Norwegian Getaway June 7 - 14 - We All Survived!

Hi all - I have just gotten home after our trip on the Getaway June 7 - and yes, I mean I just got home yesterday, 3 days after the cruise ended. If you will bear with me, I'll give you an extensive review of good and bad -we had a very eventful cruise, but it doesn't get crazy until the end.

About us: my husband and I (48 and 44) traveled with my parents (72 and 69). We left our teenagers behind. The 'rents had a spa balcony (#14124) and we had a guaranteed inside cabin (#5435). While nobody had mobility issues per se, neither Mom nor Dad is particularly spry and they can’t walk long distances, although they do like to have fun. Going into the cruise, I expected that Dad would spend a lot of time in his cabin resting, and that they would get off with us in St. Maarten for a tour with Bernard, Mom would take a cab to Coki Beach with us in St. Thomas, and we would all spend the day on ship in Nassau because while Mom would have loved Atlantis, there just wasn’t enough time to really relax there, given the traffic and distance from the port. I pre-booked dinners at Moderno, La Cucina and Cagney’s and reserved Burn the Floor, Legally Blonde and the Illusionarium (just for me and DH – Mom doesn’t like magic shows.) We signed up for a meet & greet and a slot pull, and I was determined to stay up late – usually on cruises, I am up with the sun and asleep by 10, but I hoped that having an inside cabin would let me sleep in and stay up late! We have all been very stressed out over the last few years, and the goal was to relax, relax, and relax. I could almost say that we were desperate to have a good time.

OK, you've got my attention...

Oh, my. I have to go to a conference next week!,,,,Can you start with the end? JK!!

Can't wait to read this one!,

Nora

NCL Embarkation is ALWAYS a breeze. We spent the night in Miammi and got to the port around 10:30 to check our bags with the porter. We had forgotten to attach our NCL luggage tags but the porter had a stapler. He was the one who noticed our embarkation wrinkle: when I booked the cruises, we were all checking in at Terminal C, but after our cabin was assigned my husband and I got moved to Terminal B. My parents are accustomed to having me handle all the paperwork, so there was a moment of panic for them when we separated, but it worked out.

We split up and went through security, where I got to explain to my husband why the security personnel were shaking my water bottles. I had thrown 6 bottles of water into my carry on at the last moment, and since they were not in the original packaging, security shook the bottles to make sure they were water and not alcohol. (Water bubbles; alcohol does not.)

After that, it was upstairs to fill out the health questionnaire and check in; it took maybe 10 minutes to check in because there were no lines at all. The staff told us that for some reason, Terminal C is busier early, and Terminal B is busier later. When we explained our separation situation, the staff told us that once we got up to Terminal C, we could walk over to Terminal B and find my parents. We headed up to the waiting room and took our embarkation picture, during which we got our first taste of the new identification procedure: you tell the photographer your cabin number, which he or she will plug into the camera and you can retrieve your photos later from your personal folder. (Easy as pie, mostly.) We were in Group 1 for boarding, which made me think of all the folks behind us who were likely wanting to get Vibe passes – we didn’t plan on it, because we are not sunbathers.

Once in the waiting area, I went to Terminal C with no trouble whatsoever, and retrieved my parents, who were in Group 1 over there. They came to sit with us, and we waited for about 30 minutes before boarding began. Norwegian had juice and coffee and water set up, but a lot of folks didn’t know to look for it; I think I started a trend when I got myself some juice. There are also charging stations available for your electronics, which was a nice touch. One small difficulty: the PA system for calling boarding groups is somewhat hard to hear, and the minute passengers hear it activate, everybody stands up and rushes toward the boarding gate. That said, we really had an easy time getting on the ship!

Terminal B boards mid-ship on Deck 5, so we took a quick elevator up to O’Sheehan’s on Deck 6 because that was where we sat for sailaway on the Epic in May of 2011 and we had a great time. Unfortunately, the setup of O’Sheehan’s is different on Getaway. On Epic, there are seats in the bar near the widows with an unobstructed view; on Getaway, every window in O'Sheehan's is obstructed by the emergency boats, the best windows are in the restaurant booths, and you have to get seated there rather than walking up. Disappointed, we got our first cruise beverages and soda packages from Edward at the bar, and then wandered around a bit, looking for a nice window with seats. (For some reason, my mother had brought three very heavy totes on board, and we got really tired of hauling them around – Getaway does not have a place to check your smaller bags until you can get into your room.) We found window seats at the mojito bar, where we planted my parents and their bags for a rest while my husband and I went exploring.

Getaway is big, the decks are beautiful, and standing on top of the portholes set into the floor 15 decks above the water is exciting for a person who’s afraid of heights. We found Carlo’s Bakery, Dolce Gelato, Vibe (which looked very sunny and very hot – I didn’t regret the decision not to get Vibe passes, because it looked like there was NO shade.) I fell in love with Spice H20 – open, sunny, with a great view off the back of the ship and a really wonderfully nice bartender whose name tag said “Rodolfo” but who told us right away to call him Rudy. The kids’ pool was already busy – it looked like big fun for kids, but I understood some complaints from other folks about there being no place for parents to sit and supervise their children. It’s located right before you hit the buffet area, with constant traffic in the aisles, and unless a parent goes into the area with their children, the only other vantage point is deck loungers across the aisle from the pool. The adult pool was tiny and crammed already, but I loved the sitting area – you can put a chair on either side of an enclosed section beside the pool and have your feet in the water. I’m not a pool person, but I envisioned my mom in the pool, my husband and dad at the bar, and me in a chair with my feet in the water, reading my Nook.

