Pearl Review-A Very Merry Christmas Cruise!

[claudie]

We are back home just a couple of hours from spending Christmas on the new Pearl. We had great weather, a great group of cruisers, mostly Europeans, great food, and lots of Christmas cheer.

 

Our rooms were switched without notice which was fine except my kids were on the other side of the ship. Within 24 hours were were a couple of cabins away from each other which was fine. I didn't make any big unnecessary fuss however we received 2 bottles of champagne and some other goodies with an apology for the mixup. Trust me, I understood the reasoning and everything was fine. This all due to Prem who happens to be Klaus' (hotel director) asst.

 

Due to this event we missed meeting our fellow cruise critics at 5:00 pm on Friday. Since we had nothing formal for the next day I never got to meet them. I will keep this in mind for the next cruise. Plan the next day as something might come up on the day of arrival.

 

We ate in all of the restaurants except those with surcharge with special meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the main dining room, Summer Palace. The ship was conservatively festive in decor for the season. I thought the huge screen in the atrium was a bit much but it was great on Christmas Eve as we sang carols with Matt Baker, the cruise director. He had the words up there so no excuse for not singing. For those interested in future Christmas sailings there was a Catholic priest on board who performed a midnight service in the Spinnaker Lounge. I think I drank too much while singing and couldn't help but laugh as Father Paul was trying to conduct a mass while standing under the disco ball. The setting was actually very nice as many of the staff/crew attended.

 

The gym was great-worked out early (6:30 am) with crowds just beginning. The spa was great-Swedish and facial treatments and use of the whole facility.

 

The port stops were wonderful-my favorite was Tortola. We grabbed a cab to a beautiful beach (Brewer's Bay) with our snorkeling gear. This was Christmas day and there were some natives having a barbecue on one side. It was very clean and safe and the snorkeling was great. St Thomas was great-went to the same beach as last time-Sapphire. The snorkeling was good there too. But the best part was finding a $100.00 bill in the sand in the middle of the beach. It was buried except for one corner which looked like a $1.00 bill. There was no one around and no one looking as though they lost anything. A nice surprise.

 

OK now the stop at Samana, Dominican Republic was our first stop. We tendered in which was long. There is nothing at the pier except lots of guys looking to take you somewhere in their cab. We walked around, went to the public market then went back to the ship. It's a bit primitive and definitely in need of a makeover if this is to be a desired port of call. I thought the people were very friendly and NOT pushy at all. My Spanish came in handy and chatting with the locals made the atmosphere a bit less intimidating. I asked Klaus about feedback from passengers and he said no one liked it. I spoke to many myself who thought the stop was a waste. Whatever. I didn't feel the same way.

 

The crew was great. I recognized a lot of faces from either the Dawn and/or the Jewel. We were treated as VIPs (long story I won't go into) so we received treats everyday from either Klaus and/or Ruth Hagger (concierge). The captain, Trond Kildal, was charming. Lots of the staff had family on board for Christmas.

 

We did some bowling which was fun. I'm very competitive so maybe next time I'll bring my own ball LOL. Did not try the climbing wall because I either forgot about it or was busy doing something else. My kids are older (14 & 19) so we don't know anything about the kids clubs.

 

Overall, we loved this ship. We were in obstructed view rooms (G) but saw enough daylight so that I would book them again because we spent very little time in them. I would love to sail on the Pearl again and just might do that. But now I'm already looking into the Gem's itinerary for 2008. This is truly an addiction. I'll probably think of more to write over the next few days before I have to go back to work.

 

Cruise Critics group-sorry I didn't get to meet you guys at the bar. We probably ran into each other half a million times. I hope you all had as good a time as we did on the beautiful Pearl. I look forward to hearing your comments.

[dateacher]

Claudie, we just got back too and although my report is written, it is on a computer, not available. I did want to say that we had a great time and could find very little to complain about.

 

Sorry we missed the meet and greet too but I did run into idajaffee's wife in line to make dinner reservations. I recognized her by the twins. Hope you got the cabin mess straightened out.

[greenie]

Thanks so much for the wonderful review--and I'm very glad you had a terrific cruise and a Merry Christmas! I read it with a special interest because am cruising on the Gem 2/6/08 and I know the Pearl is the Gem's "sister".

 

Also very glad to get some tips as to good snorkeling. Our itinerary on the Gem '08 cruise is one we did this past February so I am happy to get new ideas as to where to go/what to do at some of the ports.

 

How do you work taking a cab in terms of getting back to the ship? Do you just know there will be cabs at the beach waiting for fares back? What if there aren't? :-0 I'd consider doing something on my own but I'd want to feel very sure I could get back, you know? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Have a great 2007!

[familyof4cruising]

We took a ride today to South Beach and saw the Pearl before it left today. Only 49 days left and we are boarding. Thank you for your review.

[snorklinbarb]

Claudie,

 

Sounds like you had a great time. I enjoyed your review.

 

Can you tell me a little more about your day in Tortola? I've tried snorkelling at Cane Garden Bay (not for snorkelling) but you mention Brewer's. How far away/what price taxi was it? Did you see fish & coral or what? Do you swim along rocks? How were the waves/currents? Any beach chairs for rent or towels only?

 

Thanks!:D

[claudie]

Claudie' date='

 

Can you tell me a little more about your day in Tortola? I've tried snorkelling at Cane Garden Bay (not for snorkelling) but you mention Brewer's. How far away/what price taxi was it? Did you see fish & coral or what? Do you swim along rocks? How were the waves/currents? Any beach chairs for rent or towels only?

 

Thanks!:D[/quote']

 

We enjoyed a very scenic 25 minute drive to Brewer's. We paid $6.00 per person one way which was a fair price. We asked him to come back in 3 hours and he did without a problem. We saw lots of fish and coral. There are some rocks you can swim along but the current was a little too strong so we stayed back a ways. There's a point you can swim out to, that's where the best snorkeling was. The water was calm where people were swimming. There were beach chairs to rent-$5.00 for chaise type, $3.00 for shorter (no neck support, legs from knee down in sand). No towels to rent. No umbrellas either but plenty of natural shade with all of the trees around.

 

Ruth enjoyed bowling with you guys. She mentioned falling splat the second time around but still had fun.

[claudie]

I remembered something of little significance that I couldn't get use to this being our 3rd time on NCL-the new layout of the Daily. I would rather see activities listed by time the way they used to print them. They were easier to scan that way.

 

Maybe I'm just too much a creature of habit:D.

[heelfan94]

I remembered something of little significance that I couldn't get use to this being our 3rd time on NCL-the new layout of the Daily. I would rather see activities listed by time the way they used to print them. They were easier to scan that way.

 

Maybe I'm just too much a creature of habit:D.

I liked the old layout better also. And I'm definitely a creature of habit. ;)

[foursum]

I remembered something of little significance that I couldn't get use to this being our 3rd time on NCL-the new layout of the Daily. I would rather see activities listed by time the way they used to print them. They were easier to scan that way.

 

Maybe I'm just too much a creature of habit:D.

 

Will you post some Freestlye Dailys? Would appreciate it.