Pearl 3/6-13 review intro

[Darthdaddy]

Well, the time has come. The bashers and the cheerleaders can each sharpen their tongues and loosen their fingers, because neither will be fully satisfied with my opinions about the common areas on the Pearl.

 

The Crystal Atrium is the central hub of the ship. Here you will find the main desks for making excursion reservations, resolving questions about your bill, etc. The Java Bar forms one side of the atrium, while the multi-story Wii-wall forms another. The grand staricase down from Blue Lagoon provides access from deck 8 to deck 7 (it even works in reverse!).

 

Music is provided at various times throughout the day. The ship's show band plays part of the time. Tino Melendez (sp?) plays frequently. Both acts are respectable, but not great. It must be tough to perform when your audience is constantly milling about and barely paying attention.

 

Posts from earlier cruises indicated that the Wii-wall was malfunctioning. It worked fine during our cruise. My college-age kids were looking forward to some serious games, but were disappointed that more people didn't show up to play. Again, this is very cruise specific. What happens one week may be very different from prior or subsequent weeks.

 

The central space at the foot of the grand staircase is also used for some lectures. Finally, it is blocked off for photos on at least one evening.

 

My biggest turn off is the flea market atmosphere that overwhelms the atrium. Most days there is a bizarre bazaar clogging the walkways. Folding tables heaped with cheap watches, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. diminish whatever sense of elegance and style that the atrium might otherwise project. I don't know how much revenue NCL garners from this stuff, but it does not seem worth it to me. There is ample opportunity to buy junk from persistent vendors in port. I could do without the same ambiance onboard.

 

To sum up: the atrium is ok, but hardly spectacular. Other ships have atriums that soar to greater heights and provide dramatic views from multiple decks. The Crystal Atrium on the Pearl is more functional and less eye-popping.

 

Next: spa & gym

[atlasali]

I agree with your description of the atrium. On our cruise, it was charming when the show singers held a sing-a-long of Christmas songs. But many other ships have more impressive atriums.

 

We look forward to the rest of your observations.

[Sports Dr]

Just to add to Darth Daddys review:

 

Embarkation: arrived at 10:15, in waiting at 10:45, eating in Garden Cafe at 11:15. Luggage was picked up by porters in the median. Never had to drag it.

Debarkation: walked off... through customs and into a cab in five minutes.

 

Blue Lagoon: open 24 hours. Super. Loved the chefs salad, fish&chips, and wings.

Garden Cafe: didnt eat much there, but everything was very fresh and spaced out.

Dining Room: Limited menu change each day, but the food was good, but portions were

small. good service and desserts. Breafast and lunch were very good.

Specialty: Only ate in LuChina (sp) the Italian restuarant. Lots of food. 10 college kids combined to eat 27 starters, 4 pizzas, 10 appetizers, and the entree. Just

amazing to watch.

 

Ports: Samana was very poor, and sad to say, saw 2 dogs just dying in the street.

Tortola: Immense potential. Great views from top, same looks as from St John

just on the other side; every third week is a tender

St Thomas it's usual great self

Bahamas; we stopped , but then cancelled the tenders

 

Cruise director: The Norwegian brat, Julie, was by far the best cruise director I have

experienced in 7 cruises. No wasting time at the beginning of shows, just an intro

then showtime. She has boundless energy and was fun-loving and mingled and

participated with the guests. Funny, ornery, and yet professional.

Entertainment: O what a Night was a Four Seasons act. Absolutely terrific, sometimes

I could not tell the difference from the original. Second City was fabulous, Kylee

Evans (case #19 on Deal or No Deal) was excellent, especially playing the role of

a blow-up doll. Shark bait was good.

 

Now for the bad: The chair hogging was ridiculous on sea days. Deck chairs were claimed with tongs, towels, shirts, etc by 7 am. These people would not show until

after ten. There is a printed 30 minute unattended chair limit. Yet, no one at NCL would

enforce this. I was told to go ahead and move some... hey that's their job, not mine.

