This January, I took my second cruise (and coincidently, the second time I have been on the Pearl - the first time was to the Eastern Caribbean) with 5 of my closest girlfriends. For many, this was their first time on NCL while my best friend and I had sailed on the same ship in January 2010.

The ship is great with many things to do - my first recommendation is to get the spa pass for the week. Unlike my friends, I have very pale skin and have a tough time being in the sun for hours on end. The spa is situated at the front of the ship with floor to ceiling windows allowing me to see everything that those on the regular deck saw, but without being exposed to all the UV. The facilities in the spa are comparable to a luxury day spa and include amenities such as heated tile loungers, a hydrotherapy pool and individual hot tubs in the locker room. The services in the spa are great as well - I did not have time to go through some grooming activities prior to getting on the ship, so I had a mani/pedi as well as a hair cut and styling. The hair cut made me a bit nervous, since I like to find a good person and stick with them, but I have to say that Arnold (I think that is his name) did a phenomenal job, the style is definitely a departure from what I usually get, but I admit that I love(!) the look.

One of my favorite parts of the ship is the casino. We were not able to get any streaks going this year, although last year, my friend won enough at the craps table to pay for last year's cruise and this year's both. I had a great time at the quarters machine and won 6 or 7 bottles of champagne over the course of the week (after that much champagne, I lost track of how much we were drinking). $100 dollars kept me going all week on that thing and made the champagne pretty darn reasonable as far as price goes. Read more