I traveled with my husband, 2 year old, and parents to Alaska on the Norwegian Pearl on a Glacier Bay itinerary. I would definitely recommend the cruise. The sites were truly awesome. A word about my attitude on cruising: If you are looking for a perfect vacation and are going to dwell on the small details that can go wrong, you are going to have a terrible time no matter where you go. You will not find much nit-picking here, but I will point out some things that were a little different than I expected just to prepare/inform future cruisers. Embarkation went smoothly even though we got there a little later than expected (about 11:30). There was parade traffic that caused what would normally been a 5 minute taxi ride to be a 20 minute taxi ride. The lines moved quickly and we were not in any one place for very long which was a blessing when hauling lots of luggage and a toddler. We had two balcony staterooms on the deck 9 forward/starboard section of the ship. One of the cabins was slightly roomier from the end of the bed to the wall (9044) than the other (9046). We had asked for a crib before the cruise by calling NCL and adding it to our reservation. It was not there when we got to our room. We ended up having to call guest services twice and visit the desk once. We got the crib the next day, so we had to manage one night without it. I highly recommend a balcony room, but you should bring some warm and comfy clothes to get the most from it. Perhaps even a snuggie, some ugg type boots, and a knit cap—no one will see you on your balcony anyway. For port days, I recommend a light fleece layer and an outer rainproof layer to allow you to mix and match as needed. A couple of our stops were chilly and drizzly, but we were still able to enjoy exploring. We enjoyed all the stops in Alaska, but I highly recommend an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. We were only able to get really close to one glacier that day, but we passed about 3-4 others that were amazing from far away as well. The ranger commentary was a great addition to the day. At the major glaciers they turn the ship around so everyone can see the glacier from their balcony even if you are not out on the deck. We spent about half of the day on deck and half on our balcony. I found the food to be better than expected. We ate all of our breakfasts and lunches in the Garden Cafe (buffet). They had some really good food choices there, including a really good selection of salad toppings. It was often very crowded, and it was hard to get a table. I would recommend trying to go at non-peak times. Another tip if you are traveling with a little one is to ask a waiter to get you a high chair. We lost a few tables while trying to hunt them down ourselves. Also the clean teaspoons by the coffee stations and dessert forks make great silverware for little hands. For dinners we went to Summer Palace (twice), Indigo Cafe, Blue Lagoon, La Cucina (specialty) and Le Bistro (specialty). I enjoyed all of the dinners except for one. I didn't love the strip steak in the Summer Palace, but my husband enjoyed his and ordered it the next night again. I found the cut a little tough. A tip for feeding little ones: you can order an entrEe from the kids menu with a side dish (like peas and carrots or broccoli) from one of the regular menu entrEes instead of fries. After a couple of days, I was afraid my child would turn into a french fry. Of course you can also order them an entrEe from the regular menu, but we preferred to mix and match. The staff was very friendly. They especially fawned over our toddler. We tried the kid's club once, but he protested too much to stay long. That is not a reflection of the kids club, but rather his demeanor. The kids club schedule seemed packed with fun stuff, and other parents with older kids told us they couldn't get their kids to leave the club. We would have appreciated a play area where parents can take their kids and stay with them--in addition to the kids club. We didn't do much of the entertainment/activities, but we did go to one of the Second City shows. It was good. My parents enjoyed the Oh What a Night show and, the bingo, and some of the other talks.Disembarking was fine. We used the bags program where they take your bags and check them for you at the airport. We basically just walked off the ship. It was a little pricey ($20 pp), but worth it for us on this trip.We had a great trip. Hope you enjoy!