Live Onboard The Beautiful Pearl

[dshefter]

We boarded the Pearl on Friday, Jan. 25 for a 9-day southern Caribbean cruise and all I can say is the ship is wonderful. The decor is beautiful. Every crew member we have encountered has been friendly. I really don't know where all the negativity has come from previous posters.

 

Embarkation was a breeze. Took us no more than 30 minutes or so to get through everything. That's faster than any of the three RCI cruises I have taken within the last 7 years. We brought 3 bottles of wine aboard and we paid the corkage fee of $15 per bottle immediately after going through security. I also managed to get a case and a half of beer aboard, along with all of our sodas and water. There is a small frig in our room (we have an inside cabin on Deck 9) and the steward took care of emptying all the contents of the mini-bar so we could keep things cold. I just left him a note and it was all done upon our return from dinner.

 

We chose to eat at Cagney's the first night and my wife had the filet and I had the prime rib. It was very good. They treated our 4 1/2-year-old daughter very well. She had a kids menu and they gave her an apple juice without charging us.

 

We also hit the casino and my wife collected $1,000 from a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Not a bad way to start off a cruise.

 

I took the time to visit most of the public rooms. The bowling alley is quite cool. And they set up the Wii in the Crystal Atrium in the afternoons for everyone to play. Our daughter enjoyed her brief time in the kid's club.

 

Also took a tour of the spa but chose not to sign up for the daily use since I am not sure how much I would use it. It is $139 for the week. We also saw all the other available spa treatments.

 

I will file a full review of the cruise when we finish. I will be happy to answer any questions.

[janiceah]

Thanks so much for posting and enjoy that cruise!! I can't wait to read your full report when you get back. So is that $139 per person for the spa? I guess I didn't think it was that much. We were thinking of possibly doing that but now maybe we'll do a day pass instead.

Did you get a reservation for tonight's dinner yesterday or are you eating in one of the main dining rooms?

Mostly I'll be interested in places you can relax in a lounger away from the crowds where you can relax and read. Also, if you hit any great beaches along the way that are a must see. Thank you and enjoy!!

P.S. Someone had posted about having a Dirty Banana and I'm still trying to find out what it is. Do some investigating please;)

[onebzyldy]

We just got off the Pearl on Sun Jan 20th and I couldn't agree with you more ! ! ! It is a beautiful, clean ship. We had a wonderful cruise. The staff/crew were all courteous and friendly, never a problem. I now understand what ppl mean when they say 9 days is *perfect* -- I totally agree. Our last 3 cruises were 7 day and those extra 2 days just make u feel 'fulfilled' can I say ? We thought the food was great, we ate at Teppanyaki, La Cucina, Summer Palace, Indigo, the mexican restaurant and of course all the buffets - we thought the food was great! There were always chairs for sunning, if not right by the pool, on the other decks that r a little quieter [even have a clothes optional deck!] The casino is amazing, and congrats to your wife on her winnings, make sure that u get yourselves a *Casinos At Sea* card,,,,,,we ended up with $!00+ comp to our bill at the end of the cruise. Only 2 concerns: 1. very low lighting in cabins at night, so if u plan on reading, bring your own reading light - IMO too dim 2. Disembarkation was a mess, but that was not an NCL issue, it was US Customs that was literally questioning EVERYONE getting off the ship and taking their time about it, took us over and 1hr. Other than that, we had a fabulous cruise, this was our first cruise with NCL and we would definitely cruise with them again. Enjoy the rest of your cruise and do keep us posted =]

[lhall85917]

Love to see thse great reviews!! We are very anxious to hear what everyone has been doing in Samana - perhaps options other than the NCL excrusions. Thanks to all for taking the time to post.

[dshefter]

Plenty of places on board to just get away and relax. Yes, the pool was crowded, but we found chairs one level above the pool. There are a lot of bars with different themes.

 

My only complaint on the room is that there aren't a lot of electrical outlets. There is one in the bathroom for an electric shaver that we used to charge up our daughter's portable DVD player and we also unplugged the coffee maker to use that outlet. I needed to charge my iPod.

 

We had no problems making reservations the first couple of nights. Ate at Cagney's the first night at 6:15 p.m. We are eating in one of the main dining rooms tonight. Tomorrow night we are going to try Teppanyaki. We also plan to try La Cucina and possibly Mambos.

 

The Garden Cafe is busy for breakfast, but we found a table and the lines were very minimal at the many stations. And they have multiple stations serving the same things (i.e. omelettes).

 

Our daughter loves the pool and the slide is a big hit with kids and adults.

 

We did get a Casinos At Sea Card.

 

Full review coming at the end of the cruise.

[victoriapaige25]

Thanks so much for posting and enjoy that cruise!! I can't wait to read your full report when you get back. So is that $139 per person for the spa? I guess I didn't think it was that much. We were thinking of possibly doing that but now maybe we'll do a day pass instead.

Did you get a reservation for tonight's dinner yesterday or are you eating in one of the main dining rooms?

Mostly I'll be interested in places you can relax in a lounger away from the crowds where you can relax and read. Also, if you hit any great beaches along the way that are a must see. Thank you and enjoy!!

P.S. Someone had posted about having a Dirty Banana and I'm still trying to find out what it is. Do some investigating please;)

 

 

Dirty Bananas are YUMMY!!! I had many on my honeymoon in Punta Cana. It is a frozen drink made with bananas milk light rum banana rum tia maria and rum cream blended with ice ( there are a few variations on how its made). They put chocolate syrup around the glass to make it "dirty". SOOOO GOOOD!!! Enjoy! But watch out they don't taste strong but they will catch up to you:eek: