Review of 2/11 5 night Pearl Cruise

[DRMizzou]

Just returned from a great 5 night cruise on the beautiful NCL Pearl. Had a wonderful time and met some great folks on the CC Meet & Greet on 2/12.

 

Day 1 -- Left St. Louis at 7:15am (20 degrees) and arrived in Miami Int'l at 11am (60 degrees). Things were "looking up" already!! Got our luggage and found a quiet place to put on the NCL provided bag tags. Brought along a stapler in one of the checked bags so we could fasten them at Miami. Some NCL transfer staff saw the tags and asked if we were on the transfer. We had not booked this but did take the opportunity to check whether it was too early to head to the Port of Miami. They said that we should be able to board around 1pm so we headed for a taxi. I saw a booth for Super Shuttle and thought I would check their rates. They quoted me $30 for 2 people and luggage. I was about to get a taxi (which is supposed to be a flat rate of $24) when the young lady came back and said that if we wanted to share a van with other folks heading to the Port-the cost would be $20. We jumped in and were at the Port in about 10 minutes (it was a Sunday). We checked 3 bags with a NCL staffer and got in line for check-in. We are Latitudes members--but I am not sure that line moved any faster than the others. Still, it was not very long and check-in was a breeze (very nice female staff person). It was now about 12:30pm and we headed thru security screening and picked up our keycards. We then realized that we were being led to an area with chairs where we sat for about 45 minutes. Oh Well--we did get there early!! There was refreshments available. Area was kind of cramped but no big deal. Finally at about 1:15pm we boarded the ship (after the usual embarkation photo).

 

As we got to the ship, we encountered the first of many hand sanitizer machines that we would encounter all over the ship. You will definitely have clean hands on this ship. Once on board we headed for our stateroom which was 10146 (a balcony stateroom) to drop off our carry-on bags. We met our cabin steward who had our room already made up. I had ordered the Anniversary Package thru NCL for my wife and they had a bottle of wine and chocalate covered strawberries there waiting for us. Since my wife's birthday was on February 14th (yes--Valentine's Day is a double whammy for me) they also had birthday greetings there for her. (I almost forgot--the nice woman who first checked us in also said Happy Birthday to my wife which almost gave away the surprise. Still, it was a nice gesture.)

 

After unpacking some things and changing into shorts, we headed for the dinner reservation station outside of Mambo's on deck 8. We found that we could only make reservations for that night and the next night (several posts on CC said you could make reservations for the whole cruise--but this was incorrect). After looking at the menus, we decided on La Cucina which is the Italian speciality restaurant (no cover) for our first night and the Summer Palace (one of the main dining rooms) for Monday night. We then headed out to tour the ship. It definitely lived up to its billing--it is a beautiful ship. As some have noted, some of the decor is a bit unusual. But we thought it was a lot of fun and did not have an issue with it.

 

The mandatory lifeboat drill was at 5pm and our station was in the Summer Palace. Everything went efficiently and we headed up to the Tahitian Pool Deck for the Welcome Aboard Pool Party at 5:30pm. "Flex" was the entertaining Island Rhythms band on the pool deck and folks settled right into some fun. We then headed back to the room and changed for dinner at 7pm. La Cucina's food was good; but nothing spectacular. Service was good.

 

We headed back to the Pool Deck to catch the "Sail Away" at a little after 8pm. Unfortunately, it started to sprinkle and it took away from the fun of being outside on the deck for our sail away. Later on, we took in the Welcome Aboard Show in the Stardust Theater. Nice show featuring Clint Wells (our Cruise Director), the NCL Pearl Showband and Bob Trunell (magician/comedian). We then went to the 70's Disco Party in the Spinnaker Lounge at 10:45pm. They had guys dressed up as the Village People and the NCL host staff were decked out in their best 70's duds. It was a lot of fun--but the long day was beginning to settle in on us and we called it a night.

 

More to come.......

[Don Haynes]

Thanks, we cannot wait to read more. Unfortunately, NCL changed it policies about booking the speciality restaurants for the whole week the first day, reverting back to tonight's and tomorrow night's..

