By Catharine Hamm Los Angeles Times Staff Writer June 17, 2008 Question: In May, we took a seven-day cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Cruise Line Pearl. This was our worst cruising experience. There are numerous restaurants on the ship, but several are specialty restaurants that charge an extra $10 to $20 per person. The food in the nonpremium restaurants was mushy and bland. Also, many activities on the ship began with 15- to 20-minute hard-sell pitches for merchandise or the next cruise... read more