We just returned from the Pearl's first 9 night Caribbean cruise and thought I'd offer a few comments.

We almost cancelled this cruise after being on the Sun in October and having some concerns about service. We are VERY glad we did not cancel! Service was as good as any of the other dozen cruises we have been on regardless of cruise line.

The Pearl is a really beautiful ship but it takes a while to learn her layout. We had an inside cabin which was small but the bathroom was larger than most insides we have had before. There was a full shower with sliding glass doors, coffee pot, refrigerator (mini bar)and a larger than usual safe. The only problem we had with cabin was the way the toilets are installed. They are set at an angle in the bathroom which offers very little "leg room".

There are two main dining rooms and we thoroughly enjoyed the one named "Summer Palace". However, the "Indigo" left a lot to be desired for us. It is smaller and supposedly more intimate but we found it to be crowded and VERY noisy. For some reason, service in Indigo seemed to be just a little less than the Summer Palace. We ate twice in Mambo's which is "Tex Mex" (specialty restaurant but no extra charge) and food was great! Also ate once in "Lotus Garden" specialty restaurant ($10 per person) and was also great!

I do not intend this thread to be a complete cruise review but will be glad to answer any questions I can. Just wanted to let everyone know that NCL seems to have gotten it right with this one. Wish it could have been the same when we went on the Sun in October.

Let me know if you have specific questions.

Robert in Louisiana

Robert,
I assume you were on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary?

We are also on the 03/02/2007 Pearl sailing and have a few questions if you could please answer them?

The ship is scheduled back in Miami at 12:00 noon, is this the same time that you arrived? If so, how long did it take you to get off the ship?

Were any of the ports changed on your cruise? Were any visited ports tendered, or all done via docking?

I am planning on renting a Rental car post cruise at the Port of Miami, and Alamo, nor Budget can't tell me if there is a port location near the ship, or if I have to take the shuttle.
Anything that you could add would help.

Thanks,
Bill

Hello Bill,

We were on the Southern Caribbean itinerary which included Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antiqua, and Tortola. The itinerary called for us to be back in Miami at noon but we actually arrived around 9 AM. The ship was "cleared" around 10 and we were off and IN OUR CAR by 10:30. We did the "expedited departure" carrying our own luggage and were off the ship in no time.

None of the ports were changed. The only tendering was done at Dominica because there were two other ships there ahead of us but the tendering was a very short distance and no problem at all.

Sorry, Bill, I can't help with the rental car question. We drove our own vehicle and I simply did not pay attention to any rental facilities. However, I did not happen to notice any.

Hope this helps.
Robert

Robert,
Thanks for that information, it really helps us plan our Cruise.

Bill

Dollar will pick you up at the port and shuttle to car rental place.

Slouman:

Can you give me an idea of the excursions on this cruise. We will be on the Pearl Feb 2nd, sailing, next week, and sure wou;d like to get a perspective on the off shore excursions. Your input would really be of value. Can you help?

Richard & Mary

Richard and Mary:

We are not "excursion people" so did not take any of them and cannot offer any first hand advice. We have already discarded the paperwork from the cruise but I looked at the NCL web site before beginning this reply and the excursions offered were pretty much what is listed there. The one thing we considered, and now wish we had done, was a snorkeling trip called "Champagne Snorkle", which was snorkeling over a volcano.

Although we have been to the Western Caribbean many times we were unfamiliar with the islands visited. We discovered they were the same as most ports ... taxi drivers offering their own tours in every port.

You will not find a great deal of shopping on this particular itenerary. Yes, there are some large stores like Diamonds International but we found they would not haggle nearly as much as other places.

Sorry I cannot offer more with regard to your question.

Robert

Robert:

My Bob and I are going on the 16th (Southern Caribbean).
Can you tell me which nights are the formal nights. I gather that they are when we are at sea?

Many thanks!!!

Brenda

There are no really formal nights on the Pearl. There are a couple of nights that were labeled "formal optional" or something like that but no formal nights as on other cruise lines. The Pearl was our second NCL cruise in 4 months and we didn't even take a dress or coat on either one of them.

Robert

quote:

Originally posted by Mr Bill3:
Robert,
I assume you were on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary?

We are also on the 03/02/2007 Pearl sailing and have a few questions if you could please answer them?

The ship is scheduled back in Miami at 12:00 noon, is this the same time that you arrived? If so, how long did it take you to get off the ship?

Were any of the ports changed on your cruise? Were any visited ports tendered, or all done via docking?

I am planning on renting a Rental car post cruise at the Port of Miami, and Alamo, nor Budget can't tell me if there is a port location near the ship, or if I have to take the shuttle.
Anything that you could add would help.

Thanks,
Bill

Enterprise has a Port Canaveral office.