Brief Report - Our Cruise

[Paul & Darryl]

Hi All –

A million things to do just now…haven’t even downloaded the photos yet, so this will be somewhat brief.

Got back in on Sunday 2/8 and wanted to file my report!

WONDERFUL!

The Pearl is an amazing ship and we had a wonderful time. I truly believe that anyone that doesn’t have a great time on one of these big machines is incapable of having fun. My opinion only!

Were there a couple of little issues here and there? Sure. Can I even recall them? Not really. The good far outweighed any bad (and bad is even too strong a word) There were a couple of meals that were less than stellar and that was about it. Otherwise the crew was fantastic, experienced and fun.

It is so true that you can’t look in any direction without your eyes falling on a crew member. One such incident was in Le Bistro. Paul and I were looking at the restaurant manager as we thought we recognized her from a past cruise. Not only did she immediately note our scrutiny but came directly our way, made sure all was in accord, chatted with us at length and followed up several times during the meal. Our wait staff in Le Bistro, when they found out it was our anniversary, sang “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and they were GOOD! So many congrats then flowed in from crew and passengers alike. That was just one small example of how attentive we thought the crew was to all of us!

Also, WHAT A GAME and I’m not even much of a football fan but I have to say that experiencing the big game on the giant 2 story screen in the atrium with hundreds of others on both sides was quite moving. Paul is a big Steelers fan so he was especially thrilled and I think that it was amazing to watch what is considered one of the greatest Super bowls every played aboard the Pearl!

The highlight? Behind the scenes! By far one of the best experiences I have ever had and I am blessed to say that I have traveled wide and experienced much. For $55.00 per person we took a 2 ½ hour behind the scenes tour of the galleys, laundry, environmental systems, I-95 (the main hallway on deck three that runs from bow to stern) Ever wonder how the crew disappears and reappears so easily…they have this main corridor that accesses the entire ship. The highlight of the tour, by far was THE BRIDGE! I audibly gasped when we walked through the door. The bridge was breathtaking and our guide for that part was the first officer. Victor from Croatia. Very Very good at his job and extremely knowledgeable. What was truly amazing is that he was so good at explaining how this extremely complex machine worked. I’m an aviation man and I thought aircraft were complex…they’re nothing in comparison! My advice is that no matter what you do on your next cruise…do this! It would have been cheap at twice the price!

Well, this wasn’t so brief, my apologies.

I intend to upload my photos and create a slideshow sometime this weekend. I will post the link for those that are interested.

In closing…I’ll say that our deposit is already down on the next. How can you go wrong when you can put down $250.00, get $100.00 immediately back as an onboard credit and have 2 years to decide? We already have…Bermuda on the Dawn in May 2010.

Cheers to all!

Darryl

[Dave]

Welcome back and thanks for the quick review. Glad to hear you had a good cruise. Perhaps you will consider posting a review here at our Cruise Reviews site?

[LisaP]

Welcome home, and thank you for the review! And, happy anniversary, belatedly!

[billybuzzy]

Paul & Darryl - Welcome back and Thank You for the "quickie" cruise review! Le Bistro is a great restaurant for celebrating a special "on-board" occasion! Most importantly-Congratulations!

Your upcoming Dawn cruise will be great too! We did Bermuda last Fall on her and enjoyed it sooo much that she might see us again this Fall going to Bermuda!

Bon Voyage,

BillyBuzzy

[Bentnail]

[quote]Originally posted by Paul & Darryl:
Hi All –



The Pearl is an amazing ship and we had a wonderful time. I truly believe that anyone that doesn’t have a great time on one of these big machines is incapable of having fun. My opinion only!

Darryl- This is my also my feelings, people can't have a completely bad cruise unless they try.

The highlight? Behind the scenes! By far one of the best experiences I have ever had and I am blessed to say that I have traveled wide and experienced much. For $55.00 per person we took a 2 ½ hour behind the scenes tour of the galleys, laundry, environmental systems, I-95 (the main hallway on deck three that runs from bow to stern)

Is the tour something they always do and is it only for people in suites and higher. Would have loved to have done it when we were on her.

Darryl- Thanks for the review and looking forward to seeing your photos.

[Paul & Darryl]

Hey Bentnail -

No, we were in "steerage" my joking allusion to "Titanic". Serioulsy, we had a deck 5 inside cabin which was very nice.

The only trick to getting the inside tour is watching the Freestyle Daily. The little blurb was posted on the first sea day and it said "check with the reception desk". Trust me, I was elbowing little old ladies out of my way to get there in time.

I do think it is something that is relatively new for passengers who are not in the suites and higher.

Check it out on your next.

Sorry the photos aren't up yet...actually not yet posted because I spent all weekend in bed sick...still have a fever and was actually online here (at 4 AM) sending an email telling the boss I won't be in.

I'll get them up there soon.

Darryl

PS - Also, Dave, yes I'd be happy to post a review when I'm a little less under the weather.

[LisaP]

Take care of yourself, Darryl, so you can get better soon. The review can wait.

[penny3333]

Welcome home y'all! Thank you so much for taking time to post that great review. So sorry to hear you're not feeling well, at least it waited until after the cruise! I think something's going around. I spent most of the past weekend in bed-yuck! The behind the scenes tour sounds fantastic. I've been lucky enough to have been cruising for a long time and ages ago, you could tour for free. It still would be fun to see the newer technology. Take care and feel better!