Late afternoon arrival in Victoria -- hailed in by an older gentleman in official looking garb from the 18th century. Clearly Victoria is a replenishment port for NCL Pearl - fuel and food trucks were lined up and waiting for us when we pulled in. Additionally, our crew -- separated by their duty station -- cabin stewards, food service, and entertainment are out on the pier dancing for guests as they disembark. Hadn't seen this on other cruise lines before - music playing and people dancing - nice mood setting. Didn't know it at the time but this was really the crew's send off for their passengers... Tomorrow morning - disembarkation day - the crew is doing required semi-annual Customs and Border Protection immigration check - so they are lined up by the hundreds at 0600 waiting to get their documents stamped. No time for music and dancing then...
We didn't partake of any shore excursions in Victoria although a couple of our family members did go to the botanical gardens. We walked off the ship after dark and walked down to a floating village - house boats and businesses anchored along the bay - quiet when we got there with things mostly closed but beautiful none the less. A place we'd like to come back and see in the day light. One thing we noticed is that the sidewalks around the port are pretty dark - the 3/4 mile we walked back and forth was a bit dodgy because the sideway had frost heaves in several places. But what's life without a few challenges, eh?
Next morning - we were up early and ready to go. Our departure from SEA-TAC was 1000 - so we asked about early disembarkation - turns out that if you want to carry your own bags off the ship, you can get off about 45 minutes earlier (0730) so this is what we did. We were second in line to get off and have never experienced a smoother or quicker disembarkation - we were at the curb 10 minutes after they started letting us off the ship; at SEA-TAC by 0815 - earlier than the first folks who had checked their bags even got off NCL Pearl.
Travel Intelligence Tip - While not true of other cruise lines we have been on to date, it clearly pays on NCL to get there early for Embarkation and to carry your own bags off at Disembarkation. There was less traffic at the curb, fewer people in line for security and check-in, and no traffic on the way to the airport. We will henceforth check with all ships about an option to carry our own luggage off the ship as a way to beat the crowds. Additionally, if you travel internationally more than once a year, get a Global Entry card -- Customs and Immigration is so much faster when you come home and you are automatically enrolled in TSA-Pre check for domestic flights.
Summary: We were pleasantly surprised with our cruise on NCL Pearl - highlighted by the exceptional service provided by our cabin attendant Reggie and the generally high morale and esprit d'corps exhibited by our crew and hotel staff. Reggie's towel animals are the best my wife has ever seen and our cabin was spotless twice a day -- Val was Chief Purser on a cruise ship for three years so she is very picky when it comes to cabin cleanliness and service. Our cabin - 8548 - was a sub-standard Veranda - but adequate since we could spend so little time on it due to our chain smoking neighbors. Dining in either of the main dining rooms was good (but desserts were really weak) and the food choice in the buffet was better than average with good Indian food choices each day. The only speciality restaurant (South American meat) we tried was ok - staff bent over backwards and really tried hard but if the kitchen is under cooking or over cooking the meat, you are behind the power curve. We liked the itinerary except perhaps for Juneau - boring and drab - and could have spent days exploring Glacier Bay. Would we do NCL again on an Alaska itinerary? Probably not - having done the inland passage, we would expand our horizons, select a smaller, more intimate ship, and do more shore excursions. But if you haven't cruised to Alaska before and are looking for a reasonably priced itinerary, I would recommend the NCL Pearl experience.
Next morning - we were up early and ready to go. Our departure from SEA-TAC was 1000 - so we asked about early disembarkation - turns out that if you want to carry your own bags off the ship, you can get off about 45 minutes earlier (0730) so this is what we did. We were second in line to get off and have never experienced a smoother or quicker disembarkation - we were at the curb 10 minutes after they started letting us off the ship; at SEA-TAC by 0815 - earlier than the first folks who had checked their bags even got off NCL Pearl.
Travel Intelligence Tip - While not true of other cruise lines we have been on to date, it clearly pays on NCL to get there early for Embarkation and to carry your own bags off at Disembarkation. There was less traffic at the curb, fewer people in line for security and check-in, and no traffic on the way to the airport. We will henceforth check with all ships about an option to carry our own luggage off the ship as a way to beat the crowds. Additionally, if you travel internationally more than once a year, get a Global Entry card -- Customs and Immigration is so much faster when you come home and you are automatically enrolled in TSA-Pre check for domestic flights.
Summary: We were pleasantly surprised with our cruise on NCL Pearl - highlighted by the exceptional service provided by our cabin attendant Reggie and the generally high morale and esprit d'corps exhibited by our crew and hotel staff. Reggie's towel animals are the best my wife has ever seen and our cabin was spotless twice a day -- Val was Chief Purser on a cruise ship for three years so she is very picky when it comes to cabin cleanliness and service. Our cabin - 8548 - was a sub-standard Veranda - but adequate since we could spend so little time on it due to our chain smoking neighbors. Dining in either of the main dining rooms was good (but desserts were really weak) and the food choice in the buffet was better than average with good Indian food choices each day. The only speciality restaurant (South American meat) we tried was ok - staff bent over backwards and really tried hard but if the kitchen is under cooking or over cooking the meat, you are behind the power curve. We liked the itinerary except perhaps for Juneau - boring and drab - and could have spent days exploring Glacier Bay. Would we do NCL again on an Alaska itinerary? Probably not - having done the inland passage, we would expand our horizons, select a smaller, more intimate ship, and do more shore excursions. But if you haven't cruised to Alaska before and are looking for a reasonably priced itinerary, I would recommend the NCL Pearl experience.
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