We did the Great Lakes cruise on the Pearl Mist in early June 2022. Our pre cruise communication was lacking compared to other cruise lines we have sailed with. There was a fair amount of confusion with folks boarding that might have been alleviated with a bit of automation and a portal to upload documents rather than an excess of redundant paperwork. The staff was fantastic and the menu selection was varied enough to meet many dining preferences. The ship is dated, but our the spaces were very clean. The excursions were good, although the guides were less professional than on a bigger cruise. The ship needs better WIFI!! Even our final payment to the purser was delayed as they couldn't connect (even though we were in port). Our initial trip itinerary listed a departure time of 830 and we booked our flight home accordingly. Upon boarding, we were notified we needed to off the ship at 6am to catch the bus to the airport. Not only did we have to get up before the crack of dawn, but we subsequently endured a very long wait for our flight. Put a real downer on a nice trip. That and the lack of WI-FI made it impossible to make other arrangements ahead of getting to the airport. read more

I had booked a cruise in March 2025 on Pearl Seas Cruises for my wife and me for a ten-day cruise in October 2026. My wife passed away in February 2026 and I called to discuss the options for handling this situation the following month. I understand that there is a single traveler supplement, as prices quoted are for double occupancy. Based on the quoted price for keeping our booked room for myself, as well as the price for an alternate room that was less desirable (and still significantly more expensive than the per-person cost of the room we had originally booked), I decided to cancel our booking. We were aware that Pearl Seas Cruises charges a $250 per person "Cancellation Administrative Charge" when we booked our trip. Given that I was cancelling the cruise due to the death of my wife, I strongly feel that a waiver of that fee should have been provided in this circumstance. The effort involved for the Company in cancelling our reservation is minimal, and the trip was not cancelled on a whim. The Pearl Seas Cruises representatives I spoke with demonstrated no empathy for what I was going through, merely reiterating that it is "Company policy". I know all Company have policies, but I also know that exceptions can be granted to policies in appropriate situations. My situation should have qualified for such a waiver, and lack of consideration by the Pearl Seas Cruises representatives was appalling. I contrast that with my dealings with the representatives of other travel providers with which I dealt, who were much more understanding and went out of their way to accommodate the situation in a fair and equitable manner. Needless to say, I will never be booking a trip with their Company again, and recommend that other travelers take their business elsewhere. read more

My husband and I did the Great Lakes Cruise from September to October 2024. The staff was fantastic! When we filled out the information packet we received, about four weeks before the cruise, I printed in clear capital letters that my husband is a diabetic. My travel agent called Pearl of the Sea and also told them he is diabetic. So, twice that information was clearly stated. When we went to the dining room I again stated to the that my husband is diabetic. The Food and Beverage Director officer said to tell the server, which I did. But Really, the server's job is to serve us, NOT to prepare food. What my husband received was absolutely not diabetic friendly at all. Like many diabetics, he doesn't pay much attention to whether the food is safe for him, which this was not. The ship was dated but everything was very clean. The excursions were from awesome to terrible. Please save your money; this is NOT a FIVE STAR cruise! We were so looking forward to it, but the issues made it far from the pleasantest vacation we've had. I contacted the powers that be about our experience, and have never heard a word from them. That is not professional because of that, I would never trust them again. read more

Extremely disappointing and taking advantage of their passengers. We wont cruise with them again. We took one cruise and it was nice. We were looking to book another, but not knowing what the future holds we paid for their "Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan, with Deluxe Protection". 6 months later, but still over 3 months till the cruise date, it was not going to work, so we made the decision to cancel. They ten tell us that there is an additional $250 administration charge per person for cancelling for any reason. Something that was not disclosed in the booking, but was in some fine print. I called to argue but their customer service team is a bunch of low level people that can only follow their procedure book. In one paragraph it states that the Cancel for Any Reason Protection Plan is "a cancellation fee waiver", then in the next paragraph there is a asterixis referring to a "Cancellation Administrative Charge". Is that not a fee??? The only way to cancel is to email in and then they email back with the cancellation ignoring any of your comments. Then they state if you have any issue you can call customer service. You call customer service, they tell you that you can email in your problem, then they just ignore and do not respond to your email. These guys are a bunch of weasels!!!! read more

