I just spent seven nights sailing across the Mediterranean aboard Norwegian Pearl — and it ended up being one of the best cruise experiences I’ve had with Norwegian Cruise Line.
My friend and I set sail from Barcelona with only one sea day and five ports of call across Malta, Greece, Croatia, and Montenegro. Our Mediterranean adventure ended in Venice (Ravenna), Italy, where we spent three nights before heading home.
Although I had previously taken a 2-night cruise from Malaga, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal aboard Norwegian Sun, this was my first true Mediterranean cruise with NCL. Norwegian Pearl is also one of the older ships in Norwegian’s fleet, so we weren’t entirely sure what to expect from the onboard experience.
Like any vacation, not everything went perfectly according to plan. In fact, we didn’t have many plans for the cruise at all. In my experience, Mediterranean itineraries are often easier to explore independently since many port cities have convenient access to the main attractions and city centers.
Our cruise was Norwegian Pearl’s first European sailing of the season, as she will be spending the next few months cruising across the region.
If you’re setting sail aboard NCL Pearl, be sure to learn from our experience, including the tips and lessons that helped make our Mediterranean cruise smoother and far less stressful.
1. Booking a debark tour in Ravenna to avoid waiting hours in the hot sun
One of the best decisions we made while planning this cruise was booking a disembarkation tour for Ravenna, Italy with Norwegian Cruise Line. Many cruisers ended up waiting for hours in the warm weather waiting for one of the few taxis available at the terminal.
Ravenna is the main port that Norwegian uses for Venice, as the city has banned cruise ships from docking in the city. I had never docked in Ravenna before, so I did some research about what to expect.
I learned that Ravenna is a very small town with very few taxis. Although the train station can be an option, you still need to get yourself from the cruise terminal to the station with all of your luggage.
As such, we booked a debark tour with NCL called Padua with Transfer to Venice Airport. The tour was 6 hours long and cost around $183 per person after our shore excursion discount. It was one of the best decisions we made for the entire cruise!
On disembarkation day, we loaded coach buses with all of our luggage. I was surprised to see the bus was only half full, but the line waiting for taxis in the terminal parking lot was already weaving around the parking lot! Some cruisers posted on our sailing Facebook page that they waited for hours in the line waiting for a taxi.
The convenience of having our luggage handled and confirmed transportation to Venice was worth every penny! I highly recommend pre-arranging transportation in Ravenna or booking a debarkation tour.
Note: Norwegian Cruise Line also offered transfers to Bologna Airport, Marco Polo Airport, and Post-Cruise Hotels (AC Hotel Venezia, Hotel Cube Ravenna, and Crown Plaza Venice East Quarto D’Altino).
2. Booked all specialty dining on embarkation day
Because we booked Norwegian’s Free at Sea package, we received three specialty dining meals during the cruise. In addition, our Platinum loyalty perks included two extra specialty dining credits.
With five specialty dining meals to use, we should have reserved our restaurants online before embarkation. Unfortunately, we completely forgot to make reservations in advance, so one of our first stops after boarding Norwegian Pearl was the restaurant reservation desk to secure dining times for the week.
Thankfully, we were still able to book all of the restaurants we wanted, although many of the available times were later than we would have preferred. Several of our reservations were around 8:30 p.m., but we met other passengers who were only able to secure even later dining times.
For sailings 7 nights or longer, you can access reservations 120 days before embarkation. Because we had booked a Club Balcony Stateroom, we could have accessed the restaurant reservations even earlier. Learn from our mistake and prebook your dining!
3. Didn’t wait until last minute to return to the ship
Our itinerary visited Malta for the first port of call, and I couldn’t wait to explore a new country! Norwegian Pearl was only docked in Malta from 6am to 3pm, so we had an early start to our day. After walking around the city and exploring the main sights, we decided to head back to the ship around 1:30 pm with all-aboard time at 2:30 pm.
We had no issues returning to the ship, but within the next hour, the line grew miles long! People were standing all the way down the pier. Luckily, Norwegian Cruise Line provided tents, water, and cool towels for guests standing in line. Apparently, the tide conditions only allowed one gangway to be used, which slowed down the boarding process.
After this experience in Malta, we decided to come back to the ship with some buffer time to avoid long lines.
4. Explored ports independently to save money
Because we splurged on other experiences during the cruise, we decided to explore most of the ports independently rather than booking excursions through Norwegian Cruise Line. Many of the tours were fairly expensive, with most costing more than $100 per person. Instead, we preferred saving money while keeping our schedule flexible throughout the trip.
Thankfully, this itinerary was very easy to navigate on our own. In ports like Malta, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Split, and Montenegro, the ships docked relatively close to the main attractions and city centers. In every port, we were either able to walk directly from the ship or take a short, inexpensive taxi ride into town.
