VIP Norwegian Pearl - Best Way To Go
Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 43
9 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 30, 2007
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Cabin type: Suite
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 14 years ago
Review summary
Norwegian Pearl 11/30 - 12/9/2007 My wife and I have been on 6 cruises with 3 different cruise lines staying in various types of cabins. This was a 25th anniversary cruise, so we splurged to try NCL's Pearl freestyle cruising. Our room was an aft Suite on the 9th floor that came with butler and concierge service. We are also Latitude members. My review will highlight the aspects of our trip on which we found information hard to come by prior to our trip. This trip comprised my wife and me along with 2 friends who were also celebrating 25 years of marriage. We flew into Palm Beach International to take advantage of great rates available. We rented a minivan from Alamo at Palm Beach International which gave us the best price and excellent service. They provided a free shuttle to the port the next morning after drop-off at the Miami airport and also free shuttle after the cruise. NCL's excellent service for those staying in VIP suites started at the port. My wife and friends were dropped off at the port while I took the rental car back. They were ushered quickly onto the ship and were told they would take care of me when I got back. Upon arrival at the door, I was refused entry by security since my wife had all the travel documents. Al, the concierge, came to my rescue and I was quickly processed and had boarded within 10 min. The ports of call were great. We make it a practice to book privately, looking for locals who can interpret and provide guide services on the island. Even Samana turned out to be a great excursion for us, though some were disappointed. It amazed me that even the staff of NCL made jokes about Samana. I guess you have to avoid the cattle call to find the funPorts of call
Barbados: We booked a Scuba dive and it was by far the highlight of our excursions. For $80/person, The Dive Shop Barbados provided transportation to and from the ship and 2 dives of 45 min. each. We dove over a reef that provides a
habitat for sea turtles. The reef had great coral and a variety of fish species. The second dive to a sunken ship near
another reef was also great. Gabby was a great guide and made us very comfortable even though it had been 15 years since our last dive.
Thumbs Up
0
Don't Miss: Scuba Diving with the turtles
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Tortola: What a day! We started by renting scooters close to the dock for $20/hour or $60/day although he
quickly changed his price to $45/day after we chose the $20/hr route. We rode through the city and into the hills to take pictures of the ship in port. Later that afternoon, we had booked a half-day catamaran sail with Patouche that ended up being only 6 passengers and 4 crew. It was so nice having all that space to spread out and relax, we love booking privately and avoiding some of the cattle call excursions. What a great time having Jess (a Marine Biologist) showing us things while snorkeling. Everyone was very friendly and we had a great time.
Samana: Booked Enrico Rosa to serve as tour guide. Excellent choice as he spoke 4 languages and was very
congenial. He ended up taking us to the parada that we had researched in the first place, La Manzana, the parade of Antonia Martin. The men walked to the El Limon waterfall and the girls rode horses. TAKE A HORSE!! If they had not given me rubber boots, my shoes would have been ruined by the mud and manure on the trail. The hike is up and down hills and valleys over rocky, muddy terrain. Everyone has to descend a steep rock staircase to get to the bottom of the falls. The meal that Maria prepared for us upon our return was local food and was DELICIOUS. What a pleasure getting to experience their culture. (This parada had excellent modern bathroom facilities) We continued up to Las Terranes Beach and had it pretty much to ourselves.
Don't Miss: El Limon and La Mananza
Antigua: We booked the EcoTour with Eli. It was not as good as everyone online had led us to believe. I guess we
were spoiled from previous excursions and I am not into large groups. There were 25 people on the boat with 3
crew. At times we were told lengthy stories that were no doubt embellished by Tony that made me disengage. The
highlights were going to Hell's Gate and Pigeon Island. What fun places to explore with spectacular views. Overall it wasn't bad and was definitely better than the packed boat we saw the ship excursion take off on. It is relatively good. Good if you are used to cattle call excursions, but only so-so if you are used to booking private guides and services on your own.
