Pearl Review - 9/24 Pacific Coastal

[benchmarklearning]

:D

 

What a great cruise on a great ship. Background - This was our 4th cruise in 2 years. Previously we cruised HAL Oosterdam (very nice), POA (so-so) and Diamond Princess to Alaska (great). We were a little apprehensive about the Pearl due to a so-so experience on the POA. We were taking DD and DSIL on their "pre-baby" cruise.

 

Before the cruise we flew to Seattle for a day before taking the train to Vancouver. Although expensive, Seattle was nice. Stayed at the Hampton Inn and very impressed with the new look of this chain. Train to Vancouver was fun and very relaxing. Even the food available in the dining car was fairly priced. Vancouver was excellent - we love this city. Stayed at the Sheraton Wall Centre in a corner room - excellent. Went to Granville Island and had an excellent dinner in Yaletown.

 

Embarkation: Quite disorganized and took an hour. Arrived at 11:30 and boarded at 12:30. Lines and more lines. The person checking us in was not to sure of what she was doing but a supervisor kept checking on her and I was watching closely.

 

Cabin: Both couples had outside cabins on deck 5. Lots of storage room and very comfortable. Bathrooms were larger than expected and "compartmentalized" so that someone could be in the "library" and someone in the shower or at sink at same time. Room stewards were nice and always keeping the room in order. We even had towel animals.

 

Dining: Ate in specialty restaurants every night. Teppanyaki was best - and fun too. Le Bistro was excellent - especially escargot. Ate at Le Bistro twice and loved it. Cagneys was a disappointment - ordered a T-bone and it was like a "Sizzler T-bone" - I sent it back and got a filet pretty quick and it was excellent. Appetizers were mediocre at best. Buffet was super and enjoyed it for lunch and breakfasts.

 

Public Rooms: Bliss was really over the top with the beds and divans! Loved it except they need to do karaoke somewhere else. Trying to relax listening to someone butcher a song doesn't work. We bowled and had fun trying to break 100. Casino was fun - broke even on penny slots. Really enjoyed the Lego man - he really loves his job and did some great stuff. Spinnakers was very nice to enjoy during the afternoon with a book.

 

Spa - The highlight of the trip. We did the Thermal Suites and spa and it was outstanding. The sauna was great - view in three directions. Spa furniture was very relaxing with the best view on the ship (it is right over the bridge). DW did facial and loved it.

 

Disembarkation - did express disembark and walked right off the ship. Taxi line was totally disorganized and a serious shortage of taxis. Ended up taking a shuttle van to Long Beach airport. Would probably still be waiting for a cab.

 

Other highlights: DSIL came in 3rd in poker tournament. PokerTom hosted a great cruise critics get together. It was fun and thanks to Tom. Going under the Golden Gate bridge was super - in the afternoon there were acrobatic planes giving quite a show. No art auction. Only show we saw was a comedian and he was pretty good.

 

Beautiful ship; nice crew

 

9.58 out of 10. Looking forward to another cruise on the pearl.

[CRUZIN TOM]

I agree with the karaoke. One you can't see very well the entertainer, or the DJ. He is in a corner. We were sitting near the back of the place and didn't even know they had a DJ. They need to work on the videos and the music. I wasn't impressed with the variety of music. I would like to get other opinions on the music in Bliss. I am glad you had a great trip. the Pearl is a great ship.:)