I just returned from a 5 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Pearl and I have to say I was not overly impressed.

We arrived at the Port of Miami at about 1:30 and we were shocked that parking had gone up to $20 per night. Within a year it has gone from $12 to $15 to $20. Absolutely ridiculous. Embarkation took a bit longer than usual due to a Norwalk virus outbreak on the previous sailing in which 14% of the passengers were affected. There was a long line outside the terminal where people were waiting to get their hands sanitized and they gave out letters explaining to everyone about the Norwalk situation. Once inside things just did not seem very organized. I found it a bit odd that they had guests check in downstairs, take the credit card info, picture, etc and then have to go upstairs and wait in another line to receive the room key. This wasn't really that big of a deal, the whole embarkation probably took less than an hour.

The ship itself was very pretty and was clean and in very good condition. The stateroom, which was a category DD, ocean view was quite small, but laid out well and well appointed. The beds were very comfortable. The bathroom was probably the best part. You could actually move around in the shower and there was a separate area for the toilet where you could close a door so someone else could use the sink if need be. Read more