This was the second time on the Norwegian Pearl for me and my daughter. My husband and our friends were new to cruising. After reading some of the reviews for the Alaska cruises that preceded ours, I was concerned that the Pearl may have gone down hill since we cruised the Caribbean in February. There was no need to worry!

Boarding in Seattle was incredibly easy. We were on board by 11:30 a.m. and headed right for the delightful Great Outdoors for lunch with full view of the Seattle skyline. My daughter took my husband on a tour of the ship while I relaxed and waited for our friends to board. They were very pleased with the food and the view. Cabins were available right at 2:30 and our balcony cabins were really nice.

We enrolled our 10 year olds in the kid's program, but they felt that the programming wasn't all that great for them so they only went once. The little kids and teenagers seemed to have more going on. The kids did enjoy the sports court, the arcade and especially the bowling alley and the water slide. The ship is well designed for kids! Read more