LONG Pearl Review - 2/15/09 - 2/22/09 - WOW! Grab a beverage and kick back.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

OMG OMG! Where do we start?!

 

Well, my husband and I booked a Western Caribbean cruise for our 15th Wedding Anniversary. Although we were hoping that the next cruise we'd take would be Eastern Caribbean since we'd done Western Caribbean on the Princess two years ago, we decided on Western so we could be on the newer Pearl ship which was sailing the week of our anniversary. Don't misunderstand, we loved Princess but NCL was flooding the radios here with promotions and sales and on-board credits galore! We thought we'd give it a try.

 

Our first PCC, Dee was ever so patient when we couldn't decide which itinerary/which boat, Eastern on Dawn or Western on Pearl. As much as we'd wanted to go Eastern, something told us that the newer Pearl would be the way to go. Especially since it had the better stateroom choice of mini-suite we originally wanted. On the other hand, though, we hadn't any interest in the ports Western and had already been to Cozumel. Such a big decision. Roatan, Where's that? Belize, hmmmm..., private island, Bahamas, can't go wrong there, Great Stirrup Cay. BUT, the newer ship called our names. We booked. Looking back, the PERFECT decision.

 

Starting out, we must say, after booking, customer service left a bit to be desired. Seems once they had our money they couldn't answer too many questions. This will be the only negative part to this review. Needless to say, our vacation on the Pearl made the customer service issue a distant memory. However, they do need to improve. We couldn't get a brochure without having a sales consultant phone us twice, send business card by mail and email us very regularly. Then, when we had two questions about what was in our room, customer service said they didn't know. Leave it to Cruise Critics members to provide us with the correct answers to our questions. At this point we were really getting scared though. Understanding that Cruise Critics is based on opinions we were hearing bad things about the food on Pearl, how poor and horrible Roatan is and how people should stay on the boat. Let's just all remember, some people's expectations are higher than others, some people have a more positive attitude about things. Basically, read reviews but be careful making decisions based on others' opinions. We started out on this cruise with lowered expectations due to some of these negative reviews. We ended up though with new favorites. Our Pearl and Roatan. We're going to try to be as impartial and fair as possible with this review. Here goes.

 

The AF mini-suite we originally booked was upgraded later in the trip to a Courtyard Villa for $1,500 additional. THAT was the icing! Once this happened, we knew we now had priority everything (almost) and special privileges and changed our time to get to the port to a few hours earlier so we could spend every minute possible on the ship. We waited outside the terminal for about an hour or so. Apparently, we're told, 31 people or so wouldn't leave the ship so no one else could get on until they were off. We can understand why :p. So, embarkation was a breeze. We met our concierge Erika and her assistant. We were escorted to our suite to drop off our carry-ons before going to have lunch at Cagneys (another privilege of penthouse guests). We had already seen photos of the Courtyard Villa A4 but WOW, in person? What a sight! The Bird of Paradise Courtyard Suite was now ours for this voyage. This began the best, most beautiful vacation of our lives.

 

We'll try to skip the story-telling and get to the point, most importantly, the Pearl, an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL ship. She's kept in pristine condition, tended to with TLC. The staff, all of them from the engineers to the captain are all-stars and always smiling. We were blessed to have Erika as our concierge, her assistant, Rose, our butler, Roy, our MOST EXCELLENT steward, Joseph or "Mr. Joey" as we called him, internet cafe manager, Anka, did we miss anyone? The hostesses at Cagney's, the casino staff, the carpenters fixing the padding on the 15th floor private sundeck, ALL of them unbelievably nice. If you're preparing to cruise on the Pearl soon and you'll be staying on the 14th floor, remember their names. You'll be quite satisfied. Pearl, she's quite a beauty, inside and out. You won't be disappointed.

 

The decor - Wow, the designer didn't miss a beat. Nothing was left undone or understated. The colors, vibrant and beautiful. In our room especially. Where there wasn't a mirror, there was artwork and the walls and furniture were so highly varnished it sparkled. The bathrooms, bedroom, sitting room, dining room. We could comfortably live there for a very long time. The hallways on our floor, at each angle, a piece of art. Stairwells draped in mirrors. She couldn't be lovlier.

 

We haven't even mentioned the Courtyard area. We spent a lot of time here. Very early mornings, evenings, if we weren't on our balcony you'd find us on 15, the private Courtyard deck. We tried out the workout equipment (okay, only a minute or two but still tried), saunas were great, jacuzzi, oh yeah! If ever given the opportunity, get a Courtyard Villa. It was perfection! And as my husband says, leave your shoes in your room. You'll not want anything to come between the baby-soft teak of the stairwell between the courtyard and private deck and your feet.

