renanzel Posted February 2, 2007 #1 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Hi, I'm new here and appreciate all the helpful information on these boards. We just signed up on the Pearl to Alaska in September. This will be our first cruise with boys ages 10 and 12. We are booked in a BA balcony cabin on deck 10. It has the two lower beds, a sofa bed and a pullman. My question is, where in the world do they put the pullman? I've looked at the cabin plans and photographs and can't figure it out. Also, because I like to eat so much, can anyone tell me what is served for lunch in the dining rooms? Is it the same menu everyday? Can hardly wait til September, Renanzel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Haynes Posted February 2, 2007 #2 Share Posted February 2, 2007 I believe it will be wall to wall beds with a bunki above. Lunch in the main dining rooms will have a different meal, soup, salads, and cold sandwiches with potato chips, and hamburgers and hot dogs every day. I usually dine light for lunch, and I am happy with a different cold sandwich with potato chips, a fruit dish as an appetizer, with ice cream for dessert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renanzel Posted February 2, 2007 Author #3 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Hi Don, thanks for the reply. Yeah, wall to wall beds sounds about right, very cozy. Has anyone seen a balcony room with the pullman bunk made up? I was wondering if they attach it above the queen and sofa beds so you hit your head on it when you try to sit up, or if it is on the opposite wall so you run into it when you try to find the bathroom at night. Just trying to plan ahead.:rolleyes: Gee, Don, eating a light lunch sounds very sensible. For those of us with less sense, what hot dishes are served in the dining rooms for lunch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted February 2, 2007 #4 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Just back from the Pearl. We were in a deck 10 balcony and the sofa converted into a bed. The lunch in the Garden Cafe changes very little from day to day. There are a number of options for lunch including the Outdoor Grill and the Summer Palace. Make dinner reservations outside Mambos ASAP if you wish to have dinner at a specific time. Time slots for all speciality resturants were basically gone after the 2nd day. You'll have a wonderful trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeh Posted February 2, 2007 #5 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Just back from the Pearl. We were in a deck 10 balcony and the sofa converted into a bed. The lunch in the Garden Cafe changes very little from day to day. There are a number of options for lunch including the Outdoor Grill and the Summer Palace. Make dinner reservations outside Mambos ASAP if you wish to have dinner at a specific time. Time slots for all speciality resturants were basically gone after the 2nd day. You'll have a wonderful trip. Is the Outdoor Grill and Summer Palace free dining? I will be on the Pearl in June heading for Alaska! I am not at all familiar with free style dining. I will make reservations ASAP as suggested. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted February 2, 2007 #6 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Is the Outdoor Grill and Summer Palace free dining? I will be on the Pearl in June heading for Alaska! I am not at all familiar with free style dining.I will make reservations ASAP as suggested. Thanks. Extra charge only at Le Bistro, Cagneys, and the oriental (never went there and can't recall name) Mambos, the Italian Rest, Indigo do not charge an extra fee. Believe me, you won't go hungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmac Posted February 2, 2007 #7 Share Posted February 2, 2007 For the Pearl:- The two main dining rooms are Summer Palace and Indigo. Reservations are not required and there is no additional charge. The specialty restaurantss where they charge a fee (and reservations are required) are Le Bistro, Cagney's Steakhouse and the various elements within Lotus Garden (Asian). The specialty restaurants which are free (but reservations are required) are Mambos (Latin/Tapas) and La Cucina. The Garden Cafe has action stations (buffet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser willy Posted February 3, 2007 #8 Share Posted February 3, 2007 You will be amazed at the choices of hot entrees available for lunch throughout the ship. Don spoke of the types of lunches available at the outdoor poolside cafes. The various food venues will have hot (dinner types of entres) dishes galore! Depending upon whether you wish to be served or not, you can find almost the same entres in the dining rooms as are available in a sef-serve style at the buffet style lunch venues. Worry not. There is always plenty of food. It almost gets sickening. The Pearl also has a 24 hour restaurant...kind of a rarity in the industry. As for your bedding issues...the best advice I can offer (after roughly 40 cruises) is to brace yourself for the relatively small accomodations. We (family of 4) will be sailing in less than 