Pearl Review 7/29 Long...A to Z

[hayesktrm]

This was our first cruise on NCL and we really loved it. We have been on Carnival, Disney and Royal Caribbean. I think we still prefer RCCL because we don’t mind set dining times and prefer having the same wait staff (we were hit and miss with the wait staff) and we preferred the entertainment on RCCL, but we loved the Pearl and the itinerary. I used the A to Z format so I wouldn't forget everything.

 

A=Alaska—Incredibly beautiful. We weren’t sure we would like a colder climate vacation, but we loved it!

B=Bliss Lounge—we hung out there and listened to karaoke (DD even sang). The beds were fun to lounge around on.

C=Cabin—very small, but I did like the bathroom. Lots of shelf space in there. Otherwise we were like sardines (4 pp in an OV). I liked having a window, and was glad we didn’t pay for a balcony. We had fun up on deck 12 visiting with other people while watching glaciers, etc. Cagney’s--very good, they gave me a prime rib piece as big as a roast. I didn’t like how the tables were laid out. It was like we were dining with the people next to us. Casino—didn’t like it because I lost:mad: .

D=Disembarkation—very easy; we took our luggage off the ship ourselves so we just walked off when we were ready.

E=Eagles, as in bald eagles, we saw a lot in Juneau.

F=Family Gold Rush Excursion. Fun, but would recommend for families with smaller children.

G=Garden Café—best buffet on any cruise ship we have been on. I usually don’t like buffets, but we all found things to eat. Much better for breakfast than in the dining rooms, IMHO. Ice cream at almost any time was great.

H=Hot Tubs—we especially loved the adults only hot tubs. My DH spent most of Glacier Bay day enjoying the view from the hot tub.

I=Indigo Dining Room—it was our favorite dining room. You could wear jeans; it was quieter and more intimate.

J=Juneau—we went to see the glacier. We took a shuttle from the ship shuttle drop off (MGT $12 round trip) and really enjoyed it. The driver was entertaining. We saw a family of bears hunting and eating salmon, this was one of the highlights of our cruse.

K=Ketchikan—our favorite port for shopping. Good deals here. Also, the place to buy your smoked salmon to take home. Kids’ Club—DD had a great time.

L=Late night shows. The entertainment on this ship was a bit inferior to other cruises we’ve been on, but we had a good time nonetheless. Garden of the Geisha was a good production. We didn’t see Sea Legs (I think that’s the name), but my parents said it was really good.

M=Movies—they had very good, recent movies in the cabins. This was good for my DH and I when the kids slept in.

N=New ship—we had never been on such a new ship and it was so nice.

O=Otter—we saw one in Glacier Bay floating on his back.

P=Pools—the weather was so great that the pools were used several of the days. I enjoyed the slide. They heated the pools so they were great.

Q=Quest—we didn’t see it on the Freestyle Daily and were disappointed; we could have missed it, however.

R=Reservations—we really didn’t get the whole reservation thing. We were lucky to get into Cagney’s; otherwise we were always told the restaurants were full. My guess is that we called at the wrong time.

S=Spa—what a rip off. Prices were really high. If you want to use the spa, they had specials towards the end of the cruise. To use the facilities it was $40/day or $75 for the whole cruise. We only wanted to use it for 1 or 2 days, but were weren’t going to pay $40 each per day. If it was priced around $16/day we would have done it. Summer Palace—nice dining room but way too loud and the chairs were really uncomfortable. You couldn't wear jeans here. We did go here for formal night.

T=Teen Club—DS said it was the best one he’s been to. I said, “how come,” he said “because it was less lame than all the rest.” LOL. The teens looked like they were really having a great time together.

U=Umbrella—the weather reports said we had a 40-60% chance of rain everyday, but we never needed an umbrella. Again, the weather was great.

V=Victoria—we’ve been there several times before so we just went shopping. It was a bit crowded so we only went for a few hours.

W=Weather—the rangers told us that we had the best Glacier Bay day in a month. On Ketchikan day it was so warm that the pool was crowded and all the loungers were taken by people in bathing suits. No real rain to speak of, but I did have to wear sweaters and sweatshirts in Juneau and Skagway.

X—I’ll cheat and say exercise for X. The gym was very crowded, especially the cardio machines. I had to wait to use them, but only for a few minutes. Bring your own headphones if you want to listen to the TV’s attached to the cardio machines. Good quality machines.

Y=Yummy Chocolate Buffet. I finally stayed up for a midnight buffet (11:00 PM actually). It was so incredibly crowded. Their displays were incredible and I loved the chocolate strawberries.

Z=Zoo—we went to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle before the cruise and it was a lot of fun.

[cruiser82]

Great review, I really liked the format. I'm glad you enjoyed your first NCL cruise!

[hayesktrm]

Thanks! I thought it would be fun to write it all down and put it in our scrapbook.