 

Ports: Roatan - upon the advice of a crew member to rent a scooter from a local (not ship-excursion) and ride to the West end of the island, we took her advice but changed it up a bit. We met Blake and Malcolm just outside the port and were led to the scooters and other vehicles. It only took a fleeting second for my husband to jump on the 4-wheel ATV and start our adventure! Let us say, we didn't have any problems with any of the other locals, we just dealt with Blake and Malcolm and can assure you, everything was on the up and up. He needs a copy of a credit card "just in case" but gives you back all the copies when you return the ATV. We just checked our statement and everything was fine. And fine it was! If at all possible, RENT A 4-WHEELER! For expecting nothing from a place we'd never heard of, we fell in love. We've been back three days, haven't stopped talking about Roatan and have even researched rentals over there in hopes to fly back with our kids sometime. Blake will provide you with a map, listen carefully to the directions if you're looking to go to the West end. There are no traffic lights, no speed limits and one main road around the island. You'll have cars and other types of vehicles on your tail but not to worry. Everyone is nice and more than willing to stop if they see you stopped and will offer assistance. If only people here in the states were so friendly and trusting. So, back to riding. It's a GORGEOUS island. The road will take you to the tops of mountains over treetops, you'll see ocean on both sides of you at times, you'll smell forest burning and tropical flowers while you're riding. Take a risk like my husband did when he went off-road down a path and ventured on an quaint and undeveloped stretch of beach. This is where the 4-wheeler was necessary as a scooter wouldn't get you there. We drove on the beach, in the soft sand, wet areas even. Later, we stopped at a gated resort. My husband asked if we could take a look and the guard gladly lifted the gate and let us drive into the resort. It took probably 10 minutes to descend the elevation of the roads through the resort to the habitational part. We found out later that it's a 33-acre resort. We drove to the end where the villas/condos began. PARADISE! There's a website, check it out Luna Beach Resort, www.lunabeachresort.com. As we rounded the island heading back we ran into another resort being built. The Meridian at Lighthouse Point, www.roatanmeridian.com. We were simply driving and stopped to review the map and the owner of this resort came out offered to take us for a tour of the grounds. He even showed us to a gazebo where we could take a picture-perfect panoramic photo together totally surrounded by ocean with lava rocks as our backdrop. This is the western-most tip of Roatan. We promise you, ROATAN IS A MUST-SEE! Do it by ATV and do it without a guide at your leisure. It's romantic and scenic and everything paradise is made of. We WILL go back! We have hundreds of photos but sadly couldn't bottle the smell of the exotic flowers we enjoyed during our ride.

 

Belize - Well, it wouldn't be fair to comment on anything on the island. We saw the port/dock where they have nice shops and were shown to the "flea market" just outside the gate behind the port. Um, let's just say that we wouldn't go back to that area with our kids. The offers you may get asked in Jamaica you'll get offered here and they don't let up. All I wanted to do was go back to the ship. Now, if the opportunity arises to go back to Belize, We'd be happy to go back, however, we'd give it a fair chance by booking a tour, snorkel, something adventurous away from the port. We understand it's a beautiful place and some say comparable to Roatan. We were just so tired from the five-hour ride the day before we just decided to take it easy and do some walking.

 

Cozumel - We were there two years ago and it seems they're improving the looks of Cozumel, at least at where the ships come in. Shopping's always good there. Viva Mexico's always good shopping. Local shops nice and safe. It is what it is. No need to see it again though for us.

Great Stirrup Cay - Yes, we were one of the lucky ones to be able to make it here. We've read that the majority of the cruises before us were diverted to Key West. That's probably great for most but for us, we live in South Florida and can go to the Keys anytime. We wanted to see Great Stirrup Cay. We're told that it has a lot to do with the seas and tendering as to why they may divert. We think it may have to do with the changing of the Captains also. Our cruise was the first cruise back for our captain after his vacation. Maybe it's coincidence??? Anyway, we did some snorkeling at Great Stirrup Cay and loved it! Swimming with the yellow-tail snappers. Beautiful weather, the water a bit cold but the sun felt good. The crew was lively, the band terrific! The drinks strong and cold. The water, so so so crystal clear. GREAT day. Glad we made it to Great Stirrup Cay. Thanks Captain!

 

Entertainment - Saw one show, comedien Peter Harms. It was good, worth the watch. Clean, kids can attend. Wish we would have seen the crew's show toward the end of the trip. We were just so busy doing other things we couldn't find time to do everything we wanted to. We wanted to bowl in Bliss but unfortunately got there after it closed. Think we went down around 1:30 am. DO see Bliss though. It's a beautiful lounge! Also wanted to see Geisha show. Late dinner at La Cucina didn't allow for it though.

 

Restaurants - As stated earlier, the penthouse guests get special privileges to eat at Cagneys for Breakfast and Lunch. We only made it for two or three breakfasts, maybe four lunches and two dinners. Nice portions, tasty food. Okay, so a lot of CC members rave over the Cagneys fries. In our opinions, they were fries with parmesan cheese. Nothing special. Not bad, just not special. I, myself, enjoyed the Gratin potatoes with dinner. YUM! My husband loved the wedge salad. Lobsters, although delicious, are served by half-tails so if you're ordering, order the number of half-tails you want. You'll only be charged the $20 surcharge for dinner at Cagneys and a $10 surcharge for a few specialty items like lobster, Alaskan King Crab Legs (which were SO SO yummy too!) but if you order three tails, they won't charge you three extra surcharges. I also had prime rib one night. The cut was nice, meat tasty but didn't care for the au jus so much. Just my opinion.

