Pearl to Alaska July 4th review

[granto]

Posted on the review section as well.

 

Sunday: We spent the weekend in the Seattle area on the Olympic Peninsula, if you are looking for something more outdoorsy than Seattle; this is the place to be. Sequim, Port Angeles and the Olympic National Park, with more sun than Seattle (the clouds tend to go on the other side of the Olympic Mountains). There is also a wonderful Drive through zoo in Sequim (Olympic Game Farm) this used to be the Disney Nature film set for all those Films that Disney did back in the 60s and 70s (remember “Charlie the Lonesome Cougar”?). It is still family owned and just a really nice, non zoo-sterile, place to really get up close to animals (and more bears than you will probably see in Alaska!). We took the Bainbridge Island ferry back to Seattle (drops you a few blocks from the ship). We had a Budget rental car and they have a really nice facility near the pier with a shuttle service. I found Budget to be much nicer and simpler to rent from than the last time when we rented from the Pier vendor (National).

 

We got to the Ship a little before 11am, the longest line was for security (we missed the Suite baggage check and security area, so we were in the general boarding), found their scanners to be tighter than the TSAs today (always a crapshoot). Since we were suites we were escorted to a private area for check-in and cookie munching, we were the first suites to check-in and waited until about 11:15, when our butler came to escort us on the ship - The first ones onboard!! He let us drop our stuff of in the room, and then took us to Cagney’s which was not opened yet, so we walked around deck 13. Lunch was great and I can see why everyone raves about the Cagney’s suite perks. We then wandered the ship until 1:30 (that is when our butler told us to expect to get access to our room. Sure enough about 1:30 they quietly opened the doors and we were outside on our balcony when the page announced that the deck was now open. The only snafu was our luggage; we had the suite priority tags on our bags, but found others were getting theirs before ours. We told our room steward and he said that they had screwed up the luggage loading, but within 10 minutes, he found our luggage and got it to our room.

 

We had an AD room, decent size, weird double door closet (access from Bath or hall). Had the upgraded bath soaps, the espresso machine, a full set of dishware, and the robes/slippers. Plenty of storage and the bed is Wonderful! The balcony is what makes the room, large and we were on the end, so only 1 neighbor. Had issues with kids dropping food from above, but that is to be expected. However, being on the back of the ship is perfect for Alaska as the rear provides a wind barrier.

 

The client mix was heavy on families and lots of large extended family groups. Much better than what we have seen on Holland, where it looks like everyone died 5 years ago! We found that the adult pool rule was not enforced and the 2 adult hot tubs were usually filled with kids (who for some reason left once adults came and told them they could not use the hot tub as a swimming pool)

 

Monday: Sea day. Made use of the Slide – Yahoo! Also, we had our captain’s party and latitudes party so we had plenty of rum punch to keep us going. The Latitudes party was at 1pm kind of strange and not well attended.

 

Tuesday: Juneau. We did the bike and brew tour. We did this on our last trip and liked it so much, we decided to repeat. The ride is still very good; you ride to the Mendenhall Glacier and around the lake. But they no longer take you to the Alaskan Brewery; they say the brewery does not allow tour groups anymore. In its place they take you to a dive bar for 4 small tasters of beer. Really not that great, they need to give up the “brew” and figure out a new plan or extend the bike ride.

 

Wednesday: Skagway. A bit cloudy today, we were on the early train up the mountain and then the bike ride down. About 2/3 of the way up we got stuck in the clouds and it was hard to see much. We got off in Frasier BC, and found that Canada actually cares about who enters their country with each rail car carefully checked. We hoped in the vans and headed back to the US and the start of our ride. At the start we were still in clouds, but they soon separated and we had great sunshine the rest of the day. The ride was fun, 1 small uphill that people still managed to whine about. If I did it again, I would somehow get lost once we got into town and explore the town on the bike some more before heading back to the bike shop (all you do is drop your bike and you are done).

We thought about doing the afternoon train, but spending another $200 and three hours to repeat 1/3 of the ride, was a bit too much. So after a break on the ship we headed out to town around 3pm. It was crowded near the front of town so we started at the back end and found it to be very empty. The Skagway Brewery had about 7 tables filled, though the staff was a bit worn out, it was better than the way we saw it earlier. By the time we got to the front of town, it was much quieter. This is a benefit of the Pearl which stays the longest in port; you have the town to yourselves in the late afternoon and evening.