We found the spa, and we were very quickly in love with the thermal suite – we signed up for a week’s pass, which was $398 for the two of us. My husband and my mother also signed up for massages that very afternoon, before sailaway – there was some kind of discount package. I signed up for acupuncture the next morning – I’ve had shoulder problems for the last 2 months, and I was willing to do anything if it would mean less pain. Mom and Dad had thermal suite privileges through their spa cabin, and I hoped that we could all spend time relaxing there. The ropes course looked like big fun, and I made myself a promise to try it out on Nassau day – I am terribly afraid of heights, but with enough ropes I figured I could be safe and walk the plank. My husband laughed at me and offered to come along, so he could talk me down when I got stuck. I started wondering if I could manage the rock wall, too.

Sounds like a great start. Looking forward to the rest.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We split up and went through security, where I got to explain to my husband why the security personnel were shaking my water bottles. I had thrown 6 bottles of water into my carry on at the last moment, and since they were not in the original packaging, security shook the bottles to make sure they were water and not alcohol. (Water bubbles; alcohol does not.)

WARNING!!! This is incorrect.

BOTH bubble but the water bubbles are larger and disperse quickly.

Alcohol has more - far more - bubbles - mostly much smaller - and they take longer to disperse.

Try it out at home.

BUT, thanks OP anyway for telling us about your experience ...

Keep it up with your review!! We have friends who are strong RCCL cruisers but they are going on Getaway in Aug - the wife picked that cruise for her 50th birthday. Funnily enough we met them on the Epic 4 years ago when they cruised on her as a break from RCCL. They had mixed feelings about NCL. When we met last they mentioned their upcoming Getaway cruise we shot up very surprised and asked why would they pick NCL. Answer, it's the wife's 50th and she gets to pick the cruise, plus they find the suite life better on NCL than RCCL. Plus it's cheaper on NCL than RCCL .... (they are a family of 4). We could go with them but we're travelling elsewhere the same week. We are planning a b2b on Getaway in Oct.

Thank you for this review - looking forward to more...:)

(This is going to take a while - between work and other things, I'm hardly at the computer these days! Thanks for bearing with me . . )

After our exploring, we went back to get the 'rents, and found that Mom had crashed out in the mojito bar - she was sprawled out, sound asleep amidst the helter and skelter and her three horribly heavy totes. I guess that confirms that the seats there in the windows are very, very comfortable. We woke her up and headed for lunch at the buffet, where we encountered our first signs of trouble. First, there were crowds, crowds, crowds. I like a good melee myself, but Mom and Dad are not crowd people. (They will never cruise again, but if they did, I'd make them spend the money and get a suite in the Haven.) The food was fantastic - on the entire cruise, I never ate anything terrible except beets. No matter how you cook them, beets taste like dirt, but the buffet on Getaway almost had me liking them. I have heard criticism that NCL doesn't do well with desserts, but let me tell you as a non-dessert eater, they know their way around rice pudding with pistachios.

The buffet also was the first sign of crew exhaustion. I never saw our steward on the whole trip, although DH did and said she was a wonderful lady; our room was always spot-on and our towel critters were cute. I saw more stewards in the hallways, and while they were not as effusive as on past cruises - there was one guy on Epic who lit up the hallway with his smiles, every time we saw him - they were quietly, courteously pleasant. It could just be the tone on Getaway? I'm not sure. In the buffet that first day, the crew was pleasant and courteous, but you could tell, looking at them, that they were just pooped. I don't know if disembarkation/embarkation might be the roughest day of the week, or if they had partied hard the night before, but these folks were almost too tired and a couple of them had the little thought bubbles above theirs heads, like in the cartoons, saying "here we go again." We received wonderful service - never doubt that - but for 80% of the crew that I encountered, that spark wasn't there.

Now, before I write this next, I must tell you that I have children - between us, DH and I have 4. They range from 18 to 13, and we love children whether they are ours or not. Children are wonderful. They are cute, and endearing, and challenging, and worth every minute. They are proof that life should go on, etc. BUT. . . on this cruise, they were mostly horrible. Not all of them, and not all the time - one night, we were waiting for an elevator that showed up with 8 teenagers in it, sitting on the floor and playing Uno. They were having a blast and invited us in, but since the elevators on Getaway are plentiful and fast, we smiled and waved them on. THAT was cute. The family eating in the buffet on "dress up or not" night, sitting next to a table of their four kids in tuxedos and tennis shoes - THAT was pleasant. Sitting next to unaccompanied, sobbing 10 year olds at breakfast? Not pleasant. Eating at one of the specialty restaurants while a baby screamed across the room and the parents didn't take it out? Not pleasant. Watching your mother get tripped by a 10 year old who said "I'm in a hurry" and kept running? Most unpleasant. Eating lunch next to a crew of teens with the foulest mouths I've heard since Robin Williams? Impossible. On Getaway, we learned that appropriate cruise behavior for many parents with children ages 8 and up is to get on the ship, give them their key cards, and say good bye for the week. I expected to see a bunch of children - we cruised in June, for heaven's sake - but I hoped for better behaved or supervised children. They were inescapable. Even if you go to the adult pool, the crew will show up with a Nickelodeon-themed game and you'll have to cheer through it. The only safe place we found was Spice H20 and the ever wonderful and cheerful Bartender Rudy. So yes, my grumpy, kid-avoiding self has been broken from summer cruising. Rant over.

