Just Off the Pearl

We were on last week's Pearl cruise to Alaska from Seattle. I plan on writing a full review next week when we finally reach home. Here are some thoughts and observations from the trip. We were in a suite, 10166, aft balcony so my observations may be different than passengers throughout rest of the ship.

We received the letter from the concierge's department about 50 days out. I emailed them with a few requests which none were met when we boarded. Our butler quickly filled those requests which included emptying the fridge, getting extra pillows and getting some hot coco packs. These came in handy on Glacier Bay day.

Checking in was a little confusing. As we checked our bags outside the terminal, we were handed a "Priority" card and told to go around the building. As we came up to a NCL representative, they would point us to the next destination. We finally got to a room where people were checking in. It was before 11 so there were few in line. When we got to the counter, they said we were in the wrong room. The checkin girl did take us to the correct room, passing all the "help" that showed us the wrong way.

One negative on being on the back of the ship was that I sometimes had trouble connecting to the wifi. If I opened my cabin door and stood in the doorway, I could connect.

Our butler was excellent. We had two breakfasts and one dinner in our cabin. Due to a death on the ship, we were 2 hours late pulling into Victoria BC. We decided to stay on board and sit on our balcony. I called our butler and asked for a plate of cookies which topped the spot as we watched the sunset on our final night.

We had most breakfasts and lunches in Moderno's and the food and staff were terrific. I've read on cc (can't remember which forms) that there was a bacon shortage. This was not my experience. One morning I received EIGHT slices of bacon with my eggs.

We had dinner in Cagney's three nights. Two of those nights lobster was offered (and I took advantage of). I think the price was around $21 if you didn't have the dinner package, which we did.

We had the drink package and usually drank Diet Pepsi. Several times the wait staff didn't even look at our cards before retrieving our drinks.

We thought the staff throughout the ship was very friendly. On boarding day, after we had lunch in Cagney's, I asked the Cagney's Hostess if there was any place we could relax till our cabin was ready. She offered us seats in the lounge area of Moderno's. While sitting there, several of the ship's officers came in and had a lunch meeting. At one point the captain received a phone call and excused himself from the table. As he walked passed us he stopped and said hello and wished us a good trip. I've been telling everyone that the captain personally greated us onto the ship. :D

I did notice the bar staff seemed rushed at times but we were always served fairly quickly and with a smile. I think we only ran into one waiter who was not as friendly as the rest, maybe it just was his nature.

For the most part, the ship seemed to be in good shape. One area we saw that we thought could use some work was the theater. Some of the seats seemed broken as the seat slopped downwards. You felt you could slide out of the seat. I think this is caused by people stepping on them to get to the next roll instead of walking around.

The smoke seemed bad walking through the casino. If I had any desire to spend time there, it quickly went away due to the smell.

Before the evening entertainment in the theater, there was always the selling of raffle tickets. Seemed pushing but we just ignored as it must work as many people were buying.

The weather was cloudy and light rain most of the trip but didn't interfere with any of our activities. We're from Central Florida so we loved the cool weather. It wasn't till the last day in Alaska did we knew there were tops to the mountains. We over packed for the cold as most days a sweatshirt and rain jacket did the trick. It was the coldest on Glacier Bay day but we still managed to spend the entire time on our balcony.

This trip was to celebrate our 50th anniversary and would do it again in a heartbeat. I tell everyone our kids sent us on this cruise but in reality, it came out of their inheritance. :loudcry:

Don

We were on last week's Pearl cruise to Alaska from Seattle. .... I tell everyone our kids sent us on this cruise but in reality, it came out of their inheritance. :loudcry:

thanks for the great mini review... and the nice chuckle at the end.

Thanks for your review. The Pearl is my favorite ship and I'll be in an aft penthouse on her in December.

Do you recall which days they offered lobster at Cagneys?

Do you recall which days they offered lobster at Cagneys?

Monday and Friday. We were there Thursday and was not offered. Not sure about the other days.

That Friday we did a crab feast in Ketchikan. I had the shrimp cocktail also with my lobster dinner so I had, crab, lobster and shrimp all in the same day.

Don

We go on the Pearl in 3 weeks. Do you know the name of the cruise director? Also, did you fly out of Seattle? If you flew, then did you use the luggage valet service?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, can't wait to read your full review! We are sailing on the Pearl in October, doing a Panama Canal transit. We will also be in a suite, so it's fun to read your suite comments :)

~Denise

Glad you had a wonderful trip. Could you please tell me who the Concierge was and if you know they are staying through December.

Thank you.

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Will need to go through my paperwork to find names of staff. May take a few days.

We took Amkrak from Chicago to Seattle and return so can't comment on luggage handling. Luckily we came in two days early on the train as the train was involved in a collision with a truck. No one was hurt but we came into Seattle 4 hours late and would have missed the ship if it was the sail day.

Don

We were on the Pearl in mid July. The concierge was Naomi. Our Haven butler was Jennifer. Both of these ladies are EXCELLENT. We are back on the Pearl next July and hope that they are both still there.

Google spell-checked "inheritance" eh? :)

We go on the Pearl in 3 weeks. Do you know the name of the cruise director? Also, did you fly out of Seattle? If you flew, then did you use the luggage valet service?

