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Review of NCL Pearl cruise to Panama Canal - Dec 2016 with photos

Cuizer2

By Cuizer2,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Monday, December 19 - Debarkation day

 

 

I wake up before the ship enters the channel to the pier. I watch the ship spin on the TV. About 6:00am I get out of bed, shower and dress. Then I turn on the computer so that I can fill out my custom’s form. I keep tract of my purchases on the computer for this very reason. I also get my final onboard bill from the mail slot just outside the door and compare it to the total I have on my computer. They match, so we are good. I also go out on my balcony to watch a couple of Royal Caribbean ships and a couple of Carnival ships come in.

 

At 7:15am I go for my last meal in the suite dining room. At 8:05am I head to the Stardust Theater where the ship excursion passengers meet. About 8:30am we are sent outside to debark. The line is long and does not move for about twenty minutes. I don’t know what the delay was, but I heard the tour guide say that all of a sudden several customs agents showed up. He thinks someone tried to bring in something that is illegal.

 

The bus takes us to Everglades Safari Park. This is the third time I have taken this tour and alligators were in short supply on this airboat tour of the Everglades. We saw a few. But the alligator show more than made up for the lack of wild alligators. This show is different than any other alligator show I’ve seen. No alligator wrestling and no head in the mouth routines. These alligators are almost pet like. They react to their name and walk right up to the guy with their mouth open and not only is he not concerned, the alligators know that he has food and they make no attempt to bite it. It was so impressive that they made a big deal about not trying this on your own and that alligators do not make good pets.

 

We were then delivered to the airport at about 1:30pm. My flight leaves at 4:50pm. So, if all goes well, I’ll see you again on the other side of the country. I hope to proof read this review on the flight. However, it will take time for me to sort through the more than two thousand photographs I took and post the good ones.

 

Had a little scare at security. I went through the priority line. You know, the shorter line with less scanners so that it takes just a long at the non-priority line with more scanners. So I had to remove everything from my pockets, which of course included my wallet. I put my wallet in the web pocket of my computer backpack. When it arrived at the other end of the x-ray machine, there was no wallet in the web pocket of my computer backpack. I tried for two minutes to get someone’s attention. I haven’t been this ignored since I tried to get Taylor Swift’s attention. If I had spotted a terrorist, by the time I got TSA’s attention, the terrorist would have been at 30,000 feet. I was starting to get desperate when I looked down and found my wallet in the web pocket of my computer backpack. I don’t think I ever realized that my computer backpack had two web pockets before today.

 

According to the flight tracker, the tail of the airplane is over El Paso and the nose of the airplane is approaching the border of New Mexico and Arizona. I am flying business class in a 777-300. My first reaction was these seats are really neat and they are. But they have several short comings. There is four across seating and all the seats are in a shell, so that you can recline the seats to full flat without invading anyone else’s space. The seats are all angled at about 45 degrees. The two window seats face the window. The two middle seats are both angled toward the center of the plane. Good luck for couples. The middle seats have half a wall between them. And if you have one child, one of you is going to enter his/her seat from a different isle than your own seat. And those in the same isle, are facing away from each other. Also, I have a window seat in name only. When my (fully padded) seatbelt is buckled, I can’t reach the window. I’m about as close to the window as the person in coach sitting in the seat next to the window seat.

 

There are some good thing of course. These are eight way power seats. The back of the seat move back and down (all one motion) to a lay flat position. The seat moves forward and back and the foot rest moves up for that lay flat position. The entire seat also goes up and down, but only the pilot and co-pilot can control that. There is also an entertainment system with noise cancelling headphones (the noise cancelling works very well. There is a 115 volt power outlet where you can easily reach it. This would be a first class seat in any other domestic jet (in fact, except for the angling of the seats, it is very similar to the first class seat of the 787 I flew in in April. All in all, a very enjoyable seat, as long as you are flying solo.