Back to the good stuff! The rooms were opened up by 12:30, so we went to check them out. We walked Mom and Dad to their room, still schlepping her bags. Their spa balcony #14124 wasn't the biggest room I've ever seen, and the shower in our spa balcony on Epic was bigger. The balcony itself was positively tiny - those folks telling you that it will barely fit 2 chairs and a side table are right. Three large adults can stand on it, but that is it. Overall, though, the room was fine. I can't say it was spacious, but for 2 adults it was perfectly ok, and you CANNOT beat the view!

I nicknamed our room "the shoebox" - cabin #5435 - and it was perfect. It was exactly what we expected, and since we only planned to be in the cabin to bathe, dress and sleep, it was all we needed. The location was great - two turns off the elevators/stairs on deck 5, conveniently close to the gangway on deck 4 so that whenever we left the ship, we could hit the stairs, skip the crammed elevators, and be ready to roll. The only noise we had was from the Illusionarium above us - the room fairly vibrated during the shows, but the room was peaceful otherwise except for kids running up and down the halls from time to time. Plus, I sleep like a brick, so once I was out, I heard nothing at all. There is of course a shimmy, depending on the waves, but it's a cruise ship - there's always going to be a shimmy. On opening the door, you saw a vanity table and the bed, with the bathroom on the right - the bathroom, interestingly enough, was the same size and configuration as Mom's spa balcony bathroom above. All in all, we were pleased with both rooms. We got a look at a spa suite - those things are beautiful, with hardwood floors, more room, and a bathtub in the room next to a large window - when I hit the lottery, I might get one of those!

Coming up next: signs of trouble at the boat drill, or, "Why is this taking so long???"

So, the boat drill was scheduled for 3:30, with the ship set to depart at 4 pm. I don’t remember this happening on any prior cruise we took, but all the bars quit serving alcohol at 3:00. This is probably a good thing, but the enforced sobriety made the hubs rather grumpy. Another new experience was that our muster station was not outside on deck – it was in the theater. Getaway’s theater is large, as theaters go, and all I remember thinking is that after seeing “Titanic”, the front row of a crowded theater on Deck 6 was the LAST place I wanted to be in an emergency.

Regardless, we gathered with a few hundred of our fellow cruisers, and we waited. And waited. I am accustomed to boat drills starting on time – this one didn’t start until 3:45 or later and I had a constant sense of the crew looking for something or someone that wasn’t there. I was nervous, because Mom and DH had massages scheduled for 4, but once the drill started it was over quickly enough that they were on time. Dad wanted to go up to his room and rest, and I resolved to watch sailaway from the thermal suite – it was hot on deck and I am a very pale-skinned girl.

I got my book, got my lounger, and settled in to watch the Port of Miami fade in the distance. When the boat had not so much as jiggled by 4:30, I chalked that up to the lateness of the boat drill. By 5 pm, I was confused. I overheard a conversation between a spa employee and some folks who looked like performers – apparently, 57 people with flights arranged by Norwegian were arriving late, and the ship was being held for them. (Up in Spice H20, the Sailaway Party was in full swing, despite the unchanging Miami skyline.) By 5:30, I gave up on the book and the thermal suite, and I wandered the ship for a bit, chatting with one of the ship’s officers (later known as “The Big Guy”) who confirmed what I had overheard and assured me that we would get to St. Maarten on time – we’d just go a little faster. I managed to retrieve DH from the spa, but not before he’d bought $300 worth of detoxifying vitamins (?!). Mom enjoyed her massage but got so irritated with the product pushing that she refused to go back, and canceled the 2 she had booked for later in the week.

Apparently, the missing passengers made it to the ship very late. We didn’t leave Miami until about 8 that night. We missed sailaway because we were sitting at a table in O’Sheehan’s eating a delicious Prime Rib dinner, far from any windows. The NBA finals were on the big screen in the Atrium all week, so that kept us occupied as well. I hadn’t booked anything for the first night, thinking that everyone would be tired after driving from Middle Georgia to Miami the day before. After a few turns on deck, listening to the sound of the ship cutting through the waves, the long day hit us and we went to bed.

Sea Days 1 and 2 were relaxing - we had nothing more in mind than wandering the ship, having the occasional adult beverage and watching the people and the sea. I was glad that I didn’t get a massage, because Mom and DH were sore that day. Instead, I tried acupuncture for the first time, on Sea Day 1. In April, I pulled a muscle in my neck which turned into a rotator cuff problem (I have no idea how) and I have been in fairly constant pain despite physical therapy – I was thrilled to pay $177 for an acupuncture session, because I was ready to cut my arm off otherwise. Dr. Jessica does the acupuncture in the spa – she is a lovely lady from Australia who calls everyone “my dear”. Acupuncture isn’t painful per se – I felt a slight stick when she inserted the needle, but then no discomfort at all except for one area on my bicep which faded quickly. I had a 30 minute nap, and then the needles came out – I felt some relief immediately, but when Dr. Jessica recommended we complete the treatment regimen (for $600 more dollars), I decided to be cheap and try acupuncture at home.

(A note on the Spa – everyone in the Spa is beautiful and kind, and if using the Spa products would make me look like them, I’d be happy. You access the Spa and Thermal Suite on deck 15 aft, and first you have to walk through a wide hallway which has exercise rooms on either side – DH and I were surprised to see folks in the exercise rooms jogging away on the treadmills before the ship even left port. One side has cardio machines – treatmills, ellipticals, stair climbers – and the other side has stationary exercise machines. There are many fitness classes throughout the week, and trainers available as well. The most exercise we planned involved walking around and sitting in a deck chair, so we did not take advantage of much in the Spa/Fitness rooms – but they were very nice.)

