Norwegian Pearl Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,401 reviews

Has this Pearl lost her luster?

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Pearl
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comptongal
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Mar 2014

Embarkation Day: First of all, let me say that the sailing was for college spring break and was maxed out with 3,000 passengers; that in itself could be a concern. We arrived about 10:30 am and the previous sailing was still disembarking; this caused a slight hiccup in checking in. The Epic was at terminal B, while the Pearl was at terminal G. I had not checked in at this terminal before. The terminal was closed and the line was now extending out into the traffic and getting in the way of departing transfers. The terminal did open about 11:00 am and upon entering, we followed the signs to priority embarkation. However, this was not marked correctly..and we had to go to a different counter at the back of the terminal to get our actual key cards and access to the VIP lounge. From there, we had someone new who had never escorted passengers onto the ship before, so that was a bit of a challenge. However, when we finally made it to the Star Bar and the more than capable hands of concierge Monica Fotache, everything ran like a well-oiled machine. We were in Cagney’s for lunch by 12 noon. I also had Monica set up my specialty reservations, my shore excursions and two spa passes while we ate lunch. That is one of the things that is great about have a wonderful concierge!!! Rooms were ready by 1:15 pm, but when we went to our room, the room steward was still setting things up. Remember the late disembarkation of the prior cruise passengers. One thing that was noted, is that everything I had requested with the pre-concierge service was already complete; fresh fruit, mini-bar emptied with cold pitchers of water, requested pillows and a bowl of m&m’s. More good stuff came later: complimentary wine, chocolate covered strawberries, Godiva Chocolates and all of our Platinum perks. The only thing we did not get were ship pins, but no biggie..we already had Pearl pins from the prior sailngs. Luggage arrived at our room right after sail-away.

Stateroom: We were in aft-facing penthouse 10166. The stateroom was in great condition. The colors were more muted than when we sailed last with the exception of the crazy black out curtain. We had two loungers, one chair and a small table on our wonderful balcony. No issues with things landing on our balcony from the Great Outdoors Café up above. The king size bed in the room was very comfortable and the bathroom was in great condition. No slow-running drains and no plumbing problems. The penthouse and its views were wonderful!! Lots of storage space, a large closet, and two safes are some of the great amenities that come with the room along with the Lavazza coffee machine!

Staff: The star of our cruise was concierge Monica Fotache!!! She is the ultimate in customer service. She had every detail correct for what we requested and found us every night to check in with us to ask how our day had been. What a delightful young woman!! That personal touch means everything and is one of the things that makes Norwegian feel like my home away from home!! She is the epitome of professionalism, with such a sweet, kind and fun-loving personality! What an incredible asset for NCL! Other honorable mentions include Erlindo, our butler! Again, precise, professional and had every detail covered. Larry, our room steward, kept the room tidy and came up with some really cool original towel animals that I had not seen before. One thing that I did find surprising was the lack of the cruise director’s presence on board. I did not know it was Pedro until the Latitudes Party about 48 hours into the sailing. The person whose presence was noticeable was Will “Fish” Fishburn our cruise consultant!! He was assistant cruise director when we sailed in 2012; in my opinion, he should be cruise director now!! I told him so and his remark was he preferred being cruise consultant. What a humble guy! He gave an awesome future cruise presentation by the way and was so friendly at the three cocktail parties that I attended. The staff overall was friendly, helpful and provided excellent service!! In all honesty, I only met one bartender who did not exhibit those traits. Maybe he was just having a bad day.

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