NCL Pearl Comments (Just back from sea!)

[urbanmummy]

We just returned last night from a week aboard the Norwegian Pearl.

 

I have a lot of comments (any questions, please, ask!!)

 

Short summary:

 

We had a fabulous cabin. We upgraded to a mini suite and it was WELL worth it! We have 2 young boys (2 & 4) and it was almost like they had their own room!

 

The buffet was great - open, spacious, wonderful salad bar.

 

We didn't make it to the dining room at all - we traveled with my parents, who went twice and thought it was absolutely awful. Friends we met felt the same, and didn't go back. Since we never actually went, I don't have an opinion.

 

We did eat at several specialty restaurants - Shabu Shabu, Lotus Garden, Teppanyaki and the steak house. All were good, and service was good. We had the same junior waitress at Lotus Garden and Teppanyaki (Mary Ann), and she remembered my kids names, and their preferences, which was really lovely.

 

We didn't make it to any of the shows because of the children (oh, we did try, though!!), but had some fun at the karaoke at Bliss, and the guitar player at the sky high bar was wonderful.

 

We had a lot of trouble with the kids club, though. If you have 2-5 year olds, i would HIGHLY recommend that you avoid the kids club at all costs. They state that they do not change diapers, and that's fine, but they are fairly vague about what they will do. It ends up that they will not touch the children at all, even to help them pull down or pull up pants (my 2 year old is toilet trained, but does need help). The first day at the club he had an accident, and they left him standing in a corner - we came to get him right away, so I didn't think too much of it.

 

Another time, though, he had an accident and we weren't able to get there right away. He did have a bag with a change of clothes this time. When we finally did get there (we were having massages at the spa - lovely!), he had been left to stand in the corner again, and was not able to participate. And nobody bothered to help him get his clothes out to change.

 

The 2-5 year olds were kept in a very small room most of the time, not the main kids club room (which is also quite small). The room had no windows. The program consisted of lots of tv / movies, and it seemed like there wasn't that much other programming.

 

I don't think the programming was all that stellar for older children either - a friend went to check and found that their programming consisted of them all sitting around the edge of the room watching 2 kids beat each other with pillows. They didn't do this with the 2-5 year olds, thank goodness, but I don't think organized fighting is very responsible for 6-10 year olds either.

 

The kids club fiasco essentially ruined the cruise for us. There are limited cruises that work for 2 year olds, and we regret choosing Norwegian over Carnival for that purpose (we had taken Carnival 2 years ago when our oldest was 2).

 

Anyone have any other questions, please, ask!

[Gary123456]

Can you give me a idea what types of food they had in the buffet? Also how were the drinks and the sizes of them? And how was the weather?

[SPMorrissey]

We just returned last night from a week aboard the Norwegian Pearl.

 

I have a lot of comments (any questions, please, ask!!)

 

Short summary:

 

We had a fabulous cabin. We upgraded to a mini suite and it was WELL worth it! We have 2 young boys (2 & 4) and it was almost like they had their own room!

 

The buffet was great - open, spacious, wonderful salad bar.

 

We didn't make it to the dining room at all - we traveled with my parents, who went twice and thought it was absolutely awful. Friends we met felt the same, and didn't go back. Since we never actually went, I don't have an opinion.

 

We did eat at several specialty restaurants - Shabu Shabu, Lotus Garden, Teppanyaki and the steak house. All were good, and service was good. We had the same junior waitress at Lotus Garden and Teppanyaki (Mary Ann), and she remembered my kids names, and their preferences, which was really lovely.

 

We didn't make it to any of the shows because of the children (oh, we did try, though!!), but had some fun at the karaoke at Bliss, and the guitar player at the sky high bar was wonderful.

 

We had a lot of trouble with the kids club, though. If you have 2-5 year olds, i would HIGHLY recommend that you avoid the kids club at all costs. They state that they do not change diapers, and that's fine, but they are fairly vague about what they will do. It ends up that they will not touch the children at all, even to help them pull down or pull up pants (my 2 year old is toilet trained, but does need help). The first day at the club he had an accident, and they left him standing in a corner - we came to get him right away, so I didn't think too much of it.

