The Pearl is Still My Favorite!! 12/8 - 12/15

[wvfrogg]

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I literally loved every moment of my cruise.

 

Pre-cruise. I went to Miami for two days prior to the cruise. Stayed in a "recently rehabbed" hotel, B2. Spotless, white, great bedding, fantastic location -- but it takes minimization to a new level. The bathroom was smaller than the one I had on the ship. Not a drawer in the room, nor was there a box of tissues. But the location and the price were great. I did a Hop-on, Hop-off tour of the city and a boat trip throughout Biscayne Bay. Okay, now, for a little TMI that started off my vacation with a funny note. On Saturday morning, after my shower, when I started to get dressed I found out that my "undies" had not made the trip. I had changed luggage after I started to pack, and not everything made the change. Whoa. Luckily I found a Marshall's close to the hotel which was a great relief! :o

 

Embarkation. I arrived at the dock at 11:30 a.m. and was onboard by noon. My stateroom was also ready for me. Ken, my steward, met me upon boarding, and he was a real gem. My cabin was kept extremely clean, it was always "made up" within 30 minutes of my leaving the cabin, and he was always gracious and friendly. He made cute animals every night!

 

Weather: We truly lucked out -- had perfect, and I mean perfect, weather every day. Nice job, NCL!:)

 

Stateroom. I had 11590. A mini-suite. Loads of storage space and closet space. Bed, pillows and bedding were wonderful. A bathtub came with the suite. At first I was disappointed that there was an over-hang over my balcony, but came to appreciate it a great deal. It never got direct sun, so it was never to hot to sit out there and enjoy the ocean. One of only 2 disappointments, however, was the fact that the kids play area and teen rec area were directly above my cabin. It got a little noisy in the evenings! I was offered a switch of rooms, but I decided that it wasn't worth the hassle. (Plus I liked Ken, the steward.) But it was wonderful that they offered to switch me. I really hadn't complained about the noise, but had been making a "funny" comment at the meet and greet and apparently someone heard and offered the switch.

 

Food. I thought that the food on this trip was greatly improved over my NCL cruise last February. First and foremost, the coffee they were using this year was much, much better. The throw-weight must have been increased. I can honestly say I did not have a single bad meal. The only specialty restaurant I used was La Cacina. There I had the seared salmon and white beans, plus the carpaccio for an appetizer. Both were excellent. Service was great.

 

The Buffet. I had breakfast and lunch here everyday. There wasn't a huge change of day-to-day variety, but there were always plenty of choices. I tried to be a little "good" during these meals, although the chocolate croissant and sticky buns did jump onto my plate a couple of times. That could explain the extra 3 pounds I came home with (although the crepes in the evening probably didn't help).

 

The MDR's. I ate in Summer Palace (the more formal of the two) only once, but ate most of my meals at Indigo. My food and service was always good. The first night in Indigo, my steak portion of the Surf and Turf was overdone, but the server brought out a rare steak immediately to switch. My other MDR meals included tilapia, prime rib, salmon, mahi mahi and shrimp & filet. All were very good. My food was hot when served and plated very nicely. I talked with a couple of other people who were not as happy with the meals as I was, citing lukewarm food, but I never found that to be the case. I also never had to wait long to be seated or wait huge amounts of time between courses. Most dinners seemed to take around an hour. My second complaint came in the MDR. I was asked if I wanted to share a table or get a table for one. I said it didn't make any difference, so they seated me at a table for 6. No one else ever showed up. So ... I sat there, 1 person at a table for 6, while others were waiting to get a table. After about 5 minutes I just told my server that I wanted to go ahead an order. That meal only took about 30 minutes!

 

The crew. This is where the Pearl really shines. I never met a single "grumpy crew" on the entire cruise. Smiles everywhere. The servers always seemed to spend a little extra time talking with me, probably because I was eating by myself. (To be honest, I don't mind eating by myself!). The front desk people were friendly and extremely competent. Couldn't ask for anything or anyone better.

 

Entertainment. I loved "Oh What A Night" and the Juggler. They were fantastic. Also enjoyed the last night's show. The piano player was also enjoyable (although to be honest I usually caught him while I was going to or coming from the casino). Don't know if the casino is entertainment or not - guess it depend whether you win or lose (and I lost). But I did have fun there too.