 

While many of us think its better to book the entire week at one time, many others have complained about not having the ability to book later as the speciality restaurants are already sold out. It appears the others finally won. From the reviews of last week, those who book through the concierge can still book the entire week. Another treat for those who book mini-suite or higher.

[DRMizzou]

First, let me apologize for the length of my first post. Didn't realize I had gotten so wordy. Oh well--on with the review.

 

2nd Day (2/12) -- This was a Sea Day, so we took the opportunity to sleep in a little. Had breakfast at the Garden Cafe. Basic breakfast fare here; at several "stations". You can also get the same stuff at the Great Outdoors which is just aft of the Garden Cafe (it is outdoors as the name implies). My first complaint of the cruise is that the drink stations (coffee, tea, orange juice, etc.) here generally seemed to be malfunctioning or were just plain out of beverages. It got a little better later in the cruise but at first it was kind of chaos. Coffee especially seemed to be a problem.

 

We had our CC Meet and Greet in Le Bistro at 10:30am and we met some great folks. Thanks go out especially to Steve and Marlene who made up nametags for everyone with their CC "handles". We introduced ourselves and then had the opportunity to meet some of the Pearl Staff---Klaus Lugmaier (Hotel Director), Clint Wells (Cruise Director), Mirsad Bucuk (Food and Beverage Director) and others (sorry I have misplaced some business cards). Klaus had the opportunity to explain why an alarm had gone off throughout the ship the night before (which caused a little excitement!!). Just a malfunction. They were all very pleasant and helpful and provided us with business cards should we need anything (more on this later).

 

We then headed up to the pool deck for some sun (my wife was "chomping at the bit" to get up there).

 

A sample of some of the activities offered throughout the day----morning trivia, arts & crafts, ping pong tournament, bingo, casino, Jimmy Buffet Power Hour, Country Line Dancing, shuffleboard, Art Auction and the Mr. Hairy Chest Competition at the Pool.

 

We attended the Latitudes get-together in the Spinnaker Lounge and got to again meet some of the Pearl staff. They had give-aways (didn't win anything--darn). Had the opportunity to talk with Mirsad Bucuk (Food and Beverage Director) again too see how the Valentine's evening dinner reservations were going to be handled. As I mentioned, I had ordered the Anniversary Package which includes dinner for 2 at Le Bistro. I wanted to book this for Valentine's Day since it was my wife's birthday. Mirsad was very kind and helpful and said he would check on how this would be handled because there was going to be a special 5 course menu for that evening which was going to have a $45 cover charge.

 

That evening we ate at the Summer Palace. Excellent food and service. This is a beautiful dining room with a Russian theme (Czar Nicholas and his family, sculptures, faux faberge eggs, etc.). Very enjoyable. We had reservations for 7pm and we did notice a group of 6 who showed up and were told that there would be a 30 minute wait. They do give you pagers so that you can do something else until you are called. There are also dining screens around the ship which tell you which restaurants are filling up.

 

I also should mention that they had a "2 for 1 cover charge" promotion in the Speciality Restaurants that evening for those who dined between 5:30 and 7pm. There were some exclusions.

 

Went to the Stardust Theater for "Sea Legs-A Showgirl Revue" featuring the Jean Ann Ryan Company. Good show--especially the male and female acrobats!!

 

We had an early morning excursion so we called it a night around 11:30pm.

 

Day 3 (2/13) -- Cozumel!! After breakfast we headed for the Stardust Theater to meet our shore excursion group. We had pre-booked our excursions with NCL and the tickets were waiting for us in our stateroom when we arrived on Sunday. The Cozumel excursion was to the Tulum Mayan Ruins. This turned out to be a long all-day excursion. We met at 9:30am and received a box lunch to take with us (tuna sandwich, chips, cookies, bottle water, etc.). We followed the NCL staffer off the ship to a ferry which would take us on the 25 minute boat ride to Playa Del Carmen. Once there, our tour guide took us on a 5 minute walk to our air conditioned (thank goodness!) motorcoach for the trip to Tulum. We stopped at a small shopping center on the way for about 25 minutes and then took off again for the Ruins. Be aware--you will be surrounded by locals trying to sell you hats and postcards once you get off the bus at Tulum. Just be polite and keep saying No (although they are persistent). We then had about a 1/2 mile walk to the Ruins. There are shops and places to eat and drink before you head to the ruins and when you get back.

