Pearl to Alaska Review-July 17, 2011

[jennygirlmt]

I posted a review that should be live after they approve it, however; this will be much more detailed. This is the first three days, I'll write the rest and hopefully post a few pictures when I get a chance. Enjoy!

 

Travel Companions:

Myself (28), DH (27), DD (13mos), MIL (52), FIL (53), SIL (23), BIL (18), Grandmother (85)

 

I’ve never written a review before and while I am addicted to reading message boards (thebump.com being my go to though cruisecritic took over for the last few months) I don’t post much. However, I found the CC reviews to be invaluable during my preparations. My role in this family is to become the expert on our destination. At this point you may have realized that I am also quite verbose, and if not then you will soon, so I will apologize in advance. With that being said, I’ll begin.

 

Travel Day:

We flew from Philadelphia to Seattle on Friday morning, though DH and SIL were flying that evening after putting in a day of work. I was dreading the 6 hour flight with DD but she was a champ. She only slept 30 minutes on the plane but she flirted with and charmed everyone around us. Phew, fear number one alleviated. We arranged for Shuttle Express to pick us up from SeaTac. I thought it was going to be more of the “they are waiting for you at baggage claim” type transport but instead they had a handful of shuttles lined up and you still had to wait about 15 minutes despite having a reservation. We also thought we would have our own van but ended up sharing with another group. Which was fine. For reasons that I won’t get into, (well, I may later) DH and I ended up taking a little roundtrip to the airport via the Light Link. Rail. It was fairly easy and was $2.75 one way. There is no way we could have done it (easily) with the baby, grandmother and all the luggage but if you don’t have a lot of heavy luggage and are able bodied this is a good way to save some money (a cab ride is $50 and the shuttle was $90 for our group). We stayed at the Best Western in Pioneer Square and there was a station two blocks away.

 

Seattle:

I’ve never been to Seattle but my family had spent a week there about 8 years ago. Because we had the very old and very young with us we kept the days low key. The Best Western was quaint, clean and in a perfect location. We walked to Pike’s Place Market, the docks, and in the end to Pier 66 (we put FIL and Gram in a town car with all of our luggage). Saturday we ate lunch at Ivar’s after walking around town then that night some of us went to a Mariner’s game, which was a lot of fun. The weather/evening was perfect and it was a nice easy walk to the stadium. I guess this is where I will briefly mention why we ended up taking a jaunt to the airport on Sunday morning. While packing up and getting ready for Sunday’s departure on the Pearl, I realized I was missing my passport. If you read my post on CC, you’ll know that I was frantic and didn’t sleep a wink that night. I unpacked and checked everything and the last time I could remember having it was on the plane (don’t ask, I don’t know why I used it to go through the airport or why I thought I needed it at the gate). Long story short-I didn’t sleep; I spent all night researching flights to Juneau ($1000 from Seattle!) I cried a lot, we left DD with my in-laws and went to the airport at 6:30am to see if they had found it, they hadn’t, I cried all the way back to the hotel, then dissected all my luggage only to get to my last piece (the checked suitcase), only to have my SIL put it out of the flap behind all my dark flat items. Needless to say a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t even feel sheepish, only relief. My backup plan was to have my BIL scan my Birth Cert. After going trough embarkation I can almost guarantee there is no way I was getting on that ship with a copy of my BC.

 

Embarkation and Day 1:

Most of the group walked to the Pier. It was lightly raining and DD fell asleep in her stroller, and ended up sleeping until we stepped foot on the boat. The driver of the town car knew something we didn’t and had a porter put all our bags on a luggage cart and they were gone within minutes of arriving. I have no idea what the difference was between that and all the people in the long line for baggage check. Money maybe? FIL would have paid, so not sure on that but I was happy that we could go right to the other long winding line to check in which was inside. This moved quickly and in about 10 minutes we were through security. They asked me to take DD out of her stroller; I told them they obviously don’t have children because one would never ask an overtired mother to wake her sleeping child. They let us stroll her through and they just did a visual check  On to the next “long winding line” which again moved quickly. From the time we arrived at the pier to the time we were checked in with our key cards was about 30 minutes; which for a group of 8 wasn’t bad.

