We arrived in Miami the day before our cruise, not having to worry about airline delays more than justified the overnight stay in Miami. And we got to spend a day at the hotel pool and south beach in Miami, what a great way to start relaxing!EMBARKATION: We left our hotel in South Beach at 11:30am in a taxi and arrived at the Port of Miami around 12:00. There were people in line but everything went so smooth. We were on the ship by 12:40 and heading for the lunch buffet. CABIN: We had a mini-suite, mid ship on deck 11. What a great cabin and in a great location. We have never had a balcony before, needless to say there is no going back now. A flight of stairs up to the buffet or the pool. DH would go up and get coffee every morning to enjoy on the balcony! Our cabin was just great and attendents were more than accomodating. FOOD: We ate at the buffet every morning for breakfast and at every lunch, except one which was in the Blue Lagoon. We had dinner in both main dining rooms, 1 time each. Our experience in the main dining rooms was slow at 6:30pm. Two hours for dinner was just too long. The food was good, I do really like the "freestyle" at your own time, but feel that service was faster on both of our previous cruises. But to be fair, I talked with several other cruisers who were having dinner at 8:30 and said they were in and out in an hour. We had dinner one night at Cagney's and it was great and not slow at all!ACTIVITIES: We only went to one show and it was good, sorry cannot remember which one. We had to try the bowling and it was a great experience.. bowling at sea, who woulda thunk? We shopped in the shops and toured the spa, it was beautiful. Spent afternoons at the pool, which was great and spent several mornings arriving at port in the hot tub.. what a great way to arrive anywhere! The casino was good too.. DISEMBARKATION: We chose to carry off our own bags. This is the way to go. Absolutely no waiting for anything. We left our room and were through customs and were waiting for a taxi in less than 20 minutes! This was the first time we have had this option and could have made an earlier flight home. PORTS: We stopped in Samana, DR. People are so generous but a very poor country. St. Thomas, USVI, what is not to love about the beautiful water and the great shopping! Tortola, BVI, a lovely beach, but one heck of a mountain to climb in a taxi to get there and back. Great Stirrup Cay a great beach and we had a great time swimming with the fish.OVERALL: The Pearl is a great ship. Every crew member with a smile and a greeting. The ship is clean and well maintained. I just can't say enough about the location of our cabin. So close to everything, comfortable and more than enough room for 2 people. We just had an awesome week on the Pearl! I can't wait to start planning my next cruise!