Norwegian Pearl. A 9 day cruise kinda sorta review

Hi All,

Got off of the Pearl on a 9 day western Caribbean Sunday. My wife and I took this cruise to get away. We really didn't care where it went, it met our schedule and was an easy drive from Atlanta. With the Friday departure being a federal holiday, my wife missed one week of work to take a 9 day cruise. Can't beat it.

I'm 59 and she's a little younger, we both like to travel though she likes to travel in more comfortable circumstances than me. As noted, this was a getaway, a good deal, a little longer cruise, and our expectations were modest.

We have cruised about 10 times in the past from Carnival to NCL to Celebrity to RCI and now back to NCL. We booked an outside cabin this time (the last 4 being Celebrity Aquaclass or balcony) to see if we would miss the balcony or the perks. I wanted an inside to really see but my SIL, our travel agent, said that we would want a window at a minimum. It was about $100 net more per person so I caved.

The Trip to the Trip....

My wife had to work late on Thursday so we didn't hit the road until about 8 PM. At least we missed rush hour and made good time. Ate on the way and stopped at a well worn hotel in Slidell LA at about 3 AM local time for a few hours of sleep and drove into the city at about 9 AM. I think it took a little over an hour to get to the port. Parked up at the port cruise parking ($20 a day in advance, cash or cc), saw a porter, gave him our bags, met my younger daughter and her boyfriend who were also there for the weekend, and wandered around until our restaurant opened.

After lunch and an additional wander, we dumped the daughter and her boyfriend and jumped in line to check in. Long and slow, really long and really slow. We waited for about 10 minutes and bailed back to the mall. Bought a daiquiri and grabbed a table in the sun outside and looked at the ship and chatted. She looked pretty and she looked small. 3 decks of balconies v. the 6 or so of our last few cruises. But we had been on the Pearl when she was only a year old before and knew that her size was fine.

After a drink and a return to a store for some sunglasses that made more sense after the drink, we went downstairs to hop in line again, but there wasn't one. Waltzed through security, waited a little to get our cards and walked on the ship. We heard latter that Kiss, the band on the cruise before us didn't get off the ship for a long time and that screwed up the early boarding. I don't know if that is true or not, but it didn't sound too out there.

More to come in a little bit.

Will be on the Pearl on the 5th, so I'm very interested in reading your review. Thanks for doing it.

Will be on the Pearl on the 5th, so I'm very interested in reading your review. Thanks for doing it.

Your'e welcome. Unfortunately you won't get any pictures. My wife takes those and I don't have access at the moment.

Hello- I am sailing on the Pearl on Sunday, same itinerary.Do you recall what days were formal and what day is the white night?

Any other parties that we should plan for?

Will be on the Pearl on the 5th, so I'm very interested in reading your review. Thanks for doing it.

I am just about ready to do a review on the same ship and cruise. It will be interesting to compare my opinion with the ops as we all see things differently.;);)

I am just about ready to do a review on the same ship and cruise. It will be interesting to compare my opinion with the ops as we all see things differently.;);)

Hello- I am sailing on the Pearl on Sunday, same itinerary.Do you recall what days were formal and what day is the white night?

Any other parties that we should plan for?

There are no formal nights on any of NCLs ships. We did see people dressed in after 5 clothes many night. only about 10% of the people do dress up, but for those who want to, I think it is wonderful. Almost every night the photographers are taking formal pictures.

Following. We'll also be on the December 5th sailing.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

I was following a live review on another site and he said the White Hot Party is day 7 after Costa Maya.

This was true on our cruise but remember most of the sailings on the Pearl are only 7 days, this one, last week or actually almost 2 weeks ago was an unusual 9 day cruise.

He's baaaack.

The cabin.............

As noted, it was an midship ocean view with a picture window. Deck 5, number 5584, port side. It was the closest ocean view to the midship elevators and stairs. Surprisingly, it was very quiet. I don't remember hearing any noise other than the ships hum. There was plenty of storage, it was in great shape and all that we missed was the lack of a chair. There was a stool, but that's just not the same. The cabin was small, but not too small, and I have to admit that I liked the window. The bathroom is a little odorous, so a little air freshener thing is nice to have along.

It's location was great. One deck up is Indigo, the large dining room, 2 decks up is the Crystal Atrium with the coffee bar that makes an excellent martini too and the reception area as well. It was a quick elevator (usually) to the pool deck and 1 deck down to get off the ship when in port and not tendering.

I'd stay in the same cabin in a heartbeat.

Dining...............

All of the following is my opinion only. In my opinion, it's right, but is my opinion only :-).