 

Thursday: Glacier bay. Perfect sunny weather. Captain Lars said whales at 6am, so we woke up at 5am (by accident) and found us starting to come into whale territory. It looked like a mini-Yellowstone with all the whale spouts on both sides of the ship. This is the most whales I have seen while in Alaska. Right after the whales came the Otters, lots of them and they are very cute. If you woke up at 8am, you missed it all. The rear balcony again paid off nicely, as the captain stops the ship in front of the glacier for the port side to see, and we still had a great view. After 30 minutes, he spins for the Starboard side, and our view continued to be great. Coming out of the bay we saw some more whales but not as good as the AM show. Great BBQ lunch poolside, perfect weather. Had to do more sliding.

 

Friday: Ketchikan. As usual for Ketchikan it was cloudy, but surprisingly warm. We decided that we would walk (ok, climb) around the town. We climbed several of the staircase streets and walked on wooden pier roads. This was a side of Ketchikan we had not seen before, cute and a great workout! By late morning a light rain started and the wind kicked up, by that time we were heading back to the ship for more Sliding. They did another BBQ but not many would come out of the garden café to experience it. After Ketchikan had another Latitudes party with the captain, again not many showed up and the waiters were trying to unload mounds of cheese and rum punches.

 

As a sidebar, Captain Lars is a kick. He is sarcastic, funny, and sometimes you think he is serious. He poked fun at the park rangers, the towns, and other ships. We got to talk to him quite a bit at the cocktail party and really enjoyed it. We spotted him dining in the Garden Café a couple of times as well. If you get a chance to talk with him, do it. He is very approachable, just remember that what you think is real, could be a bit of great sarcasm.

 

Saturday: Sea/Victoria. Started out somewhat sunny and warm, late morning got into the Juan De Fuca Straits fog bank. Still had one more day to slide, so off to sliding.

 

Still another sidebar: Parents, teach your kids how to slide. Too many parents were nowhere to be found when their kids had to push themselves down the slide. The trick to going fast is to limit the body and especially clothing contact with the slide. Parents were making their kids wear those swim shirts, which just don’t work well. Best tip: give yourself a good push, roll up into a cannonball and only let your back touch the slide. You will get way more speed than you need.

 

We got into Victoria early, used Pearl’s Concierge de-embarkation and were one of the first off the ship. We found a dad and his kid and convinced him to share a taxi. By 6:00pm we were downtown, ran to see if IMAX had good films, but Hubble had started at 6pm and they would not let us in. The next film was something dumb, then IronMan2 at 7:45, but we are not big Ironman fans. We wondered the town, found a nice pub with mostly locals in it, grabbed some beers and watched the cruise ship people stroll by (great fun!). We walked back to the ship around 10pm and then packed (boo-hoo).

 

Sunday: Again used Pearl, not much advantage here, she gets you to the ramp fast, but then you have to stand in line to get into the building and through customs. We went to Pikes market for a couple of hours then took a Sedan service to the airport (which was PACKED).

 

Entertainment: The comedian, Buzz, was very funny but he was quickly running out of material. You could tell he was not used to multiple cruise ship shows. Shark Bait was very wild and Funny, found that they were not able to use the mics at times, so getting up front would be best. The 4 Seasons groups were very good if you like music or the 4 seasons, it is all about the music with this group. Jean Ann Ryan was ok, some of the shows were a bit too artsy-fartsy for my tastes, but the acrobatic team was amazing and worth putting up with the artsy stuff to see. NCL actually had a real rock band that was really good; they played at most sailaways and the Bliss lounge. Again, they were struggling with finding new things to play, but they knew it and were having fun changing the words around. We went to most of their shows (and got free beer for answering trivia questions during the show!).

 

Staff: This is why we sail on NCL. Being in the suite we were able to stay in our own little world (heard some say the dining staff was not as good) and we really enjoyed the service. Jonathon was our butler and really a nice guy, though we did not use him much. Pearl on the Pearl was a great Concierge. Andy was the most flaming gay cruise director I have ever seen, but it worked and really suited his personality and stage act, so he was a hoot. The Cagney’s staff was very nice, attentive and fun. We also enjoyed Louis at Mambos and the chef’s at Teppenyaki. We only did the MDR once for the Murder Mystery (it was fun, but food choices were so-so) and found the service spotty, but then again they had like 200 Murder Mystery people all at once. The only annoyance were the bar servers and they constantly hounded you (and not just one in an area but several). As I mentioned, the Captain was great.

 

Bottom line NCL lived up to their reputation, we are sold on the suite, not sure if we could return to a normal cabin again!

