We booked our Norweigian cruise through AAA. Our travel agent was great. AAA does not book directly through Norwegian, they have to go through Pleasant Holidays. We had to sign a waiver to not hold AAA responsible for any issues that arise. I think I now understand why. AAA probably doesn't want to deal with unhappy customers. That should have been our first red flag. Here is a quick list of disappointments: 1. We booked a mini-suite. But it was underneath Splash Acadamy which is the children's play/daycare area. The hours vary. But some nights it is open until 1:30 am. This makes it impossible to sleep and naps nonexistent. There should be no rooms of any kind under Splash Acadamy! We did contact guest services. We were given an apology and sent a bottle of wine. We do not drink wine. FYI, the ship was at capacity so there was no possibility of a room change. 2. Bingo is a waste of money. For example, the jackpot was $3000. But after approximately 42 draws the pot dropped to $375. The venue was so full, players were standing. The House made so much money. It really sucked. There was only one game (full square), it was just a waste of $50. Not worth it for only 10 minutes and 1 game. 3. Shuttle fee information was not relayed to us. You would either have to go to the desk and ask or be surprised by the fee after getting off the ship. They also do not let you know that you can take a cab for 1/4 of the price of the shuttle in most cases. 4. There was not enough info given about various ports. No info on cab stands or nearest bus/public transportation to get to the downtown area. They are very busy pushing their excursions. A good tip would be to research each port ahead of time, decide what you want to see/do. Then find the cab stand/private tours and work out a deal. We did an 8 person tour with other passengers from the Pearl for $50 per person. Best tour ever and saved so much money over Norwegian excursions. 5. There was a water leak in Cagney's. It was right behind my husband while we were dining. We alerted the staff and there was not much attention given to addressing the leak. When we left still nothing had been done. 6. Summer House and Indigo is the exact same menu. The only difference is the Summer House has a dress code. Weird. It makes no sense. After learning this we canceled our Summer House reservation since we had dined at Indigo the night before. Our cruise was not terrible, but also not what he had hoped for. This Mediterranean cruise was not cheap. Especially paying for a mini-suite that turned out to be a bad choice due to the location. We thought carefully about booking mid-ship but didn't realize it put us directly underneath Splash Acadamy. We also heard rumbling from other passengers that their shore excursions were changed or cancelled with no refund offered. We do plan to cruise other parts of Europe, just probably on a different cruise line. Read Less

We picked this cruise for the itinerary, which was amazing. The ship was clean and our mini suite had enough storage for 4 of us. The cabin attendant was great! The food was not. O’Sheehan’s was our preferred place to eat. The buffet had a lot of food but nothing good or warm. Hard to find a snack. We found ourselves hungry because we didn’t enjoy the food. The Legends in Concert, Motown group and acrobatic duo were the best entertainment. A lot of the activities were extra charge, even bowling. The staff was friendly. The food really ruined the cruise experience. We didn’t enjoy that they used the lifeboats for tendering. We were stuck in one for over half an hour waiting for a boat to dock. Very hot. Wished there was more of a variety of activities. The hot tubs were warm, not hot. The itinerary and ports were great! Read Less

We took this cruise following my daughter’s wedding in Positano. We were a group of 10, and thought the ports of call looked interesting—and many were. My husband and I love to cruise, and are pretty faithful to Celebrity, so I can’t help but compare this NCL experience to those of our Celebrity cruises to Europe. The ship itself is in pretty good shape—clean and well-maintained. The interesting thing about it is that, although there are fewer passengers aboard the Pearl than there are on celebrity’s millennium-class ships, it felt so very crowded! The pool deck and the bar area on deck 13 were continuously packed, with people searching for seats (and ashtrays, in the smoking area). The cabin was small, but functional. Our dining experiences aboard the Pearl were generally poor. Even in the steakhouse, the chefs seemed unable to cook a steak to-order. We also had a dinner in la Cucina. It was less than memorable. The food was edible, though not terribly tasty. We had breakfast in the cafe most days. It was routine (i.e. the same thing every day). I think the specialty restaurant reservation system needs a total overhaul: We had made a reservation for 4 at the steakhouse, and tried to change to 5 prior to our seating. We were told by the staff that, if we wanted to make that change, we would have to change our reservation from 7:00 to 10:00. When we did sit down for dinner (after abandoning the idea of adding another person), they seated the four of us at a table for six!! Needless to say, we were not at all happy about that. We tried to get reservations at the teppanyaki restaurant for days, but the staff was unable to accommodate us. We didn’t see any shows, so I can’t comment on the quality of them. We did enjoy Dave, the piano player, and the string quartet. Service overall was not great. Grumpy bartenders (especially at the bar on 13) and the restaurants seem to be short-staffed. We frequently waited for quite a long time to order, and at one meal, we ordered desserts that never came. If you need help with the WiFi package, be aware that their IT guy only works with passengers three hours a day. Some of the ports were absolutely stunning: Dubrovnik is a favorite of ours, and it is as beautiful as ever. We hadn’t been to Montenegro before, but we will surely make it a point to return. (We wouldn’t, however, take NCL’s catamaran cruise again. $189 for a three hour, one-way cruise to a bar?? No thanks.) All things considered, I’ll stick with Celebrity. Read Less