 

It was now 12:30 and we were starving. We went to Summer Palace for lunch and it was lovely. DD was being bad and not sitting in her high chair so the waitress brought fruit loops and that bought me almost enough time to each lunch  I was glad we did this instead of the Buffet. We then went to our rooms (ready right at 2pm) and relaxed until the easiest Muster ever, and we then went to the pool deck for sail away. At this point I had a throbbing headache from two days of no sleep so DD and I went back to the cabin for nap time while the rest of the group explored and got their first round of Blue Lagoon wings without me! Despite me being the one to tell them they are a must try. When I woke up DH arrived and said that MIL once again was too generous and bought the three ladies (DD and grandmother were not interested ) spa passes. I was so excited. This is usually not something we splurge on but since we were under the excursion budget, MIL thought it would be nice bonding time.

 

We ate dinner in Indigo. Our table was all the way in the back; it was a great booth right next to a big window. So great views and quiet surroundings made for a nice ambiance. The service left a bit to be desired, it was extremely slow. I usually don’t mind and we all enjoy a long meal, but now that I have a baby to think about, the pace was agonizing and DD was quite over the meal by that point. We stopped by the Duty Free for a few quick samples of alcohol and to buy a few bottles (to take home on the last day of course), then off for an early bedtime for all of us (well, a very late bedtime for DD but early for everyone else).

 

 

Day 2:

This was a relaxing day at sea. We had breakfast at the buffet and sat in the Great Outdoors. The weather was great, sunny, blue skies and not too windy. Jeans/Yoga pants, a long sleeve shirt/fleece and flipflops were perfect.

 

I then put DD down for a nap and DH took over baby duty while me, MIL and SIL went to try out the Spa. It was amazing. I would never do it by myself but it is great bonding time. We loved the sauna (amazing view!) and the therapy pool loungers, very peaceful. After a stressful and exhausting two days my aches and red eyes were finally gone!

 

It was then time for $10 pp all you can eat sushi with DH, SIL and BIL. That was a good time and we easily ate $100 worth of sushi, if not more 

 

At that point we decided it was time for some group downtime in Spinnaker. DD loved crawling around the white circle chairs and we enjoyed the views for an hour and a half. A few of us had some frou frou drinks. They were good but I hate spending $8 for a stupid drink. And DD loves straws and always wants what I have, so that made it not even relaxing to drink since I had to keep hiding from her or coaxing her into thinking her milk and water were much better choices  Then it was another nap time for the baby, followed by dinner at Summer Palace where I had an amazing Chicken and Shrimp Curry, yum.

 

Day 3, Juneau:

