Getaway Review: April 25-May 2

First of all, let me tell you a little about us. My husband and I are in our mid-60's and have approximately 20 cruises under our belts....this was our 6th on NCL. We can honestly say we have never had a bad cruise. We equally like the large and the small ships...they both have their pros and cons.

Five years ago I was diagnosed with a lung condition that depletes me of energy. In order to conserve energy and make it through the day, I travel with a wheelchair and use an oxygen concentrator while sleeping. I wear a small medical device under my shirt that delivers medication directly to my heart through a port. I tell you this because it greatly affects what activities/excursions I can participate in and why I make some of the choices that I do. Prior to sailing, I contact the Access Desk and fill out a form indicating my condition as well as the special needs I will require throughout the week. NCL has always gone above and beyond to accommodate my situation. They have been wonderful.

We live north of Tampa and drove to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday. We stayed at the Hampton Suites on Griffin Road, using their Park, Sleep, & Cruise Program. We were able to leave the car there for the week and took a shuttle to the Port of Miami for $15/person. This certainly beats driving in the crazy traffic in Miami. When we return to the hotel (again $15/person), it is easy to jump on the turnpike and head for home. This is the third time we have stayed at this hotel using the Park, Sleep, & Cruise Program and it works out quite well for us. There are several good restaurants nearby.

Embarkation was easy. We like to arrive at the port early before the crowds because it is much less stressful for me with all of the medication and equipment I need to bring. I like to get through early and don't mind sitting in the waiting room...people watching is fun! We were assigned to Terminal B (check your documents for your assigned terminal as the Getaway uses two terminals for embarkation). We arrived shortly before 10:00. We sat in a small waiting area until the security opened about 10:20. We were immediately escorted through security. Check-in was a breeze. We used the Handicap Accessible window, but they had quite a few windows open and it looked like it was moving along quite well. We then sat in the main waiting room. At about 11:30, they began boarding. We entered the ship on Deck 7. Most people either head to the buffet or to O'Sheehan's for lunch, but we had read here on Cruise Critic to head to Savor on Deck 6 aft. That was a great tip. It was not crowded at all and we enjoyed a nice leisurely quiet lunch.

After lunch we began exploring the ship. I was concerned that it would take days to find our way around. However, with the setup of 678 Ocean Place, it was quite easy. Besides the pool and buffet on Deck 15 and Spice H2O and Flamingo Grill on Deck 16, pretty much everything we needed was centrally located on 6, 7, or 8. We had it mastered in no time.

Well, that's it for now. I will write more tomorrow. Good night everyone.

Looking forward to reading more. Thanks for posting!

Hello

I'm driving from Orlando and I was checking on the hotel rates that you stayed at and I can't find a Hampton Suites on Griffin Road. By chance could it be a different address? Thanks for your help and I can't wait to hear the rest of your review.

thanks for review, is ocean blue still by Geoffrey Zakarian?

Hello

I'm driving from Orlando and I was checking on the hotel rates that you stayed at and I can't find a Hampton Suites on Griffin Road. By chance could it be a different address? Thanks for your help and I can't wait to hear the rest of your review.

I am so sorry...it is Homewood Suites! That's what I get for starting my review at midnight. My apologies for any confusion.

thanks for review, is ocean blue still by Geoffrey Zakarian?

Yes, Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian is open. We did not eat in that restaurant.

However, Ocean Blue has a walk-up window on the Waterfront Deck 8 where you can purchase a la carte items. We had a lobster roll - it was about $9. It was just OK. I've read good reviews on them here on Cruise Critic. But the one we had was very rubbery and chewy. The crab tostada, however was delicious. I forget the price on that one. This walk-up window is only open for limited hours on Sea Days. I think it closed at 2:00 - not sure what time it opens though.

Just a quick note...the shuttle that we took from Homewood Suites on Griffin Road was through a transportation company - not through the hotel. It was a shared ride. There was already one couple in the shuttle when we got in....then after us, we picked up one more couple. On the return trip, the driver dropped the airport passengers off first - then dropped us off at the hotel. I thought I'd mention this in case some have issues with shared rides. The company we used is QLS. We were on the road home by 11:00 am.

Just a quick note...the shuttle that we took from Homewood Suites on Griffin Road was through a transportation company - not through the hotel. It was a shared ride. There was already one couple in the shuttle when we got in....then after us, we picked up one more couple. On the return trip, the driver dropped the airport passengers off first - then dropped us off at the hotel. I thought I'd mention this in case some have issues with shared rides. The company we used is QLS. We were on the road home by 11:00 am.

Thank you!! I was wondering why the Hotel told me it's only one way transportation to the port then an extra $75.00 to return.

I currently have a room booked at the Conrad in Miami for 119 plus 28 for one night parking then another 140.00 to park at the port. I'm always looking for a cheaper way with my car being safe. I still may drive the morning of the Cruise.

Ready to continue my review. Sorry, but I got sidetracked with a very busy week.

I will continue by summarizing by category (in no particular order) instead of day by day.

