Norwegian Pearl Alaska 5/18/14 -5/25/14 Review with pictures

[db8mommy]

Quick question: did you have to pay $20 for your son on the bus to Mendenhall Glacier as well? We are planning to do the same in Juneau in 2 weeks and I have kiddos ages 10, 4 and 16 months. I figured I would have to pay for the older 2, but wasn't nsure aboutbthe baby.

 

TIA!

Erin

 

Sent from my SM-T210R using Forums mobile app

[Jzx1103]

We arrived at Margerie and Grand Pacific Glacier approx. 10am or a little after. The views were incredible, we were lucky enough to witness 3 different glacier calvings, they were all preceded with loud thundering noise. The ship stayed in the area for about an hour while rotating 360 degrees. Afterwards the ship also stopped at the Lamplugh Glacier.

 

The Grand Pacific Glacier (looks like a rock)

 

Margerie Glacier (there was glacier calving happening in this pic)

 

Up close view of the large chunk of ice dropping into the bay.

 

Views from top of the ship while in Glacier Bay

 

The Lamplugh Glacier, we also saw a whale right in front of the glacier but did not act quick enough for a picture.

 

More views of Glacier Bay NP from top of the ship.

 

 

After leaving the Glaciers we spent majority of the afternoon lounging on the sofas in the Spinnaker Lounge enjoying the views of the rest of the park. They also provided hot water, coffee, and chicken soup in the spinnaker lounge. It was very nice and relaxing.

[Jzx1103]

Quick question: did you have to pay $20 for your son on the bus to Mendenhall Glacier as well? We are planning to do the same in Juneau in 2 weeks and I have kiddos ages 10, 4 and 16 months. I figured I would have to pay for the older 2, but wasn't nsure aboutbthe baby.

 

TIA!

Erin

 

Sent from my SM-T210R using Forums mobile app

 

I did not have to pay for my son, he was free for just about anything. :)

[Jzx1103]

Okay, it's getting late here, I will post the remainder of the trip (Ketchikan and Victoria) possibly tomorrow, Thanks for reading. :)

[Oakman58]

Great pictures. Your report has me researching Alaskan cruises for next year. Thanks for sharing.

[CNDKangaroo]

For the blue bus to the Mendenhall Glacier we didn't have to pay for our two year old or 5 year old (but we did have three other children so maybe they were just being nice!)

[Jzx1103]

Day 6: Ketchikan

 

I wish the time in port was better for Ketchikan, we docked at 6am I believe and had to leave by 1:30pm. It feels like not nearly enough time to explore the town. Especially if you're not prepared to wake up at at 6am like I am. We woke up at 7:30am, had breakfast and didn't get off the ship until around 9am. By then, almost half the time was gone at Ketchikan. We decided to just spend time exploring the town and didn't really have any extra time for any other excursions at Ketchikan. We did not even have time to take the shuttle and visit Totem bright state park. But I thought the town was well worth the visit just for exploring. I also met a local fishermen at the local internet cafe and had a good chat. He told me about the fishing in the area and informed us we were a little too early for the Salmon run in the creek. According to him, in about a month you can see hundreds of salmons in the river on creek street. He also mentioned Ketchikan is the rainiest town in the USA. Luckily we had good weather.

 

Views of Ketchikan from deck 13

 

The Regent Seven Seas Navigator was docked right in front of the Pearl. It's the first time I've seen one of the upper luxury class passenger ships.

 

 

Yes apparently it rains a lot here

[Jzx1103]

Here are some pictures of Creek Street which is once the red light district of Ketchikan, it's also in this creek/river that I was told you can see hundreds of salmon by late June/July.

 

[Jzx1103]

We had to return to the Pearl by 1:00 p.m. I was really not ready to leave this place and wanted to explore more, maybe next time. Apparently my little man was also not very happy to leave, as you can see in the pic below :)

 

 

We had lunch in the MDR for the first time on this cruise and there were some really good dishes for lunch. The fried calamari appetizer was something we really enjoyed, the fish & chips in the MDR was also very good. Can't say the same for the fish & chips in the blue lagoon however. It was obviously different types of fish used. my wife also ordered the New York Strip for lunch which tasted excellent but it was more close to being well done when she ordered to be medium rare. In fact, my wife ordered the steak on 3 separate meals. each time it was cooked to a level or two above what she asked for but still tasted good. So keep that in mind if anyone orders the steak.

[Jzx1103]

The rest of the day went by real quick as we just relaxed in different areas of the ship, mostly spending time playing with the little one. Also went to the casino while he took a nap and saw one guy hit $20,000 jackpot on a $1 quick hits machine, and 5 minutes later another guy hit a $6,000 jackpot on a different machine. I also decided to get in on the action but of course donated my money back to Norwegian. We also visited the shops for the first time, which my son wanted to grab everything he passes. By the end of the night, it was kind of sad to think that there is only 1 day left on the cruise.

 

My son playing with his fruits in the kids cafe.

 

Picture of the Atrium

 

Can't control my son from wanting to grab cigarettes at the duty free shops on the pearl. wanting cigarettes already at such a young age? not a good sign

 

This picture was taken at sunset outside of garden cafe on deck 12, too bad we just missed the sunset.

 

My little one enjoying his french fries and bread at dinner.

