Norwegian Pearl Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,401 reviews

Alaska + Pearl = Winning Combination

Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Pearl
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lawchick
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2010
Cabin: Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony
Traveled with children

We were first-time cruisers on the Norwegian Pearl cruising round-trip from Seattle on May 28, 2010. I basically insisted that we take this cruise, as I had always wanted to visit Alaska, so I had to provide all the pre-cruise enthusiasm myself. By the time we left the ship, my entire family agreed that this was our "best vacation yet." (That's quite a statement from my husband, a self-described "reluctant traveler.")

Of course, the scenery is the star of the show on any trip to Alaska. We had a very mixed bag of weather, ranging from rainy and chilly in Seattle to warm and sunny in our ports, and even including a few random snowflakes as we traveled from Skagway to Glacier Bay. Stunning -- that's the only possible description. If you have any interest in natural, unspoiled, majestic beauty (and no, those are not hyperbole in the case of Alaska), you must take this trip. We all know how "sentimental" teenage boys are (NOT, if you're wondering), and my son said "mom, I don't even have to frame my photo shots -- you just point and shoot -- nature does all the work for you" That's saying something, coming from a teenage boy!! I know it sounds like I'm gushing, but Alaska will make anyone with an interest in the outdoors gush!!

As far as the ship was concerned, we were treated very well, and have absolutely no complaints!! Our cabin, a mini-suite, was big enough, although not overly so. The balcony is a must -- there is nothing that compares to standing on your balcony watching humpback whales or listening to the glaciers crack and pop under the weight of the advancing ice. Our room stewards bent over backwards to meet our needs, and even rearranged their cleaning routines to accomodate our unconventional schedules. We ordered from room service, and barely had time to sit down before they arrived with our order. We ate in a variety of the restaurants, including the standard restaurants and the specialty locales. The buffet had the same basic themes every day, but they provided enough variety that you never had to eat the same thing twice, even without paying the cover charge to eat at a specialty restaurant. We all were crazy for the lobster tacos at Mambo's, and found it to be more than worth the very reasonable cover charge of $10 per person. LaCucina was good, and still worth the cover, but Mambo's definitely set the curve.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony

Our cabin was a mini-suite (AF as defined by NCL). Drawers were quite sufficient for storing our clothing, even for all 4 of us. The closet was sufficient, although the door did actually touch the side of the bed when open. The balcony was awesome, but we all did notice that the balcony railing was exactly at eye level when we sat in the deck chairs. Probably should either drop the railing (which I suspect is impossible, due to code regulations) or provide slightly taller chairs -- just enough added height to see over the railing better. Our room was very quiet.

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