Norwegian Pearl vs Norwegian Gem

The Norwegian Pearl was built in 2006. It was renovated in 2017. It's 1 year older than the Gem, which was built in 2007 and renovated in 2026.

Comparison Overview

• Ship Size
• Number of Passengers
• Food and Restaurants
• Bars and Drinks
• Pools and Hot Tubs
• Ship Features and Activities
• Cruise Costs
• Onboard Costs

Ship Size

The Pearl is considered a small ship. Coming in at 965 feet long and 125 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2.4 tractor-trailers, and the same height as a 11-story building. The Pearl and the Gem are in the same class, which means they're sister ships. For the most part, they're similar in terms of size and layout; although they may have different features and attractions on board.

Number of Passengers

Norwegian Pearl holds about the same number of passengers as the Gem based on double occupancy (two people per room). At full capacity, Norwegian Pearl holds about the same number of passengers as the Gem.

When you look at the "Space Ratio," or tons of ship compared to number of passengers, the Pearl has the same amount of space per person as the Gem.

	Norwegian Pearl	Norwegian Gem
Class	Jewel	Jewel
Gross Tonnage	93,530	93,530
Length	965	965
Beam/Width	125	125
Passenger Decks	11	11
Passengers (double occupancy)	2,344	2,382
Passengers (maximum occupancy)	2,873	2,873
Crew	1,072	1,070
Passenger to Crew Ratio	2.7	2.7
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger)	33	33

Food and Restaurants

Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.

The Pearl has fourteen different dining options like Teppanyaki, The Great Outdoors, and Topsiders Bar & Grill. Of those options, twelve are complimentary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eight options have an additional fee.

The Gem has one more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Le Bistro French, Moderno Churrascaria, and O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill. Twelve of these restaurants are complimentary and the other ten have an additional fee.

The Norwegian Pearl has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Gem.

If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Pearl might be a better choice than the Gem. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.

Restaurants on Norwegian Pearl & Gem

Restaurant	Norwegian Pearl	Norwegian Gem
Included
Bali Hai Bar & Grill	✗	✓
Garden Cafe	✗	✓	Learn More
Lotus Garden Asian Restaurant	✓	✗
Main Dining Room	✓	✓	Learn More
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill	✓	✓	Learn More
Orchid Garden Asian Restaurant	✗	✓
Sky High Bar & Grill	✓	✗
The Great Outdoors	✓	✓	Learn More
Topsiders Bar & Grill	✓	✓	Learn More
A la carte
Atrium Cafe	✓	✓
Starbucks	✗	✓
Flat fee
Cagney's Steakhouse	✓	✓	Learn More
La Cucina Italian	✓	✓	Learn More
Le Bistro French	✓	✓	Learn More
Moderno Churrascaria	✓	✓	Learn More
Sushi Bar	✓	✓	Learn More
Teppanyaki	✓	✓	Learn More

Bars and Drinks

The Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem both have 16 bars to choose from during your sailing.

	Norwegian Pearl	Norwegian Gem
Atrium Bar	✓	✓
Bali Hai Bar & Grill	✗	✓
Bliss Ultra Lounge	✓	✓
Casino Bar	✓	✓
Corona Cigar Club	✓	✓
Great Outdoors Cafe	✓	✓
Magnum's Champagne & Wine Bar	✓	✓
Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar	✓	✓
Moderno Bar	✓	✓
O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill	✓	✓
Sake Bar	✓	✓
Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar	✓	✓
Sky High Bar	✓	✗
Spinnaker Lounge	✓	✓
Starbucks	✓	✓
Sugarcane Mojito Bar	✓	✓
Topside Bar	✓	✓

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-Cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barq's Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.

You can check out the recent bar menus for the Pearl and the Gem below.

Pools and Hot Tubs

	Pearl	Gem
General-access pools	1	1
Adults-only pools	0	0
Exclusive pools	1	1
General-access hot tubs	4	4
Adults-only hot tubs		2
Exclusive hot tubs	1	1

Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Norwegian Pearl has a total of 2 pools and 5 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 1 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.

The Norwegian Gem has the same number of pools as the Pearl and more hot tubs.

Ship Features and Activities

Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might end up paying more while on board the Pearl. Only 54% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Gem, 62% of the activities are included at no additional cost.

	Norwegian Pearl	Norwegian Gem
Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee)	✓	✓
Arcade	✓	✓
Basketball	✓	✓
Bowling Alley	✓	✗
Casino	✓	✓
Cigar Bar	✓	✓
Climbing Wall	✓	✓
Fitness Center	✓	✓
Jogging Track	✓	✓
Pickleball	✗	✓
Shows - musical review	✓	✓
Spa	✓	✓
Thermal Suites	✓	✓
Water slides	✓	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Cruise Costs

Norwegian is a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.

Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year.

Onboard Costs

Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests may also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.

Typically, guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.

The table below will help you understand what you might spend onboard a Norwegian ship.

	Norwegian
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$20.00
Tip added to drinks & services	20%
Soda Price	$3.50
Domestic Beer Price	$9.99 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	$28.50 - $32 Learn more
Internet Plan	$29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates.

Norwegian Cruise Line offers a Free at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the Free at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.

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