NCL - Pearl or Star?

[rhinomike]

Well we thought we had made our decision.... LOL. We have booked our cruise on the Star but we are thinking about chaging over to the Pearl. We like both of their itenaries as they both have 4 stops....

 

The Pearl stops in Victoria and some say that is a plus but we have already spent lots of time there so it is not a plus for us....

 

Some say we have to do Glacier Bay for our first cruise... So that is why we are considering going on the Pearl.

 

The Pearl goes to Glacier Bay and the Star goes to Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier....

 

The price to change over to Pearl is an additional $2k for our 2 connecting cabins... Is it really worth it?

 

Any thoughts? Although I love the comments please do not recomend any other ships but the 2 listed... we have evaluated all our options and we are down to these 2 ships... Thank You. I really apreciate the input.

[4 cruisers]

"

The price to change over to Pearl is an additional $2k for our 2 connecting cabins... Is it really worth it?"

 

Ouch. That is quite a big difference. I would have said stay with the Star for sure until yesterday when I saw what NCL has done to her. They did away with the Spinnaker lounge in the front of the ship and created a sub-par lounge in the back of the ship. Someone on the "Star dry-dock" thread mentioned that that will cut down on inside viewing area for Alaska...a good point to consider.

 

The good things about the Star are she still has a wonderful crew. Blue Lagoon is now an actual restaurant (in my humble opinion, that is good:o). The Stardust Theater now has new seats. And did I mention the wonderful crew?????:D I don't think I'd throw the $2k away and would stick with the Star. Hope this helps.

[rhinomike]

Thank you for the comment....

 

I think both ships will be great... I think the main factor is the Glacier Bay vs Tracy Arm.... I am not sure if Glacier Bay is worth $2k upcharge.....

 

I could always take the $2k and upgrade to a suite on the Star.... But really the rooms dont matter to me... We are never in our room. Only to sleep.

 

I should clarify that the cabins are the same on both ships.... Ocean View (Port Hole) connecting rooms on both... We wanted an inside cabin but niether ship offers inside cabins with connecting rooms or maybe they just werent available... I dont remember.

 

Our sail dates are...

 

Star - June 26th 2010

Pearl - June 27th 2010

[FanofFlorida]

If you are asking, you can afford it, right?

 

I thought the Star was a little small; the choices on the Pearl for "things to do" are superior. I havent sailed on her, but our first choice was the Pearl for a holiday sailing, and we switched to the Star to save money. I wont compare itineraries, but the differences in the ship layout and venues was obvious-

I think it is a case of you get what you pay for.

[Planer's Edge]

With the elimination of Spinnaker Lounge, on the Star, the inside viewing areas have been seriuosly reduced. I personally would look at the Pearl.

 

PE

[martinchem]

I'd go with the Pearl too, if price is not the concern.

[STARFISH*4]

Some say we have to do Glacier Bay for our first cruise... So that is why we are considering going on the Pearl.

 

The Pearl goes to Glacier Bay

 

why i CHOSE the PEARL to ALASKA and with all the CHANGEs to our FAV the STAR i am GLAD we did choose the PEARL...WANT to REMEMBER the STAR as SHE was!!!

[johnql]

I normally would vote for the Pearl but $2k is a huge difference. I'd go with the Star and save the money for the excursions, which can be pricey in Alaska.

[Terrafreaky]

Too much of a price difference. I'd stick with the Star. Save the Pearl for next year. :D

[rhinomike]

If you are asking, you can afford it, right?

 

I thought the Star was a little small; the choices on the Pearl for "things to do" are superior. I havent sailed on her, but our first choice was the Pearl for a holiday sailing, and we switched to the Star to save money. I wont compare itineraries, but the differences in the ship layout and venues was obvious-

I think it is a case of you get what you pay for.

 

Thank you for the comments.... Great information..

 

Yes I can afford it..... I have the money for sure. But like most I dont like to waste money. If it is worth the extra money then I will do it.... If not then I dont want to waste it....