Oh what a day. We weren’t docking until 2pm so we continued with our morning routine. DH went to the gym with his family, we all met for breakfast in the “Café” (the buffet is Garden Café so it sounded classier to refer to it as such), then nap for the babe while DH stood watch and the ladies relaxed in the spa. It was a mad rush to disembark at 2pm, so if you don’t have an excursion it would be wise to wait a bit. We wanted to get into town for a bit before our 4pm trip and waited in line for a good 20 minutes. It was sort of drizzly and grey and I was a little nervous about our whale watching (I was obsessed with the idea of seeing whales). While in town it started to drizzle and then started raining while we took the 20 minute drive to our excursion boat. On a side note, our bus driver was a native and gave a fabulous commentary along the way. It was nice to hear about her experiences living there opposed to the standard “this is the historic building” tour that you would get from a transplant. We signed up for an excursion with NCL since my MIL needs that added comfort and insurance, but I was a little nervous about being on a big boat, especially when we were the last to board and ended up in the middle of a row of 10 seats. In the end, we spent the whole time outside on deck and it was nice to have a huge comfy cabin to warm up in and drink hot cocoa. I forgot to add that by the time we got to the dock the sky had turned clear blue and the sun was shining. It was incredible. Off we went. Within about 15 minutes we saw three big whales 15 feet from our boat, they spouted and flipped their tails, it was incredible. The naturalist (a young native of Alaska) told us this was awesome and not to expect it throughout the rest of the trip. However, every dream of mine came true. We cruised to a new spot and saw a dozen spouts going off. The naturalist got super excited and said they were bubble net feeding. My exact words before we left were “If we see bubble net feeding and a calf, I’ll die happy.” Needless to say I can die happy. We watched them feed at least two dozen times over the course of an hour and a half. We watched the birds swirl over head and dive for fish just as the whales emerged. They dropped a hydrophone (is that what it’s called?) and we could hear the “head” whale call for the surge. It was incredible and was matched only by the whale that surfaced right in front of our boat while DH and I were standing at the bow of the ship! Of course we were moving (ever so slowly) so when he surfaced right in front of us I immediately screamed, we slammed into him, I screamed again. I looked at the captain wide eyed who reassured me that he was fine. They said that injuries don’t happen until a boat is moving at around 40knots and we were moving 3. He sounded angry and swam away. It was the best experience of my life. We didn’t get back to the ship until 8pm. SIL got “take out” from Blue Lagoon so that I could get DD down for the night , eat quickly then hit up the show. It was their Broadway show, Encore maybe? I had every intention of bringing home the Dailys but between DD destroying them and DH tearing off the schedule (a great idea on their part to perforate that part); it wasn’t worth trying to piece them together. In any case, the show was great and afterwards I crashed while DH and SIL went out to get a drink (boo for being the one to take care of the baby at night).

[jennygirlmt]

Pictures:

Seattle Space Needle

A hazy Sail Away that we thought was an indication of the weather to come, not so.

Whales! The boat puts their size in perspective, I wish I had been on that one.

And all you can eat Sushi from Lotus Garden, yum.

[jennygirlmt]

Day 4: Skagway

We were docked in Skagway all day and didn't have an excursion until 2:45. So we did the usual-the fam works out, we all do breakfast, then the ladies went to the Spa while DH put DD down for a nap. Then we met for lunch at 12:00 and headed off the boat for a walk around town. We got the cute photo ops and enjoyed strolling the streets. There were lots of tempting treats but no one partook as we are all gluttons on the ship and cute stores. On a side note, we were told by our tour guide that most of the jewelry shops are owned by the cruise lines. So if you want to patron local shops look for a sign in their window. Some say "Locally owned and operated" and there was a badge, I believe of a bear, that indicated the same. At 2:45 we sent Grandmother, FIL and DD back to the ship and we went Rock Climbing/Rappelling. It was great to do something physical in a beautiful place. It was great, especially since I turned out to be a natural! They had some easy walls and harder ones, our group all did fairly well on the hard walls and DH conquered the hardest one! We then got to rappel as well. They try to give everyone two climbs and one rappel, but since our group was small and at the end of the day with no one else there, we got multiple climbs and "falls." So it was fabulous. We got back to the ship in time for a quick shower then dinner at Indigo (I think...). That night the show was Oh What a Night...again I think. I really should have kept the dailies! Regardless, it was a great show and another early night for me!

 

Pictures:

The ship docked in Skagway

An unused White Pass car

A picture that I find hysterical and couldn't resist posting.

And DH and I climbing...technically he won, but my wall was harder!

[jennygirlmt]

Day 5-Oh glorious Glacier Bay. Our weather was once again, INCREDIBLE. I was out like a light when DH came in and said he had been to the gym and that his family wasn't there. I told him that they were in Spinnaker and passed out again for another 30 minutes or so. I got up to the lounge around 8:30 once DD woke up. My inlaws had gone to work out at 6:30 and then got to the lounge around 7. It was crowded because of the ranger's talk but as soon as he was done they all dispersed and my inlaws grabbed a few "front row" chairs. We all got some breakfast and enjoyed it via the windows. This was a great spot because Grandmother and DD were comfortable. We then took turns being out on deck (verse watching the baby) to view the glacier. We saw Margerie do some great calving, I even captured video and DH got some good shots. This was just simply incredible. After we left Johns Hopkins Glacier we dispersed, DH took DD for a nap and we once again hit up the Spa to watch the remainder of the park from the Saunas/hot tubs.

