New to NCL

[nessy48]

Hello there! My husband and I are thinking of planning a caribbean cruise for next year. We would ideally like to go around the end of January. We have never cruised NCL before but would like to try it because of the "Freestyle" dining and what not. When we go on a cruise, we go more for the ship amenities rather than the ports. We were thinking about the Pearl. Any other suggestions on other ships? Or also, any comments on the Pearl? Thanks so much!

[slotaddict]

You cannot go wrong with the Pearl. She is a beautiful ship.

[pyrogy]

If you are leaving from Miami, your choices are likely to be 7 day trips on either the Pearl or Dawn, or 9 day on the Jewel.

 

Now the Jewel is also a great ship and you get the extra two days, so that is a choice worth looking at too.

 

The Pearl is similar to the Jewel but even newer and they are both good choices.

 

The Dawn is also a great ship but it is slightly older. The Dawn has a more extensive kid's pool area if that is at all relevant to you. If not, I would choose either the Pearl or the Jewel, only because they are slightly newer.

[Leafpeeper]

We cruised Pearl in November and loved this ship. We cruise on RCCL, Carnival, Princess, and NCL. We don't have a favorite cruiseline because we like trying new ships and seeing different entertainment. What we like most on NCL ships is dining in a different restaurant each night. We like the option of a large formal dining room or a small intimate quiet restaurant like LeBistro. We also enjoy seeing the different decor and themes of each restaurant.

 

Our favorite restaurant on Pearl was the Asian restaurant, Ginza. We loved the steak terriyaki and tempura as well as the hot and sour soup.

Our our upcoming cruise on NCL Gem Jan 14 we hope to try the Japanese restaurant called Teppanyaki so we can watch the chef cook at our table.

 

The Italian restaurant, LaCucina, is very decorative with red plaid tablecloths in a casual setting for families who like anything from pizza to ravioli.

 

Another thing we really enjoy on our NCL cruises is the entertainment. We especially enjoy our NCL cruises when they have a hypnotist act. It is very funny to watch. I would say that the dancing band that performs nightly in the Spinnaker Lounge on our NCL cruises is always spectacular. We definetely dance more on NCL cruises than we do on other cruiselines.

 

We have a RCCL cruise coming up in late October from our homeport of Boston, so we are looking forward to that. However, we can't wait for our NCL Gem cruise in mid January because our DD and SIL will be joining us with their new twin girls. NCL freestyle dining is great for families because you can go eat whenever everyone is ready instead of having a panic attack worrying about being late for dinner.

[retired rascal]

the pearl is fantastic!!!! suggest the 9 day itinerary not the 5 day. much much better ports; fewer little kids; better ambience. a fabulous cruise!!!:)

[Ms belp]

We are going on the Pearl next month for the first time and are looking forward to it. However, we cruise mainly for the ports, not the ship itself. Hope you have a great cruise and can report that it is a beautiful ship.