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Pearl Review - Panama Canal - 12/31 thru 1/11

ganggreen88

By ganggreen88,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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ganggreen88

ganggreen88

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Boat

 

• The Pearl is a great boat. I love the bigger boats, but this ship is a great size.

• I found the condition of the boat fantastic.

• Embarkation was very smooth.

• Disembarkation was smooth until we got into the Port of Miami.

• Shows were fantastic. I was worried since I was used to the big production shows, but these were great. Chip Romero, the comedian, was hilarious. George, the guy who led the Frank Valli show was great as well. Cheesy but great. All of them were great. The hypnotist was fantastic as well.

 

 

Cabin

 

• We had an inside cabin (10069). I have to say for being a big guy, the room was comfortable. My wife and I were surprised how nice the shower was. Toilet was at a weird angle, but I am 6’3 and managed. Plenty of storage.

• Why can’t these boats get better TV’s and channels? I know we aren’t there for TV, but when in the room, I get tired of tracking the boat channel. LOL

• Steward was fantastic.

 

 

Spa

 

• Wife and I got spa package for the week. The spa was huge, really nice. It had a Men’s side and a Woman’s side.

• The lounge chairs towards the windows were so comfortable. My wife and I would fall asleep 5 minutes after laying there. It had to be because of the water noise.

• I hate chair hoggers. Some people would put towels on the lounges while on the heated tile recliners. Come on, have some common sense.

 

 

Restaurants

 

• Summer Palace and Indigo – Fantastic. We had great service all cruise long.

• Moderno – Great food, fantastic service.

• Cagney’s – Went twice and both times it was great. It was nice to try different things.

• Le Bistro – Fantastic. Service was the best

• Teppanyaki – Awesome as always. Chef Luisito was a riot.

 

 

Ports/Excursions

 

• Colombia – Party Bus – We had so much fun. Nice way to view Cartagena. Rum bottles flowing all day long

• Panama – Grand Tour – This was a great tour. Seeing the Panama Canal from the Observation deck was very, very impressive.

• Costa Rica – We hired a cab driver to take us around. Cab driver was nice, but the town was really bad. Not a nice place to roam around. I am sure there are nicer areas in CR.

• Honduras/Roatan – Private tour with Channin – Fantastic guy and speaks perfect English. We really loved this town and it’s very beautiful.

• Belize – Cab driver took us around. Unimpressive.

• Costa Maya, Mexico – Port was great. We did the Salsa Cooking and Dancing tour. This was a lot of fun. Staying on the beach was great too.

 

 

My wife and I really love NCL. Hopefully we can keep cruising with them in the future.

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ganggreen88

ganggreen88

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Thanks for the review! Can you describe the Grand Tour in Panama/Gatun Lake a bit? I'm assuming you mean the ship excursion by that name? The description on NCL makes it sound quite varied and interesting!

 

Yes, we took a ship excursion called 'Grand Tour'. It was nice. You are only allowed off the ship in Panama if you have an excursion. We tendered to port. We got picked up by a nice bus. We took a tour of the area on bus first. We then got dropped off at a nice hotel. We then walked thru the hotel to their docks. There we jumped on a boat and sailed around the Gatun Lake. We saw many different birds, toucans and sloths. Then we visited a tribe that lives out on Gatun Lake. Very interesting. Then we went back to dock to board the bus. Once we were back, we boarded the bus to the Panama Canal observation deck at Gatun Locks. There we had an hour to see the Canal process. It was very cool. Then the bus takes you back to Colon to meet the boat. Very nice tour. About 5 hours. Includes water and a sandwich.

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ganggreen88

ganggreen88

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So you don't get to go thru the locks on the ship?

 

If you did NOT have an excursion booked for Panama, you stayed on the cruise ship and went thru the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal. After that, the cruise ship goes to Colon, Panama.

 

If you had a booked excursion, you got off the boat before the locks, took your tour and then all the tours ended up in Colon, where you would meet back up with the cruise ship.

 

Hope this helps.

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QuattroRomeo "Live from...." Rare

QuattroRomeo

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Yes, we took a ship excursion called 'Grand Tour'. It was nice. You are only allowed off the ship in Panama if you have an excursion. We tendered to port. We got picked up by a nice bus. We took a tour of the area on bus first. We then got dropped off at a nice hotel. We then walked thru the hotel to their docks. There we jumped on a boat and sailed around the Gatun Lake. We saw many different birds, toucans and sloths. Then we visited a tribe that lives out on Gatun Lake. Very interesting. Then we went back to dock to board the bus. Once we were back, we boarded the bus to the Panama Canal observation deck at Gatun Locks. There we had an hour to see the Canal process. It was very cool. Then the bus takes you back to Colon to meet the boat. Very nice tour. About 5 hours. Includes water and a sandwich.

