Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review by cruisingholly

Nine in our group chose to make their own flight arrangements to the port at San Pedro. The remaining 18 opted for the NCL Air/Sea program. Our flight from Phoenix to LAX went without a hitch; but when we arrived at LAX at 11:30, our problems began. After claiming our luggage, we sought out the NCL representative in the baggage claim area, only to be told that there were no buses there to take us to the cruise terminal, and they didn’t know when the buses would be there. We were given several excuses: this was a two-ship day and they weren’t prepared to transport all the passengers sailing on that day (poor planning); they had begun a new contract with a new bus company, and they had neglected to arrange for the extra sailing (again, poor planning); and finally, that there had been an accident on the highway and the buses could not get to the airport (ridiculous!). This final excuse, incredibly, seemed to be the one that prevailed, in spite of the fact that we had witnessed bus after bus arriving to pick up passengers for the Norwegian Star and the Sapphire Princess.

After two hours of sitting patiently and being told that they honestly didn’t know if or when we would be picked up, we began to get concerned and made some phone calls. Finally, a bus arrived, again bearing a Norwegian Star sign, and the driver finally agreed to transport the Pearl people, too. We were not alone in our predicament; there were probably 30 other people waiting to be transported to the Pearl. At 2:30, three hours after we landed, we boarded the bus, arriving at the World Cruise Center at about 3:15 for a 4:00 sailing. Needless to say, we were processed for boarding quickly, since we were the only passengers in the terminal at that time.

After sprinting onto the ship, we arrived just in time to hear the final call for the lifeboat drill. We ran to our cabins, threw down our carry-ons, and grabbed our flotation devices to join the others at the muster stations.

This was a very poor way for us to start our cruise, and the people involved were very agitated, and felt that NCL should compensate in some way for our anxiety and the fact that the NCL representatives were not able to give us ANY information about when or even if we would be transported. Some in the group were first-time cruisers, and were very concerned that we would miss the sailing. Others were not particular fans of NCL, but had signed on with the group because of the itinerary, and this did not improve their opinion. Several were seasoned NCL customers, and they were horrified at what occurred. I immediately went to the Reception Desk and reported our experience, but was met with a smile, and “we’re sorry, but it wasn’t our fault.” I didn’t care whose fault it was; our contract was with NCL and, at the end of the day, they were responsible for our transfer, even if the bus contractor they used was the ultimate problem.

After a very rocky beginning, we were finally able to sit down and have a calming drink and find the others in our group who had arranged their own transportation and arrived hours earlier.

After our first sea day, we made a call in Cabo San Lucas. There were several ships at anchor that day, and everything was extremely crowded and the temperature and humidity were both in the 80s. Those of us who went to shore returned to the ship within the first half-hour. We had been to Cabo before, so it was not a great loss to us not to spend time on shore, but others on the ship may have missed spending time in an interesting port because everything was so congested.

Tuesday was another sea day, followed by a visit to Acapulco on Wednesday. I had arranged in advance a private tour for those in our group who were interested. I contracted with Rudy Fregoso of Tour by Van for a visit to the recently-opened ruins at Tehuacalco. Eighteen in the group signed on for this unique trip. Rudy greeted us at the appointed time and with two vans, drivers, and English-speaking guides. After a quick tour of Acapulco, we headed inland to the area just northeast of Tierra Colorada, about an hour’s drive from Acapulco. Along the way, our guides told us many things about Mexico and its history. This is a beautiful part of Mexico, and a lovely drive up to that area, very mountainous and lushly green.

The ruins are smaller than some of the better-known ones, but it was an extremely interesting visit. We were an older population from Arizona, so the humidity was hard on us, but I was amazed at how many in the group persevered and climbed to the tops of the monuments. The site is very well-preserved, and a little spread out, so it is pleasant, with grassy meadows separating the sites.

Rudy and Santiago were OUTSTANDING guides, and I would recommend them to anyone! On the way home, we all asked questions, and were very impressed with the knowledge, and especially the candor, demonstrated by our guides. I have communicated with Rudy since our tour, and find him to be charming and very interested in providing the best product he can. He will customize a tour for you, incorporating the things you want to see, and eliminating what you are not interested in. He can be contacted by emailing info at tour by van dot com.

