Good, Bad And Ugly On My Pearl December 5th Cruise

My December 5th cruise on the Pearl out of New Orleans;

Good

*My aft-penthouse was awesome. I’ve cruised in this cabin before and love the location.

*My Cabin Steward, Lilis, was outstanding. He was one of the best Cabin Stewards I’ve ever had.

*The crew overall was great. Always a smile and a greeting when I passed by them.

*Cagney’s was fantastic all four times I went. The food was always cooked perfectly and the service was un-matched.

*The teppanyaki restaurant was very good, even with one hiccup the first night I went.

*Loved the buffet for breakfast.

*Had a wonderful facial in the spa.

*The casino was very, very good to me; I gambled on their dime the entire cruise, thanks to a couple of big wins. Met some great folks in the casino, which always makes it fun. Seemed like the majority of the gamblers were non-smokers, which made the casino less smoky, except when non-gamblers came in to smoke.

*Never had any issues getting a drink by the pool or at any of the other venues.

*Harvest Caye – I thought the island was very well done. The walk from the ship to the island was short, IMHO, and a very easy walk. They did have golf cart shuttles for those that didn’t want to walk. I can’t say enough about the beach villas….they are awesome. Special thanks to ggTexasGal (Ginger and Bill) for the gracious offer for me to join them in their villa.

*Had a nice surprise on my final bill. There was at Entertainment At Sea Reward. Since I already paid my bill, they said I’ll get the amount sent to me in the form of a check.

Bad

*Non-players smoking in casino. NCL didn’t enforce the policy and if they won’t enforce it, why do they have it.

*The number of folks who tried to take food off the ship in Cozumel. There was fruit, some packaged items, etc. taken from folks who obviously can’t read, as it plainly said in the daily that no food can be taken off the ship.

*The chairs in Cagney’s. Thankfully the cow hide motif is gone, but they need to replace the chairs, as the seat bottoms are too long for most women to sit comfortably. Hint, ask for one of the pillows to put behind your back, as it puts you forward enough to be comfortable.

Ugly

*The guy in the aft cabin on deck 11 who screamed at his wife for over 20 minutes. Every other word was an obscenity. Security must have come, because he screamed “who are you and what do you want” and then it was quiet.

*Do people not have manners or do they just leave them home when they go on a cruise. People were coughing without covering their mouths, chewing with their mouths wide open, not using their inside voice (too many people either need hearing aids or they just like to yell).

Misc

Captain – Stefan Nordberg

Hotel Director – Cary Turecamo

Cruise Director – Simon Akinwolere

Food & Beverage Director – Mark Reichelt

Executive Housekeeper – Osley Ollivierre

Executive Chef – Menino Luis

Guest Service Manager – Katherine Galope

Concierge – I Kadek Astawa

It was another great cruise on NCL. If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them.

Thanks for your thoughts. Glad you mostly had an enjoyable cruise. Funny how most of your negative points are about other passengers rather than the ship or ship experience - 'hell is other people' - :D. No need for the man to be yelling like that. Glad security was on the case.

I sailed Pearl about 10 years ago and have fond memories of her. Hope she is keeping well.

We sailed on the Pearl just before you, and just loved this ship. You are right, the crew is awesome. The ship is just the right size for us and we really enjoyed every port (except for Roatan.... the shore excursions were rained out) but we were able to get off the ship and wander through the little stores at the port.

I also agree with you about the chairs in Cagneys. I am a short lady and the chairs are very uncomfortable. My feet don't touch the floor and after sitting awhile, it starts to hurt my legs. I think a long legged man must have selected these chairs. lol!!!

Was on this cruise as well, in an aft corner penthouse on deck 9. Had a great time celebrating my wife's birthday with some close friends. Food was good in the specialties, crew was great, and the Pearl looks fantastic. Weather could have been a little better, but we missed the snow in Connecticut. I found the other passengers to be very friendly, and met some nice people. Did see chair hog towels as early as 6:15 on sea days. There was a Code Alpha one evening, around 10:30 from the Indigo main dining room, but not really sure what happened. Stayed in the Hotel Mazarin on Bourbon and Bienville. Great place in a great town. Overall, a great cruise.

Was on this cruise as well, in an aft corner penthouse on deck 9. Had a great time celebrating my wife's birthday with some close friends. Food was good in the specialties, crew was great, and the Pearl looks fantastic. Weather could have been a little better, but we missed the snow in Connecticut. I found the other passengers to be very friendly, and met some nice people. Did see chair hog towels as early as 6:15 on sea days. There was a Code Alpha one evening, around 10:30 from the Indigo main dining room, but not really sure what happened. Stayed in the Hotel Mazarin on Bourbon and Bienville. Great place in a great town. Overall, a great cruise.

