NCL Pearl- June 26, 2016- The Suite Life

[jimsig]

After readjusting back to normal life after vacation I now have had time to write some of my trip report. Sorry for the delay. I will break it up into each day for easier reading and will be posting each day separately in this thread, but not all at once. On this trip was myself, my wife, and our daughter. It will encompass travel from Boston and Seattle and back, time in Seattle, and the cruise itself. Our Itinerary was as follows:

 

Fri June 24: Travel to Seattle

Sat June 25: Seattle

Sun June 26: Seattle-Embarkation

Mon June 27: At Sea

Tue June 28: Juneau- Mt. Roberts and Mendenhall Glacier

Wed June 29: Skagway- White Pass and Yukon Railway

Thur June 30: Glacier Bay

Fri July 1: Ketchikan- Deadliest Catch/ Aleutian Ballard

Sat July 2: At Sea/Victoria

Sun July 3: Eviction Day/Seattle

Mon July 4: Travel home

 

We took almost 2000 pictures, but don't worry I will not post them all here.

 

If you want to follow along the easiest way is to click on "Thread Tools" and then chose from the options to be notified of updates.

 

 

Hope you enjoy and find it useful.

[jimsig]

Day 1- Fri June 24th

 

After having to cancel our 10 year anniversary Alaska trip 2 years ago due to my wife's health issues with-in the 30 day mark to boot, we decided to give Alaska another go this year, thank goodness for trip insurance. Two years ago we had planned a cruisetour starting in Anchorage to Denali and then the OW on the NCL Sun to Vancouver. This year we decided to do the Sunday to Sunday round trip from Seattle on the NCL Pearl and bring are almost 7yo daughter with us. We didn't book until this March and only had 2 weeks from booking until final payment. We booked a mini-suite with the 4 meal specialty dining plan and the shore excursion credit. When I started looking at shore excursions I started second guessing my choice of the $75 per port credit as I was seeing that I could get the excursions I wanted so much cheaper if I just booked on my own. On one excursion alone I would save $150 total booking on my own. The day before final payment was due I noticed that NCL had started offering a $140 OBC but had lowered the SDP to 3 meals. To me it was a no brainer and I changed my booking to the 3 meal SDP and picked up the 250 internet minutes along with the $140 OBC.

 

We decided to spend a little time in Seattle pre and post cruise so we flew out 2 days early on Friday afternoon and back on Monday. We looked at the JetBlue non-stop but they wanted outrageous money so we ended up booking our flights on United from Boston to Seattle via Houston (each flight about 4 hours) on the way out and through Denver (2.5 and 4 hours) on the way back. My wife and I both have TSA Pre-Check so the security lines for us were pretty much non-existent in Boston, though the main line had at least a couple hundred people in it. Having Pre-Check also allows you to bring children 12 with you which is a nice benefit.

 

 

We have brought our DD 3 times to Disney and knew she was good on airplanes but we figured the 2 shorter flights each way might be better off then a much longer non-stop. We packed the carryons with an iPad, kindle, portable DVD player, and an old iPhone I use now as an iTouch to make things easier. The flights out were both on 737-900's and had wifi and Direct TV, though you had to pay for both. I didn't really pay attention and it wasn't until we were in the air that I realized you had to pay for the direct TV as they were showing it while we were on the ground for free, I am used to JetBlue. It wasn't until we were up in the air that I also realized it you wanted track your location on the flight map you also had to pay for the Direct TV, I mean really, they can't throw that in free???? . We decided that we would probably get the Direct TV option on the second flight as we had enough to keep busy for now. The plane for the first flight had a Continental Airline heritage paint scheme which was pretty cool.

 

 

 

We left the gate in Boston about 45 min late while waiting for the pilot and co-pilot to arrive from Newark but still had time to connect in Houston, even with having to change from Terminal C to E. We had hoped to be able to sit down for a meal but ended up buying sandwiches and a couple fruit cups and we bought some snacks on board. Both flights were very uneventful but the second flight I had the most uncomfortable seat I have ever had while flying. It felt like there was no cushion on my seat what so ever. After less then 2 hours in I got to a point where I had to get up and stretch my legs as I could not take that seat anymore. The last 30 min or so of the flight were amazing with the views of what I was later told were Mts Shasta, Hood, and Rainer.

 

 

 

 

We arrived around 820p, waited for luggage and we headed to the parking garage to the Downtown Airporter. Checked in and waited maybe 15 min until we were called. We ended up being the only ones in the van. It was a nice quick ride to the hotel. We stayed at the Renaissance on Madison and 6th. I was able to get the room with Marriott points, though I had to buy some points as I was a little short, it still ended up being cheaper then having to pay 2 nights anywhere else in the city. I would have loved to have picked the Marriott Waterfront but they did not have any rewards nights left when I booked. I had used the Marriott app to check in the day before so when we arrived at the hotel all I had to do was supply a credit card for incidentals and was handed an envelope that had the room keys ready to go. Now being about 10pm in Seattle and 1am back at home I figured my daughter was ready to crash until she announced she was hungry. My wife mentioned something about room service and my DD says "yeah room service, wait, what's room service?" We told her what it was but we found a Subway a couple blocks away and brought it back to the room. My wife said she was all set and was asleep by the time we got back to the room. DD ate her entire small sub along with a bag of chips!! She wasn't kidding about being hungry. Needless to say we crashed right after that.

Edited July 17, 2016 by jimsig

[SwissLe]

Looking forward to this one, thanks for posting. You may get more traffic if it's moved to the NCL board?

Edited July 18, 2016 by SwissLe

[jenseib]

Joining in! I can't wait to hear all about it!!!

[sunbird21]

Me too, will be doing the ocean view life on the Pearl in September!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[spidybabe]

We are leaving in 3 weeks,

Glad you had a good time

Safe sailing

Edited July 18, 2016 by spidybabe

[jimsig]

Me too, will be doing the ocean view life on the Pearl in September!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No matter what the "life" you will love it. When it get's closer try for an upsell :)

[jimsig]

• 
  

We are leaving in 3 weeks,

Glad you had a good time

Safe sailing

 

Have a great trip, you are going to love it I'm sure.

[jimsig]

Joining in! I can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

Thanks Jenn, hope I can live up to your trip report. Be sure to read day 3 when I post it. :)

[jimsig]

Looking forward to this one, thanks for posting. You may get more traffic if it's moved to the NCL board?

 

Thanks, hope you enjoy. I plan on posting a link on the NCL Board to it :).

[jimsig]

Day 2- Sat June 25th Part 1

 

After a good night sleep we woke to an overcast day but we knew was going to clear up. Opening the curtains I could see in the distance that traffic was completely stopped on the highway. As I looked around I saw that police officers were stationed at the on ramps not letting traffic by and there was no traffic on I-5 right below us. I then realized why, the President was in town. I told my DD to look out the window. Within a few min the motorcade went by. I don't care what your political views are, it pretty cool to see the President of The US drive by you.

 

[YOUTUBE]Qejbil3cOdM[/YOUTUBE]

 

My apologies for not filming horizontal, it's one of my pet peeves and I am guilty of it this time. After he drove by we got ready for the day and my wife said we should get breakfast, to which my daughter replied "Let's get room service." That would be a reoccurring theme throughout the upcoming week :) We decided to start by walking down to the waterfront and then over to Pike Place. While walking out of the elevator and to the lobby our DD exclaimed "this hotel is amazing."

 

Frasier Crane may have sung about tossed salads and scrambled eggs, but he never told us how hilly Seattle really is. We were very surprised by it.

 

After a quick walk on the waterfront we went to Pike Place. We took in the usual sights and sounds of the flowers and seafood saw the fish being thrown, and we went to Pike Place Bar & Grill for a late breakfast. We thought it was very good and had a great view of the Market.

 

 

 

Breakfast View

 

 

Edited July 18, 2016 by jimsig

[jimsig]

Day 2- Sat June 25th Part 2

 

After that it was a quick walk back to the hotel and we made our way to Pioneer Sq to Occidental Park as we had tickets for the Seattle Sounders v NYCFC match that day and wanted to experience the March To The Match. We are big soccer fans and have season tickets to the NE Revolution and are big fans of Fulham FC in London and have even attended a match there back in 2007. Being Fulham fan's we love Clint Dempsey and wanted to see him play. Unfortunalty he was away on International duty playing in the Copa America. Sounder fans gather about 90 min before the match for a pep rally with music and the starting 11 is announced. The March is about a half mile walk down Occidental to Century Link Field full of cheering and singing, it's an amazing sight.

 

 

 

[YOUTUBE]UV4qAglPfcY[/YOUTUBE]

 

The Sounders unfortunalty lost 0-2 but the atmosphere was amazing. I wore my Clint Dempsey Fulham FC shirt from 09-10 and got a ton of compliments from the Seattle supporters. One guy with his hair dyed in Seattle colors and face painted came up to me and said "love the shirt, classic, I need to shake your hand." As he started to shake my hand he said "No, I gotta hug you for that." It was a riot and his friends were laughing up a storm.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2016 by jimsig

[jimsig]

Day 2- Sat June 25th Part 3

 

We also had tickets that night to see the Mariners play the St Louis Cardinals but had some time to kill so we tried to hit the Space Needle. We knew it was in the opposite direction but figured what the heck and we had the time so we jumped in a cab. It ended up being a 2 hour wait for the Space Needle and that would then interfere with baseball game. The girl told us that mornings are usually very slow and to come back before 10 the next day. We took the Monorail back to Westlake which my daughter loved. It was starting to get a little chilly so we stopped back at the room to pick up our jackets and changed into long pants. It was then off the game but stopped for dinner first. We went to F.X. McRory's on Occidental in Pioneer Sq. When we first saw it we thought it might be a little too high class for what we were looking and dressed for but found it not to be the case. It was very good and had great atmosphere. We ate in the dining room and found the prices reasonable. It has a huge sports bar as well. After dinner it was a quick walk to Safeco for the game. We thought Safeco was a great place to see a baseball game. It was such a nice night the roof was open, but the long pants and jackets came in handy.

 

Of course being Red Sox fans it was only natural that we ran into another Sox fan at the opposite end of I-90. Red Sox Nation is everywhere

 

 

Robinson Cano

 

Apparently Santa is a Mariners fan. Makes sense as it's probably the closest team to the North Pole

 

 

Seattle Sunset

 

After a long day we left the game early and walked to the Light Rail station to head back to our room. The Mariners got the win.

 

Edited July 18, 2016 by jimsig

[Cruisermom2nick]

We are headed on the Pearl in March! :) Great review so far! :)

[bambilin]

We sail 08/28. We are also spending two nights in Seattle pre cruise. Loving the review so far, thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[bean24]

Have a friend leaving this weekend, just showed her this review

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[OV8]

Can't wait for this!!

Need asap!! :)

[jimsig]

We are headed on the Pearl in March! :) Great review so far! :)

 

Thanks!!! We loved the Pearl, hope you will too!

[jimsig]

We sail 08/28. We are also spending two nights in Seattle pre cruise. Loving the review so far, thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Glad you like. I hope you like both Seattle, Alaska, and the Cruise as much we did.

[jimsig]

Have a friend leaving this weekend, just showed her this review

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks for the plug :)

[jimsig]

Can't wait for this!!

Need asap!! :)

 

I'll go as fast as I can, promise :D

[jimsig]

Day 3- Sun June 26th Part 1

 

Here it was at last, embarkation day, but first a trip to the Space Needle. We got up early to get ready and to re-pack some stuff as we wanted to carry as little as possible onto the boat. As she woke the first thing my daughter asked was if we were getting room service for breakfast. Like a lot of 6yo's once she get's an idea in her head it stays there. As we wanted to get on the ship by noon we took a cab to the Space Needle and arrived at 9 and purchased our tickets. We were in the next group to be brought up. We got a quick bite at the top before we went outside. It was a bright clear day and we had amazing views including Rainer and our ship. We met a few people who had just gotten off the Pearl and were on the tour of Seattle NCL offers on disembarkation day. They all told us we were going to love it and that they had had a great time.

 

Mt Rainer

 

Our ship awaiting us

 

Obligatory Space Needle Pic

 

Our DD loved the Space Needle and could not get enough of it. It was hard to get her to leave until we reminded her about the ship. Another Monorail ride and quick walk back to the hotel we were ready to go. Check out was easy and they let us borrow a stapler to attach the cruise luggage tags to our bags. To be safe before we left home we covered the paper luggage tags you get with your eDocs with clear packing tape as we figured the paper alone with rip off. All the bags made it to the room with the tags still attached. I also put an 8.5 x 11 in piece of paper in each bag with our name, cabin number, date of sailing, and cell number on it. I also do the same for checked airline bags putting my last name, flight info and cell number just to be safe.

 

We grabbed a cab to the dock, when a Prius pulled up I didn't think the luggage would fit, amazingly it did. What should have been a very quick trip to the dock took forever. There had been a parade that morning and although it was well over 4th Ave was still closed so that meant we had to go almost back to Pioneer Sq to get to the Waterfront. The cabbie explained it would be closed for 4 hours after the parade ended. It was frustrating to see the cones blocking access and no activity going on.

 

It was now time to board the ship!!! A couple days prior to leaving for Seattle I called the NCL up sell line to see if they had anything available. As I mentioned before we had booked a mini-suite but wanted to see if anything was available. With all my wife's past and on going health issues and having to cancel Alaska in the past we wanted to splurge a little if possible. We were told they had 4 cabins available. 2 aft penthouses on deck 8, 1 Haven suite, and 1 two bedroom family penthouse suite on deck 11. The Haven, though tempting, was a bit over our budget and we really liked the idea of two bedrooms over an aft view, so we picked that, we got The Amber Penthouse cabin 11530. Now we really could not wait to go, luckily we only had a few more days.

 

We arrived at the dock around 1230p due to the detour and found the Suite Check in table, thanks to others on Cruise Critic we knew what to look for.

 

Suite Check-In Sign

 

They were finishing up with a very large extended family so it took a few minutes to get to us. After the escort brought them up we checked in and they called the porter over to get our bags and the next thing I knew he was gone. I can't even remember if I got to tip him it happened all so fast, my wife assures me I did and I must have as I had the money in my hand. I was a little nervous checking in as a trip report from last year mentioned that NCL has had issues with those who up sold late not quite "existing," even though she had originally booked a suite and not up sold. They kept telling her they sometimes have issues with late up sells and she kept telling them she was not an up sell and had originally booked a suite. A family of 6 checked in right behind us. She told us they would take us up as soon as the other woman got back. About 10 min later she returned and the 9 of us we were escorted in to the building and right to the front of security. We zipped right through security and waited for the other party at the bottom of the escalator. At the top we were asked if we wanted the picture which we all declined. We were then brought into the Suite check in lounge where there was a spread of food and drinks. We got checked in right away as there was no one else in the room. We were then introduced to our Concierge Suzana. She went over a few things and she said the rooms were not quite ready yet for us but we would be escorted to lunch. She then turned the three us over to the person who escorted us on the ship. We were brought to Cagney’s for lunch that first day and it was explained to us that breakfast and lunch for those of us in suites would be served in Moderno every day after that. While at lunch it was announced that the rooms were ready.

 

 

Lunch Menu Everyday

 

Our waitress Reah was great, so friendly and she took to our DD who was carrying her stuffed animal Moo, who is actually a monkey. Every time we would see her after that she would ask her how Moo was. For lunch that day I ordered the Pan Seared Scallops and Shrimp, my wife ordered the Bruschetta, and DD ordered the pizza from the kids menu. It was all very good. For dessert I got the warm espresso brownie and my DW got her all time favorite carrot cake. She loves carrot cake so much that we had it as our wedding cake.

Edited July 19, 2016 by jimsig

[jimsig]

Pan Seared Scallops and Shrimp

 

Cagney's

[jimsig]

Day 3- Sun June 26th Part 2

 

After lunch we signed our DD up for the kids club. The two things she had been looking forward the most was the ice cream machine and the kids club even since my parents told her about them. We were then off to check out our room. On our way to our room one of the cabin stewards said hello to us and asked us what room we were in. He told us it was not his but he introduced himself to us saying his name was Cagy. From that day on he would always say hi calling the three of us by name, there would be times when he would be cleaning a room and we wouldn’t even see him and as we walked by he would say hi. We later found out he had a daughter about our daughters age and a little boy at home. He was excited as in about a month’s time he would be seeing them.

 

We had not told our DD about the new room. Leading up to the trip she would ask to see pictures of the ship, pool etc every night before bed so she knew what the mini-suite was supposed to look like. We had room 11530, the Amber Penthouse. It's the last Family Suite on deck 11 port side before you get to the mid-ship mini-suites. When she walked in she went "WOW!!" "What happened to our room?" We told her we got a different room and showed her her room. Needless to say she was very happy, which made us happy. We took some time and checked out the room and balcony and saw the bottle of water and champagne left for us. In Seattle we looked west off our balcony.

 

[YOUTUBE]57aSR_aZt1U[/YOUTUBE]

Video Tour

 

Entry Way

 

Second Bedroom- Bed is a couch that folds down, has a pull down bed and has own bathroom w shower.

 

Inside entry looking at living area and balcony

 

Living Area- Couch appeared to pull out w TV on opposing wall, door way to Master bedroom and batch on left wall

 

Bedroom

 

Master bath from bedroom. Yes that's a TV over the tub. Toilet and shower are on the left. Shower also looks out over the water

Edited July 19, 2016 by jimsig

[jimsig]

Day 3- Sun June 26th Part 3

 

We then took some time to tour the ship to get our bearings and to get DD ice cream. Around 3p we had the emergency drill an after a while our DD wanted to go swimming so we went back to the room and found our luggage had just been delivered. When getting back to the room we had 2 surprises. The first was the afternoon snack from our Butler and a VIP invitation to a cocktail reception to meet the Captain the next day.

 

Fruit and hors d'oeuvres. They were good.

 

 

I went swimming with DD while my wife unpacked. There was a good crowd at in pool but not overly crowded. My wife joined us up at the pool after a while and the next thing we knew we were pulling away from the dock and were underway.

 

 

After a while we left the pool and got ready for dinner at Summer Palace. Before we left for dinner DD asked if we could get room service. Not knowing we arrived wearing shorts, but was told it was OK that night but pants were required after that. Ooops!! Dinner was good. I got the Australian Rack of Lamb, my wife got the French Onion Soup and some sort of chicken, and DD got a hamburger.

 

After dinner it was off to explore more as we cruised the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the sights were already amazing and we hadn't even cleared the US yet.

 

 

 

After exploring we hit the comedy show. Tim Kaminski was a riot and was family safe that first night. He did a few jokes and then started picking people out of the audience to be brought on stage to participate in a skit. Our DD laughed so hard, it was priceless. Some of the jokes she got others she didn't but it didn’t matter she laughed so hard. It was a great way to finish our first day on the boat. Returning to the cabin we found our room turned down and a further surprise for our DD as she was not expecting a towel animal.

 

 

The staff for our cruise was as follows

 

Captain: Stefan Norberg

Hotel Director: Tony Rosa

F&B: Rumi Khatao (believe this was his last cruise and is going to the Sun, maybe as the hotel director)

Restaurant Manager: Theresa Mangat

Beverage Manager: Kiran Aguiar

Cruise Director: Drew Raitch

Concierge: Suzana Bajramopvic

Executive Chef: Peter Costa

Executive Housekeeper: Osley Ollivierre

Guest Services Manager: Charlyn Padillia

Butler: Lazarro