 

Well, my plan for proof reading this during the flight went out the window when I decided to watch the latest Jason Bourne movie. At any rate, the tail of the plane just passed Phoenix and the noise of the plane is over the Arizona/California border. We are about forty minutes from landing, so I am going to shut down now and look forward to getting home.

 

After we land I pick up my luggage and head over to the Super Shuttle sign. I had to wait about thirty minutes for the Super Shuttle van to pick me up (about the same time I would have to wait for the FlyAway bus). But at least the person there was able to give me this information. That was the problem with Prime Time, I waited one hour with no information on the ETA. I was the only one in the van, so I was the first (and last) person dropped off.

 

All in all a very enjoyable cruise. No complaints. My idea of just walking around didn’t work out too well, but the taxi tours (the first time I have done this) worked out great. Though most of my cruises have been with Royal Caribbean, and I have enjoyed them, Royal Caribbean seems to have forgotten that it is known for its service. I have also cruised with Carnival a lot, but I like to take longer cruises and Carnival has very limited choices that exceed eight nights. Given my experience with NCL, I may start cruising more often with NCL. Still, even though I am comfortable with Freestyle dining, I prefer traditional two seating dining.

 

I have two more cruises booked, both on Princess. But I definitely will be booking another NCL cruise. First of all, I want to go to NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Island. Also, I am now only seven points away from being Platinum on NCL, which is their top loyalty tier. After that, who knows? More NCL cruises are likely. But there are also three other cruise lines I have not tried yet. I still want to try Celebrity, Holland America, and Costa.

 

And so, as soon as I sort my pictures I’ll post this review. Hopefully some of the readers will get some useful information out of it and hopefully all of the readers will enjoy it.

 

For those that are interested in these things, this review is about 22 and one half pages long (as typed) and contains more than 13,500 words. I took about 2,200 photographs, including over 600 in the Panama Canal. I will post some of the photographs with the review and will provide links to more of the photographs (not all 2,200 photographs) and will provide links to the short videos I also shot (most are about twenty to thirty seconds long).

 

Below are links to two videos of the air-boats traveling through the Everglades ...

http://vid18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/NCL%20Pearl/Day%2019%20videos/DSC_1002_zpsehreh8ok.mp4

 

and ...

 

http://vid18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/NCL%20Pearl/Day%2019%20videos/DSC_1026_zps2s256iio.mp4

Edited by Cuizer2
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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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I was excited to get a chance to sit in a 777 business class seat. Here are two videos and eighteen photographs of the seat and entertainment system ...

 

Click on the links below to see the two videos ...

 

http://vid18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/NCL%20Pearl/Day%20777%20videos/DSC_1081_zps00zjqwcw.mp4

 

and ...

 

http://vid18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/NCL%20Pearl/Day%20777%20videos/DSC_1117_zps2gbvsdmm.mp4

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Well, that is the last of the posted photographs. Now I'll provide links to many more photographs via slideshows ...

 

Food ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Food

 

Holiday Inn ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Holiday%20Inn

 

Holiday Inn video ...

http://vid18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/NCL%20Pearl/Holiday%20Inn%20Video/Holiday%20Inn%20vid_zps1h2c3mir.mp4

 

Other cabins ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Other%20cabins

 

Costa Maya ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Other%20Costa%20Maya

 

Everglades ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Other%20Everglades

 

Roatan ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Other%20Roatan

 

Going down the locks part I ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/PC%20down%20I

 

Going down the locks part II ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/PC%20down%20II

 

Going up the locks part I ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/PC%20up%20I

 

Going up the locks part II ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/PC%20up%20II

 

Inside the ship part I ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Ship%20inside%20I

 

Inside the ship part II ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Ship%20inside%20II

 

Outside the ship ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Ship%20outside

 

Sunrises and sunsets ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/slideshow/NCL%20Pearl/Sun

 

Sunrises and sunsets videos ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/library/NCL%20Pearl/Sun%20videos

 

Other videos ...

