Advice about the Getaway

I need everyone's advice on what I need to experience on the Getaway. We will be traveling in just a little over 3 weeks and it's our first time on NCL. So, I need advice on what and what not to do on the Getaway. We have sailed Carnival, Disney and RC several times but never NCL so we feel like first timers all over again. We will be sailing with 1 other couple and all our kids are staying home (8 kids between the 2 couples!) so it's an adult only cruise or us. We love to cruise and relax. We have balcony cabins and the UDP since it was free for us-cruise promotion. Okay-GO! All advice welcomed!

Hi 3boys! If I have it figured right you will be on the September 20 sailing of Getaway. So will my friend and I. We are both from Georgia as well. I am from Villa Rica and my friend Ellen is from Jackson. It will be our first time on the Getaway, so I will be watching your post to see what others have to say. We are looking forward to a relaxing cruise as well. Hope to meet you on the cruise.

Just off the Getaway last Saturday, Your going to have a GREAT Cruise !! Beautiful ship, Brand new, nothing worn out or dirty yet, Food was good, service top notch.. I ate in speciality restaurants, Tippenyaki, a great show by the Chef, Brizilian steak house, (forgot name) all types of meats to try, the lamb chops the best !! last and the best was the Italian Restaurant, ordered the VEAL Shank was to die for !! The food was also good in the other resturants you did not have to pay extra for.. I would suggest getting chairs by the pool, on same floor, if you get chairs on upper decks, it a long walk to stairs to get down to pool area, stairs on end of ship, where Carnival has semi circle stairs in middle of ship to go down to pool area, Carnival I think has a better layout.. But other than that, look forward to a great Cruise in a few weeks...

Take the time to walk through Decks 6,7 and 8. The artwork on the walls in very South Florida and museum quality. A lot of events occur in the Atrium area on Deck 6 which is where the Java Cafe is located.

Enjoy. The Getaway is a wonderful ship with an amazing staff.

Thanks..keep the suggestions coming. I have a couple- with the UDP-I hear you have to pay extra for the seafood restaurant-is it worth it? Is the Vibe worth the extra $80/per person in late September? Since we don't have our kids we love our quiet time. Thanks for in the information! Please keep it coming!

Yeah!! Without the kids...alway so much more relaxing! First, it's time to book your shows!! Legally Blonde, The Dance Show ( can't remember the name-- getting old) comedy shows..later ones are adults only, Illusionarium $39 per person. I don't eat meat, therefore we passed on Cagneys, etc. Bring tennis shoes for the Ropes Course, and a 1 piece swimsuit if you are daring and want to do the slides! We really enjoyed some of shows in the Atrium...like Newlywed type shows...but get there early to get a good seat!

There are 3 complimentary dining rooms..The Taste, The Savor and the Tropicana Room. All were good...the Tropicana room has music and dancing (passengers) most nights, and twice the cast from the dance show performed! These are professional ballroom dancers, and they can salsa like crazy!! The one night we did attend, we got to the Tropicana dining room around 5:30 to get a table close to the dance floor. The show started at 6. It was fantastic.

Cruise was lovely, I hope you have a fantastic time!

During the day most of the bar spaces on Decks 7 and 8 indoors and outdoors are very quiet. Especially the outdoor spaces along Deck 8, for reading or just watching the waves. For me, neither the Vibe or Ocean Blue is worth the extra cost but I am not a sun worshiper or a big seafood fan.

If you want to eat at Le Bistro book it early as it fills up (even with UDP.). We had an entre and lobster and were not charged extra.

Ate at Cagneys twice and Moderno twice. At Moderno they were not consistent with bringing around certain cuts of meat. Never saw the pineapple. But the food was good and I'd definitely eat there again.

Another poster loved the public space on 6,7 and 8. We hated it. 6 was super smokey with the Park West people trying to hard sell the art. 7 was the crowded and smokey casino. 8 was usually mobbed with their "sales". We finally resorted to walking outside on deck 8 "waterfront". Loved that! Also great spot to curl up on a sofa for sunset.

