Your opinion of the Pearl

Considering booking a cruise on the Pearl in January 2019. It is a 10 day and we love the ports. I haven't been able to find too much in regards to this ship. I have cruised the Escape and loved it but understand that the Pearl will not be as big nor have as many entertainment venues. We are fine with that as we are curious to try out a smaller NCL ship. Thoughts on the food venues as well as outdoor space would be appreciated. We loved Vibe so I will miss that but hoping Pearl will not be as congested and hard to find a good suntanning spot. Is there a Howl at the Moon or something similar on the Pearl?

We love the Pearl. It is a mid sized ship with a homey feel. If you do a search in the search box at the top for NCL Pearl it will have results that if you click on will show an official review and and area for passenger reviews. Lots of info there.

We like the NCL Mega ships, but are travelling on The Pearl in July as its the ship sailing the itinerary we want. Quite looking forward to going smaller for a change of pace.

After all it was The Pearls sister, The Gem that we first sailed on and made us fall in love with cruising.

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We are booking the same itinerary for Feb 7, 2019 (40th wedding anniversary cruise). The Pearl had renovations done this year and we will be on her this November for a cruise out of NOLA. I heard she was a dated ship, but that should be different after the renovations.

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Love the Jewel class ships. Cracks me up that they are now considered small! No, the Pearl does not have Howl at the Moon, but they will have entertainment scattered throughout the ship in addition to the main shows. No Vibe but you can plenty of outdoor spaces to tuck yourself away in.

She is a nice ship, with a nice layout. I am sure she will be even nicer after the refurbishment.

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Did a 7 day Alaska on the Pearl last year. Dining and staff were excellent. There are definitely less entertainment options than the mega ships but I was never bored.

I feel like it had more deck space around the pool area than the breakaway, but maybe that's because we were in Alaska lol.

It did have the best on deck theme lunches of any cruise I've been on (salmon bake, german, and more I can't remember)

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Did a 7 day Alaska on the Pearl last year. Dining and staff were excellent. There are definitely less entertainment options than the mega ships but I was never bored.

I feel like it had more deck space around the pool area than the breakaway, but maybe that's because we were in Alaska lol.

It did have the best on deck theme lunches of any cruise I've been on (salmon bake, german, and more I can't remember)

 

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You've got my attention [emoji3]

Sailing out of Seattle in July. Love the sound of that. The Gem had poolside BBQ's on our first cruise and we've never experienced that on the big ships.

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Will be on the Pearl to Alaska in July, as well. Can't wait!

We loved Breakaway and Sky. But methinks this will be a different crowd and cruise all together.

I did a Pacific Coastal on the Pearl in Sept/Oct last year. My cruise prior to that was on the Epic, which I loved. I enjoyed the Pearl. The Epic is the only mega ship I've sailed on, so it was no big deal to adjust my expectations. I enjoyed the Pearl enough that I'm sailing her again in June. I'm hoping they have those themed lunches laxnkio referenced! And, I'm looking forward to seeing her since the refurb. In Sept they still had the old menu in O'Sheehan's so I'm hoping they've updated it--gotta get some Thai chili wings!

I'm not a lay-out-in-the-sun kind of person, so can't comment on the pool situation. It never felt really crowded to me anywhere on the ship. I don't recall waiting in line for anything but getting on and off the ship. The restaurants I ate in were all good--the quality was no different than I've experienced on any other NCL ship. I get a spa pass when I sail NCL, and while not as good as the Epic's spa, the Pearl's was very nice. Much better than the Jade's spa!

Just don't expect the variety of a mega ship and you'll be fine!

Will be on the Pearl to Alaska in July, as well. Can't wait!

 

 

 

We loved Breakaway and Sky. But methinks this will be a different crowd and cruise all together.

We are sailing July 16th.

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here is my reply..this is a review that I wrote but haven't seen it posted yet

We have sailed on a few different cruise lines. Enjoyed them all some better than others. Note they were all of the mega ships 3,000+.

The Pearl was the smallest, first time in a mini suite, 10 day Panama Canal. Embarkation and disembarkation, very easy. Got there at 10:30 on ship by 12. Went by fast by the time you checked in and sat down for a little while, waited for our friends to come (first time cruises, they loved it). Used NCL bus to Fort Lauderdale airport, cheap and easy.

The ship itself:

Crew was great, friendly, always greeted us. Loved our cabin steward Eugene. Met a lot of nice passengers from all over, also very friendly.

