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

[AKR2011]

Our last stop was Jordan Pond. Alex already walked the entire pond last week, but it was my first time here. It was definitely a beautiful place. We tracked some birds on the trail and grabbed our last Christmas ornament here as well. I would highly recommend Oli's Trolley. It was a very well-run excursion!

 

We were quite hungry after the tour and also wanted to look around town. We had Le Bistro for dinner and didn't want to spoil that, so we just grabbed a cup of ice cream. Alex and I were determined to find gifts for co-workers. He found locally-made chocolate bars and I grabbed little bottles of maple syrup. We then headed back to wait for a tender. What a great last day! I wish NCL had their port parties going on. I really didn't notice any of these on this trip. Have they stopped? We were always offered drinks and washcloths, but they used to pump up the music and line dance in port. Perhaps this is a thing of the past, sadly.

[AKR2011]

Back on The Pearl, we focused on packing. I really hate this part of vacation, but we kept the room pretty organized, so it wasn't too bad. I ventured down to the atrium to look for luggage tags and couldn't find any. In the past, I have always seen them on the shelves going towards the photo gallery. This time, there were none there. I went to Cruise Next to grab certificates and inquire there since the Guest Services line was very long. With no new itineraries released this week, I was unable to book, but I did get two certificates. Hopefully, they will do another double-up at some point. The rep offered me yellow tags, but that is an early color, and we planned to get off at the very end. I didn't want to take early tags away from someone who may need them, so I walked toward the desk and gazed at the line. A very nice Shore Excursions staff member ran up to the desk and grabbed me some purple tags. I would later learn that bags were tucked inside that eviction paperwork from the week before. I never bothered to open it and therefore never saw the tags!

 

Back in the room, Alex and I finished most of the packing and changed for dinner. We went down to The Atrium and found my parents. We took some family photos and then agreed to meet up at The Theater for the Legends show at 7:30.

[AKR2011]

Alex and I typically love Le Bistro and last week's meal was great. This time I was really unsure what to get since I wanted something different. I don't like mushrooms very much and this was the first time that I noticed how mushroom-heavy the menu was. I settled on French Onion soup for my starter, but I was stuck on the main dish. I have heard great things about the Lobster Thermidor, but it had mushrooms. Luckily, they were able to cook it with just butter instead. I went for the upcharge and had that. Sadly, the lobster was tough and not very flavorful. It was not worth it. We would do Le Bistro again possibly, but like I said in an earlier post, it was overall a disappointing menu. We definitely would not go twice.

 

After dinner, we met my parents for Legends. We had to really run to get there, but it was a great show. Once again, the crew came out to sing and flood the stage, and we made sure to cheer loudly. This really is my favorite NCL tradition. Mom and Dad wanted to try their luck in the casino and I wanted to buy a couple of scratch-off tickets there. That's the extent of my gambling. Dad won $100 in Black Jack and walked away, but Mom quickly lost $20 in a slot machine. My scratch-offs were not winners, but that's okay. Mom and Dad went to bed and retired to bed after this, and Alex and I ran back to the room to change and put our luggage out. We like to wear the clothes that we are wearing to get off the ship on the last night on board. Less to pack and worry about in the morning.

[AKR2011]

Alex and I headed into The Atrium where Seaside Duo was playing their ABBA and Stevie Wonder set, and once again, they rocked the place! They did a big dance song medley at the end and everyone got up to dance and sing along. It was about a 10-minute encore and such a great way to end the show. I went up after to get a photo and thank them for two wonderful weeks of music. Seaside Duo takes requests, and I suggested some Canadian sea music on this cruise. I was informed that they are going to try and do a whole set soon. Man, I wish I could get back on board to listen to this. 

 

Alex and I enjoyed the drinks at the atrium, but a movie was starting and we wanted more music, so we went down to the Deck 6 bars. We grabbed some drinks and played some games on my tablet while we listened to Douglas sing. I don't like the way that the chairs do not all face the stage down there, but the music was great. He sang well past 12:30am, and there was a nice crowd of us enjoying the show.

 

Alex and I traditionally stay out late on the last night, and this cruise would be no different. We lost count of the number of drinks that we enjoyed and after Douglas finished, we moved up to O'Sheehan's for a couple more drinks and some snacks. We did not want the night to end.

[AKR2011]

Here is the Day 7 Freestyle before I forget:

[AKR2011]

On Friday morning, Alex and I woke up when they were announcing our arrival on the loudspeaker. Walk-offs could prepare to leave the ship. We gathered our things and went to Summer Place for one last meal. Breakfast was simplified today, but everything was delicious. I finally got around to having the salmon bagel that I love, and that was simply perfect. The main dining room was scheduled to close at 8:30, but we left after that and people were still coming in. 

 

Alex and I found my parents up at O'Sheehan's, and we played cards until we were eventually booted off the ship. We headed outside, and today was finally a nice Friday. The bus came around 10am, and we headed back from there. What a wonderful vacation!

[AKR2011]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

•  We have frequented many of NCL's smaller ships now, and we really enjoy them. That being said, we are ready to try another bigger ship or Prima next time. We want more activities and dining options.
• The itinerary was great! We would absolutely do this again and are also interested in other Canadian ports.
• I cannot say enough wonderful things about the crew on The Pearl. They really made our trip special. Special shout-outs to the bar staff, activities staff, and Seaside Duo!
• Main theater entertainment was definitely lacking, and this was sad to see. Once-a-day room service was also a disappointment. I really love the luxury of turndown service. I never received anywhere else but on a ship.
• The main dining room food was great, and I really enjoyed Cagney's Le Bistro was a disappointment. I didn't eat at the buffet much, but breakfast was fine except for the runny eggs. The few times I walked through during lunch, I never saw the pretzel rolls that I love so much. Luckily, the Pretzel Bites in O'Sheehan's were great, What wasn't great were the wings. Please have a real northeasterner fix the Buffalo sauce!
• Sailing with friends and family made this trip very special, and I hope that we get to do that again.

 

So what's next, you might ask? Well, now we wait. I have already started my cruise savings for 2025 and look forward to those itineraries being released. We would be happy to do another B2B with different itineraries like this one, but we are also not opposed to a 14-day adventure. We want to get back to an Eastern Caribbean itinerary at some point, and we also hope to do Alaska someday. There is so much to think about, but we know that we will definitely be back at sea again in two years.

 

Thank you all for following along. I'm sorry that it's taken so long to finish, but I appreciate everyone who has read, liked posts, and commented. I hope this review is helpful, and please let me know if you have any further questions.

 

❤️⚓ Ashley