 

Considering we came from 20 degree snowy weather, we were not quite ready for the 85 degrees and humidity. Our guide took us on about a 45 minute tour and then let us have about 1 1/2 hours to tour on our own. It is a fascinating place. Much bigger than I had expected. There is a lot to see and explore and there is a nice beach (with steps down to it). Lots of people were taking advantage of the water on a hot day. We did not know about this or we would have considered bringing some swim suits.

 

We met back at the bus at around 4:15pm and headed back to Playa del Carmen. We did everything in reverse. Got off the bus, walked back to the pier, got our ferry/tender tickets, stood in line and then took the ferry back to the Cozumel pier. I forgot to mention that the ferry picked up folks from the NCL Dream on the way to Playa del Carmen; so we took them back to their ship first. We then went back to the pier and got back on the Pearl. It was a good thing that we had booked through NCL because we were late getting back. But since it was an NCL excursion; they have to wait (if for no other reason, the Excursion Director was with us).

 

Nice excursion. Tulum is worth seeing; but the travel to and back is a negative aspect. You just have to weigh on your own whether you want to spend that much time on an excursion.

 

We had to hustle to make our dinner reservation at Indigo (the other main dining room). We brought our bottle of wine (from the Anniversary package) to the dining room and they exchanged it for a chilled bottle to drink during dinner. Again, food was good and the service was excellent (especially I-Jay).

 

It was this evening that we stumbled upon our favorite musical group on the ship---Trio los Amigos. They played each evening in the Crystal Atrium on Deck 7 (where the big screen, registration desk and shore excursion desk are located). We thought they were excellent; very relaxing harmonies and guitars.

 

The show in the Stardust Theater that evening was "The Second City" improv/comedy group. We thought the show was very good and the audience participation was especially funny.

 

At 10:45pm there was a Caribbean Deck Party on the Pool Deck (Deck 12). Music by "Flex", a limbo contest, an Ice Carving demonstration and the crowning of Miss Carmen Miranda (separate teams of women dressed up a guy like Carmen Miranda to compete).

 

Since there was a female Shadow Dancing show in the Bliss Ultra Lounge the night before, there was a "Ship N' Males" show for the ladies in the Spinnaker Lounge on Tuesday night at midnight. We didn't make it to either show so can't provide much info.

 

I am worn out--more to come!!

[DRMizzou]

Before I continue the review, I wanted to note that Klaus (Hotel Director), Clint Wells (Cruise Director) and Mirsad Bucuk (Food and Beverage Director) seemed to be everywhere on the ship during the cruise. Whether it was late at night or the next morning in the Garden Cafe, they always seemed to be around. I know that is their job; but it was nice to know they were checking on things. One morning Mirsad was even helping people get their coffee (from the machines that seemed to be constantly on the "fritz").

 

Review continues----

 

Day 4 (2/14) -- Belize!! Depending on whether you were on a shore excursion etc., there was a procedure for requesting and receiving tender tickets. The waters around Belize are too shallow for ships to dock so everybody has to tender in. There were about 3-4 other cruise ships there that day. We had a shore excursion booked thru NCL that met on the pier at 1:45pm so we could take our time. I did pick up tender tickets at around 11am but by the time we got ready to go over; they were calling for open tendering. The pier area at Belize City is OK--shops, bars, etc. We wandered around until 1:45pm and met our group. I am not sure what the temp was; but it was HOT!! We were taken by catamaran to Barrier Reef for about 1 hour of snorkeling. This was an "off the boat" snorkeling tour. The water was very clear. Lots of fish and cool coral formations. Then it was back on the catamaran and on to Bannister Caye (island) for about an hour or so of relaxation or whatever. It is a small island and has lounges, chairs, floats, kayaks, etc. It also has a small place to eat and an outdoor bar. All in all, a nice little place to relax. Then it was back on the boat. Given the time, they took us directly back to the Pearl. Good excursion!!

