My husband and I sailed for our first time on NCL on the Pearl. I have read reviews criticizing the Pearl's food and appearance and I have to disagree. We thought the ship was great and the food was amazing. However, to be fair, I can see how some people might be disappointed. We took advantage of the freestyle cruising to the max by trying out 4 of the specialty restaurants. Cagney's Steakhouse was by far the best of the bunch. Food was amazing, atmosphere was great and service was awesome...well worth the "upcharge". We also enjoyed Le Bistro and La Cucina. Teppanyaki was a blast (maybe because we were with 14 other CC people who were enjoying the "2 for 1 martinis" as well as dinner...

I would stay away from Summer Palace (one of the included restaurants). We went there for "lobster night" and it was a madhouse! Service was awful, room was really loud and the "lobster" was awful. However, we did eat at Indigo (the other included restaurant) one night and found the atmosphere lovely, service great and food was good.

We have never stayed in an inside cabin before...it was small...but adequate...and very well laid out. Larger cabins we have stayed in have had much less closet space. Our cabin steward, Perfecto, was just that...perfecto! Read more