Here’s a quick overview of what we did in each port:
- Malta: Walked from the cruise terminal to explore the old town, dined at Cafe Cordina (the oldest cafe in Malta), visited St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral Church, shopped at local stores, and visited the Upper Barrakka Gardens
- Corfu, Greece: Took a quick taxi ride to the old town for shopping and walked to Imabari Corfu Beach Club for drinks, lunch, and swimming.
- Kotor, Montenegro: Visited a local coffee shop, had drinks at the jazz bar, wandered around the cute streets, and shopped the local stores
- Dubrovnik, Croatia: Took a quick taxi ride to the old town for breakfast and coffee, wandered around the old town, visited Buza Bar for a drink, had lunch at Zuzori, and sampled ice cream from Dolce Vita.
- Split, Croatia: Booked a 5-hour tour with Viator to visit nearby islands and swim at Blue Lagoon before exploring the old town.
5. Utilized priority tendering with Latitude loyalty status
Kotor, Montenegro was the only tender port on our itinerary, meaning we had to take smaller boats ashore instead of walking off the ship directly. Unfortunately, the weather during our visit was rainy and slightly windy in the morning, which slowed down the tendering process throughout the morning.
Because Norwegian Pearl was anchored fairly far from shore, the tender ride itself took around 30 minutes. The conditions weren’t terrible, but the ride certainly wasn’t smooth with the rocky water.
Thankfully, our Platinum Latitude loyalty status included priority tendering. Instead of waiting for a tender ticket group to be called, we were able to board whenever we were ready. The process was smooth: we met in the designated dining room, staff verified our loyalty status, and then escorted us directly to the tender line.
Many passengers were understandably antsy to get ashore as the process moved slowly because of the weather. If you have Latitude loyalty status with Norwegian Cruise Line, make sure to check whether your tier includes priority tendering benefits before your cruise.
If you don’t have loyalty status, I’d recommend getting a tender ticket as early as possible if you want to avoid long waits. Tender ports can sometimes take much longer than expected, especially when weather conditions aren’t ideal.
6. Gave ourselves extra time before and after embarkation day
If you’re traveling to Europe from North America, I highly recommend adding a few extra days before and after your cruise. Our sailing departed from Barcelona, so we spent three nights in the city before embarkation.
It was the perfect way to start our vacation. We had time to explore Barcelona’s top attractions, including the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. In addition, we loved trying the local food scene (i.e: sangria!). Having a few nights allowed us to slowly adjust to the time difference before boarding Norwegian Pearl.
After an overnight transatlantic flight, I know we would have been exhausted if we had gone straight from the airport to the ship.
Following the cruise, we also spent three nights in Venice before flying home. Not only did this give us time to properly explore Venice, but it also helped us decompress after several busy port days in a row. Instead of ending the trip feeling rushed and exhausted, we were able to slow down and enjoy the final stretch of our vacation.
7. Splurged on a Club Balcony Suite to enjoy the scenery
I typically prefer saving money by booking a more affordable interior cabin, but my friend and I decided to splurge on a balcony for this cruise. While booking our reservation, we were able to upgrade to a Club Balcony Suite for only $17 more. That’s cheaper than some cocktails onboard, so it was a no-brainer!
We ended up loving our cabin, and it became one of the highlights of the cruise. Norwegian’s Club Balcony Suites include more spacious bathrooms, one complimentary bag of laundry, and upgraded amenities like sparkling wine and chocolate-covered strawberries.
The extra space made the cabin much more comfortable for a week-long sailing, especially with the larger bathroom and private balcony. The scenery throughout the Mediterranean was also absolutely gorgeous, and we loved always having our own private view. Whether we were sailing away from Malta’s historic waterfront or cruising past the Greek islands, having a balcony was completely worth it.
About Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Pearl is one of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Jewel Class ships, first launching in 2006. The mid-sized ship carries roughly 2,300 passengers and offers a noticeably smaller scale compared to Norwegian’s newest mega ships, making it easier to navigate for many cruisers.
The ship was refurbished in 2021 and continues to receive updates. Most recently, Norwegian Pearl entered drydock in France in late 2025 for additional enhancements, including the addition of the adults-only Vibe Beach Club. The upgraded outdoor space includes private cabanas, lounge chairs, hot tubs, ocean views, and a full-service bar.
Norwegian Pearl features a mix of complimentary and specialty dining venues, along with pools, bars and lounges, entertainment spaces, a casino, and the Mandara Spa. The ship offers six complimentary restaurants and seven specialty dining venues, including popular options like Cagney’s Steakhouse.
Guests can choose from a variety of stateroom categories onboard, including inside cabins, oceanview staterooms, balcony cabins, club balcony suites, and The Haven suites.
