Norwegian Pearl Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My friends and I won't sail with Norwegian again, for the following reasons:
1. Food. The "Freestyle" cruising concept is a rip off. Especially in the dining department. If you aren't interested in the "specialty" restaurants, get ready to complain - A LOT - about the food in the regular dining rooms, the buffets, and the "Late Night" spot. If, however, you wish to actually enjoy a meal aboard ship, be prepared to plop down $30 per person, PER NIGHT, to have a decent quality meal. "Good" is about as far as I will allow my compliments to wander regarding Norwegian's specialty restaurants. For me, I would have rather paid $100 less per person for the Carnival cruise, where the food is always "Good" and I don't have to pay a cover to get it.
2. Service. If you are a big drinker, get ready to be a big spender. Those drink waiters are selling SHARKS! You want some water? Forget about it. Water is free and therefore there is no tip to be earned in bringing it to you. You're only halfway done with that fruity cocktail? Well order another one. NOW! No, RIGHT NOW! And don't even think about ordering from that other waiter. I won't come back when you really do want something.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Inside
Our cabin #10607 was a standard interior cabin. I really hate being in a small room with no natural light for a week, but it's the only affordable way for us to cruise. The room was very clean, though I always keep sandals on my feet while I walk around on the carpet. You never know what has been on those carpets. For two people the room was just adequate, with enough closet space for our clothes and shoes, a little vanity area to put on makeup, generous shelves in the bathroom for toiletries, and nightstands with drawers. We always had fresh towels and we got our bedding changed upon request.
We were pleased that the room was well kept during our stay, except for the fact that we never met our room steward. That is until the fateful day when we heard a knock on the door while we were....um...indisposed, and even after we yelled loudly "NO THANK YOU! GO AWAY!", the room steward and his cleaning companion went ahead and opened the door anyway! Yep. That's right. We were exposed to the entire 10th floor hallway. I screamed "GET OUT!" and the look on their faces was pure mortification. They slammed closed the door before they could even stammer an apology. We were so embarrased that we really just wanted to forget about the incident, so we didn't report it. (Can you imagine that conversation with the Concierge desk?!?) Still, we were sort of hoping for a personal apology from the room steward. Alas, we never did meet him - formally speaking.