Norwegian Pearl
by Chro
Eastern Caribbean
December 22, 2006
Embarkation:
We arrived at the embarkation pier at around 1:00 pm which was pretty late already as a lot of people were already queuing for a departure time set at 4pm. So I would rather advise you to arrive 30 minutes earlier that we did.
Embarkation staff (Gilles) was everything but friendly showing no sign of empathy whatsoever ..he acted like a machine and if he goes on like that, I am sure NCL would do some savings in replacing such a guy by a PC!
All in all the procedures were then rather quick, without hassle and we were within 50 minutes in our cabin.
4 Pieces of our luggage arrived within short time whereas the last one arrived only very late.
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Staterooms:
We had 2 adjacent staterooms ( the other for our 2 big sons) with balcony on deck 10, Stateroom 10542 and 10540; you will see later on that those numbers could be of importance for future members!
The beds can be arranged either as queen-bed or as 2 single beds. They are very comfortable and the mattresses allow an extremely good sleep. The A/C can be individually set and work efficiently.
Very well-equipped with enough space for storage, the colour scheme is very attracting. The balconies are wide and offer enough privacy from neighbours.
Since we forgot a transformer for 110v, the reception send 2 technicians who installed within 5 minutes a prolongation cable with 220v plugs. It shows how NCL is committed to giving an outstanding customer service.
Dining:
By far the best quality item for NCL. Their free-style cruising scheme offers a wide range of not less than 12 restaurants. Be wise to book latest by end of the 1st day if you want to dine at the time you wish. Large screens throughout the ship show the waiting time for each outlet.
We spoke with a lot of passengers on this cruise and they all seemed to love this dining style. For us and our 2 youths, it is out of question to use another more traditional dining seating! It is NCL or nothing.
Cagney's dishes are all excellent and we dined twice there; we also tried the Shabu Shabu (Mongolian hot pot) in the Lotus Garden and we did not like it.
La Cuccina and Mambo Tapas Restaurant offer an equally good quality;
For lunch the Summer Garden offer so many buffet stations that we never experienced a waiting time at any of them. As a hint, go to the outside garden restaurant at the aft of deck 12, it is never crowded and you can eat outside. Great views and fresh air.
All of the 12 restaurants offer superb quality and their staff mostly from Romania or India are very kind. They also speak several languages. They also all offer a wide selection of European or US wines at a good price.
Entertainment:
Nothing to say except that all facilities work perfectly well and the staff attending either the pool area or the fitness area or the spa are extremely-well groomed. No wonder as most of them have joined NCL since a long time.
The bowling alley is not too crowded in the late afternoons and offers a good change to the traditional water sports. Fully computerized and located next to a well-attended bar lounge, I can only recommend it.
Shore excursions:
On the 2nd day we opted in Samana, Domenican Republic for the excursion "Discover Samana".our only comment FORGET IT and AVOID IT.
The excursion desk received so many complaints that they immediately refunded the entire amount of this excursion to the people who complained. Again an excellent proof of good service.
We did not hear a single positive comment on Samana on this cruise.
As for Tortola and St Thomas, nothing to say. The disembarkation was at both places very smooth and the transfer to the buses well organized.
Customer service:
During this cruise, we experienced a problem with our toilet flush which was flushing continouesly. Despite several calls to the reception, the problem ended in having our cabin groundfloor flooded. The technical staff arrived to stop the leakage and repair the damages while we were off-shore.
As we came back, a message from Krista, the assistant Reception Manager was waiting for us offering us another accommodation for the night until the floor is dry. As we arrived in our cabin, we were happy to see that the cabin was fully useable so we called her to cancel the transfer to another stateroom. She send immediately some staff to clean and change the beds. In the evening we received 2 bottles of red wine together with a letter of apologies.
Two days later, the same problem appeared. This can always happen on a new equipment ..we thought. Again Krista called in the late afternnon offering us a online credit of USD 100.- per cabin as a compensation for the problems we experienced. Since we did not ask for anything, we appreciate even more this commercial gesture from NCL! Excellent attitude and immediate reaction are keys to their success.
Disembarkation:
We choose to disembark at 8:30 and 5 min. before they call for our tag colour. The disembarkation went much smoothier as the embarkation and within 10 minutes we were off the ship and waiting for our transfer to the hotel. Customs procedures for US non-residents are reduced to the minimum: a stamp on the passport and on the green arrival immigration form.
Summary:
As 1st-time cruisers we are very much pleased by NCL, the ship and its amenities and can only recommend it to whoever hesitate. Our 2 sons ( 24 and 21) who were reluctant to come along are fully convinced and want us to book already the next one very soon. It says all !
