We drove up to Seattle from Portland to get on the Pear. We were armed with two suitcases and one carry on that was empty so that we could put our many purchases in it for the trip back. We carefully planned our clothes and took along detergent to do washing. However, we found out we could stuff 40 pieces of clothing in the bag when they had the "all you can get in" deal on laundrywashed, pressed, and delivered for $20, so we only washed once in the 19 days plus we came home with clean clothes.

What a beautiful ship the Pearl is and we learned how to get around very quickly. For those on a budget, deck 5 with a picture window was great and our particular room was just around the corner and down 2 from the midship elevators. Even in 12-18 ' swells which we had only one night, we were very stable and comfortable. There was plenty of room for everything we brought including 2 small fans, just because we like the air movement. The suitcases all fit under the bed. Our steward was great, leaving us a towel animal every other night. I'm surprised he didn't run out of ideas.

We did splurge on the spa package. It came to less than $15 a day for the entire trip and we used it every single day. Usually in the afternoon about 2:00 when done with sightseeing we would grab our books from the library, head up and do the steam room. hydrotherapy pool, etc., then relax on the warm stone benches before putting on our robe, sitting on the lounges, while drinking tea, ice water or orange juice, watching the spectacular view from the front of the ship and reading until our eyes began to get heavy. Then we'd take an hour nap, before heading off to clean up for dinner. Read more