 

Another time, though, he had an accident and we weren't able to get there right away. He did have a bag with a change of clothes this time. When we finally did get there (we were having massages at the spa - lovely!), he had been left to stand in the corner again, and was not able to participate. And nobody bothered to help him get his clothes out to change.

 

The 2-5 year olds were kept in a very small room most of the time, not the main kids club room (which is also quite small). The room had no windows. The program consisted of lots of tv / movies, and it seemed like there wasn't that much other programming.

 

I don't think the programming was all that stellar for older children either - a friend went to check and found that their programming consisted of them all sitting around the edge of the room watching 2 kids beat each other with pillows. They didn't do this with the 2-5 year olds, thank goodness, but I don't think organized fighting is very responsible for 6-10 year olds either.

 

The kids club fiasco essentially ruined the cruise for us. There are limited cruises that work for 2 year olds, and we regret choosing Norwegian over Carnival for that purpose (we had taken Carnival 2 years ago when our oldest was 2).

 

Anyone have any other questions, please, ask!

saying anything negative about NCL....Get ready to get slammed

[CruisnGram]

There are some real issues with what occurred with your 2 year old. I'm not surprised that they aren't allowed to touch the children at all in the world we live in. Some parents would freak if they found that a stranger was in a bathroom with their child "helping" them pull their pants up or down. Sad, but true.

 

However, it is completely understandable that a 2 year old isn't capable of pulling his pants up on his own. So what was their suggestion to solve the problem after it happened the first time? I was under the impression that they had beepers to contact parents of young children if they were needed. Did they beep you? How long did the poor baby have to stand in a corner with soiled pants? Seems to me there was some poor communication going on that shouldn't have happened.

 

Regarding the pillow fighting, it's very popular with that age group. It's organized and isn't a free for all and not what most would term as "fighting". My cousins son went to kids club on one of our cruises and he raved about how much fun it was.

 

CG

[urbanmummy]

Sure!

 

Breakfast was my least favourite, but my husband liked it, due to the proliferation of smoked salmon! There were eggs and made to order omelettes (i found the eggs a bit salty), as well as a variety of potatoes, and lots of bacon/sausage. As well there was pancakes, french toast, lots of fresh fruit.

 

Lunch & Dinner were similar. Lots of salad (a nice variety of greens), always BBQ with burgers, hot dogs, chicken breast and turkey burgers (my favourite!)

 

Also made to order pasta, always something with an Indian flair, and a variety of other dishes (rices, pasta, meat). Also some sort of roasted meat (chicken, beef, probably pork - I don't eat it, so I didn't tend to notice).

 

The layout of the buffet is nice - very open.

 

Always a variety of desserts, fruit, and ice cream.

[urbanmummy]

There are some real issues with what occurred with your 2 year old. I'm not surprised that they aren't allowed to touch the children at all in the world we live in. Some parents would freak if they found that a stranger was in a bathroom with their child "helping" them pull their pants up or down. Sad, but true.

 

However, it is completely understandable that a 2 year old isn't capable of pulling his pants up on his own. So what was their suggestion to solve the problem after it happened the first time? I was under the impression that they had beepers to contact parents of young children if they were needed. Did they beep you? How long did the poor baby have to stand in a corner with soiled pants? Seems to me there was some poor communication going on that shouldn't have happened.

 

Regarding the pillow fighting, it's very popular with that age group. It's organized and isn't a free for all and not what most would term as "fighting". My cousins son went to kids club on one of our cruises and he raved about how much fun it was.

 

CG

 

While I didn't agree with the "no touching" thing, I certainly did understand it, and worked with them to make sure everything worked out. We were beeped, and we did change him the first time. The second time nobody even checked his bag, and it ended up they didn't even KNOW he had a change of clothes! (we were very clear and told the person at sign in because of the previous incident). The club was, in my opinion, very poorly run, with very little communication between counsellors. (And, really, very little common sense - they KNEW he had a bag with him, but didn't even bother to open it when he needed a change!)

 

He's able enough to actually change his own clothes, if he's told to do so, we were just upset that nobody even showed any interest in helping him at all. There only response was to say "oh, sorry, we didn't know he had clothes." The counsellors didn't seem especially fond of children (we met many other people on board who wanted to work in the kids club, but, since they didn't have a degree - only kids of their own - they weren't qualified.). The staff seemed to have very little knowledge of young children and what was appropriate (the 2-5 year olds, anyway). And they were not the least bit nurturing, which was unfortunate. On our previous cruise with Carnival, the staff were nurturing, and clearly loved the kids.