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/ZefH/library/NCL%20Pearl/Videos

 

And thus we have reached the end of the review. I hope you enjoyed it and/or learned something from it. Feel free to express any comments.

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LambKnuckles

LambKnuckles

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WOW! I love your style of writing and your photography! You've spoiled me to want a forward facing suite! WOW!!!!

 

I'm leaving from Miami, too, in February. We've booked the Holiday Inn at the Port. Is this the same as your's?

 

THANK YOU for the great review!!!!

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Super job, thanks.

 

In regard to your cabin, how windy was the forward facing balcony while ship was at "cruising speed" ?

 

This is a trip we hope to do in the not too distant future.

 

Thanks again.

 

There are some factors that come into play. One being the direction of the wind relative to the direction of the ship. I was on the Jade in the same cabin (yes 9500) and one day while we were south bound in the Pacific headed toward Panama we had a seventeen knot tail wind. I was able to relax on the lounge with papers on the little table and I did not need a paper weight to hold the papers down.

 

Under the overhang there is very little wind. That is because there is nowhere for the air to go. It is closed on five sides (top, bottom, left, right, and back). The only way in or out is the front. The air is trapped and there is very little wind. Move out to the rail and yes, it can get windy.

 

Listen to the wind noise from the video in post number seven with your speakers on. You can barely hear the wind while I am under the overhang. Once I am beyond the overhang there is a sudden increase in the wind noise. By the time I get out to the rail there is a lot of wind noise. On the day I shot that video the pools and outside exposed decks were closed due to the weather.

 

If you are in this cabin while doing a full transit of the Panama Canal, please note that the ships only travel at about ten knots. I was on a full transit while on the Jade. I was about to stand at the rail the entire time because there was no wind to speak of.

 

The photo below (of the barf bags) was not posted, it was linked to. The barf bags are put out when the weather gets really rough ...

 

Barf_0539_zps9s27tuup.jpg

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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WOW! I love your style of writing and your photography! You've spoiled me to want a forward facing suite! WOW!!!!

 

I'm leaving from Miami, too, in February. We've booked the Holiday Inn at the Port. Is this the same as your's?

 

THANK YOU for the great review!!!!

 

Yes, that is the Holiday Inn I stay at.

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Imalismom

Imalismom

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Thank you for your review! I also was on the same cruise as you that got cancelled.... I switched to the March 13th (10 day) option...

 

I am in a SF (aft), now I wish I had spent the extra $$ and got the SE (front).

 

Once again THANKS!

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2bthere

2bthere

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Remarkable trip report and the pictures were just wonderful. Thank you for giving us some suggestions for upcoming cruise where we are visiting a few of these locations.

 

You have an eye for photos that I envy.

 

Enjoy all your future cruises and I'll be watching the other forums to see how your adventures progress.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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One quick question:

Concierge-

I know they can be reached by phone but was she visible enough during the day and what did you think of her??

TY!!

 

She was great and yes, I saw her at least once per day. I didn't ask much of her, but saw was there, had a good sense of humor, and was very helpful.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Remarkable trip report and the pictures were just wonderful. Thank you for giving us some suggestions for upcoming cruise where we are visiting a few of these locations.

 

You have an eye for photos that I envy.

 

Enjoy all your future cruises and I'll be watching the other forums to see how your adventures progress.

 

My next two cruises are on Princess (Dec 2017 and April 2018). Will do at least one more NCL cruise, as that will bring me to the top Latitudes tier. Also, I want to see NCL's private island.

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ladyconky

ladyconky

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Thank you for an extremely interesting review so far.

We were in a large balcony cabin, 11134 aft and were very happy with everything. We could have done with your coffee machine however, as we we were disappointed that our UBP did not include Lavazza coffee and our coffee machine was filter pads. We are used to espresso, French style academic in France.

We watched enviously as we transited the canal, the people on their suite balconies. What a pity we missed the cabin crawl and your subsequent invitation to view but I had a rather poorly husband who tried to drink his entire drinks package on the first day!

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