Norwegian Pearl Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Time seemed to stand still!  The glorious decor of the ship was absolutely breathtaking!  Without exception, the cleanliness, staff personalities and professionalism, pleasant demeanor of the crew, accommodations and everything one would treasure and appreciate in this environment were EVER-PRESENT!!  My face almost began to HURT from SMILING SO MUCH!!  The food was outstanding and we delighted in the constant assortment and quality of our infinite choices of restaurants which never disappointed our tastebuds or feeling as if we were the ONLY patrons being served at the time!  The outside scenery simply cannot be adequately be expressed to do it justice.  Our pictures are an array that captured all the magnificence we witnessed with our naked eyes and will remain our permanently cherished memories for the remainder of our lives!  We salute Norwegian Pearl for an unequivocally PERFECT Cruise experience and thank each and every person we came in contact with who represented Norwegian who exhibited the ULTIMATE quality of wonderful INTERACTION personalized especially for US!!   Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES!!

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Morrow

Steilacoom, WA

Destinations were an excellent overview of Alaska. The ship and crew were excellent. The passengers were always kept informed by announcements by the Captain and others in a very professional manner. My cabin (interior) was small but very comfortable and amazingly efficient. My steward was very helpfukl and attentive. The restaurants were plentiful. The food was somewhat disappointing, but of good quantity and availabilty. The entertainment verall was very good. The theater performances varied in quality and talent, but there was always something fun to do. I would reccomend this cruise with a few caveats.

We had so much fun on the cruise. The staff was awesome and loved to sing and dance. By the end of the cruise we knew so many people on staff and they were so personable. The dancers, singers, entertainers, comedians and magicians were awesome. The food was great in the freestyle dinning rooms. I did however expect some crab since it was Alaskian cruise. We didn't get to eat in any of the pay restaurants because the prices were a little high. I was upset that we didn't get to go to one of the ports. But that was the weather's fault not the ships. I would recommend this cruise to anyone. In fact I am planning another cruise to Alaska so I can visit all ports again. I can not say enough about the staff. Pedro was an awsome cruise director. Please commend him from the Texas girls.

We can't wait to take this cruise again on Norwegian. We loved the freestyle dining, the comedy acts were hysterical, and we learned so much from the park rangers who boarded the cruise in Glacier Bay. We had been upgraded to a mini-suite, which was impressive (it even had a tub). The therma spa on the Pearl kept us very happy when we had to stay at sea due to bad weather. The food was always good, and we never experienced much of a line at any of the restaurants or buffets (except in finding a table at the buffets). We would go again and hope to take more family members.

I gave pearl a four because of the food. It was so much the same. It is a fun ship with nice workers. I would go again. I would had wanted the big event dances to have gone on a little more with the dancers. The forty five minutes flew by so fast. The thermal area. Was wonderful and so relaxing.

I was scammed day 1 in their spa when I went to a free consultation that did not include a full verbal and written disclosure of the costs. That discussion never took place I was asked to consent to the treatment if I liked what I saw and heard why wait, just go ahead and treat myself to something that was sure to brighten my appearance. I signed and initialed consent forms that were quickly given to me that had prices on them but they were covered or not there until after I signed but the prices were not talked about or disclosed prior to the treatment but after the treatment when I was asked to sign my credit card slip there were charges of almost $2600 glaring at me!!! I shouted how could you NOT do a breakdown or discussion of something that costs this much!!! I said I would immediately go to guest svcs to dispute and report the whole thing. I had no idea a cruise ship offered services that literally costs more than the cost of my trip. I expect spa prices as a spa and if they had treatments that were not standard or typical of what one gets at a spa that they should post them, talk about such and not hide those costs but to be upfront so a person does not waste their time or get in over their head. I was on vacation I was leaving all worries behind and just going to get some much need rest and recharge. I was not there to be taken advantaged of but that is what took place and this cruiseline did nothing to quickly resolve the situation. They treated me like a criminal and froze my account so I went all week not being able to purchase not even a coca cola or tube of toothpaste or things for my kids that were on board with me. I asked to get off at the first port vs sail all week and be miserable and they had no satisfaction guarantee policy as other lines do so if I disembarked it would have cost me about $2500 in penalties I was stuck. Their food was not tasty either and that is usually the best part about a cruise.

