I have been on over 28 cruises, and this was our second cruise on the Pearl, and about 13th or so with NCL. We are not quite platinum latitudes members, but certainly headed that direction. We booked this cruise through a travel agent as I find that the OBC (On Board Credits) you get through travel agents are far better than anything offered by NCL, booking directly. I often attempt to write detailed reviews as I rely on reviews when making travel plans of our own. I hope that this is found informative by all who read it.We traveled with four other families with a total of five cabins booked. Of the five, three were suites, one a mini suite and one inside stateroom on Deck 4. There were a total of 17 of us, so a rather large group of adults and kids ages 10-17. I contacted the Concierge of the Pearl in advance (Carlos Zarate) in order to arrange for our non-suite passengers (The mini suite and the inside cabin) to get "VIP" status. Carlos was more than happy to oblige and had everyone properly coded as VIPs well in advance. Even the mini suite and inside cabin got to use the priority check in, and all of the other suite perks that we enjoyed. (Cagneys, priority tender, priority disembarkation, etc) It was great that our group was never split up or separated by "class" in any way.OUR SUITE We booked a Category AB (2 Room Family Penthouse) with the connecting AF Mini-suite. This was fantastic for our two families of 9. We had plenty of room. Others in our party had a Penthouse Suite overlooking the bow on deck 9. The room was considerably smaller than ours and had the same bathroom as the mini suite. The bathrooms on the AB Penthouses are wonderful. Full tub overlooking the ocean, separate shower with shower tower overlooking the ocean, and a double vanity. Plenty of storage and closet space and very confortable bedding. The living room had a sofa, 42 inch flat panel television with DVD Player. The tub also had a television, as did the Master Bed room and the kids bedroom. LaVazza coffee machine, mini refrigerator, etc. Out butler was Maxi. Having been in a suite once before, I will say that Maxi was much more "hands off". While always nice and polite, he didn't do much for us, nor did we really ask him to. I was disappointed that the wine we brought on board (paid the 15$ corkage fee) was never kept chilled, but we did the best we could with the refrigerator.DINING Most breakfasts, we ate in the suite exclusive Cagney's for Breakfast, and once or twice for lunch. The breakfast and lunch menu is always the same, and is very good. We very much enjoyed the Filet Mignon and eggs. Our server Emmanuel always took care of us and treated us like royalty. We also dined in the Lotus Garden for Asian Fusion and Sushi as well as La Cuccina Italian, and Mambos Tex Mex. The only did a 20% discount on the first sea day. No 2 for 1 specials this time. We did the MDR on two evenings and found the Indigo restaurant much more quiet and intimate than the Summer Palace which was more like a school cafeteria. Pretty to look at but obnoxiously loud. The food in the MDR was pretty good. Always something to find that we liked, and some thinks we disliked. Overall, the food everywhere was excellent and what we have some to love about NCL. Something new on this cruise was the "Best of All" dining. On the last sea day, you could dine at LeBistro for lunch and the menu included the best of dishes from each of the specialty restaurants. This was a great way to try a lot at one time. The cover was 15.00 per person. They also had an all you can eat sushi special on the first sea day for lunch. The cover on that was $10.00. We also dined in the Garden Buffet a couple of times and found it to be very nice. It was always pretty loud in there as well. On the last sea day, we went to the Chocoholic Buffet and although it is very pretty to look at, the chocolate is not that good. Very bitter in my humble opinion.ENTERTAINMENT I have always said that NCL has the best entertainment at sea. I have to say that the entertainment this time around was below what we have come to love. There were two headlines that have been on the ship for two years now. The comedian, David Naster and the juggling/comedy act of Shark Bait. We enjoyed watching them again as we did two years ago on the Pearl. David Naster is an interesting person to speak with and we appreciate his take on laughter and finding humor in unusual situations. However, the ships dance company was in my opinion below par. The lead female singer had a very high pitched annoying voice, and the dance routines were just ordinary. We skipped the 2nd performance later in the week. I think things may be going downhill since it is no longer managed by the Jean Ann Ryan Company. Not sure if they had any the 2nd performance, but I didn't see any aerial performers as we have enjoyed on other NCL cruises. There was a male quartet that performed a couple of times during the week. A tribute to Frankie Valli, and another performance we didn't see. They were pretty good with dead on harmonies.SHIP OVERALL I found that NCL is doing a great job maintaining this five year old vessel. There was always someone cleaning, and I didn't see anything that was in poor repair. We attended the suite exclusive Captains Party in the Courtyard Villa area and had a wonderful time. The beer, wine and mixed drinks flowed pretty freely as did the wonderful appetizers. We spent a good while speaking with the Staff Captain, Mattias Andersson. I am a retired police officer my brother, an active fire fighter, and Capt. Andersson shares the responsibilities of both fire fighting and law enforcement so he was interesting to speak with. He arranged for the ship's Safety Officer (James Kaye) to meet with us in our suite later in the week. Mr. Kaye spent about an hour speaking with us about life at sea, and the ships fire fighting capability. We so appreciated the time he took from his day to spend with us. Truly fascinating. Fun to hear some of his "stories" and past experiences. Fun to