Just Back From Pearl - Review

[RWKY]

Let me start with some background about us – my wife and I have cruised 14 times and we are 40ish years old (NCL – 7; Princess – 3; RCCL -1; Disney – 1; Celebrity -1; Carnival – 1). We usually pick our cruises by itinerary 1st, price (not just lowest but value for the $ - balcony, etc.) 2nd and ship & line 3rd. However, for this cruise we broke that rule, given we had seen the Pearl in Cozumel in December while on the Star Princess. We ran into several people in port who were on the Pearl and raved about how beautiful she was – so when we saw the opportunity this spring break, we jumped at it.

 

Out last cruise on NCL was some time ago (our first 6 cruises were on NCL). Our prior two experiences had been average at best, so we started trying other lines and have come to like Princess. Boy am I glad we tried NCL again. This was without a doubt one of the best cruises we have ever been on – I only was sad that it was the 5 nighter. We could have stayed on for two weeks! The Pearl is a fabulous ship!

 

Embarkation – I hate to start off this otherwise great review with a negative – but “come on NCL, you can do better than this!”. NCL has yet to figure out how to get people onto their ships. In our 7 NCL cruises we have never had a good embarkation experience. This time we were 90+ minutes from getting to the port until we were on the ship (we got there after boarding had already started). NCL reps were confused and not able to provide good direction and people flow. After checking in we had to get into another line to get our key cards – that is stupid. NCL needs to take a lesson from Princess and RCCL on Embarkation at the start of a cruise. Embarkation gets a “D”

 

Overall Ship – The Pearl does not, from afar, have the WOW factor of a Freedom of the Seas, Voyager Class or Princess ship – but let me tell everyone, once you get inside the ship, this is one of the best laid out ships I have ever been on. NCL really innovated with the Pearl – from the unique (and comfortable furniture) to the pool deck, pool furniture, etc. The only thing lacking is a grand atrium, but NCL decided to use this space on functional rooms (restaurants, shops, etc.) rather than waste it with open air – while grand atriums are great to look at – I would prefer more options as a cruiser. Good job NCL. The Stardust Theater, Spinnaker Lounge and other bars, etc. are all great. Make sure and get one of the comfy couches in the Spinnaker or on the Pool deck – awesome! The Ship Layout gets an “A”

 

Room - We had two cabins, one for my wife and I (balcony on deck 10) and one for my 12 year old son and a friend he brought along (inside on deck 9). The cabins were great – very well laid out and more storage than we could ever use. I echo the other sentiments on this board about the bathrooms – best in class!! They are huge. The shower could easily fit 2 people (trust me on this :>) ). What other ship has a shower this large? None that I know of. The décor is very tasteful and the flatscreen TV is a nice addition. The beds are the most comfortable I have been on at sea – though still not as good as a good hotel in the US – but a big improvement I must say. The rich wood tones and carpeting really top it off – the room gets an “A”

 

Food – NCL’s Freestyle is great – there are so many choices on this ship – you can’t physically take advantage of them all. The Buffet is innovative with unique stations of freshly prepared food – there is never a line, like on most other ships (even during the busiest of times). The food in the buffet was the best we have had in our 14 cruises. The only main dining room we used was the Summer Palace – beautiful room. This was a great experience and the food quality and quantity were very good. Make sure and try the soufflés – they were to die for. We also ate at Mambo’s (best fajitas I have had in a while) and Cagney’s – wonderful filet and Shrimp cocktail). Bottom line – there are more options with solid quality on this boat that we could take advantage of – we both decided this was probably the best cruise yet for us where food taste, availability and convenience were concerned. We did see some service snafus and I think the lack of direct tipping have taken a toll (on all lines with direct tipping on your folio). Speed and attentiveness could have been better at times – but at least we were getting great food all of the time. Food and Restaurants get an “A”

 

Ports - We were only out for five nights (we wished it had been 50) – so we only had two stops, Cozumel (where we have been a lot) and Belize. In Cozumel we booked the Royal Swim with the Dolphins at Dolphin Discovery – WOW. One of the best things we have ever done – this was so cool. I HIGHLY recommend this tour. We were in the water for nearly 60 minutes with these great animals and were up close and personal. It is expensive ($139) but is well worth it and a once in a lifetime experience. In Belize (first visit for us) we booked the River Tour and Lamani excursion which was great but LONG. We were gone nearly 8 hours (90 minute bus ride, 60 minute boat ride up the New River to the ruins, and then traditional Belizian lunch (chicken, Rice & Beans, and coconut tart – lunch was actually very good) and then 90 minutes at the ruins and boat and bus trip back. Talk about remote – we were so far away from civilization – but the tour was actually very good. However, be warned – the trip is draining. It was nearly 100 degrees with 100% humidity and the hike to the ruins is about 1 mile – many on our tour did not finish the whole hike and returned back to the entrance and waited on us. I would recommend this highly for people interested in Mayan Ruins – there are three major temples in great condition and we were allowed to climb to the top of two of them – pretty cool. We give the Ports and the embarkation/debarkation process an “A”

 

Staff/Service - Overall the staff were friendly and attentive to our needs. You must keep in mind, these cruises (NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Princess, etc.) are mass market cruises and are not high-end cruises where one should expected to be pampered 24/7. I would say the service, outside of a couple restaurant experiences, was good and on par with expectations. We give Service a B+

 

Debarkation - this is where NCL rocks. I have never seen a smoother debarkation process. At 7:30 you may leave if you carry your own luggage off, after that they begin calling luggage tag colors. I would expect that everyone was off the ship, in a very orderly manner by 10:30 to 11:00 and most importantly there was no confusion, etc. like we have seen on many other sailings. We chose to sleep in (did not leave our cabin until 9:15 – most lines require you be out of your cabin by 7:30ish on the debarkation day) and we then had a leisurely breakfast and left the ship at 10:15. Delightful experience.

