Just off NCL Pearl 5/24-5/31 Courtyard Villa A3 AMAZING!!

[noreddye]

Thanks for letting me know the pros and cons. Do you remember if there was a steam room in the courtyard?

[rjm11]

thanks for confirming the sofa bed thing... I think our cousin will be a little more comfortable with her own space rather than sharing with the two little ones!

 

About the courtyard... will my little kids (4 and 3) be allowed to use the space and pool (with our supervision of course)? I was hoping that with the covered roof they could use the pool in Alaska at the end of August. I see where you can get some meal services out there? Does it have it's own menu, or are you ordering off room service? Thanks to everyone who has provided such great information! Although it's more than a year away, I am so excited about this! Our first cruise on NCL (only Princess and RCL before), and our first to Alaska!

[watchdiva]

The CY does have both M and F steamrooms. As of April '09 our A4 had the "new" sofa (quite comfy to sit on BTW) that does flip to become a bed.

 

You can order breakfast/lunch from Cagney's off of the menus that are on the table(s) and you can then eat in the courtyard if you wish. If you want something off of the suite room service menu, you can order that as well and it will be delivered wherever you wish (courtyard, cabin, etc).

 

We've also had an A3 during the Pearl's inaugural year and if anything we enjoyed the courtyard experience more than you can image.

 

Your children (4 and 3) will find that they cannot stand up the pool. It's more of a resistance pool and not as large as a small lap pool. In the two times that we had courtyard suites, I think the youngest we ever saw anyone in the pool would probably be in the 7-8 year range.

 

You will have the time of your life!

[kdzkatz]

thanks for confirming the sofa bed thing... I think our cousin will be a little more comfortable with her own space rather than sharing with the two little ones!

 

About the courtyard... will my little kids (4 and 3) be allowed to use the space and pool (with our supervision of course)? I was hoping that with the covered roof they could use the pool in Alaska at the end of August. I see where you can get some meal services out there? Does it have it's own menu, or are you ordering off room service? Thanks to everyone who has provided such great information! Although it's more than a year away, I am so excited about this! Our first cruise on NCL (only Princess and RCL before), and our first to Alaska!

 

It looks like watchdiva answered your questions very well but I just wanted to add to her answer. On our cruise there were a couple of small children in the current pool that were accompanied by an adult. They appeared to both be around 4 and having a very good time.

I almost seemed like most of us were on a different schedule for using the courtyard as it was never crowded but seemed like there was at least one person in there a decent amount of the time. Even when there were a few different groups in there it never felt crowed. They did a wonderful job with the layout. One day we ate lunch off the courtyard menu while another group was napping on the balanese loungers and another group was enjoying the pool and hottub. I'd say there were about a dozen or more people in there but it wasn't loud or crowded one bit.:D

[rjm11]

I think it sounds just wonderful, and I'm so glad I made the decision to "upgrade"! The only problem now will be waiting until next summer... maybe I should try for a caribbean cruise this winter...

 

Is the private sundeck usable on the alaska cruise, or is it just too windy up there?

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

The villa experience is wonderful with NCL and they truly treat you like royalty. My problem is one week just isn't long enough. Sounds like you had a wonderful time and I look forward to your review.

 

Regarding the people complaining about the food, I think a lot of people who have been crusing for many years have noticed a change in the quality of food. We have. And I think the specialty restaurants are not all that special, considering the menu, service and charge. That being said, we always find plenty of good food to eat! It's just not as spectacular as it used to be.

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing and telling the whole story!

[noreddye]

The CY does have both M and F steamrooms.

You can order breakfast/lunch from Cagney's off of the menus that are on the table(s) and you can then eat in the courtyard if you wish. If you want something off of the suite room service menu, you can order that as well and it will be delivered wherever you wish (courtyard, cabin, etc).

 

Thanks for the info about the steam room. We booked an A2 and this is the first time we will be in the courtyard.

 

We loved the atmosphere at Cagney's for breakfast and lunch. How does it compare to eating in the restaurant and eating in the courtyard?

[luv that cruise]

i got our room number wrong. realized it today when i was double checking documents. i was so excited to come back to this thread and see what the name of our suite is, but, boo hoo, I don't see a pic of this suite on your webshots' link. Do you happen to remember the name? Not a big deal if you don't. I guess i knew the sex of my kids before they were born, i can certainly live with the anticipation & excitement of what our suite name will be!

[watchdiva]

Cagney's has the same menu whether or not it's served in the restaurant, your suite or the courtyard. We loved eating in the courtyard - it was so quiet and peaceful - we often were the only ones eating breakfast early (7:30'is). The coffee in the courtyard is great, they have a small buffet set-up with cereals, danish, fresh fruit, etc but we always ordered off the menu.....

 

You really can't explain to someone what it's like.....the courtyard needs to be experienced. Unlike some other posters we've never found the courtyard to be noisy or crowded and on many afternoons after returning from port, DH and I fell asleep in the courtyard - totally missing sailaway.:D

[luv that cruise]

i got our room number wrong. realized it today when i was double checking documents. i was so excited to come back to this thread and see what the name of our suite is, but, boo hoo, I don't see a pic of this suite on your webshots' link. Do you happen to remember the name? Not a big deal if you don't. I guess i knew the sex of my kids before they were born, i can certainly live with the anticipation & excitement of what our suite name will be!

 

anyone know name of 14506?? I thought we were in 14508 but i was wrong.