The overall cruise was ok. This was my first extended cruise so not much to compare to. I'll start with negatives. Our cabin was located under the kid's play area and they actually had a mini soccer field set up right above our cabin. So all day long and sometimes until late at night we had the sound of footsteps running on our ceiling. It said kids up to 12 but I think the adults were running around also. It got pretty loud at times and sometimes after a exhausting day ashore, you just want to take a nap when you get back to ship. Second big negative was the WiFi. We purchased the highest plan at $30 a day which I already thought was a ridiculous price but I figured it said fast and streaming so I did it. Not fast and buffered while streaming. Also dropped a couple very important WiFi calls because of weak signal. And our room was mid ship, so it's not like we were at the furthest point from signal. Third negative was the food. It reminded me of a cheap local buffet you go to when you just want a variety and don't want to pay a lot. I think this is common with cruises at this price point though. Last negative was they want to sell their shore excursions so bad they don't really give you any info about the ports. Even if they have a shuttle set up to take people into town, it's not listed in the bulletin the day before. You have to call guest services and ask the night before, "what's available at the port?" If the dock is close to town, you can walk, but they tell you nothing unless you ask. So if you want to go alone, you better do all the research ahead of time. There were positives also. The mini-suite is set up nice, the bathroom was set up nice, they had directions to find things on ship pretty easily. Our room attendant was great. The staff was very friendly and attentive. They listen if you complain but don't expect any dollars knocked off your tab. Got the feeling this doesn't happen. Complaining about kids running all over your ceiling, you would think they would at least offer some free spa services or something, nope. Bottom line, next time we cruise we'll be trying a different cruise line. Can't say I would strongly urge anyone not to cruise Norwegian, but I'd like to explore my options. Read Less

My husband and I were on our honeymoon, the service on the ship was fantastic, the servers were friendly and upbeat. Positives: Friendly servers in all common areas of the ship, buffet, pool, bartenders..   All fine dining was great except the Brazilian steak house, it took 40 minuets to receive a cocktail, the meat was salty and dry and the servers were acting like they did not like their jobs and it was a pain to be there.  The pool deck was a positive energy, I would suggest more contests they are fun to watch and to get people involved. Negatives:  with so many stops in a short time period, it was hard to explore the stops and still make it back in time to the ship. We did not plan an excursion every day. Some days it took longer to get off and on the ship then we had time at the port. - if you do not have a excursion booked transportation was priced very high. We spent about $500 in transportation just to get to a place we wanted to be. In Livorno we got off the ship and they made us pay $5 to take a bus to the town, you had to pay this because there was nothing in walking distance, i think that should have been included in the price of the cruise, its almost double dipping when you have to pay to get dropped off at a port. They should either let off at a place that you can explore or they should pay for the transportation to get you into the town where you need to be. We are younger so getting around was easier for us but i saw several older people struggling to figure out where to go and how to get there. In all my past cruises this was never an issue. With already spending so much on a vacation you don't expect to have to spend such a large amount just to get off the ship. Naples was very dirty, i would suggest not doing this port at all, or warn people it is a very unsafe area to be in unless you have tour booked. Read Less

This was our first cruise in Europe as we are from Australia. The organisation getting on the ship at Rome was very well organised and very quick compared to other cruises we have been on. The rooms were very nice, well fitted and clean, also among the best we have experienced. We did not like the dining experience on deck twelve as it was like pigs feeding at the trough. Other restaurants were very nicely laid out and for the most part the service was quite good. We had the alcohol package which we found to be quite good value as compared with other cruises we have taken, but were annoyed that with the package we still had to pay for coffee other than the vile stuff that was served with meals. And also had to pay for bottled water. I am a person who likes to take a sauna on a cruise so imagine my surprise when told that I could BUY a sauna package for $260 US to have a sauna. (NOT GOOD). The entertainment was well below par, for the most point I think it was carried out by the ships crew and some very mediocre performers, so if your think you will have a huge range of entertainment think again. The ports of call were quite interesting and if you want to organise your own tours I would recommend it rather than pay the extortionist prices charged by the cruise line. The fee to travel to Rome Airport you should also try to organise yourself as the ship line first charged us 80 Euro each, then later in the cruise put out a SPECIAL of $60 US. The same trip can be got for about $35- $40 per head (More Gouging). Yes overall we had a good time but this was mainly from meeting nice people and having a good time with little help from the cruise ship. Would I go again, I would say probably not. Read Less