 

Over the past 2 days there had been some miscommunication about the Valentine's dinner at Le Bistro. Mirsad checked and first said that they could not honor the Anniversary package dinner at Le Bistro on 2/14. We would have to pay $45 if we wanted to go that evening. We could then use our "free" dinner another night. I wanted to take Pam there for her birthday so I said OK. When we got back to our room on Tuesday evening, I had a phone message that said that they would now honor the "free dinner" on Valentine's Day and there would be no extra charge. When I went to make reservations for Le Bistro at the counter outside of Mambo's, the lady there said that we would have to be charged the extra amount. I explained the phone message I had received, she checked again and finally it all worked out. NCL--a little advice--when you have these special occasions (Valentine's Day, etc.) make sure all of your people get the right information. Everything did work out; but it did get a little frustrating.

 

Anyway, we headed to Le Bistro for our Valentine's/Anniversary/Birthday dinner. 5 course meal with 3 different glasses of wine. It was excellent and the service was too. Kudos to our wait staff that evening--top notch!!

 

The show in the Stardust Theater was Garden of the Geisha. We were torn because some other things were happening at the same time. We stayed for the opening part of the show (again--the acrobats were very good) but the show was not holding our attention. We left and headed for the Garden Cafe to check out the Chocolate Buffet. This was a little bit of a disappointment. When we were on the NCL Star the Buffet was held in the late afternoon in the main dining room. It was quite a presentation. The Pearl held theirs at 10 pm in the Garden Cafe. It seemed pretty crowded and appeared to have a lot less variety. Did not seem to be as much of a "show" as others had been. Maybe this was because of the time crunch of a 5 day cruise.

 

We then went to the Spinnaker Lounge for an "adults-only" improv set by the Second City troupe. The show was good but I am not sure why it was billed as "adults-only". Seemed pretty tame to us.

 

Other activities on the ship throughout the day that we did not take part in--Valentine Bingo, Newlywed Gameshow and a White Party (everyone dressed in white) in the Bliss Ultra Lounge.

 

This might be a good place to interject that there were photo portrait stations set up in the Crystal Atrium almost every night. You could get your pictures taken with various backdrops and then choose to purchase at the Portrait Gallery.

 

Another interesting aspect of the Crystal Atrium was the large screen that served as a backdrop throughout the day. It was also used to show movies at certain times (Superman Returns was one) and as a screen for Nintendo Wii video games that people could play (tennis, boxing, bowling). Looked like fun; but it was always busy.

 

Another interesting part of the ship was the bowling alleys in the Bliss Ultra Lounge (two lanes on each side). It is supposedly the first bowling alley on a cruise ship. This was also always busy; except when we were docked (and what would have been the fine of trying it when we were not moving). Didn't get to try this either. Those who did seemed to be having a great time.

 

The decor in the Bliss Ultra Lounge was unusual to say the least. I heard it described twice as the Bordello Lounge. Lots of plush seating and a couple of beds to lie down in while you watched the crowd dance on a disco style dance floor. It was interesting!!

 

I haven't even mentioned the Rock Climbing Wall, the Sports Court (with stadium seating), the Fitness Center (very nice--but I never made it although I sure meant to when I got on the ship).

 

Bar City was another innovative part of the ship. There was a Martini/Champagne Bar and a Beer/Whisky Bar down one area of the ship on Deck 6.

 

Wednesday evening closed with a Valentine's Ball in the Spinnaker Lounge at midnight.

 

More to come.....

[envirolawyer]

I am really enjoying your review...Thank you for posting.

