So can a RCL cruiser enjoy the Pearl-A review

[newmexicoNita]

We just came off the Pearl this morning on our 7 day cruise aboard the Pearl and here is my review of her.

 

A little background we live in Ft lauderdale would consider RCL our cruise line of choice so trying NCL was a very different experience for us and would say that it was a very positive experience overall.

 

Embarkation= from curb to ship in 20 minutes flat, this was very fast and smooth.

 

We were booked in a mini suite in the aft suite 11656. Mini suite compared to a Junior suite on RCL the mini suite on the Pearl was quite a bit smaller I would compare it to a balcony cabin on RCL with a bathtub added in. The mini suite was very well layed out and I really liked the coffee maker in the mini suite something that RCL does not do a real plus for us. I also thought the mini suite bathroom was very well layed out plenty of room.. The closet on the other hand was very difficult to get into it is located on the side of the bed so it was difficult to open. The draws located next to the bathroom were great and there was plenty of space.. We were right below the great outdoors and never heard anything the entire cruise.

 

The ship itself is darn nice and easy to navigate and elevators are very fast. The spinaker lounge in the front of the ship was awesome and had great views from there. I wish the Atrium was larger instead of two stories but was very colorful and a great place to people watch. Bar Central located on the 6th deck I felt it needed to be broken up a bit instead of having the bars in all one location you never really felt you were in a lounge but just a wide open space with some bars. The star bar is an enclosed lounge and very upscale we really like that lounge quite a bit.

 

We never dined for dinner in either of the main dining room or buffet we did purchase the dinner package which included 5 restaurants for $60. Cagneys, lotus garden, Mambos, La canchina and Le Bistro. The package does not inclued Teppinanki. What was great about the package is you could book all your reservations when you booked the package which we did and you also save some money with the coupon book. We really liked the speciality restaurants. There is also a Sushi bar in Lotus Garden that is very good we tried it twice once for dinner and once for lunch. I would have to say that was our favorite, followed by Le Bistro, La Canchina, Cagneys, Mambos and the lotus garden.

 

NCL has great happy hours throughout the week with either 2-1 mixed drinks or 2-1 martinis which took place in the star bar. Again RCL does not do this so thought this was an added value and a big plus for NCL.

 

Entertainment- Just one word....Sharkbait..they were outstanding. I thought the shows were fine and we enjoyed them all.

 

The weakest part of the whole cruise were the port of calls but for us we were on this cruise to explore the ship and the ports of calls were not as important to us. We did two excruisions one with some of our roll call members in St thomas which was fun, and we did another in Tortola which was a ship sponsor tour of the North side and Prusser landing which was great.

 

My thoughts on NCL is they offer a great value cruise vacations, The Pearl is a great ship they lends itself to a wide demographics we saw young to old and most everyone we met on the cruise seemed to really like it. I found myself liking the Pearl more and more as the week wore on and you could do as much or as little as you like. One thing I have to add on deck 11 forward you can view the inside of the bridge which was awesome.

 

Would we do another cruise on NCL the anwer is yes. There are just to many pros not to. We had a great cruise on NCL and in looking at comparing NCL against RCL. There are things we like about both lines and some of the small touches NCL does like the variety of Speciality Restaurants, Coffee maker in the room, happy hours every day, seeing the bridge, layout of the bathroom in the cabin were some of the differences we saw on NCL that RCL does not offer. I think if the Itineray were better this would of been a perfect cruise.

 

I would be happy to anwser any question

 

Boy sounds like they have added a couple of features that certainly are worth something. The dinner package is awesome...

 

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise, sometimes it is hard to be objective when we find one line we are partial to..I know I certainly have trouble..

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I really do not believe you will feel out of place, I did see people dressed up men in jackets and ties and women in nice cocktail dresses. Most people I saw at dinner were dressed nicely.

 

One thing I did see was a couple who went into Le Bistro the woman was dressed nicely and the man with her was in shorts and they turned them away.

 

Glad to hear that. I am all for casual, this is one aspect of NCL we love, no formal crap to lug, but shorts, sorry, that is carrying things to far especially in a place like Le Bistro. On our last Princess cruise there was a guy at our table in shorts and flip flops. He was sitting next to me, to top it all off he wasn't very friendly and a slob..I didn't appreciate it one bit..

 

Nita

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for the review.

 

Were you able to get a chance to eat in the main dining rooms for lunch or breakfast?

[dfishner]

Thanks for the review.

 

Were you able to get a chance to eat in the main dining rooms for lunch or breakfast?

 

We ate in the MDR for breakfast each morning and we had a couple of lunches there. I liked the dining room for the morning and afternoon it was never crowded and the food and service were both good.

[dfishner]

Glad to hear that. I am all for casual, this is one aspect of NCL we love, no formal crap to lug, but shorts, sorry, that is carrying things to far especially in a place like Le Bistro. On our last Princess cruise there was a guy at our table in shorts and flip flops. He was sitting next to me, to top it all off he wasn't very friendly and a slob..I didn't appreciate it one bit..

 

Nita

 

We were watching that couple as they walked into le Bistro to see what the hostess would do and I was pleased to see that they turned them away even with a casual dress code there are things you just do not do and that was one of them and I am for casual it is one of the things I like about NCL but at least wear long pants for dinner. It happens on most cruise lines

[DP Cruiser]

I have enjoyed our RCL cruises and look forward to experiencing Alaska on the Pearl this next summer. Your review is very helpful and appreciated!

[CruisnGram]

Barb, the coupon book is the spec restaurant package where you can purchase a 3-5 day book for the speciality restaurants. I did not try the sushi with the book we did do it another night but I do believe you could use it the only place you could not was in the Teppanaki. I thought the sushi was the best I ever had on any cruise line. We had it for dinner one evening and then for lunch.