Did we have a broken ship? What was all that shuddering and shaking in a circular movement? This was unrelenting for the entire cruise. At night it was like someone constantly shaking you to wake you. The problem was there whether we were moving or stopped, rough sea or calm, even in dock This was not sea movement. It felt more like engine shake or a problem with the gyroscopes it was a wobble like sitting off centre on a potters wheel. Aside from that, the cruise itself was fine. First of all, embarkation was smooth and painless and disembarking was equally simple enough where you could choose what time you wanted to leave the ship and your luggage was all taken care of. We found that the dining package and drinks package were a must, and saved us a fortune. Service throughout the ship is excellent. The food in the restaurants is good, but in the buffet OK but not great. Plenty of choice but not much thought put into what they serve, as it seems to be the same stuff every day. We would have hoped that they would have some sort of choice depending on where you were that day for example Greek salads and moussaka when in Greece, when in Florence, A nice lasagne would have been good. When in Napoli the home of The Margarita Pizza and Capri, the home of the capriciosa pizza, all we got were generic pepperoni, a cheese pizza, and a meatball pizza all of which were ok but pretty much run of the mill and the same stuff catering for the standard American tastes every day. The ships Bars, lounges and restaurants and excellent and catered for all tastes. There is even an art auction, A great casino, where you can win or lose a fortune, and get a lung full of second hand cigarette smoke. The pools are quite small and were always packed. The pool area was always a lively (noisy) place with loud music. Oddly there is a basketball court which we never saw used and seemed to be such a waste of space where there could have been a quiet sunbathing area or something . There are other ‘quieter’ sunbathing areas but you could always hear the noise from the pool area Dress code is extremely relaxed and it was not uncommon to see people in wet bathing costumes and wrapped in a towel in the buffet area despite signs advising this was not allowed. Also, shorts and casual wear appeared to be allowed in the dining rooms. It was strange to see some very elegantly dressed people sitting on a table next to a bunch of guys who looked liked they had just come off a sports pitch. Entertainment very varied both in variety and quality. Dennis a Great covers singer/guitarist Dave the great pianist and OK singer and a talented classical string Trio oddly called the ‘four’ strings Again with the ‘not much thought goes into it’ theme. The excellent classical trio could quickly empty or change the mood of the lively Irish themed sports bar O’Sheehans. Shore excursions were quite expensive and varied in quality For example a trip to Capri cost us about $200for two of us and was basically a ferry ticket and a transfer to ferry terminal (500 metres away), where the trip to Florence which cost Just a little more included a 90 minute coach tour each way with a very knowledgeable guide who gave a very detailed tours the history etc. of the surrounding area , a demonstaration of making leather goods and walking tour. I didn’t like the fact that when we visited Dubrovnik we were charged $15 each for a shuttle bus laid on by NCL because they couldn’t anchor in the old town as other ships could. You had two choices, you paid it or stayed in the Port. Private Taxis were extortionate. My gripe here is that other places were advertised as the ports and not the resort. For example, Port of Livorno for Florence and Pisa, Port of Civtaveccia for Rome etc. For these I think it is reasonable to pay for a transfer, but if it is advertised as Dubrovnik, why should you pay because the ship had to dock a 30 minute drive away TIPPING POLICY A $15 per passenger per day service charge is added, which seems quite a lot of money NCL say that this is to ensure that all of the crew get a share of the tips including behind the scenes staff such as cleaners etc I think that this is great as they all provide an essential service. All off the staff work very hard and very long hours 7 days a week. It was only towards the end of the cruise that we found out that it is company policy that beverage staff (Barmen and drinks waiters) were not included in this. Once we found out about this we started tipping them heavily to make up for the lack of tips earlier, The change in the service was very noticeable indeed and quite comical when they actually appeared to be competing with each other to serve us. We enjoyed our cruise with NCL but will probably try some other cruise lines next Read Less

