First time on NCL.

Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

3.3 out of 5
Norwegian Pearl

7 Night Alaska Glacier Bay (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 13, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Pearl

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9663

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was the first time we went on Norwegian and was not impressed, but I did do research ahead of time and a lot of reviews said that the service and the food was not great and I definitely understand what they meant and they said not to judge Norwegian cruise line based on the NCL Pearl. The food was not good in the main dining, like the corn on the cob tasted and felt like one of those fake fruits and veggies for decoration, how do you mess that up? But from what my family said the curry was very good from the buffet. Some of the workers seemed like they were drunk with power and authority so some weren't too nice nor personable. I have never been on a small ship before and it was very disappointing, like the atriums I'm used to are usually 4 stories tall however the atrium on the pearl was only 2 floors and didn't look much like an atrium but more like a waiting area and a bar. And the last complaint I have is that on the other cruise lines we've been on, Princess and Royal Caribbean, at the end of the cruise there was usually envelopes and or a box near the front desk where we could pick up and write comments and use the envelopes for tips and I didn't see that being promoted. Thankfully because of our experience I brought my own thank you cards and envelopes and was able to place the tips in there for them but my group was unaware of this until I told them because it was there. I'm very big on this is because my husband and I work in a tip based industry so we try to do our best and show our appreciation to the people that were very nice and helpful and memorable on our trip. Oh yes the casino was very tight, I could lose $200 in 10 minutes because it was paying out however i did see people winning on the slots so maybe it wasn't our luck. But with all this said I'm not a big fan of NCL however we are willing to give them another try but to the Caribbeans on a bigger and much funner ship.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

4 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

4 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

4 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 38

7 Comments

kimberlye24    6 years ago

I agree. Ship is small. Food in main dining room not good at all. Buffet ok. Got sick from room service. Bathroom flooded out into the cabin after my shower because the bathroom drains were not working. The staff in the buffet was wonderful with helping my aunt, who is in a scooter, get her food. The rest of the staff acted like they didn't care to be there. My aunt complained the whole time because she has been spoiled over and over again on all of her Royal Caribbean cruises. Alaska was great!

POOKYP    6 years ago

Loved the Pearl! Been on her 2x to Alaska and loved everything!

jbuckley    6 years ago

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed. We sailed the Pearl in March and had a wonderful time. It sounds like you prefer larger ships. The Getaway is beautiful! I hope your next experience is better!

Catsrule    6 years ago

Planning Alaska trip in August. Getting nervous about bad staff reviews... wanted RCCL but had to go on NCL. Hoping for the best.

renaedave    6 years ago

good to know

lineage84    6 years ago

Try one of their newer ships. We loved Escape and going on Getaway in September

terriesanchez    6 years ago

Many cruise lines no longer give envelopes because gratuities are automatically added. When we first started cruising envelopes were in your cabin , now you have to ask guest services or bring your own.

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