Sea Day 1 was Buffet Lobster night and “Dress Up or Not” night (we were in the “Not” category). As previously reported, the lobster tails are relatively small, but they are tasty and if you eat 5 of them like I did, you will feel full. On an interesting note – they must have different chefs for each side of the buffet. I got tails on one buffet side which were cooked perfectly, and Dad got tails on the other side which were rubbery. Very strange.) My mom lamented the lack of anything fried – she loves fried shrimp and fried oysters – but there were some shrimp skewers that were to die for, and I introduced her to fried conch nuggets. My landlubber husband ate a hamburger at just about every buffet meal, and pronounced them delicious (they were – I had one the last day).

Some Norwegians went all out that night, with glitz, glamour, sparkles, tuxedos and fancy hairdos at the multiple photography stations; others went with shorts and flip flops like we did. We attended the 7:30 show of Burn the Floor – holy cow, can those folks move!!! One of the female dancers appears to have legs which are about 8 feet long, and there is a spitfire with red curls who can move her feet (and other body parts) faster than anybody I’ve ever seen. We had to hush Mom – she found the male dancers quite inspiring. When the show starts, the dancers enter the theater from the top and strut their way down to the stage; one of the men winked at Mom, and she was hooked. The music is live, and the singers are very talented – we enjoyed the show very much. We arrived right at 7, and the front rows were already full.

I don’t remember now if it was the first or second sea day, but one of them was what I call “fishbowl drink” day – we wandered up to Spice H2O and met Rudy the Wonderful Bartender, who served the drink of the day in souvenir glasses shaped like bowls with little fish on them and the logo “Norwegians Drink From The Bowl.” Mom decided to play slots, but was not very lucky and didn’t enjoy it – she and Dad got hooked instead on this machine near the tables which you feed tokens to, in hopes that they will pile up and push more tokens out at the bottom. I played slots for about an hour on $20 – go figure? Every time I wanted to lose, I won. DH tried the craps tables, but it wasn’t his time.

In the afternoon, DH and I wandered by the Atrium in time to watch a cooking demonstration by the Chef from Ocean Blue – he made a beautiful tuna appetizer and a lobster risotto which looked delicious. Sea Day 2 was our night for dinner at Moderno, which we loved from our trip on the Epic. This time was equally awesome – we had reservations at 6:30 and had no complaints. (Well, one – I should have gotten the coconut flan rather than the papaya cream.) I have read other reviews which complained about slow service at Moderno – ours was great, with one exception when my husband wanted more filet mignon and had to wait for it a bit. I felt bad for the table next to ours, though – they arrived about 30 minutes after we did, and their service was very slow. They sat for a good 15 to 20 minutes with their cards ready for service before anyone came to take their drink order or direct them to the buffet. When I made the reservation, I noticed that there was nothing available between 6:30 and 9:00 – I wonder now if there is a shift change or some other reason that my service at 6:30 was great and the 7:00 seating was not. Moderno and Cagney’s share an entrance and take up the entire aft section of that deck – there is a very nice looking bar between them which seemed like a good place to meet up and have a cocktail before your reservation time. I am still dreaming of the roasted pineapple and the picanha.

After dinner, we wandered a bit again, and took a group picture. We stopped off in our room to drop off something – I can’t remember what – and my full belly got the better of me. I fell asleep early again, and I’d really been looking forward to that night’s party in Spice H2O! Maybe I'd do better tomorrow - in St. Maarten!

Loving the detail in your review. Got my seat, and I ain't moving....LOL!!!:D:D

WARNING!!! This is incorrect.

 

BOTH bubble but the water bubbles are larger and disperse quickly.

 

Alcohol has more - far more - bubbles - mostly much smaller - and they take longer to disperse.

 

Try it out at home.

 

BUT, thanks OP anyway for telling us about your experience ...

 

Keep it up with your review!! We have friends who are strong RCCL cruisers but they are going on Getaway in Aug - the wife picked that cruise for her 50th birthday. Funnily enough we met them on the Epic 4 years ago when they cruised on her as a break from RCCL. They had mixed feelings about NCL. When we met last they mentioned their upcoming Getaway cruise we shot up very surprised and asked why would they pick NCL. Answer, it's the wife's 50th and she gets to pick the cruise, plus they find the suite life better on NCL than RCCL. Plus it's cheaper on NCL than RCCL .... (they are a family of 4). We could go with them but we're travelling elsewhere the same week. We are planning a b2b on Getaway in Oct.

That's good to know about the bubbles - I had read that alcohol didn't bubble, so that was wrong, huh? I'm too much of a fraidy cat to even think of sneaking booze on board.

I wished we'd had time for a b2b - there are so many things that we didn't do on the ship, like eat in the Tropicana room, and I just never felt that I had enough time to do it all. For me, the cruise was hectic and stressful, but I think that was a combination of my trying to please travelers with two vastly different agendas plus the various challenges we encountered on our trip. I look forward to trying it again and getting it right!

Loving the detail in your review. Got my seat, and I ain't moving....LOL!!!:D:D

Thanks! If I miss something, let me know. . . I'm sure I'm forgetting things.

