The ship: The Norwegian Pearl is set up well. The ship was very new, clean and modern. The crew was wonderful and very attentive. We tried a balcony room this time and it was terrific. The ship was full, so there were lots of people from all over the world which was fun and exciting. Entertainment: The entertainment was fair; we went to most of the shows in the Stardust Theater and they were average. Unfortunately the weather did not allow us to spend a lot of "night life" time in the bars by the pool, as it was windy and a bit cool at night.

Food: This was the first time we experienced a cruise where they offered separate restaurants with a "cover charge" if you chose to eat there rather than the standard restaurants. The food in these restaurants was fabulous. We tried several: Cagney's, the steakhouse was our favorite. We also liked the Japanese restaurant as well as Le Bistro, the French restaurant. Caution, however, as it is very easy to spend money on board ship, with your credit card tied to your cabin card. We spent a lot more on food than we expected or planned to, as they make it easy to make reservations for the time that best suits your schedule and the menu in the main restaurants gets boring after a while. The breakfast and lunch provided with the cruise was very good. Lots of selections and different things to try. I especially liked the low fat options, salad dressings, etc.

Pool: The pool area was very crowded so getting a chair was a challenge but not really a surprise. Adult pool area was clean and nice; but quite small for such a big ship, so it and the hot tubs were crowded. Read more