Ate at O'Sheehan's the first night by chance. Prime rib. It was very good but I'd order the sauce on the side next time. The sauce was a little overpowering.

Did Cagney's once and Le Bistro twice.

I thought that Cagney's was just OK. Ordered the Fillet medium rare and it was just so so in taste and texture.

Loved Le Bistro. The rack of lamb was wonderful (first meal) and the fillet was excellent (second meal). Mushroom soup is a can't miss.

Lotus Garden. Worth what we paid for, which was nothing. Get the appetizers, they weren't bad at all. Next time I'd just order a boatload of appetizers and skip the noodles. We didn't try the fried rice dishes so I can't help there.

All other dinners were at Indigo, which were mostly very good. (The last nights prime rib being the exception).

Breakfasts and lunches were all at the Garden Cafe (the buffet). We always found something good. Ii thought that it was much better than the limited experience I've had with RCI, not quite as good as Celebrity, and certainly better than I remember NCL being in the past.

Back in a bit.

Hello- I am sailing on the Pearl on Sunday, same itinerary.Do you recall what days were formal and what day is the white night?

Any other parties that we should plan for?

The white hot party was the night before the last sea day.

Dress up or not night was night 2. I don't think there was another.

There were other parties but none were special dress that I can remember.

Have fun on your cruise.

This was true on our cruise but remember most of the sailings on the Pearl are only 7 days, this one, last week or actually almost 2 weeks ago was an unusual 9 day cruise.

I was on the one that went from 11/10-11/19. Right after the 5 day Kiss cruise.

Doing laundry. What fun.

We ended getting on board around 3, found our cabin, looked it over, dumped our stuff and went to get a drink, and then and there they called the lifeboat drill, BEFORE we could get a drink. Oh the humanity. We sadly walked to Indigo, our muster station, and hung around and talked with neighbors, not hearing the drill as the PA wasn't working there. After our very quiet drill we went and found a bar, and waited for sail away. We didn't get going until 5, so we missed seeing the Mississippi but did catch New Orleans before it got too dark.

From then on we just bounced around, enjoyed ourselves and hit O'Sheehan's when we remembered to eat. Had a nice first day.

The Ship.............

I thought it was in great shape for it's age. The year old dry dock must be doing well. You could find rust if you wanted to, and The Spinnaker could use a little help if you there in daylight, but all in all I thought it was in fine shape.

It was rarely crowded, there weren't many lines (we dine late), and we could always find a quiet area if we wished.

The crowd (passengers)......

Midwest. Lots of folks from the middle of the country, which shouldn't be a surprise, mostly our age (late 50's) or older. Very few kids or teens on this cruise. As a rule, a nice group of people who liked to chat and liked to have fun.

The crew............

Loved them. They worked hard, smiled a lot, and seemed happy to be there and seemed happy to make sure you had a good time.

Our room steward kept or cabin consistently clean, organized, and well towel animaled.

Bartenders and waiters were almost always plentiful, happy and quick.

Dining room service was usually good. The last night being the biggest exception. They just didn't quite seem to be all there that night.

Time to fold. I'll be back.

Another batch of clothes folded.

The Ports.......

Cozumel. We hit Cozumel on a Sunday. Sunday is not a great day to visit Cozumel as most of the things to do are shut down. No Mr. Sancho's, no places like Mr. Sancho's. No bar crawl, not many independent tours or many other things to do. We are not shoppers.

So we ended up booking a tour through the ship, something we almost never do. It was the Jose Cuervo Tequila tasting experience. The tour included learning how to appreciate tequila with three shots of the same, lunch, and access to the attached museum and mayan pole spinning demonstration. It was alright, but it seemed you were expected to tip absolutely everyone you saw and they spent a lot of time trying to sell you expensive tequila that you hadn't tasted. Would I recommend this tour? No, not really. But if you don't mind the tipping and want to buy expensive tequila, it was interesting to learn the differences and flavors of the tequila's.

But it was an overcast day and it got us off the ship, so I don't really regret doing it.

Georgetown, Grand Cayman...

The Monday we were there was the last day of Pirate Days, and an official holiday there. We were either going to hit the festival or catch the bus to 7 mile beach. The weather was sketchy so we decided to wander the town and see the festival. We tendered in late, wandered a bit, had a beer, wandered a little more, than ran for cover when the sky opened up and bathed us all. When it quit raining, we said the hell with it, hopped on the next tender (no waiting) and went back to the ship.

Roatan.....

We had booked Little French Key, but it rained and rained, so we skipped it. I hadn't realized that Roatan was a tender port (my bad), and by the time it was open tendering, we decided we enjoyed wht we were doing on board (nothing) and decided to keep doing that.

