Pearl to Alaska 1-8 June

[retiredAF]

We just got back last night and had a tremendous time on this vacation! We took an upsell and landed in a beautiful AC penthouse at the front of the ship. Thanks to all who recommended we go for it!

 

We flew in to Seattle a day early and had some time to explore the city. We really enjoyed Seattle. I know a number of folks have recommended the Shuttle Express from the airport but our experience was very different. We made advance roundtrip reservations and the service was so bad, I cancelled the second leg of that trip. We waited about 40 minutes to load a shuttle and felt very bad for some of our "shuttle mates" as they were going straight to the pier and had waited 45 minutes and were starting to get nervous about getting to the port on time. We finally loaded but the driver was not sure of the route and missed the exit for the pier the Princess cruisers were going to...needless to say, they were not happy at all. We spoke with someone else who had arrived the day before us and they had the same bad experience with this service.

As I mentioned, we really enjoyed Seattle and it is now a destination on the vacation list. We stayed at the Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel and were happy with that. The rooms were basic but very clean, the staff was great and the location was very convenient. We really enjoyed Pikes Market and had wanted to do the underground city tour buy the wait was long and time was short.. next time..

We arrived at the pier about 11:15 and they began processing everyone by 11:30. It went remarkably fast and we were on the ship with champagne in had in about 20 minutes or so.

 

As others have said, the Pearl is a gorgeous ship although I must admit I thought the Bliss was a bit much. We enjoyed our meals and appreciated the perk of being able to eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's as part of the penthouse package and enjoyed some very good meals there. We did have dinner in various places on the ship and the food was fine. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable. The service was always very good. The staff continued to smile even when some guests were rude or demanding. They really did an outstanding job. We thought one of the best dinners we had was in LaCucina.

We had a great meet and great on Monday and we were very impressed that the Captain and key staff members came to the meet and greet. We all received and invite to bowl on Saturday and we had a great time doing that. We really enjoyed seeing familiar faces around the ship after the meet and greet and had a few drinks with a couple of folks we met there.. It was very nice.

DH did the beer tasting and I enjoyed the mojito clinic.. Very fun..

 

The ports were great. We did a whale watch with Harv and Marv in Juneau and it was fantastic! We saw a number of whales and looking at the pictures, we got better shots then I realized. Our guide Jay was very personable and knowledgeable and really made it a great experience. Jay's FIL drove the shuttle back and forth and he bought us all to Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watch so we had the opportunity to get out and take pictures there as well. That was very nice of them in our opinion.

In Skagway we did the heli-hike and train with Packer Expeditions and that was fantastic as well. Our guides were Cory and Craig and they made the experience very memorable and rewarding. I would do this excursion again in a heart beat.

In Ketchikan we did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour and really enjoyed that as well. The primary hosts on that were "Kiwi" and Derek and they kept it interesting and fun. We saw a large number of eagles on both the whale watching and fisherman's tour.

In Victoria, we walked around on our own, had a nice meal and enjoyed the beautiful city.

 

Glacier Bay was a phenomenal experience. Pictures do not do it justice in my mind! We woke to rain and wind that morning but as we entered Glacier Bay, the sky cleared and we had a beautiful day!

We had every intention of doing a spa package on Glacier Bay day but it was too beautiful to leave the balcony. We saw a few of the shows and enjoyed the comedian Bud Anderson very much. Going to the "Overview" show the first night gave us an idea of what we wanted to focus on throughout the week. Paul was the cruise director and he sure has a lot of energy! :) He did a great job. I believe he was covering for Simon who will be back either this week or next.

Lots of folks used the pool and hot tubs throughout the week. One women told me the water temp in the pool was a balmy 91 degrees.. There is a marked running/walking track on deck 7 and it got a far amount of use from what I saw.

We hoped a cab when we left the ship on Sunday and were at the airport about 8:10. It was perfect and the price was about $3 more then the shuttle express.

We had considered this a once in a life time vacation but now know we will do it again! It was a great trip!!

I know I am missing lots of things so ask away..

[Love to Cook!]

Wow, we were thinking of booking Shuttle Express. How much was the cab? I thought from other postings that it was quite a bit more.

