Norwegian Pearl 12 Dec 10. This was our third cruise on the Pearl and our cruise delight started 5 days earlier when the Upgrade Fairy called and offered us an Owner's Suite. I was SO excited! Our cruise was originally scheduled for January but had to be rescheduled because I was having a double mastectomy the week we originally planned to be on the cruise. After a rough year, this cruise was our celebration of life—of surviving. So the call to upgrade made my day—oh, which just happened to be my birthday!

Embarkation: We arrived around noon and went straight to the VIP boarding room. It was a bit chaotic at first because about 20 of us arrived at the same time, but within 30 minutes, we were escorted to our room by Carlos—our delightful concierge.

Owner's Suite, 10004, Blue Diamond Suite: We were stunned! The room was beautiful, larger than some apartments I've lived in ? bath and ½ (each had a phone and main bath had a television), 2 balconies, one in the front of the ship and a huge balcony on the side. King-sized bed, flat screen TVs, Bose stereo system, and the king of coffee machines! Read more