More Dining Options Than Ever Before

The ship features 10 restaurants, including Cagney's Steak House, Blue Lagoon and NCL's fantastic French restaurant, Le Bistro. We found the food and service around the ship to be very good. The choices of venues are so many that you will probably dine in the same venue no more than once. Every day it was always something new and different.   In addition, Norwegian Pearl also features these dining choices....

Editors Note: There are cover charges at the most popular venues: A $15 cover charge per person at Cagney's, $10 - $25 per person at Le Bistro and $20 per person at Teppanyaki.

 

Summer Palace, a dining room inspired by the grandeur of the palaces of St. Petersburg and the era of Russian Tsars. White and gold ceilings, green marbled pillars and 24 carat gold-coated chandeliers add great atmosphere in this, the ship's main dining room. it seats 558 guests.

 

Indigo, a contemporary restaurant inspired by a modern boutique hotel clean lines and color combinations, featuring pop art backlit in glass. It seats 304 guests.

 

Lotus Garden, a modern Asian restaurant featuring popular Asian dishes it seats 108, a sushi bar and a Teppanyaki area seating just 32 in 3 timed seatings 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 PM.

Mambo's Latin/Tapas Restaurant, featuring hot and spicy Latin and tapas selections; La Cucina Italian Restaurant, a casual Italian eatery reflecting a village trattoria or traditional farmhouse kitchen. It seats 96.

The Garden Café, an indoor buffet featuring prepared-to-cook omelets, waffles fruit, soups, ethnic specialties and pasta; and The Great Outdoors, an outdoor eatery with alfresco dining. It seats 390. Includes a special "kids cafe"  with kid sized tables and chairs, it seats 52.

The Great Outdoors, an outdoor eatery with alfresco dining, it seats 259.

Hi Tech Reservations... So how do you know what restaurant has seating available at the time you want to dine? The ship has it's own innovative Freestyle Dining Information System. This computerized,  dining reservation system allows you to view the seating status of all restaurants on board so you can make reservations for just what you want. Display screens can be found all around the ship illustrating table availability.

The Accommodations

Norwegian Pearl offers the most extensive and unique choice of staterooms we have ever seen!

If you are one of the last big spenders,  book one of the impressive Garden Villas, giagantic at 4,400 square feet. These extravagant Garden Villas offer a spacious living room, dining room and three separate bedrooms, each with a private bathroom.  Enjoy your own private sun bed, hot tub and steam room in a private garden, including butler and concierge service.  Each bedroom has either a king- or queen-size bed and a private, luxury bath. One bedroom also features a full bath with whirlpool tub and separate shower. Each Garden Villa also has access to an exclusive concierge lounge and private courtyard area complete with swim-against-the-current lap pool, hot tub, male and female steam rooms and a small fitness area.

Or book a stateroom as part of the Courtyard Villa suite complex. Each villa shares a private courtyard, complete with swim-against-the-current lap pool, hot tub, male and female steam rooms and a small fitness area. These 10 villas also share a private sundeck with sun beds and hammocks. High above everything else are two Deluxe Owner's Suites -- the Black Pearl and the Golden Pearl -- each measuring over 535 sq. ft. with commanding views of the ship and the surrounding ocean and scenery. These suites offer a master bedroom, en-suite bathroom, and dining/living area, together with an ample balcony accessible through the master bedroom.

 

For families of all sizes, Norwegian Pearl offers a large number of staterooms (including suites and mini-suites) that can interconnect to create a two, three, four or five bedroom area.

Our balcony stateroom on Deck 10 ( 10566 ) came decorated in bright Caribbean colors. Bright blue and fuscia bedspreads, an orange and purple love seat, and blue drapes combine to create the tropical look. Mirrors outside the bath, beside the closet, and above the beds help create a more spacious environment. There are reading lamps over each bed.

The closet space is sufficient  for a week long cruise. You will find an easy to use safe, shelves and shoe storage and a  well-stocked mini bar.

The bathroom, has shell-shaped lamps and sea foam green floor tile. Separate toilet and shower areas.  There is a handy shampoo and soap dispenser, and a retractable clothes line for the wet stuff.  Our thanks to our cabin stewards who never failed to freshen the cabin, turn down the beds and fill the ice bucket. They even made cute animal shapes each night, like an elephants head, out of  towels and placed them in the center of the bed for us to enjoy when we returned after dinner.

There are interconnecting staterooms in a range of categories from standard insides to suites. Some staterooms can be linked to create two- to five-bedroom areas for families and family reunion gatherings.

Editor's Note....