 

Where did you meet for the CC get together? Did someone notify the cruise line to let them know you were meeting?

 

We aren't going until next May, can't wait - this will be our third trip!!!

 

Thanks for the great review!

[Bailey0930]

Glad you had a GREAT vacation:D

 

I am on the Star on 6/21 we are doing the Crab Excursion in Ketchikan, may be the same one? Did they bring them out of the water for you to view, then after go to a place for a crab fest lunch?? Details?? I have been unable to find someone that has done this one...

 

Thanks, and Welcome Home:p

[brunolvr]

We just got back last night and had a tremendous time on this vacation! We took an upsell and landed in a beautiful AC penthouse at the front of the ship. Thanks to all who recommended we go for it!

 

We flew in to Seattle a day early and had some time to explore the city. We really enjoyed Seattle. I know a number of folks have recommended the Shuttle Express from the airport but our experience was very different. We made advance roundtrip reservations and the service was so bad, I cancelled the second leg of that trip. We waited about 40 minutes to load a shuttle and felt very bad for some of our "shuttle mates" as they were going straight to the pier and had waited 45 minutes and were starting to get nervous about getting to the port on time. We finally loaded but the driver was not sure of the route and missed the exit for the pier the Princess cruisers were going to...needless to say, they were not happy at all. We spoke with someone else who had arrived the day before us and they had the same bad experience with this service.

 

As I mentioned, we really enjoyed Seattle and it is now a destination on the vacation list. We stayed at the Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel and were happy with that. The rooms were basic but very clean, the staff was great and the location was very convenient. We really enjoyed Pikes Market and had wanted to do the underground city tour buy the wait was long and time was short.. next time..

 

We arrived at the pier about 11:15 and they began processing everyone by 11:30. It went remarkably fast and we were on the ship with champagne in had in about 20 minutes or so.

 

As others have said, the Pearl is a gorgeous ship although I must admit I thought the Bliss was a bit much. We enjoyed our meals and appreciated the perk of being able to eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's as part of the penthouse package and enjoyed some very good meals there. We did have dinner in various places on the ship and the food was fine. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable. The service was always very good. The staff continued to smile even when some guests were rude or demanding. They really did an outstanding job. We thought one of the best dinners we had was in LaCucina.

 

We had a great meet and great on Monday and we were very impressed that the Captain and key staff members came to the meet and greet. We all received and invite to bowl on Saturday and we had a great time doing that. We really enjoyed seeing familiar faces around the ship after the meet and greet and had a few drinks with a couple of folks we met there.. It was very nice.

 

DH did the beer tasting and I enjoyed the mojito clinic.. Very fun..

 

The ports were great. We did a whale watch with Harv and Marv in Juneau and it was fantastic! We saw a number of whales and looking at the pictures, we got better shots then I realized. Our guide Jay was very personable and knowledgeable and really made it a great experience. Jay's FIL drove the shuttle back and forth and he bought us all to Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watch so we had the opportunity to get out and take pictures there as well. That was very nice of them in our opinion.

In Skagway we did the heli-hike and train with Packer Expeditions and that was fantastic as well. Our guides were Cory and Craig and they made the experience very memorable and rewarding. I would do this excursion again in a heart beat.

In Ketchikan we did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour and really enjoyed that as well. The primary hosts on that were "Kiwi" and Derek and they kept it interesting and fun. We saw a large number of eagles on both the whale watching and fisherman's tour.

In Victoria, we walked around on our own, had a nice meal and enjoyed the beautiful city.

 

Glacier Bay was a phenomenal experience. Pictures do not do it justice in my mind! We woke to rain and wind that morning but as we entered Glacier Bay, the sky cleared and we had a beautiful day!

 

We had every intention of doing a spa package on Glacier Bay day but it was too beautiful to leave the balcony. We saw a few of the shows and enjoyed the comedian Bud Anderson very much. Going to the "Overview" show the first night gave us an idea of what we wanted to focus on throughout the week. Paul was the cruise director and he sure has a lot of energy! :) He did a great job. I believe he was covering for Simon who will be back either this week or next.

 

Lots of folks used the pool and hot tubs throughout the week. One women told me the water temp in the pool was a balmy 91 degrees.. There is a marked running/walking track on deck 7 and it got a far amount of use from what I saw.

