Just off Getaway - 7/10-7/18/15 - mini review :)

Just returned home after a week on the beautiful Norwegian Getaway. Up until this point, Epic has been my favorite ship. This changed that. Getaway was really spectacular. I've also sailed Breakaway, but this ship was different, even though it's the same if that makes sense.

Flew in a day early, used SAS transport to get to Intercontinental in downtown Miami. Had dinner at Fratelli Milano (quick walk from hotel). excellent meal. Excellent hotel.

Arrived at port by 9:30 (wanted to secure vibe passes). Fairly empty and the late disembarkers were still looking for cabs. Easy check in and got boarding pass group 4. My MIL was with us and has a cane and before they boarded, they came and asked her if she needed help on, which was so nice, so we boarded before they called the groups. When we got on, I took key cards and went right to guest services to get vibe passes. Line was already forming! We secured our passes (which are wristbands and a separate keycard - they don't change your regular card to gain access). Not sure how many passes they sold, but it never seemed crowded.

First day we signed kids up for splash and teen club. We went to entourage to sign up for teen club but could also do the splash sign up there as well. Had a quick lunch in the buffet. Rooms were ready around 1.

Stateroom:

Balcony BC category 11274 and 11272. 11274 had the small angled balcony which was really nice. Right off aft elevators. Just a little bigger balcony. Bed was by the closet. So much storage - room has enough storage for everything and suitcases fit under beds just fine. 11272 had bed near the balcony and set up with 2 twins and the sofa for my MIL and 2 kids. It had plenty of storage as well, even for 3 people.

Food:

Ate in Tropicana room, Taste, Cagney's, La Cucina and the Buffet for dinners. La Cucina we dined on the waterfront so that wins for atmosphere. Food was really good. Cagney's had the best food of the places we ate, but service was a bit slow. Nice server, but slow (and we were early - 5:30 reservations and had to skip dessert to get to Legally Blonde at 7:30). Tropicana room is loud from not only the entertainment but the sheer size of it. Food was delicious. Service was fine. Taste was more intimate and I loved my food there. Service here was great. St. Thomas port night we were so exhausted and just decided on the buffet. It was excellent! I had a small grilled steak, a piece of bourbon chicken and some steamed veggies and a salad. Everything was great. Kids ate pizza, husband had some fish. They had a spicy orange beef in the Asian section that was great too.

Entertainment:

Did Illusionarium on Monday night at 5:30. Food was good - steak and shrimp. I took my daughter's steak and she took my shrimp :) Steak was tender and tasty. Veggies were good. The show was amazing. Now I know there's trickery involved, but we got picked on by the mind-reader. She figured out our last name and muster station from our card. She also read numbers from someones dollar bill. Then she had a woman write down a famous person and she drew it. It was crazy. All of the magicians were really great. Such an entertaining show. I thought it was well worth it.

Saw Burn the Floor - very talented - story was a little blah, but I was mesmerized by their talent. The muscles these dancers have. Wow.

Saw Legally Blonde - didn't care either way about going, but ended up really enjoying it. Great voices and very lighthearted. Much better than Rock of Ages, I'd say.

Our favorite entertainment is definitely Howl at the Moon. Went twice. Second time we got to Headliners just as it opened, and left at 1:30 am when they were finished. SO entertaining.

Did the Ice bar only because this is the 4th time we were on a ship with one and hadn't done it. LOL. It was cute, but only have to do it once.

Loved the mojito bar - great mango and raspberry mojitos. Had my favorite pecan shortbread at Carlo's. Kids had gelato - said it was good.

No java cafe, so if you're looking for coffee drinks, try the Atrium cafe on deck 6.

Didn't see the comedians or much of the live music around the ship. Just not enough time.

Ship:

The crew wins hands down. From every room steward you'd pass in the hall, to the pool bar servers to the wait staff - everyone was so pleasant. I sailed Royal back in February and commented that more staff were friendly and pleasant on day 1 than our entire Royal trip. We met the Hotel Director (Klaus, who was filling in for Errol who had an emergency I believe). He's so phenomenal. He goes out of his way to make you feel welcome and that drills down to the crew. In fact, when we spoke with him, he said "welcome home" and that's just how we felt. Our room steward was quiet, but efficient. Top award for crew goes to Rommel who was the bartender in Vibe. He was not only a great bartender, but he went out of his way to help my MIL get to Vibe with her cane. Always stopped what he was doing to help her. Also there was a guy outside the Garden Cafe every morning named Radik. He had a small ukulele. OMG he'd sing washy washy or you are my sunshine, or just a good morning song. It was such a nice touch - just puts you in a good mood.