We found tons of loungers in Spice h20. When we went there was a sign that it was adults only until 7pm. Don't know if that's every day or not. Nice little waterfall and adult wading pool for cooling off.

Adult pool was so crowded we could only use it on a port day. Kids are allowed in port hot tubs, but not starboard. There was a deck attendant keeping kids out of the adult pool.

Saw Burn the Floor twice. Awesome! Got there when doors opened and sat 3rd row center. Perfect.

Loved Legally Blonde. Probably the best entertainment we've seen on a ship. Not wild about Illusionarium. It's probably free with your UDP but not worth paying extra for. Same for ice bar. It's just a big freezer where you stand around with a nothing special drink. Our comedians were very good. Howl at the Moon was pretty average but still fun.

Didn't feel the need to book Vibe since Spice was such a nice space. Also, the customer Service line was long and slow when we boarded. Would have been hard to get a limited spot.

Watch for the singing officer in the buffet. So great. Entertaining every morning. If you go to the very aft of the buffet the lines are shorter and usually have tables.

We usually ran up to Flamingo grill at lunch for a bowl of pulled pork to top our buffet salads with. Yum! That'd be a pricey salad at a restaurant.

Thanks for this thread. We are seasoned cruisers as well, but sailing Getaway September 20th. Our first NCL ship too!

All these tips are great. Keep em coming.

Other information I'm interested in are the spa (worth $$ ?? ), attire for rope and rock wall, should we make reservations for complimentary dining venues, and prices for games in O'Sheehans.????

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Our absolute favorite was " howl at the Moon"

We went twice- it is in Headliners, walk on in, sit on down, no reservations-

Just great music and great fun. Adults only "strongly suggested" after 11pm.

It gets pretty crazy at times - in a good way!

We have already booked our second Getaway cruise- you won't have enough time to do everything.

Loved this ship!

O' she hands bowling is 5 dollars . We swiped our card and the whole fam played the round. We did this several times. Really fun. The other games were

$1- $1.50. O,sheehans much better than the arcade!

OP-

There are a bunch of great reviews

That have a ton of info and suggestions.

I tried to link to several for you but my phone is not cooperating. Annmeat wrote one full of fun stuff.

We did not eat at Ocean Blue at night but did during the day....

Do not miss the lobster rolls-

And the waterfront is a lovely place to chill during the day if you want a peaceful lunch.

Thanks for this post. We just booked on Sunday and this is our first time on NCL. My wife isn't much of a cruiser, but I think one will get her on board for some of the nicer, larger ships.

Can't wait to see more suggestions!

just got off the Aug 16-23 Getaway.

Set up your dining and entertainment reservations now. We liked legally Blonde, but wasn't too wild about Burn the Floor. howl at the moon was wonderful, headliners comedy was fun-- but the emcee told the same jokes at the two different shows =two different comics.

We had ubp and udp and was not charged extra for anything.. our final bill was 90 cents! mojito bar was wonderful-- we were thinking about doing the tasting- but that was considered an event and would be charged... so we just got two drinks at a time and made our own tastings...

osheenans has ice cream based alcoholic beverages they do not charge extra for if you have ubp. We got the Toasted almond one day-- it was great. o sheenans also does take out-- we got sandwiches to go one afternoon- to go with our mojito tastings

all beverage up to 10 was included we did many 9.75 glasses of wine.

you can get the upcharge entrees with the udp with no extra charge-- such as lobster tail and the fruit de mer in le bistro.

We were in the haven-which was wonderful--

I'm a kid at heart, so I'm going to suggest the fun things we did...

I had a BLAST on the drop water slide...like seriously it was so much fun.

We had an awesome time on the ropes course and zip line.

We thought bowling was fun (even though it's the smaller bowling lanes and pins), it was still a blast.

We definitely had a lot of fun at the 80's party and the GLOW party. We were definitely prepared for the night and had tons of fun preparing for it prior to cruising with buying GLOW everything from necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, glasses, body paint, eye shadow, fingernail polish and so on. Then we made sure we had outfits that glowed. It was a blast. During the 80's party is when the fireworks show is...you will want to be on the very back on the ship over by the huge tv screen for the best view.