 

We hoped a cab when we left the ship on Sunday and were at the airport about 8:10. It was perfect and the price was about $3 more then the shuttle express.

 

We had considered this a once in a life time vacation but now know we will do it again! It was a great trip!!

 

I know I am missing lots of things so ask away..

 

Welcome home, retiredAF! I so glad to hear that you enjoyed the Pearl, your AC Penthouse and your cruise to Alaska!

 

I'm ready to go back again and we've been there 6 times!:)

[tjbarney]

Wow, we were thinking of booking Shuttle Express. How much was the cab? I thought from other postings that it was quite a bit more.

 

Where did you meet for the CC get together? Did someone notify the cruise line to let them know you were meeting?

 

We aren't going until next May, can't wait - this will be our third trip!!!

 

Thanks for the great review!

 

The cab from SeaTac to downtown/pier would be around 30-33 dollars depending on traffic, at least both were that price for us, DH and I, a couple of weeks ago.

[retiredAF]

Wow, we were thinking of booking Shuttle Express. How much was the cab? I thought from other postings that it was quite a bit more.

 

Where did you meet for the CC get together? Did someone notify the cruise line to let them know you were meeting?

 

We aren't going until next May, can't wait - this will be our third trip!!!

 

Thanks for the great review!

 

Shuttle express was $29 and the cab was $30 with a $2 gas surcharge. They were lined up at the pier and we got right in and left.

 

One of the members of our roll call contacted the ship and organized the meet and greet with them. It was held on the first sea day and that seems to be pretty standard. They provided some cookies and coffee/water/juice and as I mentioned the captain and some key staff attended as well.

 

 

Glad you had a GREAT vacation:D

 

I am on the Star on 6/21 we are doing the Crab Excursion in Ketchikan, may be the same one? Did they bring them out of the water for you to view, then after go to a place for a crab fest lunch?? Details?? I have been unable to find someone that has done this one...

 

Thanks, and Welcome Home:p

 

Sounds like the same excursion but we did not have a crab fest lunch so maybe I am wrong. They did bring up a few interesting things that they allowed folks to take pictures with and touch etc.. King crab, octopus, stone crabs.. stuff like that. The two guys were very patient with kids and others who were very excited and wanted pictures etc.. They were very good.

 

 

Welcome home, retiredAF! I so glad to hear that you enjoyed the Pearl, your AC Penthouse and your cruise to Alaska!

 

I'm ready to go back again and we've been there 6 times!:)

 

We certainly did enjoy it and will definitly be going back! What an amazing area!! Thanks Sandy!

Theresa

[Cooks_Bay]

Thanks for the great review retiredAF! The Skagway excursion you took sounds great. Sounds like something my family would enjoy rather than simply doing the railroad by itself. Do you mind my asking the charge for that? I would be very interested in knowing.

[retiredAF]

Cooks_Bay, I think it was $375 per adult or right around that amount. I do not have the info in front of me but that was the per adult price. The kids price might be a bit less. I will say that the guides were great about not pushing you past your level of comfort but if your children are little, it might not be the best excursion. There was a little boy with us who was maybe 9-10 or so and the guide made a point of showing him different things he thought the little boy would get a kick out of. This excursion started with a helicopter ride which lasted about 20 minutes or so and of course added to the price. I think they might do a hike and rail with out the excursion though. Here is the company website if you want to look around..

 

http://www.packerexpeditions.com/packer/Welcome.html

 

Have a great time!!

[Cooks_Bay]

Cooks_Bay, I think it was $375 per adult or right around that amount. I do not have the info in front of me but that was the per adult price. The kids price might be a bit less. I will say that the guides were great about not pushing you past your level of comfort but if your children are little, it might not be the best excursion. There was a little boy with us who was maybe 9-10 or so and the guide made a point of showing him different things he thought the little boy would get a kick out of. This excursion started with a helicopter ride which lasted about 20 minutes or so and of course added to the price. I think they might do a hike and rail with out the excursion though. Here is the company website if you want to look around..

 

http://www.packerexpeditions.com/packer/Welcome.html

 

Have a great time!!