Chose this trip for the itinerary as we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. The cabin was fine, but the food was not up to par when compared with other cruises we’ve taken. There was plenty of it and the soft serve was very good, but we expected some special dining nights, like filet or lobster but that didn’t happen. Too much a la carte everything, didn’t care for the automatic $15.00 per person, per day tipping policy. I ordered the specialty drink of the day which happened to be a Mai Tai, it was the worst drink I’ve ever had! There was a tiny bit of rum, lime juice and cinnamon which isn’t even close to the proper Mai Tai cocktail. We ate in the Summer Palace one night and the service was so slow that we missed the first show at 7:30, we had been seated at 6:00. When we wanted to sit by the pool, people had already “reserved” their loungers by throwing towels on the chairs but as we observed most didn’t actually use the chairs. The staff wasn’t particularly helpful when trying to find 2 seats together. I would only recommend this cruise for the Mediterranean itinerary, maybe if you purchased the drink package you wouldn’t care about the mediocre food and entertainment. Read Less

We recently cruised from Venice to Rome via the med. The ship was clean which was great, we were also the only ship to visit Mykonos and Santorini, it was extremely windy and 3 others ships chose not to go there. Santorini is such a flying visit that’s it hardly worth it, also it was busy with just our ship, I’d hate to be there when there are others ships too. The biggest disappointment was the food on board, it was just average. We had a specialty dining package where we went to 4 specialty restaurants, only 2 were any good in our opinion, definitely glad I wasn’t paying for it. Staff were not fantastic for the first half of the cruise, for whatever reason they became more approachable and friendly the second half. I did find it strange that vapping appeared to be permitted on the pool deck, even near the food. Read Less

We always wanted to do a cruise to Venice and the Greek Islands. Norwegian offered this cruise which suited us perfectly. The ship and crew were great. Great food lots of restaurants to choose from. Cabins 9076 was great with a great guy who cleaned up our room every day. Lots of bars to choose from. Also great entertainment in the Stardust Theatre. Shore excursions were great but found them a little expensive. We would definitely choose Norwegian again. Great trip. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. Found the crew very friendly and helpful. Great choice of single entertainers. Ship was very stable no rocking. Seemed very organized when tendering the passengers to places that the ship could not port. Very pleased the captain went into Santorinni even though it was very windy and other ships cancelled. That was one highlight of the trip. Also great port to start out in as we went 2days in advance to Venice. Really enjoyed it. Read Less

I'm surprised there were so many poor reviews of this cruise-ship as my husband and I thought it was amazing! Perhaps b/c the cruise contains primarily older people (>50years) they are less impressed or adaptable? My husband and I are in our 30's, we stayed in a room with a port window on the bottom deck but still found this trip amazing. The ship was very clean including our staterooms.. The staff were professional, warm, and welcoming, and efficient with all services. We thought all dinning options (exception of the sushi/lotus-garden) were delicious - even the daily buffet had a lot of variety and good quality food. The on/off for shore excursions were well organized. We were disappointed in the limited amount of time we had on Santorini - it was only 4 hours but we could have used 8. The entertainment was good but not great (we loved the solo violinist!). We would definitely recommend this cruise to anyone. Read Less

We loved this cruise, it was our first time . The room, the food, the entertainment, the service, all the specialty restaurants, fantastic... met some wonderful Aussi’s , and people from all over ! Loved the itinerary and all the tours we did .. We used Italytours for 3 of our tours and they were great especially Lucca, Ludo our tour guide in Pompei..... we are now looking forward to cruising somewhere again ........ Definitely go see all the entertainment that is offered its great .... We had dinner in almost all of the restaurants that were offered ! Loved hanging in the Atrium for cocktails, people watching and getting info on your next port . My dream trip was to sail the Greek islands and it certainly didn’t disappoint me, yes I would have loved to have spent more time in some of the places like Santorini and Mykonos..... My husbands favourite place was Pompei...... Read Less

