We never sailed Norwegian before but have been on all the other lines previously and this being our tenth cruise I will compare it to other experiences. We did not want a mega ship so we choose the Pearl for this reason and the ports it was stopping at and being 11 nights also appealed to us. The embarkation took about an hour we arrived at noon on their transfer service the lines were not too bad overall. First impressions of the Summer Palace dining room was that it seemed out of date with the décor however the service and the lunch were fine. We are not buffet people but utilized 2 times once for breakfast due to an early excursion and it served it's purpose nothing out of the ordinary. Lunch one time we had a 1.00pm departure from St. Thomas and the only option for lunch was the buffet what a disaster!!!! not enough seats for everyone and lots of confusion we ended up eating in separate tables because I wasn't facing that mob again!! We only had to eat the main dining room 3 times and specialty restaurants the remainder the dinners were uninspiring similar to Applebee's or Bob Evans quality in my opinion. The specialty restaurants were great we tried them all except Teppenyaki service and quality of the food was fine dining too bad it will cost you after tip roughly $100.00 for 2 people not counting drinks. This is where cruising has downgraded the last 20 years the food budget 10 years was cut 50% per passenger and further since there wasn't any specialty restaurants because the food in the main dining room was excellent! The ports were fine and getting back on the ship was painless I just wish that we did not leave at 1.00pm at 2 of the ports 5 hours limits your excursion choices. Norwegian's entertainment was lackluster and so repetitive the same 4 acts 5 times during our cruise really! The comic was good and the legends show were the best. The daily entertainment especially on sea days was a snooze fest activities with prizes takes away all incentive for people to participate. Norwegians upcharge fest was annoying by the end of the cruise I mean there is a fee for everything!! Wine tastings=fee Tequila Tastings=fee Deal or no deal=fee the list goes on and on. We had the ultimate beverage package as a promo which was nice but limited be sure what you order is covered before they pour or it's a upcharge! We had a good time and met some exceptional staff members and I filled our comment cards on all of them this is where Norwegian shines the staff and keeping everything clean and you will never be wanting for a drink!! We haven't cruised for 6 years and visited resorts instead we will cruise again but II think it will a more intimate experience that will be more like the golden age of cruising and all inclusive no surprises or upselling
The cabin was well organized and appointed it had a picture window which was nice to let in light and watch the islands coming into port. Plenty of storage even with 3 suitcases for a 11 night cruise the bed was comfortable and the room was quiet except for engine noise being near the aft.