Norwegian Pearl Cruise Review

Cruise to Alaska on the NCL Norwegian Pearl

This is my second cruise experience. I am a very freestyled person, so I assumed that Norwegian's advertised 'free style' cruising might be suitable for me. Well, traveling with 'Free Style' was NOT really free.

First of all, there was no designated seating at any of the restaurants. We had to wait a half-hour to be seated at the main dining room. To dine at one of the specialty restaurants (surcharges apply) was even worse. Reservation is required, but can only be done for the same or the next day. Even when I tried to book early morning for the next day, the busy hours (5:30 - 7:00) were taken. So, everyday we had to plan and to worry about where and when to eat. With 4 kids in our group, we ended up in the Garden Buffet restaurant nearly for every meal. It was so packed! I carried 2 plates of food and walked 2 rounds in the seating area to spot an empty table, meanwhile had to make sure my son wasn't lost in the crowd.

The cruise was not children friendly either. My kids were excited when I told them a bowling alley on the ship. The truth was that children under 6 were not allowed. And the lightest ball was 9 pounds!