Norwegian Pearl Review
First time cruising - just enjoyed the vacation
Rating by category
Additional details
This was a good itinerary (Harvest Caye Belize, Costa Maya Mexico, Roatan Honduras, George Town Grand Cayman) on a nice sized ship for a first cruise. This trip worked well into our schedule as it was during our school March Break so my wife was able to take a break without having to book vacation time (very difficult when you work in a school). Lots of activities on board, lots to see and do if wanted, good shore excursions offered and the chance to get away for a week with no worries.
Embarkation was a cattle call. I have not experienced something quite so painful in many years, however given the number of guests trying to get on board in such a short time, I guess I should have expected it. The queues for getting through security were way over the top - the terminal in Tampa is not well configured or equipped to handle the number of people going through security. Checking in was a breeze compared to 45 minutes getting through security.
Once on board, getting to our cabin was fairly easy, however the maps for the cabin decks have the floorplans reversed which caused us to go the wrong way (this happened frequently when going to a new part of the ship). Accurate / more signage would have been helpful for us first timers, or something sent to us prior to embarkation advising us where we would be getting on the ship and the embarkation process so that we know what to expect. Once we had made it to our cabin, the trip seemed to get better. After the muster call, we toured the ship to orient ourselves and found most of the maps helpful, even though they are sometimes reversed.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Inside
Cabin was adequate. Lots of storage for a small space. Everything was well thought out and worked well. It would have been nice if the bathroom outlet was a bit lower down so that we could have plugged in a night light (inside cabins are very dark). Decor was nice and the room was clean and kept up very well by our steward Miguel.
Port Reviews
Tampa
Terminal was not a fun place. Poorly designed for the number of people and what was required for getting on a ship. I would seriously consider a different port for our next cruise.
Harvest Caye
We had a land excursion so had to take a shuttle from Harvest Caye to Belize. Shuttle port seemed poorly organized and chaotic. Transportation and excursion went well as did the trip back to the ship. All the facilities on Harvest Caye seemed very expensive and there was very high pressure from all the vendors to buy.