Just back from the PEARL 09-22-2013

[Hikini]

We just returned from the Pearl today, and while I am so tired, I still want to write this out while it's all fresh in my mind. (This won't be my usual 4-5 page review, but rather just a condensed version.)

 

This was our 9th NCL cruise and we had a great time. There were some fantastic things, some great things, some so-so things and some unfortunate things. But what I must emphasize right off the bat is that the service on NCL has not gone downhill for us - they continue to improve in that department, even when I think they just can't get any better.

 

This was our 2nd time on the Pearl and it looked just as good as it did the first time we were on her in 2009. In fact, the room we had was just 6 doors away from the room we had the last time.

 

NCL has a great, streamlined process for embarkation and disembarkation - nary a hitch….for us, there just never has been.

 

What was fantastic? The ship, the crew, the senior management, the cruise director (Pedro Serra) a rather large percentage of the food, a little bit of the entertainment, the huge number of whale sightings, etc.

What was great? Most of the rest of the food that I wouldn't put in the "fantastic" category, a little bit of the entertainment, the weather we had in Glacier Bay.

 

What was so-so? Most of the entertainment. I know that we might be in the minority here (everyone has different opinions), but we found the entertainment this cruise to be lacking, with a couple of exceptions. The "Oh What a Night" group was great - we've seen them a number of times and always enjoy their show. Comedian Heath Hyche was FUNNY! Not your typical stand-up comedy, but very funny and very enjoyable. The biggest clunker in the entertainment category is "Second City". I don't know why I keep going to their shows because no one in our family enjoys them - at all. Next cruise, we'll skip that show. This time, however, was the worst ever.

 

What was unfortunate? The weather. I realize that in going to Alaska at any time of the year, but certainly in the middle of the September, we are taking our chances. We had thunder and lightning when we left Seattle so that should have been a sign to us that we were in for it. The weather was cold but not unpleasant in Juneau. It was cold and rained a good part of the day in Skagway. Glacier Bay day was overcast, which is good because the blues come out of the glaciers even more on a grey day. But near the end of our viewing of the biggest glaciers, the sun came out and it was still cold, but very nice. If we had to have only one good day for weather, we certainly picked the best day.

 

We had rougher seas than we've ever encountered on an Alaskan cruise, but it wasn't horrible by any stretch. No one in our group of 7 got sick, but we do know of some who did, and I feel sorry for them. Most in our group were saying, "Yeehaw!"

 

The worst part about the weather was that we had, at a times, 60 knot "gale force" winds, and as a result it was too dangerous to go into the channel and we missed Ketchikan. This was a decision not made lightly, but made by the captain as well as officials in Ketchikan. There were 10 ships that were unable to go to Ketchikan over 2 days. I felt sorry for the folks who had never been there before, and I felt really sorry for the merchants who missed out on that much business right at the end of their "bread and butter" season.

 

We also heard from passengers on another ship that they were unable to go into Juneau on the same day for the same reason, as well as passengers on board the Jewel that were not able to stop in Victoria. You cannot do anything about Mother Nature, and just have to make the most of it.

 

Even though this was no fault of the cruise lines, they made up for it as best they could with some free alcohol, some more shows, and a bit of adjustment to the dining room schedules.

 

We had fantastic meals in LeBistro and Moderno (both pay extra). We had many meals in Summer Palace and just a couple in the buffet, although we did go up there and graze a little now and then. We also ate in Blue Lagoon one time. There's just never enough time to do it all!!

 

It was nice to meet many of you from our roll call, including Silva, who is a member of CC but doesn't post (yet). This was her 104th cruise!!!

 

NCL continues to wow us with their service. We were given perks that we didn't have coming, as well as the usual great food & beverage service, fantastic room stewards and much, much more.

 

I can't tell you how much I want to be back on the ship. Weather and all!!