[rjm11]

we are headed on the Pearl in an A3 at the end of August... do you know if Pearl will still be the concierge? Is this her first gig at it?

[IheartNCL]

We were on this cruise, also. Comments would be the same for us. We too were puzzled at the light turn out at the Latitudes events. The friday event had less than a dozen! But we enjoyed them. The Captain and the Hotel Director were both personable and a delight to chat with.

 

We flew up the day before and stayed at the Marriott. What a convenience. The bell staff move your luggage from room to the dock on Sunday morning. You would not believe the weather!!!

[Budget Queen]

 

We thought about doing the afternoon train, but spending another $200 and three hours to repeat 1/3 of the ride, was a bit too much.

 

 

QUOTE]

 

Not sure where you got this information, but it is not accurate. The ONLY train that is "longer" leaves once/day early morning, to/from Lake Bennett.

 

What you were considering was the EXACT same train, round trip, that you already took.

[rjm11]

 

We thought about doing the afternoon train, but spending another $200 and three hours to repeat 1/3 of the ride, was a bit too much.

 

 

QUOTE]

 

Not sure where you got this information, but it is not accurate. The ONLY train that is "longer" leaves once/day early morning, to/from Lake Bennett.

 

What you were considering was the EXACT same train, round trip, that you already took.

 

 

No, the OP got off the first train in Fraser. So he's saying his afternoon round trip train would have been $200 for only a fraction of the distance he had already gone. He is correct.

[granto]

we are headed on the Pearl in an A3 at the end of August... do you know if Pearl will still be the concierge? Is this her first gig at it?

 

She just started 2 weeks ago, so I am sure she will be there for a while.

[Budget Queen]

 

 

No, the OP got off the first train in Fraser. So he's saying his afternoon round trip train would have been $200 for only a fraction of the distance he had already gone. He is correct.

 

You do not know what you are talking about. What they took was a ONE WAY to Fraser. The afternoon train, round trip train is to FRASER. SAME distance twice. There is NO shorter train. The "distance is the SAME, they went one way on the train, one way on a bike.

 

The ONLY "long" train is as I already mentioned the once per day, ONE way Lake Bennet train, which they did NOT take.

 

http://www.wpyr.com/schedule.html

[rjm11]

 

You do not know what you are talking about. What they took was a ONE WAY to Fraser. The afternoon train, round trip train is to FRASER. SAME distance twice. There is NO shorter train. The "distance is the SAME, they went one way on the train, one way on a bike.

 

The ONLY "long" train is as I already mentioned the once per day, ONE way Lake Bennet train, which they did NOT take.

 

http://www.wpyr.com/schedule.html

 

Well I'm going to assume you are having a bad day, thus explaining the "tone" of your response!!

 

You are right, I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but all I have to go on is the link you supplied (that I was already referring to)....

 

On that website, it makes it look like the Whitepass Scenic Railway roundtrip tour does NOT go all the way to Fraser. The map shows it turning around shy of Fraser, AND the mileage doesn't add up.... it's a 40 mile round trip, whereas Fraser is listed as 28.5 miles in. So for those of us who HAVEN'T been there dozens of times, it would appear that riding the one way train to Fraser is actually a longer distance "in" than riding the round trip. Is this wrong? Does the Whitepass Scenic Railway trip actually ALSO go all the to Fraser? I'm at the mercy of my resources....

[granto]

 

Well I'm going to assume you are having a bad day, thus explaining the "tone" of your response!!

 

You are right, I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but all I have to go on is the link you supplied (that I was already referring to)......

 

Actually RJM11 is correct. We did not get to see anything on the last 1/3 of the trip up as the mountain was covered in clouds. If we had taken the afternoon rountrip, we would have been in sunshine and therefore able to experience the 1/3 of the trip that all we saw was track and track roadbed.

[yensid76]

We were on the Pearl as well for the July 4th cruise. This was our first ever cruise and needless to say I think we are hooked. We stayed in one of the Courtyard Villas on Deck 14. It was truly a WONDERFUL experience. Our party consisted of myself, my wife, our daughter (age 6) and my parents. We thoroughly enjoyed Cagneys and only regret that we didn't make it there for every breakfast and lunch. The Cagney's staff was the best...they really catered to my daughter and made her feel like a princess.

 

I totally agree about Buzz....he was really funny but totally ran out of material. Also, he attempted to do a childrens show one evening that totally back fired. It sure will be interesting to see if he tries another childrens show.

