I was very excited for this cruise, the first caribbean voyage of the MS Norwegian Pearl. I'm a loyal royal caribbean fan; however, my friends persuaded me to try NCL. Check in was anything but a breeze. The agent twice mixed up our cards and information. The staff lost my signed forms from my parents which allowed me to drink on board (I'm 20 days from being 21, give be a break!) NONE of the staff does anything to take the initiative. Half of them weren't even familiar with NCL policy, it was a joke. Once we had everything processed, we waited in the terminal forever! Ok, so finally, we get on board. I must admit, the ship is absolutely beautiful. We had a great time exploring everything it had to offer. However, the staff that were giving directions had not clue where anything was either. After the lifeboat drill, we're finally out to sea. You can imagine how fun it was being out on deck not being able to enjoy a pina colada. Our cabin 8133 was randomly assigned by NCL. The worst part, ITS RIGHT ABOVE THE BLISS NIGHTCLUB!!!!! Every night until about 3:30 AM, the LOUDEST music was playing. We could hear the lyrics to the songs and feel the vibrations as if we were there. We called every night to complain. It was so loud, you literally could not hear anyone talking in the cabin, let alone sleep. The purser's desk who answered the phone the first night said "deal with it" and that pretty much sums up the staff on this ship....useless and rude. We complained every single night and finally on the last night, they sent an officer to our room who started laughing at how loud it really was. Still, we were never offered a new room or even an apology! The food on this ship is OK. Its better than Carnival, but by no means anything to write home about. The service in the Summer Palace and the Indigo dining rooms is good. I'd like to reiterate, the food is just OK. The chef's seem to think that cold soup is the best thing since sliced bread as its served every night. One thing I hated about dining, is whenever you order a drink at dinner or lunch (alcohol or coke) they ask you for your card on the spot. What ever happened to bringing the check after dinner?

The entertainment on the ship is really lacking. The cruise director Matt Baker was supposedly lured from Royal Caribbean because he was so great. YAWN* He was sooo boring. Not even funny or entertaining by accident. At each of the shows each night, I tried to keep an open mind but 20 minutes in, people just walk out. This guy is really really awful. There were no activities up on deck on our sea days and really nothing to do at night. It was kind of a snooze cruise. Very disappointing to say the least. You have this beautiful ship and NOTHING to do. I also REALLY need to emphasize how unhelpful and untrained the staff was. The pursers desk staff were complete jokes. They never took care of anything. Whenever you have a legitimate issue, they just give you a half sorry. Its really a shame. Also, we prepaid gratuities with our cruise as well as airport transfers and they had NO record of them what so ever. We had to pay for them again on board and are being left to sort the issue out with corporate. Their staff is just so lame. If I wanted sarcastic, apathetic attitude, I would have talked to my teenage niece. I've NEVER had any of these issues on Royal Caribbean. The food is superior with them, the activities are endless and the ships are just as nice. I will definitely be a loyal Royal Caribbean customer forever more going forward.