On Thursday, we visited beautiful Huatulco. This newly-developed area is quite lovely. It is situated around nine bays, each very unique, and the developer is committed to keeping a large portion of the area in its natural state. I booked a visit to the Las Brisas Resort, and because it was the “low” season, the few of us who selected this tour had the place almost to ourselves. It is a beautiful resort, with pool, beaches, and luxury accommodations. This resort was built originally as a Club Med.

On Friday, our ship was Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. I had been to Guatemala in the past, and did not want to take a tour, but I did want to make some purchases. There is a very good crafts fair right at the dock, and I was able to find what I was seeking. The vendors were charming and their English was more than adequate. The port gives beautiful views of Agua and Fuego volcanoes if the weather is clear.

Some of our group booked an NCL excursion to Antigua. It was supposed to be a 5-hour tour, but ended up being 7 ½ hours, returning them to our ship at the very last moment. They reported spending too many hours on the bus. Additionally, the bus was unable to navigate the narrow streets of Antigua, and at one point, went the wrong way down a one-way street. Needless to say, they were not pleased.

After spending Saturday at sea, we arrived on Sunday at Puntarenas, Costa Rica on Sunday. We had been there 8 years ago, and we were very happy to visit the crafts market at the foot of the dock, where I found many things to take home for myself and others. Some in the group went into the mountains and took other tours which they reported were very enjoyable.

Monday was another sea day. Of course, on Tuesday, the Panama Canal was the apex of the cruise, as far as I was concerned, and I believe that the others in our group felt the same. I had provided a lot of historical information, statistical information, maps, and a list of lighthouses and other things to watch for. We had a very nice day for our transit, overcast, and not too hot. We entered the Canal at around 8 a.m. and exited it at about 4:40 that afternoon. It is great fun to watch the activity on shore surrounding the transit of a ship of our size. We had about 8-12 inches to spare on each side of the ship. All of the traffic appeared to be Pacific-to-Caribbean on that day. It is an experience everyone should have, but one should not do it unless you have studied the history of the Canal.

Wednesday was our day in Cartagena, Colombia. The ship arrived several hours ahead of schedule, as we had a passenger on board who required urgent medical attention. Again, I had arranged a private tour of this historic and lovely city. Leland Miles, owner of Mister Emerald, and I had been communicating for several months, as I had read in another Cruise Critic article that he provided a wonderful tour. Indeed, he does!!

Cartagena is a stunning city, as you sail in. Its skyline is filled with modern, white skyscrapers. I chose for our tour the sites of La Popa Monastery, the Fort of San Felipe, the Palace of the Inquisition, plus a quick stop at the Cathedral of San Pedro Claver. This included a charming stroll through the “old” city, where the last two sites were located. After our tour, we paid a visit to Mister Emerald, where some in the group purchased emerald jewelry.

We had 20 people on this tour. Again, the humidity was difficult for us desert-dwellers, but everyone was game, and climbed the steps to La Popa and enjoyed the tour there. The Fort of San Felipe was a challenge, but some did climb all the way to the top. The old city is beautiful, with its bougainvillea-draped balconies and narrow streets. The Palace of the Inquisition was a chilling but fascinating look at the implements of torture used during the Spanish Inquisition.

Our guide, Encarnacion, was delightful and full of the history of the area. He gave us a wonderful crash course on the history and culture of Cartagena, always with a bit of humor. We all enjoyed our time with him, and felt that we had learned so much about the area!

The contractor for this tour, Leland Miles, is an emerald dealer, and has a lovely store in the Pierino Gallo Plaza in the neighborhood of El Laguito. Mr. Miles can be contacted at Leland at Mister Emerald dot com to arrange tours for small or large groups.

The final two days were sea days. On the first of the two days, we had a Scavenger Hunt, which was a lot of fun for the group. The water was very rough that day, and many in our group were getting tired and suffering from sore throats, coughs, and stuffy noses. I was very surprised when nine people showed up for the hunt. Surprisingly, they were able to come up with about 90% of the items on the list! The final day was mostly consumed with packing things up and getting ready to head home.