 

Thanks! If found it on NCL website. Says minimum age is 9. My DD will be old enough, but DS will be too young. ....ARGGGG

[retiredAF]

That's too bad Cooks_Bay because Cory was great with the little boy on our trip but I will tell you that when we were getting closer to the glacier area, it was very rocky and somewhat more difficult. Maybe they have an easier excursion through the company?

[brunolvr]

[quote name=retiredAF;14971590

We certainly did enjoy it and will definitly be going back! What an amazing area!! Theresa

 

How was your weather' date=' Theresa? Hope we didn't use up all the sunshine and warm weather on our cruise the week before yours:D!

 

Did you find it a little rough in your AC? We had one night with rough seas. Also, compared with our other cruises, we felt more movement being on the front of the ship. But, WOW, what fantastic views for Glacier Bay!:)[/color']

[retiredAF]

Hi Sandy,

We had a mix of weather all week long. When we got off of the ship in Skagway for example, it was very windy, rainy and low clouds so I was sure we would not be going on the helicopter but, we did and the day cleared up very well. When we got back to town that afternoon, it was sunny but very windy. Ketchican and Glacier Bay were wonderful days although Glacier Bay had started out rough. I would say Monday and Friday nights had a few rough moments but being in the front of the ship added to it. We were never uncomfortable and I only encountered a few folks who thought the waves were more then expected. It is a very smooth ship for sure.. Glacier Bay was worth every penny, we loved being out front for that!

[retiredAF]

I had meant to add that we did order a bar set up and it was in the room when we arrived. They give you the option of various snack items to be delivered around 5 or 10 PM every day as well. The only problem with that was that we were already eating too much!:)

[Laoghaire]

Hi retiredAF,

 

Enjoyed your report...What AC did you have forward? We are booked into #10500 in September of '09 for a 14 day Panama Canal cruise. Any pictures of your suite?

 

Thanks, Helen

[crimmper]

Hi retiredAF,

Great review and glad to hear you had a tremendous time. My DW & I will be aboard the Pearl on July 27. We will be staying in an AC penthouse suite also (10500)

I have a question about the butler. Did you use him/her at all? If so,for what. By any chance did you happen to have breakfast in the suite. I'm curious what is on the room service menu.

 

I'm not to concerned about being at the front of the ship if the seas are rough. DW & I usually take the first car on a roller coaster, so a few waves shouldn't bother us.:D

 

Could you elaborate about Bliss being a bit much?

[retiredAF]

Hi retiredAF,

 

Enjoyed your report...What AC did you have forward? We are booked into #10500 in September of '09 for a 14 day Panama Canal cruise. Any pictures of your suite?

 

Thanks, Helen

 

Helen,

We were in 9502 which I believe will be a similar set up. The room was great with plenty of storage. There was a double closet and the doors opend from both sides so that was very handy. The bathroom had a sliding door between the sink/tub area and the toilet area. I will try to post pictures soon.

[T&Tace]

Hi retiredAF,

 

Enjoyed your report...What AC did you have forward? We are booked into #10500 in September of '09 for a 14 day Panama Canal cruise. Any pictures of your suite?

 

Thanks, Helen

 

Hi Laoghaire, we had room #10500 on the cruise 6/1 thru 6/8. It is a wonderful suite with three large picture windows located right under the bridge and we had a wonderful butler, his name is Roel. The bacony has two loungers and one chair. Cagney's is wonderful for breakfast and lunch. You will love the Suite, we were treated like royality.

[retiredAF]

Hi retiredAF,

Great review and glad to hear you had a tremendous time. My DW & I will be aboard the Pearl on July 27. We will be staying in an AC penthouse suite also (10500)

I have a question about the butler. Did you use him/her at all? If so,for what. By any chance did you happen to have breakfast in the suite. I'm curious what is on the room service menu.

 

I'm not to concerned about being at the front of the ship if the seas are rough. DW & I usually take the first car on a roller coaster, so a few waves shouldn't bother us.:D

 

Could you elaborate about Bliss being a bit much?

