Jump to content

Has anyone sailed with Pearl Seas?


OnTheJourney
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

I have been looking at Pearl Seas cruises, in particular I like the Canadian Maritimes and St. Lawrence Seaway since it includes several ports that most of the larger ships don't (probably can't) go to. I found cruise critic reviews but can't seem to find a specific forum for this company.

 

Thanks for any input...

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think a lot of CC folks have been on PEARL MIST. I have ... twice ... albeit as guest lecturer on two cruises, "Great Lakes & Georgian Bay" and "Canada/New England Fall Foliage" ... and I loved it. I know this is telling my age, but my first cruise was back in the 1960s working as cruise staff on a Dutch Student Bureau trans-Atlantic crossing. Since then I've been on more cruises than I can count, had travel agencies for 15 years, and, after retiring early, have spent the last 8 years working for Holland America and Princess, and doing guest lecturer spots on Celebrity, Crystal, Silversea, and last year Pearl Seas. I've watched as ships have gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, but not necessarily better. My favorite ships were the "R Class" Princess ships, the old ROYAL, the PACIFIC, and the OCEAN. I loved having the opportunity to get to know the guests. Sadly, well I was happy to do it, but sad for the occasion, I did the final cruise around South America a year ago on OCEAN before it was sold.

 

The small, all-inclusive vessels really appeal to me now. I get to meet the guests. The guests are generally more mature, certainly more affluent, well-educated and well-traveled. They are fun to be with. I wasn't sure about PEARL MIST, but like I said, I loved it. The staterooms are surprisingly large, and pretty equal, and of course everyone has a balcony. Top deck there are lots of comfortable rockers and shaded lounge ares providing great views. Generally you are close enough to the coast to see something, not 12 miles out like on the big blue-water ships.

 

No one is trying to impress anyone. I've met fascinating people with fascinating stories and experience. There are no lines. No lines! No tender ticket scrambles, or lengthy waits in line to get stickered for tours. Tours, when not included, are reasonably priced. There are piles of bottled water ... help yourself! No $3 charge, plus 15% gratuity, for a little bottle of water. There are piles of snacks in the lounges ... yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but I do. There are coffee machines that make really good ... and this from a Panamanian coffee grower ... specialty coffees with the push of a button. No nickle and diming here. You go for dinner or lunch when you are ready and eat with whomever you want. Great way to meet folks!

 

Yeah, the "gym" is just a few exercise machines and they didn't get a lot of use. Entertainment is low-key, but fun, and entertaining. mostly lounge-type duos, with dancing music. If you want to see Broadlway want-a-bes this is not the ship for you. People on Pearl are interested in the ports. Yes! No casino. No climbing walls. No bumper cars. No waterslides. No kids -- I don't think they are outlawed but it just isn't the kind of ship or itinerary that appeals to young families.

 

It was a little challenging for me as an onboard lecturer, since I had to create my own lecturn stacking up furniture, and there was one pull down, living-room-size screen for PowerPoint, but it worked, and we were all friends and made it work. I enjoyed lecturing and folks seemed to enjoy and appreciate my presentations. Of course I never get to see ... or meet other lecturers. Folks always ask, "Do you know...?" and it's only very rare that ship lecturers get to cross paths.

 

The crew is fantastic. They come from a major crewing agency that provides crew for a lot of the high-end, smaller boutique cruise lines, and private super yachts. Polished, but friendly and eager to serve, heavily from the Philippines. On big ships crew are coming and going in every port, but these guys work together as a team, and all go off on vacation at the same time, so they know each other and work together flawlessly. There are married couples working on board, one father and his son, really nice folks and all speak great English as well as other languages.

 

The itineraries are great. We went to some major cities, and some tiny, off-the-beaten path towns where no big ship could venture. The ship was built for coastal cruising and my experience was that although small it rode well even in some rough weather. Not a lot of rocking and rolling or folks with "slight momentary motion discomfort" as they say.

 

One of the highlights of the day is the cocktail "hour" well, more like two hours, before dinner. Everyone comes. Everyone socializes and has a great time. Whatever you want it's there without any bar tab.