[Princess Pearl]

Thanks for your honest review. I'm sorry there were "accident issues" with the little one. Seems like the communication needs to be better in that department. And I'm interested to hear about the pillow fighting. My boyz are older so it's not alarming, they do dig that sort of thing, but I'll have to remind the 9 y.o. that it's just for fun and he's not at football practice!

 

We're on this same itinerary in April, also in a Mini Suite, so I'd like to hear any details you have on that. Where were you located? Is there privacy for Mom to get dressed without stepping into the bathroom? Did your kids sleep in the sitting room? Does the couch pull out or just flatten out like a futon? Is there also a ceiling or wall bed to pull down?

 

Is there any concern with having the kids in that area with access to the balcony? :eek:

 

Thanks!

[CruisnGram]

While I didn't agree with the "no touching" thing, I certainly did understand it, and worked with them to make sure everything worked out. We were beeped, and we did change him the first time. The second time nobody even checked his bag, and it ended up they didn't even KNOW he had a change of clothes! (we were very clear and told the person at sign in because of the previous incident). The club was, in my opinion, very poorly run, with very little communication between counsellors. (And, really, very little common sense - they KNEW he had a bag with him, but didn't even bother to open it when he needed a change!)

 

He's able enough to actually change his own clothes, if he's told to do so, we were just upset that nobody even showed any interest in helping him at all. There only response was to say "oh, sorry, we didn't know he had clothes." The counsellors didn't seem especially fond of children (we met many other people on board who wanted to work in the kids club, but, since they didn't have a degree - only kids of their own - they weren't qualified.). The staff seemed to have very little knowledge of young children and what was appropriate (the 2-5 year olds, anyway). And they were not the least bit nurturing, which was unfortunate. On our previous cruise with Carnival, the staff were nurturing, and clearly loved the kids.

 

There's absolutely no excuse for this. If they beeped you the first time he had an accident, why not the 2nd time? They may not have known that he had a change of clothes, but they obviously knew that he had had another accident or they wouldn't have stood him in the corner right?????????? What was their reasoning for not beeping you the 2nd time?

 

I hope that you complained to the proper authorities as I would have.

 

CG

[urbanmummy]

Thanks for your honest review. I'm sorry there were "accident issues" with the little one. Seems like the communication needs to be better in that department. And I'm interested to hear about the pillow fighting. My boyz are older so it's not alarming, they do dig that sort of thing, but I'll have to remind the 9 y.o. that it's just for fun and he's not at football practice!

 

We're on this same itinerary in April, also in a Mini Suite, so I'd like to hear any details you have on that. Where were you located? Is there privacy for Mom to get dressed without stepping into the bathroom? Did your kids sleep in the sitting room? Does the couch pull out or just flatten out like a futon? Is there also a ceiling or wall bed to pull down?

 

Is there any concern with having the kids in that area with access to the balcony? :eek:

 

Thanks!

 

We have been on 4 cruises (2 regular balcony cabins, 1 inside cabin, and 1 mini suite), and the mini suite was, by far, the best room we've ever had.

 

The bathroom was roomy, and had sliding glass doors by the toilet, so someone could still use the sink, which was nice. It had a bathtub, which was great for the little ones.

 

The pull out couch actually opened up to, what i believe was a double bed. My two boys slept there together, but sideways, so that they had a nice distance between them (to avoid pinching! Ha ha!). The room steward would close the bed up in the morning, and pull it out for us in the evening to keep the room relatively neat.

 

There was a curtain between the two areas, so if that was closed, you could change or what have you without bothering the others. The tv was with the pull out couch, though, so we didn't get to watch while they slept!

 

The balcony was nice. My 2 year old did easily open the door, though, so be careful. There is a child lock, which worked fine when we remembered to put it on!

 

We were midship, and the location was AMAZING. we were right under the buffet, which could have been difficult but wasn't. Made it easy to run for food to bring to the room when the kids were sleeping, so we didn't have to carry it far (and it wasn't so bad taking turns!). we could then eat on the balcony while the kids napped or what have you.