My husband and I have cruised on RCL and HAL many times, first time picking NCL which we did because of the itinerary! (We wanted to start in Venice !) This was our 3rd time cruising to the Mediterranean, first time on NCL. Went with friends who were first time cruisers to celebrate our 60th birthdays. I was a bit worried after reading the terrible reviews, and hearing about the ships mechanical difficulties, however I am very happy to report that the Pearl surpassed my expectations, and we had a very enjoyable holiday. We had a midship 9th floor balcony stateroom with adjoining rooms that was very clean, roomy and comfortable for the time we spent in it. A balcony is a must have on this type of cruise as it was a perfect place to have before dinner drinks as we watched the ship sail away from our beautiful ports and to have quiet time to relax and read when needed! We made 7:30 pm reservations before we sailed in the Summer Palace Dining Room and really enjoyed the food, service and venue. Having made the reservation prior to departure was a good decision for us, with no wait lines as well as a nice routine that we enjoyed. Even though I enjoyed the food, I would have to agree that the food on HAL offered more seafood and soup options. On two evenings we cancelled the Summer Palace (the guys wanted to wear more casual clothes for dinner) and ate instead at the Lotus Garden and O'Sheenans, which were both good choices. We were very pleased with all of the choices at the breakfast and lunch buffet, and had no problems finding tables for the 4 of us. This was a very busy itinerary, with only 1 sea day. We never had a problem getting the loungers that we wanted around the pool deck, and on the sea day we weren't able to sit together, but that was ok. The pool area was never busy, and I was able to sit around the pool and enjoy a refreshing swim almost every day upon return from our port adventures. At first it was annoying that we couldn't have our drinks with us sitting at the pool, but the guard on duty was accommodating and we able to work it out without difficulty. We went with the drink plan option and even though there was an upfront cost, we think it worked out to our advantage and made ordering wine for dinner, and all other drinks worry free. I especially enjoyed the mango meltdown! I can't believe that previous reviews were critical of the ports and tenders. All of the ports were amazing (even though this was my 3rd time at most of them I was awe struck by their beauty). Thorough research ahead is the key to enjoying these busy places! We booked 3 cruise line tours (Cabrio Dubrovnik, Kayaking in Kotor, Transportation to Pompeii) and were very happy with them all. On my own, I booked ahead, skip the line tickets at the Acropolis, Pompeii and the Colesseum and planned the best transportation way to get to each of them. We took city buses, trains, taxis and metros when available and made sure to check out prices and directions to get them before I left home. I also prebooked a taxi to pick us up at disembarkation in Civiteveccia, and at our Airbnb in Rome to the airport. We did attend the cruise port talk and I was disappointed as the focus was mainly on cruise tours, where on HAL you are given information of each port plus a map on doing it on your own. Luckily I was more than prepared but many other cruisers found the ports challenging if they hoped to wing it!! I was also very pleased that the Pearl made every port, while other ships cancelled due to windy conditions. This certainly helped reduce the number of people in port and we got to see all that we hoped. I would have liked more time in Santorini, and am not sure why this port of call was so short, especially since the tenders and cable car lineups take away from your time touring. We found the ship to be in excellent condition, enjoyed the variety of bars and lounges, had fun at the 10:30 dance parties, and attended a few of the shows that were good. Overall, this 3rd sailing for us in the Mediterranean was just as special and amazing as the first 2 which were on the HAL ships. Read Less

I liked the itinerary of this cruise and it did prove to be wonderful. However, our experience on board was less then stellar! Service was downright bad! Everyone already has their tips so why bother giving us a great experience. Nobody on this ship is putting in any effort. Restaurants in particular had horrible food and horrible service! I did not have a hot meal in 11 days. It came to the point it was not worth going to dinning room and waiting for the inferior service and food. When a buffet is better then your dinning room.... you have a problem! Want room service? Sure.... pay for it! You want to go to specialty restaurants? Sure, going to cost you prices on the menu or a 40.00 up charge ( these restaurants were not much better and service was terrible! We did not even get luggage tags in cabin... had to go get them. The tours are like hurdling cattle. And some where nothing but a bus ride at 100 a person. Just a bad cruise experience. I have been a latitudes member for years but will never travel NCL again. Read Less

I booked this cruise because of the itinerary ( which was great). That being said I was very dissapoinedwithe the food and the entertainment I’ve been on many cruises and have never experienced such a poor choice of options in the dining room as well as the buffet. I only ate in the dining room 2 times for dinner and the buffet options did not suit my taste at all. The shows were disappointing as well Six out of the 10 nights were the same entertainers: a very bad magician ,a violinist and an operetta group. The other night shows were good The ship was very clean and most of the staff was efficient with the exception of my room steward wh was less than attentive and failed to do normal steward requirements. I think the captain did an outstanding job in getting us to the Greek island ports. It was very windy and our ship was the only one out of 5 to make it in. Read Less

I chose the cruise because of the itinerary, which was very good. The food was horrible. I mean, the specialty restaurants were good, but you should not have to pay more to get a decent meal. In O'Sheenans, they can't make a good hot dog, a hot dog, not joking. The bar staff was good, Emerson and Danno espeically, Also, KK was very nice. The ship was okay, simlar to others. I thought the sailing crew did a good job and the maintenance on the boat was definitly up to snuff. It was clean and they were always painting something. Other than the food, the reservations people are just incompetent. Sorry, no other way to say it. They got our reservations wrong so many times I lost count. And yes, after weeks of problems a supervisor did try to make it up to us by giving us a ship credit, which was appreciated, but the problems continued. Also, it took 60 or so phone calls, inumerable emails and a dozen hours of my time to get it fixed....so, what they gave me was appreciagted, but it was not a fair exchange for what they put me through. The bottom line is the Norewegian staff doesn't know their own rules and if you rely on what they say, you will be punishied. I know I was and in the end, they admitted they were wrong but just couldn't do anything more to help. They seemed frustrated by their own incompetence and just could not wait for my trip to be over. Food and customer service (reservations staff primarily) was very bad, but other than that I guess it was an average cruise performance. I spent a lot of money for a lot of frustration; won't do it again, not on the Pearl and likley not ever with Norwegian again. Read Less