Quickly about the pictures - whenever a ship's photographer takes your picture, they will ask you for your room number. I love the new system, because your pictures are printed and placed in a binder for you in the photo area; the color and number of your binder are on your key card, and they are very easy to find. If you are in a candid, you will have to search the wall OR ask for help. Ganesh in the photo lab was very helpful - he showed us how to track down pictures on the screens at the kiosks. I couldn't tell you how he did it, but if we told him the night and background of our pics, he could invariably find them and send them to our digital photo album. Those won't get printed out unless you order them, but it's nice to put them all together on the screen and make selections. One important thing: speak really clearly and listen hard when the photographer repeats back your room number. We found some of our pictures in other peoples' folders because our accents and the photographers' accents didn't jibe - we found them digitally, but never could figure out where the prints went to. And don't wear green to the Illusionarium if you want a pic - you stand next to a steampunk-wearing performer against a green screen, and if you wear green, your clothes will reflect whatever background they are using for the pic. Also - we felt like idiots - there is an offer to put your pics on a flash drive for $19.99. We didn't understand that you have to BUY the pics first, and then the ones you have purchased are loaded to the flash drive. Silly we thought that we could get all our pics digitally for that low price, and boy did we feel stupid. As I learned at UGA, TANSTAAFL, and especially on a cruise.

Shopping - we didn't do much, but not because we didn't want to - our shopping days got caught up in other things. Generally, I don't buy myself jewelry - my husband knows what I like and has excellent taste (better than mine, I think). He likes to surprise me, which is impossible on a cruise because we are very happily together 24/7. So, no jewelry shopping. The kids are past the easy souvenir ages, and there are only so many t shirts they want from places they haven't been. And I just hate to shop - not sure how I missed out on that gene, but if you plunk me down in a straw market filled with crazy fabrics and handicrafts, I will promptly go insane and run for the nearest bar. I like to see sights and scenery, I like to eat local foods when I can, and I like to have experiences rather than stuff. So, we didn't shop a lot. In Cozumel, when everybody else went to the beach, DH and I went to the local version of a WalMart just to see what everyday life was like - and all we bought was a Coke.

Getaway seems to have the usual cruise ship shopping opportunities - jewelry store, duty free alcohol, t shirts and beach wear, costume jewelry, makeup and perfume and tchotkes. Carlo's Bakery had t shirts and mugs - I meant to buy my daughter something because she loves Cake Boss, but didn't get to it until the last evening and the place was closed. (If you need bakery goods or gelato, watch the hours; both Carlo's Bakery and Dolce Gelato have different and shorter hours than you'd think and are closed on port days if I remember rightly.) Mom had her eye on a beautiful ring in the ship's jewelry store, we had to buy emergency makeup onboard because we lost our lipsticks, and we bought hats, flip flops, t shirts and alcohol duty free (Crown Royal 2 for $37 and Captain Morgan 2 for $22 on the last day of the cruise - but I can't believe I forgot to buy guavaberry liqueur in St. Maarten! Didn't even taste it!) So unfortunately, I can't speak much about the shopping. The only place we went near a store was in Nassau, and while the people-watching was good, the prices didn't seem quite good enough. On St. Maarten, I avoided the straw market . . . . but then maybe I should tell you about St. Maarten!

I was vastly dissatisfied with Norwegian's excursion options for each port, so I resolved to do it myself. Bernard's Tours in St. Maarten caught my eye immediately - they went everywhere I wanted to go, and came so highly recommended by CC, FB and Trip Advisor that I never had a worry about time or whether we'd enjoy it. For a minute, I thought about renting a car and driving around, but once I heard about the traffic in St. Maarten I ditched that idea - DH is on vacation to relax, and traffic makes him crazy.

I booked Bernard's for 4, and paid my deposit via Paypal - the deposit was $5/person, with the balance due in cash on the day. I'm glad we did it that way, because Mom and Dad bailed on us - Dad had indigestion during the night, and was tired, and Mom didn't want to leave him. I was frustrated and sad, because she has dreamed of crystal clear waters all her life and the tour was going to spend a while at Orient Beach and Maho Beach . . . but I resolved to spend a good day with my husband and tell her all about it. Mom would not have liked the walk from the ship to the port shopping area, so maybe it was a good thing. The tour email said to meet at 8:30 in the port area and we had no trouble finding them. Two families were in the same area and were vastly frustrated by the tour meeting time being at 8:30 but the tour starting time being at 9:00; I was vastly frustrated in turn by their young children, who yelled and screamed and ran amuck, and by one lady's attempt to change the tour itinerary so she could get back to Phillipsburg to shop early. (It didn't work.)

Once everyone was assembled, we took another short walk to the vans. Bernard's offers two standard tours - one has beach time and the other does not. The groups were split up into large vans - the vans were adequate but the seating was not designed with most American backsides in mind. DH and I are not huge, but we are solid, and I spent the day with part of my thigh hanging off the seat. The vans, however, are air conditioned, and once you have a sip or two of the complimentary rum punch, you wouldn't care if you had to ride on top of the vans.

We were blessed to have Melanius for our guide - he is nicknamed "Mailman", and he was wonderful. He kept up a rolling patter throughout the tour, and when I could hear him over the other conversations on the van, I learned a great deal about St. Maarten and St. Martin. He is a showman, and he makes a wicked rum punch - it is served in plastic shot glasses, and don't for a second think that is a bad thing - the punch is very, very potent especially once you get hot. The tour also offers cold soft drinks (DH was thrilled to have some Coke products rather than NCL's Pepsi offerings), bottled water and beer (Carib). If you sit in the front seat, you will be the Bartender of the Day, but it doesn't seem like a very bad gig.

We covered the whole island, Dutch side and French side and I was glad not to be driving - they weren't kidding about the traffic, and the native drivers are aggressive. There was a photo stop at a beach where a local named Calvin will show you his live sea urchins and shells (he'd like a tip, but isn't pushy unless you look like you are going to drop one of the spiny critters he will let you hold.) We spent about an hour and a half at Orient Beach, which was just shy of being enough time for me - there are loungers with umbrellas all over, and bars with food, plus jetski rides and parasailing and clear, cool ocean waves. After Orient Beach, we drove to Marigot, the French Capitol - DH and I were close to the front of the line for pastries at Serafina's (pastry paradise, and good sandwiches, too!) and we skipped the straw market for a stroll along the side of the bay (where we encountered the St. Martian (?) penchant for dropping one's drawers and urinating into the nearest convenient body of water. We decided it probably was for locals only.)