 

We really did not use the butler as we probably should have. Our butler was Flor and she was very helpful if we needed anything but, we never even got room service once on the trip.. We kept talking about it but, we enjoyed breakfast and lunch in Cagney's (suite perk) so never got around to room service. There is a breakfast menu card in the room and we made the mistake of thinking we were limited to that for morning room service. From what I understand, you could order pretty much anything from any menu for room service in the AC. Maybe someone else can confirm that though. One couple we had some very enjoyable conversations with has been at this a long time (I believe they were in an owners suite) and told us they would even call back to the ship to have the wine put on ice as their excursions were ending.. I would never have thought of that! But Flor was there and ready to do whatever we asked..

[retiredAF]

Hi Laoghaire, we had room #10500 on the cruise 6/1 thru 6/8. It is a wonderful suite with three large picture windows located right under the bridge and we had a wonderful butler, his name is Roel. The bacony has two loungers and one chair. Cagney's is wonderful for breakfast and lunch. You will love the Suite, we were treated like royality.

Are you the couple from the whale watch with Harv and Marv ( I am so bad with names sorry about that)? Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We sure did.

[NYFL_TRAVELER]

Just returned from my honeymoon cruise aboard the NCL PEARL. Here is my review of the NCL PEARL 6/1-6/8 sailing to Alaska. I hope you find it informative and not too lengthy. I would like to hear what other 6/1-6/8 NCL PEARL cruisers thought as well.

 

THE SHIP:

 

The ship is beautiful. It is clean, large and new. Everything is in top condition. Elevators aplenty or easy access through the three sets of staircases (front, mid, aft).

 

ROOMS:

 

We were in a mini-suite on the 11th floor (11102). The room was plenty spacious for two people and the bathroom surprisingly spacious too. The shower is actually a shower/tub with sliding glass doors (it is a bit steep, be careful climbing in/out). The toilet is separated by its own sliding glass door and plenty of room in there for a ship. In the mini-suite, there is a separate sitting area, desk, mini-fridge and spacious private balcony. There is a 13” flat panel LCD tv which receives SHIP TV, CNN, FOX News, ESPN, TNT and Cartoon Network. The only negative about the room is that there is a lack of outlets. Overall, I would grade the room an A.

 

DINING:

 

We dined in the regular dining room, buffet and some of the specialty restaurants. Below is a synopsis of each. For the most part, the food was average, at best.

 

Making a reservation in a specialty restaurant was a breeze and the times we wanted (usually around 7pm) were generally available. They had three places you could go to make the reservation and they would allow reservations a day in advance. You also had the option of dialing 050 and making a reservation via telephone.

 

Buffet (Garden Cafe): Disappointing. Mass-produced, cafeteria style and no variety. Pretty much the same offerings every day. Breakfasts- Cereals (they ran out of milk cartons by day 3), eggs, bacon, the usuals. Lunches- Burgers & Hot Dogs, Salad, Pasta Bar, Asian Station, and a carved meat. Did not dine in the buffet for dinner.

 

Cagneys Steakhouse: Absolutely disappointing. For the amount of the up-charge, and previous descriptions of Cagney's, I was expecting a much better product. Maybe I am biased being from NYC and having dined in many of the top steakhouses here, but the quality of the meat in Cagneys was more like the old Ponderosa or Sizzler. I have had better steaks at Outback and Longhorn (both of which I happen to enjoy). The shrimp cocktail was not good- the shrimp were soft and not chilled. My wife ordered the Alaskan King Crab Legs and again, not to exaggerate, that was Red Lobster quality. After complaining about my T-Bone, I tried the prime rib (hand carved at your table) and that too was disappointing (tastless and dry). All in all, save your money and skip Cagneys.

 

Mambos (Mexican): This was some of the best food on the ship. We ate there twice. This is a specialty restaurant (at no charge). When you sit down, you are given a large bowl of chips and salsa. I ordered the Black Bean Soup and Steak Fajitas. Both very tasty. Avoid the ribs. Saucy and fatty. My wife enjoyed the Quesadillas.

 

Lotus Garden (Chinese): I would rate this specialty restaurant fair at best (although the staff at this restaurant was excellent). The food tasted like a cheap version of P.F. Chang's (which to me is not great chinese food to begin with). The spring rolls were very good. The orange flavored beef and spare ribs you could pass on. Very saucy and cheap beef. I recommend the chow fun noodles over the fried rice.