The bedding has been upgraded with thicker mattresses, and better cotton sheets.  These beds are very comfortable. The bathrooms, are ceramic tiled  (nice touch) and the toilet has it's own room, with a door to close for privacy ( sort of )  The standard balconies have chairs and no lounge chair (bad touch).  What you won't find: magnifying makeup mirrors, brand-name toiletries, DVD players or clock radios.  There is a make up table and a hair dryer is provided.

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The ship also features Trade Routes Boutiques, located on deck 7 and offering a wide selection of brand name watches, jewelry, accessories and souvenirs.

The Sports Deck contains a basketball, volleyball and paddle tennis court with stadium seating, two life-sized chess pieces and board, two golf driving nets, deck games, jogging track and shuffleboard.

Use the video arcade, the bowling alley and the sports deck with tennis, basketball, volleyball, swimming pools and the rock-climbing wall. For others there is a card room, library, bingo, art auctions, a complete spa facility, shopping or just "chillin" by the pool.

 

Norwegian Pearl also offers a new, advanced Internet Café and Photo Gallery with kiosks to print photos from digital cameras as well as the latest laptops, which guests can rent to use around the ship.

The Internet cafe is open 24 hours a day. You will pay an account activation fee of $3.95, and the base charge is .75 per minute. If you plan on using the Internet Cafe often, choose a package plan: 250 minutes for $100 or 100 minutes for $55. Shorter plans include 15 minutes for $8.25 and 30 minutes for $12. Stateroom Internet access is available  using your own laptop and an ethernet cable.

 

The family-centric ship features the Aqua Kids Club, decorated with a cute and friendly tropical sea creature theme, complete with a cinema, nursery and sleep/rest area; computer area and arts and crafts area. The ship also features the graffiti/New York-inspired Metro Center Teen's Club.

 

Fun for the Entire Family

Pearl has all the elements to be a great ship for families, with plenty of activities for all ages. For kids, there is the Aqua Kids Club, decorated in a friendly tropical sea creature theme with a cinema, a computer center and an arts and crafts area. For the very young, or simply exhausted, there is a nursery and sleep/rest area.

Freestyle For The Family

On the Norwegian Pearl kids get what they want to eat — and a special place to dine: the Kid's Café. Featuring a Kid's Buffet: sandwiches, hot dogs, fruits, vegetables, french fries and cookies. The tables and chairs are just their size. Plus, there is a special Kid's Crew Dinner—just for kids, no parents allowed!

The Kid's Crew program with age-appropriate activities is organized by age group: Junior Sailors (2 - 5), First Mates (6 - 9), Navigators (10 - 12) and Teens (13 - 17). In addition to a play room, there is a kid cinema and video arcade.

NCL at-sea children's programs start as young as 2. Parents can get beepers foto stay in contact. Group babysitting is available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. in port; and from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. when at sea. The cost is $5 per hour, per child, and $3 per hour for siblings.

Teens have a great looking, graffiti/New York-inspired Metro Center Teen's Club with a dance floor,  touch-screen jukebox, Microsoft Xbox gaming consoles, disco nights, socials, movies and DJ facilities.

Dress Down.. Dress Up?

Casual dress is at the heart of NCL's "Freestyle Cruise Concept."  Forget about Formal wear. Skip the black tie or dark suit for men or evening gown or cocktail dress for women.  If you don't want to wear them, leave them at home. They are not necessary on this cruise. However, some like to go formal, and the cruise does not discourage getting dressed up.  So, you will find some on your cruise who get all dressed up in gowns and tuxedos. When we dined in the ship's most elegant restaurant, Le Bistro, we had on resort casual attire. It was great!

Here's a Tip about Tips!

You will be automatically billed $10 a day, per person for service staff gratuities. Gone are the envelopes at the end of the cruise. Children ages 3 - 12 are charged $5 per day. However, if you prefer to tip individually, you can fill out a form at reception. A 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar orders, spa services, fitness classes etc.

Wrap Up

The difference between a cruise on the Norwegian Pearl and some other cruise lines is the Freestyle Dining Feature. You get to dine anytime between 5:30pm and 10:00pm, where you want and with whom you want. It is NCL's signature. However, some people prefer traditional dining times and venues. The same wait staff every evening, the same tablemates. Which system do you like, the freestyle dining or the traditional one? After our experience, on the Norwegian Pearl, we'll go Freestyle!   The overall quality of the food and service, especially at Le Bistro the French Restaurant, was much better than what we had experienced on other cruise lines.

Ultimately, there's much about Norwegian Pearl that shines, most notably the dining options, service, a large variety of appealing staterooms, an impressive pool area and fitness center.