Norwegian Pearl Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Le Bistro was by far the nicest place to eat.  The furnishings were really showing their age, i.e., carpet that was torn or pulled up, deck railings that were old and battered, musty odors in parts of the ship, older TV sets, pillows that didn't smell very fresh, shower doors that are quite outdated.

We had booked 4 staterooms for a family reunion, and while the cruise was fantastic, the food service (especially la cucina where we waited over 1 1/2 hours to be served, even though we had a 530 reservation and I got my cocktail as they were serving the dinner), was not really worth the upgrade in price (if we had not chosen the specialty dining package).

We are getting ready to book another family reunion next year with my husband's family, and we will not be considering using this ship based on the issues stated above.  We may consider NCL, but not this ship.

My family loved almost every minute of this cruise.

Pros: The scenery was beautiful, Glacier bay was a once in a lifetime experience. The service on board the NCL Pearl was wonderful. The staff were all friendly.The food was adequate and plentiful.

Cons: Very crowded. If we arrived at the buffet during peak time it was a struggle to find a table. We bought the soda package and it was frustrating to have to find a bartender to fill up my tiny cup any time I wanted a drink.

Everyone is nice enough on NCL , but as for the NCL Pearl itself, it lacks in entertainment. The shows are at best 3rd rate and the food is 2nd rate.

The views and relaxation time are totally worth it. I highly recommend booking a spa time and a cabin with a window or balcony.

I didn't and regretted it. Would be worth the extra $ on this cruise . 

I heard that the NCL Pearl is going to have a complete renovation next year, which would be great. I would do this cruise over again but just probably not with NCL. 

Let me get to the food.  Its like they just try to use the same food and make slight variations depending on which cafe, snack bar, restaurant you dine in. We opted for the Specialty Dining package and rate it

2 -1/2 stars. So it seemed like i was eating same food day in day out.  In my opinion drinks are watered down. Stick to wine or beer. 

I did notice a lot of families on board and I think for the value it is good. Seemed like the kids and teens on board where having a great time. I peeked at the activities offered for children and teens and they had lots of different choices. 

I would travel via cruise to Alaska again but will be more inclined to take a higher end cruise line company. 

We have cruised to Alaska 10 times and this cruise was fine.

The cabin 9630 was a total disappointment.  Plexiglass and sliding door glass need replacement.  Sliding glass door has 2 locks, neither worked.  Curtain fabric worn, needs replacement.  TV too small.  Ceiling paint chipped.  Balcony had rust everywhere, not shipshape.  The most unfortunate part of cabin 9630 is the occasional thumping (boom - boom -boom) and associated vibration. 

Literally one of the best experiences I've ever had. Of course, I'm going on cruises more for the destinations than the cruise itself, but neither disappointed. The only complaint I would have is that I wish we'd had more time in Victoria. I'm not sure if that is really possible, but only having 6 hours and those being so late, some of the attractions are closing by 9 or 10, really limiting what you can or can't do. And the city is gorgeous, so I wouldn't have minded a couple more hours to explore.

The other stops were amazing. I keep telling people about my experience and the fact that "there's a rainforest up there" and people are shocked. Definitely worth doing.

My wife and I took the first cruise of our lives to celebrate our 35th anniversary, and it was wonderful. The crew of the Norwegian Pearl was friendly and helpful. We greatly appreciated the connections between the airport and pier, along with to the excursions.

Our favorite part probably was the scenery, along with the terrific, mild weather that was warmer than we expected. We didn't see as much wildlife as we hoped for, but did see a baby whale playing with a sea lion during our excursion in Juneau. The train ride in Skagway was gorgeous. My wife loved the gardens in Victoria.

We felt comfortable without getting too dressed up. The food was excellent. We enjoyed the musical productions and the comedy performer. Good chance we will take another cruise in the future.

This was our first cruise and we had a wide range of people we were traveling with from 16-67 years old.  There was a number of activities on board for all ages and tastes.  The food choices satisfied and exceeded our expectations.  We chose a sushi restaurant for one of our premium dining experiences.  The sushi was superb and was by far better than some local sushi restaurants in our home area.  The highlight of the cruise for me was going to ports in Alaska and seeing the wilderness from the boat. Excursions into Alaska and British Columbia were enjoyable though a bit crowded due to the popularity of the cruise. 

