UGH.... You don't always get a Bargan!

Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 14

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Pearl

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 14, 2008

Ship: Norwegian Pearl

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 15 years ago

Review summary

Well this is my 3rd cruise. 1st with Carnival and 2nd with Princess. I chose this cruise with CHEAP being the reason. I took 2 first time teenagers with me. I admired the ship somewhat. Did not care for freestyle dining. We could not make reservations bc there was only 3 of us. We were told we could be seated as we walked up. Well that turned out to be atleast a 45 min wait each time. The first day at sea was Opt formal. We chose to dress formal only this night and dine in the summer palace. The formal dining room which on any night was to be NO jeans. As we were seated I noticed the wait staff was wearing T SHIRTS. The table next to us had jeans and t shirts on. Our waiter was occupied with other waiters so much we never recieved the right order. On the other hand the buffet was the best I have seen. Food was tasty and plentiful. However we were asked to move several times to a different table very rudly. ITS A BUFFET! This seemed to be the chosen place to eat as we always had a hard time getting and keeping a table. If you would leave to get water your table was cleaned and occupied. After 10 pm you cannot get anything it is closed. Also we notices several budding romances between wait staff while they were on duty. Our room was small. However that did not matter as we only slept there and not often. There was several times our room was not made up. I never did know who out steward was???? As other cruise lines make it a point that u know. Entertainment was ok considering the price of the cruise. Hot tubs was not HOT. It was rather cool. No poolside games. One day two teenagers was having sex in the hot tub as several employees walked by not to say a thing. EEEWWWW! This was in daylight while children was around. Pool were salt water and not heated. The main ent. I thought would in the Bliss lounge. Which as I will Quote another review " When does the orgy begin" as it states very clearly. Tho it was not a popular place. The Sky lounge was quite a hot spot. If u want a seat skip out on the main show a little early and get your seat early. The shows there aren't to bad. In the morning of port days I often found myself there with my bionaculars. It was great to get a lounger (oh so soft) and chill. It seemed to be a well hidden secret to most passengers. I found myself there with only a few others. It was so peaceful. Often I would see ppl sleeping there, which I am guilty of. Not saying I would not take it again if the price is right. I know what kind of quality I will be getting.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
Hate freestyle

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Acceptable

Service and Staff

1 out of 5
Espically wait staff

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
large ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Small but Ok to sleep in

Ports of call

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
I Loved it! The best for me! We were told we could not get a decent taxi ride to a free beach. Well they are wrong! We found a taxi to take us to a free man made beach just a few miles from our port. it was small and peaceful. We could just jump in the water and swim to the Reef to snorkel. There was loungers and you could even rent the gear there for cheap. CAUTION!!!!! If you book a snorkel trip you will go where I am describing but pay a lot of money! Lots of nice shopping at this port. I asked out taxi to take us for some good local culture food. This is the only port we dined at. He quickly took us to Casa Mission. I highly reccomend it. It was a nice piece of culture.
Don't Miss: Tequila mmmmm HAHA.

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

1 out of 5
All of the ports are new to me. Roatan it was raining in the AM. we chose to go anyway. This is a craphole. I did take another reviews advice and picked up 2 hammocks there. Very nice. We were ambushed by locals. Buy this, buy this. As we managed to ward them off successfully. On the way back from our city stroll. we decided to take a tour for a measley $10 which they started out at 25. We had our own tour guide. We took in scenic pictures went to the monkey farm for $2 entrance. Then proceeded to Tabayna Beach. It was quite beautiful and the sun was now shining. It was rather empty. Like what paradise I would picture would be like. We were approached by a local with a John boat. Snorkeling for $10. It was for an hour. Wow what a deal. It was great. Our tour guide did wait for us. Snorkeling there was great! We then proceeded back to the ship. If you go there I can;t stress enough to take a tour. I can't imagine leaving there thinking the town we stopped at was what it is all like.
Don't Miss: For a beach lover like me Tabayna beach.

Belize City, Belize

1 out of 5
Belize. Oh Belize. I really have no reason to go back. This is a dangerous city for Americans. If you take a non cruise sponsored tour make sure it is with a taxi with GREEN license plates. I would suggest not booking any tours through the ship. It is large groups and way more money. It is a 3 mile ride to get to the land by a shuttle.We took a taxi tour for $33pp. It went to Alta Hun??? Ummm it takes 1 hour to get there. All I remember thinking was are we going to make it back alive? The Ruin is neat. The ride there will make a taxi ride in NYC seem very relaxed. WOW!Our Guide was the Best I recommend him Highly. His name is Sonny. He has a lot of culture to tell. On the cruise tour there was about 60 ppl. On our tour was 10. Our guide did alot extra. I learned alot!. By the was tips are not accepted at any of these ports. The wait was quite long to get back to the ship at the port. It needed more shuttles. Sorry I found no beaches here...
Don't Miss: Ummm you can miss everthing! LOL!

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

1 out of 5
Cold and costly. Bring your bug spray!
Don't Miss: Stay on the ship....

Pros: Big ship... Cheap

Cons: Wait staff and service.

Recommends Norwegian Pearl? No.

Was this review helpful? 14

Be the first to comment

Other reviews of this sailing