I received a Total Rewards voucher for a cruise for two and chose the Alaska cruise because we lived in Alaska for 20 years and have been away from it for the last three. We knew in advance what the scenery and climate would be like, and we were looking forward to it. I chose the Norwegian Pearl because the itinerary had the sea days first and the Inside Passage second for the dates we chose (May 29-Jun 5), and I thought the sea days would go by faster at the beginning while we were still busy exploring the ship and learning the ropes as first time cruisers. We had a forward deck inside cabin on the 10th floor, and the lack of windows was perfect for a sound sleep each night. We spent little time in the room otherwise, so the size and storage space we found quite adequate for my husband and I, and in our room noise was not a problem.

We found the crew to be kind, hardworking, and very eager to please, and we felt welcome everywhere we went. Our cabin was clean, and our cabin attendant was very responsive to any requests.

We ate four dinners in specialty restaurants: Moderno, Cagney's, Teppanyaki, and a repeat for Cagney's. We had reserved La Cucina as our 4th, but Cagney's was so good we decided to go twice. We also ate in the Summer Palace, Indigo, Topsiders, twice at the outdoor barbecues, and in the Garden Cafe, both inside and out. We were pleased with all the food and with the service. I've seen some complaints about the food in these reviews, but I think considering the fact that the ship was providing non-stop food to around 2000 passengers and another 1000 crew members for 7 days, in addition to cooking and cleaning up after each of those people, that they did a remarkable job and are to be highly commended. We never had trouble finding a seat in the buffet, but that may be because we tried to sensibly avoid the "rush hours" for our meals, just as we do when we are dining out at home. Read more