 

We are not interested in the Epic but any chance I could go on a jewel class ship I would do it again. Thanks for the kind words. We really liked the Pearl quite a bit. I believe I even talked some nay sayers into trying it after I told them what a great cruise we had. Heck whats not to like.

 

So glad you had a wonderful cruise. I'm looking forward to going on the Pearl next month.

 

Question if you don't mind about the specialty restaurant package. Did you purchase this onboard or prior to your cruise? I normally don't eat in specialty restaurants regularly but this sounds like a really good deal.

 

Thanks,

CG

[dfishner]

So glad you had a wonderful cruise. I'm looking forward to going on the Pearl next month.

 

Question if you don't mind about the specialty restaurant package. Did you purchase this onboard or prior to your cruise? I normally don't eat in specialty restaurants regularly but this sounds like a really good deal.

 

Thanks,

CG

 

I purchased it on board but I heard it is now available on line.

[halos]

OP:

I totally agree that NCL has some really nice touches that make it special. I'm happy you enjoyed your cruise. Now you can switch back and forth between NCL and Royal and have a little variety...it's what I do between NCL and CCL.

I haven't had a cruise on any line that was bad. They're all different and offer different types of fun.

 

Happy sailing :)

[ramidon1]

I purchased it on board but I heard it is now available on line.

 

We purchased our dining package through our travel agent & were told once onboard that they were not supposed to be sold for that week (a holiday week) and we were lucky to get one.

[pottsiepa]

I am sailing on February 6 with a group of 68. How did you purchase the dinner package. A large portion are interested in the specialty restaurants. Any information you can give me on this is greatly appreciated.

[dfishner]

I am sailing on February 6 with a group of 68. How did you purchase the dinner package. A large portion are interested in the specialty restaurants. Any information you can give me on this is greatly appreciated.

I believe you can now purchase it through the NCL website you can purchase a 3-5 day package you can also purchase it on the ship as well. When we purchased it on board we were able to make reservations right there for the entire cruise but you do not have to if you are undecided. Even when we did make reservations for the week we did change two of the restaurants for different days during the week there was not any problem.

[dfishner]

OP:

I totally agree that NCL has some really nice touches that make it special. I'm happy you enjoyed your cruise. Now you can switch back and forth between NCL and Royal and have a little variety...it's what I do between NCL and CCL.

I haven't had a cruise on any line that was bad. They're all different and offer different types of fun.

 

Happy sailing :)

No problem with us we now like having the different option of switching back and forth. We also did a carnival cruise this past summer and really enjoyed ourselves. For us having the different restaurants was a big plus but we can still enjoy ourselves on any cruise line.

 

NCL really surprised me maybe I went with lower expectations but I can tell you the ship and what it offered really wowed us.

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks for the review.

 

Were you able to get a chance to eat in the main dining rooms for lunch or breakfast?

 

We have always eaten a couple breakfasts and lunches in the main dining rooms on NCL. The breakfast are good, lunch can be hit or miss...

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I believe you can now purchase it through the NCL website you can purchase a 3-5 day package you can also purchase it on the ship as well. When we purchased it on board we were able to make reservations right there for the entire cruise but you do not have to if you are undecided. Even when we did make reservations for the week we did change two of the restaurants for different days during the week there was not any problem.

 

Do you remember if the 2 for 1 drinks included wine? I have a gut feeling they do not, but I can dream can't I?

 

Nita

[nikita]

We just got back from sailing the Pearl - Dec. 26-Jan. 2. We could not buy the dinner package but maybe because we were on during a holiday week. I was disappointed but enjoyed the restaurants anyways. A few other things. We have never sailed NCL but have been on RCCL, Princess, and Carnival. I loved the dining options and we never even went to a MDR so can't comment on that. We only made reservations a few times and other times were able to get right in (if we had a smaller party). LOVED the sushi! LOVED Le Bistro, LOVED Cagneys! I LOVED the wine and champagne bar - such a nice place. LOVED how the ship was decorated - LOVED the colors and furniture. The Bliss lounge was very interesting decor and we enjoyed all the TVs for sports. LOVED that we were able to spend more time in our cabins on disembarkation - which meant we could not get into our cabins on embarkation during the first day until 2pm - but I feel like a good trade off. LOVED the two bands that played - they were just AWESOME and kept us entertained - great talented guys - better then most bands on other ships we have sailed. We were impressed with how friendly the employees were everywhere we went. I liked the pool deck as they had two pools and one was for adults only. Also liked the way the band set up in between the pools - great set-up.

Did not like that our balcony cabin was a lot smaller then other ships we have sailed on - hard to get ready and not as much storage. If we sail NCL again we will opt for a mini-suite. We also had a sewage smell that persisted the whole week - we believe it came out of our shower drain. We left a note for our steward (whom we never met face to face) but this did not help the situation. We just kept our bathroom door shut as much as possible and dealt with it (room 8042). Note on sewer smell - we had 4 other rooms booked on this same floor (8) and no one else had this problem. We only saw one show and didn't care for it - but others seemed to like it so could have been us. We never saw a production show so don't know if those are good or not - we saw a comedy show with Second City and like I said did not think it was too funny but one lady behind us was laughing her head off so I'm sure it just depends on what you think is funny.

For the most part we enjoyed our cruise very much - it was so much fun being there for New Years Eve - the party on the deck was amazing! Any other questions I have not answered feel free to ask. I thought this might be a good thread to share my thoughts on since our experience was similar to OP.