The overall experience was good, but "good" in the purest average sense. I have been in various cruise lines and my experience on this cruise ship felt good but not outstanding. Room service personnel were friendly in the sense they say "Hi" but that was it. Normally in other cruise lines they interact in conversations and are friendlier toward guests. And its not that they didn't try as I met the Room Service Director who was interested in our opinion. But the sense of hospitality was just not there from his team. Regarding the food, it was good but I was rather disappointed with the specialty restaurants. Don't expect much in variety as most have few dishes that separate them from each other (Il Cucina, Moderno Churrasqueria and Cagneys). The worst of the bunch was Moderno Churrasqueria as they follow the traditional method of serving meats according to the status of a token in your table (green for "more servings" and red for "stop"). In reality they ignore the token and treat it as a gimmick, for they ask you what kind of meat you want and after serving those they don't come to your table anymore even if the token was green and even if they are serving to other tables. In all 3 restaurants I made reservations but when arriving at the first one no tables were reserved. The entertainment shows were a little lackluster and activities were very limited once you were on the ship. They were not bad but for the most part were unimpressive either. In one show in particular, it was exclusively used for singing and dancing without a purpose or a story behind the show (not even an introduction). The audio even failed in a moment or two. And how many "Second City" shows are there in the cruise world? Too many if you ask me. There were good experiences however, the crew were friendliest in the originating port as they prepared a welcome committee and for a strange reason in Vancouver also. Also, who can forget the "Washy, washy!" greeting each time you went to eat at the freestyle restaurant? As of September 2013, the Alaska ports were great to visit. Be aware of your Vancouver visit as you may arrive at 6pm limiting your options at the port. Overall not a bad experience but compared to the standard of the industry it felt only good enough but not outstanding.

Ship's staff were excellent and always helpful. Room steward was friendly and help whenever we needed assistance. Wished the water travel was longer to see more of the sea life. Shore excursions were excellent and train ride to Yukon was a must do again. Thank You NCL Pearl

We would recommend the Norwegian Pearl to everyone. The staff was excellent in every aspect and the rooms was very comfortable. Excursions were numerous to choose from and something for every age group. Would do it again and possibly do the 14 day cruise next time.

Our first cruise. Me, wife, and our 2 boys. Freestyle cruising was nice because of the flexibility in when and where we could eat. The pool and hot tubs were clean, and even though we cruised to Alaska the weather allowed for a lot of pool time. Food was just OK. Good buffet. The Summer Palace dining room lunch menu was nothing special. The Indigo Dining room for dinner has a very good menu selection, with regular items each night as well as new items each night. Most of our meals for dinner were pretty good. Service was good. Everyone was nice. A few meals came out wrong due to language barrier. The kids program was mediocre. Our kids hated it. Not much to do, and they begged not to be sent to the Splash Academy because it was boring. Checkin to Splash Academy took up to 20 minutes each time because they had limited hours, and the staff was rude to parents during check-in. Everytime we had to check them in, we'd miss an activity on the boat that started at the same time. Norwegian needs to revisit this if they really want families with kids to return. We complained, they thanked us, gave us some nice candy in our room and a thank you note. The evening shows were great, both for adults and kids. The "White Hot Party" was fun for everyone, and we loved the Chocoholic Buffet. Overall this was good first cruise experience.

From start to finish this was a very special trip. We loved the inside passage to Alaska. The side trips were interesting. There were plenty of activities on the ship. The food was excellent and the communications were "spot-on." We would recommend the Alaska Cruise for a first cruise....the right amount of time at sea, balanced by "shore excursions." The casino was also fun.

We had a great time on this cruise. I have been on a few other cruise lines in the past and have always enjoyed them. Some things we didn't like as much: -No assigned seating at dinner meant that there was a wait some nights before we got our seats (and you likely will never get the same waiter twice, which is something I liked having in previous cruises) -The food was nothing to brag about. Some nights were great, other nights were hard to find appetizing dishes -The required tipping policy. I understand that this is probably the best way to do things since your waiters and such are constantly changing, but I felt that the service wasn't as good (didn't go above and beyond) since they already knew what their tip was going to be at the end of the cruise. For the price that we paid, we could excuse most of the parts of the cruise that we didn't enjoy. It was my wife's first cruise and she had a great time. I recommend this cruise line when you're on a budget and alternative cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Carnival) are out of that budget.

