Visiting Alaska was one of my dreams for many years. My daughters and their husbands also wanted to go so we decided on a family vacation. We chose the Pearl because of the friendly attitude they displayed toward accepting my young grandson on the tour. He is only seven months old and some lines did not work much with us in setting up the details needed for him to travel. Norwegian was most cooperative and fair in making those arrangements. We also wanted a ship that cruised Glacier Bay so the Pearl was an excellent choice for us.

We made our own travel arrangements to Seattle and chose to fly in two days early so we could visit Mt. Rainier. We arrived at the port at noon and had a remarkably easy embarkation process. We gave our luggage to the check-in porters, entered the main port, and proceeded to agents set up to expedite the process. We were on the ship in less than 30 minutes and able to go to our cabins immediately so we could drop off our carry-on luggage. No having to carry it around the ship while the cabins were being readied.

Our stateroom was perfect. We had a small cove or hull balcony, plenty of storage, a nice bathroom, and a very comfortable bed. Everything was spotless, and Wilson, our cabin steward, kept it that way the entire week. My daughters also had cabins with balconies, and my grandson's pack and play was in the cabin for him shortly after we boarded the ship. Read more