Next it was Maho Beach, where DH stood behind three different jetliners taking off, and got a very nice case of windburn - he was as happy as a clam, and would have spent the whole day there if he could. I got a kick out of watching folks tumble head over heels down the beach and into the surf - when those engines kick up, you will get knocked over if you aren't braced. The Sunset Bar looks like a place that we would visit again - I will spend the day in the water, and he can work on his windburn. After Maho, we drove the rest of the way around the island and Melanius got us back to the port area in plenty of time - two hours before all aboard.

St. Maarten is not exactly pretty - not like Jamaica, where anything you drop on the ground seems bound to sprout roots and grow luxuriously, or Roatan with its green hills and beautiful beaches or the wild side of Cozumel with turquoise waters and white sands. It's poor, but not as painfully poor as Costa Maya. St. Maarten is a giant rock covered in scrub and some trees, with deforestation from urbanization and plenty of beaches and hotels - they have no native source of water according to Melanius, and the only industry on the island is tourism. It seems an improvement, given the island's history of slavery and the backbreaking nature of the labor involved (ever tried grubbing salt out of dried up bays? I don't want to even think about it.) But I liked St. Maarten - we will go back.

Even though my husband has ended up having rotater cuff surgery in each shoulder, 2 hernia operations, a torn meniscus in his knee and recently a hip replacement (all from working at the Post Office) he quelled his pain before each operation with acupuncture.

I hope you are able to find a good one at your home, since it appeared to work for you. I tried it and it did nothing for my knee problems but it worked for him and also immediately stopped the intense pain my DS was in from "dry socket" after his wisdom teeth were pulled.

Enjoying your review. That future Spa Suite might be sooner than you think. I managed to catch a great price and we will be sailing in our first suite this October. Between an AMEX promo and a Suite promo the difference in price from getting a balcony plus buying spa passes vs the Spa Suite was not very much, when we factored in the OBC we got...

Once back on board, we tortured my poor mother with our pics of St. Maarten (I will share some if I can figure out how), took wonderful showers, and got ready for dinner. We had some time to kill, so we went back up to Spice H2O and visited Rudy again - we got big chairs and sat at the side of the bar, watching St Maarten fade in the distance and listening to the hijinks of a very jovial, very drunk set of friends who seem to have been camped out there all day and who were making vows not to bathe for the entire cruise. Hopefully, their wives changed their minds. Continuing her trend from Day 1, Mom fell asleep.

I had reserved La Cucina at 7:30, and I wasn't very excited about it because I read reviews which compared it to the Olive Garden. I go to the Olive Garden when compelled by birthdays, because while the food is predictable and tasty, my folks are of Italian origin and the Olive Garden doesn't hold a candle to Mom's spaghetti and sauce. But I really enjoyed La Cucina. DH got a steak (he's not Italian at all), which he pronounced tasty even as he refused to touch his side of polenta. Dad got a tasty grilled shrimp entree, which they made gluten free for him (he has celiac issues). I was starved, so I had the carpaccio appetizer and then Ossobucco with polenta and grilled veggies - I felt bad about eating veal, but it was sooo good! (Baby cow = bad, raw cow = good; yes, I know it makes no sense.) Mom was the only one disappointed - she had pasta with marinara and made no bones about being disappointed with it; the server very graciously comped Mom's dinner, which was not what we were wanting but it was very kind. (Frankly, I told her she wouldn't like it, but what do I know?) For dessert, I had a rhubarb panacotta which was out of this world - best thing ever.

After dinner, we wandered a bit through the atrium and from bar to bar (the raspberry guava mojito is delicious and potent, btw.) We spent a little bit of time listening to Howl at the Moon - I liked it, but it's not DH's thing. (Next time, I'll get some cocktails into him and get him a good seat!). Eventually, it was time to find a spot for the fireworks at 10:45. We walked the 'rents down the ship, then drug them up 2 flights of stairs to the highest sun deck we could find (mistake - they were so exhausted by the trip up the stairs that I wasn't sure we'd get them down. The 'rents don't do stairs, it seems.) We rested in our loungers, letting the wind keep us cool, until it was time. It was nice - beautiful, even - but just too short. For some reason, DH timed it, and the show lasted for 11 minutes by his watch. On the flip side, when you consider that the ship puts on a fireworks display in the middle of the ocean every Wednesday night, it really is something!

And then, I was ready for the 80's party. . . nope. I fell asleep again. Sigh. On to St. Thomas?

You had me at "UGA"!!!! That's my neck of the woods! I'm enjoying your review! I can't wait for the rest!

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Loving your review so far! The Getaway is on what I call my "cruise bucket list" :D

I wasn't excited by any of NCL's St. Thomas excursions, either. Mom had snorkeled with me in Roatan several years ago and pronounced it the most amazing experience ever, so I had planned to take a cab to Coki Beach because I read good things about it and saw Mitsugirly's fantastic snorkeling pics. Before or after, I hoped to take her to see Magen's Bay, and that was the sum total of my St. Thomas plans. It's such a short day - only 8 - 4, and all aboard is at 3:30 - it doesn't seem like a good place to make big plans on this itinerary. But I was excited about St. Thomas.