Paying top dollar for the cruise and precruise hotel and this cruise line does not provide transportation from airport to hotel. Arriving at Toronto, Canada's international Airport and staying at the Four Seasons ......paying $1000 for one night and this cruise line doesn't provide transportation from airport to hotel. read more

We were excited to see Cuba and Pearl Seas offered the most days in Cuba. The brochure shows that the 11 day cruise included 7 days on Cuban soil in 6 different cities. This cruise is significantly more expensive than any other, but seemed worth it. WRONG!!! Once we got on board we found out they had reduced the time on Cuban soil by more than 50%, added several days doing nothing at sea and one day at Freeport, Bahamas (pathetic). I am tempted to take the passenger list they gave us and solicit for a class action lawsuit! The ships crew and staff were very nice, but routinely lied to us. They would say it was Cuba's fault or a particular destination was closed. But when we spoke with locals and other tourists, we found out otherwise. Cuba is a great place to visit, just don't go there on a Pearl Seas cruise read more

Their Cuba itinerary is a straight flat lie! They publish as if they are having 7 excursion days in the island of Cuba, out of 12 total cruise days. We actually got only 3 excursion days! (2 full days and 2 half days) in Cuba. Not to mention that they cruise during the day and dock at night, instead of cruising at night and leaving the days for touring. There was nothing to do onboard during these 6 days of cruising. The first day we left at 9pm instead of 1pm. The last day we arrived at 6am. So total of 10 not 12! The food is not what you would expect for the high end price. The only good thing about them is the on board staff which are trying their best to cover up for the management. The company has not even responded to our complaint (check their BBB rating of D+). read more

This cruise is nothing like described in the brochure. Embarkation was chaotic, mostly because the staff didn't know what to do. The staff included everyone from the guitar player in the lounge to the guest speaker. The communication from the ship was not timely, and many people were caught off guard by a smart phone download required by Canadian authorities. The ship solution was to round everyone into a pre-cruise hotel ballroom and go person to person to tell what information was needed. 200 or so people had to be instructed by three staff members (including the busy guitar entertainer who seems to do a bit of everything.) When asked if there was a paper to see with the information on it, the cruise director said she only made six copies. For 200 people. This of course does not include all the difficulties faced by passengers without smart phones, a significant number of them considering the average age of the cruisers somewhere around 80. Speaking of copies, the ship had a defective copy machine that left a 2-inch wide black streak down the middle of each page. Everything that was handed out on the cruise went through this copier. After 10 days, they still did nothing to fix the machine. Most of the handouts were unreadable. There was no internet on the ship for at least seven of the ten days. This was true whether the ship was out on the water or docked next to a big city. When asking about it, the staff people just shrugged and said, that's how it is. They advertise wifi, but they do not deliver. This became a serious problem for the people who tested positive for covid and were isolated. Plane reservations needed to be changed, and since the phone service was also out half the time, these people had more problems than a covid test. They advertise this as a five star cruise, and they lie. Food is available only during meal times. If you miss lunch, you are sent to the lounge where they offer granola bars and potato chips. That's it. They offer free liquor during a happy hour, and that means one hour, where that guitar player strums along to pre-recorded music. The food is good. That is one area where they are not wrong, but don't miss the set meal times. The ship is old and beat up. The carpets are stained and faded. The decor is Granny's Parlor, but the outdated furnishings with their dings and nicks do not say five star. This cruise line is the worst I have ever sailed (and I have been on over 35 cruises.) I once had a sewer line burst on a Carnival ship, and the speed and efficiency they showed fixing that problem makes the Pearl Mist staff look like rank amateurs. Save your money. This cruise is not worth a tenth of the outrageous price they charge. read more

On February 4, 2021 I made reservations for back-to-back cruises with PSC. Payment for both cruises were made 90 days before the cruise date. Total cost for both cruises - $33,970.00. On April 14, 2021. One departure was scheduled for May 15, the other May 30, 2021. On April 14, 2021, I received a call from PSC that both cruise departures had been cancelled. I was asked if we were willing to take one of the cruises on June 20, 2021, I replied no. I emailed that day and FedEx'd a letter the next day requesting a full refund. I also filed a dispute with my cc company. I found out today, May 18, 2021 that the dispute had been found in PSC favor. According to the cc company, PSC STATED THAT I CANCELLED BOTH CRUISES, WHICH WAS A LIE. Ron Bladow read more