Cabin

We had Cabin 13284 - handicap accessible balcony cabin/port side/aft. In the five years since my diagnosis, this is the first time I have been able to obtain a handicap accessible cabin. They have always been unavailable and I tend to book early. It was so wonderful to insert the room key and have the door open automatically...sure beats the struggling with the wheelchair that we've had to do in the past. The cabin is quite spacious with lots of storage. We actually had shelves/drawers that we did not use at all. The one suggestion that I would have for NCL would be to have at least one or two small shelves in the bathroom. There is no shelving at all in there. The sink is free standing with no cabinet underneath. Prior to cruising, I watched the YouTube video of the handicap accessible cabin on the Getaway so I was prepared with hanging toiletry bags that we hung on the towel bar next to the sink. Other than that one small issue, this cabin was a great home away from home for the week! Our cabin steward, Randy, was wonderful. From day 1 he always addressed us by name and would greet us in the hall with a smile and a kind word every time he saw us. He responded promptly to all of our requests.

Fireworks/80's Dance Party

The location of port side/aft offered a great vantage point for watching the fireworks. They were at 10:45 on Day 4 (St. Thomas Day). We enjoyed a glass of champagne on the balcony while we watched the show. It lasted approximately 10 minutes. We were able to look down at the waterfront and noticed a few people had pulled chairs to the railing in order to watch the show. There was still quite a bit of available space along the railing to watch the show (I just couldn't see how many other chairs were available to pull towards the railing). This is a good tip as I know that Spice H2O can get quite crowded.

After the fireworks, we headed up to Spice H2O to check out the 80's Dance Party. As we got off the elevator on Deck 16, the crowds were pouring out of Spice H2O. It made us wonder just how crowded it must have gotten up there during the fireworks. Even with that mass exodus, the closest we could even get was just inside the entrance. The place was packed...so glad we were able to watch the fireworks from our balcony! The 80's Party was fun. Quite a few people had dressed up in their 80's clothes....hard to imagine that we all used to wear that stuff at one point, isn't it? They were playing the old MTV videos on the big screen...brought back so many memories. All in all, it was a fun evening.

Entertainment

Prior to cruising we had made our reservations online for Burn the Floor and Legally Blonde. We attended the 10:00 show of Burn the Floor on Day 2 (Sea Day) and Legally Blonde at 7:30 on Day 5 (Tortola). Both shows are very good.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Legally Blonde as I had never seen the movie and had no idea of what the story line was. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband who is not a fan of musicals at all (but just went along to appease me) actually enjoyed it too. I did see a few people walk out part way through the show so I guess it is not for everybody.

Burn the Floor was exceptional - high energy - very talented dancers. I regret that we did not get to see them perform in the Tropicana Room....there just aren't enough hours in the week to do everything that we had hoped to...I guess that means we just might have to book another cruise, right?

Grammy Experience - Unfortunately the first time we stopped in to see Sugar Blue was on the last night...sure wish we had done that earlier in the week so that we could have seen him more than once. He was amazing....very talented. We thoroughly enjoyed his show. I read somewhere on these boards that he is no longer on the ship....we saw him during his last week. I certainly hope that our paths cross again on a future cruise.

There were also entertainers at the various bars and they would rotate locations throughout the week. The only one that we did not enjoy was Chris Wade the piano player....he quite often played at the Sugarcane Mojito Bar. It seemed as though he spent more time talking and less time singing...and when he did sing, we didn't particularly care for it (he seemed to sing a lot of Broadway show tunes when we happened by and that is not our thing). Others seemed to enjoy him. He certainly seemed to have a following. As I have always told my kids...it would be a boring world if we all liked the same thing. No problem....we would just move on....the ship has so much to offer.

Platinum Perks

There has been much discussion on these boards about the vouchers for laundry and Le Bistro. My husband and I are both Platinum. We received one laundry voucher per cabin and one voucher each for dinner and wine at Le Bistro. We were traveling with my brother and sister-in-law who are also Platinum. So between the four of us that was 4 free bottles of wine. We ate two nights in Le Bistro. We ordered one bottle of wine at each of those two meals. For the other two free bottles, we were able to choose the wine, then the waitress gave us a certificate which we could use at any of the other restaurants on any other night...just present that certificate. It worked out quite well.

Next up, I will discuss the restaurants/food. In the meantime, any questions?

Regarding the fireworks: We will be in room 13160 (port side, of course). Do you think that would also be a good cabin for viewing the firework display? I would be nice to enjoy a cocktail while viewing them without thousands of people surrounding us.

Regarding the fireworks: We will be in room 13160 (port side, of course). Do you think that would also be a good cabin for viewing the firework display? I would be nice to enjoy a cocktail while viewing them without thousands of people surrounding us.

Good question...I think that you should be able to see them. It seemed as though they were being launched directly overhead. I would ask your cabin attendant his/her thoughts on that.

Perhaps someone else here on the boards that has been in that location can chime in with their experience.

Thanks so much for your review. Heading out on the Getaway May 30 and getting very excited!