 

Summer Palace & Indigo (Traditional Cruise Dining): Beautiful, large venue. Check each morning for the night's dinner selection. Meals vary by day and were hit and miss. I did enjoy the pork loin and skirt steak though. My wife was not thrilled with the chicken.

 

Blue Lagoon (24 Hr. Coffee Shop): Here you could get your comfort food 24/7. Mac & Cheese, Burgers, Soup, etc. Avoid the meat loaf. It was awful. The burger was fair as was the wonton soup.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

 

On this cruise we saw four shows: Comedian, Music Group, "Sharkbait" and the in-house "SeaLegs" show. I was surprised and disappointed that the shows lasted no more than 45 minutes each. They should have been at least one hour.

 

Comedian was Bud Anderson. He was ok. Not roll on the floor funny, but witty.

 

Music was a quartet called Spank. They were excellent. I would pay to see them perform. They performed 50's/60's songs.

 

"Sharkbait" show was not bad. A bit cheesey. The usual jugglers, etc.

 

"SeaLegs" was a cabaret type show. Not really my style. Bit boring.

 

In addition to the shows, they had other activities such as Bingo (which I will discuss below), karaoke, Wii, Rock Climbing Wall, Newleywed Game, etc.

 

 

PORTS/EXCURSIONS:

 

Juneau: Unfortunately it rained while in this port. We took the glacier-view sea kayak excursion. We were out in the 48 degree temperature and driving rain for 2.25 hrs. Could not see the glacier. I would say pass on this. However, if you take this excursion, be prepared for a strenuous workout. Juneau itself was a touristy port town. The t-shirt stores, ripoff jewelry stores and not much more than that, other than saying that you were in Juneau. Don't get me wrong, the mountain views and scenery were very nice to look at and we took many pictures, but after 30 minutes it was time to move on.

 

Skagway: Again it rained for part of the time at this port. We took the Musher's Camp/Dog-Sled excursion. Disappointing for the amount of money paid. You rode in a cart with wheels - led by the dogs- over a dirt road for 3 minutes tops. No question the dogs were enjoyable to look at, but the synopsis in the NCL excursion descriptions is a bit misleading for this tour. Skagway itself was much like Juneau. Touristy shops and the like. The ship docked at the same time 2 other cruise ships (Princess & Celebrity) docked, so the port was a bit crowded.

 

"Glacier Bay": Very nice views of the glaciers. Great place for photos. They brought on three guides from the National Park Service to narrate as the ship rode through the bay. Later in the day (this was one of two days with partial sunshine) we were able to see whales.

 

Ketchikan: Very small port town with the same touristy shops. This was a short visit (6a-1p). We took the Rainforest Canopy Zipline excursion here. Very enjoyable. You spend 1.5 hours sailing through the rainforest on zip lines 150+ feet above ground. You are led by very knowledgable guides. I would recommend this excursion if you are the adventureous type.

 

Victoria, BC: I do not know why this is even a stop on the cruise. You arrive at 6p and boat leaves again by 1130p. We got off the ship, waited on a long line for a bus to town (which you had to pay to ride) and many of the shops were closed. We wound up going right back to the ship and having a quiet dinner in the Summer Palace. It would have been much wiser for NCL to make Vancouver a stop rather than Victoria.

 

ON-BOARD ACTIVITIES:

 

Bingo: Everybody loves a game of bingo, right? Well here, call it rip-off city. First of all, the pitch for bingo makes one feel more comfortable going out to buy a used car. The bingo game prices are outrageous $29 for paper cards to $89 for their "special" electronic cards. For all the money they collect for these games, the prize pool cuts are a mere percentage of what NCL is taking in. I would say play once and be done with it.

 

Bowling: In the Bliss Lounge. We played twice. Fun. It is as if you are at a real bowling alley. The best time to play is when you are in port, you get 2 games for the price of one (each game is generally $5 per game per person).

 

Casino: One of the few places on the ship which allows smoking unfortunately. Would be nice to have a smokeless ship (just my opinion). If you play there, be sure to get a player's club card (no charge). That entitles you to free drinks while in the casino (beer, wine, alcohol or soda). Otherwise they will charge you. They have poker, craps, black jack, roulette and slots. Like any casino, the house has the advantage and I believe more so with the slot games. They also hold texas hold-em tournaments ($60 buy-in) and slot and poker tournaments.

