NCL Pearl to Alaska ... first 7 day

[diskids2]

HI All!

I was wondering if anyone who sailed on the May 15th NCL Pearl to Alaska had copies of the dailies that they could upload?

We are sailing in August, but scanning through the dailies sometimes helps me to plan.

 

Thanks in advance,

[CruiserBruce]

You are far more likely to find them on the NCL board.

[kboltwkreations]

We were on that cruise but I didnt save the dailies, could answer any questions for you though!

[TMC]

We were on that cruise but I didnt save the dailies, could answer any questions for you though!

 

I am not the OP, but do have a couple of questions about the Pearl to Alaska.

 

- New or old menu in MDR and O'Sheehans?

- How long was the line to disembark in Juneau? (Need to meet our tour ASAP)

 

Appreciate the help and hope your trip was great!

 

TMC

[kboltwkreations]

I am not the OP, but do have a couple of questions about the Pearl to Alaska.

 

- New or old menu in MDR and O'Sheehans?

- How long was the line to disembark in Juneau? (Need to meet our tour ASAP)

 

Appreciate the help and hope your trip was great!

 

TMC

 

It was my first NCL cruise, so not sure about new/old menu, food in MDR was not very exciting though. There was an upcharge for some things. We only ate there once in Indigo. Heard Summer Palace was very good though. ???

Parents and sister ate at O'sheehans and said it was good, better than the one they ate at on the breakaway last year.

 

Juneau line was long, we had priority and got off quickly but it seemed backed up, might want to try to be waiting if you have an early excursion.

[Katsumom]

I am also not OP but just booked the Pearl for next year and was wondering about the amount of time in Glacier Bay. TIA

[jimsig]

I am also not OP but just booked the Pearl for next year and was wondering about the amount of time in Glacier Bay. TIA

 

According to http://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Glacier-Bay-GB-2016.pdf this year they are in Glacier bay from 6a to 3p. 2017 has not been posted yet.

Edited May 24, 2016 by jimsig

[Katsumom]

Thanks Jim! I had no idea such a schedule existed.

[tree.star]

I am also not OP but just booked the Pearl for next year and was wondering about the amount of time in Glacier Bay. TIA

 

I was on the Pearl May 5-15 and we were scheduled to be in Glacier Bay until about 3pm, but because the weather and wildlife sightings were so spectacular we got to view some additional glaciers that aren't usually on the schedule, which added another hour and a half to our time there. It was such a great day!! I'm grateful that the captain appreciated nature and wildlife enough to provide us an extra treat like that.

[jonsmom]

Thanks Jim! I had no idea such a schedule existed.

 

we are also headed to Alaska on the Pearl next Summer

[laughing husky]

was on the 10 day Pearl from Vancouver to Seattle...the first of the season.....I thought that the summer palace was surprisingly good. I did not much like OShanigan's....but liked everything else.

[jackie101]

We were on that cruise but I didnt save the dailies, could answer any questions for you though!

 

we are doing this cruise in August, any excursion recommendations?

[Katsumom]

What a treat! What wildlife did you see from the boat?

[kboltwkreations]

The wildlife adventure and seafeast in Ketchikan was our favorite, up close and personal with Eagles, great food, great people, it was a small tour.

We actually grabbed a cab tour to mendenhall in Juneau and it was a wonderful time Instead of formal excursion.

[tortoisegirl]

I was on the May 15-22 trip on the Pearl. My husband and I absolutely loved the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (booked independent though Alaska Excursions) from Skagway and Orcas Cove kayaking (through Southeast Sea Kayaks) from Ketchikan.

 

Glacier Point: 6.5 hours which involved just over an hour each way on a 24 person boat, 5 min each way on an old school bus through the forest, a 15 min hike each way through the forest, basic turkey sandwich lunch, and in between, an amazing 10 person canoe trip out to Davidson glacier. We got to get out of the canoes and walk up pretty close to the glacier, wading through the runoff. 360 deg beautiful views. There are 11 guides that live on the island April-October without power or running water. They take up to 70 people once or twice a day. I think this is the closest you can get to a glacier without flying or taking a strenuous all day hike. $219pp and I thought it was a great value.