A number of us complained to guest relations, supervisors, and all they did was apologize.

I was contacted several times by guest relations to see if I was satisified. Hell no. I

wasted 2 days. NO ONE could tell me why NCL would not enforce their own printed rules.

Also, the 4 hot tubs were dominated by hours by the same people, who would just sit around the rim, enjoying their drinks. We never got a chance to use a hot tub. The

same people just stayed in them. Again NCL would not enforce its own rules, even when

we pointed them out. And finally, the Spinnaker lounge featured some excellent acts,

but only a couple hundred could fit in... These acts should have been in the Stardust.

 

Other than that, we really enjoyed the cruise. But until NCL enforces its own rules, we

will never sail NCL again. And that is a real shame, but they brought it on themselves.

[Darthdaddy]

Sports Dr nailed his points...

 

One morning I watched a woman "save" 10---that's right TEN---sun lounges by the pool. This was at 6:30am. I would bet the price of a courtyard villa that the other 9 people were still in bed. She disappeared...probably back to bed herself. I doubt that any of these chairs had actual bodies in them until after 10:00am (more likely later). The situation around the pool was atrocious. Again, Sports Dr is on the money in his description of the hot tub sitters. Can you say, "inconsiderate?" How about, "self-centered?" "ignorant," perhaps?

 

The general wild west atmosphere around the pool area was easily the worst aspect of the cruise. I suspect other, if not all, cruise lines have this problem, but NCL could improve the situation by enforcing the rules.

[Wetmib]

And I thought it was just me..... the cr*p going on in and around the hot tubs just not appropriate - my opinion continues, if they want to cater to the college students, they should book only students and let me do their thing, - otherwise, enforce rules - not just say you have them - :rolleyes:

 

We watched security watch the hot tub gangs, including thong man, and the only time someone came over, was to see if they were mixing their own drinks from a soda bottle (they were, but not from what he tested) - yikes - go to a college campus and pay attention folks !

 

 

any way, crappy lady going away now to enjoy our weather! :cool:

 

We've got 60+ degrees today, so they say I brought the warm back with me - anytime they want to send me away for that, I'm in

[Sports Dr]

There was one elderly lady who had to lie on her towel on the deck floor, while chairs

remained unattended. This was brought to the attention of a pool attendant, who after

a wait of 15 minutes, went to a storage area and brought her one. Again, I will NEVER

sail NCL again until there is guarantee on enforcing their own rules.

[Darthdaddy]

Can't bring myself to dither about the "new" menus in the MDR's, surcharges in the specialty restaurants, efficiency of the buffet line, etc. If you need/want that info, it's available elsewhere on these boards.

 

Instead, here is info about the excursions that my family took during our 3/6-13 cruise. This post is about our experience in Samana. I hope this info is helpful to others.

 

Samana: I originally had no plans for an excursion in Samana. Several negative posts made it seem that we would be better off just staying on the ship and waiting for the day to end. That hardly seemed like a ton o' fun, so I checked the Ports of Call boards for Dominican Republic...I'm glad I did.

Several posts gave favorable reviews to someone named "Terry." A bit more research put me in touch with Terry Bandi. Terry is an American, who went to D.R. as a missionary and married a local woman. He now operates a restaurant in Samana and has started his little tour company. He is an interesting and enterprising guy. More important for our purpose, he is honest and cooperative.

Through the roll call section of CC, we put together a group of 30 for Terry's tours. Some went on his ATV/beach tour, most went on his horseback/waterfall tour. It is necessary to tender into Samana. We were picked up at the dock by Terry's partner, Domingo." After loading into 2 "safari trucks" we drove perhaps 1/2 mile to Terry's restaurant. Terry greeted us, jumped into the back of one truck and off we went. A few blocks away we stopped and Domingo ran into a local shop and purchased some bananas for all of us to enjoy. Sitting outside the shop was a young man (18?), who was something of a local celebrity. It turned out that he had just signed a contract with the NY Mets. Since baseball is a national PASSION in D.R. this was a really big deal. Leaving the shop, we took off into the mountains. I had no idea how mountainous D.R. is. Terry explained that the highest point is 12,500' above sea level. We didn't go that high, but we went into the mountains to some property that Terry and his family now own. We saw the various fruits and vegetables grown by the locals. We also visited the home of a local family. The home was @ 20'x20'. It had a single light bulb. Terry was proud that his property had electricity 24/7, whereas many areas have power for only part of each day. The real attraction of Terry's property is the view. It looks down on Samana Bay and is strikingly beautiful.