[Jzx1103]

Day 7: Victoria

 

Ship doesn't arrive at Victoria until 6 p.m. Once again I wish we had more time in Victoria but seems like majority of itinerary has the same schedule for Victoria, some arrive even later at 7 p.m. so I can't complain too much. We spent the day today much like other time while at sea, favorite places being the Spinnaker Lounge, Bliss Ultra Lounge or the Atrium so our little one can crawl on the giant sofas and beds they have there. had lunch in the MDR again and found out it was the same menu as the previous day. I guess MDR has the same lunch menu everyday??? Anyways we didn't mind since some of the items were very good from the previous day. We took an afternoon nap at around 4 p.m. knowing it will be a late night since we planned on staying in Victoria till pretty late. By the time I woke up, we had already docked.

 

Welcome to Canada sign at the pier right before exiting

 

The Norwegian Pearl docked in Victoria along with the Grand Princess next to it (they didn't arrive until 7 p.m.)

 

We decided to walk to the downtown area instead of taking the shuttle, it was quite a scenic walk with majority of it being waterfront. The first area we stopped at was the fisherman's wharf. I had heard about Barb's fish & chips there through other reviews, so I had to try it for myself. One piece of Halibut fish and chip was $13.99 but it was well worth it, it certainly was the best I've ever had, and they do give you a pretty big piece. So I'd recommend it if you stop by fisherman's wharf.

 

 

pictures of Fisherman's Wharf

 

My parents in front of Barb's fish & chips

[Jzx1103]

Next, we headed to downtown Victoria and spent the rest of the evening leisurely touring the city. We did have dinner there at a place called the noodle bar which was good and did not return to the ship until 11 p.m.

 

more pictures of Victoria

The Huntington Manor

 

The Legislative Building

 

The Empress Hotel

 

a Canadian Mountee bear

 

Legislative building at night

 

Return to the ship at night

 

We decided to have those great buffalo wings on the ship one more time before we leave the pearl. So after returning to the ship at 11:00 p.m. we headed straight for the Blue Lagoon before heading to bed.

[Jzx1103]

Debarkation was a breeze the next morning, I left the ship while the rest of my family was still finishing their breakfast at the Garden Cafe in order to pick up our rental car at Budget, approximately 1 mile from pier 66. It took me about 15 minutes to get off the ship and go through customs at around 8:45 a.m. While I was sad for our Alaska cruise to come to an end. At least we planned a couple more days visiting Vancouver and the Northern Cascades scenic loop. So our vacation was not over.

 

Overall we had a great trip, this was the smallest and also the oldest ship we've sailed on and at times we did feel it. But overall it did not bother us too much. Once again the only real negative we thought were slow service at times in the MDR. And while we thought the menu selections at the MDR were more limited compare to other lines. Norwegian also costed cheaper. Therefore if that seem to be a problem, getting the ultimate dining package would greatly enhance your overall cruise experience for about the same cost of other lines. Unfortunately we were not able to try some of the specialty dining mainly because we thought it would be easier to just eat in the MDR or Buffet with an 11 month old, maybe next time. This is also my first experience writing a review/blog of our cruise trip and it proves to be a fun experience, lets me re-live my vacation. =) For our next cruise, we will be trying the MSC Divina eastern carribean out of Miami, Fl. I hope we will have just good of time as this trip. Thanks for reading!!!

Edited June 1, 2014 by Jzx1103

[sona2013]

Thank you for your wonderful review. Lovely pictures.

[sprint180]

Thanks for the review. I really enjoyed it.

[Dawn1004]

Great review, we'll be back on her next May, can't wait, we live Alaska too. your lil man is so adorable.

[OurDogCisco]

Perfect timing... We'll be on the ship in one week.. Thanks for sharing..

[OurDogCisco]

One question... Were you able to use regular cell service on the ship without extra charges?

[Oakman58]

Great report and thanks for sharing the photos. The picture of your parents in front of the Fish n Chips in Victoria gave me quite a chuckle.

[Jzx1103]

One question... Were you able to use regular cell service on the ship without extra charges?

 

I was able to use my phone whenever the ship is docked at an alaskan port

[lynninsc]

Thank you for the review, I enjoyed reading it very much. By our family is lively and your son is absolutely adorable!

[lynninsc]

Sorry for the typo.... Should say your family is lovely..lol!

[TracieABD]

I loved your review! We will be on the Grand in 6 weeks and I can't wait.

 

BTW, your son is so stinkin' cute! It was joy to see all of his photos!

[Jzx1103]

I loved your review! We will be on the Grand in 6 weeks and I can't wait.

 

BTW, your son is so stinkin' cute! It was joy to see all of his photos!

 

Yea, he's been our little attention grabber on this cruise. He loves it when other passengers on the ship gives him attention, then he starts to smile and clap his hands. I will say to those who wants to go on a cruise but are worried about having to take the little one in your family. Definitely give it a shot, there are extra challenges but also countless enjoyable memories and experiences because of your little one that you otherwise would miss out on.

[isaiahsnana]

Thank you so much for doing this review! We will be on the Pearl in two weeks and can't wait to show my grandsons everything I loved on this trip before! Glad to know how easily it went with your son as we will have a 16 month old boy with us!