Haven - the Ultimate Experience

Recently traveled on the Pearl in the Haven 3-bedroom villa. Me, my sisteWr, brother and brother-in-law and my 8 yo disabled grandson. If you ever have an opportunity to sail in a Haven suite, do! We love cruising and NCL has never disappointed, but the Haven takes the experience to the next level. Our Concierge, Lou, ensured we were able to get reservations for shows, specialty dining and any other activities were available. Jafar, our butler, was always available to meet any needs or requests, at any time. I was a little nervous traveling with a wheelchair bound 8 year old for the first time, but NCL worked very closely with me prior to and during, to ensure any special accommodations or needs were able to be met. My grandson had to travel with special food (tube fed) and I worked with an accommodation specialist, prior to sailing to ensure we were able to bring all things needed on board without issue. Most other passengers were wonderful and did not make us feel we were in the way and were understanding. Dining - we ate at a variety of venues throughout the 11-day sailing. The buffet was good, nothing out of the ordinary, but good, great variety and certainly something for everyone in our group. As we were in the Haven, we were able to have breakfast and lunch in a "specialty" venue as there is not a Haven restaurant on the Pearl. As in the Haven restaurant on other NCL ships, the menu did not change from day to day, but enjoyed ordering different items on various days... the brie burger and shrimp louie turned out to be my favorites for many lunches. For specialty dining, we choose Le Bistro, La Cucina, Cagney's and Teppanyaki. My favorites were Le Bistro and Cagney's. We ate in the main dining room on most nights and I enjoyed the variety and being able to try different and new things. I was always able to have a wonder and relaxing dinner. I do love being able to order more than one appetizer/dessert, as sometimes you just can't make up your mind. I'm not the greatest in writing reviews, but wanted to say that NCL did not disappoint, all of the staff we encountered and interactived with, always made a feel special, even if only a smile and a greeting.

Awesome 23-day cruise on the Pearl!

We had an awesome time on tgis 9-day cruise which we also went a 14-day TA afterwards from Barcelona to Miami! We also booked a Paris hotel stay through NCL, which allowed us to walk over to both the Arch de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower before jumping on tge 3-hour NCL transfer bus to Le Havre where be boarded the Pearl. Along the way our bus driver had to drive through a snow blizzard most of the way. Fun times!! We had fun visiting a variety of ports in Portland and Spain along with stopping by Casablanca on our follow-on TA ending in Miami. One of the cool things about our cruise was that most evenings, we dined in either Cagney’s, Le Bistro, Moderno, and even Lotus Garden, which for the most part is complimentary unless you want to purchase sushi. For more information about our cruise, please check out my Live From thread on the NCL forum, https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3035784-live-from-the-pearl-23-day-western-med-transatlantic-b2b-nov-21-dec-14/

Top-class ship, customer service, and itinerary

Fantastic boat with all the amenities you could ask for. My only complaint was that the overhead net on the basketball court was too low. Other than that, everything was great! Here are my ratings of a bunch of aspects of the cruise: Complimentary Dining Options: 7/10 (buffet was a 10/10) Upgraded Dining Options: 9/10 (I recommend Cagney's steakhouse) Gym: 8/10 Cabins: 9/10 Pool Area: 9/10 Theater: 10/10 Shows: 8/10 Cocktails: 6/10 (too much syrup/sugar) Starbucks: 10/10 (just as good as any on land) Gift Shops: 7/10 Customer Service: 10/10 Housekeeping: 10/10 Bingo / Deal or No Deal / Other Game Shows: 6/10 (too much upselling) Excursions: 7/10 (most were over priced) Casino: 10/10 (lots of slots and tables with low ($10) minimums) Destinations: 10/10 (Greece, Croatia, Montenegro and Italy) Wifi: 7/10 (spotty at times, plus I actually had cell service more than half of the time) Water Bottles: 4/10 (they give you cans which you can't easily refill) Likelihood I'd cruise on the Norwegian Pearl again: 10/10

A WOW Experience on the Pearl!

We sailed from Trieste to Athens in mid-August aboard the Pearl. We were the first two passengers on and were in a Penthouse Suite. It's twice the size of a balcony cabin and has two bathrooms. Worth every penny! Our butler, Preejesh was awesome. So friendly, attentive and professional. Same can be said for Concierge Roland and room steward, Jai. In fact, we had great service from everyone on the ship! Above and beyond across the board. We really enjoyed the food in all restaurants, including the main dining rooms, Cagney's, and the others. They could have a few more sushi roll options, but who's complaining! We didn't go to any shows but could hear some of the entertainment when we were grabbing a bite at O'Sheehans. The talent sounded very good! Embarkation was a little long. We had an arrival time of 10a and didn't get on the boat until 11:30. That's a little long. Only other thing we would change is to have an at-sea day and skip Montenegro. Boring port and terrible tour guide (Ivan) for the Ultimate Montenegro tour. Other than that, this was a great cruise and we were treated excellently by everyone on board!