I thought the entertainment was great, no Broadway shows like the big ships but very entertaining. Comedians were hysterical, dancers were very good, acrobatics excellent. Went to a show every night but one.

Shopping very expensive, they did try to sell things all the time, yes but that doesn’t bother me.

Room was nice and newly decorated. Balcony seemed so much bigger than the Breakaway, didn’t realize how small they were till I was on the Pearl.

Didn’t have a bad meal, even the buffet was good. Went to 4 specialty restaurants. Bistro my favorite. I really do not know why people complain so much, was something cold and not piping hot when we got it sure but not all the time. Had some really good meals others not so much but food is very different between everyone.

Thought the pools were a good size. Never supper crowed. They were patrolling for chair hogs. Went down to the pool late morning always was able to get a seat, sometimes by pool sometimes up top.

Spa: loved the spa pass, since we had 5 sea days we used the spa a lot.

Never problems getting a drink, by the pool or at the other bars. Sometimes bars were busier than others. My friends drink wine and they said the selection was fine, I don’t drink it so i can't tell you the difference. Seems the reports say the selections on NCL are terribly.

There seemed always something to do, if you wanted to, some things cost some didn’t.

My only negative was the Bingo and Deal or No Deal. Kind of expensive, I played once Deal or no Deal would have played more but at $20, $40 or $60 it gets too expensive for my taste. But my choice.

Aruba: went to a beach called Surf beach right in front of a restaurant Reflections, rented 2 beach chairs and umbrella $15 each. They would bring you drinks or food if you wanted kind of expensive for drinks and beers but everything is expensive in Aruba.

Cartagena Columbia walking nice but a hot day, Saw some folk dancers. Walking vendors are annoying, in your face all the time. Our tour guide told us not to make eye contact.

Stayed on ship for the canal, went by fast and interesting.

Costa Rica went on a Houseenta tour. Long (bus ride) but great tour. Up in the mountains. It was breathtaking.

Our cruise was 10 day Panama Canal

You've got my attention [emoji3]

 

Sailing out of Seattle in July. Love the sound of that. The Gem had poolside BBQ's on our first cruise and we've never experienced that on the big ships.

 

 

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Just back from a cruise on the Pearl. Unfortunately, due to the new decking around the pool completed during refurbishment, the NCL Pearl has discontinued the poolside BBQs. Apparently, they felt it would damage the decking.

Even though larger ships have their own advantages (we sailed on BA), in some reason we enjoyed Jewel, Gem more. They are cozier, have more adequate pool area. Also casinos are more enclosed so smoke doesn't wander too much.

Just back from a cruise on the Pearl. Unfortunately, due to the new decking around the pool completed during refurbishment, the NCL Pearl has discontinued the poolside BBQs. Apparently, they felt it would damage the decking.

Boooooooo!!!!

Off to Carnival I go [emoji38]

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Sailed the Pearl in March of this year and fell totally in love with her.

The shopping could have had a bigger selection, it is small compared to the Pride of America.

Did not use the ships large pool, stayed in the spa mostly on sea days.

Had the 10 day specialty dining package and the food was great. Tried the main dining for breakfast and lunch and thought it was very good also.

Only saw two shows and enjoyed them very much.

Purchased the unlimited internet package - was glad I did. The internet although it was not slow - it was not super speedy either, so I can see how it can eat up minutes on a per minute package (lots of complaints about that)

My take - if the price and ports were right I'd book her again.

The Pearl has a a White Hot Night party that is a lot of fun.

Have been on the Pearl 3 times and the last was 10 wonderful days.

Only once in the 24 days at one meal was I disappointed in the meal and service. All of the specialty dining options are great and we have our top 3 to dine at and the Summer Palace is always pleasant to dine at.

Plenty to do during a sea day and missed a few new ones that I wanted to try.

Love the Pearl!

We did a 15 day Panama Canal cruise - LA to Miami, last October and LOVED the Pearl. We have also sailed on the Gem and Jewel, all good. We enjoyed the food, ate in the main dining rooms, O Sheehans and the Asian Fusion mostly, we are not big on buffets! Did one Specialty Dinner in the Bistro which was excellent, but we are quite happy with the complementary food venues.

We had the Beverage package and never had a problem getting service for drinks. We are not pool people but do enjoy relaxing in the quieter sundecks, the one on Deck 14 forward is our favourite.

The crew are very friendly, and entertainment was enjoyable.

I've said most of this before but I'm a Pearl fan. I took my first ever cruise last year on the Pearl with 10-days to Alaska in May. I have no frame of reference but I came away with a very positive opinion - and that's before the upgrade they did recently.

