Our grandson really wanted to see Alaska and we chose Pearl because we wanted him to see Glacier Bay. We also took his cousin along. She was equally excited. Because of the age difference we chose the two bedroom suite which was our first experience with a suite. We had been on the Pearl before long ago, through the Panama. The updates to the ship were good. The big surprise was the number of young children on the ship. Our two do not do the youth programs, so can't comment on that. Our send off was wonderful. We were out on deck in a hot tub with great music and lots of excitement. This was our third trip to Alaska and we were surprised to see how much growth has happened in all the ports we visited. We had booked excursions through the ship everywhere and the ship canceled one before sail date so we had to book privately for that one. All the rest were good, although we had terrible weather on our Yukon one so didn't get the beautiful sights we are used to. No fault of the cruise. Getting on and off the ship was extremely easy, less than 15 minutes for both of them. Our cabin choice was perfect for us and would highly recommend it. So much room. We didn't use half the cupboards. Our butler was amazing as was everyone in the restaurants. The two things we were disappointed in was Moderno's dinner. We love Moderno, but for some reason the meats and chicken were dry and the salad buffet was not as big as the ones on Getaway. Unusual for Modern. Le Bistro beat out Cagney's this trip for quality of dinner and service. That too was unusual although those are always our favorite two restaurants. We did go to Summer Palace and enjoyed it very much. We only went to the buffet once and the food was fine, but getting a table was a nightmare. With the cold weather, it was absolutely packed. Very few even went out on the deck at all as we had so much wind. The seats in the theater are much more comfortable than those in the Getaway/Breakaway. The shows were just okay. except for the Russian aerialist/dancer/singer couple. They were the only ones to get a standing ovation, well deserved. We could have watched them over and over. Took me three days to track down the computer guy to get onto my wifi. Alaska is a busy place and our schedules didn't coincide. Once I finally got on, it worked well. In a suite you are given a phone for the kids to take with them all over the ship so they can call in or you can call them. Great addition. The afternoon treats the butler brought were wonderfully varied and lots of fun to see and enjoy. We may have to book a suite again after this wonderful experience. Had to wait to go bowling too, but it is almost like a regular bowling lane and very fun.