[JudyOh]

I was very pleased when we arrived on the Pearl 2/2 and found out you could only make reservations for the next day. That is what I consider to be more "freestyle" than making them for the whole week. We had no problems getting reservations for where and when we wanted them. If you watch the ads from NCL you have taken away "freestyle" if you have reservations for a week ahead. We did have a mini but only made the reservations for 24 hours ahead to be able to cruise "freestyle" and mostly we used the regular reservation line to make our reservations, not Ruth. I'm glad our side won out.:D

[DRMizzou]

Before I continue the review, there are a couple of things I forgot to mention. At Le Bistro on Valentine's Day, our wait staff delivered an anniversary cake (part of the Anniversary Package) to our table. We had forgotten that was part of the package and had already ordered dessert. They said no problem they would have the cake delivered to the room later. I also explained that it was my wife's birthday so they did a double number of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Happy Birthday". Besides their great service, they were good singers too!! The cake was delivered later that evening and it had the Happy Anniversary placard on it--and a new Happy Birthday placard to boot. Good cake!!

 

Another issue I thought of regarding excursions--there is a difference between "ship's time" and "shore time". At least in Cozumel and Belize. The ship was on Eastern Time and Cozumel and Belize are on Central Time. We were reminded on our NCL excursions to always use "ship's time". If you asked a local they would give you "shore time". This could really mess you up if you were running close getting back on the ship. No problem with NCL excursions--but keep this in mind if you go off on your own.

 

Back to the review....

 

Day 5 (2/15) --- At Sea. After breakfast, a good portion of the morning and early afternoon was spent at the Pool Deck. As expected since we got there after 9am, we were unable to get a chair on the actual pool deck. But we found a couple on the deck just above. Beautiful day and we just relaxed and took in the sun--with the occasional dip in the pool or hot tub. The pool area was nice with a very shallow area to keep your feet wet or to sit in--and the rest of the pool to jump into. One pool is Adults Only and the other was pretty loaded down with kids (this was the one by the waterslide).

 

Some of the morning activities listed in the Daily were Ping Pong tourney, morning trivia, UNO, Towel Folding Demo, Texas Hold'em Poker Tourney, Scrabble and Bingo.

 

There was also a Debarkation Talk given by the Cruise Director in the Stardust Lounge. I did not make it there. I gambled that it would be shown on one of the ship's TV channels later in the day and I was right. Afternoon activities included a Mr. Sexy Legs contest at the Pool Deck, a Second City Workshop (learn the art of Improv), etc.

 

My wife took in the Art Auction at 2:30pm on Deck 6 and I just cruised around the ship.

 

We met back at the stateroom and spent a little time just sitting out on our balcony and relaxing. We then sorted and packed a few things.

 

We decided to eat dinner a little early and went back to the Summer Palace. I had a hard time choosing between the Veal and the Beef Stir Fry. Our head waitress told me not to worry--she would bring me some of each. I thought she meant putting a little of each on one plate--but she wound up bringing a full plate of each. Both were very good. Once again---good food and excellent service.

 

Since we had eaten a little early, we made it to the 8pm show in the Stardust Lounge. The show was "The Magic and Comedy of Bob & Sarah Trunell". We both thought this was an excellent show. Magic with a dash of comedy thrown in. Once again, the audience participation parts were some of the funniest bits. I highly recommend this show.

 

Also that evening, they offered a Star Seeker Talent Show Competition in the Spinnaker Lounge at 9pm and the Quest (an adult humor gameshow) in the Spinnaker at 11pm. We did not make it to either show but wanted to give you an idea about other offerings.

 

We checked out the photos in the Photo Gallery and purchased our favorites (we also received a free 5x7 print as part of the Anniversary package).

 

I stopped by the Reception Desk to pick up our debarkation luggage tags because we had to place bags outside the stateroom by 1am. The tags were color coded based on when you wanted to leave the ship. Since we had reserved a rental car for 10am, we thought we would leave the ship at 9:10am on Friday. This called for a Lavender luggage tag. This is all explained the Debarkation flyer inside the Thursday Daily. You could pick up your tags in the Information Racks located between the Reception Desk and the Shore Excursion Desk on Deck 7 between 8am and 11pm on Thursday.

 

After listening to Trio los Amigos one last time in the Crystal Atrium, having a drink at the Bliss Ultra Lounge and having one last leisurely stroll around the ship, we headed for our stateroom to finish packing.

