Pearl seas cruises ?

[RJB]

Any info. about Pearl Seas would be good to hear. Looking at a cruise to Cuba with them but do not know anything about them, good or bad. Help if you can. Thanks :):)

[Luckyone2]

I found information by searching Pearl Seas in the forums.

[Tom2]

My wife and I just returned from a 12 day Cuba Cruise with Peal Seas and were very impressed. There were 150 on the ship and the guest lecturers’were outstanding, both in presentation and knowledge. All of the tours were included as well as lunch at private restaurants on many of the tours which were all very good. Drinks on the ship were included and plentiful and the food was some of the best we have had on a ship. Here is a link to a short video slideshow we put together after we got back plus the daily blog we posted while on the trip. http://tomjed.com/index.php/cuba

Tom

Edited April 27, 2018 by Tom2
correct typos

[Tom47]

I enjoyed your video and pictures. We are thinking of booking a cruise with Pearl Seas. We prefer cruise ships that are smoke free indoors. What is Pearl Seas smoking policy?

How much cash did you change into CUCs?

Thanks in advance for replies.

Tom and Liz:)

[Tom2]

The Pearl Mist is completely smoke free in all public areas, rooms, and balconies. There might have been an area on one of the outside decks where smoking was permitted but I didn’t see it. I was also concerned before we left because of the availability of Cuban Cigars but it turned out not to be a problem. We changed $400.00 into CUCs at our first stop in Santiago de Cuba and then another $200.00, which it turned out we didn’t need to do, when we got to Havana. It was very easy converting the CUCs back to US Dollars before we left Havana. There is no charge converting CUCs to dollars only in converting dollars to CUCs.

[Tom47]

The Pearl Mist is completely smoke free in all public areas, rooms, and balconies. There might have been an area on one of the outside decks where smoking was permitted but I didn’t see it. I was also concerned before we left because of the availability of Cuban Cigars but it turned out not to be a problem. We changed $400.00 into CUCs at our first stop in Santiago de Cuba and then another $200.00, which it turned out we didn’t need to do, when we got to Havana. It was very easy converting the CUCs back to US Dollars before we left Havana. There is no charge converting CUCs to dollars only in converting dollars to CUCs.

Thanks:)

[Tom47]

We booked a Pearl Seas cruise for February 2019:)

[Tom2]

We booked a Pearl Seas cruise for February 2019:)

 

I hope you enjoy Cuba as much as we did. The Cubans were amazingly friendly and helpful. Now is the time to go before they start allowing all of the big cruise ships in and Cuba becomes just another touristy Caribbean Island.

[Tom47]

i hope you enjoy cuba as much as we did. The cubans were amazingly friendly and helpful. Now is the time to go before they start allowing all of the big cruise ships in and cuba becomes just another touristy caribbean island.

:)

:):):)

[sfvoyage]

any info regarding their vegetarian and/or vegan food on board? Their website says they can accommodate special dietary needs, but any first hand experience would be very helpful.

[Tom2]

any info regarding their vegetarian and/or vegan food on board? Their website says they can accommodate special dietary needs, but any first hand experience would be very helpful.

There was a vegetarian entree offered on the menu at every meal.

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

Hi all, thanks for the information! The reviews of this cruise are really improving. I'm looking forward to this cruise next year. On that note - I had not visited the Pearl Seas Website in a while and noticed a price drop. For those of you who pay more attention to that than I, feel free to ignore but if you haven't checked in a while, might be worth it!

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

My wife and I just returned from a 12 day Cuba Cruise with Peal Seas and were very impressed. There were 150 on the ship and the guest lecturers’were outstanding, both in presentation and knowledge. All of the tours were included as well as lunch at private restaurants on many of the tours which were all very good. Drinks on the ship were included and plentiful and the food was some of the best we have had on a ship. Here is a link to a short video slideshow we put together after we got back plus the daily blog we posted while on the trip. http://tomjed.com/index.php/cuba

Tom

 

Great overview, thank you so much!

