Norwegian Pearl Review

Norwegian Pearl - Southern Caribbean

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Pearl

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Sail Date: Oct 2007
Cabin: Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony

My wife and I just returned from a 14 day Caribbean Cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl. We actually combined a 5 day and a 9 day ( staying aboard in the same cabin for the full time.

My wife and I have cruised for the past 30 years and this was our 25th cruise. We have cruise a number of 7 or 10/12 day cruises but never one this length. We also have cruised Holland American, and RCL. The last time we cruised on NCL was many years ago on the NORWAY. We decided to try NCL again because of the "freestyle cruising", allowing us to dine when and where we wanted. We found this to be of significant importance to us. Dining at 6:15 of another ship is too early for us and dining at 8:30/8:45 is too late. On the Norwegian Pearl we made reservations every day for the next evening and depending on our schedule we either selected 7:00 or 7:30 PM for out dining time.

The cruise was an extremely enjoyable one. As with any individual you look for things to criticize. So, let me get those out of the way. I know they advertise that you can dress up or not. Most people dressed in an appropriate manner. Restaurants on board had rules and we saw people being turned away for trying to wear shorts or torn jeans into the dining rooms. Some folks wore gowns and tuxedos, while other wore t-shirts, nice jeans and flip flops. It was strange. My wife wore a dress to every dinner and I always had on khaki pants and a golf or dress shirt. We felt comfortable and in place. I did not have to wear a tie the entire cruise. However some people looked very sloppy. I did not mind the cost charged at some of the restaurants, either $10, $15 or $20 a person. I think the additional charge of $10 for some "special items" is over kill. I will later evaluate the restaurants we used. The Pearl has many promotions on board and I find them offensive. You are napping on deck or reading a book in the afternoon and the "cruise director - SIMON" comes on the microphone with a loud voice ( much more annoying then the captain or assistant cruise director) yelling about an art auction, bingo, or special event. That was very annoying. Also the price charged for using the internet in ROBBERY. At 75 cents a minute or 45 cents if you buy 90 minutes worth is very high. If you can wait, as we did, the internet cafes on all of the islands were much, much less expensive. In fact we paid only $1.00 for an hour in Cozumel and $5.00 an hour in Grand Cayman and St. Lucia. I don't know how they can do it. Plus the connect time is so slow you use up half of you time just logging on or getting into your e-mail accounts. If possible avoid using them.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin MA
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