 

La Cucina - Not fair to judge based on the situation but I'll share anyway. We noticed they had Veal Marsala and they had Chicken Parmagiana on the menu so we asked if they ever custom make dishes. My husband wanted Veal Piccata and with the simple common ingredients used to make Piccata I didn't think it would be an unreasonable request. After going through two other people, we asked our concierge Erika on one of her nightly visits to our suite. She said she'd see what she could do. A day or two later she told us they could make Piccata or Veal Parmagiana. When we got to the restaurant we ordered the Piccata. The server and maitre'd both advised they didn't know about the order. They checked with the chef who said he didn't know about it either but would accomodate the request. Well, it wasn't Piccata. Basically, it was breaded veal cutlets, no lemon/wine sauce, no capers just plain breaded veal cutlets. We didn't say anything as it was a special request, we just ate it. The maitre'd, however, came to our table just before serving and asked what side we'd like it served on. We'd ordered a small order of fettucini carbonara to share before the entree which was very good. He suggested a risotto. The risotto was very tasty. All in all, not a complaint. We'd just suggest that you order off the menu, no special requests. :)

 

Garden Cafe - You know, we're also in agreement here, my husband and I. The cheeseburgers in the buffet line were out of this world. We think they're angus burgers. Oh boy, we had them three times! Chose them over Cagneys on some days. The buffet altogether was nice. Two soups that changed daily. Different types of salads and salad bar. Nice selections. Wraps, several types of sausages, pasta dishes, make your own pastas, couple of different sushi selections daily, asian-type dishes, pizza. Only suggestion, the buffet closed at 9:30. We're late-nighters. We liked that the Princess kept their buffet open all night with an hour closed for cleaning but meat-carving done for sandwiches done during that time. After hours, unless you wanted room service, you'd have to go to Blue Lagoon.

 

Blue Lagoon - CC members seem to rave over their chicken wings. That's great that they're loved by many and some claim they're the best ever. Well, we have a few Duffy's sportsbars and Hooters restaurants here in South Florida and they, without a doubt, have the best wings ever. They're actually award-winning. The wings in Blue Lagoon were not bad though. They were more barbecued than spicy. Just an opinion though. We all are entitled to our own. Cheers to those who love Blue Lagoons wings. :cool: Without a doubt, though, the potato skins were delish from Blue Lagoon! MMMMmmmmm...

 

After all the food on this cruise, we couldn't find room for desserts. We even missed the chocoholic buffet. :( The restaurants insisted many times to pack us some dessert and send up with us to our room. We just couldn't. We did, however, have the best soft-serve ice cream in the Great Outdoors!

 

So, by now we've probably lost alot of people with this CRAZY-long review. We've tried to cut it short but could go on and on about our most PERFECT time. In fact, it's Wednesday now and we continue to talk about everything we've done, everything we've seen, none of which we'd change a thing! In fact, having over 1,000 photos to look at, we'll never ever forget it.

 

We only wish that everyone lives their paradise as we did.

 

Want a few photos to whet your palates? Enjoy!

 

Kellie & Robert

Bird of Paradise Courtyard Suite

[ken85121]

What a great review - thanks so much. We are taking our first ever cruise in 12/5/09 on the Pearl for our 15th anniversary! I only wish we could get one of Courtyard Villas too. :) We do have an AF mini suite though.

 

I was thinking the same thing as you about desert. With all the great food it sounds like you get, how in the world can people fit it in? lol I can't wait to try though.

[terrymtex01]

I am so glad you had a great time on your cruise. What a nice review to read. I do have to say as far as the chicken wings, I was not as impressed with them on the Pearl as I was on the Star. I am sure it is all a matter of the specific cook, but on the Star I HAD to have them at least once a day. On the Sun I had to have one of their burgers on their outdoor aft grill once a day.. so maybe each ship has it's own "gotta have". I did not know that about ordering lobster for Cagneys. So basically for $10.00 more you can have all of the lobster tail you can eat? If I am understanding that right, thats not a bad deal at all, IMHO. I knew there was the extra charge for it, but did not know you could order more if you wanted to and not be charged extra.

 

Again, very nice review. Thank you for posting it.

[iphotograph]

Hi! Enjoyed reading your review and looking at some of the photos. The courtyard villa sounds awesome!!!

 

We'll be taking an Alaskan cruise on the Pearl in 2010. We booked an Aft-view mini-suite and are hoping the upsell fairy will call us weeks before we cruise (fingers crossed)! :)

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Yes, the night we had the lobster/crablegs was the night we missed the chocolate buffet but heck, I'd trade chocolate for lobster and crablegs all day long.

