Norwegian Pearl Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We have sailed NCL in the past but our experience on the Pearl was exceptional.  The staff were very accommodating, and the ship was luxurious.  The food was more than we expected.  It was five star!  Others in our p[arty sailed on the Epic in November and had an awful experience so we weren't sure what to expect but we were extremely happy with our voyage on the Pearl.  The next time we cruise, it will be on the Noregian Pearl.

The Norwegian Star was incredible, the Norwegian Epic was wonderful, the Norwegian Pearl was, ah, OK.  It started off bad but got better.  The first night we went to dinner in the Indigo Lounge.  My brother-in-law asked the waiter to bring:

1.  a cup of coffee for his wife (my sister) and

2.  a wine list for himself.

It may seem basic but he only got the wine list.  The coffee didn't come.  He again asked for the coffee and was told it was coming and that was correct.  It came 40 MINUTES after the first request. (The time is approximate.  I didn't think I needed to time it until after about 10 minutes).  We also received the entree before an appetizer but we were numb by that time so it didn't matter.

The next day we switched to the Summer Palace and never had a problem again.  By the way, if you don't get good service, complain (I recommend nicely) and give them your room number.  They somehow record it so you are definately treated better.

Everything else was normal cruse level.  We were treated fine.  They didn't make you feel special like some cruises did but they also didn't make you feel like you were in the way.

It was our very first cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially enjoyed the nightly entertainment which was on par with Broadway most nights. With numerous activities to choose from, there was always something entertaining to do. Three of the ports of call, GSC- Bahamas, Georgetown- Grand Cayman and Cozumel-Mexico, were great. We did the Ducky tour in Grand Cayman and went snorkeling in Cozumel. We did not spend much time in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were bombarded by merchants and taxi drivers soon after setting foot on the island, so we went back and enjoyed an empty ship.

THE SERVICE WAS GOOD. . . HOWEVER THERE WAS A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE HANDLING OF THE PHOTO SHOOT WITH THE CAPT. BY ONE OF THE SHIPS PHOTOGRAPHER MR. ESTRADA. . .  HE WAS SHOUTING AT ME . .  HE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE RESPECTFUL . . .I INFORMED THE HEAD OF THE PHOTO GALLERY OF THE INCIDENT IN THE HOPE THAT IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

ASIDE FROM THAT UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT. .  THE CRUISE WAS GOOD, FOOD WAS GREAT, AND THE OTHER STAFF WERE FRIENDLY. .

ENJOYED THE CRUISE

This cruise was amazing. The service was fun and professional. The food was top-grade. I had smoked salmon and eggs benedict ever morning! Although there were thousands of options, and I always ended up getting a little of everything else as well. Just be careful, you may not be able to make it back to your room. The ship rocking was very minimal. It was a large and newer ship. We never got sick once. The entertainment was great! Broadway shows, circus acts, comedians, crew talent shows.

If you have kids I also reccommend putting them in the Splash Academy.

seven days of western caribean cruise was an excellant experience, All the staff on board were friendly and helpful and the food was of  great taste and excellant quality. There was plenty of entertainment to fill  the day .Heard of  no report of ill health to anyone of the passengers on board .The housekeeping staff were also wonderful .Thanks

We ejoyed our Cruise on the Norwegian Pearl. The ship was clean and well maintained. The entire crew was very pleasant and accomodating. We were in a party of eight and always found something to do. Sometimes we went our seperate ways and other times we spent it together, always meeting for dinner in one of the many restaurants. The food was excellent, there was a good selection of shore excursions and evening entertainment. The only disaapointment was the service in one of the specialty restaurants. It appears as if they were short staffed which impacted our service for dinner.

As the title indicates we had mixed feelings about the cruise.  We were quite pleased with the professionalism and level of service we received from the waitressese and waiters in the various restaurants on board.  They were always friendly, helpful and outgoing.  This is also true for our room steward.  The quality of the food left a little to be desired.  We were disappointed in the specialty restaurants especially since we had to pay extra for them.  The lasagna I ordered in the Italian restaurant was cold and had to be sent back.  In the Brazilian restaurant the service was rushed and left no chance for a leisurly dinner.  We did enjoy LeBistro but still not worth the extra money.  The bartender at the poolside bar mixed up my key card with another customer so I was incorrectly charged for two alcoholic drinks instead of my diet Pepsi.  It took me four trips over four days to the front desk to get the mix up straightend out, even though each time I spoke to a customer service rep they told me they would fix it. 

I also was not pleased with the way the art auctions were run.  We were told at the beginning of the two auctions we attended that only items requested by the bidders would be auctioned.  When the auctions started it was obvious that the auctioneer also had items they wanted to sell even though they were not requested by potential bidders. We sat for an hour and a half and never saw the item we requested come up for bid. I spoke personally to the auctioneer about this matter but I doubt any changes will be made.

We enjoyed the professional enertainment quite a bit.  It was high class, and we especially enjoyed the comedian.  We were a little disappointed in the 2nd City troupe as we thought their improv show was not very funny. 

We have only been on two cruises, this and Princess,  and we would recommend Princess over Norwegean to our friends.

