Norwegian Pearl Review

Great two-week trip!

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Norwegian Pearl
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Just go!
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Oct 2018
Cabin: Inside

We have always wanted to cruise through the Panama Canal and found a deal with Norwegian (our favorite cruise line) from San Diego to Tampa. This was our 9th cruise, and we found the San Diego terminal to be the most chaotic. Once onboard, though, we were back with our Norwegian 'family'.....even ran into some crew members that we had met on a previous cruise on the Pearl..........The Cruise Director, Vincent, was hard-working and attentive to our needs. The Front Desk was very helpful. The Excursion Desk members were great.

Our first stop, Cabo San Lucas, was cancelled because of Hurricane Willa. That was okay with us. We had other stops in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cartagena, and Georgetown. We had great excursions at all stops.

We always book an Inside cabin---we are only there at night, so we're happy to save money for other things........like excursions. We eat most of our meals in the Garden Cafe. The food is great.......always a great variety. Staff members are great, so sweet and friendly.

Cabin Review

Inside

What can I say........it's an inside cabin. It's small. But it has everything we need. It's comfortable. We loved it because it was our home for 14 days. We go for the cruise/the ship.......not for the size of the cabin! Housekeeper, Helyn, treated us special! Deck 11: we were right below the Garden Cafe!

Port Reviews

San Diego

I had read good reviews about this terminal, but we found it crowded and disorganized. Two ships were boarding. No one knew where to go. Terminal staff didn't know what to do. It seemed like no one was in charge. No one was there to offer assistance to passengers who needed a wheelchair. Once we got to the actual Norwegian check-in, it was fine!

Puerto Quetzal (Antigua)

We did the Safari bus ride. The ride was an hour long to get to the park. Helso was our guide and Luis, the bus driver. Inside the wildlife preserve, there are no cages. The animals roam free. The bus passes very slowly on a little, narrow road, and you see the animals up close: Hippos, lions, giraffes, monkeys, deer, antelope, birds. At the far side of the park, you get out of the bus and can swim, eat at the cafe, and walk through the zoo area. Again, no cages. We saw a HUGE python! It was a fun day!

San Juan del Sur

The bus was on the pier waiting for us. We drove through the beautiful countryside in a brand new bus. First stop was at a wealthy hacienda where we were served fresh fruit and got to experience local dancers and musicians. You could walk down to the shoreline of Lake Nicaragua and see the two volcanoes. Next stop was the colonial town of Riva. We toured a beautiful, old historic Catholic church. There was free time to walk around the square and shop. Ray was our driver/guide. He gave a great talk about the history and culture of his country.

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