obrien178992

The Pearl was a great ship. Clean and the layout was good. Lots of food options. Unlimited wifi worked great but the NCL app did not. We loved the itinerary and would like to go back again. The crowd was mostly 50+ so pretty low key.

We are a family of 4 and we loved this ship. There were so many things to do and so many food options. The ship was clean and everyone was very friendly. We had an OV cabin and it was very spacious. Our cabin steward, our wait staff, and the cruise director were fabulous. We had YTD but were able to request the same servers each night. We only had to wait a few min one night for a table to be available. The kids loved the waterpark. They enjoyed Camp Carnival on this ship whereas on other ships they did not. I read so many negative reviews before we sailed but we didn't have any problems and would definitely sail on the Sunshine again.

The ship was great. Embarkation was smooth. Debarkation took longer because customs only had 5 windows open for so many people. Even though it had over 4000 guests the ship never felt overcrowded. There were lots of food options and it was mostly all delicious. We did feel that there were a lot of things (food and entertainment) that had an upcharge. The staff were all very friendly and the ship was well maintained and clean. The kids loved the waterslides. Bermuda was amazing. We felt safe and were able to freely explore the island using public transportation (buses and ferries) and day passes. We definitely want to go back.

My husband and I and our 2 kids (ages 7 & 9) had a great time on the Gem. NCL is family friendly and has less of a "party" atmosphere than other cruiselines we have traveled. We liked the early show times and the variety of entertainment. The food was wonderful, high quality, and they offered a great variety in the buffet compared Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The kids enjoyed Splash Academy. The only thing that we were disappointed about was the size of the pool area. The pools are too small for the amount of guests and they got extremely crowded. Also, all the chairs around the pool would be reserved with guest's items by 7 am. Many of these chairs remained unused most of the day and the cruise staff did not remove items from these chairs so other guests could use them. This was frustrating for those of us who did not get up early enough to reserve a chair and would have used it. The waterslide could use a good wax or coat of paint to make it slippery. You would only go a few feet and then have to propel yourself down the rest of the way. Overall, we have had wonderful experiences with NCL and plan on cruising again with them in the future.

This was the first time we took our kids on a cruise (ages 6 and 8) and we all had a great time. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze.  The Fascination is an older ship but it is very well maintained. Our kids loved the water park. The food in the buffet area was very good but we felt that Carnival had scaled way back in the variety of foods offered. This was our 7th Carnival cruise and there was a big difference from our previous cruises with them. We have cruised with other cruiselines who put out a lot more selection in their buffets. Also, there were a few evenings where there was only 1 buffet line open and the line was backed up almost to the pool area. Other than this, everything was great.