Went on 8 day cruise to  Jamaica was very dissappointed. Nothing but senior citzens so all entertainment gared around their ages. boring

boringboring.  The bar auro tips so even if they dont give good service you pay them a tip.  they kept putting holds on my debit card without informing me but i have text messaging so thats how i knew.  Other lines cut you off unless you add money to your shipcard.  will not take this ship again. Maynot use this line again either.:( :(

We chose NCL because of the freestyle cruising and it was the best decision.  No required dining times.  No strict dress code.  We just did what we wanted.  Ate when we wanted.  It was great.  Everybody was very nice.  Everything was clean.  Food was great and lots of variety.  Plenty of things to do on board, or you could just relax!  If we get the chance to cruise again, we would definitely choose NCL again!

Norwegian has vastly improved since last time me and my family cruised with them: clean facilities, including my stateroom. Great food with added choices. Great shows. Great art auctions.The weather didn't always cooperate but cruise activities certainly compensated. I am specially grateful to our cabin attendant.

This was our first Norwegian Freestyle cruise and Freestyle is definitely the way to go.  When on vacation who wants to follow a schedule to eat?  There was plenty of onboard and shore excursions to chose from.  We enjoyed the speed boats and snorkeling in Cozumel.  Hats off to Conrado, our room steward, for being so attentive to our needs.    

Ship turned out not to be as big as appeared by description, thus there were not necessarily as many different or interesting activities on board.  The lounge areas need cleaned and/or updated furniture.  The freestyle dining is a nice option because it frees your schedule, however the buffet food is mediocre, nothing fabulous.  In addition, the specialty dining fees are not worth it.  The food is not superior in those restaurants by any stretch of the imagination and therefore, you've simply paid more money for food that day outside of the per diem built into the cost of the cruise.  For example, I ordered shrimp fried rice in which the shrimp (likely size 50-60) were sliced into discs and there couldn't have been more than three in the entire dish.  I've never had sliced discs of shrimp in any asian restaurant, but there was a $15 premium to dine there.  

Our excursion in the Cayman Islands was contracted with a tour company that had buses with 1970s or earlier upholstery - cigarette holes, spider webs and all.  The driver rushed us through the experience because the other tours were arriving during our scheduled time.  NCL should do more research in relationship to the quality of the experience for the cruisers. 

The staff were very helpful and cordial overall.

overall, nice cruise. good shows, food. only thing i thought was thr room was a little crowded.  very uncomfortable bathroom.  but still i would recomend it.

Everything was great! From the moment we stepped into the bldg to check in. People were so friendly. Happy and they were not working on the cruise ship! 

The food was good, non stop service. Or help yourself. 

Clean, great mix of people and everyone was friendly and/or stayed in their own space. 

2 days was a perfect getaway without breaking the bank. Ready to set sail again!  

I booked this cruise well over a year in advance.I included everything in my booking,flight,excursions,transportation to and from the ship.The trip went just like clock work with no delays except for a small delay in our snorkling excursion.The plan landed in miami and we boarded our cruise ship with quit a reception from the crew on board.The overall experience was excellent,just wish it had lasted longer.I f you are reading this and are trying to decide about going on a cruise this weekend adventure is great.

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. 

We looked forward to our first cruise on a Norwegian ship, after many others on Holland America, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean.  Unfortunately, this was not up to the standard of those 3.  The complimentary restaurants (only 2) were very noisy due to low ceilings, and the specialty restaurants (Norwegian brags that there are more than 10!) were disappointing as well.  Food quality was good, but not outstanding.  Service WAS pleasant, however, and staff never failed to try hard to do their best!  The layout of the ship was disjointed, and it was difficult to walk the length of the ship without walking through the Argentinian restaurant, for example!

     Entertainment was good, but not outstanding.  We enjoy taking a few classes on cruises, such as computer or photography classes, but nothing like that was offered.  The atrium, or the central plaza, was where the chefs of the specialty restaurants demonstrated a few of their dishes....and a huge screen there was showing a movie a few times.  Singers were good....

     The BEST part of the cruise was the Thermal Suite, a part of the spa which was open to the few who bought a pass!!  The whole 5 days was $89, about 1/2 the cost of a massage!  We loved relaxing on the heated lounges, the whirlpool and jacuzzi, the herbal steam room and sauna.  It is located at the very front of the ship, so we enjoyed a beautiful view of the water as we relaxed...a great place just to get away from the crowds and read.

     The weather was very rough for the first two days, and many people got seasick, which fortunately we don't experience!  But the filthy hallways and stairways we had to walk through should have been cleaned MUCH more quickly!

     The cabin we were assigned was not bad, but carpet was so dirty it smelled dusty, and was visually desperately in need in cleaning.  The bath had no amenities...only a wall dispenser of shampoo and bath gel.  A small bottle of lotion would have been most welcome!

The food was great! The weather was awesome! This was one of the most amazing trips ever! Will definately be back for a future cruise. Can't say enough how the captain took the ship right up to the glacier.

The captain saw fit to take us up through the inside passage all the way to Alaska. The water was like glass! We saw orcas, bald eagles and otters. When we did the Glacier Bay, we saw seals on the ice floats. If you go in the summer, they close off the bay due to seals giving birth. Our weather was amazing!