It was not to be. For starters, we slept relatively late - until 9 am. Wow! Then, Mom announced that she was never eating breakfast in the buffet again, so we tried O'Sheehan's. Great breakfast - wonderful - but slow. By 11, when we were done, half the day was gone. Still, there was time to cab it to Coki, so we walked the 'rents up to their rooms to get ready. There, Dad announced that he was tired, Mom said she was tired, and they decided to stay on the ship. DH and I walked off the ship anyway, and strolled around the port for a few minutes; I was trying to talk him into renting a car and at least driving around, but he was looking at the traffic and decided that 3 hours just wasn't enough time in a strange place with heavy traffic. I was stewing with frustration - I wasn't going to get to see anything at all!! - and boiling with heat. St. Thomas was sweltering and I was dying of thirst. We ended up at Senor Frog's shortly after noon.

I wouldn't call it a mistake, exactly, but . . . let's just say that we rambled back onboard around 3 pm carrying 9 empty yards from Senor Frog's (one had been full of just Coke). We were very hot, very happy, and somewhat hammered despite consuming a huge plate of nachos, hamburgers and fries. DH was wearing a very unfortunate balloon hat, which he refused to remove the rest of the evening. If you have ever been to Senor Frog's, you might have some idea of the type of inappropriate headgear they made for DH. If you have not, I am not going to tell you, but just go ahead and let your worst anatomically accurate imaginations run wild. Then make it orange, purple, and about 18 inches long. Yup. I spent most of a cruise complaining about kids, and then I turned into one.

We were jovial and quite popular; Mom and Dad were impressed either with the hat or our souvenirs. Somehow, we ended up in the mojito bar again, with DH and his unfortunate hat ensconced at the bar doing a martini flight (??? he doesn't drink martinis!). I ran off with half his martinis (including the nasty one that tasted like jet fuel) and sat outside with the 'rents until they got bored (or embarrassed) and left us. At some point, DH ended up chatting with fellow martini flyers and giving them premarital counseling (she wanted to get engaged on the ship and he wasn't ready, although they had just purchased the ring that day - they were a lovely young couple.) I stayed outside quite a bit because the bar made me uncomfortable - the bartender was friendly (after Mom gave him a ridiculous tip a day or so before), but there was a gigantic ship's officer lurking about, watching DH constantly, and it gave us the sensation of being stalked by a bouncer. DH is a Marine and can hold his liquor, and he wasn't loud at all; I can only imagine it was the hat, or perhaps me (I laugh a lot when intoxicated), but eventually the bartender cut DH off - he refused to serve him anything besides water, told DH he had to go eat something, and blamed it on his boss (the menacing bouncer.) DH was offended at this, so we left and went to the buffet as instructed (I had the most wonderful cauliflower soup - I could have eaten the whole vat). On the way back to the shoebox, we encountered Ganesh, who took ship's photos of us in all our glory - DH in his horrible hat, and me in my straw beach hat, much the worse for wear after a day melting in St. Thomas. I was asleep by 8:30.

So, if you were there and you saw us, and if we were out of the way or in any manner offensive, I do apologize, but we had a good day in St. Thomas without getting more than 500 feet from the ship.

And I bought the pictures.

Ohhhh! You have GOT to post those pics, lol!

Y'all sound like so much fun!

So, if you were there and you saw us, and if we were out of the way or in any manner offensive, I do apologize, but we had a good day in St. Thomas without getting more than 500 feet from the ship.

And I bought the pictures.

I just spit my iced tea all over my ipad...

Keep it coming!,,

Day #5 dawned bright and early. Not knowing that we were asleep by 9, the 'rents made a sneak attack and knocked on our door at 7 am. Rested and refreshed, we bounded out of bed and were ready for breakfast - no hangovers for us! (Really - no hangovers. I still don't know why he cut us off, but Mom and Dad hooted at the idea of DH - usually calm, controlled, quiet and charming - being the only person they have ever heard of getting cut off in a cruise ship bar. They howled when we showed them the pictures.)

Side note - DH was further insulted that afternoon - in one of the elevators, a very inebriated grandmother announced "he's going to be so maaaad!", put her head on DH's shoulder, and passed out. We woke her up with an adjuration to go straight to her cabin, and DH spent the rest of the day wondering why nobody cut HER off. I still think it was the hat.)

We decided to meet for breakfast at Taste, one of the MDRs. I took longer than expected in the shower, so I left DH getting dressed and went to the restaurant to meet the 'rents. I got a beautiful table for 4 in the quiet but bustling restaurant, ordered myself some juice, and waited. And waited. Finally, feeling silly, I gave up and ate a solo breakfast - they have a very nice menu and the food is perfect. The breakfast crowd is mostly adults but there were some children there as well - the atmosphere was very peaceful and I could have stayed there for a while if I'd had some company. If you like quiet breakfasts with full service, the MDRs are the way to go. (The dailies say only one of the MDRs is open for breakfast, but the staff were seating people on both sides. Also, whenever you go to one of the complimentary restaurants, have your room key handy. I never understood why, but they always scan one person's room key and can tell where you are if someone asks. I understood the scanning for the specialty restaurants, but not the complimentary ones. Later, I learned that the ship has the ability to track a passenger by their purchases and scans, so maybe it's a security measure?)

I felt horrible hogging a table for 4 by my lonely self. DH arrived when I was finishing up and rather than hold the table, I followed him up to the buffet where we found the 'rents - they had gotten lost trying to find Taste and went to the buffet because they thought we'd be there. I had fallen in love with the muesli at the buffet, so I was bummed at being too full to have some.