Disembarkation was simple for most of us, although there was one couple caught in some sort of delay which caused a 3-hour disembarkation process for them. Fortunately, they were not catching a plane out on that day.

Overall, the cruise was a lot of fun. After the nightmare spent at the airport waiting for our bus, the other things were small, and at the most, irksome, but not major. Many of the issues we faced were only issues because we were a group.

I was constantly exasperated trying to make dinner reservations for large numbers of people. We all ate dinner together only one time, but there were other evenings when smaller groups of 12 to 21 wanted to dine together. As a courtesy, I tried to make reservations, but the times I could do so were very limited; apparently you can’t make a reservation at ANY of the restaurants between 6 and 8. As it turned out, “anytime” dining was “anytime,” as long as it was 5:45 or 8:30. If we took our chances and went for dinner without a reservation, we would frequently get lost in the crowds who had just come out of one of the shows. On one occasion, I asked the Group Coordinator to intervene for us, and she was successful at getting all of us seated at the desired time. One person in our group was extremely disappointed that the “Cooking Light” menu was no longer available, as of the week prior to our cruise.

Many of us settled into a routine of meeting at the Blue Lagoon for breakfast, all doing our own thing for lunch, and then getting together in smaller groups for dinner. We ate at Le Bistro twice, La Cucina once, and Cagney’s once, and those meals were all outstanding. Our favorite of the “free” dining rooms was Indigo, where we always tried to get in waiter Fortuso Gonzalves’s area. Some ate in the other restaurants with or without others from our group.

We were dismayed that the fruit baskets and cookies had disappeared for the Latitudes members, although even today on the website, the claim is that we should have gotten treats in our room. We never did. One of our group was looking forward to “customizing” his fruit basket, as he read he could do in a Latitudes mailing. However, when he tried to do so, he learned that there were no more fruit baskets to be customized.

Aside from the aforementioned cutbacks, there were subtle things that we noticed this cruise, some of which, for NCL, were probably small economic cutbacks. Others reflected a lack of planning. We noted that the lighting in our cabin was just terrible, there were no trays in the Garden Café, no iced tea early in the day, the lack of “change” at the front desk for breaking up larger bills (only $1 bills, and at times, not even that). Even though we boarded at the last possible moment, one couple found that their cabin had not been cleaned from the prior occupants when they arrived, which was very close to our sailing time.

All of the shows we attended were very good, and some we regretted missing after we heard about them. The ventriloquist, Kenny Byrd was a riot. The jugglers were excellent, and the hypnotist was extremely entertaining. The vocalists were outstanding. The Jean Ann Ryan shows were wonderful and the sets were beautiful. Second City was so-so.

As far as dining and service, in addition to what I have mentioned earlier, the food in the specialty restaurants was very good; the food in the “free” venues was just OK, but there was no shortage of food, and most of us weren’t that picky. Most of the waitstaff were cheery and delightful; a few seemed almost surley. Our Room Stewards appeared overwhelmed at times, and we had to follow up with them on our laundry, which was very overdue on two occasions, and some important end-of-cruise documents that were supposed to be delivered to our rooms were not provided until we asked for them. One couple did not receive one of the time-change notices, which could have been a real problem if they had booked a shore excursion for the following day.

All in all, I would have to say that we noticed a deterioration of certain things on this cruise. However, it will not prevent us from using NCL in the future. We are not terribly fussy; we just noticed things that we might not have seen if we had been first-time cruisers.

Unfortunately, the problem at the beginning with the absence of transportation from the airport to the ship impacted negatively our entire experience. On the last night, I was notified that the people who had been stuck at the airport would receive a refund of their $25-per-person transfer charge, which was at least something. By the time this was offered, most of us had assumed that we would not receive any compensation for our troubles. I have never had difficulties in the past with the Air/Sea program, and this may have been caused by some combination of unusual circumstances, but it was a very stressful time for all of us, and there was simply no excuse for it. And NCL’s cavalier attitude only added to our distress.