I chose this cruise because it knocked out many places in a short amount of time. We had never been to europe and were eager to use the help of a cruise to get us to various places. However, the ship was small, overcrowded, and the guest services team was terrible. The food was decent, the pool was terrible, salt water and freezing, hot tubs were closed one of the days for unknown reasons. The casino was the saving grace. It was a long cruise, with a poor guest services staff. The excursions were also poorly planned. We would have been better off finding our own excursions. Poor communication from the excursions teams on how we would get to destination, should we pack snacks, what is the exact itinerary. Cabin was fine, we had a balcony, so did not feel stuffy. Not a good idea for a honeymoon. Most people were couples celebrating 50th birthdays. Read Less

Took this cruise because only thing with good itinerary and schedule. Concerned because Carnival competitor, but okay overall. Great ports, but 4 tenders. Process for tender tickets inefficient, Required somebody getting up before 6 to get in line . However, kudos for captain for getting us into Mykonos when other ships didn't try. Ship was in good shape, and pleasant. Didn't have higher end fell like HAL or Celebrity. But did have more quiet inside spaces than on Celebrity Reflection. Balcony room decent size. Clever bathroom design. Senior crew was very accessible. E.g. Captain and Hotel Manager spent 20 minutes at CC meet-and-great. Excellent house-keeping. Otherwise service acceptable, but not good. Disembarkation not smooth Food in steakhouse and french was excellent. Brazilian mediocre. Everything else--so/so. Entertainment--good Overall-- OK ship, and loved itinerary. Compared to prior cruises, much better than Carnival (not hard to do). Definitely not as good as HAL or Celebrity. Wouldn't use NCL if HAL or Celebrity running similar route. It doesn't cost that much more to go with nicer line. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the great itinerary and I would highly recommend most of these ports to anybody. Second time cruising but the first was only a 3 day cruise and that was long ago. GOOD: 1. We loved most of these ports as they offered a little bit something different in each one, they all had incredible beauty and history. 2. We had an ocean view cabin which was a decent size, very comfortable bed, excellent service in the twice daily room cleaning. Much better than I thought a cruise cabin would be. 3. We really loved the starting port of Barcelona and would highly recommend that people get there a few days prior to the cruise to fully enjoy this lovely city. I wish we had a few more days here. 4. Most of our excursions were very good. We booked a couple with Norwegian and a couple with Costco. We booked: Florence & Wine tasting at a castle, Historic Kotor & Budva, Game Of Thrones Tour in Dubrovnik, Oia wine tasting tour in Santorini port. The Oia tour was OK but really loved the other 3 tours. 5. Embarking and disembarking went fairly smooth at the start and finish. NOT SO GOOD: 1. There seemed to some issues with the Tendering type of ports. Not sure if this a problem with all cruises or just this particular cruise. It seemed to take a long time to get off and back in some of the ports. 2. The food and service seemed to be hit or miss on the Pearl. The people we were with were experienced in cruising and thought the dinner offerings were not as good as other cruises they had been on. 3. The entertainment was a bit hit or miss as well. We enjoyed most of the acts. 4. As a few people have mentioned, the pool seems to run like some Mexican resorts in that some people come very early and place items on chairs and then leave for several hours. Mostly stayed away from the pools due to empty seats being used this way. RESULT: We loved the itinerary and picked this cruise mainly for that reason so I enjoyed this cruise but am not sure that I would pick NCL again or even opt for cruising again. Read Less

