NCL Alaska cruise questions

[cruisegal134]

My DH and I are planning an Alaskan cruise with his brother and wife. We have only been on an RCI cruise and are seriously looking at sailing on the Pearl in the beginning of July.

 

I have just a few questions:

 

I have only looked at the Pearl since it is the newest ship, but I read a few reviews about paper thin walls and terrible cabin noise coming from the nightclub/ next door neighbors rooms, etc. Has anyone had these problems? Are we being silly for ruling out any other NCL ships just because the Pearl is the newest?

 

We are looking at booking balcony (BA) rooms on Deck 10. It appears the pool, nightclub, etc. are on Deck 12 and it looks like Deck 11 has the mini-suites. Wouldn't you think that there would be terrible noise in those more expensive mini-suites with a nightclub (that has a bowling alley!!!):eek: over your head? If we booked a balcony and were lucky enough to get an offer of an upgrade to a mini-suite would we actually be worse off?

 

Also, any tips for us before we book? For example:

-Rooms to try to get or avoid? Decks to avoid? I read that you don't want to be by service elevators, etc, but I don't think the NCL deck plans get that specific with their locations.

 

-We went through a TA when we went on our RCI cruise. She was fairly helpful, but has moved away. Any pros or cons to booking through NCL direct vs on-line vs TA?

 

I appreciate any information anyone can provide. We are so excited about this trip and don't want to make any rookie mistakes.

 

Thanks!

[Toyz711]

we did the NCL star last sept...

while we loved the star, her crew and her rooms. the route (this year) is better on the pearl. the pearl is taking over the route with glacier bay..a beautiful day of viewing.

on the star, we had friends in mini-suites..right under the buffet, they never had a problem. i think they were too tired to hear anything at night.

we had a balcony room (deck 10 on the star), for 2 the room is great. we had plenty of room, plus we weren't there too much. except for times spent on the balcony we were busy. on the star we heard nothing from next door, through the walls. did hear everyone on the balcony yell out when they thought they saw a whale or something on the shore.

our niece and her hubby had a room on deck 6, next to a service elevator. the only time they heard anything..the last night as the crew gathered the bags left in the halls. that night it was bad.

we booked through an online TA, but we are easy. never have quesitons that we can't find the answers to. if you think you are going to have problems or questions..get a real TA to work for you. our on-line TA was great, worked real well with my DH. but like i said, we don't have problems that we can't handle, very laid back travelers. no real bonus for booking through NCL or TAs, just do your homework...and remember to make sure all prices include all taxs, charges before you compare.

if you get offered a upgrade (i don't personally know anyone who has been upgraded), just check for deck plans..you can always say NO.

last year the alaska cruise were leaving FULL..selling out months ahead. not too much upgrading going on.

having fun planning your cruise

[ute_fan]

I haven't been on the Pearl, but did sail recently on the Jewel (which is a sister ship) and had the same concerns about cabin noise. I'd also read reviews that had expressed the same problems, but we experienced no noise problems. The only exception to that was one morning when there was a medical emergency a few doors down from us -- then we were conscious of people running through the halls and a lot of talking going on, but that was definitely an exception. I'm sure it's dependent on your location on the ship, but we never heard anything from either the cabins next to us, or the bar area which was above us.

 

As far as Alaska goes, I'd recommend picking your Alaskan cruise by itinerary and not by ship. However, the Pearl does what is probably considered to be the best itinerary, since it includes Glacier Bay and the other NCL ships don't. We had a great cruise on the Sun a couple of years ago, but my next Alaskan cruise definitely needs to include a visit to Glacier Bay.