 

Here's what they did. They charged my husband and I each the standard $20 for dinner at Cagneys, and we each ordered 3 half-tails each since a few nights prior my husband got the surf and turf and was given only half a tail smaller than the 6oz that was shown on the menu. They had no problem giving him the other half. So, we knew better when we went in the next time and ordered 3 half-tails each and 1 order of Alaskan King Crab Legs which was VERY large at about 2 lbs. So, on top of the $40 standard charge, they charged $30 for a total of $70. Needless to say, I couldn't eat my 3 halves. My husband gladly helped with my extras. We were stuffed to the point I had to go upstairs and rest. :p

[jhayman]

Great review! Glad you enjoyed the Courtyard as much as we did earlier this month. We have to agree with you that Erika, Joseph, and Roy were great! It really seemed to us like they genuinely wanted you to have a good time.

 

Do you think you're "spoiled" now after experiencing the courtyard villa? We feel like anything less now just won't compare. I guess that's why they do the upsells. It's going to be hard to book anything other than a CV on any of the Jewel class ships now...

[ruhnke28]

My husband and I were also on the Pearl 2/15 – 2/22 and in an A4 Courtyard Villa. Kellie did a great job with her review and I agree with everything she wrote so I’ll just add a few things.

 

BACKGROUND INFO …. I’m 30 and this was my fourth cruise (all in the past 5 years), and my first cruise on NCL. My other cruises were on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. I cruised with my brand new husband. He’s 38 and this was his second cruise. We wanted a wedding that was low-key for just the two of us for our wedding, so we decided to just get married on the ship the first day and enjoy the rest of the cruise as newlyweds! We are pretty low maintenance and laid back travelers – put a drink in our hands, some food in our bellies and let us relax and we are happy campers.

 

WEDDING INFO … we booked the “Onboard Aisles” through The Wedding Experience (TWE) company that handles the onboard weddings, which included the ceremony officiant, wedding coordinator, photographer, flowers, cake & champagne toast. we got married at 1pm in port at Miami. The coordinator, officiant and photographer were all absolutely wonderful and very accommodating to do everything exactly as we wanted!

 

FOOD & DRINK …We never ate in the main dining rooms so I can’t comment at all about Indigo or Summer Palace. We ate at almost all the Specialty Restaurants – Le Bistro, Cagney’s, Lotus Garden/Sushi Bar, and La Cucina. We enjoyed Le Bistro and Cagney’s the best. And I can’t complain about the sushi bar except to say that I think $15 is a little much unless you can eat A LOT of sushi. We did not like La Cucina much, but we are a little picky about our Italian food. Although the antipasto tray, bread & olives were very good. We also hit the buffet a few times throughout the trip for different meals and enjoyed it. Exactly what I would expect from a buffet and it had a wide variety so I always found something to satisfy myself. For breakfast and lunch, we also took advantage of the Cagney’s menu offered in our private courtyard which was pretty good. We ordered room service once as a late night munchie and didn’t think the food had any flavor so from then on if we wanted some munchies we went to Blue Lagoon and got mozzarella sticks, potato skins or wings, and we were always pleased. As for drinks … We actually thought the drinks were pretty reasonably priced. We got a bottle of wine (Santa Margarita) for $37 that we pay $28 for here at home in the store so really that is not that bad. The buckets of beer were also reasonable (although never cold enough for me) and my husband also thought the whiskey was very reasonably priced and was very happy with the selection offered at the Whiskey Bar. Overall, we were quite satisfied with both food & drink! Some previous review had mentioned trouble getting reservations and we never experienced that at all – in fact the restaurants always seemed pretty empty when we went, but we like to eat on the early side – around 6pm.

 

SHOWS/ACTIVITIES … We saw the Second City show the first night and it was entertaining. The “showgirls” show – Sea Legs – was probably good if you like that sort of show. It just wasn’t for us. Both comedians were pretty good but the juggler seemed to get less of a reaction from the audience than the other guy (sorry, I can’t remember their names and don’t have my freestyle dailies in front of me at the moment). We also saw the Geisha show and the acrobatic part of that was definitely pretty cool. Other activities we checked out were karaoke at the Bliss Lounge – it wasn’t much of a karaoke crowd but there were a group of teenage girls who were hysterical. We also had to try out the bowling and had fun. We wanted to get back and do it again but never did. We also went to a few of the shows in the Spinnaker Lounge – the “not so newlywed game” which was hysterical, an all-improv Second City show, and some other couple game show where they had to do fun stunts like pop balloons on each other in interesting ways, etc. All were enjoyable!

 

We didn’t go to the casino at all so I can’t comment on any of the problems that recent cruisers have experienced there.

 

I’ll add more about the ports and our shore excursions when I have a chance.

[cruisebrooklyn]

Hello Leavethekidswiththemom. Great review. We will be on the Pearl April 12, and renting an ATV seems like an awesome idea. Can you tell me more about the ATV rental in Roatan? Where and from whom exactly did you rent the ATV? What was the price and were you required to wear helmets? Thanks.

[terrymtex01]

Yes, the night we had the lobster/crablegs was the night we missed the chocolate buffet but heck, I'd trade chocolate for lobster and crablegs all day long.