[Big Jay]

The review was great! I'll Be sailing on the Pearl 5-04-08!:)

[becauseisaid]

We were there with you that week. Your A-Z review summed it all up except you forgot W for waistline or what is left of my waistline!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SweetpeaOne]

Thanks for sharing your review. It was really neat how you used all the letter of the alphabet.

[Ghia]

I sailed the Pearl on 7/08/07. I absolutely LOVED the trip. I haven't seen anyone else mention the jet-engine sounding toilets. Is this common or only that way becaeuse the ship was new.:)

[snorklinbarb]

Thanks for the fun review. Have been on the Pearl 3x and the spa was $15/day or a set amount depending on the length of the cruise for use everyday.

 

What's this about $40/day? Has anyone else experienced this? That's an enormous jump and this is the 1st time I've read about it.:eek:

[electricron]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great cruise.

[Lib0007]

Thanks for the very informative review. Love the A-Z!

 

What group was your daughter in the kids club? I am considering the Pearl for next year and was curious about the activities (my son will be 9). And how was the water slide compared to the Carnival ships (important question for my son :rolleyes:

 

The spa charge . . . what does this get you - I'm assuming just use of the saunas? Do you have to pay this charge just to get a massage?

 

Thanks!!

[abbyjude2002]

I was on the Pearl Alaskan cruise July 15th. The spa charge was $15/day or $63.00 for the week. That let you in to the thalosotherapy pool (gigantic hot tub with lots of different jets) the heated loungers, and the thermal suites which had steam rooms, saunas with floor to ceiling windows, plunge pool, smaller whirlpools and comfy loungers that looked over the front of the ship. There were also juices and water available, so you could spend a bit of time in a calm, child free environment. It was open daily from 8-10pm, so after a long day of exploring you still had time to relax in the spa. I have rheumatoid arthritis, so I loved that whirlpool indoors.

[Mo-n-CJ]

Thanks for the info Laurie,

 

I work for a spa on Maui, and am looking very forward to the warmth and relaxation for the week in the Pearl spa. I was wondering if you received any treatments. If you did, what did you do? What was the cost? How was the treatment? Did they limit the number of people in the spa area? Did they limit your time in the spa area?

[hayesktrm]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Yes, I should have put waistline for W. We told my Dad that they were going to weigh him when he got off because he had eaten over his allotted limit, lol!

 

My DH was with me when we toured the spa and we both saw the $40/day, which was for all the things the person said their $16/day included. My Dad gave us a gift certificate so we were all ready to use it for a couple days just lounging around in the spa area, but not at $40/day. I don't know if they misprinted it or if it changed for some reason, but that's what is was. I didn't see any spa treatments for less than $110. Like I said, a couple days before the end of the cruise, we got a letter saying we could get any spa treatment for 1/2 price because we entered the raffle at the spa when we toured. That brought it to an acceptable price. I didn't use the spa...my Mom got a pedicure and after she bought 1 bottle of nail polish it came out to $93!!! They didn't make it clear to her that they added on the tip (18%) so she tipped twice. I didn't like that...on other cruiselines it was up to us what tip to give.

 

snorklin' barb--you've already been on the Pearl 3x's. I'm jealous!

 

My DD is 10 and they played lots of games and they did a talent show, relays, obstacle course, scavenger hunt, went to dinner once.

 

The slide went around about 3 times. I thought it was fun although my DD thought it could have been a bit faster.

[abbyjude2002]

On Juneau day, there were a couple of spa specials going on, they didn't have any time for what I wanted that afternoon, but they did give me the same price if I booked then for the next morning. I did spa taster 25 minutes each of lime and ginger glow scrub, aromatherapy massage and hot stone massage...yum.Cost about 159 (tip included)

[alansfreed]

Q=Quest—we didn’t see it on the Freestyle Daily and were disappointed; we could have missed it, however.

 

I love the format of your review -- very entertaining! We were on Pearl the week of July 22, and they definitely had the Quest game, which my group (#69 of all things) won! And I have some highly embarrassing photos to prove it...

[hayesktrm]

Which night was in on? Was it in the Spinnaker Lounge?

[golferdog]

loved the review, will be on a backto back on the Pearl in Oct.--what type of headphones should I bring for the cardio equipt.? wireless or plug-in? thanx

[hayesktrm]

I saw a plug to plug them in.

[alansfreed]

Which night was in on? Was it in the Spinnaker Lounge?

 

According to the date stamps on my highly-embarrassing photos, it was on Friday night, and yes it was at the Spinnaker Lounge.

[can'twaittogoagain]

Here's another $40/day for the spa! What in the world? It was $15/day (if I remember correctly) on the Jewel in April. Good grief. They must be trying to weed out common folks like me!

 

Anyway, great review...we are counting down to October..and I can't wait.