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My wife and I are cruising on the Pearl to Alaska, from September 2nd through the 9th. This is my second cruise and my wife's first. My only other cruise experience was in 1993 on A Princess ship to the eastern Carribean. We are both very excited though I am wondering what the weather will be like. We have had a strange summer in the pacific northwest, 3 weeks of hot with 7 weeks of cloudy and 60's.
My wife and I are cruising on the Pearl to Alaska, from September 2nd through the 9th. This is my second cruise and my wife's first. My only other cruise experience was in 1993 on A Princess ship to the eastern Carribean. We are both very excited though I am wondering what the weather will be like. We have had a strange summer in the pacific northwest, 3 weeks of hot with 7 weeks of cloudy and 60's.
So what can we expect?
We have done Alaska and we have crurised the Pearl. In fact we will be cruising her the second time in January.
The ship is just about 4 years old I am guessing, which you probably already know. There are lots of dining choices, some with extra costs, some without. The cabins are very well laid out, but, like Princess, on the small side. if you were happy with the size of your Princess cabin you will not be disappointed.
The one thing I will forwarn you about right now, or a couple of things. 1-the quality of food on all lines has gone down over the past 10 years, I hope you are not cruising for the cuisine. The thing that has greatly improved over the years is the buffets. They used to be nothing or almost nothing. Of course you are aware of the changes in idning times I am sure. When you cruised before you had early or late seating and there were formal nights. Now, NCL has none and you will be able to eat when yuu want. If you want a table with others, just tell the hostess, if you prefer to eat alone that is fine as well. I would recommmend you choose at least one specialy dining experience. We happen to love Le Bistro.
AS for Alaska, and the weather: well, it will be a bit onthe chilly side starting next week, so plan on dressing in layers and remember, Alaska is very port intensive so you are going to be busy and probably tired, but it is a wonderful experience. Be sure and let us know how it works for you.
Thanks Nita. Being that this is my wife's first cruise we did "spring" for the mini-suite with the balcony which is 284 square feet. It looks amazing in the picture, and I do expect it to be bigger than the cabin I had on the Princess Cruise.
We might choose one formal dinner, should I bring a tie for this?
If you want to be dressed "formally", a suit and tie would be appropriate. NCL, however, doesn't really do "formal"...they leave that option to the passenger, unlike most of the other cruiselines that will have specified "formal" evenings. So, you don't have to dress up at all, ever, on NCL.
Thanks Nita. Being that this is my wife's first cruise we did "spring" for the mini-suite with the balcony which is 284 square feet. It looks amazing in the picture, and I do expect it to be bigger than the cabin I had on the Princess Cruise.
We might choose one formal dinner, should I bring a tie for this?
cb gave you a good answer; there will be 2 formal optional nights, if you want to dress up a little or a lot do so and enjoy. Probably a nice shirt and tie for you and a cute, somewhat dressy but casul dress for your wife would be just fine. If she wants she can opted for a really nice pair of slacks and a dressy top. Alaska cruising is always a little less formal, regardless of the cruise line. BTW I know someone who just had the mini suite on the Pearl and loved it.
I took the same cruise last year on the Pearl. Had a min-suite as well. It was comfortable. It has a nice sitting area and the balcony was plenty large enough to enjoy the scenery. A jacket is fine for formal night. It's a very laid back cruise. The scenery on this cruise is just amazing. You'll want to be near windows or on deck most of the time. Don't miss the sunsets!
My wife and I are cruising on the Pearl to Alaska, from September 2nd through the 9th. This is my second cruise and my wife's first. My only other cruise experience was in 1993 on A Princess ship to the eastern Carribean. We are both very excited though I am wondering what the weather will be like. We have had a strange summer in the pacific northwest, 3 weeks of hot with 7 weeks of cloudy and 60's.
So what can we expect?
I cruised on the Pearl in May 2009 to Alaska. The weather should be about the same as it may since I've had customers that have cruised there in Sept. Expect 50-high 60s but bring clothes that you can layer because you could see some warm days.
The Pearl is a very nice ship, i loved the food, and the service was excellent. I did go to some of the extra price restaurants. I took the shore excursion from Skagway that included the train there and the coach back. That was one not to miss.
Have Fun,
Diane Giambalvo
I cruised on the Pearl in May 2009 to Alaska. The weather should be about the same as it may since I've had customers that have cruised there in Sept. Expect 50-high 60s but bring clothes that you can layer because you could see some warm days.
The Pearl is a very nice ship, i loved the food, and the service was excellent. I did go to some of the extra price restaurants. I took the shore excursion from Skagway that included the train there and the coach back. That was one not to miss.
Have Fun,
Diane Giambalvo
Diane,
everyone talks about the Skagway tour including the train. We did a private tour and did a mini van instead of the train. I think both or should I say either are wonderful. The van goes into the Yucon (barely, but it is still something to just say, I did it) the train I hear is beautiful. I will add, the van is a heck of a lot cheaper!!!
We got back yesterday morning, and all I have to say is we had an AWESOME cruise !
-The weather was good to great for the most part, and though the forecasters predicted rain, it never happened! We had sunny days and some cloudy days and in Skagway it was quite windy (40 mph) and in Glacier Bay it felt like a sunny winter day in December. All in all it was good weather.
- the ship, service, food, activities, and entertainment were all superb!
- our cabin was WONDERFUL (mini suite) we loved sitting on the balcony especially when coming into ports or watching sunrises and sunsets.
- my wife went on two excursions with the wife of the couple we went on the cruise with. The first one was whale watching in Juneau and the second one was bear watching in Ketchikan. She took many pictures of whales and black bears and thoroughly enjoyed both excursions.
- the cruise waters were mostly good though we did do the "rock and roll" a couple of times. One time while going to sleep I almost rolled out of bed, lol. The other funny incident was while working out on an elliptical trainer, I would be going up hill and then downhill, I was chuckling over it.
I could go on and perhaps later I will. I do have a question for all cruisers, I am feeling like I am still on the ship, as in my apartment is moving, lol. Not so much that I am dizzy but off balance, though this morning it didn't bother me when I worked out (elliptical trainer) this morning, it hit me after I showered and has remained with me all day. Has anyone else experienced this after going on a 7 day cruise? I researched my "condition" and I read about a disorder called MdDS (Mal de Debarquement Syndrome). It is not making me feel nausea, but it is annoying.
We took hundreds of pictures and truly had the "time of our lives"!
^^^Glad you enjoyed the trip. We went a few years ago on Princess the 1st week in Sept and it was cold, damp and rained every day. All our excursions were cancelled. Sept is a crapshoot they say because of the often weather changes. Alaska gets over 110 inches or rain annually. It's the off season so the deals are cheap. We went back the following year, again on Princess, in the peak season in June and had a fantastic time and weather too.
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