Norwegian Pearl Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,402 reviews

Alaska in July

Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Pearl
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Nalla
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jul 2015
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside
Traveled with children

My 12 y/o granddaughter and I sailed on the NCL Pearl to Alaska. It was cruise #4 for her and #20 for me (#5 on NCL). After reading some of the reviews of the Pearl, I had low expectations, but was very pleasantly surprised with the overall cruise. The ship and accommodations were very good. Crew and service were outstanding and I couldn’t have asked for better on any ship (except I would rate our room steward as adequate). Dining room service was top-notch. I do agree with other reviewers that the menu is repetitive. However, NCL definitely has Freestyle dining right (I have tried it on other lines and it is a disaster, but on NCL it is like going to a restaurant and getting immediate service). We ate mostly in the Summer Palace; sometimes service between courses was particularly slow due to the kitchen, but it didn’t spoil our fun. DGD participated in the Splash Academy and loved, loved, loved it! She said it was better than the Disney kids’ program. The ports were okay as we chose this cruise because it included Glacier Bay and Juneau. Time in port was weird and made planning activities more difficult. We didn’t even go ashore in Victoria.

We have been home only a few days, but enjoyed the trip so much that I have already booked another cruise for us in a few months.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Inside

Cabin IA

Cabin was fine. Good storage. Large bathroom with roomy shower.

Port Reviews

Juneau

We went directly to Mendenhall Glacier and hiked to Nugget Falls. It was a beautiful day which added to the pleasure. Very easy to arrange; just get Glacier bus there and back. City area where we were could have been any heavily-touristed port - gobs of jewelry stores!

Skagway

We took the NPS walking tour and did a little shopping. Very small town and we were there most of the day.

Glacier Bay

It is what it is. I had been there 24 years ago and there was a noticeable difference. We had a drizzly day with lower visibility. Since it was rainy, all passengers were on the promenade deck and it was hard to get to the rail. The Alaska cruise is probably the time to book a balcony cabin.

Ketchikan

We walked in town, took the funicular, spent time on Creek Street and in the Discovery museum. Another drizzly day so we didn't take the hikes we had planned. Didn't do any shopping as we were overdosed on touristy diamond shops. Bought a few last minute items in the general store at the dock.

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