Do not book with Pearl Seas Cruises (Cruise agency in Guilford, Connecticut): Pearl Seas did not tell us that we would not be allowed to fly into Canada without the Arrive Can forms. Their customer service department was not available at 5 a.m. to help us correct this. Their responses to emails were rude, they did not respond to letters, and they did not respond to the Better Business Bureau. We would have enjoyed many more cruises with Pearl Seas, but they took our money and won't respond to even giving a partial refund. Beware of Pearl Seas, and don't book a cruise with them. read more

Do not EVER book with this cruise line or use their travel agency, Up and Away. Due to them not sending the proper document site for us to enter Canada and cancelled flights, we lost about &18,000. Even after multiple calls and multiple assurances that they would help, we still haven't received the promised help. I do not recommend this cruise line. if you get an invitation from them to cruise, RU!! read more

I rarely if ever post negative reviews online, but I want to warn other potential cruisers to AVOID this cruise line! If I could, I'd give them a zero rating. We sailed from Toronto to Milwaukee in June 2022. On Day 3 we discovered our cabin on Deck 2 (H 336) was at least 30% smaller than other cabins on the same deck, even though the brochure deck plans show all the cabins (except singles of course) as BEING THE SAME SIZE. Howeve, WE WERE CHARGED THE SAME PRICE as the larger cabins. Since the ship was not full, we were moved to a cabin (H 313) the size we actually paid for. Back home, I contacted Customer Service and asked for a refund of the 3 days spent in a cabin of unequal vlaue to the size we thought we were paying for and were told they couldn't do anything for us, that Pearl Seas doesn't give refunds. Really??? A letter to the CEO got no response. I called their Reservations staff and they were unaware of the difference in cabin sizes! We feel cheated and ripped off by Pearl Seas and don't want this cruise line to continue to sell our smaller cabin for the same price as other cabins on Deck 2 to other unsuspecting cruisers. read more

I enjoyed the cruise, but my husband is fuming. Prior to departure we were assured there was parking nearby, as we were driving to the ship in Portland. The day before, my husband contacted the garages Pearl recommended and discovered the one garage no longer did long-term parking, only monthly, and the other upped the charge to $50 per day. My husband then called the corporate offices of Pearl and the woman he spoke with said, "how should I know where to park? I am in Connecticut!" (This is most inappropriate and unacceptable and grossly bad customer service. The woman should have told my husband she would find out and let him know.....actually, Pearl should have this all sorted out as they sail from the Portland port all the time and many people must drive there) Upon arrival, my husband had to scour the area on his own to find a garage that would take our vehicle for a week......the ship was about to leave and was actually waiting for my huband and our travelling friend. They had to park the cars quite a distance from the terminal and walk to the ship which was a hardship as my husband is nit in good health. Unfortunately that set the tone for my husband and he expected a luxury cruise and felt it was just ok but not worth the $12,000.00 we paid for this seven day cruise. Prior to docking we filled out a request form for a taxi. We were then given yellow tags for the luggage and were the last passengers off the ship. There had been buses to take passengers to the airport and transportation to hotels for other passengers , so we were quite surprised to come out and not see a line-up of taxis. We waited and waited and then went inside the terminal and called our own cab. When that did not come, my elderly husband walked the seven blocks to retrieve our vehicle,and with his emphysema, this took quite a toll on him. Why could not Pearl have made the taxi arrangements? They made the bus arrangements! Why should passengers who drove be considered less? Fuming is a mild word to describe how my husband was, and is, feeling regarding Pearl. He will be giving a bad review and this could so easily have been avoided had Pearl had their act together and been organized. Alll in all, he regrets having spent all the money for mediocrity. Ironically, friends of ours went on a similar cruise on another cruise line and a much bigger ship that cost $2,000 for the two of them and everything was perfect. They also drove their own vehicle and parking was provided by the cruise ship nearby and there were no hassles whatsover. read more