We chose this cruise as our honeymoon cruise because of the itinerary mainly that it started in Barcelona with a wide variety of stops from Monaco to Mykonos. Embarkation had a slight glitch as the ship's systems went down temporarily, but it didn't take long for us to get into the ship. The ship is not very big and it was easy to figure out where we were going. The ship's newsletter was very helpful in telling us of the day's activities, although I felt like I was the only one carrying it. May be most everybody else was using the app. The entertainment was decent with some good singers and the acrobats were amazing. The magician was just Ok. I say the ship's crew show gave the paid entertainer pros a run for the money. The Funky Roots were the resident band and they were ok at best. The comedy shows and games were good. Most days we were on port so we didn't see most of the ship activities during the day, but on sea days getting a chair by the pool was horrendous, and the art auction was a total disappointment. Don't go to that. We passed by the casino. I say totally rigged including a machine where you could win a whole bunch of dollars. The spa was decent though overpriced. My husband and I got good facials and the massages were good and of course they tried to up sell us with product. I wished they had more basic language classes. They had one for Italian but it was very cursory. The internet packages are not good so I tried using my cellphone on land to check email. The buffet food for breakfast always had the same choices. I tried different things to have a variety. One morning we had the continental breakfast sent to our room. Not bad though you have to pay a surcharge. The complementary lunches and dinners were good for the most part, The Lotus Garden been the best both with its menu and level of service. O'Sheehan's was a disappointment. There was a rude server, though we complained and the ship gave us a complementary dinner. Moderno Brazilian and Cagney's Steak specialty restaurants are excellent, but of course you pay extra. We used the ship's shore excursions 3 times: in Monaco, Rome and Dubrovnik and all three were good. We joined with an independent small group cruise in Florence/Pisa and in Montenegro and that was good too. We went to a beach in Mykonos and a volcano in Santorini. Tendered in three ports and we had to get up at the crack of dawn to get the tender tickets not good when you are not in your time zone. Disembarkation was a total mess. Nobody seemed to have a clue as to where the lines were and when to get off the ship. No guidance from the ship as to what water bus to take to get to Venice. Overall, we would definitely go again. We joined with a Cruise Roll Call group and met some very nice people. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary.First time to Europe and enjoyed every minute! The ship was very nice and clean. the food on the buffet was pretty good depending on what you ate. The restaurants were very good especially the Japanese. What a great time! the entertainment was very good. We had a balcony stateroom which was nice. I would recommend this cruise. All the crew were very cheerful!! We didn't take a tour at all the ports but chose 3 we really wanted and the rest did on our own. It worked out quite well. We had to take tenders from the ship to shore for most ports. They went smoothly and would run all day until just before departure. The days we were at sea it was difficult to get a lounge out by the pool ( unless you were out there early in the morning).Even on the upper deck most lounges were taken. I would recommend claiming your lounge early! Read Less

We had been on the Getaway Baltic Cruise and loved it. The Ship is run very well. The food was great, getting on and off the ship was easy. The Pearl is like a whole different line.It's like the dollar store of cruise ships. The bartenders and servers are great. The food is not. The first day and last day is pretty good. Every other day is hit or miss. Mostly miss. I have been on many cruise lines and ships and this is by far the worst experience. You have to taken tenders to shore in a lot of the cities. They don't open the windows so it's 100 degrees on the tenders. By the end of the cruise half the ship was sick and I think it's because of the tenders. A lot of people were coughing and in the closed space everyone was breathing it. Why they didn't open the windows is the real question. You have to take buses and trains into most cities. So the price you pay for the cruise is not what you end up paying. The Pearl is a terrible ship. The pool chairs are so close to gather you have to turn side ways to walk thru. If your on the back row the waiters and waitress's are afraid of falling so it's hard to get a drink. A lady fell so hard her foot got hung. It took15 to 20 minutes before the medical person came. She was in bad shape. I'm sure she had to leave the ship. I saw all the bad reviews about the pearl but since we had been on the Getaway by Norwegian we thought it was ok. Worst mistake. I could go on for days on all the mistakes and short cuts. Read Less

This ship is a bit older but still nice. The food and service however are not the food is horrible and service not much better. Buffet was small food always cold and selection always the same hot dogs hamburgers baked beans curry dishes. Salad selection was so small. Had ribs one night awful. Went to restaurant three of the ten nights one night it was so bad I sent it back and went to our room hungry. Bacon at breakfast buffet was so hard it would break a tooth. Pastry was ok so stuck with that for breakfast how can you make a mess of that. We had only one meal in the pay extra dining room Monderno the Brazilian dining which was good to the tune of $200.00. Nice that the only food that was enjoyable I needed to pay extra for. Makes you think hmmm do they make the food so bad that you have to buy the food package. This cruise was nickel and dime all the way you pay for everything on this boat don’t forget your wallet that sea-pass is going to be expensive. Charge to bring your pre paid drink to you tip on that as well 15.00 per day per person in the cabin for tip for staff. Our room was four people $60.00 per day. If staff were good helpful or at least friendly maybe but what insensitive do you have to be nice and good at your job when you are adding the tip to the bill automatically. Tipping is up to me and for good service. It is a privilege not a right you earn tips don’t just bill me for them so you can charge it to my credit card that you have on file for any extras that are legitimate. I need to say that Vladimir our room Stewart was nice and worked hard we did leave him a tip and a bottle of wine and thanked him very much for everything. Entertainment was not great just ok. I would really say I would not choice Norwegian again I will go back to Royal Caribbean food was always good as was the service. I picked Norwegian Pearl for the ports thru reading reviews I was expecting food and service to be less than perfect but it was far worse than I expected. Read Less