[cruisegal134]

It sounds like the pearl is a real "gem". I've got a stupid question ... I read that people prefer the port side for cruising Glacier Bay in Alaska. I know that port is the left side, but when I am on different web sites and looking at availability, neither end of the ship is pointy in the pics, so I can't tell which is the front and which is the back so that I know which side is left and which side is right. Stupid question?:p

[Toyz711]

there is a reason for the port side. i listened to the others and knew that was what we wanted. as you come into glacier bay, everything but a couple of islands are on the port side...as you some up to the glacier you can see it on the port side. when the ship turns 180, it barely pauses before it starts to leave the inlet. starboard side will get turned to see the glacier, but the port side had the whole viewing coming up to it, the whole time when the ship first shuts down for viewing.

just a hint...the spinnaker lounge is in the front of the ship. on the star..going along the sides the rooms started in the front and were numbered higher toward the back.

[becauseisaid]

On Deck 15 of the pearl, the deck plan shown on the NCl website lists a front area calling it "Villa Private lounge" and it looks like a larger indoor area with tables etc.

 

Is that for the courtyard or garden villa passengers???

 

If that is for the courtyard passengers that looks like a great place to sit warm and toasty to watch as we sail through glacier bay.

 

What do you think??

 

Last Alaska cruise we had a great speaker teaching us about the glaciers and they "audiocast" her describing what we were seeing as we sailed through. the sad thing is that i could not hear it if i was on the balcony.

[becauseisaid]

On Deck 15 of the pearl, the deck plan shown on the NCl website lists a front area calling it "Villa Private lounge" and it looks like a larger indoor area with tables etc.

 

Is that for the courtyard or garden villa passengers???

 

If that is for the courtyard passengers that looks like a great place to sit warm and toasty to watch as we sail through glacier bay.

 

What do you think??

 

Last Alaska cruise we had a great speaker teaching us about the glaciers and they "audiocast" her describing what we were seeing as we sailed through. the sad thing is that i could not hear it if i was on the balcony.

[cruisegal134]

I guess I am showing my hair color here,;) but when I am looking at the Pearl deck plan on the NCL site, is romm 10504, for example, at the front of the ship or the back? If that is the front, then room 10506 is on the port side?

 

Thanks for your help. My husband calls me Magellan because I can get lost going around the block.:D

[Toyz711]

on NCL, when i pull up the deck plans..the front of the ship is on my right and the port is the top of the screen. does that help? just the opposite here, my DH is bad with maps..once caught him with a map up-side-down. i am the one with great map skills!!

[Toyz711]

yes, 10504 is front and 10506 is port.

[cruisegal134]

Thanks! You all ROCK! Hopefully the boat won't, though! :) I'm going to go and check availability now! I am so excited!

[calmac]

We are looking at booking balcony (BA) rooms on Deck 10. It appears the pool, nightclub, etc. are on Deck 12 and it looks like Deck 11 has the mini-suites. Wouldn't you think that there would be terrible noise in those more expensive mini-suites with a nightclub (that has a bowling alley!!!) over your head? If we booked a balcony and were lucky enough to get an offer of an upgrade to a mini-suite would we actually be worse off?

 

Thanks!

 

Just to put your mind at ease - the nightclub with the bowling alley is on Deck 7 at the aft (back) of the ship.

 

Some of the deckplans for the Pearl are not quite right. My favourites are those found on NCL's Europe website as they are in Adobe Acrobat so can be enlarged for easier viewing of cabin numbers etc. I've just had a quick look and they are more or less correct. They can be found at

 

http://www.eu.ncl.com/ncl-eu/index_fleet.html

 

Just select Norwegian Pearl then Deckplans.

 

(I tried to post this on Saturday when all the problems started - hope it works this time).

[cruisegal134]

That link is SO helpful. I can just zoom in and read what I need! Have you been on the Pearl? What did you think? This is our first NCL cruise. We were on an RCI cruise to the Caribbean a few years ago, but have not yet experienced NCL.

 

Thanks again!

[calmac]

We have now been on 4 cruises, all with NCL. We normally travel as a family of 3 (DS is 11) but DH and I went on the Pearl's Transatlantic (inaugural voyage) on our own. We loved the ship so much that we booked to go on the Norwegian Gem's inaugural voyage this October. Had we not opted for the Gem we were going to book the Pearl for October - a 5 day sailing - we liked the ship so much we were going to fly from the UK to Miami for a 5 day cruise!!