[B6ConMe]

Thank you so much for writing such an insightful, honest and positive review. As you can see we'll be on the Pearl in December and it's nice to know it's unlikely we'll be disappointed in things that matter, such as, the crew. They can make any cruise so much better.

 

I know you'll enjoy your next cruise too, thanks again for your review.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments!

[brunolvr]

We just returned from the Pearl today, and while I am so tired, I still want to write this out while it's all fresh in my mind. (This won't be my usual 4-5 page review, but rather just a condensed version.)

 

This was our 9th NCL cruise and we had a great time. There were some fantastic things, some great things, some so-so things and some unfortunate things. But what I must emphasize right off the bat is that the service on NCL has not gone downhill for us - they continue to improve in that department, even when I think they just can't get any better.

 

This was our 2nd time on the Pearl and it looked just as good as it did the first time we were on her in 2009. In fact, the room we had was just 6 doors away from the room we had the last time.

 

NCL has a great, streamlined process for embarkation and disembarkation - nary a hitch….for us, there just never has been.

 

What was fantastic? The ship, the crew, the senior management, the cruise director (Pedro Serra) a rather large percentage of the food, a little bit of the entertainment, the huge number of whale sightings, etc.

 

What was great? Most of the rest of the food that I wouldn't put in the "fantastic" category, a little bit of the entertainment, the weather we had in Glacier Bay.

 

What was so-so? Most of the entertainment. I know that we might be in the minority here (everyone has different opinions), but we found the entertainment this cruise to be lacking, with a couple of exceptions. The "Oh What a Night" group was great - we've seen them a number of times and always enjoy their show. Comedian Heath Hyche was FUNNY! Not your typical stand-up comedy, but very funny and very enjoyable. The biggest clunker in the entertainment category is "Second City". I don't know why I keep going to their shows because no one in our family enjoys them - at all. Next cruise, we'll skip that show. This time, however, was the worst ever.

 

What was unfortunate? The weather. I realize that in going to Alaska at any time of the year, but certainly in the middle of the September, we are taking our chances. We had thunder and lightning when we left Seattle so that should have been a sign to us that we were in for it. The weather was cold but not unpleasant in Juneau. It was cold and rained a good part of the day in Skagway. Glacier Bay day was overcast, which is good because the blues come out of the glaciers even more on a grey day. But near the end of our viewing of the biggest glaciers, the sun came out and it was still cold, but very nice. If we had to have only one good day for weather, we certainly picked the best day.

 

We had rougher seas than we've ever encountered on an Alaskan cruise, but it wasn't horrible by any stretch. No one in our group of 7 got sick, but we do know of some who did, and I feel sorry for them. Most in our group were saying, "Yeehaw!"

 

The worst part about the weather was that we had, at a times, 60 knot "gale force" winds, and as a result it was too dangerous to go into the channel and we missed Ketchikan. This was a decision not made lightly, but made by the captain as well as officials in Ketchikan. There were 10 ships that were unable to go to Ketchikan over 2 days. I felt sorry for the folks who had never been there before, and I felt really sorry for the merchants who missed out on that much business right at the end of their "bread and butter" season.

 

We also heard from passengers on another ship that they were unable to go into Juneau on the same day for the same reason, as well as passengers on board the Jewel that were not able to stop in Victoria. You cannot do anything about Mother Nature, and just have to make the most of it.

 

Even though this was no fault of the cruise lines, they made up for it as best they could with some free alcohol, some more shows, and a bit of adjustment to the dining room schedules.

 

We had fantastic meals in LeBistro and Moderno (both pay extra). We had many meals in Summer Palace and just a couple in the buffet, although we did go up there and graze a little now and then. We also ate in Blue Lagoon one time. There's just never enough time to do it all!!

 

It was nice to meet many of you from our roll call, including Silva, who is a member of CC but doesn't post (yet). This was her 104th cruise!!!

 

NCL continues to wow us with their service. We were given perks that we didn't have coming, as well as the usual great food & beverage service, fantastic room stewards and much, much more.