 

As we entered the room, we found a "Cobra" shaped towel waiting for us on the bed. I forgot to mention that this was a nice treat left each night as part of the turn down service. Each night brought a new "towel animal". Just a small thing, but it made the cruise even nicer. I cannot say enough about our room stewards. They were great. If we needed anything (extra towels, etc.), all we had to do was leave a note and it was taken care of. I did leave a little extra tip a couple of times to say thanks for the service.

 

As I mentioned we had a balcony stateroom and we thought it was laid out very well. There was several shelves and drawers to use, a fairly large closet, a small desk area (with a blow dryer) and a table and chair. There was a 19 inch (I think) TV which had ship information, a forward ship cam, CNN, FOX, ESPN and a movie channel. The bathroom had a sliding door for the toilet and a sliding door for the shower. There were several small shelves and a shelf under the sink. The shower had a removable shower head and a wall dispenser that held shampoo and liquid soap. The electrical outlets accommodating my wife's hot rollers so they seemed to be standard.

 

My wife really like the corner floor length mirror which was conveniently placed between the bathroom and the bed on the wall. She thought this was a nice touch. We brought along one of the large plastic shoe caddies which we hung from two hooks on the wall just outside the bath. This allowed for more storage space for small containers and toiletries. The bed was very comfortable and we had no trouble sleeping. We brought along a travel alarm--but you could ask for a wake up call on your phone.

 

The balcony was large enough for two chairs and a small table. There was a refrigerator which doubled as a mini-bar. We told our room steward that we were not going to use the mini-bar-but we would be placing some items (beer) in the refrigerator during the cruise. This was no problem.

 

Another tip---I asked for a copy of my on-board account early Thursday evening so I could make sure there weren't any "funny" charges to my account. There were none. There is a final printout delivered outside your room (on the "Do Not Disturb/Make Up Room/Turn Down Room" wheel) on Friday morning---but I did not want to wait until then to find some unexpected charge.

 

After packing, putting on the Lavender luggage tags, and placing the bags out in the hall, we hit the sack for our last night on the Pearl.

 

I will finish up the review tomorrow with debarkation........

[Rusty Trombone]

Excellent review. I only hope its up to Don Haynes standards. I remember watching that tender come back late in Cozumel. I told my wife that is exactly why you should book through the cruise line. If you remember, what was on the menu for the 5 course Valentine's day dinner in Le Bistro? We ate at Indigo that night. They served a raspberry heart shaped cheesecake with "Happy Valentines Day" written in chocolate on the edge of the plate.

[DRMizzou]

Rusty T -- as a matter of fact they provided a special menu that evening that you could take with you as a souvenir (did I spell that right?). It was rolled up with a red ribbon around it.

 

They started you off with Champagne.

 

First Course - We had the Citrus Crab Salad. They also offered Duck Confit and Foie Gras Surprise.

 

Second Course - We had the Creamy Lobster Broth. Other offering was Bean Soup with Piedmont Truffle Oil.

 

3rd Course - Salad

 

Main Entree (4th) - We both had the Lobster Tail and Tenderloin in Bearnaise Sauce. Other offerings were Baked Sea Bass with Herb and Parmesan Crust and Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Sage Butter.

 

You could also have your choice of wines through dinner.

 

Dessert (5th) - We wife had the Strawberry and Chocolate Layered Creme Brulee and I had the Cheesecake St. Valentine (with lemon and berry marmalade).

 

Dinner and the service were excellent.

 

I enjoyed reading your review also!!

 

This evening I will finally try and finish my review. Until then.......

[DRMizzou]

Rusty T -- as a matter of fact they provided a special menu that evening that you could take with you as a souvenir (did I spell that right?). It was rolled up with a red ribbon around it.

 

They started you off with Champagne.

 

First Course - We had the Citrus Crab Salad. They also offered Duck Confit and Foie Gras Surprise.

 

Second Course - We had the Creamy Lobster Broth. Other offering was Bean Soup with Piedmont Truffle Oil.

 

3rd Course - Salad

 

Main Entree (4th) - We both had the Lobster Tail and Tenderloin in Bearnaise Sauce. Other offerings were Baked Sea Bass with Herb and Parmesan Crust and Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Sage Butter.

 

You could also have your choice of wines through dinner.