 

After the spa and a buffet lunch DH wanted to race BIL up the rock wall, we all thought we were pros after our excursion the day before, DH won :-) We had a few drinks from the outdoor bar and enjoyed the sunshine. I still can't believe how beautiful this day was. That night we enjoyed dinner in Indigo which was delicious and we celebrated BIL's 18th birthday. The waiters sang a joyful and hideously off key version of Happy Birthday and brought a pretty decent and very pretty lemon cake. That night we got formal pictures that I forgot to look at and DH said weren't very good (they put us the on the stupid stairs because another family thought it was time for an hour photo shoot), so I wasn't too interested in buying them. That night was the juggler which no one was interested in so me, DH, BIL and SIL got $5 margaritas at Mambos and watched Tino, the One Man Party. Tell me he isn't a Tony Stark wannabe! :-) After a few drinks for them and a cup of tea for me and a soda for BIL we called it a night....or at least I did :-)

 

Pictures:

Glacier Bay, Margerie Glacier, Tino-The Tony Stark doppelganger :-)

[jennygirlmt]

Day 6-Ketchikan.

I've noticed that the days I wrote while still on the ship are much more detailed than the ones I'm writing now, just 4 days later. Incredible how you think you'll remember it all and then it's just a blur of good food, good fun and fabulous scenery.

 

We woke up in Ketchikan and only had till lunchtime. So we ate breakfast after the monster, er I mean DD, woke up and headed out. We walked around the town, SIL and I toured Dolly's house (LOL), sadly no salmon were in the creek, and then we walked to the hatchery but by the time we got there we didn't have time to go in bc we had tickets to the Lumberjack show. We decided not to do any full on excursions in Ketchikan or Victoria so that we could all be together. I felt bad making one of my inlaws stay behind to watch DD (believe me, they offered and urged us to go as they had been to Alaska before and they are obsessed with DD) but I still felt bad, so after I did the whale watch (my one desire) I offered to stay back. Thus, we chose to do the Lumberjack show as a family which was perfect for DD and Grandmother as well. It was cute and actually quite impressive. We really enjoyed ourselves. After that DH and SIL grabbed a beer at Fat Stan's to get their Alaskan Pint glass which was actually really nice, and I usually hate when DH comes home with more pint glasses for the cupboard (in fairness there is no room because all of my coffee mugs). We were sure Ketchikan would be rainy but sure enough, blue skies! We had a lovely time in the town and then boarded the boat to have lunch and sail away. Again, we ate lunch at the buffet and sat outside. We then spent some time golfing and rocking climbing before dinner at Indigo. Again, another delicious dinner although this night, despite asking for a table in the back we were placed at a table in the main part which was louder. The round table also wasn't big enough and we had to stack plates quickly and it was hard keeping my food in front of me but far enough away from DD's grabby hands. Otherwise this dinner was once again nice, in fact it was the most delicious meal-Steak and Shrimp. Absolutely yummy. Tonight was the show "That's Entertainment." (Again, I think...I could be wrong). SIL and I were not impressed with this show. It was strange song choices that were hard to do. Ie no one should sing Beyonce except Beyonce (just like no one should sing Whitney except Whitney, etc). So I could have done without Naughty Girl. The whole show was just strange, they chose Madonna which didn't turn out great and then they did Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend with the exact Choreography as Moulin Rouge, but of course MR did it waaaay better, so it just looked silly. I'm sure most people enjoyed it, but I was definitely not sad when it was over. This also was chocolate buffet night. The line looked long but was quick moving. I only took three things but only nibbled each. I have high standards for desserts, If I'm going to consume the calories they best be delicious and amazing calories. I didn't find anything to be adequate but most people wolfed everything down so for the most part it seemed to be enjoyed. DH, SIL and I relaxed in Star Bar (a well hidden gem) and then I went back to my room to discover a crying baby. MIL nor FIL could console her which is strange...now that was a long night :( So that ended what was otherwise a wonderful day.

