I booked this cruise almost a year in advance when other recommended cruise lines were already 'wait listing' balcony rooms. I definitely wanted to leave and return to same port. NCL filled the bill so I booked with my local travel agent who was somewhat skeptical. She does not like the concept of a surcharge for 'specialty dining.' AFTER booking, I started reading reviews and alot were very negative. The wait was too long for main dining rooms, hard to get a drink, and more. I must say I got a little nervous, but decided to live with my decision.

Our cruise was wonderful. Norwegian Pearl is a lovely, clean ship with activities for all. The staff is very friendly and so well groomed. My daughter's family came with us including an 8 and 10 year old. The KIDS CLUB is fantastic! The care givers there clearly LOVED children and the kids put on a really cute show the last day. We had trouble getting our grandkids out of there to even eat!

We did use the specialty restaurants a fair amount(cost ranging from $10 to 25 pp, children half price,) but never had much of a wait for main dining room if we chose to eat there. The larger one, Summer Palace, is quite lovely and for lunch had the best Cobb salad I've ever tasted. There are so many bars/cocktail lounges on this ship, if someone couldn't get a drink, they must have had blinders on. Read more