 

So, yes, I'm sold and now a big fan of smaller ship cruising. They key to any successful vacation, cruise or otherwise, is to do some research and know what to expect, and if you do that you will thoroughly enjoy PEARL MIST.

 

And by the way, the fall color was spectacular.

 

So, for what it's worth, and mainly since there isn't a lot on CC about Pearl Cruises, I thought I'd share my experience.

 

Regards, Richard

 

OK the food ... very good! At breakfast you kind of indicate on a check list what you think you might be interested in for lunch and dinner, just to give the chef an idea, but no one holds you to that choice. You can order half portions if you like. If you love lobster, crab, and shrimp, you will be in shellfish heaven, particularly on the Canada/New England runs. Unfortunately, after a lifetime of ordering "two" lobsters on cruise ships, I'm now allergic, but I still enjoy seeing folks pigging out on lobster. I always had interesting options available and because it's a small ship the crew took good care of me and made sure I didn't eat anything that had shellfish in it.

Edited by Richard in Panama
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think a lot of CC folks have been on PEARL MIST. I have ... twice ... albeit as guest lecturer on two cruises, "Great Lakes & Georgian Bay" and "Canada/New England Fall Foliage" ... and I loved it. I know this is telling my age, but my first cruise was back in the 1960s working as cruise staff on a Dutch Student Bureau trans-Atlantic crossing. Since then I've been on more cruises than I can count, had travel agencies for 15 years, and, after retiring early, have spent the last 8 years working for Holland America and Princess, and doing guest lecturer spots on Celebrity, Crystal, Silversea, and last year Pearl Seas. I've watched as ships have gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, but not necessarily better. My favorite ships were the "R Class" Princess ships, the old ROYAL, the PACIFIC, and the OCEAN. I loved having the opportunity to get to know the guests. Sadly, well I was happy to do it, but sad for the occasion, I did the final cruise around South America a year ago on OCEAN before it was sold.

 

The small, all-inclusive vessels really appeal to me now. I get to meet the guests. The guests are generally more mature, certainly more affluent, well-educated and well-traveled. They are fun to be with. I wasn't sure about PEARL MIST, but like I said, I loved it. The staterooms are surprisingly large, and pretty equal, and of course everyone has a balcony. Top deck there are lots of comfortable rockers and shaded lounge ares providing great views. Generally you are close enough to the coast to see something, not 12 miles out like on the big blue-water ships.

 

No one is trying to impress anyone. I've met fascinating people with fascinating stories and experience. There are no lines. No lines! No tender ticket scrambles, or lengthy waits in line to get stickered for tours. Tours, when not included, are reasonably priced. There are piles of bottled water ... help yourself! No $3 charge, plus 15% gratuity, for a little bottle of water. There are piles of snacks in the lounges ... yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but I do. There are coffee machines that make really good ... and this from a Panamanian coffee grower ... specialty coffees with the push of a button. No nickle and diming here. You go for dinner or lunch when you are ready and eat with whomever you want. Great way to meet folks!

 

Yeah, the "gym" is just a few exercise machines and they didn't get a lot of use. Entertainment is low-key, but fun, and entertaining. mostly lounge-type duos, with dancing music. If you want to see Broadlway want-a-bes this is not the ship for you. People on Pearl are interested in the ports. Yes! No casino. No climbing walls. No bumper cars. No waterslides. No kids -- I don't think they are outlawed but it just isn't the kind of ship or itinerary that appeals to young families.

 

It was a little challenging for me as an onboard lecturer, since I had to create my own lecturn stacking up furniture, and there was one pull down, living-room-size screen for PowerPoint, but it worked, and we were all friends and made it work. I enjoyed lecturing and folks seemed to enjoy and appreciate my presentations. Of course I never get to see ... or meet other lecturers. Folks always ask, "Do you know...?" and it's only very rare that ship lecturers get to cross paths.

 

The crew is fantastic. They come from a major crewing agency that provides crew for a lot of the high-end, smaller boutique cruise lines, and private super yachts. Polished, but friendly and eager to serve, heavily from the Philippines. On big ships crew are coming and going in every port, but these guys work together as a team, and all go off on vacation at the same time, so they know each other and work together flawlessly. There are married couples working on board, one father and his son, really nice folks and all speak great English as well as other languages.

