people to eat. Before our cruise, there was an anonymous poster in the FB group for the sailing complaining about the buffet. This person insisted that everyone quickly choose their food to not hold up the line and then eat within 10 minutes of sitting down. I found that to be a bit ridiculous, but we also didn't want to take a table away from people trying to eat. It was after the lunch crowd, so no worries there. To be honest, I never had an issue finding a table when I went to the buffet. Anyway, we settled in and played a newer game called Abducktion. It is perfect for a cruise since it involves little plastic ducks. They get abducted into the space portal after completing patterns on your individual boards.

 

[AKR2011]

After the game we got ready for dinner. Edit to my previous post, THIS was the Cagney's night together. The first night was the main dining room. Alex and I went up early and played some Cribbage at the Mojito Bar. We absolutely love this place and appreciate that our old favorites are still there after all these years.

 

So yes, dinner was fabulous as I already said. We were very stuffed and went outside to walk some laps. Alex wanted to play Shuffleboard, so we played a little until the staff came to put everything away. It's only open until 8:00, so don't wait like we did!

 

We headed to Spinnaker next for more drinks, and we caught the end of The Funky Root Band. They did not sound fabulous on the pool deck during sailaway, but they sounded pretty good here.

 

After the show, we played the Awesome 80s Game Show all together. This was a lot of fun. They split everyone in half and asked questions. You had to run up and answer before the other team. I felt awful that someone fell running up to play, but overall it was a blast. I definitely recommend this activity. After this, we headed to bed and looked forward to a beautiful day in Bermuda tomorrow.

 

[AKR2011]

Bermuda Day!! I had been planning this for so long and was once again too excited to sleep. I did rest until about 5:30, so pushing the clocks forward helped a little. The crew at O'Sheehan's were always up with me and filled my water bottle for my walks each day. They were awesome in there. I took my sunrise sea shanty walk and hid some more ducks. It was looking like a beautiful day:

 

[AKR2011]

I then woke up Alex and we headed into the Main Dining Room for breakfast. Hostess Mary Rose was one of my favorite people on board and always greeted me with a smile at Summer Palace. I loved the breakfast specials, especially when they had the Pretzel Roll Breakfast Sandwich and Avacado Egg Wrap. The waiter filled up my water bottle again and we headed to The Atrium for the 10-Minute Mystery and Morning Trivia. We sat with CC and Raymond again and then Emilie and Luca joined us later for Trivia. I will note here that Alex was mostly unimpressed with the coffee on board. Before the cruise, I used my credit card rewards to order him a Starbucks Gift Card. I've heard mixed things about the cards working, but it was accepted on The Pearl, and prices were similar to land prices. We didn't buy a lot of coffee, but the card was nice to have. After finishing Trivia, we were quickly cleared to go ashore. There was really no line and we were off quickly. We all had a lot that we wanted to do but decided to start by getting bus tickets/tokens. You can purchase passes for 1-3 days, or you can buy individual tokens. They also have a book of 15 rides that I wanted to get and split with Alex, but these are only available at the post office, and it was Sunday and therefore closed. The Bemudan and American dollar are worth the same and used interchangeably on the island, so that is really convenient. I used a lot of cash and also my credit card that does not have foreign transaction fees. This worked out well. Since this was a long cruise, I wanted to save money wherever I could.

 

We purchased some rides at the visitor center and had a nice look around the beautiful port.

 

We then jumped on the free NCL Ferry to St. George's. Here was the schedule:

[AKR2011]

Today's plan was to go to Crystal and Fantasy Caves. We were in port with a smaller Royal Caribbean ship and hoped that we could get in. The ferry was a little over a half over long and then we walked to a bus stop. There was a store next to the bus stop that also sold tokens. We only had to wait a few minutes before a bright pink bus came by and the caves were a short ride away. I really loved this tree that was next to the footpath to check into the caves

 

Emilie and Luca wanted to snorkel and decided to just do Crystal Caves, but Alex and I booked the combo tour and opted for Fantasy Caves as well. They were in between tours, so we had to wait a few minutes. Lots of beautiful trees and flowers were around us, and we had some roosters entertaining us as well.

 

[AKR2011]

Each cave tour is less than 45 minutes long and both involve walking down and back up over 100 stairs, so just a heads up. Crystal Caves are the main attraction and very cool to walk through. The water is a bit of an optical illusion. It doesn't look very deep but actually goes down over 100 feet!

 

[AKR2011]

Emilie and Luca headed out to snorkel and Alex and I stayed for Fantasy Caves, There was less of a wait for this tour, and there were less people as well. It was also more free. We could walk around more at our leisure and the guide let us hold a rock so that we could get an idea of its heaviness. It was definitely very heavy! Crystal Caves has no wildlife at all, but Fantasy Caves has some algae, so it also has a small animal named Neal the Eel. We were able to take some time trying to seek him out and we did spot him!