After breakfast, Mom was ready for her first foray at the pool. Silly us - we didn't remember that the chair hogs get up at dawn to reserve chairs - there was nowhere near the pool to lounge, and precious little room to sit at the side of the pool. DH isn't a swimmer, so he sat at the bar and watched the crowds while Mom and I hopped in the pool (Dad stayed in the room to rest.) I sat on the side of the pool in the water part while Mom floated around - the pool itself was not uncomfortably crowded. We were enjoying the adult atmosphere until with a blast of painful, blaring music, the youth counselors (?) showed up with a bucket of slime and announced we should get ready for a slime time contest. We cheered like good sports, and parts of it were cute, but really - why is it necessary to invade the adult pool for kid activities when the kids' pool is right next door?

Eventually Mom advised me I was burning despite slathering on gallons of SPF 100 sunscreen, so we left the pool and wandered up to Spice H2O. There, too, the shade was all taken (yes, it's a sun deck, but I still think they would benefit from having more than 4 umbrellas.) Mom laid out for a few minutes while I chatted with Rudy - she bronzes rather than burns, lucky lady - and then I showed her the water feature. On the right side as you come into Spice H2O, there's a water area which reminded me of a pseudo-Roman bath, with water streaming down from above to pool in a tiled area, and benches set around it. It was lovely. We didn't plan to get off the ship in Nassau the next day, so we made nefarious plans to stake our claim on an umbrella in the morning, so we could spend the whole day up there if we wanted.

After that, we wandered down to the Thermal Suite, and Mom was in love. Even DH, non-water baby that he is, changed into his suit and joined us. We soaked in the hot tub, we relaxed in the jetted pools, we took salt baths and steam baths and DH got in the sauna. Mom slept (again) on a tiled lounger, and pronounced it divine and asked me why she hadn't been down there before now. She thought Dad would love it (untrue, as it turned out, but it was worth a shot.)

DH and I had scheduled dinner for the Illusionarium at 5:30, and I encouraged the 'rents to go to Tropicana - dinner and dancing would be just the thing for them. (I spent the entire cruise trying to get one or another of my family members to go with me for Latin dancing lessons by the BTF staff - never happened. Next time, I'm ditching them all - Mama wants to samba!) They never went - had dinner in O'Sheehan's instead.

DH used to make props for a magician friend and has refused to tell me any of their secrets for almost a decade, but I hoped he'd enjoy the magic show. Seating is tricky - we got there around 5 and waited in line for a bit, and we ended up at the very last seats on the first row of tables, at the end of the circle around the stage. We were reasonably close, but since we were on the far right edge, we didn't have the best view. I enjoyed the food - a nice filet and fried shrimp, with a salad of thin cucumber slices wrapped around a "tree" of romaine, with tomato slices and mozzarella, and three small bites for dessert. The show itself? A bit disappointing. The staff did their best - they were very invested, you could tell, so I feel like a Scrooge for not thinking it was wonderful - more than anything else, it was loud. I understood why our room vibrated during the show! 4 magicians/mentalists performed in a wrap-around story, and I enjoyed parts of it. They do have quite a bit of audience participation, so be prepared if you don't like that sort of thing.

I had reserved seats for Legally Blonde after the magic show, but for some reason we were just not interested and we skipped it. We went to the craps table, where DH had some luck and my naive self was introduced to the sight of $500 chips - wow. I don't gamble - I don't have the patience for it or the daring, and I figure if I am going to spend money, I'd rather spend it on something I'll remember forever. DH is pretty good, though, so I watch while he throws dice and everybody's happy. We made a turn through the buffet for some dessert and found the 'rents eating soup and ice cream. I was ready for the Glow Party, right? Nope. Alseep again by 11.

In retrospect, it was a very good night to go to bed early.

Even though my husband has ended up having rotater cuff surgery in each shoulder, 2 hernia operations, a torn meniscus in his knee and recently a hip replacement (all from working at the Post Office) he quelled his pain before each operation with acupuncture.

 

I hope you are able to find a good one at your home, since it appeared to work for you. I tried it and it did nothing for my knee problems but it worked for him and also immediately stopped the intense pain my DS was in from "dry socket" after his wisdom teeth were pulled.

 

How wonderful! I think if I hadn't been such a cheapskate, the acupuncture really would have helped - I hear that it works for some folks and not for others, but I am glad that it helped your husband and DS!

 

Enjoying your review. That future Spa Suite might be sooner than you think. I managed to catch a great price and we will be sailing in our first suite this October. Between an AMEX promo and a Suite promo the difference in price from getting a balcony plus buying spa passes vs the Spa Suite was not very much, when we factored in the OBC we got...

It will be a while before we cruise again - DH wanted to do Alaska for his 50th in 2 years, but I'm just not sure. . . we shall see.

You had me at "UGA"!!!! That's my neck of the woods! I'm enjoying your review! I can't wait for the rest!

 

 

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GOOOOOO DAWGS!!!!!

We are from Macon, if that gives you any perspective - but I am told that whenever I am in Athens, my feet barely touch the ground. :D

Loving your review so far! The Getaway is on what I call my "cruise bucket list" :D

Thanks!

She really is a beautiful ship - I feel like I haven't spent enough time talking about how gorgeous she is.

We felt like Getaway couldn't make up her mind whether she wanted to be a party ship or a family ship, and there is sooooo much to do onboard that we barely felt like we were cruising. It was more like we were at a really great resort that happened to be bobbing in the water, but I wonder if that is just our experience on this trip, with our port disasters.

Ohhhh! You have GOT to post those pics, lol!

 

Y'all sound like so much fun!

:cool: He will KILL me if I post those pics. Maybe.

We have before and after pictures - mild mannered cruisers leaving the ship, and wild, slightly sunburned party animals coming back on.