Back from Norwegian Pearl 7/15-7/22

[luvsvacation]

I would like to thank everyone on these boards for all their help and suggestions.

 

Our trip on the Pearl was fabulous. I'll try to sum it up without writing a novel. My husband, daughter 18 and son 24, left NY the day before and had a very nice flight to Seattle, rented a car and stayed over night in the Sheraton in the heart of town. We had dinner at Oceanaire, which was pretty pricey but well worth it. The freshest seafood ever. Seattle was a little seedy in parts, but a very nice city. After checkout we drove directly to the pier, dropped off the car and boarded, no hassles at all.

 

I was impressed with the ship from minute one. Every part of it was spotlessly clean and they were always maintaining it. There were hand sanitizers everywhere and we encouraged to use them, which was fine. Our rooms, 1 balcony on deck 9 and an inside cabin were ready around 2ish and the luggage came soon after. Norwegian seems to have it all together.

 

I was a little concerned that our first night out would be a bit rough as I've heard before, but nothing of the sort. It was smooth sailing all the way to Juneau. There, we did whale watching with Captain Larry. It was a fun experience and we got to see bubble feeding which seems to be only in July. The crew was so excited everytime the whales surfaced, but Captain Larry didn't say much. It was a good day and good weather.

 

In Skagway, we did Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, which was by far the best. The guides were very friendly and informative. We took a catamaran through the fjords to Glacier Point beach where we took a bus to the camp to put on our gear. From there we took a short hike through the woods to the canoes and started out for the glaciers. On the beach we were able to be in t-shirts and as we paddled towards the glaciers we needed coats, gloves etc. We lucked out with very good weather because this tour goes out rain or shine. I might not have liked it as much if we were in the canoes in the rain. By the way, the canoes have motors so we didn't row the whole time. We got pretty close to the glacier and it was a wonderful day.

 

Glacier Bay day was not to be believed. It started out a little overcast and then the sun was blazing. It was the most perfect scenery I have ever seen. BQ was right about the viewing areas on the ship. The glass partitions are too high, although that does help with the wind. Having a balcony on the port side was worth it.

 

In Ketchican I took the Eagles, Totems Lighthouse tour. It was a very misty day and it was just so so. It was the least favorite tour out of the 3, but I saw some eagles and seals. Basically the towns are OK to walk around after a tour but there are entirely too many jewelry stores.

 

There wasn't enough time to do much in Victoria, which is a beautiful city. We had a lot of rain there, and only a few hours. I would have like to spend the whole day there. My daughter and I ended up in the museum at the Titanic artifacts exhibition, which was very well done until the museum had a black out and they made us leave without finishing it.

 

Now back to the ship...

We ate in a few of the extra charge restaurants and found them to be very good. The main dining room, the Summer Palace was beautifully decorated and we enjoyed eating there a few times. We ate breakfast every morning in the Garden Cafe and found the food to always be good, with something for everyone.

 

We did a lot of activities on the ship as well. The shows were very entertaining, the magician, second city comedy, the 2 dance reviews and the most fun of all was the game show called the Quest. It is a must see, because anything can happen and usually does. We won that game that evening and my kids just loved it. We also visited the spa which was top of the line. The thermal area consisting of pools and special warm thermal chairs is worth a visit.

 

I have to give kudos to the cruise staff who we got to know very well during the week. If any of them should read this I want to say thanks to Clint, Alex, Matt, Isobel and Hernan. They made an already wonderful trip even better. And to top off a fantastic trip, we won the jackpot bingo on the last day. We were thrilled to pay off that ship bill which adds up pretty quick!!

 

The only thing we didn't like was that the temperature on the ship was a bit hot, so after we had dressed to go out, we were a bit warm until we were able to go ashore. And also, the bartenders in the Spinaker Lounge where a lot of the entertainment was need to chill out a bit on selling drinks. They are a bit too pushy. But that is nothing compared to the wonderful week we had. We were sad to leave!!!