[quilter06]

We booked a Pearl Seas cruise for February 2019:)

 

 

 

Ken and Joanne have also!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[craftygram]

My wife and I just returned from a 12 day Cuba Cruise with Peal Seas and were very impressed. There were 150 on the ship and the guest lecturers’were outstanding, both in presentation and knowledge. All of the tours were included as well as lunch at private restaurants on many of the tours which were all very good. Drinks on the ship were included and plentiful and the food was some of the best we have had on a ship. Here is a link to a short video slideshow we put together after we got back plus the daily blog we posted while on the trip. http://tomjed.com/index.php/cuba

Tom

 

Thank you for the info and wonderful video!! :)We are booked for Dec. 29th, 2018 cruise. Is there any info on gratuities? Thanks

[Tom2]

We put the recommended ships gratuities on our ships bill and it was really the only thing on the bill because everything on the ship is free. The ship gratuities came to $440 for the two of us. The ship will tell you the recommended amount and how to handle guide and driver tips but as I recall we tipped the guide 10 CUCs and the driver 5 CUCs for each tour. They were all outstanding.

[OnTheJourney]

There was another thread awhile back about this company, and a post by a guy who was an onboard lecturer on the Mist. He had great things to say about them. I've been interested in the St. Lawrence Seaway / Canadian Maritimes cruise for the past few years, but they only seem to offer it twice a year and often it has either interfered with other trips we've already had booked or else just didn't suit our schedule for whatever reason. I am keeping my eye on future dates. It's expensive, but reportedly very nice. Probably not for those seeking alot of activity or high-energy theater-type entertainment. Rather, it's more relaxed and also (if I'm correct) quite informal. The itineraries include an excursion in each port.

[Tom47]

DW wants to know about laundry service aboard the ship.

[Jan3]

On 8/20/2018 at 8:19 AM, craftygram said:

 

Thank you for the info and wonderful video!! :)We are booked for Dec. 29th, 2018 cruise. Is there any info on gratuities? Thanks

How was the December 29th cruise to Cuba?

We are booked on the January 30 cruise and concerned about reviews regarding difficulty docking in the various ports   It appears that because Pearl Seas is a small ship they may not be able to get in due to the  larger ships with many more passengers. 

Would appreciate hearing about your experience. 

Thank you

[Tom47]

DW called Pearl Seas.  They have free self serve laundry.

[Tom2]

On 1/20/2019 at 2:04 PM, Jan3 said:

How was the December 29th cruise to Cuba?

We are booked on the January 30 cruise and concerned about reviews regarding difficulty docking in the various ports   It appears that because Pearl Seas is a small ship they may not be able to get in due to the  larger ships with many more passengers. 

Would appreciate hearing about your experience. 

Thank you

we docked at every planned port and where we docked big ships wouldn't fit other than Havana and there we were docked next to some big ships but there was plenty of room.

[Jan3]

59 minutes ago, Tom2 said:

we docked at every planned port and where we docked big ships wouldn't fit other than Havana and there we were docked next to some big ships but there was plenty of room.

Thank you very much for your response. 

It sounds like you were able to go to every port. Did Pearl Seas do a good job with guides and spend plenty of time with the people to people program? Did you go to the Tropicana?

We are leaving Saturday and excited about the trip. Just want to be prepared for any glitches that I read about on another thread on CC. Any tips would be appreciated. 

Thank you again 

[Tom2]

The guides were excellent although they talked the Socialist Party line but when you talked to them one on one, they all seemed to have an exit plan to some day leave Cuba. Our guides as a whole where highly educated Doctors and Engineers that could make more off tourist tips than they could their government capped salaries. We did at least one people to people exchange every day we were in port. The ship had reserved up front seats at the Tropicana and the show was outstanding. The on-board lecturers were extremely knowledgeable and prepared us for what awaited us in Cuba. Enjoy your trip.  

[Jan3]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. My expectation is more positive after reading your comments. We have been looking forward to this trip and are ready to go!

[midwestchick]

I just received my Pearl Seas brochure.  I see they mention daytime attire is casual.  What is the dress code for evening/dinner?  Are drinks and gratuities included in the cruise fare?  

I’m a little confused about excursions.  The brochure mentions shore excursion highlight.  Are there shore excursions at every port and are they included or do they charge extra?  I’m looking at the Canadian Maritimes and St. Lawrence Seaway Cruise.