It's too bad really. I had read Mitsugirly's review of Little French Key and was looking forward to it.

Santo Thomas, Guatemala.......

Was always going to be a ship day for us. It remained one even after the washout in Roatan. I've spent enough time in working Central American ports to not spend a couple of hours on a bus to see another one. My wife was not interested in a boat ride to resort, so we kept our plans and just stayed on the ship. We had a great time on board until about 2 when it seemed that everybody else seemed to rediscover the ship and filled up the pool area to fuller than it had been or would be for the entire cruise. So we bailed out on the pool area and grabbed a nap. I just don't think Guatemala is ready for cruise ships, yet.

Back in a bit.

Coxen Hole in Roatan is usually not a tender port. Where there more ships in port that day?

I was on the one that went from 11/10-11/19. Right after the 5 day Kiss cruise.

Yes, the same one we were on; it was the only 9 day cruise on the Pearl.

Coxen Hole in Roatan is usually not a tender port. Where there more ships in port that day?

No. There was another big NCL that that I think tendered too and a ship in the distance, I'm not sure what line. That's all I saw. Wierd.

Appreciate the interesting feedback. Good luck with the laundry!

Thank you for your review/report.

Keith

My wife's on her way. Get back soon.

The white hot party was the night before the last sea day.

Dress up or not night was night 2. I don't think there was another.

 

There were other parties but none were special dress that I can remember.

 

Have fun on your cruise.

Thank you! This helps immensely!

Ports continued.

Harvest Caye.......

We loved it. It was a beautiful day and the grounds matched the the day. It's not a free private island but it is not, in any way, your typical private island either. A huge resort like pool with swim up pool bar and a nice beach with loungers and umbrellas everywhere were free to use but you had to pay for drinks and food.

2 Belikin draft beers were $12.50 at the pool bar which included an automatic 15% tip. We didn't eat there because we had to return to the ship to get more cash and a different credit card because they accept Cash, Visa and Mastercard. No room key, no American Express. So we grabbed a quick bite on the ship and returned until we were kicked off.

Costa Maya........

Beautiful day #2 and our last stop.

Booked an independent visit to Maya Chan Resort. A rough taxi ride but oh so worth it. We loved the place. Great service, an excellent taco bar buffet for lunch, our own little area with loungers, an umbrella, a beach bed, and chairs at surfs edge. They had kayaks, paddle boards and floating chairs for use and either walked out or kayaked out to serve your drinks. Very friendly staff, very pretty grounds, and all inclusive.

We'd go back in a heartbeat.

A quick conclusion.

Loved the cruise, loved the ship. Crappy weather didn't seem to bother us at all but the last few days being nice days didn't hurt. It is the smallest e have been on in some time but was plenty big for us. The food was good, the activities we joined in were fun (other than cat breed trivia, CAT breed trivia?), and we had had a very nice time.

Sure, there are nicer cruises out there, but the cost v. the value worked for us. We thought we received an excellent cruise for what we paid for it.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this ship to families with active kids as you don't have the activities you will find on larger ships for them. You do have bowling, the climbing wall and a sports court and the kids areas, so it's not like they're in the brig. We were on the Pearl with our kids when the Pearl was new, but that was a different time and expectations were different. The Pearl has aged well, and I would sail on her again.

A quick conclusion.

 

Loved the cruise, loved the ship. Crappy weather didn't seem to bother us at all but the last few days being nice days didn't hurt. It is the smallest e have been on in some time but was plenty big for us. The food was good, the activities we joined in were fun (other than cat breed trivia, CAT breed trivia?), and we had had a very nice time.

 

Sure, there are nicer cruises out there, but the cost v. the value worked for us. We thought we received an excellent cruise for what we paid for it.

 

I'm not sure if I would recommend this ship to families with active kids as you don't have the activities you will find on larger ships for them. You do have bowling, the climbing wall and a sports court and the kids areas, so it's not like they're in the brig. We were on the Pearl with our kids when the Pearl was new, but that was a different time and expectations were different. The Pearl has aged well, and I would sail on her again.

You are right about actities for kids, but had this been a different time of year there would have been more for them to do. Most kids I have spoken with seem to have plenty to keep them busy on the Jewel class ships.

You know we just have seen you in the atrium area as we played a lot of trivia as well.

You are right about actities for kids, but had this been a different time of year there would have been more for them to do. Most kids I have spoken with seem to have plenty to keep them busy on the Jewel class ships.

You know we just have seen you in the atrium area as we played a lot of trivia as well.

We would have loved to meet you as I have been reading your posts since I joined CC. You have always been a wealth of knowledge. Maybe next time.