Norwegian Pearl Review

4.0 / 5.0
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Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Pearl

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Sail Date: May 2009
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony

We sailed on the Pearl to Alaska May 17-24, 2009. This was our second cruise on NCL, third cruise overall. We're just ordinary middle-class people. We don't expect a lot and we aren't demanding. We just expect smiles and reasonably efficient service. We flew into Sea-Tac the morning of the cruise departure. That was a stressful thought in the weeks leading up to the cruise as we hadn't done that in the past and did not have travel insurance. Our flight arrived early at 10:25. We took Shuttle Express (approx 20 min wait) and arrived at Pier 66 by 11:40. Embarkation: Baggage check was quick and efficient.. Then we stood in line for 20+ minutes for security. The line stretched out the door (same thing happened on the Sky in 2003). After check in, we made our way up the gangway where the champagne was waiting for us. We took the advice of other Cruise Critic members, and went straight to the Summer Palace for a relaxing lunch. There were very few people there. Our cabin was ready before 2 pm, and our baggage was waiting for us at our cabin after the muster drill at 3:30.

Cabin: This was our first balcony experience, BA balcony 10548. When we first walked in we were very disappointed. It looks much larger in the pictures. Itwas teeny tiny, but felt larger as the days passed. (We've previously had a inside on the Sky, and an oceanview on HAL. Those seemed larger, but it may have been the bed configuration). Two beds, not a queen. It was a tight fit. The end of the first bed was so close to the desk we had to turn sideways to pass between the two. The beds were very comfortable. The glass balcony enclosure needed a serious wash and wasn't washed at all during cruise, so as we sat on the balcony, we had to look through the dirty glass. The coffee maker was not cleaned and had a used filter inside. I left a not for the steward and it was taken care of the first night. The bathroom was functional. Shelves under the sink for storage. Great water pressure. Elemis amenities included bottled lotion (which seemed to make dry skin worse), liquid hand soap dispenser, and shampoo and shower gel in the shower (no conditioner). Hairdryer worked great. Cigar and cigarette smoke travels, which was really unfortunate. And you can hear everything anyone's saying on the surrounding balconies. The room steward never introduced himself, but he did smile when we passed him in the hallway.

