Thinking About... The Norwegian Pearl Alaskan Cruise - Part 3

Day #3 - Having a Whale of a Time in Juneau

We docked in Juneau, AK at 2:00pm. Most of the guests on NCL were disembarking at the same time for various excursions. For whatever reason, there appeared to be a lot of confusion on the part of the crew as to who was supposed to head to the disembarkation area. Otherwise, it was fairly straightforward to find our touring company.

Docked in Juneau, AK

Although you may be purchasing these excursions through the cruise line's site, the excursions are operated locally. There is such a wide variety of excursions to choose from as well: from going on a tour of the local highlights, to doing something more physically demanding like hiking. We had chosen the excursion entitled "Whales & Mendenhall Glacier Rainforest Trails."

When choosing your excursion, you should take a look at review sites (like TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc) to see if the touring company and the particular excursion you are interested in will fit what you want out of your day ashore. The NCL website itself will also list a fitness level to indicate how physically demanding the excursion may be. Our chosen excursion, operated by Gastineau Guiding, was a level 2.

Once we met our tour operator at the pier, we were taken by shuttle to the harbor to board the small vessel that was chartered to take us into Auke Bay. There were two reasons we booked this tour: the first is we liked the mixture of land and sea tours it offered us. The second was that it was a relatively small group tour (19 people). This led to a lot of personal contact with our guides over the course of this 5.5 hour excursion.

We boarded the Mariner and met Captain Brock who took us on a leisurely ride to the middle of the bay. I can't compliment both Captain Brock and our guide Kate enough as they were both enthusiastic, educational, and strove to provide an excellent experience. The touring company does guarantee that you will see a whale or they will refund $100 to you.

Captain Brock

Not only did we see whales, we saw quite a few of them. The main whale was saw was the humpback whale, but we also saw three Orcas as well (which, evidently, is a rare sighting). We also saw bald eagles from the ship.

Whale tail sighting

After approximately 2 hours out in the bay, we were brought ashore where we met our second guide, Annie, and were again shuttled to a trailhead where our journey to Mendenhall Glacier would begin. Annie and Kate did provide us all with snacks prior to our short hike.

Our tour guide prepping us for the hike

At most, the hike was approximately 1.5-2 miles and was relatively easy. The trail is smooth, but we would recommend sturdy boots with ankle support and a walking stick (which they will provide). We were split into two groups for the hike, giving us even more personal attention.

The rainforest was quite beautiful, but the "money shot" - as Annie referred to it - was the spectacular view of Mendenhall Glacier. Once we arrived, we spent at least 20-30 minutes there taking pictures of the glacier and area, and listening to Annie and Kate regale us with information about the glaciers. While we were there, we noticed another touring group had also entered the area. Unfortunately for them, they were not on the beach area directly across from the glacier, but on a beach to the side which would not have given the best views.

Upon conclusion of the tour we were taken back to our ship by shuttle. Everyone on the shuttle clearly had a fantastic experience. Based on this experience, we cannot recommend Gastineau Guiding enough. It was a great land and sea combination tour that provided us with awe inspiring sights.

Once we are back in our home state, we will be updating this review with more photos, and some video we took of our trip. Stay tuned...

Thinking About... The Norwegian Pearl Alaskan Cruise, Part Two

Day#1 - Embarkation - All about the Suite LIfe, Part 2

As I said in our blog about our first day on the Norwegian Pearl, the majority of the time spent was on exploring the ship as well as our awesome cabin. The cabin itself has a living area with a port-side facing window; dining area; master sized bedroom with a forward-looking window; a huge master bathroom with a double vanity, a tub, and a shower stall; and, finally, a half-bathroom.

Dinner:
For dinner, we made reservations at one of the specialty restaurants: La Cucina. The entry fee is an additional $15 per person., and it featured traditional Italian food that you would see at a more upscale Olive Garden. Seating is limited, which makes it a more intimate experience than the dining room. It was here that my wife was brought a birthday cake, and the La Cucina staff sang "Happy Birthday" to her. All in all a great experience for dinner, and worth the additional upcharge.

Entertainment:
The main entertainment option for the evening was held in the Stardust Theater, featuring the cast of many of the shows being held this coming week with our Cruise DIrector, Pedro, introducing each act. It was an enjoyable experience, although not one of the best shows we've seen on a NCL ship.

By the end of the show, we were fairly exhausted from the weekend of traveling here, so we retired to our room for a great night of sleep.