I did a full review on our Getaway cruise (which is listed in my signature with tons of pictures if you are interested) from back in May.

Here's a location cheat sheet that you can save and use onboard for a quick reference. I researched it and typed it up for all the 21 people in my party, and I thought some of you could use it too. I realize I omitted the Haven, as I will not be staying in the Haven this go around and nor is anyone in my sailing party, as we all just got mini-suites and balconies. So if you are staying there... Enjoy! and just add the Haven's info to the bottom of your list :cool:

NCL’s GETAWAY

-where to find food-

Deck 6:

Illusionarium (Diner Show- $25-30) FWD –(D)

Taste ($0) AFT –(B, L, D)

Savor ($0) AFT –(D)

Le Bistro (French -$20a, $10c) MID –(D)

Teppanyaki- (Habatchi- $25a, $12.50c) MID –(D)

The Atrium Café & Bar (Ála carte) MID –(B, L, D)

Deck 7:

O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill ($0 & 24/7) MID-FWD –(B, L, D)

Shanghai’s (Noodle Bar- Ála carte) MID-AFT –(L)

The Tropicana Room ($0) AFT –(D)

Deck 8:

Cagney’s (Steakhouse- $30a, $15c) AFT –(D)

Carlo’s Bake Shop (Ála carte) AFT–(L, D)

Dolce Gelato (Ála carte) AFT –(L, D)

La Cucina (Italian- $15a, $7.50c) MID-FWD –(D)

Moderno (Churrascaria- $20a, $10c) AFT –(D)

Ocean Blue (Seafood- $39a, $19.50c) MID –(L, D)

Ocean Blue-Waterfront ($39a, $19.50c) MID –(L, D)

The Raw Bar (Ála carte) MID –(D)

Wasabi (Sushi- Ála carte) MID –(D)

Deck 15:

Garden Café (Buffet- $0) AFT –(B, L, D)

Deck 16:

Flamingo Bar & Grill (Poolside-$0) MID-AFT –(B, L)

Deck 17:

Vibe Beach Club (*cover charge- Ála carte) FWD

Also available:

24hour room service (Delivery fee from Midnight-5am… all other hours $0) –(B, L, D)

Pizza Delivery 24/7 ($5) –(B, L, D)

Location ?:

Chef’s Table ($99) –(D)

Wine Lovers Lunch ($?) –(L)

***Most drinks have a fee… including specialty drinks, sodas, juices, beer, wine and all other alcoholic beverages.

**(Serves… B=breakfast, L= lunch, D=dinner)

*Locations… FWD= Front, MID= Middle, AFT= Rear

-where to find fun-

Deck 6:

Headliners Comedy Club MID

Illusionarium (Diner Show- $25-30) FWD –(D)

Deck 7:

O’Sheehan’s –(Bowling) MID-FWD

Getaway Casino MID

Getaway Theatre FWD

Deck 8:

The Grammy Experience 8- MID-FWD

Deck 12& 13:

Splash Academy- kids club MID

Deck 14:

Spa FWD

Deck 15:

Aqua Park, Kids’ Aqua Park, Hot tubs & Sun Deck MID

The Market Place MID

Thermal Spa, Salt Room, & Pulse Fitness Center AFT

Salon & Barber Shop AFT

Deck 16:

Climbing Wall, Jogging Track & Sun Deck MID

Video Arcade MID-AFT

Deck 17:

Waterslides (enter on 15) AFT

Bungee Trampoline, Miniature Golf, Ropes Course,

Spider Web, & Sports Complex AFT

Sun Deck FWD

Deck 18:

Basketball Court AFT

Sun Deck FWD

-where to find bars-

Deck 6, 7 & 8:

Bar at the Atrium & Headliners Comedy Club 6- MID

Mixx Bar 6- AFT

Bar 21 & Bliss Ultra Lounge 7- AFT

Casino Bar 7- MID

O’Sheehan’s 7- MID-FWD

The Grammy Experience 8- MID-FWD

Humidor Cigar Lounge & Sunset Bar, Sugarcane Mojito

Bar & SVEDKA and Inniskillin Ice Bar ($25) 8- MID

Deck 15, 16& 17:

Waves Pool Bar 15- MID

Spice H2O 16- AFT

Flamingo Bar & Grill 16- MID-AFT

Sundeck Bar 17- FWD

Helpful hints...