 

Dessert (5th) - My wife had the Strawberry and Chocolate Layered Creme Brulee and I had the Cheesecake St. Valentine (with lemon and berry marmalade).

 

Dinner and the service were excellent.

 

I enjoyed reading your review also!!

 

This evening I will finally try and finish my review. Until then.......

[DRMizzou]

First--allow me to apologize for the double-post earlier today. The website was acting kind of "funky" and when the post finally went through, I saw that it had posted twice.

 

On with my final installment.....

 

Debarkation Day (2/16) -- I woke up about 6:30am and noticed lights outside. When I checked out the balcony, I found that we were already docked at the Port of Miami (slightly ahead of schedule). I checked outside and found my final onboard credit statement (everything was cool so didn't have to worry about any trip to the Reception Desk). We finished packing our carry-on bags and got ready for breakfast.

 

The Garden Cafe was jammed with those folks scurrying to get off the ship and those having leisure time to kill. We wound up getting a table out in the Great Outdoors which would have normally been great--but that morning it was about 50 degrees, cloudy and windy. We still had a nice breakfast and were able to relax because we were not due to disembark until 9:10am. We did notice that they were calling luggage tags by color earlier than previously announced (it was supposed to start at 9am but actually began around 8:30am).

 

Note: They had an Express Walk Off Program that you had to register for on Thursday. This was for people who needed no assistance with their luggage. You did not have to place bags outside your stateroom the night before and did not need luggage tags. If you registered for this program, you could begin leaving the ship at 7:30am.

 

They held a "comment card" drawing at 7am and began announcing the winners during the time we were heading to breakfast. Once again--no luck!!

 

Breakfast had the following schedules:

 

Room Service (continental breakfast) - 6-9am

Buffet at Garden Cafe - 5:30-9:30am

Breakfast in Summer Palace - 6:30-8:30am

 

For those who were not settling their account by credit card, you had to settle your account at the Reception Desk from 5:30 to 9am. After 9am, the accounts were closed.

 

Things to do while waiting to disembark:

 

Photo Gallery was open - 7am to close

Java Coffee Bar on Deck 7 - 7-10am

Spinnaker Bar was open - 7-10am

CNN on the Big Screen on Deck 7 - 7-9am

 

After breakfast, we headed back to our room and made one last check to make sure we had not left anything behind. One last look off the balcony and we headed down to Deck 7. We made one last stroll thru the Crystal Atrium and headed to the elevator to go down to Deck 6 (we had two rolling carry-on bags). We left the ship at about 9:15am and headed down to claim our bags and go thru Customs.

 

Note: They provide Customs forms for you the night before. Only one member of the family needs to fill one out.

 

There was a NCL staff person waiting to instruct us as to where the bags with various colored tags were located. We found ours immediately and got in line for customs. This went extremely quickly--the whole process took only about 15-20 minutes.

 

For those who may be renting a car in Miami---we had seen from our balcony that a Hertz shuttle was picking up people outside of the terminal on the right (as you are leaving). We proceeded there are were picked up by a Hertz shuttle in about 10-15 minutes. The Hertz downtown Miami location is on 1st Street downtown away from the Port of Miami. It is a relatively short drive but you have to factor in traffic and picking up people from other cruise lines. The Hertz rental office is pretty small and in a very busy area (this was about 10:30am on Friday). They have to bring the cars down from a nearby parking garage. We were lucky enough to get a free upgrade to a small Chevy SUV (we had booked a Taurus) and we were off.

 

We spent some time wandering around Bayside (shops, bars, and restaurants). There was also a boat show going on. We did recognize a few people from the Pearl who were also checking out Bayside while we were there. There is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Hard Rock Cafe, Chili's and a Hooters there along with some interesting shops.

 

We then drove over to South Miami Beach and drove around the Art Deco District. As you make your way over to South Beach, you pass by the Port and can get a great view of the cruise ships (including the Pearl). There are municipal parking garages on 7th and 13th Streets which only charge $1 an hour (there is virtually new parking along Ocean Drive). There are great art deco buildings and several nice sidewalk restaurants (especially between 7th and 10th Streets).