 

Orcas Cove: 4 hours with about 2.5 hours in kayaks. Involved a 20 min 6 passenger boat ride each way to a larger boat where we transferred to kayaks. Max group size of 6 per guide (we had 4) in double kayaks. Beautiful scenery, sea life, and wild life. Included an amazing smoked salmon light lunch too. $169pp and I thought it was a great value.

 

In Juneau we did the Mt Roberts Tram (nice views) and Alaskan Brewing Company ($22pp for a shuttle from their store to the brewery, which includes a "tour", a few beer samples, and a coozie; my hubby is the beer fan and although we get all their regular stuff in Seattle, there were quite a few special releases on tap).

 

In Victoria we just walked around and picked up some special souvenirs at a liquor store.

 

 

As a side note, we weren't too impressed with the NCL Pearl. We thought the food and service was even worse than the NCL Pride of America a few years ago, which we also weren't that impressed with. I really like the idea of NCL, so since the POA is U.S. registered (and crewed) and the Pearl isn't, I wanted to give them another chance. Especially with the drink package promotion (we booked over a year out and got a great deal on the cruise and didn't have to pay gratuity on the UBP either).

 

Everything seemed really average...stateroom cleanliness, service, ship upkeep, food quality, desserts didn't have any flavor and you could only get cookies from the $8 room service, very slow bar service, not able to get a mixed drink at the buffet (only a few beers & wines, we never saw tableside drink service, & the Great Outdoors bar was often closed), had to specifically ask to get a drink from the bar at a sit down restaurant and it took awhile to get it, boring shows and poor scheduling of activities - good stuff often when we were in port (and half of the items seemed to just be trying to sell you stuff), not too many Alaska-themed special things (they had Alaskan beer and showed a few documentaries, but didn't have local seafood or too many other Alaska-themed activities), cigarette smoke lingered from the casino throughout the ship, etc. Lots of little stuff kept adding up. Our favorites were shortest embarkation time of 4 cruises, having spa passes (great forward views and an indoor hot tub, although we had great weather except in Juneau), having a beverage package, Teppanyaki, Sushi, & Lotus Garden (best food & service), Spinnaker Lounge, and Magnums/Shakers/Maltings bar (best selection & service).

 

We were even let off the ship significantly late at each port (I know they don't have control over when they are cleared, but they need to arrive earlier or publish a later time as guests count on having the full published time; good thing we didn't miss any private excursions). It was a repeat Alaska cruise and we live in Seattle so it won't be our last, so maybe we should have chosen a "better" ship as that was a decent priority. We definitely didn't let our disappointments deter us from having a great vacation, but I don't see us considering NCL again. We've enjoyed Princess and Royal Caribbean in the past, and want to try Celebrity.

[jackie101]

I was on the May 15-22 trip on the Pearl. My husband and I absolutely loved the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (booked independent though Alaska Excursions) from Skagway and Orcas Cove kayaking (through Southeast Sea Kayaks) from Ketchikan.

 

Glacier Point: 6.5 hours which involved just over an hour each way on a 24 person boat, 5 min each way on an old school bus through the forest, a 15 min hike each way through the forest, basic turkey sandwich lunch, and in between, an amazing 10 person canoe trip out to Davidson glacier. We got to get out of the canoes and walk up pretty close to the glacier, wading through the runoff. 360 deg beautiful views. There are 11 guides that live on the island April-October without power or running water. They take up to 70 people once or twice a day. I think this is the closest you can get to a glacier without flying or taking a strenuous all day hike. $219pp and I thought it was a great value.

 

Orcas Cove: 4 hours with about 2.5 hours in kayaks. Involved a 20 min 6 passenger boat ride each way to a larger boat where we transferred to kayaks. Max group size of 6 per guide (we had 4) in double kayaks. Beautiful scenery, sea life, and wild life. Included an amazing smoked salmon light lunch too. $169pp and I thought it was a great value.