 

Here's what they did. They charged my husband and I each the standard $20 for dinner at Cagneys, and we each ordered 3 half-tails each since a few nights prior my husband got the surf and turf and was given only half a tail smaller than the 6oz that was shown on the menu. They had no problem giving him the other half. So, we knew better when we went in the next time and ordered 3 half-tails each and 1 order of Alaskan King Crab Legs which was VERY large at about 2 lbs. So, on top of the $40 standard charge, they charged $30 for a total of $70. Needless to say, I couldn't eat my 3 halves. My husband gladly helped with my extras. We were stuffed to the point I had to go upstairs and rest. :p

 

I myself am not much for lobster, I would rather have shrimp to be honest, but I love king crab legs. Where they already split for you?

[michigan tim]

I'm curious about Roatan, did many others venture out? I was under the impression this area was not safe. I'd really like to explore this, maybe do some fishing, hiking, etc...

[JEDIKNIGHT]

Enjoyed your review very much, especially the food descriptions.

 

Nice to read an overall positive experience. Thank you

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Kentear: We wish you a wonderful 15th anniversary cruise too! You know, we originally booked an AF mini and would have been very happy with it had the opportunity to upgrade to the Courtyard not come along. We had a comparable room on the Princess also and were very pleased. I believe the Princess minis were a touch bigger though. To be honest with you, I could have a bed in the engine room on the Pearl and still be happy. ;) Well, if it had a balcony anyway. We wish you luck with your "hopeful upgrade" too.

[theschwanz]

hey leavethekidswithmom, how much was that atv rental and how do you find your buddies at the port? thanks.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Hi Cruisebrooklyn, Congratulations to you on your upcoming cruise! About the ATV, try to get off the ship as early as possible. I mean, there are more than just Blake's vehicles out there but I only remember him having two ATVs, a green one and blue one, Yamaha Grizzlys. If you have gear, just ask, they'll fetch you a bungee and strap it down for you. Amazing how friendly the locals are here. You'll want to go outside the port just beyond the bank. Everyone is standing just outside the cemetary wall. You can't miss it. He originally wanted $60 a piece for the ATV's. My husband bartered down to $100 for both. After that, since I'd never ridden anything like that before, I suggested that we only take one. Blake gave us one for $55. He said it was full of gas and would last us all day. Obviously true, we rode over five hours and probably traveled 20 miles without having to stop for gas. No helmets, no rules, no speed limit, no cops, no traffic lights, just GO! Pure adventure! He'll suggest you ride to the West side of the island toward Tabayan Beach although you can go any way you want. The map makes it look small but it's actually quite a distance. That's only a 1/4 of the island too. If you go East, you may not have time to get back to the ship. We're told West is the way to go anyway. Look for little side roads off West bay. We drove off road and found a sweet little treasure trove. We'll attach some photos. Quiet, quaint and serene. I have to admit, I was a bit scared not knowing what we were getting into until we found this place. All worried subsided. The island's yours for the taking. If you think you're lost at all don't hesitate to ask the locals. They'll gladly help you. Nothing to worry about. Just enjoy! OH! Don't forget, when you get West and you're up in the mountaintops, take in the smell of the flowers. We met a lot of Americans that were building and developing over there. They probably found paradise by accident like we did. Please let us know if you make it after all. If you take photos, please share. We can't get enough!

[terrymtex01]

We met a lot of Americans that were building and developing over there. They probably found paradise by accident like we did. Please let us know if you make it after all. If you take photos, please share. We can't get enough!

 

Did you happen to notice how reasonable real estate is there right now? You can get a BEAUTIFUL condo right on the beach with a HUGE balcony/patio for $160K or less and the houses we saw that had an ocean veiw but were up the mountain side a bit were very reasonable. HUGE homes and you could get one around $500K.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Terry and Doug, Shhhh! Don't let the secret out! :p

 

Yeah, guess you enjoyed it that much too, huh? One of the first things we did when we got back was check out villas/condos over there. Did you happen to get to The Meridian at Lighthouse Point while you were there? The lava rocks? Gorgeous. In fact, our captain was hesitant to leave Roatan. He was talking something about the elusive green flash. He said something about only seeing it two other times. We didn't know at the time what he was talking about but when we got home we checked it out. I think we were two minutes away from capturing it in our photos. If only we knew then what we know now.

[josephsschmoe]

Enjoyed the review. We never made it past HB Warren on Roatan...next time we'll do the ATV.

 

The only really bad meal experienced by Mr and Mrs Schmoe was at the Blue Lagoon. I ordered the wings as an appetizer with Fish and Chips as the main meal. The wings are breaded and fried...sort of like they serve at Miami Subs. I got the definite impression that the wings came off a Sysco truck. Also the wing sauce was served on the side. As a UB graduate (and having subsisted on a chicken wing and pizza diet for many years before wings hit the main stream), Joseph S Schmoe can tell you that the Blue Lagoon version would not last 15 minutes in Buffalo. What is even more irksome is that there was no mention in the menu of the wings being breaded or that the sauce was served on the side. Gimme a break

 

My fish was warm but my fries were cold and soggy. Mrs. Schmoes fries were satisfactory but her fish was cold.

