We actually booked this cruise on something of a whim. It was somewhat disappointing compared to what we had come to expect from NCL, but overall still a good time.
The embarkation was a nightmare, but I understand that the Pearl crew had nothing to do with that. We arrived a little later than we usually do, and the line to get through security was incredibly long and slow moving. We have taken several cruises out of New Orleans before, and never encountered such a slow line. After we got through security, there were no signs pointing to where Platinum status cruisers should get in line to register, and we had to hunt it down.
We booked a Sailaway Oceanview cabin, so I cannot complain about the midship porthole cabin we got on deck 5.
OK for what it was, though we will probably go back to booking balconies for future cruises. This one was kind of on a whim.