Let me start off by saying that during this cruise we did not have bad service or a bad meal (well, OK there was that one item we didn't like...explained later in the Lunch section). Were some foods better than others? Absolutely....but there were always other options available. We experienced courteous and prompt service in every venue.

Breakfast

We ordered room service two mornings (the St. Thomas and Tortola days). We had requested delivery between 6:30-7:00 and I think that both mornings breakfast was delivered by 6:40. The items we ordered were hot when they arrived. We received very generous portions of everything. I had ordered one egg over easy and received two. We ordered bacon for two people and received enough for four! We also had danish, toast, fruit plate with yogurt dip, coffee, and juice. The egg dishes came with sides of potatoes and grilled tomatoes. Each day we received a charge for $7.95. For us this is worth it. Being in a wheelchair can bring with it a set of challenges to navigate the buffet and/or elevators on a busy morning. The peace of mind of starting a busy excursion day quietly in the cabin was worth the $7.95 charge to me.

The other mornings we ate in either the Flamingo Grill or Savor.

The Flamingo Grill is a great little spot just outside of Spice H2O on Deck 16. It is never crowded and we were always able to find a table by the window. They have a peach puff pastry there at breakfast that soon became a favorite at our table. They have ready made breakfast sandwiches on bagels and English muffins, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and pastries. Then there is a station where you can have your eggs cooked to order. By the egg station they also have an assortment of fresh fruit, canned fruit, and yogurt/fruit parfaits.

Savor is one of the main dining rooms and of course one of my favorite aspects of cruising is to have someone wait on me instead of juggling a plate and a cup of coffee at a buffet....just one of those little things I enjoy. The breakfasts that we had there were very good as was the service. We have no complaints.

Lunch

We mostly ate lunch at O'Sheehan's or Savor. We did go to the buffet for lunch one day. I only had a salad there so I can't speak to the quality of the rest of the food....the salad was a salad - not much more to say about that. The hamburgers at O'Sheehan's were my favorite. My husband loved the Chicken Pot Pie. I had it once and although it was good, I enjoyed the burgers more. The corned beef sandwiches are also good. One day we decided to share a sundae...two scoops of ice cream...not too large right? It was huge....I could only eat so much of it...my husband did manage to finish it though. For lunch in Savor I had the open face tuna fish sandwich. It was good...not outstanding, but good.

One day for lunch we ate at Ocean Blue on The Waterfront. This is only open on sea days for limited hours. I think it closed at 1:30 or 2:00. Everything is served a la carte. I had read rave reviews here on CC about the Lobster Roll. It cost $9.75. Sorry to say, no one in our group enjoyed them. We found the lobster to be very chewy. We also had a Crab Toast for $4.75 - just OK, nothing exciting. However the Jonah Crab Tostada for $2.50 was delicious. It was very refreshing with fresh lime, jalapenos, radishes, and creme fraiche. The Calamari at $4.75 was also very good. It was served with Fresno Chili Aoli...excellent! It was certainly much better than the calamari that we had in Savor one day at lunch as an appetizer.

Dinner

We did not have the UDP. Being Platinum members we received two free dinners in Le Bistro. We booked these on the iConcierge app upon boarding. We had no problems getting our requested times. Both nights I had the exact same thing as I enjoy it so much (I tend to do that when I find a favorite). I had onion soup, grilled beef tenderloin with Roquefort Cheese Potato Gratin, and Profiteroles for dessert...yum!

One evening while my brother and sister-in-law went to the Illusionarium, my husband and I had dinner at Teppanyaki. I made the reservation on Tuesday for Thursday evening and there were quite a few time slots available. Teppanyaki is one of our favorites...always a fun evening. We make a point of eating there once on every cruise. We love the fried rice! We both had the filet and it was tender and delicious. We always end that meal with the very refreshing fruit plate. They have twelve grills in Teppanyaki with seating for 8 at each grill.

We also had dinners at Tropicana, Taste, and Savor. We generally eat about 7:00-7:30 and never had a long wait at any of these. I think the longest we might have waited was 3-4 minutes. The food was good. Our favorite was the Chateaubriand in Tropicana and the Veal Zurich (pasta noodles with a creamy mushroom sauce) in Savor. As with all of the meals, the service was very prompt and courteous. We never had to wait long for drinks or between courses. By far my favorite dessert is the Warm Chocolate Volcano....had that at least 3 nights!

We never got to the Flamingo Grill for lunch. However, we did stop in during the late afternoon on a couple of days for a light snack and a cold drink. I loved the tres leches cake. It was very moist and not too sweet.

All in all, we were quite satisfied with our meals on the Getaway. There was certainly plenty to choose from!

Thanks for the review!

Regarding the fireworks: We will be in room 13160 (port side, of course). Do you think that would also be a good cabin for viewing the firework display? I would be nice to enjoy a cocktail while viewing them without thousands of people surrounding us.

We were in 8170 and could see the fireworks clearly, I'm sure your cabin should be good for viewing also.