We had a forward mini-suite (#11002) and it was a great size and absolutely quiet - I'm probably spoiled now. The very best part of the location of the cabin was its proximity to the spa - one deck up. The trip from door to door using the stairs was less than two minutes. I would highly suggest the spa pass but for a warm Caribbean cruise it might not be as useful as in Alaska. (???)

Something nobody has mentioned is the Bliss Lounge at the back of deck 7 - very interesting! I had heard they might do away with it at dry dock but it still shows to be there along with all four bowling lanes. I think the Bliss space was always open though the bar nor bowling alley wasn't - it is still a great place if you want to go hang out somewhere that's quiet and relatively private.

My guess is there should be plenty of sunbathing space - there are a lot of decks with loungers in full sun besides right around the pool - completely forward and on the very top is a huge area that didn't see much use in Alaska.

Another favorite spot for me was simply sitting in the Spinnaker Lounge (forward deck 13 - just under the sundeck I mentioned above) and watching where we were heading.

The food was generally good but I wasn't that fond of the Italian or French restaurants (that's most likely *ME* and not that the food isn't good) - we tried every restaurant over our 10-days. My favorite of the specialties was Cagney's. Lotus Garden would be my favorite of the included restaurants though the fish & chips and Buffalo wings at O'Sheehan's was pretty tasty too - I had it twice.

I have another Alaskan cruise booked for May '18 and was disappointed the Pearl doesn't have the itinerary I want. I'll adjust to the Sun, I'm certain.

The Pearl is a very nice ship. Good luck!

I was on the Pearl this past March, and loved it. We didn't do much of the entertainment, but enjoyed the lounge musicians, browsing the shops, the spa and just vegging out on the ship. The updates were nice, the ship looked more polished and current. Great staff, solid food options and great ports.

Considering booking a cruise on the Pearl in January 2019. It is a 10 day and we love the ports. I haven't been able to find too much in regards to this ship. I have cruised the Escape and loved it but understand that the Pearl will not be as big nor have as many entertainment venues. We are fine with that as we are curious to try out a smaller NCL ship. Thoughts on the food venues as well as outdoor space would be appreciated. We loved Vibe so I will miss that but hoping Pearl will not be as congested and hard to find a good suntanning spot. Is there a Howl at the Moon or something similar on the Pearl?

You can read my review of the Pearl from Dec 2016. The review includes lots of photographs. Just click on the link below ...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2439655

Great question! I'll be on the Pearl May 21 (32 days, can't wait!) so really enjoyed the responses.

Just wanted to say something about the entertainment. We were on the 11 day Panama Canal in March. I've been on four NCL ships and love to go to the showroom every night. But this trip there was something lacking. I think they needed to come up with too many acts. They had three comedians on three different nights and the same comedians together on another night. Then they had the prerequisite european acrobats, production shows, a singer from Oh What a Night (I would have liked to see the whole group), a hypnotist (whose main aim was selling her CD's) but was interesting. The only show that was great was Legends in Concert with Elton John, Madonna and Michael Jackson. As for the lounge acts, I usually love them (Hi Leo) but didn't care for any this cruise. There was a duo doing string classical music, a piano player aiming for the 70+ crowd, a Latin Band (who were great with the Latin music but lacking when they played anything else) and an African American band (no offense) who played tribute music and were hit and miss. We do not do the game shows so cannot comment on them. That aside, we had a wonderful trip and loved the Pearl.

We have cruised on the Pearl several times, and is our favorite ship. Great crew, not crowded (except embarkation, when it is chaotic), and the pool on sea days, but it has a good flow to the ship. FYI, eat lunch in the MDR on embarkation day, so much more relaxing.

Have sailed several 10+ day cruises, many of those to the Caribbean. They tend to have a different mix of cruiser than the 7 day cruises (less kids). You have picked a great itinerary, I am jealous!

The entertainment can be spotty at times, but there is always something to do.

Have a great cruise! :D

We are booking the same itinerary for Feb 7, 2019 (40th wedding anniversary cruise). The Pearl had renovations done this year and we will be on her this November for a cruise out of NOLA. I heard she was a dated ship, but that should be different after the renovations.

 

 

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Just off the pearl she was only in dry dock for 2 weeks instead of 3 that was planned all the state rooms have been renovated some of the public areas have the aitrum hasn't nor has the summer palace

The hotel director said they were hoping to get those done some time in the future but didn't say when

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