Cruise Ship Reviews : Norwegian Cruise Line Reviews
scorpio1861 saw things this way:
Very enjoyable cruise, December 5, 2013
Reviewer: scorpio1861
Pros: Balcony room
Cons: Nothing
Date of cruise: November 10, 2013
Departure port: Miami
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 9118
Good for teenagers: Yes
I just recently went on this cruise. Great ports of call, ship was very, very nice. Went snorkeling in Cozumel through an excursion on the ship and it was great!! Would do THAT again. Not crazy about the freestyle dining. Great price for all of the upgrades and perks that my bf and I received. Our cabin was in the middle to the back part of the ship on deck 9, which was very accommodating to everything. Nice staff pretty much everywhere we went. I would go again on this ship and/or cruise line. Thank you
somik saw things this way:
Horrible experience, would never cruise on NCL again, January 11, 2011
Reviewer: somik
Pros: The spa was the best thing on this ship
Cons: The lines, the nasty and arrogant staff, the horrible island tours, lack of info
Date of cruise: December 26, 2010
Departure port: miami
Region visited: Caribbean - Eastern
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 10118
Good for children: No
Good for teenagers: No
Most of the cruise was spent standing in lines and being insulted by arrogant staff. Both main dining rooms looked beautiful, however the lines were over one hour till 10 p.m. and no reservations were accepted -- never had a chance to eat there. Stirrup Cay is under construction and is not in shape for tourists. If you want a chair, it is $30 aperson or you can just sit on the sand. Every activity costs a large amount of money and you need to stand in line. The tours were horrible, especially Samana. We spent a huge amount of money and had the worst vacation of our lives!
bilibob saw things this way:
Fantastic ship and crew, September 8, 2010
Reviewer: bilibob
Pros: Freestyle atmosphere; something for all walks of life and demographic
Cons: Cabins could use higher end finishings and attention to smaller details
Date of cruise: April 24, 2010
Departure port: Los Angeles
Region visited: Pacific Northwest
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 10540
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
Repositioning cruise along Pacific coast was fantastic. Ship was well appointed and crew aims to please. Great food, nice shops (reasonably priced for cruise ship), and good common areas. Entertainment lacked, but probaby because it was a repositioning, not a standard run. Would definitely cruise Norwegian again, but would probably try another ship just to compare.
olsonda saw things this way:
Overall good to excellent compared to other cruiselines, great food, bowling, July 1, 2010
Reviewer: olsonda
Pros: Excellent specialty restaurants and prices, good to excellent staff
Cons: Bar staff not as outgoing as other cruise lines, some areas loud
Date of cruise: September 21, 2008
Departure port: Seattle
Region visited: Panama Canal
Cabin category: Jr. Suite
This review is based on a 19-night cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl. I am rating this as a good to excellent deal depending on what you find important. I went on this cruise with my husband, and we are younger to middle aged. We noticed right off the bat that there was a slightly older age group, especially on this long of a cruise. There were still the all ages activities, but there weren't the number of people participating. This was fine with us. We are not really activity type people. Overall, the activities are the same as on any other cruise line, and we have been on two other cruise lines. There is a lot of trying to sell you stuff, but this is the same on all cruise lines. As soon as we told them we weren't interested, we were left alone. Staff was generally friendly, but not quite as outgoing as on other cruise lines. The decorations on this ship was nice. Vibrant colors were all around, so this kept the mood light. The big screen was nice to watch people play Wii, and it was nice to see sporting events on the big screen for those who wanted to watch them. My only negative here was that I am not a person that wants to be around a lot of people and they blocked out the sporting event that was being shown on the big screen so you couldn't watch it in your room. There were also no network tv stations, so hard to keep up on everyday shows. It was also hard to watch shows off our Ipod as there were no connections to the TVs. The rooms were nice and roomy, although we were in the mini suite. The couch in the room was nice as not all cruise ships have couches. There was a coffee pot in the room, which was used quite a lot by us. The bathroom was also roomy for being on a cruise ship. A separate toilet area was the best idea yet. There was also a small cooler type area for pop and whatnot. This was nice to have when a snack attack hit. We only used a couple of sodas during the cruise. Our cabin was right below the teenage or youth room, so it was extremely loud a couple of nights. This was even more strange when it was about 2 a.m. one night when they finally stopped playing the loud, base type, music. The room stewards were not quite as efficient as those on other cruise lines, but they were nice. The spa and the workout areas were very nice and provided lots of options for those interested in many different things. Our favorite part by far, was the steak house, where we ate approximately five nights on this cruise. The food was exceptional and the staff were the absolute best. This was also compounded by the fact that after the first couple of days on the ship, the price of the speciality restaurants went down to two for the price of one. This was excellent and sold it for us. The buffet food was the best of any cruise I have been on. There was a ton more international food there, and all the food was excellent. Obviously this was the case as it looked like every night there were tons of people eating there. Ice cream machine was out of order a lot though. It was definitely not 24-hour a day thing. There seemed to be more shopping available on this ship as the stores seemed to have more room than others or was just set up better. The other favorite here was the bowling alley. We played there more than once while in port. The price to play drops while in port. This also made my bowling score better, not having to worry about the swaying ship making me worse than I already am. Overall, this is a cruise line that I would recommend to those that don't want tons of younger crowd activities but yet still likes things such as Wii and bowling.