Ports:

In St. Thomas we did a private tour of St. John that I booked through http://greatexplorationtours.com/st-john-day-trip.html. It was awesome. The driver met us at the gate exit at 9:00 and drove us to ferry terminal. Then we took the ferry. Met our tour driver in St. John. We toured the island and went to Cinnamon Bay to swim (our choice - you could have gone wherever you wanted on this tour). It was stunning. There's a small restaurant there where we had lunch. Part of it was covered by the price I paid for the tour ($13/person for lunch) and we paid the rest. After Cinnamon we toured some more, then back for 3:00 ferry. Driver met us in St. Thomas and back to port. Excellent tour. Not crowded at Cinnamon and great photo stops along the way.

In Tortola, we really wanted to visit Jost Van Dyke so we did a tour through NCL called "escape to Jost Van Dyke". EXCELLENT. I normally don't like ship-sponsored excursions but this was great. We did the 10:00 choice (there was an 8:15 choice too). Boarded the Rebel Yell catamaran for a 45 minute ride to JVD. Pulled up on White Bay (right to beach in ankle to mid-shin deep water - even my MIL was able to do it). Jumped right out. Staff on cat was nice. Set up in front of Gertrude's where I ordered a drink and she handed me the bottle of rum and told me to make it. My kind of bartender! $5 per chair there. Soggy Dollar has free chairs, but most were taken by the 8:15 group of people). There were some other chartered catamarans on the beach, but it wasn't crowded and the water was great. Kids snorkled and we had a quick lunch and back to cat by 2:30. I wish we were in port until 6 instead of 4. I would have loved another hour or two on JVD.

Nassau - our day pass at Hilton got screwed up, so we had no plans which turned out fine. Weather was iffy - huge thunderstorm on our way in and it was really muggy and overcast. Went into town to John Bull so I could get my Bahamas pandora charm (there's a pandora store too, but that was packed). Also got 2 alex & ani bracelets - one said bahamas one said caribbean. Very cute. But then back to ship to enjoy it almost empty.

Kids and husband did all 5 waterslides, rock wall and ropes course. I couldn't as I'm having shoulder surgery this week. SO bummed to not be able to do it! Plank was broken when they did it, so they couldn't walk it, but did everything else including zipline. I think it was the camera that was broken at the end, not the actual plank. All week the pool deck was hopping, although I was a little tired of the blaring latin music. I was good for the first few days, but a little variety would be nice!

Disembarkation was simple. Walked off and used SAS Transportation to get back to FLL for our noon flight.

All in all, it really was a fantastic cruise. I usually hate reviews where they say everything is perfect, but in reality I couldn't complain about anything.

Next up is Escape with these same ports. I may just do that same escape to JVD again because I loved it so much.

Any questions, just ask!

Thanks for your review!! Sounds like you had a fantastic time. :D

Love you review, all sounds great. Thank you! :)

Thanks for the great review! Like you, we've been on Breakaway and Epic but Getaway is our favorite. We will be on Getaway next month in our first angled balcony. Did you enjoy the extra space? Also wondering if you tried the Flamingo Grill....I love those fried plantains! Now after reading your review I can't wait to try those Mojitos:D

Great review, thank you for taking the time to share your experiences! We can't wait for our turn:D!!!

I was also on this cruise, which was my first NCL, and I have to agree that I thought it was pretty perfect.

We did the Ice Bar also and once is enough! :D

I have to agree that I thought the staff was much friendlier than on our last Royal cruise too.

Can't wait to get back on the Getaway for Christmas this year!

Thanks for the review! We sail in 20 days and can't wait!

Thanks for the review...so excited for my New Years cruise on getaway[emoji2]

(ONLY 160 days to go...lol)

Thank you so much for your review! We sail on the Getaway in a few weeks and its always good to hear great reviews!! Thanks for all the info especially the excursions you did.

I find it incredibly interesting that opinions about the same ship, itinerary, and sometimes the very same trip etc. vary so wildly. By far not unique to NCL, btw, I've seen the same on other cruise line forums. But by some of the reviews I've read around here one could surmise that the ships are a floating disappointment waiting to happen or a massively enjoyable and unforgettable experience. That dichotomy makes it specially hard for us prospective travelers. yeah, I know human nature and subjective experience at play. *shrug*

To OP: thanks for the review. Helps to know there's stuff for the whole family to do and dining options.

