There have been many reviews on this board already about NCL and in particular the Pearl so I will try and focus this review on our opinions compared to what we expected based on all the reviews read pre cruise. We have previously cruised Celebrity, Princess MSC, and P&O as base for our comparison although in fairness only Princess with our then 3 yr old daughter.(funny how kids change your preferences)

We chose this cruise and NCL as we wanted something a bit different and were cruising with our now 6 yr daughter and 2 year old boy. Process of elimination meant either Carnival or NCL for 2 year old allowed into kids club. Other cruise lines require 3 years at sailing.

As this itinerary is only conducted twice a year I won't focus much on the particular ports other than to say the P Canal was fascinating and a must do on your bucket list. We preferred the Mexican ports vs Costa Rica or Columbia but that is a personal preference and probably influenced by ease of visitation with two young children in tow. Huatulco is a really nice and emerging resort town right at the dock which is a nice relaxing day. Read more