I was on the Pearl last month and used the free Seattle luggage valet service. IT WAS AMAZING. As a family of 5, 1 of which is a toddler, we had 5 checked bags, a car seat, stroller, etc. Being able to have all the checked bags picked up the night before and not seeing them again until we got home was awesome.

We walked off the ship in a leisurely fashion, picked up an Uber and went straight to security. The cruise line had provided our boarding passes as part of the service so it was really simple.

We flew Delta and the Delta check in area in Seattle was so busy and crowded. It was great being able to skip it all.

Highly recommend the luggage service. I hope more ports institute it.

One thing I forgot to say was that since we were taking Amtrak after the cruise, we only needed a cab for a short ride. As we walked out of the terminal, several cab drivers were asking if we needed a ride. As soon as I mentioned we needed to go to The King Street Station, the walked away. All these drivers had left their cabs in the middle of the cab line. Finally one driver pulled up and loaded our luggage before even asking where we needed to go. We told him and he said"OK, no problem". Then he started yelling at the other drivers for getting out of their cabs and picking and choosing their customers.

As we drove off he said these guys aren't ethical to do that and they should take the next one in line, no matter where they needed to go.

Our short ride cost $7.30 but we gave him a very good tip. We know he could quickly get back in line again and hopefully he could get one of those $40 airport trips.

Don

Can any remember what day the Suite Cocktail party was? Just wondering .....

Also, I believe that Tony Rosa is now the HD on the Pearl.

Can any remember what day the Suite Cocktail party was? Just wondering .....

Also, I believe that Tony Rosa is now the HD on the Pearl.

It was the second night. I'd had dinner reservations that I moved around after receiving the invite.

It was the second night. I'd had dinner reservations that I moved around after receiving the invite.

Agree, to was like 6:00 - 6:45 but we had 5:30 reservations at Cagney's and decided to keep them. It was one of the nights lobster was offered.

Don

Also, I believe that Tony Rosa is now the HD on the Pearl.

He was the HD last year too in late June when we cruised Alaska on the Pearl

Glad you had a wonderful trip. Could you please tell me who the Concierge was and if you know they are staying through December.

 

Thank you.

 

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The Concierge was Yahira Suazo. Don't know her schedule. She was a great help getting off the ship several days especially the last morning. Walked right past the long line. She also had a good suggestion on when to leave the ship before the crowds to get through customs.

Don

The Concierge was Yahira Suazo. Don't know her schedule. She was a great help getting off the ship several days especially the last morning. Walked right past the long line. She also had a good suggestion on when to leave the ship before the crowds to get through customs.

 

Don

Thank you!

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Thank you for the review. My boyfriend & I will be on the Pearl in one week. We also have an aft balcony. Did you spot much wildlife from your room? If so, what did you see? Also, I look forward to hearing about the crab feast excursion in Ketchikan as we have booked that excursion as well. Thank you for your time.

Gingersvp, I am very interested in using the port luggage service. I have called Norwegian several times with various questions and to pre-book some items. I asked each time if NCL participates in this option to send luggage straight to the airport. Every time I have asked, I was told they do not use the port luggage option. It would be wonderful to be able to use this option. Do you know if they have just started doing this, or perhaps it may be a case of NCL representatives not knowing?

Gingersvp, I am very interested in using the port luggage service. I have called Norwegian several times with various questions and to pre-book some items. I asked each time if NCL participates in this option to send luggage straight to the airport. Every time I have asked, I was told they do not use the port luggage option. It would be wonderful to be able to use this option. Do you know if they have just started doing this, or perhaps it may be a case of NCL representatives not knowing?

I believe the official NCL Bags Program is not longer in use. If you go to the NCL Bags Program page, it says service is discontinued.

I think OP is referring to a program offered by Port of Seattle. There is a link posted and it explains how they work and what airlines they work with. I think only AA, AS, DL, JetBlue,Southwest and United.

http://www.portseattle.org/cruise/Pages/default.aspx

phissy, I think that's what the NCL rep always thinks I am asking about. I am pretty sure not all cruise lines participate in Seattle's luggage program. It is an awesome program and I just want to make sure NCL will take our luggage straight to the correct terminal. I just can't get a good answer from NCL about this. I certainly would like to take advantage of this.

Great review. I'm headed out on the Pearl Sunday for my third Alaskan cruise and my third time on the Pearl. I think it's my favorite NCL ship as I've been on many others.

However, this is the first time we will have sailed with the UDP. I noticed you mentioned that you had it when at Cagney's. I'm hoping you can answer a question for me. Cagney's pricing has changed in the last year or so from a preset premium up-charge to a la carte. As has the Bistro. How does the UDP work with the a la carte restaurants?

Great review. I'm headed out on the Pearl Sunday for my third Alaskan cruise and my third time on the Pearl. I think it's my favorite NCL ship as I've been on many others.

 

However, this is the first time we will have sailed with the UDP. I noticed you mentioned that you had it when at Cagney's. I'm hoping you can answer a question for me. Cagney's pricing has changed in the last year or so from a preset premium up-charge to a la carte. As has the Bistro. How does the UDP work with the a la carte restaurants?

Disregard my question. I was able to find my answer in another thread. Thanks!