lynncounselo saw things this way:
No variety of food in main dining rooms., June 20, 2010
Reviewer: lynncounselo
Pros: Nice cabins and stewards.
Cons: Too many specialtiy restaurants. Rude staff. Fair entertainmant
Date of cruise: June 6, 2010
Departure port: Seattle
Region visited: Alaska
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 8586
You get what you pay for and this cruise was only fair compared to others I have been on.
cheltx saw things this way:
Freestyle concept is good, June 18, 2010
Reviewer: cheltx
Pros: No formal nights, no need to dress up.
Cons: Constant hyping of things to buy - raffle tickets, bingo, art, photos
Date of cruise: June 6, 2010
Departure port: Seattle
Region visited: Alaska
Cabin category: Outside
Good for children: Yes
Chose NCL (after being on three other cruise lines) for a trip to Alaska because of freestyle cruising and reputation for being family friendly. Traveled as a group of six - two grandparents, two adults and two children (12 and 14). All liked the fact that there were no formal nights and everything was casual. Had outside cabin which was adequate, except for lighting by the beds which was useless for reading. Ship had two main dining rooms which did not have extra charges. Felt menu was quite limited in terms of choices and food was nothing out of the ordinary. Very few vegetarian options (mostly just pasta dishes). Think that the cruise line would much prefer you eat in the specialty restaurants which involve a service charge. Not as much attention to extra details in the buffet line, like carved fruit and vegetable displays (not essential by any means, but added to the experience on the other cruise lines we've used). We were offended by the constant hyping of things to buy. We would attend the evening entertainment and before the shows started the cruise director would spend time encouraging us to buy raffle tickets and remind us of the next bingo game. Picture taking was omnipresent. Was disappointed that on an Alaskan cruise, which many people take because of the destination and the chance to see wildlife, that there was no naturalist onboard. On the day that we cruised Glacier Bay, three National Park Service personnel did board the ship, gave wonderful presentations and were available for questions. Each day's newsletter, in preparation for a port of call, gave detailed shopping information, but no information about the port (and no map). I know that the cruise line wants you to book its shore excursions, and we did that for many of the ports, but some explanation would have been helpful if you just wanted to walk around or go to a local attraction on your own. Staff for all the dining rooms and our room stewards were very accommodating and friendly. No galley tours were offered. We have taken them on other cruise lines and found them fascinating because of the sheer size of the operation. A behind-the-scenes tour was mentioned early in the cruise, but there was a charge for it - certainly not necessary to charge for that - it's a good marketing tool. Embarkation and disembarkation were handled very smoothly. NCL offers what is called "Easy Off" which gives you the ability to disembark at any time if you take your luggage with you. I had inquired about disembarkation times when booking the cruise, because I wanted to schedule a flight home which left around noon. They never mentioned "Easy Off" as an option and said that noon would be too early to book a flight. So I booked one for 6 p.m. and had almost the whole day in Seattle before the flight and got home very, very late that night. I could easily have made a noon flight.