 

This is not our annual vacation or vacation of a lifetime.... We vacation all summer and anytime the kids are out of school.... If this was my only vacation I wouldnt hesitate to book the Pearl or a Suite...

 

Thanks again and keep the feedback comeing...

[NayRN]

I've done both Glacier Bay and Tracey Arm Fjord....

 

For what's it worth, I enjoyed Tracey Arm Fjord more. We saw a lot of wildlife (whales, etc) sailing to Tracey Arm, but the downside is that you may NOT make it in all the way to see the glaciers on the ship. When I sailed Glacier Bay, it was foggy and we really couldn't see much except the "bergie-bits" floating next to the ship.

 

With that being said, I think I'd stick with the Star and spend the extra cash on excursions. I don't know if it's available on the Star, but when I sailed on the Sun to Alaska, we took an excursion into Tracey Arm Fjord that was fantastic! Maybe that's why I'm more partial???:confused:

 

I guess I'm not much help, eh?? Either way, you'll enjoy the beauty of Alaska!

 

NayRN

[newmexicoNita]

Well we thought we had made our decision.... LOL. We have booked our cruise on the Star but we are thinking about chaging over to the Pearl. We like both of their itenaries as they both have 4 stops....

 

The Pearl stops in Victoria and some say that is a plus but we have already spent lots of time there so it is not a plus for us....

 

Some say we have to do Glacier Bay for our first cruise... So that is why we are considering going on the Pearl.

 

The Pearl goes to Glacier Bay and the Star goes to Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier....

 

The price to change over to Pearl is an additional $2k for our 2 connecting cabins... Is it really worth it?

 

Any thoughts? Although I love the comments please do not recomend any other ships but the 2 listed... we have evaluated all our options and we are down to these 2 ships... Thank You. I really apreciate the input.

 

You can do a lot with 2K, I would stick with the Star..We will be cruising the Pearl next, she sound like a great ship, but I think you will be happy with the Star...

 

Nita

[rhinomike]

I've done both Glacier Bay and Tracey Arm Fjord....

 

For what's it worth, I enjoyed Tracey Arm Fjord more. We saw a lot of wildlife (whales, etc) sailing to Tracey Arm, but the downside is that you may NOT make it in all the way to see the glaciers on the ship. When I sailed Glacier Bay, it was foggy and we really couldn't see much except the "bergie-bits" floating next to the ship.

 

With that being said, I think I'd stick with the Star and spend the extra cash on excursions. I don't know if it's available on the Star, but when I sailed on the Sun to Alaska, we took an excursion into Tracey Arm Fjord that was fantastic! Maybe that's why I'm more partial???:confused:

 

I guess I'm not much help, eh?? Either way, you'll enjoy the beauty of Alaska!

 

NayRN

 

The Star has the excursion to Tracy Arm. The Pearl does not. It cost $209.00 per person and it takes 5 hours..... I have also heard that it is a must do if you are on the star..... We will do it if we stick with the star. That will cost me $1,200.00 so really it is only $800.00 more for the Pearl....

 

Thank you for the comments....

[4 cruisers]

Have a great time no matter what you choose! Make it great!:D

[jimswims]

We were trying to decide between the Star and the Pearl to Alaska this year as well. I have been on the Dawn and liked the ship a lot. I have not been on a Jewel class NCL ship yet.

 

We decided to go on the Pearl for a few reasons. We really wanted to go to Glacier Bay and this was a big reason. The other was that we were able to get an aft balcony cabin on the Pearl. The AB suite is our cabin of choice for our family of 4 but the prices on both ships were a bit out of the budget this year. We also had friends go on the Pearl to Alaska last year and after seeing the pictures and hearing about the cruise we decided on the Pearl.

[epixx]

Hello! I would definitely pick the Star for the following reasons:

 

1. Having sailed the Star twice with our kids, I can vouch for the fact that it's a fabulous ship. I have not sailed the Pearl.