 

Oh What A Night was good as well...we saw a couple of the cast members around the ship and they were very nice to chat with. The Second City troupe was great. I agree about the Jean Ann Ryan shows...really not impressed. Also, I found the female lead singer to be quite weak...maybe she was just having an off week though??

 

All of our excurusions were great (Whale Watching in Juneau, Whitepass Scenic Railway in Skagway and Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan).

 

We never tried the main pool or slide. However, I did notice a lot of children in the hot tubs and attempting to slide...

 

I think Andy did a great job as the CD. I guess since it was my first cruise I really have nothing to compare him to...

[rjm11]

We were on the Pearl as well for the July 4th cruise. This was our first ever cruise and needless to say I think we are hooked. We stayed in one of the Courtyard Villas on Deck 14. It was truly a WONDERFUL experience. Our party consisted of myself, my wife, our daughter (age 6) and my parents. We thoroughly enjoyed Cagneys and only regret that we didn't make it there for every breakfast and lunch. The Cagney's staff was the best...they really catered to my daughter and made her feel like a princess.

 

I totally agree about Buzz....he was really funny but totally ran out of material. Also, he attempted to do a childrens show one evening that totally back fired. It sure will be interesting to see if he tries another childrens show.

 

Oh What A Night was good as well...we saw a couple of the cast members around the ship and they were very nice to chat with. The Second City troupe was great. I agree about the Jean Ann Ryan shows...really not impressed. Also, I found the female lead singer to be quite weak...maybe she was just having an off week though??

 

All of our excurusions were great (Whale Watching in Juneau, Whitepass Scenic Railway in Skagway and Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan).

 

We never tried the main pool or slide. However, I did notice a lot of children in the hot tubs and attempting to slide...

 

I think Andy did a great job as the CD. I guess since it was my first cruise I really have nothing to compare him to...

 

Glad you had a great time... I am staying in the courtyard villa with a 3 and 4 year old... did your 6 year old use the little pool in there? Was the courtyard crowded? Could you use the private upper deck on the Glacier Bay day, or was it just too cold? Any other CV info would be great!!

[granto]

We were on the Pearl as well for the July 4th cruise. This was our first ever cruise and needless to say I think we are hooked. ...

 

I remember you guys, we talked at the captains party and usually were in Cagney's at the same time.

 

It was a great cruise and we will probably get hooked for a 15th time.

 

Take care.

[yensid76]

Glad you had a great time... I am staying in the courtyard villa with a 3 and 4 year old... did your 6 year old use the little pool in there? Was the courtyard crowded? Could you use the private upper deck on the Glacier Bay day, or was it just too cold? Any other CV info would be great!!

 

The pool was the best part about it!! The photos online are a bit decieving as i think they make the pool look much smaller than it really is. While it is a small pool, it was more than big enough for us to swim in. It was so nice to be in the courtyard on the alaska cruise. On some of the days when it was a little chilly out we always had the covered pool to go to. As for being crowded, I am not sure our experience was the best as there was a family reunion of 34 people taking up the rest of the courtyard rooms. so for us at times it was crowded but still not bad. We tend to be very early birds...so often my daughter and i would be up at 5am and swim...then at 7am when they delivered the cofee and juice and food to the courtyard we would get out grab a light snack before going to Cagneys for a fuller breakfast. Very nice and highly recommend the courtyard.

[rjm11]

The pool was the best part about it!! The photos online are a bit decieving as i think they make the pool look much smaller than it really is. While it is a small pool, it was more than big enough for us to swim in. It was so nice to be in the courtyard on the alaska cruise. On some of the days when it was a little chilly out we always had the covered pool to go to. As for being crowded, I am not sure our experience was the best as there was a family reunion of 34 people taking up the rest of the courtyard rooms. so for us at times it was crowded but still not bad. We tend to be very early birds...so often my daughter and i would be up at 5am and swim...then at 7am when they delivered the cofee and juice and food to the courtyard we would get out grab a light snack before going to Cagneys for a fuller breakfast. Very nice and highly recommend the courtyard.

 

thanks for the response! I'm expecting that we'll be early risers as well (coming from the Eastern time zone, plus the kids!). I was originally booked in an AB, and upgraded to the A3 after thinking about that "indoor" pool option... sounds like a good choice.

 

Were there any excursions you'd recommend that your kids enjoyed? We're doing the Harv and Marv whale watch in Juneau, and a combo of the train one way and rental car in Skagway (I'll meet my husband and kids in Fraser), but are still undecided in Ketchikan.