 

Pull-Tabs: Avoid this scam. At every show and at bingo, the staff tries to sell you these pull-tabs (4 for $20) where you have a chance to win $2,000. However, everybody seems to win only $1 per sheet (look at the number of prizes available on one of the sheet of tabs).

 

Trivia: We played this a few times. Passed the time before dinner.

 

Wii: Always a line to play. Get on the list early if you are interested.

 

CREW/STAFF:

 

Our Cruise Director was Paul Scally from England. A bit into himself, but entertaining nonetheless. The cruise director's team was generally pleasant except when they got into their Bingo & pull-tab selling used-car salesman mode.

 

Our room steward was not good. Generally nowhere to be found (until, of course, the last evening). This was disturbing because as soon as we boarded, I went up introduced myself and gave him $20 off the bat which I had hoped would cause him to take a little extra care of us. Did not happen. They also left a card in the room which you could mark-off requesting fresh fruit every day. I filled out the card, left it and it was not until day 4 that the fruit started showing up. Once we complained, service improved slightly.

 

A number (not all) of the staff in general appeared as if they had no interest in being there. If you purchased the soda card (see below) and a bar waiter came up to you and you only ordered off the card, they were very rude. The internet cafe manager (see below) and the shore excursion desk personnel were also unfriendly. When I visited the front desk to let them know that my pre-cruise, confirmed request to recognize the honeymoon was not delivered, they were as if I was bothering them. They did fix the situation later with a cake and champagne, but it was the attitude which I did not appreciate.

 

I do have to make special mention of Olga who was a hostess in the dining rooms and also took specialty restaurant reservations by day. She was a very pleasant person to deal with and we made it a point to seek her out to thank her for her efforts. NCL should commendate her as well.

 

GENERAL:

 

Please do not go on the cruise thinking that the amount you paid for the room is all you will spend. Between the excursions, drinks, specialty restaurants, tips (see below) photos and other ancillary charges, it adds up.

 

The soda card. The ship charges $1.75 per fountain soda (plus 15% service charge) or $2.00 per can. Soda is not included. However, they sell a soda card which you can buy on the first day for $50 and it entitles you to unlimited soft drinks. What we did was bought one card and either shared the soda or got up again to get a second soda. Liquor (beer, wine) appeared to be quite expensive.

 

Automatic Gratuities: Beware that NCL adds $10 per person per day ($70pp) to your bill for gratituties. You can have this removed on the last full day (Saturday) if you go to the main desk and tell them you would rather tip individually (which we did). In my opinion, this is a reason for some of the lacking customer service/friendly attitudes. The crew knows they will receive a portion of the automatic tips anyway. NCL also adds a 15% service charge to any beverage purchase.

 

Internet - They sell 250 minutes for $100 - Beware, the internet is slow and before you know it your 250 minutes are up. If you want to use internet in the room, you have to obtain an ethernet cable from the "friendly" internet manager. Or bring your own. Wireless is available in all of the lounges (you still have to be on the plan).

 

Cell Phones- Once you leave port, the ship's roaming signal takes over. Do not use your cell phones on board unless in a port unless it is an emergency. Gets very expensive. Cell service worked in all port cities.

 

On-Board Shopping- From minute one they try to get you to buy things on board - at quite a mark-up. They have presentations about "rare" jewlery, "rare" art work and "rare" everything. Don't fall for this. They jewelry store is no bargain. You can go to any mall and find the same product from more reputable vendors for the same or less.

 

Photos- Everywhere you look the ship's photographer is snapping your photo and they have three nights where you can pose for a portrait. Beware of the prices though. For an 8x10 they get $24.99 and if you like multiple shots, they sell them in packages. Do not look to buy batteries or a memory card on board. For the same 4gb SD card for my camcorder which I bought at Circuit City for $20, they wanted a whopping $99.99. And the sales people in the photo gallery are rude. When you ask them about the pricing they say "this is not a charity." Uncalled for.