 

There was no other bed in our room, but others might be different. If your kids don't want to share a bed, that might be an issue, mine are young enough that it didn't matter. Besides, we tended to play musical beds anyway, depending on which child was awake / asleep!

[terrymtex01]

Ok.. I want to say up front that we have no kids...so I do not really know the standard of care that is expected when you leave them with something like the kids club. But I will say I am appauled that they would let kids have an accident and not change them or change diapers. Granted who wants to change diapers. I don't, but then again I don't work AT A KIDS FACILITY. That is just unexcuseable to me. Again, that might be the standard and parents are used to it, but it is beyond horrible in my opinion.

 

We loved the buffet on the Pearl. We actually chose it several nights instead of the main dining room because we thought it was so good. We also loved Teppanyaki, Lotus Garden and Cagneys although I do have to say Cagneys was my least favorite of all three. Those chairs in Cagneys were horribly uncomfortable to me.. LOL..

 

I do hope the rest of your cruise was a great

[LadyShiva]

Ok.. I want to say up front that we have no kids...so I do not really know the standard of care that is expected when you leave them with something like the kids club. But I will say I am appauled that they would let kids have an accident and not change them or change diapers. Granted who wants to change diapers. I don't, but then again I don't work AT A KIDS FACILITY. That is just unexcuseable to me. Again, that might be the standard and parents are used to it, but it is beyond horrible in my opinion.

 

In group day care situations like a cruise, it's pretty expected for diaper changing to not be a part of the (free) service. For the situations where there is an hourly charge, usually diaper changing is included (see Flounder's Reef on DCL, etc).

 

However, I want to point out the OP did say that she and her husband were delayed by massages the second time their child had an accident; it wasn't that they weren't notified by pager. This wasn't a communication issue, in terms of them being notified that their child needed changing. I admit to being a bit shocked that her 2 year old is able to clean and change himself completely alone, without any help. Good on him; my daughter wasn't so coordinated at that age, and always needed assistance! :)

 

OP, thanks for the review on the Pearl. We have a mini-suite booked for an Eastern Caribbean in October.

 

I found Disney's Oceaneer's Club to be lacking in the same way my last 2 cruises on the Magic. Maybe it is just endemic to cruiselines, but it still stinks!

 

Thanks again, OP!

[urbanmummy]

In group day care situations like a cruise, it's pretty expected for diaper changing to not be a part of the (free) service. For the situations where there is an hourly charge, usually diaper changing is included (see Flounder's Reef on DCL, etc).

 

On Carnival, the other cruise line that accepts 2 year olds into their programs, they do change diapers.

 

However, I want to point out the OP did say that she and her husband were delayed by massages the second time their child had an accident; it wasn't that they weren't notified by pager. This wasn't a communication issue, in terms of them being notified that their child needed changing. I admit to being a bit shocked that her 2 year old is able to clean and change himself completely alone, without any help. Good on him; my daughter wasn't so coordinated at that age, and always needed assistance! :)

 

Yes, we were slightly delayed, of course that was our fault. We were most upset that he was left on his own in a corner away from the program instead of simply being given new clothes to change. We sent clothes with him for this very purpose!

 

As for his being able to take care of himself - well, he does go to the bathroom on his own for urinating - can take down and pull up his pants (we put him in easy to pull up pants, of course). He does dress himeslf, but if he needed to defacate, he would need help. (luckily we know his general schedule, and he always went when he was with us). He does still need assistance with buttons, and such (although he THINKS he can do it) and ends up with his shoes on the wrong feet more then half the time, but we're cool with that!

 

OP, thanks for the review on the Pearl. We have a mini-suite booked for an Eastern Caribbean in October.

 

You're welcome! The mini suite was the best part of the cruise, clean, and very nice. You'll be happy in it!

 

I found Disney's Oceaneer's Club to be lacking in the same way my last 2 cruises on the Magic. Maybe it is just endemic to cruiselines, but it still stinks!

 

I totally agree! Although, as I mentioned, we did take our other son on a Carnival cruise when he was 2, and they did change diapers, and quite happily. They are the only ones - all of the others (except NCL) start their kids programs at 3 (and toilet trained).

 

Thanks again, OP!

 

Welcome!

[newmexicoNita]

We just returned last night from a week aboard the Norwegian Pearl.