Thanks for the review! We leave Saturday on the Getaway. Couple of quick questions if you wouldn't mind. You guys arrived at the pier at 9:30am. What time were you able to board the ship? Also, in Tortola did it take very long to disembark that morning? They've changed our time in port to 7am-3pm and we have a private excursion booked for that day. Just wondering if we'd be able to get off the ship quickly so we can maximize our excursion time. Again, thanks for the informative review!

My husband and I and another couple were on the Getaway last week also. We were in front of you and a bit to your left in the Illusionarium. I remember y'all being there because of the room card thing. My friend held up the nail file/emory board for the mind reader to guess.

Great review MB

Thanks for the review! We leave Saturday on the Getaway. Couple of quick questions if you wouldn't mind. You guys arrived at the pier at 9:30am. What time were you able to board the ship? Also, in Tortola did it take very long to disembark that morning? They've changed our time in port to 7am-3pm and we have a private excursion booked for that day. Just wondering if we'd be able to get off the ship quickly so we can maximize our excursion time. Again, thanks for the informative review!

We're sailing in a couple of weeks. Did they change the time for all cruises? I didn't get any notice.

Thanks for the review! We leave Saturday on the Getaway. Couple of quick questions if you wouldn't mind. You guys arrived at the pier at 9:30am. What time were you able to board the ship? Also, in Tortola did it take very long to disembark that morning? They've changed our time in port to 7am-3pm and we have a private excursion booked for that day. Just wondering if we'd be able to get off the ship quickly so we can maximize our excursion time. Again, thanks for the informative review!

Thanks, I just saw the change of Tortola port times via my online myncl page. I had been 8-4 and now its 7-3, I'm no so happy for an earlier start. We sail August 29th.

Thanks for the great review! Like you, we've been on Breakaway and Epic but Getaway is our favorite. We will be on Getaway next month in our first angled balcony. Did you enjoy the extra space? Also wondering if you tried the Flamingo Grill....I love those fried plantains! Now after reading your review I can't wait to try those Mojitos:D

Loved the extra space on the balcony. Spent some time on there, especially in the morning reading. Great space. I loved the chicken croquettes in flamingo. They also had great breakfast. I got over easy eggs a few times without having to wait in omelette line in garden cafe.

My husband and I and another couple were on the Getaway last week also. We were in front of you and a bit to your left in the Illusionarium. I remember y'all being there because of the room card thing. My friend held up the nail file/emory board for the mind reader to guess.

Awesome!! When she drew Tom Cruise I about died.

Thanks for the review! We leave Saturday on the Getaway. Couple of quick questions if you wouldn't mind. You guys arrived at the pier at 9:30am. What time were you able to board the ship? Also, in Tortola did it take very long to disembark that morning? They've changed our time in port to 7am-3pm and we have a private excursion booked for that day. Just wondering if we'd be able to get off the ship quickly so we can maximize our excursion time. Again, thanks for the informative review!

We got on the ship around 11:30. We still had 8-4 in Tortola. We didn't need to get off until around 9:30. Because we had a ship sponsored excursion we met in the theater at 9:30 and when our catamaran was ready we disembarked. But we did arrive at 8 and they called to get off the ship right away. At each port we were able to get off right at arrival time if necessary. You get off on deck 4 for ports so if you want to get off ASAP hang out there so you can get right off.

Thanks for your review! I'll be in the same room 11274 in October. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Were you bothered by any outside noises?

It was so nice getting to meet you and your family in the vibe, we didnt get to see you to say goodbye, it really was a great trip and great honeymoon for us.

Chris and Breanna

Very well written review.

Keith

Thanks, I just saw the change of Tortola port times via my online myncl page. I had been 8-4 and now its 7-3, I'm no so happy for an earlier start. We sail August 29th.

Ugh!! I'll have to check. They changed our Nassau time from when I booked the cruise and it has really messed up our excursion! At least we don't have big plans for Tortola.

Question:

My wife usually gets a Pandora charm when we cruise. We have gotten one in St. Thomas, so we will want to get one in Nassau or Tortola. You stated you got yours in Nassau, but went off the normal place, not sure we have enough time based on our excursion schedule, is there a Pandora right there at the port? Lastly, did you try getting one in Tortola?

Do you happen to have the dailies? If not, can you recall when the White Hot party is? Great review, by the way!

It was so nice getting to meet you and your family in the vibe, we didnt get to see you to say goodbye, it really was a great trip and great honeymoon for us.

 

Chris and Breanna

Hey guys!! Hope you had fun on your Miami tour on Saturday. Our flight was delayed...ughhhhh but finally back home. So glad you had such a great honeymoon!! Vibe was the best. I really want another rum cake martini.