 

The appetizer and the main dish were served at the same time. The server left the food on the table and disappeared. When I asked about the appetizer and the main meal appearing at the same time, the maitre d' told me that the restaurant serves whatever is available as it comes up from the kitchen.

 

After eating, we waited 15 minutes for a waiter to ask us about desert. It never happened. We wound up going down to the buffet for ice cream.

 

During the meal, the head waiter, who was supposed to be running things (and took our order to help the overworked wait staff) disappeared after she spilled water on herself while bussing tables.

 

Mr and Mrs Joseph S Schmoe were quite disappointed in the Blue Lagoon and we did not return.

 

I think that the Italian restaurant gets short shrift. Our experience there was positive. Mrs. Schmoe was quite satisfied with her veal marsala. I asked for veal parmigana and it was prepared in a satisfactory fashion...nor the best veal I have ever tasted..not even as good as you can find on Columbus Ave in SF but it was quite adequate. If you read the reviews, it seems that the biggest complaints about the Italian restaurant come from those that order pizza and the calzones. For the life of me, I can't understand why someone would dine at a premium Italian restaurant and order a Calzone..but what do I understand, I'm just a Schmoe who used to live in Buffalo.

 

The Mexican restaurant was also passable. Mr and Mrs Schmoe both ordered steak fajitas. Having Phillipina wait staff serve Mexican food was a new cultural experience. The fajitas were accompanied by a single tortilla cut in quarters...hmmm...

Upon completion of our meal, Mrs. Schmoe commented that the fajitas tasted as if they had been marinated in soy sauce. So there you have it...Teriyaki beef fajitas served by Phillipina waitstaff in a Mexican restaurant. Fusion cuisine has arrived on the Pearl. The most interesting part was that the fajitas actually tasted quite good...they were just a bit off from what I was expecting.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Mr. Schmoe, you're a hoot! Love to read your posts.

 

Hubby said he brings a full took kit with him too (that, I witnessed) including duct tape. He actually let our butler Roy use the needle-nose to try to fix the Lavazza machine when the cartridge got stuck.

 

We only had the Blue Lagoon once when we found the other restaurants were closed. It filled a spot when nothing else was open but we didn't dine in. We ordered it to-go and brought it back to the courtyard to eat.

[Sparkylok6]

What a great review. I am glad that you enjoyed the Pearl as much as I did the week before. Those upsells are killers though. Now that NCL has raised the bar for me, the Penthouse will probably be the only way for me and DH in the future. We are already looking at 2011 on the Pearl, but to the Eastern Caribbean. Reading your review and the ATV in Roatan makes me want to go there though and do that for the day.

 

Regarding the ATV it doesn't sound like you rode on only trails. Were you also driving on the roads? My Dad has a Grizzly that I ride all the time so it would just be so cool for me to ride there and not have to "really" follow any rules.

 

I think Roatan was my favorite stop on our cruise. The island is just so beautiful and the people are so friendly. We did a tour with Bodden Tours and our guide / driver was awesome. It also helped that we were with a great group from CC.

 

Welcome home and I am glad that you and your husband had a good cruise.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Ruhnke28, Hey Newlyweds, M & G ! Congratulations again! You know, we're kicking ourselves for the couple of times we had the chance to offer you rumrunners up on 15 that we were blending up in our room or invite you for celebratory drinks at the champagne bar. Our minds were definitely on vacation. We only thought of it AFTER the fact. :( Our apologies. You both looked so nice on your wedding day. We wish you great happiness and health in your lives together.

 

You seemed to have done all the things we didn't do on the ship. We missed the shows you saw, missed most of the restaurants you ate at, missed the bowling. Once, we brought our socks down and it bowling was closed, another time we ended up in the casino (still with socks in hand). :D It would have taken three weeks to get everything in. And that's with only three hours a night sleeping.

 

Was nice to read your reviews. Can't wait to hear about your times in ports. Take your time, we know...you're still on your honeymoon. Actually, after 15 years, so are we (as we send the kids to bed now) ;)

 

Also, would love to see some wedding photos. You had the perfect dress for the perfect shipboard wedding in sunny Miami, Florida on the ever-so-classy Pearl. A lovely bride and groom. Cheers!! \=/ \=/ <---shots for the new couple!

 

P.S. We were curious of the name of your Courtyard suite. We were Bird of Paradise Courtyard Suite. What was yours named?

[Princess Pearl]

Thanks for your enthusiastic review Kellie & Robert and Happy Anniversary. (And congratulations to Ruhnke28 on your nuptials!)

 

Roatan doesn't seem scary at all from your comments. I'm really looking forward to seeing and experiencing for myself in 30-some days. We don't have any plans yet for this port so we might just have to look up Blake & Malcolm! (That is...if we ever get out of the restaurant. The food sounds awesome!)

 

Can you tell me, please if the King Crab is available in Cagney's every night or do I need to watch for it? (Yikes, every night could get really expensive for my family! :eek:)

 

Thanks!

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Hi Sparkylok6, Happy Belated birthday to you!