The best part of the cruise was Alaska and the shore excursions.  The room was nice and the steward was very good.  The food was pretty good.  We had a couple meals that were not so good in some of the restaurants.  The cruise staff was very nice.  My main complaint was the entertainment and on-board activities.  Most of it was not very good and definitely off-color.  I was also very weary of all the marketing going on and ways to try to fleece the guests of their money.  I do not gamble or do the party scene and there was not much available for people like me.

We highly recommend the cruise to Alaska!  The ship's staff went out of there way to spoil you and provide great fun and entertainment while you are on board.  There were things to do for all ages and different personalities and interests.  The land excursions were unforgettable! The beauty of Alaska and the Yukon territory in Canada are some of the best on our planet!  When we cruised through Glacier Bay National Park, a park ranger came on board, just during that time, and explained over the intercom where to look and all the details.   We did not want the cruise to end!

The cruise was a great way to get a taste of the beauty of Alaska.....up close scenery for practically the entire week!  The ship, staff, and food were excellent.  I would prefer the itinerary to be in reverse, though, with Glacier Bay being the last stop....only because then you'd be left with the most spectacular place as the last memory of the journey.  Hope to do it again soon!

overall it was a great time, the ship was absolutely spotless, the service was outstanding in every department, on board entertainment was geared more for married couples and homosexuals and very little for straight singles. the food was awesome the first three days, then went kind of blaa for a couple days then picked back up at the end. boarding and disembarking were well organized and easy, shore excursions were awesome!

Love the cruising ports and excursions.  The staff was fabulous!  Loved the boat and all the dinning options.  Also LOVE the shows and entertainment.  The only reason I did not give this cruise 5 stars is because of the tipping aspects and always wanting more money.  If you order a coffee, they charge you .70 cents to make it, and a spot for additional tip and you are also paying $13.50 per day for tips.  They come over the intercom WAY TOO much and it mainly for the boat to make money like Time for Bingo, or Deal or NO Deal.  They all cost money.  Bowling cost also.  Even if you buy the speciality dinning option that includes 18% tips, they ask for additional tips and additional chef tips.  It seems like this boat continues to ask for more money.  But if you want to see Alaska, this trip is a must, just be careful of tipping!  

Foods in restaurants should be diversified and improved. Excursion should be printed out in daily activity letters. Generally the cruise is ok but I think it should do better. 

This was our very first cruise. NCL came recommended by Cruise One along with Princess for their Alaskan Cruise. We had high expectations as everyone raves about cruises in general and say Alaska is the best by far. Let's just say we wished we had chosen Princess. 

Our biggest disappointment came with the food. Everyone always talks about how great the food is on a cruise. We could rarely find something we liked, much less thought was great. Breakfast is breakfast: hard to screw up, but they managed too. The 1 buffet is really your only option for breakfast. We tried the one other sit down areas open for breakfast but the menu items were the same as ones offered on the buffet and I'm pretty sure they went and just scooped them from the buffet. At least at the buffet I didn't have to wait.  Eggs were watery and runny and tasteless, bacon was overly greasy and hash was burnt. I ended up eating cereal and fruit most days and the occasional waffle. We had this idea of ordering room service for breakfast and siting on our beautiful balcony sipping coffee but room service is $8!! I had always heard room service was great on cruises. Lunch options were limited as most of the sit down restaurants aren't open until dinner. Hamburgers were dry and tasteless and bun was crumbly. Pizza tasted like the frozen kind and most of the meats looked and tasted questionable. Dinner should have been great in the two beautiful sit down restaurants right? Unfortunately not, it was impossible to find salmon or crab or even a shrimp meal on an Alaska cruise!! There were some items that you could pay for like a surf and turf with lobster but I had already shelled out a pretty penny on the cruise itself and considering those were going to be cooked in the same kitchen that all the other terrible food was prepared in I would rather not chance it and spend my money on good food at port. But the included items disappointed as well. Gnocchi was as chewy as a rubber ball, sent that back and thought I was safe with just a steak. Ordered medium rare and got very well done and the mushroom sauce looked like a can of campbells mushroom soup was poured on top. This same thing happened the other 2 nights we dined in the restaurants. We found one dessert we liked which was chocolate lava cake but all others were pretty underwhelming. There was not a cheesecake on the entire ship the whole time.   

I will say the wine selection is decent and prices are very reasonable which was surprising considering all other drinks were very expensive, but we expected that. However, 1 evening we got a great table with a view in one of the main dining rooms and ordered appetizers and a bottle of wine and told our server that we were going to enjoy these for a little while and wait to order our main course. She told us "ok but there is a line outside". We had just walked through the doors 15 mins earlier and there wasnt a soul waiting and less than half of the dining room occupied. I was pretty appalled at the rude service. Everyone else we encountered on the ship was pleasant. 