 

I can't tell you how much I want to be back on the ship. Weather and all!!

 

I was happy to finally meet you, Hikini, after all these years. I saw a few of our fellow cc'ers throughout our cruise, but don't think our paths crossed after the Meet & Greet.

 

Great overview of our wonderful Alaskan cruise, Hikini! I'll be writing a review shortly but we also enjoyed our 9th cruise to Alaska, although this was the worst we have had "weather-wise".

 

The Pearl was beautiful, the food good and the crew was fantastic!!!!:)

 

Our excursion in Juneau, Taku Lodge Flight & Feast, was cancelled due to the low cloud cover -- too dangerous for the float planes. And as you indicated, missing Ketchikan was a big disappointment, but we understand why it was necessary.

 

It was our daughter's first cruise ever and even though she didn't weather the rough seas very well, she wants to return again with her boyfriend. She was very impressed with the whole cruise scenario. Of course staying in a Haven Suite with all the "perks" and also being invited to have dinner with the Captain did impress her very much!;)

 

I can still feel the movement of the ship!

We will cruise to Alaska again and will probably book late May or early June of next year.

[dolfinmusic]

Hi,

I will be on the Pearl next month. Any suggestions on what foods not to miss? How about drinks? It is only a 4 day cruise and will be super busy but looking for any suggestions or tips! Thanks!

[Sherrica]

It was great to meet you Hikini! You're so good to have your review on already! I spent yesterday looking at which cruises I want to go on next! (Nope, didn't unpack... just sat at the computer dreaming of the sea lol.) I'll work on my report tonight :).

[MontessoriMama]

Bummer that you had to miss Ketchikan. My favorite port! Sounds like you had as great a time as we did! And the worst part...Sunday and disembarking! ;-)

[Hikini]

I was happy to finally meet you, Hikini, after all these years. I saw a few of our fellow cc'ers throughout our cruise, but don't think our paths crossed after the Meet & Greet.

 

 

I can still feel the movement of the ship!

We will cruise to Alaska again and will probably book late May or early June of next year.

 

It was GREAT to finally meet you too, Sandy! You're just as kind in person as you are here on CC!

 

We have cruised to AK in September 7 times now (and June 2 times) and we've always had great weather in September. This was the time to make up for all of our good luck in the past, I guess. But it didn't ruin anything for us and we still had a wonderful cruise.

[Hikini]

Bummer that you had to miss Ketchikan. My favorite port! Sounds like you had as great a time as we did! And the worst part...Sunday and disembarking! ;-)

 

Ketchikan is my favorite shopping port, and I love Creek Street. So yes, I was sorry to miss it, but glad for the 8 other times we went there. And I'm sure we'll go again. :)

 

We had good weather in Glacier Bay and that made me very happy.

[Hikini]

Hi,

I will be on the Pearl next month. Any suggestions on what foods not to miss? How about drinks? It is only a 4 day cruise and will be super busy but looking for any suggestions or tips! Thanks!

 

I don't know if the menus will be the same, but I loved the Shrimp Caesar Salad at lunch time. It can be an appetizer or your entree.

 

If you go to LeBistro, don't miss out on the Creme Brulee. YUM!

[halos]

. But what I must emphasize right off the bat is that the service on NCL has not gone downhill for us - they continue to improve in that department, even when I think they just can't get any better.

 

I have said the same thing myself, after each and every cruise....just when I think it can NOT be possible...no way, no how for service to be better...they manage to wow me.

[BarbieGee]

I will be sailing on the Pearl 24 Oct. for the Sixthman Alabama cruise (first time on NCL) and was just wondering about the food menu in the MDR and other restaurants. Do they post what will be served each day? Perhaps the day before? This knowledge would help in deciding where to go for our meals.

[deladypilot]

Thank you for the review. We are looking at sailing the Pearl to AK in 2015. It will be our third cruise there.