Fall Colors 2018 $15K for two thirds of an advertised cruise Constant vibration from poorly sync'd engines/propellers/shafts. Stuck on ship from 10/11 @1300 hrs. to 10/14 @ 0900 Pathetic WiFi; requires log on each hour and then it must be 2.5 GHz. We had to trade visiting Halifax for a session of ''fruit carving". Wasted 16 hrs. in Charlottetown. Had to skip; Madeline islands Halifax Bar Harbor Gourmet food?? Only if your recent diet was MRE's, basically akin to hospital food. My wife described the décor and odor of the dinning "salon" of the Pearl Mist as reminiscent of an old folks rest home dinning hall. If I ever hear of Pearl Seas again, it will be too soon. Cured me of wanting to go "small Boat Cruising". One must remember that "Small ship" cruising, is extremely dependent on the weather, as the size of the ship, and the aged customer are taken into account when anything rougher than a millpond are encountered. This fact is not advertised or potential customers warned. The sea lawyers have been at it since the Mayflower and their ability to protect the cruise companies has been perfected. Don't even think about it. read more

I would give Pearl Seas Cruise Company zero stars if that rating was available. My wife and I who live in Northern California put a final deposit of $18,900 for their 10 day Cuba cruise scheduled to depart from Miami, FL on March 6, 2016. Two days before 3/6/2016, Pearl Seas called me saying the cruise was cancelled. When i asked why, they said they did not have a permit from the Cuban government to enter Cuban ports. Two or three weeks later, they refunded the $18,900 March cruise fare. But when i asked for a refund of our $2,790 airfare, they said that would be up to "management" and they would let me know when they made a decision which they never did. In April 2016, they told me they had another 10 day Cuban cruise departing on November 28, 2016. They assured me they would have a port entry permit by then. I went ahead and signed us up for their second November 28, 2016 cruise. I then rescheduled our flight with a $400.00 penalty plus a hefty $695.74 increase in airfare totaling $1,095.74. Added to our original airfare of $2,790, airfare now totaled to $3885.74. Pearl Seas Cruises then called me right before the 11/28/16 cruise telling me that second Cuba cruise was cancelled. Again, they had no port permit. Again, they did not refund any of our airfare. Our air fare expired a few weeks later on 12/20/2016 (one year after we bought it specifically for the 2 Cuba cruises). Pearl Seas has not responded to my calls or written complaints, nor those of my complaint to the Connecticut BBB where Pearl Seas base office is located. They also appear to be stonewalling the Connecticut Attorney Generals' office, to whom I submitted a written complaint 5 1/2 months ago. Pearl Seas is telling the Connecticut AG that our airfare was still valid, and I showed them that it expired on 12/20/2016. We have taken several cruises over the past 30 years with other cruise lines, and all were great. I would advise not dealing with this company. I live 3,000 miles from them, so I can't take them to small claims court which seems to give them the upper hand. read more

We selected this small cruise line because of great reviews, but in this first effort to visit Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica they failed their passengers in so many ways it is difficult to find any positives. In defense of the cruise line, this was their first venture to this part of the world, but the problem was that we heard this excuse nearly every single day on the cruise. Digging deep, I would say their hotel management and staff were comparable to most cruise lines. Also, their evening entertainment and dining were impressive for a ship this size. However, almost everything else was a complete failure. On the first day out of Cartagena, the ship stabilizers and engines needed repairs. After a day at sea, they eventually fixed the engines but never quite fixed the stabilizers. They marketed satellite television and limited free wi-fi, but they did not fit the ship with the right antenna for television and their wi-fi could not handle 150 passengers. The wi-fi was so slow they gave free 24 hour access, but it took so long to use it most just gave up. They made no attempt to fix the satellite issue during the trip. Free tours were also marketed but there was only limited availability and many were left figuring out on their own what do in ports. The tours that we got on were poorly previewed by ship staff who often had limited information on excursions. A typical example is not knowing where to land tenders so passengers would not need to wade ashore. At one port passengers lined up for a 10 am departure and when ready to board the tender took off without us. They decided at the last minute they did not know a safe place to unload us so they had to go explore the shoreline while we waited. They came back and said the tide was too low to safely unload passengers and with a line of angry passengers, decided to look again. After an hour I called the ship's captain and asked if I could arrange my own boat to pick us up at the ship and he eventually took me up on that idea. He wisely chose to provide free local boats to all passengers and we eventually were able to go ashore. There were conflicts with locals hired to provide things like kayak adventures. On one occasion a kayak guide was so angry at our ship's representative that he took his kayaks and left. Many witnessed a ship's representative lash out at a lady passenger's complaint about the lack of planning and were clearly intimidated by his confrontational attitude. I could list 20 other examples of mismanagement but the bottom line is it was a mess. My advice is to steer clear of this ship with its current management and if you do go on one of their cruises to do your research on tours ahead of time and arrange them on your own. read more