 

In Juneau we did the Mt Roberts Tram (nice views) and Alaskan Brewing Company ($22pp for a shuttle from their store to the brewery, which includes a "tour", a few beer samples, and a coozie; my hubby is the beer fan and although we get all their regular stuff in Seattle, there were quite a few special releases on tap).

 

In Victoria we just walked around and picked up some special souvenirs at a liquor store.

 

 

As a side note, we weren't too impressed with the NCL Pearl. We thought the food and service was even worse than the NCL Pride of America a few years ago, which we also weren't that impressed with. I really like the idea of NCL, so since the POA is U.S. registered (and crewed) and the Pearl isn't, I wanted to give them another chance. Especially with the drink package promotion (we booked over a year out and got a great deal on the cruise and didn't have to pay gratuity on the UBP either).

 

Everything seemed really average...stateroom cleanliness, service, ship upkeep, food quality, desserts didn't have any flavor and you could only get cookies from the $8 room service, very slow bar service, not able to get a mixed drink at the buffet (only a few beers & wines, we never saw tableside drink service, & the Great Outdoors bar was often closed), had to specifically ask to get a drink from the bar at a sit down restaurant and it took awhile to get it, boring shows and poor scheduling of activities - good stuff often when we were in port (and half of the items seemed to just be trying to sell you stuff), not too many Alaska-themed special things (they had Alaskan beer and showed a few documentaries, but didn't have local seafood or too many other Alaska-themed activities), cigarette smoke lingered from the casino throughout the ship, etc. Lots of little stuff kept adding up. Our favorites were shortest embarkation time of 4 cruises, having spa passes (great forward views and an indoor hot tub, although we had great weather except in Juneau), having a beverage package, Teppanyaki, Sushi, & Lotus Garden (best food & service), Spinnaker Lounge, and Magnums/Shakers/Maltings bar (best selection & service).

 

We were even let off the ship significantly late at each port (I know they don't have control over when they are cleared, but they need to arrive earlier or publish a later time as guests count on having the full published time; good thing we didn't miss any private excursions). It was a repeat Alaska cruise and we live in Seattle so it won't be our last, so maybe we should have chosen a "better" ship as that was a decent priority. We definitely didn't let our disappointments deter us from having a great vacation, but I don't see us considering NCL again. We've enjoyed Princess and Royal Caribbean in the past, and want to try Celebrity.

 

 

 

thanks for al the information

[lmintzer]

Thanks for posting--love the details (though am sad to hear Pearl seemed "average"). Am looking forward to my first cruise on her in just under 2 months now. Hopefully, my family and I will be like you and not let the small stuff ruin an amazing vacation!

[splinkaone]

We were on the Pearl to Alaska in 2014 and have to agree with tortoisegirl. Sounds like not much has changed unfortunately. We are booked on the Pearl this July only because we are joining our dear friend for her birthday cruise, we were hoping things have improved. We will have a good time regardless, but if we find things are the same this will be our last cruise with NCL. We prefer Royal Caribbean, and they are bringing a bigger ship to Alaska this year.

[Lazy K]

I was on the Pearl May 5-15 and we were scheduled to be in Glacier Bay until about 3pm, but because the weather and wildlife sightings were so spectacular we got to view some additional glaciers that aren't usually on the schedule, which added another hour and a half to our time there. It was such a great day!! I'm grateful that the captain appreciated nature and wildlife enough to provide us an extra treat like that.

 

I concur, tree.star. I, too, was on this sailing and the captain was wonderful! ...even if he claimed to not be good at math and to not know which way to go... The Glacier Bay day was the best I have seen in a long time and I do this itinerary at least once, sometimes twice, a season, usually on other lines. I have not sailed NCL in many years but must say I was generally very pleasantly surprised at the ambiance aboard and the level of service in addition to the value for money. I will consider the Pearl again for Alaska.