[jennygirlmt]

Day 7 was an evening port in Victoria.

 

So we sadly went through the motions of our routine-the family went to the gym while DD and I slept (I skipped dessert and bread at dinner so that I didn't feel AS guilty about this), then breakfast, spa, naptime, hangout, lunch, etc. We added in bowling at Bliss since it was 2 for 1. The system here is pretty strange. There is no sign up sheet or anything, the guy just sort of keeps people in order in his head and you have to remember to go ask him how much longer so that he remembers that you are there. We were there a few minutes before noon and didn't get to bowl until after 2. The teen club also had a scheduled time and thus they "got ahead of us." I know that ship run events make sense, but it was strange that they did it during 2 for 1 time (unless they made the kids pay and thus did it then so it was cheaper?). I would think if they have computers all over the ship that they could put one there that would then keep a better tally of who was waiting, but oh well. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite some pathetic scores (mostly on my part). We ended up getting food from Blue Lagoon and playing Taboo in Bliss while waiting which was just as much fun as bowling was. Speaking of Blue Lagoon, we ended up getting wings from there a few times. Mostly for take out but we did eat there once for lunch. After bowling we went back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. We were aiming for 5:00 so we could get off when we docked at 6. Only Summer Palace was open (and the buffet), and it wasn't crowded at all. This night we had the best waitress of the week, Jessica D. She was fast, smart, pleasant, attentive. She brought milk for DD immediately, when I asked for more tempura mushrooms for the table because they were delicious she brought a plate for the table as well as another for me. It was just thoughtfulness. I wish we had her all week!

 

We then walked into Victoria, DD's first trip to another country! It was STUNNING! Again, the weather was loving on us, the sky was clear blue and the mountains were out. We took a bus to town and then took a long walk along the water. We spoke with a women who lived there, she said the mountains hadn't been seen in weeks. We couldn't believe the beautiful condo buildings, the marina, the backdrop of mountains. When we walked back we cut into town a bit and their streets and stores were beautiful as well. They had a festival going on so the streets were fun and lively. We headed back to the ship as it was getting dark, around 9:15. DD was already way past her bedtime or else I would have happily stayed another hour. Back on the ship I got DD ready for bed and got ready for the "adult show" of Second City. Oh! I forgot, the night before we saw a family show of "Second City" after "That's Entertainment." They were in Spinnaker both nights. It got crowded so go early if you can. The one night we got seats along the back and the second night I went early and got us one of the cool table booths. So we enjoyed our last round of Blue Lagoon wings, some Stoli that we had purchased on the ship (bc we had an evening port we picked it up at noon), and enjoyed the hilarity of Second City. After that I was exhausted and in for a long next day, so I hit the hay while the rest of my crew hung out a bit longer.

 

Finally, we woke up to Disembarkation. We took the 9:20 departure since we had an afternoon flight. DD chose this morning to sleep in, so I got ready, made sure all our last minute things were thrown in our bag and as soon as DD woke up we joined the family for breakfast out on the back deck. Seattle was hot and clear. I wish I had known this before wearing black pants for the day. When we were ready we got in line to get off the ship, it took about 10 minutes to get to security, have our IDs swiped and then we walked right through customs. SIL even packed her passport in her luggage without thinking and she easily got through with her DL and answering where she was born. Our bags were easy to spot since we were the last group to leave. Waiting for our shuttle via Shuttle Express was a bit of a debacle. Long story short, we made arrangements to have a car seat at 10am. They had a shuttle there with no seat belts and said it was fine to take DD on it, then rolled their eyes when I said I wasn't comfortable having my baby in a shuttle, on a highway for a 20 minute drive. We waited in the hot sun without them trying to fix it, they said it would be 45 minutes until a van would arrive, at this point SIL had to get on the shuttle because she had a much earlier flight. After all that and MIL getting pretty angry, the shuttle driver got off and said "Oh, there are seat belts in here." So after waiting for over a half hour in the sun with a baby and a grandmother, DH secured the car seat and we were on our way for a flawless, if not perfect ride home, our 5.5 hour flight ended up being 4hrs 20 minutes, and DD was a gem. Now if only we could get back on EST :-) We've been going to bed at 12 and getting up 1 for the past week! Thank goodness I only work in the office one day a week :-)

 

Well, that was it. Now I need to find a new vacation to obsess over!

