Cabin Review

We had a ‘mini-suite’ which as smaller than the mini-suites on Holland or Princess. It was more of a standard Balcony room on those ships. The only difference I could tell from the NCL Pearl mini-suite room and their balcony room was the size of the couch. It was a little larger and the size of the room may have been somewhat larger (but not by too much). It was roomy enough and had lots of drawer space and a decent size closet. There are only Two 110 volt (3 prong) plugs on top of desk area. So bring extension cord or power strip as needed.

The bathroom was unusual with the ‘compartmentalized’ toilet area. At first I thought it was strange but I ended up really liking the layout. There was big tub/shower – the only downside for me was how deep stepping into the shower was for me. We had great water pressure and the toilet never acted up.

The AC/Heat worked the best we have ever had on any ship. Amazing…even while in port. Also – the hair dryer was very powerful. First time I used one on a ship (normally I use the one I bring because they are usually very weak and not very hot).

However, the bed was very hard and flat – it really needed to be replaced. It would have really hurt my back but luckily I brought a thin air mattress (camping style). The couch was a good long size but this was also very, very hard to sit on. Even the chair at the desk was very hard so we brought in the chairs from the balcony to sit on. It was doable.

The TV was very, very small and I think it was an outdated plasma style. It you sat at an angle you couldn’t see what was on the screen. There was a channel (22) that showed the time, weather, ships position and played music (instrumental – very nice). It was the only music channel. This is the station where you could listen to the Captain/Cruise Directors messages (for example when you are in your room and hear them speaking over the intercom in the hallway it won’t come through the cabin speakers unless it is important info). You can also listen to the Panama Canal expert talk about highlights and historical facts as you go through the locks.

There was only a couple of movie channels – one was primarily for family/kid type movies (channel 35). So that only left one channel (channel 36) which showed standard movies but the same movies over and over again – even on multiple days. Not much variety which was disappointing. In the evening we like to watch a movie before bed but there wasn’t much of a selection like there was on Holland or Princess. There were a few other channels that showed a couple of sitcoms and few other type programs such as food network or sports. There were also channels that talked about the jewelry/art sales or what’s in port. I would have liked more regular movie channels because we don’t stay out in the ‘clubs/bars’ all night and enjoy watching a movie in the evening.

I loved the small single serving coffee pot (used small coffee ‘pods’). You could also use for just hot water for tea. The water on the ships really upset my stomach due to my IBS issue so having a way to use bottle water for coffee was terrific.

The room steward we had was fabulous – so friendly, professional, and helpful.