Everyone told us we had to go on an Alaska cruise because it would be amazing. Wanted to see icebergs and glaciers but they icebergs were all melted but did see some breath taking glaciers. Don't think I would do this cruise again. One time is enough to say I have done it. We booked 2 mini suite balcony cabins for our family and flew from East coast so the vacation was very costly. The Norwegian Pearl crew is always amazing and the service was great but the food was very mediocre and we couldn't find any tables to sit during meals at the buffet- didn't like the food in the main sit down dining restaurants. My husband doesn't want to do a cruise again. He said for the money we spent we could have rented a nice Villa for a week anywhere. Spent a lot of money on excursions at every port. Don't mind spending money if it's worth it but I must say I am mixed about it. The whale watching excursion was disappointing- we saw only one tail and few humps. Not worth the $1k that we paid for our group. All in all, it was a trip worthwhile to do once but that's about it.

The ship is in great shape and the restaurants are worth taking pictures of. The food however did not meet my expectations. Having cruised on other lines I was very disappointed. I will first comment on the Garden Cafe, a main restaurant. As a additional critic my son (12 yrs old) agreed the hamburger and hotdog buns tasted stale, the bake chicken was tasteless, the fish choices were over cooked. The dishes that were prepared to please the various ethic groups were overheard complaining too. The dessert choices were unremarkable in appearance or taste. The salad bar just had - something missing. After some bad meal choices I decided to try the Summertime restaurant. The dining hall was beautiful and the staff was somewhat attentive. I ordered the a shrimp and steak dinner and my son ordered the N.Y. strip steak. The order came quickly to the table. The shrimp were slightly warm and tasteless. The steak was not med. as ordered, instead well done, dry and lacking any grill flavor. Most of all it was the toughest steak I have ever tried to eat. My son's steak was also supposed to be med. and was instead - well done. His steak was so tough I had to cut it for him. In the middle their was a large gristle and fat. I was going to send the meals back however I didn't the other choices on the menu and was afraid a a repeat performance. I managed to return Garden Cafe for soup. My steward seemed to be around all the time and made up for the shortcomings of dining.

I have cruised with Norwegian many times and like the freestyle concept. On this cruise, however, it seemed like an excuse not to invest in the services that come with the base price. The food was absolutely terrible in the buffet and the dining rooms. Some of the specialty restaurants were better but others were pretty bad as well. The service was fair but we had only one really good interaction with a crew member...a waiter in the Italian restaurant who provided excellent service. Otherwise, the staff members we meet were efficient and reasonably helpful but seemed bored our disinterested. And in a couple of cases the service was dreadful. We waited over an hour for a lunch that was inedible and when we complained to the waitress, she just have us a blank look. After some 20 plus cruises, this was the first one where we just didn't feel special.

We had the best trip ever. The staff was very courteous and attended to our needs. This part of the country is very beautiful and would recommend it to anyone.

This was a spectacular cruise. Everyone and everything on the ship was exceptional. The restaurant staff did an excellent job of meeting my gluten-free needs. Our steward, Venier, was very good, and the bar waiter in the Bar City, Alexander, was also extremely good. Enjoyed whale watching, the narrow-gauge railway in Skagway, and the wondrous Glacier Bay. The crew kept us well-informed of arrival and departure times at the ports. The entertainment was superb, with particular mention of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons performance in the Stardust Auditorium.

We had a great time, it was a good value for the price, cabins had a lot of storage. Food wasnt the greatest, but not bad either, good for the price. Love the freestyle dining, however service not as great as other cruises since servers are not paid a tip specific to them, just general tipping. Main buffet oftern seemed very crowded. Great itinery, nice mix of days at sea and in port. Plenty of activities for all ages and a variety of activities, something for everyone. Overall we had an amazing time and would recommend this to others as long as you are not a "foodie" although I am sure the "pay" dining choices were awesome.

Food was good.weather was hot in Alaska.would have like to stay longer in viictoria.should have more shows for all.more room for eating.more Places for crepes.

If you are gluten free, this is a great cruise. The staff was very willing to help with a gluten free diet, answering questions and asking the chef to talk to me about the ingredients in the food. the managers in the restuarants were also very helpful. I am very sensitive and was able to enjoy the food and NOT get sick. Norwegian has a chocolate buffet and there were even two gluten free desserts! I appreciated their attention to detail. The scenery on this cruise is unbelievable! We spent most of our sailing days just sitting on the back of the ship enjoying the mountains, the shoreline, the icecaps. Excursions to the Mendenhall Glacier and the White Pass Railroad were fantastic. Cruising Glacier Bay was spectacular. We saw and heard a glacier calving. Overall, it was a great experience!! We have cruised Royal Caribean and Princess and I did not experience the attention to my gluten free diest that I did on the Norwegian Pearl.