Norwegian Pearl Review
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My family included hubby, 2 boys 11, 13 and me. We also traveled with sister and her 2 kids, girl 13, and boy 14. Before the kids, we sailed with celebrity x1, after the kids we've sailed on RCL x1 and DCL x6. We LOVE Disney so I was a little weary of booking NCL, but the pricing on the Alaska cruise was about 1/2 the price for a comparable cabin. On Disney, we usually go with inside or oceanview, but after researching Alaska, I really wanted a balcony but the only way to get that for us was to go with a "cheaper" cruise line. Disney cabins are generally larger, especially the insides/oceanviews, but to avoid disappointment, I made sure I got a minisuite on ncl. The room was 285sq ft, which was well appointed and slightly larger than what we are used to.
Because I paid much less than Disney and slightly less than other cruise lines, I set my expectations pretty low. Reading the reviews for the ship also made me nervous. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the cruise. The ship was beautiful and easy to get around. Anytime dining worked out for us and we never felt the need to go to the "pay" restaurants. We ate dinner every night in either of the 2 dining rooms. We would try to go just when it opens or late in the evening. Sometimes they had to seat us in 2 separate tables close together. We had no problem with that as the kids got their own table and we sat at the other. They are old enough to order on their own and behave with manners. The nightly shows in the Stardust theater were worth seeing. They are not huge productions, but pretty good for cruise ship entertainment.
I enjoyed the variety in the buffet. Maybe a little too much since I gained 5lbs. The first morning I found my hubby in the buffet seating area all stressed out. It was very busy in the seating area near the food and tables were really close together. After that, we discovered that if you are willing to take your food to La Cucina(breakfast and lunch), the seating in there is so much nicer and quiet. It was close to the food at Great Outdoors and beverage station. Another discovery is the fresh ground coffee near the kid's buffet. After that, breakfast and lunch was very relaxing.