The Norwegian Pearl crew was very customer service minded

Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 59

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Pearl

14 Night Panama Canal Eastbound (Los Angeles To Miami)

Sail date: October 04, 2013

Ship: Norwegian Pearl

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: GTY

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 11 years ago

Review summary

I have taken several Carnival Cruises and a Princess cruise. Carnival has gotten a lot of bad press lately but I always enjoyed their cruises very much and the Princess cruise was extremely enjoyable. So when I say I enjoyed the food on the Pearl just a tad better than any of my other cruises, I am comparing to cruises that i liked a lot. This was a 14-day cruise and all my other cruises were shorter so there were a lot of evenings for Norwegian to find entertainment for the shows. I say that because I wasn't too crazy about a few of the acts/performers. The Pearl dancers and singers were first rate, excellent. Besides the Pearl entertainers, they had two shows that really stood out, in a good way. One was a Four Seasons tribute group of 4 men. The name of the group was 'Oh What a Night'. They are an amazingly talented group. A German juggler; Hilby, was VERTY funny. The journey through the locks in the Panama Canal was very interesting. That journey took us most of a full day. We had a few downpours of rain during the trip but were very fortunate in that the rain never interfered with the times when we were to get off the ship. I was surprised that the temps at our first (more northern) stops were a little warmer than the ports closer to the equater. It was clear that the crew of the Pearl bent over backwards to cater to passengers. That really helped to make the experience exceptionally nice. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

No idea about that. We probably had about 40 people under 18 on the entire ship.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

I never ate dinner in the buffet, but lunch and breakfast at the Garden Cafe (buffet) offered a lot of delicious choices AND for lunch they offered solid (scooped) ice cream. Did not have that on any other cruise.

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

5 out of 5

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

3 out of 5

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

3 out of 5

Huatulco, Mexico

3 out of 5
Took the city or scenic tour. It too us to two bay over-looks and not much else. Should have stayed on the ship.

Puerto Chiapas (Tapachula), Mexico

3 out of 5

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

5 out of 5
Took a bus, train,boat tour. Nice but way too expensive. Saw several crocodiles.

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Took an air-conditioned tour bus of Colonial Cartagena for $59. Get off the boat and take a tour on your own. Much cheaper.

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
Only exited here to the airport. There were entrepreneurs with vans right outside the terminal who would take you to the airport or nearby hotels for $10.
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