Ok, the first time I went on a cruise, I sailed on the NCL Dawn with my new wife. It was then that I fell in love with cruising. However, since then, we have sailed on a number of other cruise lines and I must say I have been spoiled. In any event, we wanted to go to the Panama Canal at around the time of this cruise, so we decided to give the NCL Pearl a chance. We booked the aft, starboard suite because we enjoy the view and the amenities of a suite.

Overall, it was a good cruise. The shows are just amazing on NCL lines. We pretty much enjoyed each night. In addition, the games and bingo get-togethers during sea days were fun.

However, the main dining rooms - the Summer Palace and Indigo - are spotty at best. We had wonderful service in each of these restaurants at least a night each, and then horrible service the rest of the time. Oftentimes, we would just head up to the buffet to grab something to snack on. The meals in the main dining rooms all sounded impressive, but, other than one or two entrees, they were generally bland or overcooked. We did submit comment cards when we enjoyed a meal or when we had issues; however, we were never contacted back about our thoughts, even though requested. Read more