Back from the 10/11 Getaway

Recently, there have been some very good and extensive reviews of the Getaway. Any review I would write couldn't come close to those reviews, so I'm going to take a different track and touch on items that don't come up a lot.

Carlo's Cupcake Class:

it was offered on the 1st Sea Day and the cost was $40. The class lasted all of 30 minutes. You were shown how to decorate the cupcake by a pastry chef and than had decorate one yourself. There was no personal instruction. You decorated a total of 4 cupcakes. I did have fun, but I would not do it again, as I was hoping to actually learn some decorating techniques.

They also offered cake decorating classes for $60 on the other sea days.

Deal or No Deal:

The cost was $19.50 per card and was played in the morning and evenings of the Sea Days.

Bingo:

There were three price points, $39, $49, and $69. Bingo was played in the morning and evening of the Sea Days.

Deal or No Deal and Bingo times overlapped by 15 minutes, so you couldn't always get to do both back to back.

Behind the Scenes Tour:

The cost was $79 and was offered the morning of the first Sea Day and the last Sea Day. The tour started at 10:00. It's advertised to last 2.5 hours, but our tour last 3 hours. You are on your feet pretty much the whole time. So have comfortable shoes. You do have to go up and down the Crew staircase, which is narrower and steeper than the regular stairs. You only have to traverse two decks this way. You do get to visit the Bridge, but you are kept away from the officers. We took the tour on the day they announced the Diversion, so that may be why we couldn't talk to them. You also visit the Galley, Food Storage, Environmental, and the back stage area of Illusionarium.

Fireworks:

If you have a Port Side Balcony, you will be able to see the fireworks from your Cabin. We were all the way forward and had no issues.

Deck Chair Availability:

We were in the Haven, but on wanderings around, there were plenty of chairs on Deck 16, but we didn't see too many open chairs on Deck 15.

Meal Length:

I would say the average meal length was an hour. We had dinner in Cagney's one night and that was 1.5 hours. We had dinner in La Cucina twice and they were around 45 minutes. We ate in Taste one night, got right in @7:30. There were quite a few open tables. It started to get full @8:15 and had a line when we left. The Farewell Show had just ended, so I believe people were coming from the show.

Room Service:

Ordered Pizza once, delivered within 30 minutes. Ordered salads from Room Service and they were there in 15 minutes.

Ship Movement:

We were on the 11/16 Epic last year that seemed to rock most of the passengers in seemingly calm seas. I am happy to report, movement was minimal. Our Cabin was on Deck 16 and sometimes I wondered if we were even moving. I am prone to Motion Sickness, so I do feel motion more than others. After the Epic experience last year, I was concerned about the Getaway.

Thanks for checking in with a good review!

How was the Haven restaurant?

Thanks for all the helpful information and nice review

Thanks for your review! I'll be in a forward penthouse on deck 12 port side and was wondering about the movement and seating in the Haven. :D

Haven Items:

We were in an H2, all the way forward on Deck 16. This would be our 2nd time in the Haven. Our first was last November on the Epic, in a similar Cabin. Our Concierge was Ruth and her Assistant was Karen. Karen was on the Epic last year and remembered us.

The Getaway Haven Lounge, Restaurant and Courtyard area are smaller than the Epic, but It never felt crowded. I think the Sun Deck area was probably the same between the two, as the Upper Sun Deck on the Getaway took the place of Posh. There wasn't a bar up there, but their were Attendants around from what I saw. I will confess, I didn't spend much time there as I spent a lot of time on our Balcony.

Check-In:

Amazingly fast, almost too fast. We arrived at Port a little before 11:00am and were sitting in the Haven Lounge on the Getaway by 11:30. There was no line at security, went straight to Haven Check-In, walked over to the waiting Lounge and we sat there maybe 5 minutes before we were taken to the upstairs waiting Lounge. As soon as we walked into the Lounge, we were told we could board. I didn't get a chance to look at any of the paperwork we were given until we were onboard.

Embark Lunch in Haven:

Lunch in the Haven didn't start until Noon, so we had to wait a half hour. The bar was open and they had servers bringing out Sliders and Fries for everyone while you waited. You almost didn't need to have lunch if you ate a Slider or two. We were free to wander the Haven area. We did venture down to our Cabin and were allowed to drop off our carry-ons. Lunch started at Noon. I can't remember exact lunch options, but I do remember them as being the same or similar to the menu on the Epic. I had the Roasted Chicken Breast and DH had the steak. Both were fine.

Haven Restaurant:

As mentioned above, the Haven menu seemed to be the same or similar to what was on the Epic. We had breakfast there almost every morning and we never had to wait. There is seating outside in the courtyard, which I never got to try. But I wanted too. The tables were always in the sun and I prefer the shade.

We had dinner a few nights as well. Those were late dinners, around 8:45-9:00 start time. We went there after Burn the Floor and Legally Blond. No wait, with just a few other diners.