[jennygirlmt]

I added pictures of Victoria, but only one is there...here are the rest.

[billet]

I added pictures of Victoria, but only one is there...here are the rest.

 

Gosh I wish I had a view like that. Oh hang on a minute I do! :) Nice pics jenny and thank you for the full review.

[craig-n-carol]

Very nice review, thanks!!

[bonvoyagie]

I can only hope we (DW,MIL, and I) have as nice of a time next June:)

 

Thanks for the review and pictures. This will be my third AK cruse - the first was in 2002 for our 25 wedding anniversary our TA got us a suite upgrade cheap, second was in 03 with our kids too we took a balcony and an inside just down the hall. Now #3 is for our 35th and once again we have a suite - we plan on spoiling the MIL.

[spacepotatoes]

So glad you got to enjoy the cruise :) Thanks for the review!

[HelliCap]

Great write up, now I know what to expect (almost). I won't have a DD but will have a Great Uncle who is kinda slow moving these days. Love the pics, now I want to go whale watching.

[OceanDreams]

Wonderful review and nice photo's. Thanks for sharing.

 

OceanDreams

[www3traveler]

Great write up, now I know what to expect (almost). I won't have a DD but will have a Great Uncle who is kinda slow moving these days. Love the pics, now I want to go whale watching.

Good Morning, As late in the season as you are going the gray and humpback whales may have already started south. On The Pearl, as you are cruising the best place to whale watch is mid ship Deck 6 in what is called "Bar City". There are a number deep cushioned window wells, perfect for watching ocean. Might be a perfect place for your Great Uncle. the casino is near and so are the restrooms. I hope you have a wonderful cruise. I am looking forward to mine on the September 30th. Mandy

[Senoj84]

Nice review! Can't wait to sail the Pearl in October. The suishi looks delicious, I'll have to try that and Summer Palace since you said the chicken and shrimp curry was so good :)

[Why Knot Me]

Thanks so much for your review! We'll be doing the same cruise on August 14th. Can you tell me what time the Lumberjack show was and can you just walk up and get tickets? How much was it? We are taking my in laws and this might be something good for them.

[jennygirlmt]

Thanks so much for your review! We'll be doing the same cruise on August 14th. Can you tell me what time the Lumberjack show was and can you just walk up and get tickets? How much was it? We are taking my in laws and this might be something good for them.

 

The inlaws took a stroll off the ship that morning and got tickets, though the stadium was only about 3/4 full so you should be able to get them right beforehand. I didn't think to look at other show times but ours was at 10:45 and lasted about an hour. It was outdoors but they had heaters above the seats and it was covered, so your Great Uncle would be comfortable even if it was chilly, and it was a short walk from the ship so even if he just strolled off for that it would be a nice little event.

[jennygirlmt]

Gosh I wish I had a view like that. Oh hang on a minute I do! :) Nice pics jenny and thank you for the full review.

 

I'm so jealous! You have an amazing and beautiful city!!!

[jennygirlmt]

The inlaws took a stroll off the ship that morning and got tickets, though the stadium was only about 3/4 full so you should be able to get them right beforehand. I didn't think to look at other show times but ours was at 10:45 and lasted about an hour. It was outdoors but they had heaters above the seats and it was covered, so your Great Uncle would be comfortable even if it was chilly, and it was a short walk from the ship so even if he just strolled off for that it would be a nice little event.

 

Oh, I got people confused, sorry to reference an Uncle you aren't taking ;)