Norwegian Pearl Reviews

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When my husband and I came across an unbeatable price for an Alaska Inside Passage cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl, we almost passed it by. Our first experience with Norwegian had been aboard the Norwegian Star to somewhere along the coast of Mexico. What stood out in our memories were constant announcements for purchases of bingo/raffle tickets and signing up for the pay "specialty" restaurants, as well as recollections of so-so food and a frozen yogurt machine that was always out of service. But, due to the great price and destination, we were game for this new challenge. Heck! If we had to, we'd bring ear plugs to drown out any announcements, because we did want to check out Alaska's Inside Passage which can only been seen via ship. Much to our great relief and happy amazement, the Norwegian Pearl was a totally different experience from its sister ship. The boarding went quickly, the welcome onto the ship was immediate. The welcoming buffet offerred a staggering array of choices, and our cabins were ready in a short time. While we awaited the opening of our cabin, we took advantage of the buffet. As a weight watcher, I had plenty of fruit and vegetables to select from. There were sandwich wraps, subs, curries, Asian fare, and the usual buffet selections. So, both my husband I were happy. We continued to be pleased with the buffet throughout the cruise. There were only two criticisms here. First, the scrambled eggs on the first morning were terrible (they were better subseqent mornings) and the coffee was a middling average (as has been the case on every cruise). The buffet on the Pearl was delicious and of such a variety that we're at a loss to why anyone would say it was lacking. Perhaps buffets as an institution affect a diner's sense of taste since it's too hard to focus on one food when you've taken so many, or, you find yourself sitting there wondering how the food you haven't yet sampled might be. At any rate, the buffet on the Pearl was spectacular. We took most of our dinners in the main restaurants. The service there was spotty and the food wasn't as good as the buffet, but it was fine. We didn't starve. In fact, the only skinny people on board were the dancers in the show and the hardworking cabin stewards. For those who claimed they starved, free room service was available around the clock and there were several other areas to get free food throughout the day--so who was starving and "making do" with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? The decor on the Pearl is so wacky! It's a cross between Alice in Wonderland and mid-century modern. The Spinnaker Lounge was filled with egg chairs and there were these crazy sofas and undulating lounges, and even a few upholstered beds all around. We thought the passengers would be way too conservative to cuddle up on the beds and loungers, but they took to the wacky but comfortable furniture with gusto. The Spinnaker Lounge became everyone's favorite place to read, sea-watch and read. All thoughout the public areas, the wacky furniture theme continued. We'd never been on a ship with so many comfortable seating areas which in and of themselves were an attraction. We were quite pleased with our balcony room. Like most cabins, they aren't known for their spaciousness, but it was lovely. The bathroom was about the same as on any other cruise ship we've been on, but we still wonder how the very, very, very obese passengers, and the very, very many of them, got their huge bodies into the potty alcove and how any toilet could withstand their weight onslaught. None of the Pearl's balconies had an obstructed view. We enjoyed beautiful scenery right outside our room when we could withstand the cold, cold winds. The entertainment had its ups and downs. The comedy acts were great (but not Second City), the ensemble was good (although their second show was totally ruined by a horrible audio mix), and the oldies cover group for Franke Vallee were also good. My husband and I read a lot and tried to walk a few miles around the deck every day, so we missed most of the planned activities. Fortunately, we were able to take part in one of the dance classes. That was so much fun! I wish that I hadn't missed the others. We were somewhat disappointed in Juneau. More could be done there, but by the city. Don't they want cruise dollars? The gondola up the hill was good but way too expensive. Ketchikan was our favorite port. Even though we didn't see whales or a lot of wildlife, we loved the scenery and this cruise.

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We have sailed on over 60 cruises on a number of cruise lines and are sensitive to the quality of sevice,food,facilities,entertainment and the overall cruise experience. Although most of our cruises have been with Royal Caribbean stating in the 1970s we have become unhappy recently with a dramatic slippage in food quality and staff service and attitude on Royal Caribbean. NCL was recommended to us, and we were very pleased with our experience on the Norwegian Pearl. The Freestyle concept of wear what you wish and dine when you want has, quite frankly, become the standard on most mainstream cruise lines in practice if not policy. Our last Royal Caribbean cruise was filled with diners wearing jeans and tees on formal nights in the dinnig room. For their honesty we applaud NCL The embarkation process was fast, painless and welcoming. A space was provided to check carry-on luggage until the cabins were ready (they were at the time promised) and the main dining room provided a delicious sitdown lunch. The buffet was available for those who preferred it. Information was provided for the day's activities as well as a summary of the week's events. We were able to make advance reservations on board for Le Bistro(French) Cagney's(steakhouse) and La Cucina(Italian) specialty restaurants for later in the week and each had our table available and setup on arrival. We also ate two dinners in the main dining rooms and two in the buffet. The food was Outstanding in the moderately extra charge restaurants and very good in the dinning rooms and buffet. There were eight additional specialty restaurants available serving a full array of cuisine types from casual to exotic Entertainment throughout the cruise was top notch and varied and seats in the theater were always available. Reviews and solo entertainers were all excellent. Our inside cabin was comfortable well designed and impeccably maintained, The public spaces throughout the ship were always clean and attractive. Activities were varied and plentiful from several music venues, sports, trivia and several enjoyable parties and presentations. The most striking and satisfying feature of the Pearl was a helpful and always smiling and eager staff and crew. They exhibited good humor in all circumstaces. The port excursion desk and reception desk were well staffed an lines were short and manageable. The ship's facilities were spacious and varied due in part to the absence of a 12 story soaring cental atrium which we did nt miss for a moment. Port calls at NCLs Bahama island, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel Mexico provided a broad range of excursions, beaches, shopping and activities. On- board passengers had several dining and activity choices if the chose to forgo ports. Disembarkation was a pleasure. there was no pressure to leave the ship early and the main dining room and buffet were both open with full breakfasts served. An express debakation was available for passengers who carried thir luggage with them. We have already booke two additional cruises on NCl using cruise reward certificates which are sold on board and offer an additioal $100 dicount per booking on any fare.

