Dining: The Norwegian Pearl offers 10 restaurants and 13 bars and lounges in keeping with NCL's Freestyle Cruising concept. The Garden Cafe, the ship's buffet restaurant on Deck 12, is much larger than on other sister ships with multiple food stations. It also has an adjacent outdoor buffet, the Great Outdoors, in the stern. Many of NCL's signature restaurants are repeated on the Pearl. Dining Choices include Cagney's, the steakhouse; Lotus Garden, which combines a teppanyaki station, sushi bar and Mongolian eatery; and Mambo, a Tex-Mex and tapas option. Unlike some earlier Freestyle ships, La Cucina, an Italian eatery, now gets its own dedicated space. Also, the Blue Lagoon, the 24-hour "comfort food" restaurant, now overlooks the atrium reception area. NCL's ultimate signature restaurant, Le Bistro, complete with an original Renoir painting, is on Deck 6, but in a slightly altered configuration. Finally, there are the main restaurants, here called Summer Garden and Indigo, a smaller restaurant located midship.
On Deck 6 you can find three themed bars in a row: Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar, with a wide selection of both beverages; Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar, with some James Bond influenced decor; and Magnums Champagne & Wine Bar.
Itineraries: The Norwegian Pearl is currently sailing on a five-day and nine-day western and southern Caribbean schedule. Ports of call on the five-day western Caribbean itinerary include stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City Belize. The nine-day Southern Caribbean route includes calls in Roseau, Dominica; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; St. John's, Antiqua; and Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
The ship moves to Seattle this summer (2007), where it will sail a seven-day Alaska Inside Passage itinerary with calls in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, Alaska; Glacier Bay; and Victoria, British Columbia. From fall 2007 through spring 2008, it returns to Miami and resumes its alternating five and nine-day western and southern Caribbean sailings.
Norwegian Pearl
The 93,530-ton, 2,394-guest Norwegian Pearl, christened in December 2006, boasts the first bowling alleys at sea (actually the first four alleys) featuring computerized scoring, plasma video screens and glow-in-the-dark bowling balls. Bowling is actually located in the middle of a cool club called the Bliss Ultra Lounge on Deck 7. Besides the alleys, the club features lush carpets, wall hangings, sofas, chairs and even "club" beds (including four poster). A DJ keeps the place pumping well into the night.
Beyond Bliss, however, there are a number of other innovations on this ship that improve upon the offerings of its predecessors. For example, it features a rock-climbing wall on the top sports deck, which also has two golf driving cages, ping pong tables, and a basketball / tennis court.
Accommodations: Pearl in many ways is a ship within a ship in terms of accommodations. It has a full range of suites, balcony cabins and lower berths, but it also has a segregated area with much more upscale accommodations. Topside are two new luxury Owner's Suites on Deck 14, offering sumptuous multi-bedroom quarters for those seeking a big-ship experience combined with exclusive accommodations (including a private hot tub and sun deck). There's also a completely private pool area for guests of the Villa Suites, also located on Deck 14.