What is an Entertainment at Sea Reward? I am platinum and been on 30 plus cruises w/ NCL and Ive never heard of that.

Terry

What is an Entertainment at Sea Reward? I am platinum and been on 30 plus cruises w/ NCL and Ive never heard of that.

 

Terry

Thank-you for the report.

Great report! We are on the Pearl in March. How was embarkation? The first reviews reported that it was quite the mess. Hoping they are working the kinks out.

Thanks for sharing! Do you have the dailies you could share? Please?

Great report! We are on the Pearl in March. How was embarkation? The first reviews reported that it was quite the mess. Hoping they are working the kinks out.

Thanks for sharing! Do you have the dailies you could share? Please?

What is an Entertainment at Sea Reward? I am platinum and been on 30 plus cruises w/ NCL and Ive never heard of that.

 

Terry

The Entertainment at Sea Reward on my Pearl cruise was the amount the Casino Host took off my bill that last evening. This was a different amount than the Tier credit in non-refundable OBC. (Sapphire gets $200 per cruise.) They look at your play and do some sort of intricate calculation to determine what they can comp you based on your play that week and what type of charges you have on your bill.

OP, thanks for sharing the Good,Bad & Ugly with us! Overall, we thought the Pearl was looking pretty good after her refurbishment. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

Glad to hear this, we leave for our New Years cruise on the Pearl in 12 days. Like you, we love to dine at the specialty dining restaurants and enjoy Cagney’s. Did they have the crab cakes on the Cagney’s menu by chance? They are our favorite!

Glad to hear this, we leave for our New Years cruise on the Pearl in 12 days. Like you, we love to dine at the specialty dining restaurants and enjoy Cagney’s. Did they have the crab cakes on the Cagney’s menu by chance? They are our favorite!

Glad to hear this, we leave for our New Years cruise on the Pearl in 12 days. Like you, we love to dine at the specialty dining restaurants and enjoy Cagney’s. Did they have the crab cakes on the Cagney’s menu by chance? They are our favorite!

They had the Crab Cake appetizer in November. I noticed that they had the 'older' menus for Cagney's, Le Bistro and La Cucina. For example, Le Bistro had the appetizer of 'Four Cornets' ( or something like that) that we haven't seen on the Escape. La Cucina had the pizza appetizers that we have never seen on Escape.

They had the Crab Cake appetizer in November. I noticed that they had the 'older' menus for Cagney's, Le Bistro and La Cucina. For example, Le Bistro had the appetizer of 'Four Cornets' ( or something like that) that we haven't seen on the Escape. La Cucina had the pizza appetizers that we have never seen on Escape.

Yah! I like the old menus better!

I will scan them tomorrow and try to post them on here. Please keep in mind that I've never posted dailies before, so it will be trial and error. If there is anything in particular that you are looking for, let me know and I can relay that information.

Thank you!

Another quick question. We're the breakfast and lunch menus in Moderno the old menus or the the new ones? I'm hoping you say old. ;)

Love the review We'll be on the Pearl in March. I'd love to see the dailies too.

Looking forward to eating at Cagney's, but I'm only 5' tall, sounds like I need to bring a pillow with me :)

Thank you!

 

Another quick question. We're the breakfast and lunch menus in Moderno the old menus or the the new ones? I'm hoping you say old. ;)

Sorry I didn't eat breakfast there. I ususally got up late, so just a quick trip to the buffet.

Love the review We'll be on the Pearl in March. I'd love to see the dailies too.

Looking forward to eating at Cagney's, but I'm only 5' tall, sounds like I need to bring a pillow with me :)

Thank you for the report.

Keith

Great report! We are on the Pearl in March. How was embarkation? The first reviews reported that it was quite the mess. Hoping they are working the kinks out.

We were on the Pearl a few weeks earlier. Debarkation was fine except it is a long walk from the ship to the transportation area. Embarkation was only a mess because the coastguard had decided to do an very involved inspection that day. We didn't get on the ship until about 1pm and we were among the first to board.

Thank you!

 

Another quick question. We're the breakfast and lunch menus in Moderno the old menus or the the new ones? I'm hoping you say old. ;)

The new one I believe but some of the old specialty items were there. I thought the buffet prior to our order arriving wasn't as good as in the past. The crab cakes benedict for breakfast were awful. the crab cakes were totally mushy. I also had the steak and eggs; steak over cooked. Lunch was great with the same wonderful shrimp cocktail as in the past

We were on the Pearl a few weeks earlier. Debarkation was fine except it is a long walk from the ship to the transportation area. Embarkation was only a mess because the coastguard had decided to do an very involved inspection that day. We didn't get on the ship until about 1pm and we were among the first to board.

Since we’re talking about embarkation and such, where exactly are the porters when you arrive to drop your luggage off?

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