 

Pool Area: With the weather being so poor (rainy/brisk) the pool area was generally empty. Notwithstanding, there are 2 pools and 2 or 3 hot tubs.

 

Spa: Very costly to use. When you board you can take a tour of the spa where again they try to pitch you with every service under the sun. A 50 minute massage for example is $159. They charge $20 a day pp to use the spa facility (their own pool) or $75 for the entire cruise.

 

Health Club: Comprehensive gym with latest state-of-the-art equipment. They also have classes, some of which (e.g. spinning) they charge for.

 

Boarding & Leaving in Seattle: The boarding process was fine once you got past the chinese fire-drill with the luggage check-in. It was a mess and you had to wait on 30+ minute lines just to get your luggage on the ship. When we arrived back in Seattle on the last day, we had participated in the BAGS program in where NCL for a fee of $16 per person took your bags directly to the airport and checked your bags through for you to your final destination. They also provided you with your boarding pass in advance and allowed for express debarkation. When we arrived in Seattle prior to the cruise, we stayed at the Kimpton Alexis Hotel on 1st Avenue. Highly recommended.

 

OVERALL:

 

Overall, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the cruise, ate a lot and had a good time. The freestyle concept was one of the reasons I chose NCL and it was fine. The ship was beautiful and most importantly, I was with my beautiful wife on our honeymoon and would not trade that for anything.

 

For a trip to Alaska, cruising is the way to go. Hopefully when you go it will be warmer.

 

However, now that we've been there and done that, I do not think we'd go to Alaska again. Also, the food quality needs drastic improvement, the staff could be friendlier, and it would be more pleasant if NCL was not trying to reach into your pocket every second.

 

Notwithstanding, we can at least say we've been to Alaska together and have great memories and pictures to prove it.

 

Enjoy your future trips and please post any questions you may have.

[T&Tace]

Are you the couple from the whale watch with Harv and Marv ( I am so bad with names sorry about that)? Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We sure did.

 

Yes, we were on the Harv & Marv tour with you. We had a great time on our cruise. Alaska was so beautiful! It was nice to meet you both.

[retiredAF]

Yes, we were on the Harv & Marv tour with you. We had a great time on our cruise. Alaska was so beautiful! It was nice to meet you both.

 

We enjoyed meeting you guys as well.. My pictures came out so much better then I thought they would. Did you guys get some good pictures? We really met great folks on this cruise which of course made the trip even better!!

 

I hope you were not affected by that bad weather today. It was a crazy plane ride across the mid section of the country Sunday and know it was pretty bad today as well.

[retiredAF]

NYFL_traveler,

Very thorough review.. Some of our thoughts were similair but some were very different.. That's the advantage of multilpe reviews I think.

None of the addtional charges were a surprise for us thanks to reading these boards for so long.

We are not gamblers at all but did do the pull tabs at one show and I won $63 so was happy with that!

Congrats to you and your DW!!

[T&Tace]

We enjoyed meeting you guys as well.. My pictures came out so much better then I thought they would. Did you guys get some good pictures? We really met great folks on this cruise which of course made the trip even better!!

 

I hope you were not affected by that bad weather today. It was a crazy plane ride across the mid section of the country Sunday and know it was pretty bad today as well.

 

We stayed in Seattle one night post cruise and missed some of the bad weather. We got 7 inches of rain Monday here at home but most of it fell before we got home.

We got a lot of good pictures but haven't had time to go thru them well yet. We hope to get some time this weekend. Both of our desks were piled up with work when we returned.

We both figured Alaska would be a once in a life time vacation but are already talking about going back. We go to the Riviera Maya every October so we will have to start planning that vacation soon.

We didin't get to socialize a lot, we have been real busy lately and just spent a lot of time hanging out together. My wife had her 50th birthday in April and the trip was her birthday present. She said it was her best present ever.

[NYFL_TRAVELER]

NYFL_traveler,

Very thorough review.. Some of our thoughts were similair but some were very different.. That's the advantage of multilpe reviews I think.

None of the addtional charges were a surprise for us thanks to reading these boards for so long.

We are not gamblers at all but did do the pull tabs at one show and I won $63 so was happy with that!

Congrats to you and your DW!!

 

 

Thank you.

 

How did you enjoy the cruise director and staff?