Pearl for panama canal cruise?

[tweety33]

Looking to book the Pearl for the 11 day panama canal cruise, because we liked the itinerary & price. But I have been reading horrible reviews else where about this ship. That's besides the recent breaking down, and the recent norovirus outbreak.  Anyone care to share there experience, good or bad. Hoping to find hear good reviews here before committing to booking. Thank you.

[Turtles06]

I haven't sailed on the Pearl, but noro is not uncommon on cruise ships (nor on land!).  I would not let an outbreak of noro months ago on a particular cruise ship deter me from booking a cruise on that ship.  The ship is not what causes the noro. 

[Tutone56]

Although it's been about 8 years, we loved the Pearl.  I'm sure she's been through a lot since then, but I love that class of ships.  It's just the right size.  We had a mid ship balcony on deck 9, and the layout seemed perfect to us.  I think the mechanical issue was just bad luck, and the norovirus can strike anywhere at anytime.   

We'll be cruising next March on the POA and we'll miss the larger balcony room and bathroom like the pearl.  I say book your cruise and enjoy it!

[Peachypooh]

The Pearl is our favorite ship. We have sailed on her three times and have another one booked.

We sailed her on a partial Panama Canal cruise and it was the greatest.Can't think of one thing

to say that was wrong except maybe up the quality of the morning pastry LOL

[tweety33]

2 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

The Pearl is our favorite ship. We have sailed on her three times and have another one booked.

We sailed her on a partial Panama Canal cruise and it was the greatest.Can't think of one thing

to say that was wrong except maybe up the quality of the morning pastry LOL

Thank you, I just went ahead and booked it! Now I got a cruise to look forward to 😀 

Ps I hope they have chocolate croissants. I was sad this year to find out carnival no longer have them😣

Edited July 21, 2019 by tweety33

[Peachypooh]

54 minutes ago, tweety33 said:

Thank you, I just went ahead and booked it! Now I got a cruise to look forward to 😀 

Ps I hope they have chocolate croissants. I was sad this year to find out carnival no longer have them😣

Yes they do have chocolate croissants at least the last time I was on her.

[tweety33]

45 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

Yes they do have chocolate croissants at least the last time I was on her.

😍YES!!!! Thanks

[bonvoyagie]

It has been a few years and one refirb since we were on the Pearl. I also feel these are the right size ship for my style of cruising. While the recent problems with one of the pods is concerning- we have seen that those problems are not limited to NCL and can happen to any ship at any time.

 

We are going to be on the Gem doing a full transit in Jan - twice as many days.

We did look at the partial transits and decided that this was probably going to be a one time only cruise - we opted for full transit.

 

[Fiona2011]

Last April, a friend and I did a 21 day Panama cruise on the Pearl and loved her! We had excellent service in all of the dining venues and our room steward was fantastic! We shared an inside cabin and had plenty of storage. It was a long cruise and my friend is NOT a light packer.

You'll have a great time!

 

[herdingdogmom]

The Pearl is a nice ship with the forward lounge and aft outdoors eating area - both are great for a one lock transit of the original canal.