Norwegian Cruise Line - Pearl Review

My family (myself, husband, son age 12, daughter age 10, and mother-in-law) cruised on the Pearl in late May/early June of 2007.  We had a wonderful trip!  It was our second cruise on NCL.  We like the flexibility and ease of freestyle cruising.

 Embarkation:  In Seattle, we arrived early at the pier, and had practically no wait getting on the ship.  I know that embarkation can be a very hit-or-miss experience, and we have had our share of bad experiences.  But this particular set-up seemed to be very well run and all went smoothly.  Once on board, EVERYONE was trying to get lunch and it was kind of crazy and congested; nowhere to sit.  But after a while the crowds started flowing better as people got into their cabins.  Again, this is fairly typical of what to expect from our experience.

Cabin: We had 2 cabins: an inside cabin, and a mini-suite with a balcony.  Both were nicely maintained by the staff, and comfortable.  The mini-suite on NCL just had 2 beds; the one 'main' bed and the convertible sofa.  NO WAY my son is sleeping anywhere near my daughter, so he slept on the floor for the entire cruise.  We preferred the layout we had on the Miracle a few years back in which the sofa converted to a twin, and had an upper berth over it.  Balconies are worth every dime if you can afford it, and add exponentially to the enjoyment of a cruise, in my opinion.  For this Alaskan cruise, our balcony was one of our favorite places to enjoy the scenery and wildlife.

 Food: The food was average, and similar to other food on other mega-ships we have cruised on.  The specialty restaurants were not worth the extra money in our opinion, and we stuck to the regular restaurants after the first few nights of experimenting.  We didn't have any trouble with reservations, but I think it got harder later in the cruise as more people tried to get into some of the restaurants.  We just stopped by the restaurant reservation desk (in Mambo's if I remember correctly) on the first day and they were happy to help arrange things for us.  There was no line there, and it was very easy to manage.

Entertainment: The kids loved the Wii on the giant screen, the bowling alley, the pool, and the games on deck.  The bowling alley ($5 per game, shoes included) was an interesting experience, and we took advantage of it when they were running a 2-for-1 special.  My daughter loved the kids program and went to lots of the activities there.  The staff in ALL SITUATIONS was very attentive to my children.  This includes dining room, bar staff, etc.  We weren't very impressed with the shows, but they weren't any worse (or better) than other shows on other ships.  Generally fine if you're a first-time cruiser, but we mostly opted out after the first few nights. 

Note about service staff: we had several situations where a server would get very teary-eyed talking to us about life back home in their poor homeland, and the family left behind there.  This was very awkward and uncomfortable.  I know this situation is generally true for these crew members, and I believe there is a rule in place that they are not supposed to tell these kinds of stories to passengers.  It's not that I don't feel for them; I do.  But it definitely changes the feel of your meal as you are eating your 5-course meal listening to these stories. It was hard to know how to respond....  

Shore excursions: YES, they are expensive if you book through NCL.  If you are comfortable enough to explore on your own, you can definitely save some money (or just walk through the town and enjoy without any added cost).  There are also many private companies available for booking tours.  We tend to like the convenience of booking through the cruise lines, all of your tickets are waiting for you in your cabin when you get onboard, and the cruise ship will wait for you if things run late on your tour, etc.  (Yes, one group had this happen to them on our cruise, and the ship stayed in port and waited for them to return.)  Generally speaking, we enjoyed all of our shore excursions.  They were all fairly efficient in operation and delivered what was promised. 

Disembarkation: NCL does this better than other cruise lines, in my opinion.  We had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room before heading off.  We had a problem once we were completely off the ship and through customs getting to the airport (nothing to do with NCL, obviously).  The luggage porter in the terminal told us it would be most cost-efficient to take a shuttle since there were 5 of us.  We ended up waiting for an hour and a half, and even then we only got a ride because my husband demanded some service.  TAKE A CAB.  Thank goodness we didn't have an earlier flight.

FInal thoughts: We came back relaxed and happy.  The kids have talked about this trip more than any other we've done, and would love to go back.  The Pearl was a beautiful ship, and Alaska was FABULOUS!  Hope this review is helpful to others thinking about something similar.