 

I have a lot of comments (any questions, please, ask!!)

 

Short summary:

 

We had a fabulous cabin. We upgraded to a mini suite and it was WELL worth it! We have 2 young boys (2 & 4) and it was almost like they had their own room!

 

The buffet was great - open, spacious, wonderful salad bar.

 

We didn't make it to the dining room at all - we traveled with my parents, who went twice and thought it was absolutely awful. Friends we met felt the same, and didn't go back. Since we never actually went, I don't have an opinion.

 

We did eat at several specialty restaurants - Shabu Shabu, Lotus Garden, Teppanyaki and the steak house. All were good, and service was good. We had the same junior waitress at Lotus Garden and Teppanyaki (Mary Ann), and she remembered my kids names, and their preferences, which was really lovely.

 

We didn't make it to any of the shows because of the children (oh, we did try, though!!), but had some fun at the karaoke at Bliss, and the guitar player at the sky high bar was wonderful.

 

We had a lot of trouble with the kids club, though. If you have 2-5 year olds, i would HIGHLY recommend that you avoid the kids club at all costs. They state that they do not change diapers, and that's fine, but they are fairly vague about what they will do. It ends up that they will not touch the children at all, even to help them pull down or pull up pants (my 2 year old is toilet trained, but does need help). The first day at the club he had an accident, and they left him standing in a corner - we came to get him right away, so I didn't think too much of it.

 

Another time, though, he had an accident and we weren't able to get there right away. He did have a bag with a change of clothes this time. When we finally did get there (we were having massages at the spa - lovely!), he had been left to stand in the corner again, and was not able to participate. And nobody bothered to help him get his clothes out to change.

 

The 2-5 year olds were kept in a very small room most of the time, not the main kids club room (which is also quite small). The room had no windows. The program consisted of lots of tv / movies, and it seemed like there wasn't that much other programming.

 

I don't think the programming was all that stellar for older children either - a friend went to check and found that their programming consisted of them all sitting around the edge of the room watching 2 kids beat each other with pillows. They didn't do this with the 2-5 year olds, thank goodness, but I don't think organized fighting is very responsible for 6-10 year olds either.

 

The kids club fiasco essentially ruined the cruise for us. There are limited cruises that work for 2 year olds, and we regret choosing Norwegian over Carnival for that purpose (we had taken Carnival 2 years ago when our oldest was 2).

 

Anyone have any other questions, please, ask!

I am surprised to hear about the kids program, could it be partially because this time of the year there are not as many kids sailing? I say this only because it is rare to hear any complaints about the kids program on NCL. Once in awhile we will hear something negative. This can happen on any line, but NCL is noted for having a good program and I have heard parents say the opposite, if it weren't for the kids progarm their little ones would not have had a good cruise.

 

Again, I hope you do have better luck on your next cruise.

 

Nita

[CruisnGram]

Ok.. I want to say up front that we have no kids...so I do not really know the standard of care that is expected when you leave them with something like the kids club. But I will say I am appauled that they would let kids have an accident and not change them or change diapers. Granted who wants to change diapers. I don't, but then again I don't work AT A KIDS FACILITY. That is just unexcuseable to me. Again, that might be the standard and parents are used to it, but it is beyond horrible in my opinion.

 

 

Terry,

 

NCL states clearly in their rules that their staff does not change diapers, which of course extends to a child that has soiled their clothing. If you have a child over 2 (the minimum age for kids club) that is not potty trained (or prone to accidents), the parent is given a beeper which will be used to page the parent if a diaper change is necessary. That's why if you have an untrained child, one parent must always remain on the ship while the child is in kids club....to get those pages.

 

It seems in this case, the parents were paged the 2nd time an accident occurred, and were delayed in getting to the kids club. "Normal" policy would be to have the child stay aside from the rest of the group until the parent arrived so the staff did nothing wrong there. Where their mistake was was the front desk not informing the staff that the child had extra clothes and was able to change himself. No excuse for that type of miscommunication in my opinion....strictly an "I don't care attitude" which I already told the OP I would have complained about.

 

Not saying that I agree or disagree with the diaper changing policy. Just saying that IS the policy on NCL ships.