2 weeks on the Pearl. Although our cabin is classified as a mini-suite, it is MUCH smaller in scale than the average hotel room on land. When the sofa is open and the pullman is lowered, the room is basically a nest. No privacy at all. Very difficult for even two people to move around the room at one time without one climbing over a bed. Although the beds are standard sized (two twins that convert to a king) you should be prepared to know that the room is only roughly a foot wider than the length of the beds. There is no furniture at the foot of the bed(s), only a wall, a foot away. Two room mates can not pass this bottle neck at the same time. The balance of the furniture is very scaled down. Night tables, bureaus, etc. are all very small. Even our mini-suite which features a "sitting room" is furnished with very scaled down furnishings...tiny club chairs, coffee table, etc. My best advice is to pack exactly what you plan on wearing...nothing extra. Lay out day and evening outfits for each day before you go, and pack only those. This should result in fewer bags. Bags are difficult to store in the cabin. Although there is space under the beds, it can be tough to hide 4 passengers' luggage. Try to utilize "nesting" luggage sets if possible. You're going to have a great trip, just brace yourself for the tight quarters. Try to look at it as though you're staying on a friend's yacht. Your room is only to sleep and shower in. Unless you want to break the bank and stay in one of the garden villas or owner's suites, you should plan to use the room one room mate at a time. Having more than one family member in the cabin trying to get ready for dinner is a nightmare. Another great tip: the gym usually has great showers and changing areas. You'll likely be carrying your clothes and toiletries a great distance, depending on where your cabin is located, but - trust me...it's worth it. Have half the group use the cabin and the other half, the gym. Which brings me to my final thought: the lav in your cabin. The only thing I need to say is that you can usually shower, and brush your teeth while seated. Picture an airplane's lav. The Pearl's lavs are slightly bigger than most, with glass doors enlosing the shower as well as the toilet area, but still very small. You will likely find yourself appreciating the space in the luxurious public restrooms. With such tight cabin space, it's sometimes worth finding a public restroom close to your cabin to purge, so as not to offend your room mates. On that note, Have a great trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimteammom Posted February 3, 2007 #9 Share Posted February 3, 2007 In packing, don't forget that there is a complimentary laundrette on the Pearl. I don't relish the idea of doing laundry on vacation, but I washed about 3 times on our 1/19 cruise on the Pearl. There are 3 washers and 3 dryers (free) on Deck 9 midship/aft right across the hall from 9088. The only charge is for the little boxes of detergent (4 quarters). We could have packed a lot less if I would have thought of this ahead of time. Word of caution....they were busy. I usually got up early (6 am ish) and started my loads. The washers take 50 minutes and the dryers about 30 minutes. I was always glad I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoreguy Posted February 3, 2007 #10 Share Posted February 3, 2007 I believe it will be wall to wall beds with a bunki above. . Not exactly - Two twins and the pullman above the sofa bed. Here is a shot from a HC BA - the sofa in a regular balcony would be below the pullman. click to enlarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renanzel Posted February 6, 2007 Author #11 Share Posted February 6, 2007 THANK YOU for all of the great advice and information. Willy, I love your description of the room with beds open as a "nest". I am starting to get the picture now. Less like a hotel room, more like our travel trailer. At least I won't be trying to cook in our tiny room on the ship. The tight quarters will make it even nicer to get out of the room and over to the restaurants for a long, leisurely meal. Glad to hear that food is available 24 hrs a day. Have a great trip on the Pearl next week, Willy. That is a funny thought to use the public restrooms and the gym for showers. Must talk my 3 guys into doing that, so I can have the cabin bathroom all to myself. :D Nice to know about the laundry facilities, swimmom. Now if my boys would remember to change their clothes everyday, I'd be happy to check out the washers and dryers on deck 9. Shoreguy, appreciate the photo and description. The room looks tight but we are grateful all 4 of us can share a room together. Counting down to September... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcstk Posted February 8, 2007 #12 Share Posted February 8, 2007 i was on the Star 3yrs ago to hawaii and my 2 grand daughters 13 and 15 slept on the sofa pull out, was not bad for sleeping but had to climb over them in morning to have my coffee on balcony- teens like to sleep in- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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