Restaurants Mamba's was the only specialty restaurant we ate at. One complimentary margarita. The fajitas were delicious. The beef was so tender. Chocoholic Buffet was a really disgusting sight. The entire garden cafe was filled with chocolate cakes, fruit, pastries, you name it. We had a taste, of course. Ate at Blue Lagoon a couple times. The chicken wings were good the first time. The chef's salad was horrible. Just the thought of the hard-boiled eggs makes me ill. Don't know if they were frozen or dried out, but definitely not normal. Ate at the Garden Cafe many times. Pretty much the same thing everyday. Action stations for grill, carving, Asian, Mexican, soups, pasta, fruits, salad. Something for every taste. At peak times finding a clean plate was a problem. Some desserts were lacking in flavor, but the ice cream was yummy. Breakfast had an omelet station and all the usual breakfast fare. Didn't try the Summer Palace for dinner, but ate there for breakfast and lunch a couple times. The day in Glacier Bay lunch service was super slow. Had to ask for a bread basket. Portions are small so there wasn't much waste. Tried Indigo once just to see the place. Looks like it should be a pay restaurant. Very nice. Room Service. Didn't have a menu in the room, except for breakfast. On the Sky we had an issue with only getting half our order. Had the same problem on the Pearl. Only cold selections available. Shows Shows were short (under 1 hour) probably because no money is made from these.  Nothing special.  Garden of the Geisha almost put me to sleep (except the cool acrobatics at the end).  The end of the International Crew Talent Show featured the cruise director's staff performing "fountains".  Hilarious.  I was in tears.Miscellaneous As much as ships try to respect the environment, SO much paper was wasted. Each Freestyle Daily had at least 3 extra pages added from the spa and shopping desk. Bingo is a rip off. The cheapest package was $40 for 4 games. That's outrageous considering many prizes were under $200. Some people take trivia WAY too seriously. $15 for one 4x6 picture? NOT! And there was one guy at the photo gallery desk that had the worst attitude. He had to keep repeating himself because everyone asked the same question, and he was hard to understand so he'd have to repeat himself again. If they would just post the prices, it would save everyone a headache. There were quite a few kids on board for the middle of May.  Just an observation.  They all seemed well behaved.Ports Monday: Sea day. It is true that the Pacific can get rough. Woke me up at 4:45 AM. Can definitely feel the motion on deck 10 (we were just a bit forward of midship). The bed vibrated all night (from the waves). Tuesday - Juneau: Clear skies, temps in low 60s. We were to dock at the AJ Dock but had to wait for the Star to leave. This dock is a long walk from the tram station, but free shuttles were continuously bussing people into town. Outside the tram station there were many booths lined up for tour sales. We purchased tickets on the $14 blue bus roundtrip to Mendenhall Glacier. It was very windy at the glacier, but very pretty. No bear sightings, but we did see a porcupine munching leaves at the top of a tree. Once back in town, we used our Toursaver coupon for 2-for-1 on the Mt. Roberts Tramway. Back in town we visited a couple shops then hopped a shuttle back to the ship. Wednesday - Skagway: Overcast, mid- to high-60s. The Pearl and three other ships in port, so town was a bit on the crowded side. We had the best dock (Broadway). Shortest distance to town, right at the end of Broadway St (the main shopping street). There are multiple trains. One pulls up to each dock and is reserved solely for that ship's passengers. Very popular tour. Our afternoon train was 14 cars long just for the Pearl. Bottled water and a brochure with map provided on the train. One bear sighting on the journey to the summit. No open-air cars ("This is Alaska'). The roundtrip train is over 3 hours. Skagway is a very long day. Tried bowling (45/pp per game) while the ship was in port and even though the ship was not moving, it was very awkward. Thursday - Glacier Bay: WOW! A couple park rangers came aboard to give commentary. Got very close to Marjerie Glacier. Stopped there for about an hour. Our port-side balcony was perfect. The ship did a 180 so the starboard side could have a good look. The glacier was calving which sounds like cracking thunder. This was a great time to try out the rock climbing wall (free), partly cloudy skies and no wind. It wasn't easy but I made it to the top. Friday - Ketchikan: This is a short stop. Time for an excursion and not much else. Having been to Ketchikan before we opted for the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour (2-for-1 Toursaver). This was a highlight of our cruise. The Aleutian Ballad shared a dock with the Pearl, so it was a short walk to the boat. We sailed out to protected waters and the staff fed bald eagles by throwing out herring. The eagles swooped down close to the boat. Crab pots were hauled. We were able to hold a couple kinds of crab (except the king crab). A couple fish and octopus were brought aboard. Jackets were provided as it got rather chilly in the wind and shade. We were able to move about the boat at our leisure. A great time was had by all! The staff was really pleasant and interactive.Saturday - Victoria: Again, we'd been there in the past. Two other ships in port. Long lines for tours, taxis, and pedicabs. We chose to walk to the Inner Harbor. Victoria is such a beautiful place. Disembarkation: We chose to self disembark and left around 8:30 after breakfast at the Great Outdoors. Everyone was directed to the same door, but the line moved fairly quickly. Once we were outside, we looked in and saw a line already starting to form for the next cruise. Overall: We went for the fresh air and the scenery which did not disappoint. Will we try NCL again? If it's a really REALLY good deal, otherwise we'll try Royal Caribbean on the recommendation of a family member. The Pearl is a very pretty ship, and she sure is big.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony

Cabin BA

Tiny room, decent size balcony.  Almost too small for two people.  Plenty of storage in the closet, under beds, shelves next to closet, under the sink.Small bathroom as expected.  Great shower.Quiet area.  Cabins above and below.  Close to fitness center one deck up.  Far from all dining.

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