We selected this cruise as it visited the many ports that we were keen to visit on our first visit to the mediterranean which was also our first cruise as well ! We arrived in the departure city of Barcelona 2 nights prior to the cruise commencing which provided us time to explore the city and visit the many sights ( including the Sagrada Familia which is the number one tourist attraction i think in barcelona - absolutely magnificent ) Embarkation was a relatively easy process and once onboard we easily located our cabin and then proceeded to explore the ship .( please see details about our cabin further in the review ) Our luggage was delivered within a couple of hours of us arriving on board. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole cruising experience and the Pearl was fantastic The food was wonderful, we choose the buffet for breakfast which whilst is very busy we usually found a table easily enough and enjoyed the many different options for breaky including cereals, fruits, omelettes eggs etc etc . Lunch ( or upon return to the ship following a port excursion as food is available till 5 pm each day - could eat all day if you wished ) was either from the great outdoors or the buffet again which offered fantastic variety of foods - we usually choose a toasted sandwich or pizza with fantastic salads but you could eat anything and everything at lunch. The soft serve ice cream along with the scoop ice cream where both fabulous . We didn't have a speciality dining package so chose to eat at either summer palace or Indigo which both offered sit down dining with a menu that offered different options each night . We really enjoyed the free style dining on Norwegian where you could eat at any time up to 10pm ( we usually booked a table using the app then you didn't need to wait ) the food was fabulous and we enjoyed each meal, service was also great. There were numerous entertainment options offered from performances in the theatre, a band around the pool and later on in on of the entertainment lounges, plus vocalists and also instrumental groups and also a casino - something for anyone and everyone from the young who wished to party late at night to those who just wanted to enjoy a show. We watched a few shows in the theatre and they were all enjoyable and in particular the one on the last night was exceptional - the dancers were magnificent ! There were also numerous activities offered once again to suit all ages and i'm sure you would find something to fill in the time if needed . we did use the gym which was large and had many machines ( bikes etc) available for everyone to use. We spent our at sea days by the pools and whilst there were many people also enjoying the sun loungers we didn't have any trouble finding a sun lounger. The pools aren't particularly large but not every one wants to swim which is good. We found the service to be exemplary. Feedback was always being sought and we found if you were not happy with any service the staff did what ever they could to ensure you were listened to .. We did one norwegian shore excursion to Kotor which was very disappointing and used 3 independent tour operators for tours of Rome, Florence and santorini and i think these were more enjoyable - small groups , more opportunity to ask questions and meet fellow cruisers We joined a cruise critic roll call for our cruise which was a great way to meet people and we also joined a couple of tours thru this group . The ship was very clean and there were many hand sanitisers available and when entering all the dining rooms there was a staff member there who provided a sanitiser spray for your hands. Some of the ports we visited were tender ports which once you have obtained your tender tickets works quite well, obviously if the ship docks in port this is the preferred option but as we visited many smaller ports ( monte carlo, santorini, mykonos, kotor ) tender was the way to go. One thing to keep in mind , you arrive in the ports early (7am) so the days can be long and we eagerly looked forward to the two at sea days we had on our cruise for some relaxing. Disembarkation was not a particularly pleasant experience, long lines to leave the ship and as we finished the cruise in venice, actually getting from the ship to our hotel by boat taxi was a nightmare really ... couple of tips.. select the earliest possible time to disembark and if there is an option to have your luggage delivered to your hotel i suggest you take it . Just my hubby and i travelled on this cruise ( we are in our mid 50s and regular travellers) and whilst there were a few children around they seemed to be entertained in the kids club. If we decide to cruise again we would choose Norwegian without a doubt ... we chatted to many other cruisers and many had cruised on other lines but all seemed to recommend norwegian and the flexibility in dining was one of the reasons. Read Less

I love the itinerary , has lots of places to visit. Ship is average , food in the restaurant average and nothing special. They have same menu all day and they just rotate the menu from different restaurant. Buffet not much selection, you’ll have the same breakfast every day. Entertainment very poor as they don’t have enough entertainment. Music entertainment should be all day. Performers are average, nothing special in their shows. They should have different shows with all age levels.Room is good size and bathroom is good as it has separate shower and toilet. Cleanliness in the room is very good and always making sure that everything is taken cared off. Waiters were excellent, they were always around to remove empty glasses and plates. Staff who is in charge for entertainment should be creative enough to research new shows and pick and hire performers who are lively/ energetic performers. I would like to give commendation to the two Filipino waiters in the buffet (the washy, washy) , they make your day sunny. I would like to give very good commendations to all the waiters who work hard to make our vacations fulfilled. Read Less