Hi, I have taken two cruises with Princess and both were great. I'm going on the NCL Pearl 2/22/08 nine day caribbean cruise. Has anyone been on this cruise or ship? I'm interested in tips, ports of call info and general NCL Pearl experience. Thanks

Hi interested, welcome to Cruise-Chat. I've not sailed on the Pearl, but have heard good reviews. I also saw a special on the Travel Channel about her. I've sailed on NCL 3 times, it's vastly different from Princess, but I enjoyed NCL. If you like snorkeling, check into their Dive-in program. We did it on our last 2 NCL cruises and really liked it. We got to snorkel in all the ports of call and had priority debarkation. We didn't have our snorkeling gear at that time, and they included rental equipment in the price of the dive-in program. Hope you have a wonderful cruise and once again, welcome aboard!

I'm doing the Pearl for 9 days in Jan...and if it's anything like the Jewel, she is a GREAT ship...I've done 12 cruises on NCL and have always enjoyed it...some cruises were better than others, but a cruise is what you make it...Enjoy the Ride...

Bob E

Sailed the Pearl 3 times in 2007, of which we did the 9 day Southern Carribean in Feb 2007, had Penthouse suite #9500 deck 9. After 2 Princess cruises this one will be a good comparison. Just off the 15 day Diamond Princess to Hawaii and would take the NCL Pearl over the Diamond Princess anyday. The Pearl is a class ship and the Freestyle dining is superior to any Princess cruise. Restaruant selection on the NCL Pearl is the best compared to Princess ships.

See my review for the 9 day Pearl cruise here at cruise-chat.

Here's the link:

http://cruise-chat.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/303601132/m/9541053192

Can answer any and all questions as we know the ship very well.