 

Thank you-sounds like you saw quite a bit!

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golfjunkey

golfjunkey

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Yes, we took a ship excursion called 'Grand Tour'. It was nice. You are only allowed off the ship in Panama if you have an excursion. We tendered to port. We got picked up by a nice bus. We took a tour of the area on bus first. We then got dropped off at a nice hotel. We then walked thru the hotel to their docks. There we jumped on a boat and sailed around the Gatun Lake. We saw many different birds, toucans and sloths. Then we visited a tribe that lives out on Gatun Lake. Very interesting. Then we went back to dock to board the bus. Once we were back, we boarded the bus to the Panama Canal observation deck at Gatun Locks. There we had an hour to see the Canal process. It was very cool. Then the bus takes you back to Colon to meet the boat. Very nice tour. About 5 hours. Includes water and a sandwich.

 

Thank you for the review. Is the 'Grand Tour' an NCL tour or private?

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cmego2

cmego2

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Thanks for your review on the Partial Transit Panama Canal aboard the NCL Pearl, ganggreen88! It sounds like you had a really nice trip along with a positive experience on the Pearl. We are sailing this itinerary in November, and I have a question for you regarding Norwegians Night Out. I am curious as to which night this was offered during your itinerary. I know on every other NCL cruise I have been on, it's always been the day following embarkation. Did NCL follow this same pattern?

 

My group always likes to dine in the MDR that particular night. I just want to avoid making a dinner reservation in one of the specialty restaurants that particular evening. This may sound silly, but we all seem to have certain cruise rituals that we follow! :)

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ganggreen88

ganggreen88

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Thanks for your review on the Partial Transit Panama Canal aboard the NCL Pearl, ganggreen88! It sounds like you had a really nice trip along with a positive experience on the Pearl. We are sailing this itinerary in November, and I have a question for you regarding Norwegians Night Out. I am curious as to which night this was offered during your itinerary. I know on every other NCL cruise I have been on, it's always been the day following embarkation. Did NCL follow this same pattern?

 

My group always likes to dine in the MDR that particular night. I just want to avoid making a dinner reservation in one of the specialty restaurants that particular evening. This may sound silly, but we all seem to have certain cruise rituals that we follow! :)

 

We didn't attend the Norwegians Night Out party, but I do remember it being one of the first couple of days of the cruise. Sorry

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

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If you did NOT have an excursion booked for Panama, you stayed on the cruise ship and went thru the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal. After that, the cruise ship goes to Colon, Panama.

 

If you had a booked excursion, you got off the boat before the locks, took your tour and then all the tours ended up in Colon, where you would meet back up with the cruise ship.

 

Hope this helps.

 

So you never actually experienced the locks on a ship? I understood (perhaps from folks that were on other cruiselines) that when doing a partial transit, that you were on the ship through the locks, then left the cruise ship and while it made its way back down the locks to the Atlantic, that you did the Gatun Lake excursion. Sounds like this isn't the case with Norwegian...which make our friends who are considering this cruise change their minds.

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QuattroRomeo "Live from...." Rare

QuattroRomeo

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If their itinerary reads Panama/Gatun Lake, it's a partial transit through the locks to Gatun Lake. The NCL link makes it clearer maybe:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/11-day-panama-canal-round-trip-from-miami/ports/panama-canalgatun-lake-panama?cruiseTour=1&destinations=4294934550&cruiseHotel=1&numberOfGuests=4294915774&pageSize=10&cruise=1&sortBy=Featured&state=null&sailmonths=4294915097&currentPage=1&cruiseHotelAir=1&&itineraryCode=PEARL11MIACTGPCGCLNLIORTBBZECMAMIA&selectedPort=PCG

 

(This is what we have booked for December).

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

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The description in the link is what I expected...but differs from what GangGreen appears to be stating:"If you did NOT have an excursion booked for Panama, you stayed on the cruise ship and went thru the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal. After that, the cruise ship goes to Colon, Panama.

 

If you had a booked excursion, you got off the boat before the locks, took your tour and then all the tours ended up in Colon, where you would meet back up with the cruise ship."

 

Hopefully the website description is what actually happens.

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