Norwegian Pearl reviews
Average customer rating:
3.86 / 5
3.86 / 5Average Rating based on 6 Reviews:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
3.33
3.50
3.33
4.33
3.25
4.33
4.60
4.67
3.33
3.50
3.33
4.33
3.25
4.33
4.60
4.67
3.33
scorpio1861 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
Very enjoyable cruise, December 5, 2013
Reviewer: scorpio1861
Pros: Balcony room
Cons: Nothing
Date of cruise: November 10, 2013
Departure port: Miami
Region visited: Caribbean - Western
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 9118
Good for teenagers: Yes
I just recently went on this cruise. Great ports of call, ship was very, very nice. Went snorkeling in Cozumel through an excursion on the ship and it was great!! Would do THAT again. Not crazy about the freestyle dining. Great price for all of the upgrades and perks that my bf and I received. Our cabin was in the middle to the back part of the ship on deck 9, which was very accommodating to everything. Nice staff pretty much everywhere we went. I would go again on this ship and/or cruise line. Thank you
somik saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
1
3
2
4
4
5
4
1
3
2
4
4
5
4
1
Horrible experience, would never cruise on NCL again, January 11, 2011
Reviewer: somik
Pros: The spa was the best thing on this ship
Cons: The lines, the nasty and arrogant staff, the horrible island tours, lack of info
Date of cruise: December 26, 2010
Departure port: miami
Region visited: Caribbean - Eastern
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 10118
Good for children: No
Good for teenagers: No
Most of the cruise was spent standing in lines and being insulted by arrogant staff. Both main dining rooms looked beautiful, however the lines were over one hour till 10 p.m. and no reservations were accepted -- never had a chance to eat there. Stirrup Cay is under construction and is not in shape for tourists. If you want a chair, it is $30 aperson or you can just sit on the sand. Every activity costs a large amount of money and you need to stand in line. The tours were horrible, especially Samana. We spent a huge amount of money and had the worst vacation of our lives!
bilibob saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
5
3
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
3
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
Fantastic ship and crew, September 8, 2010
Reviewer: bilibob
Pros: Freestyle atmosphere; something for all walks of life and demographic
Cons: Cabins could use higher end finishings and attention to smaller details
Date of cruise: April 24, 2010
Departure port: Los Angeles
Region visited: Pacific Northwest
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 10540
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
Repositioning cruise along Pacific coast was fantastic. Ship was well appointed and crew aims to please. Great food, nice shops (reasonably priced for cruise ship), and good common areas. Entertainment lacked, but probaby because it was a repositioning, not a standard run. Would definitely cruise Norwegian again, but would probably try another ship just to compare.
olsonda saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
4
4
4
5
4
5
5
4
4
4
5
4
5
5
4
Overall good to excellent compared to other cruiselines, great food, bowling, July 1, 2010
Reviewer: olsonda
Pros: Excellent specialty restaurants and prices, good to excellent staff
Cons: Bar staff not as outgoing as other cruise lines, some areas loud
Date of cruise: September 21, 2008
Departure port: Seattle
Region visited: Panama Canal
Cabin category: Jr. Suite
This review is based on a 19-night cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl. I am rating this as a good to excellent deal depending on what you find important. I went on this cruise with my husband, and we are younger to middle aged. We noticed right off the bat that there was a slightly older age group, especially on this long of a cruise. There were still the all ages activities, but there weren't the number of people participating. This was fine with us. We are not really activity type people. Overall, the activities are the same as on any other cruise line, and we have been on two other cruise lines. There is a lot of trying to sell you stuff, but this is the same on all cruise lines. As soon as we told them we weren't interested, we were left alone. Staff was generally friendly, but not quite as outgoing as on other cruise lines. The decorations on this ship was nice. Vibrant colors were all around, so this kept the mood light. The big screen was nice to watch people play Wii, and it was nice to see sporting events on the big screen for those who wanted to watch them. My only negative here was that I am not a person that wants to be around a lot of people and they blocked out the sporting event that was being shown on the big screen so you couldn't watch it in your room. There were also no network tv stations, so hard to keep up on everyday shows. It was also hard to watch shows off our Ipod as there were no connections to the TVs. The rooms were nice and roomy, although we were in the mini suite. The couch in the room was nice as not all cruise ships have couches. There was a coffee pot in the room, which was used quite a lot by us. The bathroom was also roomy for being on a cruise ship. A separate toilet area was the best idea yet. There was also a small cooler type area for pop and whatnot. This was nice to have when a snack attack hit. We only used a couple of sodas during the cruise. Our cabin was right below the teenage or youth room, so it was extremely loud a couple of nights. This was even more strange when it was about 2 a.m. one night when they finally stopped playing the loud, base type, music. The room stewards were not quite as efficient as those on other cruise lines, but they were nice. The spa and the workout areas were very nice and provided lots of options for those interested in many different things. Our favorite part by far, was the steak house, where we ate approximately five nights on this cruise. The food was exceptional and the staff were the absolute best. This was also compounded by the fact that after the first couple of days on the ship, the price of the speciality restaurants went down to two for the price of one. This was excellent and sold it for us. The buffet food was the best of any cruise I have been on. There was a ton more international food there, and all the food was excellent. Obviously this was the case as it looked like every night there were tons of people eating there. Ice cream machine was out of order a lot though. It was definitely not 24-hour a day thing. There seemed to be more shopping available on this ship as the stores seemed to have more room than others or was just set up better. The other favorite here was the bowling alley. We played there more than once while in port. The price to play drops while in port. This also made my bowling score better, not having to worry about the swaying ship making me worse than I already am. Overall, this is a cruise line that I would recommend to those that don't want tons of younger crowd activities but yet still likes things such as Wii and bowling.