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This was our 10th NCL cruise and was going to be our last. The wife and I had purchased a cruise reward and needed to use it, otherwise we would not have booked this one. Wife and I are both in our 50s, early 50s that is, and have cruised a lot, but try different cruise lines. NCL has been our choice most of the time but we were getting put off by the constant nickel and diming. Every time we turned around lately it seemed like someone was trying to sell us something. It was a constant 'No thank you." all over the ship. So we had vowed that this would be our last. We stayed at the Queen Mary pre-cruise and were told by our daughter and daughter in law not to because it was supposedly haunted. Didn't see any ghosts and loved the ship. It had a feeling of stepping back into history. My wife said it was like sleeping in a museum. We flew into long beach early and left ourselves an extra day to have of guided tour of LA. This was our fourth time on the Pearl, mainly because she is positioned on the West Coast in the summertime and we live in Washington State, so it is convenient for us. She was our favorite ship the when we sailed her the first time, but has been replaced recently by and Royal Caribbean ship. Boarding was a breeze compared to some of our other experiences. We got there early and we delighted to get past security and get checked in even before they started boarding the ship. We were happy to sit and wait, rather than standing in line. They let us on and we headed straight for the Summer Palace to eat. Activities were good, they kept us busy, and instead of being bored between the things we wanted to do during the day we had to hurry to the next one. We had seen a huge improvement in service. We were delighted by this. It seemed like they were putting an emphasis on this. The staff went out of their way to be helpful. Entertainment was both hit and miss. The "Oh What a Night", comedian and the hypnotist very good, but second city and Pearl Productions were just so so. The food was, well, it's NCL. They have improved over our fall cruise, but still serving Alaskan Meatloaf, which was by far my worst meal I have ever had on a cruise. We were so delighted about some of the improvements that they have done, we will take another cruise with them in the future. Service was so much improved. We even got chocolates on the pillow, something we have not seen in a long time

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I am a Gold Latitudes Member and really love a lot of what NCL has to offer: great service, Freestyle Cruising, nice cabins, fantastic entertainment,etc. My husband and I cruised out of Los Angeles to Vancouver on the April 29, 2012 sailing of the Pearl. We were extremely pleased with our balcony mini-suite stateroom and the overall layout of the ship. We sailed previously on the NCL Epic which we majorly disliked due to the fact that it doesn't feel like a ship. The Pearl has an old-time ship feel to it, and we liked that you can walk around the entire ship. (The Epic doesn't have this and feels like a Las Vegas carnival) The ship needs updating, the artwork is not up to NCL standards, but this was minor for us. What doesn't make sense is the poor quality and presentation of the food. It is almost like no one has given thought to the menus and doesn't care about how the food is presented. We were appalled that the afternoon "snack" in the back of the ship was macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and some bready sandwich. Much of the food doesn't taste fresh. The service is lovely and accommodating, but the wait staff should not be blamed for the food. The entertainment on this cruise was superb, especially the Tribute singers for Frankie Valli. We bought the extra spa package that allowed us use of the indoor pool and Jacuzzis, this was a real plus. However, it is true that on NCL you have to pay for everything extra, and this package was $119.00 per person. In summary, it is possible to have a wonderful time on NCL if you do not care about food as much as the service, prots, entertainment, and relaxed atmosphere of this type of vacation.

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We are older Cruiser, who are some what experienced. We have sailed on many different cruise lines and have enjoyed them all until the Pearl. Just did not do it for us. We had a balcony stateroom that was very small, the bathroom was a closet. It was hard to sit on the toilet. They have just really cheapened the experience. The food was rather poor. Service even poorer. I felt sorry for the servicers because they were under so much pressure. The first night we had to wait one and a half hours to get into the dinning room. The next night the hostess told us there was a 25 to 30 minute wait, so we went to the buffet. The food, was poor quality, Chicken or ham. At the Latitudes meeting the Captain said if you have a problem talk to some one. So I talk to Tony Rosa the Food and beverage manager. He called me a liar when I told him of the wait time. then he insulted us by suggesting we were first time cruisers. They catered to the many alternative life people on board. My wife and I enjoy dancing before or after dinner. The only dancing was line dancing that we really can't get behind. Not for us. I can't recommended this line to my friends.

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