We just came back from a week on the Pearl and this is my first post on Cruise Critic (having benefitted so much from the great input I've found on this site, I figured I could at least offer my thoughts). I thought it was a nice ship -- crew was very friendly and attentive.

FOOD - This was my first NCL cruise (really, only our second cruise at all) and we did like the FreeStyle Cruising. We ate at four specialty restaurants (Cagneys, Lotus Garden, Le Bistro and the italian joint (La Cucina?). (1) Cagneys was excellent, truly -- a terrific meal -- the 10 oz filet was great and the sides were delicious (props to the truffle oil fries). The service was terrific; (2) Lotus Garden - sushi (ordered a la carte from the sushi bar) was respectable. The rest of the restaurant was not worth the $15 pp surcharge. The appetizers were actually pretty good (lettuce wraps earned decent marks) but entrees were entirely forgettable; (3) Le Bistro -- disappointing, especially after Cagneys, not worth the $20 pp cover charge. Family enjoyed the escargot apps, the signature "four coronets" app was visually interesting (four mini-ice cream cones with different amuse bouches, I suppose)but tasted like someone stuffed chicken salad into a stale nutty-buddy. The entrees weren't excellent (but were fine). The meal experience was slightly diminished by the spectacle of perhaps the most spoiled 16 year old girl I have ever witnessed having a melt down in the restaurant, although it did give a smug sense of superior parenting becasue my kids were merely demonstrating lackluster table manners. (4) Italian Joint - good, worth the $10 cover in all. If I could do it all over again, I'd just do Cagneys & the italian place (maybe Cagneys twice). All that being said, the general restaurants (Indigo & The Summer Palace) were actually pretty solid too (no cover for those, although we liked Indigo better). The breakfast buffet was pretty good too, although seating was a madhouse, and while you can eat breakfast at the Summer Palace off the menu, we found the kitchen so crazy slow, that I contemplated running upstairs to the buffet.

PORTS - Private Island. Okay, in fairness to NCL, the weather was too windy to get everything going (and the tenders were being tossed pretty hard) but it was not as nice as Carnival's private island. Lots of construction. Then again, lots of beach chairs, and we took a nice walk around. Ocho Rios is simply not a top choice of a port for me (I'd skip Jamaica altogether). I find it amazing that country that vitally depends on tourism would so obviously seek to stick it to tourists (I guess I'm looking for discreet tourist gauging). The JUTA taxi dispatchers will seek to charge you 3x the posted rate (posted, I will add, four feet away) to places in Ocho Rios (and will back down when you point out the posted rates - compare to Cozumel or Grand Cayman where they vigilantly monitor and regulate the taxis). We took day passes at the Jamaica Grand Resort and Spa, and it was fine if you have reasonable expectations. Your $50 pp buys you all day at a slightly worn down resort (although unlimited drinks and really mediocre food). The beach is fine although not clear why it's any better than public beaches (although fewer people do try to sell you hash or braid your hair (or both!)). The resort has a really nice pool though, with two water-park quality slides. Kids liked that. Grand Cayman - awesome. We snorkled with Captain Marvin's (on recommendations on these boards) and enjoyed a cozier experience than the NCL sponsored trip. I think half the price too. Cozumel - We went to Chakannab and really enjoyed the quiet beach and terrific snorkling. Well worth the $70 total for all four of us (notwithsanding the pleas of our taxi driver who wanted us to go somewhere else that I am sure pays him a sizeable pp kickback). If you do the NCL snorkel/beach party, you have about 40 minutes in the water and one hour at the beach. At Chankanaab, we spent five hours snorkling/lounging. Just my calculus. One more thing: getting off the ship in port (whether by tender or walk off) was surprisingly bad. Maybe veteran cruisers will note that it is my inexperience talking, but we waited 30-40 minutes cheek-to-jowl on crowded stairways to get off each time. Read more