 

Yeah, man! Love those Grizzlys! I just don't know how the Florida Highway Patrol would take to me driving on I-95 on one. :p

 

Yeah, we were on the main road, off-road, on beaches, trails, over tires, through potholes, places a scooter couldn't come close to getting you to. Even the speed-ropes didn't slow us down. (For those who don't understand what speed-ropes are, Roatan doesn't have speed-bumps. They lay a thick rope across the road to attempt to slow vehicles down, mostly around West End and West Bay.) It was a blast! And yes, Sparky, the main road around the island is how we got around the island. It's common travel. If a car or bus was on our tail, we'd just pull over or wave them around or in some cases, after hubby got brave, we'd hit the gas! Everyone's cool, though. They'll just give you a beep from behind to let you know they were behind you. No rules, just right! See you around the next mountain! :cool:

 

Next time we'll be going Eastern or Southern. I've been sending subliminal messages to my husband at night while he's sleeping that in 10 years for our 25th anniversary we need to do Glacier Bay from the Deluxe Owners Suite! I really don't think he's going to be hard to persuade though.

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy your cruise Eastern. If you happened to pick up the calendar in the Trade Routes gift shop on the Pearl most of their photos are from the Eastern ports. Can't wait to go ourselves!

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Thanks for the wishes, Princess Pearl! It was the best EVER!

 

Don't be afraid of Roatan. It's not scary in the least. For the first five minutes, I wondered what we might be seeing, however, as soon as we got away from the port and town, it was wide open, lush beauty. Check it out online. There's a lot of information on the island. Here's a little something special we found on our trek. Just pull over. All you have to do is pull over. People will talk and offer photo ops, tours. They seem very happy that we're there and proud of their island as they should be.

 

Crablegs on Pearl, yes in Cagney on menu every night. There's a $20 surcharge pp to eat there and an add'l $10 pp for crablegs. The order we got was so large and come split down the middle. We shared one order. In my opinion, they were the best crablegs I've had. Husband agrees and we're boaters from Ssouth Florida and LOVE seafood.

 

We're excited for you!

[ruhnke28]

Ruhnke28, Hey Newlyweds, M & G ! Congratulations again! You know, we're kicking ourselves for the couple of times we had the chance to offer you rumrunners up on 15 that we were blending up in our room or invite you for celebratory drinks at the champagne bar. Our minds were definitely on vacation. We only thought of it AFTER the fact. :( Our apologies. You both looked so nice on your wedding day. We wish you great happiness and health in your lives together.

 

Thanks so much! No worries about the drinks! We had plenty on our own! And seriously, we had so much champagne that first day that I had to stay away from it the rest of the trip! (Also the reason Giuseppe missed the CC Meet & Greet on Monday and I was late!)

 

You seemed to have done all the things we didn't do on the ship. We missed the shows you saw, missed most of the restaurants you ate at, missed the bowling. Once, we brought our socks down and it bowling was closed, another time we ended up in the casino (still with socks in hand). :D It would have taken three weeks to get everything in. And that's with only three hours a night sleeping.

 

Ha ha ha ...so true. Although I'll be honest, we were asleep by 11 every night. We tried hard to stay up to catch some of the late night activities like the White Party, Deck Dance Parties, Adults-only comedy shows, etc but just couldn't do it.

 

 

Also, would love to see some wedding photos. You had the perfect dress for the perfect shipboard wedding in sunny Miami, Florida on the ever-so-classy Pearl. A lovely bride and groom. Cheers!! \=/ \=/ <---shots for the new couple!

 

We won't have the "professional" wedding photos back for a few weeks but I have a few that our friendly fellow CC volunteers took. I've attached one. I'll have to get the others uploaded at flickr and then post a link.

 

P.S. We were curious of the name of your Courtyard suite. We were Bird of Paradise Courtyard Suite. What was yours named?

 

Ours was called the Magnolia Courtyard Suite.

[ruhnke28]

Here’s a continuation of my review as promised. Below is a summary of our experience at the ports and on our shore excursions.

ROATAN … We did the Hikers Ridge & Forest Adventure excursion through NCL. It was $53 a person. We met at 8:30am on the pier at Roatan. Our tour guides walked us over to a less crowded area and gave us water, a walking stick, and a glove. We broke up into two groups and walked down the street a bit to a dirt road.

The dirt road was the start of the trail that meandered up the high lookout point in the forest. The cruise line billed this as a “strenuous” hike, and there were some pretty steep climbs and descents, but if you hike regularly, this is at most a moderate hike. The hike provided some pretty good views of the island, the ship, and a neat section of hanging vines. Our tour guide said we climbed to 700 ft, although it was actually hard to tell if was actually telling you the truth or if he was just joking because he said a lot of things that eventually he was just laugh off and, well that was a bit strange.

The hike took about 3 hours and ended with desserts and juice. You headed back to the ship along the road (on your own). The cost seems a bit much for just a hike, but I thought it was a nice way to see some pretty scenery while getting some exercise. We wandered around the pier a little bit when we got back but decided just to get back on the ship and relax. One thing to note: if it was raining, this hiking trail would have been horrible.