As for the boat itself, it was nice. The decor and paintings on the exterior could be a little cheesy at times but everything looked new and clean. Our stateroom and accompanying balcony was great and our room steward was phenomenal. 

But we were honestly quite bored on the ship. Most of the activities were geared toward an older crowd but we expected that somewhat on an Alaskan cruise. We weren't going to Cabo. But for a 20 something couple we didn't find much to do.  We spent most of our time on the ship napping, reading or playing checkers and scrabble in the game room. A couple examples are the first ship party they had was a 1950's themed Prom. We also decided we would try to partake in Bingo only to be told it was $70/person to play! $70?? I expected about $20! The 1 night club was very creepy with strange beds with TVs in them so we didn't spend too much time there. And the shows and comedy were very cheesy.

But the scenery couldn't be beat! Alaska is breathtaking and the itinerary is good but wished we could have been at port longer. They say we get into port at at  certain time but you aren't able to get off the ship until at least an hour later after the port security clears the vessel. And the hour later is assuming you lined up early in the massive herd that piles up in the hallways and stair wells. 

The day cruising glacier bay was phenomenal and we loved that the park rangers came on board and talked the whole time over the loud speaker. We actually saw whales from our balcony on the ship! Incredible!

Overall, we will definitely be going back to Alaska but it won't be on a cruise. 

This cruise was a great way to get to see the inside passage of Alaska and Glacier Bay. We didn't expect very much from the cruise besides the transportation. It met our expectations. The cruise could have been better with better on board entertainment. I would definitely recommend a balcony room. Our room was toward the front of the ship, on the starboard side. Our balcony was framed by a metal casing. This helped to keep the cool wind off of us as we were sitting outside. We had great views along the entire route. We got a great view of a glacier calving from our balcony, in Glacier Bay. We also saw many bald eagles, whales, and sea otters along the journey. 

The Pearl is a nice ship.  Most of the staff was very friendly and always willing to help.  I am a solo traveler so my room was adequate for me.  It was an inside cabin and would be really tight for 2 people. 

I especially want to comment on the dry suit snorkeling excursion.  My guides Ryan and Brent were wonderful.  I am 69 and had a respiratory infection so my stamina was low.  Ryan was extra helpful when I got tired.  He pulled me in on a boogie board.  I was a little disappointed that most of what I saw were different kinds of star fish and some sea urchins.   The experience of snorkeling in very cold water and not being cold, except for your face,  was very unusual. 

I did not eat in the specialty restaurants, so I can't speak for the food there, but the other cafes and buffets had the same food all the time.  A little variety would have been nice.

The train ride was just ok.  Nothing spectacular for the money.

The best of Victoria bus ride was not worth the money.  Seemed like a house tour.

Overall I would say the cruise was very nice, but for me the excursions were the highlights. The best were the Mendenhall canoe and hike up the glacier and the Bearing Sea crab boat excursion.  They were not on the Norwegian tour schedule, but I would say they were the best.

Whales, glaciers,and snow capped mountains galore! We had a wonderful time with the cruise and the sights. Of course, the weather was perfect for the trip. Ketchikan was 80 degrees and sunny. An entire day whale watching from the docked ship in Icy Straight Point! That was impressive. 

This was my wife's and I first cruise together, I had sailed before on the NCL Star.

Everything went smooth and relaxing. 

The mini suite was great and the ships  crew was very friendly and attentive.

The food at the ships restaurants was great and so was the food at the main dinning buffet. Plenty of choices and everything was fresh.

The Spa was very nice. Shows at the theater were entertaining.

Overall, typical great NCL. service and quality.

It was our first cruise experience and we loved it thank you almost every detailed was included in the cruise and we everyone could find something to do and enjoy

but one thing was missing ! A prayer room for Moslems for saying everyday prayers! The cabin was small and hard to find the Quibble 

Entertainment was fantastic. Food was excellent. All ports were very new to me and were good. O'Sheehans staff  were fantastic. The 10 dollar round trip to town in Port Chiapas wasn't worth it. Very little to see. Cabo san lucas tender service was mainly the Pearls lifeboats. Nothing wrong with that but expected more from the local tenders. Lots of local excursions at Cabo.