 

All in all this was a wonderful cruise – I would recommend the Pearl to anyone. If you have any questions, let me know.

[Cruisinbunnies]

All in all this was a wonderful cruise – I would recommend the Pearl to anyone. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

Thanks for the review, RWKY!!

 

Did you spend much time up on the pool deck? How was the adult pool??

 

Also, how would you rate the late night entertainment (after 10pm) in terms of dancing and partying opportunities? Was Best of Friends and Modal Magic on board???

 

Just planning our 14 day on the Pearl next spring!!!

[GeekyMom]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and it surpassed your expectations!

 

How did it work with the kids being on another floor? I had that delimma when booking our two cabins but managed to get the kids across the hall from our balcony.

[FundyGirl]

Great review...thanks!!!!

 

Are you getting as excited as we are CB??? :D

 

Pearls on the Loose!!!!

[Cruisinbunnies]

Great review...thanks!!!!

 

Are you getting as excited as we are CB??? :D

 

Pearls on the Loose!!!!

 

Fundy,

 

Just making sure we can whoop it up after 10 on the Pearl!!!

 

Wouldn't it be great if Best of Friends were to be on our sailing???:D

 

And we do have the Black Pearl with us as well! Yaaaaaarrrr!!!:D

[margord]

Great review, thanks

[BeachBumMama]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and the ship didn't disappoint.:) I haven't read anything negative about this ship yet.

[cpristash]

Thanks for the wonderful review...you answered all of my questions! WE are sailing on the Pearl next spring break with several other couples and you just made my life easier! We, jsut returned from our cruise aboard Princess "Star". We also experienced "Express" disembarkation! What a treat that is!!! I was wondering if it was available on NCL as it makes it a good deal easier to book a flight!

Speaking of which, how long is it from the Port to the airport?

Did the "Pearl" have a 24 hr. buffett? as well!

Thanks in advance for your helpin these matters!

[whatawonderfulworld]

Thanks so much for taking the time to review your cruise. I really enjoyed reading it. We will be on the Pearl this September for a 15 night stay - your review has heightened my anticipation even further.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ciao,

W A W W

[PDAZ]

The ships sounds lovely. I'm surprised about the embarkation issue (another poster said the same thing) -- both my experiences with embarkation on NCL were great -- I wonder if it's just the port?

 

I'm confused -- your 12 year old son was in a room with a friend on another deck? Aren't there supposed to be adults in each room, or was it an adult friend?

[a1961t]

Just a quick comment on embarkation. This was the first cruise for me and my wife. Due to a delay in our flights (freezing morning weather in Colorado Springs), we arrived in Miami at almost 5:00 pm. By the time we made it to the port it was around 6:15 pm. It took us maybe 15 minutes to be on the ship. Except for the shore excursions we picked, the whole cruise experience was GREAT!

[Planmaam]

Thanks for the lengthy, informative review. I am reading all I can about the Pearl in anticipation of my cruise in 19 days. So generous of you to share.

 

I have one question, though quite trivial; I have posted in other locations, but have not gotten any responses.

 

Do you think the hairdryer provided will fit the standard diffuser? If you do not have curly hair, you may not understand what a diffuser is, but it attaches to the output end of the hairdryer to diffuse the air into fingers so as not to direct all the air to a small area, thus keeping the curl in hair.

 

Just would like not to pack my full hairdryer if I don't have to - thanks for your help.

[EileenN]

Great review! Well written and wonderfully descriptive. A question...How would you describe the pool area? Was it the usual hasstle getting chairs or lounges in the area?

[Dolphins]

Was Pamala Stanley performing on the Pearl? Did you get to see her?

[Cosmopolitan]

RWKY..enjoyed your review.

 

Very informative..thank you:)

[Cosmopolitan]

Do you think the hairdryer provided will fit the standard diffuser? If you do not have curly hair' date=' you may not understand what a diffuser is, but it attaches to the output end of the hairdryer to diffuse the air into fingers so as not to direct all the air to a small area, thus keeping the curl in hair.

 

Just would like not to pack my full hairdryer if I don't have to - thanks for your help.[/quote']

 

I have been on 5 NCL cruises in the past 3 years.

Always a diffuser with the hair dryer;)

[wibeachbum]

Thanks for the great review. DH and I can't wait to try the Pearl. Because of circumstances at home we won't be able to cruise again until 2009. We're hoping they are still offering the 9 day southern/5 day western itinerary then.

[floatn]

I was also on this sailing and found out a few days after we boarded that the ship came in late from her last sailing AND there was a wedding onboard prior to departure. Both of these may have attributed to the poor embarkation process we experienced for this particular sailing as embarkation didn't begin until around 2 PM. I agree that it rated no more than a "D" as there were a sea (pun intended) of people when we arrived at around 3 PM. This was followed by a lengthy delay, for reasons unknown, at FLL airport waiting for a bus to arrive to transfer passengers to Miami. A distressing way to begin a vacation that was, otherwise, great.

[claudie]

Great review. We were on the Pearl for Christmas and WOW! They created a very festive atmosphere. I'm glad you had a good time.

 

EileenN-I've been looking for you; Dawn April 2005?