 

Excursions and Ports. This was my 3rd visit to these ports, so to be honest all I did was wander around the ports, buy t-shirts for people and get back onboard and enjoy a quiet ship.

 

Spa. I had a facial. Nice, but sadly I didn't look any different than before I had it. ;)

 

Chair Hogs. I saw very, very little of this. Once, though, on our second sea day, there was a man who had staked out 6 chairs with plates and napkins and towels on them. He was by himself for almost an hour when a huge wind blew water all over the towels, plates, etc. that he was saving. Pretty hard for me to feel too sorry for him! But I never really had any trouble finding a chair.

 

Meet & Greet. We had a nice turn out and a lot of the officers came. We also got invited to do the Bridge Tour that afternoon. Had a Slot Pull and also a Cabin Crawl. Good group of people!

 

The Pearl is absolutely the perfect ship for me! So now I have to check out where I want the Pearl to take me next time!

[juliehope]

glad you enjoyed the pearl we sail this sunday!

 

hope our experience is as fond..

[Goldygolfer]

Thanks for taking the time to write this very positive review Fran.

We have never sailed with NCL before, but are doing a 37-day cruise (4 btobs) on the Pearl in April and May, so we were particularly interested in reading your comments.

Your review has certainly "tweaked" our excitement.

[Cubechick]

Thank you for the review...I'm looking forward to our next cruise on the Pearl...in 2015!!!:eek:

[Mrs. Squirrel]

We also got invited to do the Bridge Tour that afternoon. Had a Slot Pull and also a Cabin Crawl. Good group of people!

 

The Pearl is absolutely the perfect ship for me! So now I have to check out where I want the Pearl to take me next time!

 

I was on the same cruise. I can add that Fran told her undie's story at the beginning of the M&G and it was a great way to break the ice! She did a a wonderful job organizing it. Thanks again!

 

I have done many behind the scenes and bridge only tours on several lines. I thought this one was the best. Vincente (don't remember his last name) was interesting and funny. It was a real treat. Since I don't gamble, I didn't make it to the Slot Pull. How did you all make out?

 

I think that the Pearl may be my new favorite, too, but don't tell the Sun that! I'm on her in February and don't want any jealousy. :D How could you not like either ship when they are rated number 1 and 2 in customer satisfaction?

[iceman2a]

Thank You for your review.

The Pearl is also my favorite ship. so far!

I hope to sail her agian to Alaska, other places

to see before that however!

[Artemis]

Hi, wvfrogg, thanks for sharing your Pearl review. It is so delightful to hear you say, after two cruises, she's still the perfect ship for you--what a feeling! Like Mrs. Squirrel, we were aboard with you, too, and agree it was a terrific week! I regret we didn't meet at the meet & greet, but you were happily and expertly busy leading our large and lively group! I so admired and appreciated your enthusiastic and efficient organization of the CCers. You clearly established a very positive line of communication with Pearl management. I've never seen such a healthy top officer lineup at any CC gathering, and way to go on getting that bridge tour! :) Thanks for everything. I wrote a review, also, but since I didn't know your identity at that time, I asked if you'd chime in and take credit for your work. I hope you'll do that!

 

Best wishes.

[wvfrogg]

Thanks Jayne and Artemis! It was a great cruise, and I appreciate the kudo's for the M&G, although it was really easy work. And Artemis, your review is wonderful. My camera never seems to be where I am on a cruise, so I usually come home with 3 of my cabin and that's about it.:D

[3DBeach]

Thanks for writing such a great review. We're thinking of booking the Pearl for March so it's nice reading such positive things about her :)

[dispachcops]

We also were on this cruise but I happened to overslept and missed the meet and greet. But I did participate in the slot pull and the bridge tour. Also met several of you on our excursions. this was my favorite western Caribbean Cruise. my favorite activity was the Irie Blue Hole with Rusty as our driver. The only complaint I have is that I had to come home.

 

Sent from my C6606 using Forums mobile app

[wvfrogg]

Thanks for writing such a great review. We're thinking of booking the Pearl for March so it's nice reading such positive things about her :)

 

Enjoy!