*If your stateroom is on the STARBOARD side of the ship (vehicles passengers side=right), then when you exit your room to the right, that is FORWARD and if you exit left, that is the AFT of the ship.

**If your stateroom is on the PORT side of the ship (vehicles drivers side=left), then when you exit your room to the right, that is the AFT of the ship and if you exit left, that is FORWARD.

I need everyone's advice on what I need to experience on the Getaway. We will be traveling in just a little over 3 weeks and it's our first time on NCL. So, I need advice on what and what not to do on the Getaway. We have sailed Carnival, Disney and RC several times but never NCL so we feel like first timers all over again. We will be sailing with 1 other couple and all our kids are staying home (8 kids between the 2 couples!) so it's an adult only cruise or us. We love to cruise and relax. We have balcony cabins and the UDP since it was free for us-cruise promotion. Okay-GO! All advice welcomed!

Happycruiser. ... I love you. We sail in a few weeks and this will help.

Happycruiser1979, I love you!

I had been making a list of places I'd most likely to visit, but yours is so complete, I can mark it off my to-do-list.

Thanks for doing all that work! :D

Happycruiser, you are awesome!!! Thanks so much.

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Thanks for this thread. We are seasoned cruisers as well, but sailing Getaway September 20th. Our first NCL ship too!

 

All these tips are great. Keep em coming.

 

Other information I'm interested in are the spa (worth $$ ?? ), attire for rope and rock wall, should we make reservations for complimentary dining venues, and prices for games in O'Sheehans.????

 

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I'm not sure about the spa, as we didn't use the services, so someone else will have to chime in here...

the rock wall and ropes course both required closed toe shoes. there is also a weight limit on each, and if you have little ones that aren't quite tall enough for the big ropes course, there is a mini-course located below the entrance to the main one. Saw many little ones enjoying themselves on that!

The rockwall did have very limited hours, and the couple of times we tried to attempt it, the lines were just too long and there was usually only one person "working" it... I don't remember how long (or if) it was open while in port, but you might want to try it then if it is, as I'm sure the lines won't be quite as bad.

games in O'Sheehans - bowling (duckpin/mini-bowling) was $5.00 per person/per game

most other games (basketball/skeeball etc) were $1.00/per game and I believe air hockey was $5/game as well but I'm not 100% sure, as everytime we tried to play, there were people already on it. (we only tried a couple of times, there's so many other things to do, we just went somewhere else!)

I absolutely LOVED the Getaway and I can't wait to book her again soon! There was so much stuff going on all over the ship that we were never "bored" or looking for things to do.

Another question, does anyone know if Savor, Taste and Tropicana have the same menu's every night? Such as what's being served on Monday in Savor is the same as Taste.

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Another question, does anyone know if Savor, Taste and Tropicana have the same menu's every night? Such as what's being served on Monday in Savor is the same as Taste.

 

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Yes

Thank you so much everyone- Especially HappyCruiser-love the list and will be printing that out as well.

Anyone have a special tour on ship or off that they liked at St.Thomas-we would love to see St.John since the last time we were there the water taxis were on strike.

Thanks again everyone-loving all the advice. I can always count on my CC people to give me the best info!

Another question, does anyone know if Savor, Taste and Tropicana have the same menu's every night? Such as what's being served on Monday in Savor is the same as Taste.

 

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Yes... Taste and Savor have the same menu each day. I don't remember if Tropicana had anything extra... but my guess would be that it is also the same. T & S 100% positive... they are right next to each other and the hostess told us when we asked if they each had a different menu when we were on in March and she said they serve the same menu.:)

Awesome, thanks so much!

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