lynncounselo saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
4
4
2
4
2
5
4
5
1
4
2
4
2
5
4
5
1
No variety of food in main dining rooms., June 20, 2010
Reviewer: lynncounselo
Pros: Nice cabins and stewards.
Cons: Too many specialtiy restaurants. Rude staff. Fair entertainmant
Date of cruise: June 6, 2010
Departure port: Seattle
Region visited: Alaska
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 8586
You get what you pay for and this cruise was only fair compared to others I have been on.
cheltx saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
2
3
4
4
2
4
4
4
3
4
4
2
4
4
4
Freestyle concept is good, June 18, 2010
Reviewer: cheltx
Pros: No formal nights, no need to dress up.
Cons: Constant hyping of things to buy - raffle tickets, bingo, art, photos
Date of cruise: June 6, 2010
Departure port: Seattle
Region visited: Alaska
Cabin category: Outside
Good for children: Yes
Chose NCL (after being on three other cruise lines) for a trip to Alaska because of freestyle cruising and reputation for being family friendly. Traveled as a group of six - two grandparents, two adults and two children (12 and 14). All liked the fact that there were no formal nights and everything was casual. Had outside cabin which was adequate, except for lighting by the beds which was useless for reading. Ship had two main dining rooms which did not have extra charges. Felt menu was quite limited in terms of choices and food was nothing out of the ordinary. Very few vegetarian options (mostly just pasta dishes). Think that the cruise line would much prefer you eat in the specialty restaurants which involve a service charge. Not as much attention to extra details in the buffet line, like carved fruit and vegetable displays (not essential by any means, but added to the experience on the other cruise lines we've used). We were offended by the constant hyping of things to buy. We would attend the evening entertainment and before the shows started the cruise director would spend time encouraging us to buy raffle tickets and remind us of the next bingo game. Picture taking was omnipresent. Was disappointed that on an Alaskan cruise, which many people take because of the destination and the chance to see wildlife, that there was no naturalist onboard. On the day that we cruised Glacier Bay, three National Park Service personnel did board the ship, gave wonderful presentations and were available for questions. Each day's newsletter, in preparation for a port of call, gave detailed shopping information, but no information about the port (and no map). I know that the cruise line wants you to book its shore excursions, and we did that for many of the ports, but some explanation would have been helpful if you just wanted to walk around or go to a local attraction on your own. Staff for all the dining rooms and our room stewards were very accommodating and friendly. No galley tours were offered. We have taken them on other cruise lines and found them fascinating because of the sheer size of the operation. A behind-the-scenes tour was mentioned early in the cruise, but there was a charge for it - certainly not necessary to charge for that - it's a good marketing tool. Embarkation and disembarkation were handled very smoothly. NCL offers what is called "Easy Off" which gives you the ability to disembark at any time if you take your luggage with you. I had inquired about disembarkation times when booking the cruise, because I wanted to schedule a flight home which left around noon. They never mentioned "Easy Off" as an option and said that noon would be too early to book a flight. So I booked one for 6 p.m. and had almost the whole day in Seattle before the flight and got home very, very late that night. I could easily have made a noon flight.