BELIZE … We did the Lost World Canopy & Rappelling Excursion, again through NCL. To sum up, we regret it and I would not recommend this tour. I wanted to do the Cave Tubing & Aerial Trek tour, but my husband gets claustrophobic so we decided we’d just do the zip-lining piece through this other excursion. We met in the theatre at 9:45am. Around 10ish, we got to the tender, and it was about a 30 minute ride over to shore.

Once on shore, our guide led us to a school bus, where we waited for someone who I guess missed our tender over for probably another 15 minutes. We started on the road and our tour guide gave us some history on the country while we rode. We headed out of the city, where the roads were actually paved, and spent a long time on a dirt road.

About an hour and 20 minutes later, we made a stop at a hut set up by the excursion company where we were given lunch – beans and kabobs. You got the feeling from the tour guide and bus driver that we were running late, but people still lingered and took their time to eat and wander around. We finally got back on the bus (after waiting for the same woman that held us up originally) and 15 minutes later we were finally at the excursion location. This is now almost 3 hrs later than when our excursion began in our meeting location on the ship.

There was another group already there (the cave tubing group) and they were still in the middle of their zip-lining so we waited again. They eventually got us geared up and ready to go. They walked us up out of the cave and sat us down in the buggiest area ever to give us an overview. (Side note, If you do this tour – definitely bring lots of strong bug spray and wear long pants if you can. I got a whole bunch of mosquito bites here.) Since we basically had no interaction of hooking ourselves up to the zip line or to the rappelling line, I’m not sure why the long overview about how to do stuff we weren’t going to do was necessary.

We finally headed out to the first platform to start the fun. We zipped along between 5 platforms, and did two rappels down (not very far). That part itself was a whole lot of fun… unfortunately it only lasted about 20 minutes. So, 4+ hours of prep for 20 minutes of actual activity just does not seem worth it for me.

We all got done and headed back to the bus, and now you could tell that our bus driver was very worried about getting us back in time for the last tender. Note: since this was an excursion booked through NCL, obviously we wouldn’t miss the ship – however, I think the bus driver and/or tour guide probably get in a bit of trouble through their company if they are late like we were. Despite being way behind schedule, we stopped back at the place we ate lunch so people could buy pictures.

We got on the road and our bus driver FLEW back to the port. He was going super fast, and didn’t seem like he’d stop for anything that in his way (chickens, dogs, even kids). The ride back was scary, and on the non-paved road in a big school bus, going 70+ miles an hour is not a fun trip. We did make it back to the port in time though, at around 4:40. The last tender was at 4:45.

So, this was a long trip. Too long for me for the amount of activity. But the actual zip-lining and rappelling was very fun.

COZUMEL … We had another excursion booked this day too – the Clear Kayak and Beach Snorkel. But it didn’t leave until 11am so we got off the ship early and wandered around the Cozumel port area. There is pretty big shopping area right there and a bunch of restaurants too. We’re not big shoppers so we just walked a bit and looked around.

We met in the pier area right off the ship but were told to break up into groups of 4 because we were taking cabs over the beach where we were going to kayak and snorkel. It was a quick trip – about 15 minutes. This is a little beach bar/resort area. But note, they only had a few lockers available – not enough for everyone so you basically just had to trust your stuff sitting out on the beach. They gave us gear and the kayak was first. It was fine – the tour guides feed the fish so they come right up underneath your clear-bottomed kayak. Then we return to shore to get geared up and head out to snorkel. We have our own snorkeling gear so I can’t comment on the quality of what they provided. The snorkeling was pretty good and the water was beautiful. I didn’t want to get out.

This was a good basic trip and we enjoyed it. My only problem with it was at the end – after the snorkel – we had to get in groups of 4 again to go back. Well, some people wanted to linger and hang at the beach more, and other people were already in groups of 4, so it was hard to find 2 more people to get in our cab to go back with us which made it a little awkward as we had to randomly approach couples to find someone who would ride back with us.

GREAT STIRRUP CAY … We were on the second tender over to the island, so there were still plenty of loungers available. We headed all the way to left almost to the rocks and pulled some loungers inland behind all the regular low back chairs. This got us completely out of the way from all the other people setting up their little circles right near the water on top of each other. It got more and more crowded as the day went on, but we never had anyone too close to us in our little area. It was great.

We have our own snorkel gear but the signs say you need to have a vest if you are going to snorkel, so I went and got a vest ($6) and also rented a floaty raft ($13). I snorkeled first thing before all the people got there, and thought it was really pretty. There were lots of interesting (and big!) fish to see out by the rocks. It was also neat to climb the rocks and you could get a great shot of the ship. We just spent the day relaxing on the beach and in the water. I heard lots of people complaining about how cold the water was but if you are from the north and swim in the Atlantic Ocean at all, this was not cold at all.

It got overcast in the afternoon which clear a lot of people out, so we were able to enjoy a very relaxing quiet time later in the afternoon.

I guess that’s it from me! If you have questions, please let me know.