Day #2 - Welcome to The Haven

The Haven on the Norwegian Pearl

Breakfast:
For breakfast, we took advantage of our suite perk and ate at Cagney's. It's a sit-down breakfast with a continental buffet that is only open to suite guests for the week. My wife felt that the french-pressed coffee is virtually undrinkable (Although, she is a coffee-snob), but the breakfast overall was very good. And, it's so much less crazy then eating at the buffet.

The Haven:
We decided that we would take it easy on our first full day at sea, so we ventured to The Haven private courtyard area. It's truly a great set-up! They have a large hot tub in the corner; a small endless pool in the center of the courtyard; dining tables; access to water, coffee, tea and a variety of snacks; and, finally, lounge chairs. They also have a valet assigned to The Haven who will serve you lunch from Cagney's if you are hungry.

The Courtyard in The Haven on the Norwegian Pearl

The courtyard did seem opulent, and was very well-kept. We certainly had a very relaxing time, and are hoping to take advantage of the facilities again later in the trip.

Casino:

We are not gamblers, nor should we be trusted to gamble with money as we normally lose. For those who love casinos, however, the casino on the Pearl seems impressive. They have a frequent gambling card that you can sign up for. Over the course of the day, they hold tournaments and other competitions. For smokers, this is the one inside public area that I'm aware of that you can smoke.

The casino has quite a few slot machines as well as table games. I did try my luck at the roulette wheel, and cashed out when I was $30 up.

Dinner:

On our private balcony on the Norwegian Pearl

For dinner, we ate at one of the main dining rooms: Summer Palace. The restaurant continued the Asian decor that appoints the rest of the ship, but is even more impressive. Meals in the main dining rooms are included in your stay. Truthfully, we've had meals that are just as good as the specialty up-charge restaurants in these main dining rooms. Other than the intimacy (which sometimes is worth the price of admission alone) and slightly varied menus, any guest should feel comfortable to stick with the main dining rooms and not feel as if they are being short-changed.

Rough Seas:

The seas were very rough on Day #2, with guests falling into the walls and each other, making for a very interesting time.

Coming Next: Day#3 - Having a whale of a time in Juneau

Thinking About... The Norwegian Pearl Alaskan Cruise

Day #1 - Embarkation - All about the Suite Life

Back in 2012, my wife and I decided to book an Alaskan Cruise to celebrate her birthday in 2013. As we had just returned home from a Cruise to Bermuda on the Norwegian Sun, we reserved an Owner's Suite with Double Balcony on the Norwegian Pearl for our cruise to Alaska.

We had previously been in an Owner's Suite with Double Balcony on the Star, and we knew that for a cruise to Alaska, this grade of suite would give us the most bang for our buck when it came to seeing the sights of Alaska as well as Glacier Bay which is part of the itinerary. The itinerary for the Alaskan cruise on the Pearl starts in Seattle before moving on to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BC before docking once more in Seattle.

The owner's suites on NCL are part of their suite class which includes a concierge and butler as part of your perks. On the Norwegian Pearl, the Owner's Suites are also part of The Haven.

The Haven is NCL's private courtyard area located on Deck 14 of the Pearl with an additional private sundeck on Deck 15. All around the courtyard sits the entrances to other rooms. While the Owner's Suite is part of The Haven and one has access to all of The Haven's perks, it is set apart from the courtyard on a different level. As far as we were concerned, we had the best of both worlds: access to The Haven but also enjoying the luxury of having two balconies.

The Owner's Suites also come with your choice of liquors to stock your mini-bar without having to pay for them separately. You are given a list of their premium spirits to review before choosing three bottles for your room. The bottles are all a standard size. Having them on hand means that you can get away without spending as much on alcohol on the ship itself.

Owner's Suite with Double Balcony on the Norwegian Pearl

Day #1 was all about the suite perks that NCL gives. From the moment we hit Pier 66 on Alaskan Way in Seattle, we were treated to the best service NCL has to offer. No waiting in a long line with the suite: you begin the check in process right outside of the cruise terminal, and then are escorted directly to the security checkpoint (skipping the line!) before being taken to the concierge lounge. At the concierge lounge, you are greeted by the concierge who will make all of your reservations for specialty dining, excursions, shows, etc. as well as your butler. The concierge lounge is a very nice way to wait to complete the check-in process as they have it set up with refreshments and many seats.

Once we completed check-in, we were escorted onto the ship on a red carpet before being dropped off at Cagney's, NCL's signature steakhouse that is open only to suite guests for breakfast and lunch. And, after enjoying our lunch, we were finally able to check out our cabin - and were immediately amazed at how spacious, well-appointed, and beautiful it was!

Be sure to come back in the next few days as we will be reviewing the rest of Day#1 with our Day#2 blog...soon.