Norwegian Pearl Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,402 reviews

Great smaller ship with a nice atmosphere

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Pearl
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The Ridge
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2020
Cabin: Family Inside
Picture from the bridge observation room.
Bridge observation room - very cool watching us depart a port!
The Pearl in Costa Maya.
Great time on the Pearl. Would do this ship again with a different itinerar
Final night calling out all the staff who make it happen!  Very nice gestur

My BF and I were short on time but desperate to get away so the 5-day Western Caribbean itinerary to Belize and Mexico was perfect for us. We booked just prior to Christmas and got a great price.

Food:

We generally ate in the buffet in the morning because we wanted to control our portions and wanted lots of choice. The aft outdoor location (Great Outdoors) was perfect and since we were up and at it early, it generally wasn't busy. This opened at 7:30 but sometimes we would grab specific items on the inside location and just take our plates outside. Overall the food would get a 3.5 - 4 out of five. We are super fussy, however I always found something to enjoy and generally was very pleased. My only complaint is watching people feel the need to carry two stacked plates at a time. We ate in Le Bistro at additional charge and it was well worth it. It ran about $100 CDN for two, gratuities included for three good courses. Cagney's was fully booked so we didn't get a chance to experience it. Indigo was very good and the atmosphere was much nicer for us than the main dining room (Summer Palace). If you do the buffet for lunch, don't miss the Indian/Indonesian food station. Some of the better butter chicken I've had, made very well and super fresh.

Cabin Review

Family Inside

Cabin was compact but well laid out and tons of smart storage options. I overheard some people complaining about how small they were, however, not being totally PC here, I will state that these people were on the very large side. Two of us fit comfortably in the shower ;) NCL provides full notice of inside cabin size (138 - 144 sq ft) so do the math and see if you'll be comfortable in a 10 x 14 area for the duration. If you don't like the size, spend more and upgrade to something larger. Our steward Randy kept it extremely clean on our behalf.

The aft location was perfect for us. Some minor vibration from the engines however this actually helped me to sleep so an added bonus. Location was close to aft buffet, easy access to elevators and you could walk to the very front of the ship without going through public spaces... a big time saver on sea days!

I would completely sail on this particular ship again - but perhaps a different itinerary.

PS: Thank you NCL for the cabin upgrade! Nice perk for being a Latitudes member!

Port Reviews

Miami

Miami is very easy to depart from. The port could use some better signage at to what ship/cruise line is supported by each Terminal. Will be excellent once the new NCL main terminal is complete.

Harvest Caye

Too commercial but lovely beach and we still enjoyed it.

Costa Maya

Same as Harvest Caye... too commercial but decent beach. Found a great roadside stand for empanadas and sopas.

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