Norwegian Pearl Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My husband and I boarded the NCL Pearl in Seattle. Family drove us to the ship and dropped us off right in front of the terminal. Embarkation was exceptionally smooth. It was a very short walk into the terminal. Upon entering the terminal there were two lines. Passengers to the left received numbers for boarding while passengers with VIP status went to the right. Staying in the Garnet Penthouse, we went to the right. Greeted right away, directly through screening and escorted to a VIP waiting area for checking. After a very short wait we were greeted by our butler and escorted to our cabin. (All before 12 noon) Great start! (Leaving the ship in Miami was equally smooth, bags easy to find and well organized through customs).
Our stateroom was exceptional. The penthouse was absolutely beautiful. The bathroom was impressive with double sink in the masterbath, deep soaking tub, separate shower with many massage jets from head to toe. Both shower and tub have windows to enjoy the view while cruising. Phone and tv both provided in the masterbath. Elemente bath products and lotions provided. Nice powerful hairdryer too as well as a make up mirror. The queen sized bed could be closed off from the bathroom and changing area by dark out drapes. Nice touch! The bed and linens very comfortable. A+ Both firm and soft pillows on the bed. Dining: Breakfast and lunch at Cagney's was delicious! They even offer a breakfast bar for mornings when you may be in a hurry to get into port. Otherwise you may order from the menu. In 19 days we had a chance to try everything on the breakfast and lunch menus. Loved it all, especially the wonderful staff! (Cagney's breakfast and lunch menus are for Suite/Villa guests)
We tried all restaurants and cannot fairly rate a #1 as they are all superb in food and service. It just depends on what you are in the mood for. Somedays a quick buffet may be all you want verses elegant relaxing dinner. So, to save space, all are worth trying if the menu looks good to you. I can understand the surcharge for the "specialty" restaurants. I wasn't sure about it in the beginning but once we discovered the quality of food and service we didn't mind a bit. Two for 1 nights made it even better so keep an eye for those!
Cabin Review
Family Penthouse with Balcony
Garnet Penthouse 11030: Nice location with quick easy access to the pool and spa. Exit room, turn right, up one flight of stairs (or elevator), turn left for the spa and right for the pool. Loved the balcony with overhang that allowed us to be outside even in the rain. Nice sized closet in master bedroom, smaller of course in 2nd bedroom. Plenty of storage space though. Favorite item in the room, SAECO Incanto coffee machine! Living room couch not comfortable to curl up and watch tv however looks good and serves its purpose for entertaining. The penthouse bathrooms are the most beautiful on the ship. Telephones and tv's in all rooms. (4 each) Wireless phone available to carry around the ship so you can stay in touch with others on board. Nice feature that we used more than we thought we would. Only downside to this cabin (also others on deck 11 under the pool deck) the deck share are put out at 0600 daily. Not too noisy but if you are a light sleeper you'll hear it. Other cabins seen that we also liked, categories: A3 same as ours but isolated on deck 13. Didn't care for that plus ship vibration felt up on deck 13. AD, very nice many nice features and has the nice coffee pot! AF, very nice a little smaller and the awesome coffee pot isn't available in this category. BA, nice cabin, smaller bathroom however this is something I could stay in and enjoy. No cabins without balconies viewed. Garden Villa, very nice but a bit over the top for me.