 

The itineraries are great. We went to some major cities, and some tiny, off-the-beaten path towns where no big ship could venture. The ship was built for coastal cruising and my experience was that although small it rode well even in some rough weather. Not a lot of rocking and rolling or folks with "slight momentary motion discomfort" as they say.

 

One of the highlights of the day is the cocktail "hour" well, more like two hours, before dinner. Everyone comes. Everyone socializes and has a great time. Whatever you want it's there without any bar tab.

 

So, yes, I'm sold and now a big fan of smaller ship cruising. They key to any successful vacation, cruise or otherwise, is to do some research and know what to expect, and if you do that you will thoroughly enjoy PEARL MIST.

 

And by the way, the fall color was spectacular.

 

So, for what it's worth, and mainly since there isn't a lot on CC about Pearl Cruises, I thought I'd share my experience.

 

Regards, Richard

 

OK the food ... very good! At breakfast you kind of indicate on a check list what you think you might be interested in for lunch and dinner, just to give the chef an idea, but no one holds you to that choice. You can order half portions if you like. If you love lobster, crab, and shrimp, you will be in shellfish heaven, particularly on the Canada/New England runs. Unfortunately, after a lifetime of ordering "two" lobsters on cruise ships, I'm now allergic, but I still enjoy seeing folks pigging out on lobster. I always had interesting options available and because it's a small ship the crew took good care of me and made sure I didn't eat anything that had shellfish in it.

 

Hi Richard,

 

Great, great reply!!! Thanks so much for all that information. You really provide a terrific description of the whole experience. Definitely makes me want to try it sometime. My wife and I are definitely of the sort to be more interested in the ports than the actual cruise experience. So many on CC talk about hanging out at the bars, wanting to know what the entertainment schedule is, the menus, etc. and all that is fine, but I choose ANY trip based on where it is going and what I want to see. And, as you say, with their being no lines of people waiting to go here and there on the smaller ships, that sounds good too!

 

Regards,

Keith

Edited by three4rd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We took the 14 day Canadian Maritimes cruise in September 2016, and it was great. There is no more efficient and pleasurable way to see eastern Canada's cities, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, while then venturing into the seaways and natural beauty of the eastern fjord and islands, finishing in Portland, ME. Good food, excellent and organized crew, comfortable quarters, and decent weather. Lobster was served often and the quiche for breakfast became an everyday ritual. Lectures excellent.

 

We're headed on their cruise to Cuba March 26 based on our favorable impression of the ship and the company. We in fact took the Canadian cruise as a substitute when all of their Cuba cruises were canceled in 2016 due to their not receiving permission to enter from Cuban port officials. Glad to hear in December that permission had been granted, and now January 17, we see that the Pearl Mist sailed from Ft. Lauderdale on this first edition of their Cuba program. Can't wait!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We took the 14 day Canadian Maritimes cruise in September 2016, and it was great. There is no more efficient and pleasurable way to see eastern Canada's cities, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, while then venturing into the seaways and natural beauty of the eastern fjord and islands, finishing in Portland, ME. Good food, excellent and organized crew, comfortable quarters, and decent weather. Lobster was served often and the quiche for breakfast became an everyday ritual. Lectures excellent.

 

We're headed on their cruise to Cuba March 26 based on our favorable impression of the ship and the company. We in fact took the Canadian cruise as a substitute when all of their Cuba cruises were canceled in 2016 due to their not receiving permission to enter from Cuban port officials. Glad to hear in December that permission had been granted, and now January 17, we see that the Pearl Mist sailed from Ft. Lauderdale on this first edition of their Cuba program. Can't wait!

 

The Canadian Maritimes / St. Lawrence cruise is the one that most appeals to me in their line-up, so I'm glad that you replied and offered some good feedback on it. You mentioned it ending in Portland, ME however. Do they run it both ways? On the website it looks like it starts in Portland and ends in Toronto. I suspect they do it in both directions depending on the date. Either way, that cruise definitely goes on my list for sometime in the near future!

Edited by three4rd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...