 

CG

[LadyShiva]

urbanmummy, thanks for the info on Carnival. I always had the impression that they were more for drinking than for the kiddoes; I need to do some research, obviously! I need a peanut-safe kid's club that works for 4 year olds and has the dining flexibility for the hubby. *chuckle* I know, not much... *eyeroll*

 

And I still am chuckling over your description of your 2 year old dressing. :) I can just hear the, "I do it MINESELF!"

[terrymtex01]

 

And I still am chuckling over your description of your 2 year old dressing. :) I can just hear the, "I do it MINESELF!"

 

I thought the metal picture I got from the discription was cute too. Especially the shoes. My great niece is two also. She has some of those shoes that have the velcro strap. Well.. anytime she is around a group of people and she sees they have a velcro strap on their shoes too, she will go undo them on their shoes and say "help?".. As in can I help you do your strap? And then she closes their strap. It is so cute.

[urbanmummy]

Terry,

 

NCL states clearly in their rules that their staff does not change diapers, which of course extends to a child that has soiled their clothing. If you have a child over 2 (the minimum age for kids club) that is not potty trained (or prone to accidents), the parent is given a beeper which will be used to page the parent if a diaper change is necessary. That's why if you have an untrained child, one parent must always remain on the ship while the child is in kids club....to get those pages.

 

It seems in this case, the parents were paged the 2nd time an accident occurred, and were delayed in getting to the kids club. "Normal" policy would be to have the child stay aside from the rest of the group until the parent arrived so the staff did nothing wrong there. Where their mistake was was the front desk not informing the staff that the child had extra clothes and was able to change himself. No excuse for that type of miscommunication in my opinion....strictly an "I don't care attitude" which I already told the OP I would have complained about.

 

Not saying that I agree or disagree with the diaper changing policy. Just saying that IS the policy on NCL ships.

 

CG

 

I always figured there was POLICY, and there was "policy." I've sent my kids to other programs where they don't "help" the kids according to policy, but when the kids ask, they really do help. This staff was so hands off it was alarming - they only actually picked up my son when he was crying (he had difficulty being left) when I physically THRUST him into someone's arms. She was also CLEARLY not happy about that.

 

I think I was most upset about his treatment because the counsellors just didn't appear to even LIKE little kids, it was as if they were doing this just because they had to. They weren't happy and smiling, they just werent nurturing at all.

 

And yes, my 2 year old really is the funniest child ever...and more independent then his 4 year old brother!

 

I did complain when they didn't check for his change of clothes (and really, they didn't seem to care much, offered a cursory apology). Overall I think I was just unimpressed by their attitude! I also didn't like that the little ones were kept in a windowless (and TINY) room for most of the programs. There were a LOT of kids crammed into that small space!

[jam&tea mom]

We were on the Pearl the week of 1/25 and our children loved (6&9) loved the kids club. My 6 year only went once or twice during the day-the "unbirthday party" was a favourite but they went almost every evening and had a great time- group games, movies, crafts, scavenger hunts and they loved the pillow fight on the last night. They begged to be left until 10 or 1030 each night so we had lovely dinners and enjoyed some of the entertainment "childfree" for a few hours. We thought the staff were outstanding and allocated a portion of the kid's gratuities to them as they are not included in the tipping pool. Our children can hardly wait for another cruise, they have said it is much better than Disney and we are looking to book the Pearl again for January 2010.

[newmexicoNita]

We were on the Pearl the week of 1/25 and our children loved (6&9) loved the kids club. My 6 year only went once or twice during the day-the "unbirthday party" was a favourite but they went almost every evening and had a great time- group games, movies, crafts, scavenger hunts and they loved the pillow fight on the last night. They begged to be left until 10 or 1030 each night so we had lovely dinners and enjoyed some of the entertainment "childfree" for a few hours. We thought the staff were outstanding and allocated a portion of the kid's gratuities to them as they are not included in the tipping pool. Our children can hardly wait for another cruise, they have said it is much better than Disney and we are looking to book the Pearl again for January 2010.

this is normlly the type of reports I get from clients about the kids program. I certainly have never heard anyone say all they do is sit around watching movies. I don't know what happened this past week, whatever, that was too bad. It didn't make for a great cruise experience, but maybe some of the problem was a mis-communication. That too is sad..

 

I am glad your kids enjoyed themselves.

 

Nita