Norwegian Pearl Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,401 reviews

Just Mediocre

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Pearl
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angelikaathana
First Time Cruiser • Age 30s

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Sail Date: Jul 2019
Cabin: Oceanview Porthole Window

My husband and I did this cruise this summer and we did not think it was anything special. I am a well-traveled individual, but I thought I would try something different. Unfortunately, it just confirmed every hesitation that I ever had about cruises. You are on some else's schedule and you really do not have anytime to experience any culture (except American culture, of course). On top of that, it felt as though everything was a money grab. You could not do the most basic activities without having to pay an arm and a leg. That being said, it was essential to do activities on the ship to prevent yourself from dying of boredom. Additionally, for a ship with thousands of guests, the pool was very small. We barely spent any time by the pool because of how crowded it always was, which was very disappointing. On a more positive note, I will say that the food was pretty good, the staff were very friendly and the gym was very nice. However, I believe you can have a way better trip if you just plan it yourself. I understand that people are suckers for the convenience of having everything planned for them, but it really does not take that much more effort to plan a trip and save more than half the money spent on this cruise. There is a price to laziness after all. To conclude I would only recommend this cruise if you have multiple children and want to see Europe or if you are above the age of 65.

Cabin Review

Oceanview Porthole Window

Cabin OG

I was content with the size and cleanliness of the cabin. The bed was comfortable, but the sheets had a funky smell to them even after we asked to have them washed.

Port Reviews

Rome (Civitavecchia)

The fact that his was the start and end of the cruise was forgiving because it is not close to Rome. If this was a stop in the middle of the cruise it would be very disappointing having to commute far to Rome as there a lot to see in Rome in general.

Santorini

This is an amazing island and a day is sufficient (even though you will want to stay longer). My only critique is that the tendering process should be more organized so that people can actually get off the ship on time. The fact that we have so little time in each place makes guests very stressed and agitated when the cruise causes delays.

Mykonos

Again, amazing island and a day is sufficient even though you will want to stay longer. The ship was able to doc right on shore, which was convenient for guests. Also, the ship provided complimentary shuttles to downtown for this stop, which was courteous and not the case for other stops.

Kotor

Again, we had to tender, which delayed the process, but a day in Kotor is sufficient.

Dubrovnik

The cruise offered 15 USD each to take people by bus to the old town. In my opinion, transportation should have been covered by the cruise. It was also incredibly overpriced because my husband and I took the city bus for 3 USD each round trip instead and it was a fairly short ride.

Taormina (Messina)

The cruise advertises Taormina, but this is actually 2 hours away from Messina. There is nothing special about Messina, so I highly advise you to go to Taormina, but the commute takes a good chunk out of your day.

Naples

Naples is not the most attractive city, I would not recommend staying there. Most people do day trips to Sorrento, Pompeii and other more appealing cities close by. This may be the only place where I recommend the cruise excursion. It is expensive but the cruise offers an excursion where you can do Sorrento and Pompeii in one day. We tried to do this on our own via metro and train, but we were only able to do Pompeii because it took to long to travel between cities this way in the time frame we were given.

Florence (Livorno)

Again, the stop is advertised as Florence, but Florence is actually an hour and half from Livorno so this has to be factored into your trip. The cruise arranged for buses to take us into the Livorno city centre for 5 USD each, which was more reasonable this time. From the city centre we were able to quickly bus to the train station and catch a train to Florence.

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