Let me start out by stating that I'm not normally a complainer. My wife and I have learned throughout our travels that stuff happens and you need to roll with. We have 25 cruises under our belt, many different parts of the world and they have general been all good. I say this to provide context for the following review of our latest Alaska cruise just completed on the Norwegian Pearl. This cruise easily turned out to be the least enjoyable and most frustrating experience to-date, of any ship we have sailed. Note, 2 of the previous 25 cruises above were on the Pearl and were great.
It all began with the embarkation process which was terrible. It began late and was totally disorganized. Bag porters were nonexistent and we had to wait in line to take our own bags to X-ray. The second line began outside the terminal building and continued down the street. This was the line to go through security and up to check in. Security stopped the screening at one point because the check in upstairs was so backed up. Total time standing in line, about 1 hour prior to getting on the ship. Once on the ship, no staff anywhere to direct you to your cabin.
Once in the cabin, we received a letter that 3.07% of the passengers on the last cruise had contracted Norovirus and to please take all appropriate precautions. All glassware had been removed and only paper cups left in their place. No ice bucket. Our fellow cruisers ran out of Kleenex in their bathroom and it took 6 hours and their cabin steward calling his supervisor to obtain another box.