My wife and I have taken every one of their cruises except one (Cuba) and we are taking that one in December. Contrary to other reviews, I think think they are exceptional-large cabins, cocktail parties each night, excursions included, great crew. It is, by far, our favorite cruise line (and we have been on many of them). And, at 200 passengers, we have gotten to know some great people. read more

We were very excited to see a cruise to Cuba offered and immediately booked in October for an April 2016 sailing. At the time of booking, we were told that the cruise was pending on getting approval from the USA and Cuba and were told it was not likely to be a problem. Our hefty payment was made on time, we got receipts but no other information. Information we received from Pearl Seas Cruises said "Three months before your cruise you will be receiving more information on the itinerary, shore excursions" etc. In January, having not received a receipt for our last payment and a letter requesting passport information, I called and was told to copy our passports and send them so Visa's could be obtained. I was also told we would be given all the information about excursions and itinerary on the ship after we arrive. I like to plan ahead and get an idea of what to expect so didn't like that answer. Also, in the pamphlet, it said "Two moths before your cruise you will be receiving your boarding documents, luggage tags and other pertinent information" etc. We didn't get any of that. Our cruise date was April 5 and were flying into Miami on April 3. By March 21, I made a call to Pearl Seas Cruises to find out why we had no communication at all. I was told that the two previous cruises were cancelled due to Cuba not giving approval. That was the week President Obama visited Cuba and I was told they hoped after his visit approval would be given by Cuba. On March 26, a Saturday, we received boarding passes and luggage tags. Also there was a letter telling us of a city change for the docking of the ship but a bus would pick us up and were instructed to call and tell them were we were staying. So, I called on Monday, 3/28 to give the requested information and asked questions about currency exchange, internet services/charges and got very polite responses with not one word that approval still had not been gotten from Cuba. I thought we were going to Cuba! Two days later on Wednesday, 3/30 at 3pm, we got a call from Pearl Seas Cruises (the first we ever received as I had made all the other calls to them) saying the cruise was cancelled because they still had not gotten approval from Cuba. I feel the lack of communication from Pearl Seas Cruises was very unprofessional and not customer responsive. During my many calls to Pearl Seas Cruises, the women I spoke to were all very polite and professional. I don't blame any of them for the awful end result and feel sorry for the ones making the calls to tell of cancellations. I told the person who called I was going to write an awful review on Yelp and she made absolutely no comment. I also told her to take us off the mailing list because we were not interested in any more of their cruise opportunities. The owners of this company have a lot to learn about customer service. A little bit of honest communication would have gone a long way. I would not recommend this cruise line. It is too disorganized and seems to have no regard for customers. read more

We chose this cruise PRIMARILY for Havana. 2 days were promised. We already had plans to travel via Canada or mexico, but the lure of additional stops and 2 days in Havana were too much to resist. What a BIG mistake!!! The cruise line reneged on the Havana stop and we got CHEATED out of a day in Havana , instead we spent an extra day at sea doing NOTHING!!! davidfhumo wrote a review from a different time and it seems to be the norm. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY !!!! The food on board is palatable but far from luxurious. Never mind the pretend bartenders. They couldn't make a decent drink if their life depended on it. That may have something to do with tending bar was an added responsibility after a primary job on board such as housecleaning. (That really surprised me to see the bartender cleaning rooms). Entertainment consist of a 2 man no talent band with terribly laughable interpretations on popular music. The crew corporate staff was non helpful in offering any insight as to why we were cheated out of our contracted cruise. The "SERVICE" staff were VERY helpful and deserve to be in better company. To them my heart goes out to. One more thought, please be honest with yourself. If you have physical limitations, this is not the cruise for you. The excursions do not bode well for some. The boat has minimal facilities and a serious lack of amusement potential during sailing times. Cuba is GREAT! But DON"T waste your money with this cruise line. read more