NCL Pearl's Maiden Voyage What a trip - no ports of call - storms and a hurricane - and the BEST CRUISE EVER! Embarkation was swift, friendly - the most efficient and smoothest to date. Luggage was delivered very quickly - we barely had time to explore the ship and it was in our cabin. First impression - LOVELY. We traveled on the sister ship, the Jewel in two transatlantic crossing in 2006 so very familiar with the layout. Pearl is a wonderful improvement on a good model. The interior decorators have got it right. Richer colors and subtle improvements give more warmth and welcome. Our cabin was fantastic - first time we have gone to the mini-suite and it was heaven. A tub, loads more drawers, lovely touches like the bookshelves just inside the door, a lighted magnifying mirror for putting on makeup, lots of room for the laptop, coffee and tea available - far nicer than a land hotel as the ocean view is part of the package. First stop was lunch at the Garden Cafe - a big difference there. No more island stations for serving which makes it so much easier as staff can refill stations without trying to negotiate the feeding frenzy around an island. Love the new seating areas - very comfortable.
We ate most breakfasts and lunches there and were delighted with the variety of foods - nothing was overlooked. Restraint is the biggest problem one would have there. The only thing I could find to fault was that the espresso machines were down at the far end - would like to see some at the opposite end as well. I was really delighted with the new menus and found the food to be very good - lots of variety and suitable for everyone - there were vegetarian and sugar-free choices and lactose free products so most dietary needs could be met. The Summer Palace (and Indigo) offered excellent meals so that unlike our last cruise - we did not use the specialty restaurants every night. I was delighted to see the return of the chilled soups and very pleased with the new culinary offerings. The specialty restaurants that we did try were of their usual fine quality. Cagneys is always outstanding. Mambos was excellent and I love the colors there - inviting decor. La Cucina was a bit of a disappointment to me as I adored the Lasagna on the old menu however that is strictly a personal preference. The food and service were excellent. I missed the late night buffets at the Garden Cafe until I discovered the evening Blue Lagoon menu. It has less variety but what was on the menu was super - more than happy with that for any late night snacking!
I must not omit room service - they were more than helpful the one time I didn't feel like leaving the cabin. Overall impression on food - a big thumbs up (and I have the extra 10 pounds I gained to prove it). Entertainment - we were delighted with the evening entertainment. The tenor was enjoyable, the concert pianist was outstanding, Jeri Segar very entertaining, we saw all of Lenny Windsor's shows, and the new shows put on by the Jean Ann Ryan troupe were excellent - in particular their Garden of the Geisha show. There was great music with the trio in the Atrium and Pamela, the entertainer in Bar City was terrific. In all honesty - we did not sample the daytime entertainment on the ship on this cruise. We wanted pure relaxation and this is what we got. We read a lot and had a totally lazy crossing. Doing this brings to mind the great changes on the Pearl to allow this kind of cruise. The greenery that makes lovely little private areas to sit around the pool deck, the big comfy chairs in Bliss are great for reading.