 

In the evening, we headed for Miami International and dropped off the rental car. Little did we know that our adventure was just starting. We had a 10:20pm flight which was later delayed until midnight (because our plane was coming from Newark and snow). Everything shuts down in the airport at 10pm--so no food or drink to pass the time. We landed in St. Louis at 2am and got to our vehicle at 2:30am. It was snowing and about 28 degrees (welcome back to Missouri and winter). After cleaning the snow and ice off the vehicle, we finally started our 2 hour drive back to Jefferson City. We got home about 4:45am--which meant that we were concluding a 23 hour day since getting up at 6:30am ET on the Pearl.

 

Well, that's it!! My review of our great 5 day cruise on the NCL Pearl. The ship was great and the staff/service was very good. There were some glitches along the way; but we were both very happy with our cruising experience. This was our 3rd time with NCL and we will definitely be coming back.

 

I hope this review and provided some good information for future cruisers on the Pearl. I always like to check out Cruise Critic and the boards before we cruise. I feel like it helps me to be a little bit better prepared. That is why I think it is only fair to give back and write a review. Sorry if it was a little long.

 

Hope everyone has a great time on their cruise!!!

[kath1210]

Thanks for your review! We will be on this cruise March 11-16 and cannot wait!

[beachseasand]

Well, that's it!! My review of our great 5 day cruise on the NCL Pearl. The ship was great and the staff/service was very good. There were some glitches along the way; but we were both very happy with our cruising experience. This was our 3rd time with NCL and we will definitely be coming back.

 

I hope this review and provided some good information for future cruisers on the Pearl. I always like to check out Cruise Critic and the boards before we cruise. I feel like it helps me to be a little bit better prepared. That is why I think it is only fair to give back and write a review. Sorry if it was a little long.

 

Hope everyone has a great time on their cruise!!!

 

Wow fantastic review it helps us alot in the planning of our trip. Thank you very much for taking the time and the detail of your report. So glad you finally made it home after such a long day. Hope you are back sailing the seas soon.

[gr82cu2]

Thank you so much for your review. We leave on the Pearl tomorrow morning and I cannot wait!!

[CruiseGuy12345]

Thank you so much for your review. We leave on the Pearl tomorrow morning and I cannot wait!!

 

Did you see our roll call with info for a meet & greet?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=457183

[blueridgecruiser]

We were on the cruise with you. Missed the meet & greet (moving slow with the most comfortable beds in 15+ cruises) Ditto your remarks. Having been to Cozumel 3 times before, we rented a Jeep and had a wonderful schedule free day. Saw parts of the Island we have never seen. After seeing pics on Cozumel website of damage caused by two hurricanes in 2005, we were amazed at how great they have recovered! BTW, be careful of phoning home from Cozumel. Some phones outside of port told us they charge US $45.00 for the first 5 minutes! WOW!

[sazzle99]

Great review - I loved all the detail. We have just booked for next Feb on the Pearl and I really look forward to it

 

Thanks for your review - really useful:)

[Stillfloatin']

Thanks for the nicely detailed review. You answered plenty of last-minute questions I had regarding our cruise this Friday. After reading your review, I'm ever happier that we're doing the back-to-back so we can also experience the 5-day Western. Now all I have to do is get through the next 4 days!:D

[DRMizzou]

We hope everyone has as great a time on the Pearl as we did (in fact we are envious that you are getting ready to cruise and ours is over). Those going on the "back-to-back" should really have time to sample all of the offerings on the ship. 5 days just didn't seem long enough--but it fit nicely into our work schedule.

 

BlueRidgeCruiser--good to know you were on the cruise with us. Sounds like you had a nice leisurely day at Cozumel. This first time we were there I snorkeled--this time it was the Tulum tour. Next time we may take a cue from you and do our own thing.

 

Glad we did not try to make a phone call from there--Yikes!!

 

Hope all of you soon-to-be and future Pearl cruisers have a great time!!

[flipflopn]

:) Thanks so much for your detailed review! You answered my questions about touring the Mayan ruins! We cruise on 3/11 (first timers) and are looking forward to it!