 

I hope this helps anyone going on the Pearl and I guess I wrote a novel after all.

[pianoplayerla]

Angela,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. We leave on the Pearl on 9/16 and can hardly wait. If you don't mind me asking, which car rental agency did you use? You said you were able to drop your rental at the pier. We are using Avis and hope we can do the same thing.

 

Sounds like you had a great cruise! :)

[luvsvacation]

We called around and the only car rental place that you can drop off at the pier is Thrifty. It cost us about $100 because they add on all kinds of taxes. My husband dropped us off by the ship and he returned the car and they shuttled him back. I think is was worth it, because we got to drive around Seattle and with all the luggage that my family had we would have needed 2 cabs.

[WillCruiseForMoney]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review! We leave on the Pearl the end of August and I'm starting to get more excited each day! The entertainment sounds good. Could you tell me more about the Quest game?

[luvsvacation]

The Quest is an adult's only game played on one of the last nights of the cruise in the Spinaker Lounge. It's like a scavanger hunt with teams of 6 or 8 people. Every team gets a number. Then the host, probably Matt, will ask teams to either bring something up or for 2 people to come up and do something in 20 seconds or less. He asks for things like 'a man to come up with lipstick on' or '2 men to come up holding hands and skipping' or for someone to do the worm. Everyone races up and does what he says and another crew member writes down the team numbers to keep track. I don't want to give too much away, but it gets totally crazy. Even if you don't want to play it's fun to watch. If you decide to play, bring a copy of the ship's Daily and 2 bras. Have fun and enjoy your cruise!!!

[Aloha Gal]

willcruiseformoney, hope you don't mind me butting in. Just got off the Pearl 7/29. We caught the first half of the Quest hosted by Matt, the Assistant CD. It was on Friday at 11:00 pm in the Spinnaker Lounge. Participants form their own teams of no more than 8. You are given 20 seconds to come up to the stage with whatever Matt is asking for. E.g., copy of a Freestyle Daily, etc. As it progresses, it gets more raunchy. E.g., 2 men spooning, dirty dancing, etc. It was a hoot! But this is definitely adult humor, so if you are easily offended, do not attend.

[Budget Queen]

I rented from Thrifty with a pier pick up and Seatac drop off, 1 day $17 with taxes, in May. They do have a shuttle pick up right at pier 66. I have also rented from the downtown Alamo, and walked there, no problem if you leave your bags and people at the dock and return and pick them up. We hauled bags- but pack light, to Pike Market, and they waited on a bench there for me to pick them up. :) Several blocks and took about 20 minutes for the walk, but another option if needed for someone with no mobility limitations.

[WillCruiseForMoney]

Thank you both for the explanation of Quest. Sounds fun...and we'll leave teh boys in the cabin for that one.

 

What excursions did you do? We are definitely doing the Eagle Preserve Float & Fjord in Skagway. Did either of you do that one? I'm hoping to see a lot of wildlife. We haven't decided about Juneau and Ketchikan. We have two teenage boys, 13 and 16.

 

Thanks again,

Cyndy

[Budget Queen]

 

What excursions did you do? We are definitely doing the Eagle Preserve Float & Fjord in Skagway. Did either of you do that one? I'm hoping to see a lot of wildlife. We haven't decided about Juneau and Ketchikan. We have two teenage boys, 13 and 16.

 

Thanks again,

Cyndy

 

This tour is out of Haines, not Skagway. Sorry, but it is a poor choice if your priority is wildlife. Very rare to see any besides the eagles. And with a little effort and binoculars, eagles are EVERYWHERE in Alaska. Don't know what the cost of this tour is, but you would be far better off considering perhaps Traitor's Cove out of Ketchikan, which will be peak for bears in your timeframe.

[WillCruiseForMoney]

Thanks, Budget Queen, we'll look into that one, too. The float and fjord reviews have all raved about the gorgeous scenery and we're looking forward to that, too. I'm diong a search for other recommendations you've posted, too, so thank you in advance for those ideas!