Back into the trucks and off to a coral church and a cigar factory. Terry keeps the local vendors happy by depositing groups of tourists at their doorstep. We got to watch cigar being hand rolled. We tried some sort of local drink that Domingo handed out. People bought some things, but there was no pressure whatsoever to do so. It was good for all.

Next came a ride further into the mountains to an area where we were given horses to ride to El Limon waterfall. These horses weren't much to look at, but they were tough sons of guns.

 

Oops, gotta go...will try to finish this report later tonight...be patient.

Mike B

[Darthdaddy]

OK, here we go...

 

The horses that we rode to get to El Limon didn't look like much, but they were tough as nails. When I started researching this tour, my thought was that the horses were unnecessary. I expected a simple little kiddie ride. Boy, was I WRONG! The trail went up; the trail went down. The trail twisted and turned. It was muddy and strewn with rocks. I don't know how the poor horses did it. Had we tried to walk to the falls, it would have taken us all day. Each horse comes with a local guide. The guides get a tip at the end of the excursion. I thought this was little more than thinly veiled extortion. Once again, I was WRONG! These folks know how to work with the horses. They have a good sense of how much help each tourist needs. Prior to the trip, those of us from CC agreed that $5 would be an appropriate payment...more on that later.

 

A 40-minute ride got us to the top of El Limon---the highest waterfall in the Samana penninsula. The view from the top was great. We could see people swimming in the pool at the base of the falls, but how to get there? Our guides walked us down the trail to the base of the falls. At this point the trail seemed almost vertical, but everyone made it. Most of us made our way into the pool and splashed around. The water was cool, but not cold. Terry took groups of us behind the falls and into a cave...very cool! Some local guys were playing around doing back flips and diving from the 25'-35" up the sides of the falls. Clearly they knew what they were doing, but we all held our breath and hoped for the best every time one of them jumped.

 

Swim time over, we had to hile back up the trail. This was tough. I don't know how many steps it was, but I'm sure it was equal to anything we could have done on a step machine aboard the Pearl. Most of us were sucking air by the time we got back to the top of the falls. Local vendors had some trinkets for sale, but I don't think any of us bought anything. Back onto our trusty steeds...up steep slopes and down steep slopes. The horses know every step of the trail and it's a good thing. When we made it back to the start of the trail, we each gave our individual guides their tips. This is the only pay these people get. Despite having agreed in advance to pay $5 each, most, if not all, of us actually gave our guide a little more. As I said, before the trip I thought this was bogus. After the trip, my opinion was very different. These folks EARN their money.

 

At the trail head we were treated to a freshly prepared lunch. We had a choice of 5 hot entrees. Add a couple salads, fruit and fresh coffed and we were all set. This lunch exceeded all expectation.

 

By the time our meal was over, it was time to head back to town. Terry kept track of the time in order to assure that we would make the last tender.

 

We went on this excursion on Monday. Throughout the balance of the week, we bumped into others who took this tour. Without exception, we agreed that this excursion had been a total revelation. If you are looking for something really cool to do in Samana, consider Terry's tours. To quote Tony the Tiger, "They're GRRREAT!"

 

Others who were on the tour with us can toss their 2cents in, too.

 

At least right now, Terry Bandi does not have a web site. You can contact him at:

toursamanawithterry@hotmail.com

 

Next: Day sail in St. Thomas

[kishinev]

Hello, we also heard about this guy Terry,do you know if also does just a beach day trip?