Norwegian Pearl Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We found the boarding process simple and quick. We were anxious to get started, as this was the first time we were cruising on our own. (A family-reunion where everything was done for us didn't count.) As we were advised, we went straight to the Summer Palace for lunch, and we were first in line. We were given a table by a starboard window and we loved it. We ate most meals in the Summer Palace, but we had a lovely dinner in Le Bistro, a not-so-lovely experience in Mambo's (poor service, the food was fine.) and a really good dinner as part of the Murder Mystery Dinner, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We found the "Great Outdoors" to be a real treasure. Hot dogs on pretzel rolls hit the spot, there was never a wait. We had bangers and mash in the cafe once, but chose to confine later trips there to the ice cream station.
Our balcony cabin was on Deck 9, forward, and we found it extremely easy to find our way around the gleaming ship. Our luggage was delivered quickly. Our cabin had plenty of room and adequate storage. Our stewards, Connie and Dhanny were wonderful. Connie brought us a smoke diffuser when our neighbor's smoke permeated our cabin. (I learned the hard way that there was a vent in one of the shelf spaces -- where I had stacked my husband's shirts!) It helped somewhat, but unfortunately, enjoyment of the cruise was negatively impacted by this problem. We chose NCL because we thought there would be fewer smokers among younger cruisers.
We thoroughly enjoyed "Oh What a Night" and "Second City" as well as the Murder Mystery Dinner, where we were seated with two delightful couples.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
The cabin was, clean, beautifully located near the forward elevators, on deck nine. Our stewards were great!
The problem: We hadn't been in our cabin for more than 30 minutes when the room filled with smoke, and we couldn't find the source. Eventually, I found a vent in a shelf space in the dressing area. I had put my DH's shirts there. I quickly moved them, but if we didn't get up and out by the crack of dawn, every morning while dressing, we would suddenly be hit with the smoke smell. One morning I was in the shower with the bathroom door closed when it hit. And whenever we had something wonderful to see out on the balcony, a hand with a cigarette burning rested on the rail -- upwind of where we were standing. The cruise was great but the smoke smell after all these years of no smoking rooms in hotels was really a downer for us. The steward and the steward supervisor were very solicitous and sorry, but other than bringing us a diffuser, which helped with the stale smell, there was nothing they could do. When I reached the airport, I looked to see which cruise lines don't allow smoking in the cabins and on balconies.