On the Epic, we always seemed to have the same Server, no matter which meal. That was not the case this time around. While the same Servers were around, we always seemed to get someone different. We started bringing some cash so we could tip at each meal when we realized we might not get the same person each time. It was our choice to tip, it is not expected.

Cabin:

Cabin was wonderful. I spent a good bit of time on the balcony. Our balcony was a wrap around, so we had a Forward and Port side setup. The perfect balance of Sun and Shade. I didn't need to use the Haven for Sunbathing. It was never too breezy, just enough. I'm not sure if it was normal or if it was due to the change in itinerary.

Tipping:

We choose to put the tips on our onboard account. I asked Karen if she could write up Room Charge accounts for a few people. I filled in the amounts and Karen processed them. I asked her to do one for herself and Ruth. I filled in the amounts and brought to Guest Services to process. I wanted some element of surprise for them. I wrote Thank You cards and handed them to everyone.

Overall, I prefer the Getaway to the Epic. I would sail each one again, but the Waterfront area on the Getaway was a very nice way to relax. I loved having dinner outside. I wish we could have done it more often, but when were able to do so, were the nights where we had storms.

Enjoying your review.

Excellent information. Thank you very much for tanking the time to post.

Did you have any noise issues from the movable wall in the living room? Did you have any issues with the door that separates the front and side balcony in terms of the wind pushing it when you opened it?

Thanks for the post and Haven info.

Will be on the Getaway in January, first time on NCL, and will be in the Haven Aft Penthouse Suite.

All the info shared really helps.

Quik question, did you arrange your dining before boarding or did you book after through the Haven? Thanks

Thanks for your review! I'll be in a forward penthouse on deck 12 port side and was wondering about the movement and seating in the Haven. :D

12106 is our cabin 15 Nov! :D

Dexddd,

We heard a little bit of noise one day through the removable wall between the Cabins, but it was minimal and only one afternoon.

There wasn't a door on the balcony between the Forward and Side views. You could tell there used to be a door there at one time. Sometimes, you do have to fight the curtains when you open the door. If you don't completely close the slider door, you will get a whistling sound inside and out.

I did forget to mention you could hear the noise of the deck chairs being moved around on Deck 17 above you. We were in the Cabin a lot, but I only heard the noise in the morning for a few minutes and the same in the evening. It wasn't anything prolonged.

Countess5,

I arranged Illusionarium and the 1st nights dinner at La Cucina in Advance. Otherwise, I arranged our Dining with the Concierge, usually two days in advance of when we were going. They also arranged a same day Taste Reservation for us.

You don't need reservations for the Haven Restaurant. Just show up and they will seat you.

Enjoy your cruise and the Haven! We are spoiled now. It will be hard not to sail in the Haven going forward.

Dexddd,

 

We heard a little bit of noise one day through the removable wall between the Cabins, but it was minimal and only one afternoon.

 

There wasn't a door on the balcony between the Forward and Side views. You could tell there used to be a door there at one time. Sometimes, you do have to fight the curtains when you open the door. If you don't completely close the slider door, you will get a whistling sound inside and out.

 

I did forget to mention you could hear the noise of the deck chairs being moved around on Deck 17 above you. We were in the Cabin a lot, but I only heard the noise in the morning for a few minutes and the same in the evening. It wasn't anything prolonged.

Interesting about the door on the balcony. We sailed on the BA and it didn't have the door as originally built but one or two sailings before ours, they added it. We know that because there was someone on here who had the same room 2-3 weeks before we did plus it wasn't in any of the pictures of the front of the ship up to that point.

I saw someone say they had it on the GA and I looked at some pictures and indeed it did have the door. It was a real PITA and a safety issue. It would grab any wind (even in dock) when you opened it and it would take two hands to control it (the side to the side balcony had a flange along the hinge so it wouldn't totally fly open to the side but it really didn't leave enough room to fit through so you had to open it towards the room side and it would be very hard to handle. Hopefully they have been removed from both ships as it really cut down the ability to enjoy the side part of the balcony. Not sure why they added it on the BA as it was placed in a spot that it really wouldn't seem to divert wind one way or another to the side balcony.

We had a lot of noise from the movable wall just about every night so it is good that you didn't have this problem.

How (or when) did you sign up for a Behind the Scenes tour?

Thanks

Dena

How (or when) did you sign up for a Behind the Scenes tour?

Pax in regular cabins can sign up at guest services, suite guests can use concierge.

Yes, you can sign up for the Behind the Scenes Tour at Guest Services or the Concierge if you're in the Haven. I signed up with the Concierge when we boarded. The tour is supposed to be limited to 18, but they will go over a little. We had 22 on our tour.

Are robes offered in all room classes? I really would like a robe in my room for myself and my girlfriend

The Haven had robes. During our Cabin Crawl, I noticed the mini-suites had robes as well. Sorry, I can't help on the other Categories.