Samana: Booked Enrico Rosa to serve as tour guide. Excellent choice as he spoke 4 languages and was very
congenial. He ended up taking us to the parada that we had researched in the first place, La Manzana, the parade of Antonia Martin. The men walked to the El Limon waterfall and the girls rode horses. TAKE A HORSE!! If they had not given me rubber boots, my shoes would have been ruined by the mud and manure on the trail. The hike is up and down hills and valleys over rocky, muddy terrain. Everyone has to descend a steep rock staircase to get to the bottom of the falls. The meal that Maria prepared for us upon our return was local food and was DELICIOUS. What a pleasure getting to experience their culture. (This parada had excellent modern bathroom facilities) We continued up to Las Terranes Beach and had it pretty much to ourselves.
Don't Miss: El Limon and La Mananza
Barbados: We booked a Scuba dive and it was by far the highlight of our excursions. For $80/person, The Dive Shop Barbados provided transportation to and from the ship and 2 dives of 45 min. each. We dove over a reef that provides a
habitat for sea turtles. The reef had great coral and a variety of fish species. The second dive to a sunken ship near
another reef was also great. Gabby was a great guide and made us very comfortable even though it had been 15 years since our last dive.
Don't Miss: Scuba Diving with the turtles
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Tortola: What a day! We started by renting scooters close to the dock for $20/hour or $60/day although he
quickly changed his price to $45/day after we chose the $20/hr route. We rode through the city and into the hills to take pictures of the ship in port. Later that afternoon, we had booked a half-day catamaran sail with Patouche that ended up being only 6 passengers and 4 crew. It was so nice having all that space to spread out and relax, we love booking privately and avoiding some of the cattle call excursions. What a great time having Jess (a Marine Biologist) showing us things while snorkeling. Everyone was very friendly and we had a great time.
St. Lucia: We booked Herod Tours and were given a tour by our driver Dickson. Herod worked with us on a price over the internet that was VERY reasonable and guaranteed we would get a private, personal tour. Another example of finding a better deal if you just do the research. Everyone talks about Cosol, but we were concerned about being a large group packed into a van, which seemed to be the case. We saw the Cosol group several time wearing their colored dots to indicate which van they belonged on. Our driver Dickson took the 4 of us in a 10 passenger van along a similar route, but we decided where we wanted to go and how long we wanted to stay. We stopped a couple of times just because we saw something that interested us and we wanted to explore a little more. Dickson did a fantastic job of showing off this beautiful island. Herod met up with us a couple of times to make sure we were being taken care of and were seeing everything we wanted to see. Book with Herod not Cosol.
Don't Miss: Personalized Tour of the island
Antigua: We booked the EcoTour with Eli. It was not as good as everyone online had led us to believe. I guess we
were spoiled from previous excursions and I am not into large groups. There were 25 people on the boat with 3
crew. At times we were told lengthy stories that were no doubt embellished by Tony that made me disengage. The
highlights were going to Hell's Gate and Pigeon Island. What fun places to explore with spectacular views. Overall it wasn't bad and was definitely better than the packed boat we saw the ship excursion take off on. It is relatively good. Good if you are used to cattle call excursions, but only so-so if you are used to booking private guides and services on your own.
St. Lucia: We booked Herod Tours and were given a tour by our driver Dickson. Herod worked with us on a price over the internet that was VERY reasonable and guaranteed we would get a private, personal tour. Another example of finding a better deal if you just do the research. Everyone talks about Cosol, but we were concerned about being a large group packed into a van, which seemed to be the case. We saw the Cosol group several time wearing their colored dots to indicate which van they belonged on. Our driver Dickson took the 4 of us in a 10 passenger van along a similar route, but we decided where we wanted to go and how long we wanted to stay. We stopped a couple of times just because we saw something that interested us and we wanted to explore a little more. Dickson did a fantastic job of showing off this beautiful island. Herod met up with us a couple of times to make sure we were being taken care of and were seeing everything we wanted to see. Book with Herod not Cosol.
Don't Miss: Personalized Tour of the island
Pros: Itinerary
Cons: Bliss Lounge Ultra Rooms
Recommends Norwegian Pearl? Yes!
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