 

2. You have decided to spend the $1200 for the excellent (per reviews, because I cannot say from first hand experience) Allen Marine small boat trip to Sawyer Glacier. You are likely to see the glaciers closer than you would at Glacier Bay, and, although again I am guessing, your views would be less weather-dependent because you will be closer to the glacier. I have read that views of Glacier Bay can be less than spectacular if the weather is foggy and/or rainy.

 

3. You will need the extra $800 for excursions, which are important in Alaska.

 

4. You will also save the extra money that you would have spent on the Pearl for an excursion in Juneau, because on the Star you will already be doing the Allen Marine boat.

 

3. The Star has more port time. The Pearl's visit to Victoria commences later in the day, and is therefore not as useful time, as the Star's visit to Prince Rupert.

 

Have a great trip.

P.S. Having made such a strong argument for you to go on the Star, I think we're going on the Pearl, simply because we put 4 people in a cabin and the cost differential between the 2 ships is not that great. I strongly considered the Star, but I didn't want to spend the extra $800 on the small boat excursion because the price difference between the Pearl and Star for 4 in a cabin is only about $300.

[Budget Queen]

Pick one. :) Both will offer you a great cruise.

[lotsofkids]

Funny YOU are having the EXACT dilemma as my party. We actually first booked on the Star, but then switched and paid a little more to change over to the Pearl. We had ALL done Victoria and would have liked to have seen Prince Rupert, but in the end felt missing Glacier Bay was something we just didn't want to sacrifice. It seems there is an overwhelming consensus that Glacier Bay is a superior experience as well as the Pearl is the more desired ship. So, we paid more, left Prince Rupert and I do feel it is the right decision for us. I was happy to see the stop in Victoria was only an evening stop and was not as significant as our other stops. This way we can focus on investing in the excursions on those stops and maybe just a dinner or window shopping in Victoria. Good luck with your trip and choice!

[primetimegirl]

I have booked the Star for our upcoming group cruise in June. I have sailed both Glacier Bay and Tracey Arm Fjord. I also enjoyed Tracey Arm Fjord more! The scenery and wildlife is amazing!! First cruise was on the Wind, 2nd was on the Star.

[nikant1003]

Just off the Star's 3/20-3/27 cruise from LA. I'll write a full review soon, but wanted to point to a rather interesting incident we experienced onboard -- definitely a first for me. We were in the Spinnaker lounge on the last sea day for the final art auction, watching one of the artists speak about his work when we heard a large explosive bang and the next thing we know, water was pouring into the lounge from the ceiling. At first no one really knew what was happening and folks started to run out and scream as there was a bit of panic seeing water pour at a high rate of pressure into a windowless room on a day with rougher seas than we'd seen thus far. But, after we were able to realize it was a burst pipe, folks were able to calm down and take in what was a pretty rare sight. Luckily no one was injured and supposedly only one of the dampened pieces of art was ruined. But it was quite something to see in person. Here's a bit of the video I was able to capture...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYvtF7z8EPM

[Barb Nahoumi]

I was never on the Star, but spent 14 days on the Pearl for the Panama canal cruise.

 

If I were you, I'd save the $2K and stay with the Star. Then take the saved money & book the Pearl next time. The Pearl is a wonderful ship with a great crew. We did not want our cruise to end.

 

Barb

[Budget Queen]

 

The price to change over to Pearl is an additional $2k for our 2 connecting cabins... Is it really worth it?

 

.

 

With the Star- my ONLY recommendation is to also budget fully for an add on Tracy Arm NCL boat tour. Absolutely "necessary" in my opinion, and grossly superior to the ship transit. Many just do not understand the significant difference, so I put together a photo sample.

 

Very little of the wildlife would have been viewable from the cruiseship. This particular sailing, was the first time that year that the ship was within viewing of the South Sawyer Glacier- third week of July, and that photo, taken with a normal lens was the CLOSEST the ship got to the glacier. http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen