Short Recap of Recent Pearl Cruise (AK)

[Groovyyaya]

The coach we took only offered service from the pier to a stop on Goverment Street that was 2-3 blocks from the inner harbor.

 

22 bucks for that??? Whoa.

[NCLfamily]

Your wife is familiar?

 

 

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[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback and nice photos.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thanks for the quick review. I'm on the Pearl two weeks from yesterday! Looking forward to returning to Alaska. :D Sounds like you had a great time.

 

I've never gone to the waterfall at Mendenhall, and I'm taking a friend with me this time and I think she might enjoy that. It is obvious where to go?

 

Thanks!

[tpnebraska]

 

 

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Perfect!! 13 days and that is ours!! Thank you and Taylor for sharing the pics!!;)

[Jiml60]

Excellent review, we're going next May, and have a mini suite aft also, 10168, I would love to see the pictures of that sometime, In Juneau we plan on doing Mendenhall Glacier and Mount Roberts Tram, and then the same train ride that you did in Skagway. Can't wait for next year !

 

 

 

 

Background: We are in our mid to late 40s. This is our 5th cruise with NCL and 10th overall. We cruised with the in laws.

Our cabin was an aft facing balcony (#10668). I would definitely recommend an AFB for Alaska ... we were able to see whales from the balcony and avoid the wind. Plus, it was a great view of Glacier Bay.

We thought there was not enough storage in the cabin for our two full size suitcases. I think we overpacked.

Random bits:

We did the "fill the bag" laundry special for $20 and received a 50% discount using out Latitudes Gold coupon. The laundry was returned around 6 pm the next night.

The Summer Palace requires long pants for supper - I forgot one night so we shifted to Indigo - same menu.

With the dinner package, we ate at Cagneys, Le Bistro, and Modernos. In hindsight, we would have eaten all three at Cagneys ... the fillet at Le Bistro was the same as you get at Cagneys.

The Spring Garden aka the "trough" was decent, but crowded at times - not surprisingly.

The bar service was great. Some of the more popular drinks (LIIT) were premixed.

Entertainment was very good - the comedian was excellent and the acrobatic show was very well done - a bit like cirque. We didn't care that much for the juggler. The washy washy guys were a hit! Get to the shows 15 minutes early - seats seemed to fill

We did Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching in Juneau - perfect weather. At the Glacier, if you want to walk to the falls, then do so directly - I think you get 60 minutes at the stop and it takes about 45 minutes to walk to and from the falls. However, there was very little time for shopping afterward.

We took the train and suspension bridge excursion in Skagway. The town is very small - 8 blocks along the main road full of shops. Very friendly. We shopped before and after the excursion. Sit on the left side of the train on the way up. The suspension bridge was just OK. We bought several Ulu knives and were able to take them back to the cabin with us.

Glacier Bay was awesome. We entered around 0600 and when directly to Marjori Glacier (on the way back, the ship will ponder at two other glaciers). A ranger was giving commentary on the way in ... DW went to the presentation and found it informative. At Marjori, the ship does a couple of circles so you can remain stationary and see the glaciers without moving about. We also saw a bunch of sea otters in the Bay.

PS - the ranger is broadcast on TV, but it was difficult to hear while on the aft balcony due to engines and wake noise.

In Ketchikan , DW's seaplane excursion was cancelled due to weather. I went on the cold water snorkeling excursion - very cool!! Shopping was plentiful in Ketchikan and prices seemed reasonable. I wish we had more time in that port. It rained like cats and dogs in the afternoon.

Concerning the weather, we were told in Juneau, Skagway, and at the Bay that the weather was exceptionally good on those days ... we were told it rains often in the AK ports. I wore shorts or pants and a light jacket throughout the cruise. PS - pack a rain jacket and forget the umbrella. Also, there are blankets in the room for sitting on the balcony. You will want to bring binoculars, too.

We did not take an excursion in Victoria, BC. Instead, we opted for the $22 round trip coach from the pier to downtown. The town is very clean, quaint, and ... well, Canadian! We walked around the inner harbor and poked around the shops on Government Street. The challenge with this port is that we arrived at 6 pm and left at midnight on the last night of the cruise - we were pretty tired by then and focused on packing.

The casino was smokey - no surprise. It was shut down by 2 pm on Saturday and stayed shut down through disembarkation. We lost, we won, we lost ... same story.

AK is PST minus 1 hour. BC is PST.

Seattle was fun - we did the Space Needle on the day we arrived (1 day pre-cruise) and walked down to Pike's Market the morning of embarkation - we woke up early because we were still on EST.

 

The ship never seemed crowded. People were a little older than a Caribbean cruise.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Thanks for the quick review. I'm on the Pearl two weeks from yesterday! Looking forward to returning to Alaska. :D Sounds like you had a great time.

 

I've never gone to the waterfall at Mendenhall, and I'm taking a friend with me this time and I think she might enjoy that. It is obvious where to go?

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, when you walk past the ranger station there will be trail signs indicating the path and estimated round trip time. The path is 6-8 feet wide, well traveled, and has gentle hills and valleys (nothing steep).

 

We wished we had brought a cup to drink from the waterfall because it was flow from a glacier and we thought it was pure. Enjoy

[Son of a son of a ...]

22 bucks for that??? Whoa.

 

I misspoke - it was $11 USD each for a round trip ticket. With DW and I, it was $22 USD.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Yes, when you walk past the ranger station there will be trail signs indicating the path and estimated round trip time. The path is 6-8 feet wide, well traveled, and has gentle hills and valleys (nothing steep).

 

We wished we had brought a cup to drink from the waterfall because it was flow from a glacier and we thought it was pure. Enjoy

 

That sounds perfect. Thanks so much!

[jonsmom]

Excellent review, we're going next May, and have a mini suite aft also, 10168, I would love to see the pictures of that sometime, In Juneau we plan on doing Mendenhall Glacier and Mount Roberts Tram, and then the same train ride that you did in Skagway. Can't wait for next year !

 

Jim I am in 10168 in August, but its not a suite. Its an AFT balcony stateroom.

[triptolemus]

We wished we had brought a cup to drink from the waterfall because it was flow from a glacier and we thought it was pure. Enjoy

 

It is delicious! Refreshing!

 

And you don't need a cup. You just walk right up to the thing and drink with your hands.

 

 

[riclop]

Thanks for the recap.

[Groovyyaya]

I misspoke - it was $11 USD each for a round trip ticket. With DW and I, it was $22 USD.

 

I might have misread it ;)

 

That is not too bad, actually. Wish it had more stops, darn it.

[Amanda_14wa]

We got super lucky with the weather in Ketchikan two weeks ago. We took a seaplane booked through Pirate Air to misty fjords...it was breathtaking you will love it!

 

 

Thanks for the review. I sail in a week and I'm getting kinda excited. How bad was the weather in Ketchikan? DH and I have a seaplane excursion planned and I was wondering at what point do they cancel?

[Amanda_14wa]

We were on the Pearl two weeks ago, the weather was amazing In all the ports we stopped at. And I agree with the juggling comedian, he was not the greatest...he made me real agitated actually lol. Love the washy washy guys/gals! Oh and we absolutely LOVED the legends in concert...and the cirque show. So great.

[Groovyyaya]

A cirque show??? Sweet!

 

(Dang I wish I could find some dailies from this season!)