find out that he was on the NCL Jade with us five months ago in Europe, as well as the NCL Jewel about a year and a half ago for the Canada/New England cruise. Overall, the crew of the Pearl is one of the most friendly we have come across in recent sailings. The Captain and Staff are doing a great job keep morale up, and encouraging the crew to have that "Yes I can" attitude. The Captain was a very comical fellow and we enjoyed his humorous daily reports. Our Concierge Carlos Zarate was wonderful and always took the time to speak with us, get to know us, and take care of us. A stark difference from our last cruise in a suite where we didn't even know who the concierge was. In fact, I learned that I am soon traveling to Carlos' hometown in Chile, and he wants to arrange to take me out to dinner while visiting there. Not sure if that will happen, but the gesture was very much appreciated. Carlos always took care of our large group of 17, making sure we were escorted to the front of lines to disembark, getting us VIP seating in the shows when it was available, etc. It will be truly difficult to sail in anything but a suite with NCL from now on. The Suite Perks alone are worth the difference in price. We also took advantage of the Future Cruise Credit program. We put down two deposits of 250.00 and got 100.00 back on each. The Future Cruise Consultants Martin and Shaun are great to talk to. Funny, they too have been on three of our prior cruises on the Pearl, and the Jewel. The kids participated in the Kids Crew program. I have to say that this week there seems an extraordinary amount of kids on board. I don't think the kids get as much individualized attention as where there are not as many kids. They didn't seem to enjoy it as much. Whenever we picked them up, it seemed like mass pandemonium. One final note on this area...The vast amounts of paper that are delivered to your cabin daily is out of control. On top of the FreeStyle Daily, there are a plethora of advertisements and the like. Seems like NCL could save a few trees and some money by cutting back on this.PORTS We pre-booked all of our shore excursions in advance and independently of the cruise line. I have found that they are much more cost effective and better not to travel with a large bus full of passengers. Below is a summary of each port and our activity: Roatan- We booked in advance with Pirates of the Caribbean for a zip line tour. We opted for the "Extremely Extreme" course and were not disappointed. Everyone in our group had a memorable experience. The weather was great and we always felt safe. The guides were also very safety conscious and even our younger kids were able to enjoy the ride. They picked us up when promised and had us back in plenty of time. There is a friendly monkey "Peanut" that is at the check in/check out area. Great photo opportunities with him. It was a 25 minute ride to the tour in a comfortable van with a friendly driver who took the time to point out places of interest. After returning we had time to walk around and do some shopping. We found that the better deals were outside the tourist/terminal area. Belize - We booked with Coral Breezes / Hammerhead Tours for a snorkeling excursion to Key Caulker and Stingray alley. The weather (and my 12 year old daughter) didn't cooperate very much, but overall it was a nice day. A long boat ride though, but very scenic. Even had time to stop and watch a few dolphins swimming and jumping in the water. Key Caulker was a very small island, and we stopped there for lunch before heading back to the ship. Lunch was very good and everyone was very friendly. Costa Maya- This was the highlight of the trip! We pre-booked with "The Native Choice" for the Mayan Experience Tour. This tour was about 6 hours and included time at the Chacobben ruins. The real highlight was a stop at a local village where we were served an authentic Mayan lunch. This was at someone's home and everything was absolutely wonderful. We were taught how to make tortillas and were then served a delicious authentic Mexican lunch of stewed chicken, tamales, fresh vegetables (grown in her garden) as well as a Hibiscus tea and a Mexican flan type dessert. Everyone in our group of 17 agreed that this was the highlight! What a wonderful experience for everyone. Our guide "Eliu" was very knowledgeable and very proud of his village and heritage. He stopped and bought local pineapple for everyone and was very friendly and concerned that everyone involved had a great time. I would book with the Native Choice again in a heartbeat if we ever go back to Costa Maya! Key West - We just walked the entire length of Duval Street all the way to the "Southernmost" marker for some photos. A very nice day with wonderful weather. DISEMBARKATION We opted for the VIP Disembarkation afforded to suite passengers. Our Concierge Carlos told us to meet him in a designated room where he escorted us off the ship passing a large line of folks waiting to be called. Another great suite perk!IN CLOSING We had a wonderful cruise and it was great to have experienced it with our close friends. Truly we were spoiled with all of the suite amenities and the VIP treatment that goes along with it. We try to cruise twice a year, and we are looking forward to our next cruise with NCL. Our next cruise is actually with RCI on the Oasis. When you consider that we are paying the same for two connecting inside cabins on the Oasis as we paid for a two bedroom suite on NCL, it's hard to imagine sailing any other way. However, the kids want to experience the "largest cruise ship in the world", so Oasis, here we come in October! (I know, the Allure is 5 cm longer, but you get the picture). Hopefully planning on sailing the Epic next Spring. I am disappointed though that the only 2 bedroom suites are in the Courtyard area and considerably more than the same suite on the Jewel Class ships. I am excited to see what NCL will offer on its two new builds to be announced later this year.Hope you enjoyed the review.Smooth Sailing,Greg