Live from Norwegian Getaway - September 27, 2014

Hello, everyone!

Tomorrow morning, I'll be boarding Norwegian Getaway for my very first NCL cruise, and I thought that perhaps people here would like to join me on my cruise from the comfort of their computers/tablets.

About me: I generally consider myself "loyal to Royal" and am "Diamond" with them. I've also cruised Celebrity, Princess, and Carnival, although those cruises were many years ago. I'm cruising this time with my friend Bryan with whom I've cruised several times before.

I received this cruise as a promotional offer from my local, land-based casino through their partnership with NCL's Casinos at Sea.

As far as choosing this particular cruise, Bryan and I were already booked on next week's Allure of the Seas cruise, so I thought it'd be a fantastic way to save a bit of money on airfare and offer a nice back-to-back comparison between NCL and RCI. In fact, not only am I planning on live blogging this cruise, but also the Allure of the Seas cruise, and then I'm going to write up a comparison of my experiences and thoughts about the two cruises/cruise lines.

I'm sure everyone already knows, but for those who don't, here is our itinerary:

Right now, we've returned from dinner with friends and are staying in the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. We have a "Bayside View" room, so we've got a view of the ships during the day.

Our plan is to try and get to the pier (Terminal B) by 10:00 AM to get checked in nice and early.

I can't wait to board and explore this new ship!

I hope you'll join me on this adventure!

Excited for your review

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Super excited for your review, we board Getaway in two weeks and the Allure in February. We're also Diamond with Royal. Can't wait for your opinions and observations. Have a great trip!

T

Can't wait to hear more! We'll be on Getaway next week!

10am is a good time. You will be in the front, and boarding group 1 ;) Have a great time!

Just reached Diamond myself with RCCL but booked NCL instead because of price. VERY interested in seeing how you like Getaway. I'm not far behind you onboard.

looking forward to your blog. I am booked on this cruise next April

Love it! sounds great :)

So excited to see another review. Always enjoy your perspective on cruising. We have not been on NCL in many years, and we contemplating a return after seeing the Getaway in Nassau last week. Looks beautiful, and after watching the boarding party from our balcony of the Carnival Victory, the staff really works hard to make sure everyone is having fun.

We cruised on the the Allure in May, after finally giving in to "big ship resistance" and LOVED it. Booked Oasis while on board for next September.

Bon Voyage!!!! Looking forward to the first installment.

Good morning everyone! It's early, about 7 AM, but it's an important day... Boarding Day! :D

We're now getting ready for the morning and will soon be having breakfast in the restaurant downstairs.

I forgot to mention that while we were out last night in Fort Lauderdale, we stopped by Total Wine and picked up four bottles of wine to bring with us. It was nice to be able to get some wines that we like (at fantastic prices!) and know that we'll be able to bring them onboard, saving some money from the onboard prices, even including the corkage fees.

Since they're white wines, I assume that we'll be able to drop the wines off at the specialty restaurants during the day so they can chill them in time for our dinners in the evening. I'm going to ask about doing that.

We did get the Ultimate Dining Package, so we're planning on eating in the specialty restaurants every night. We do have Illusionarium reservations for tonight.

Well, time to get ready for the day! Back later...

Subscribed! Looking forward to cruising vicariously with you! :)

We're on the Getaway in January and are contemplating an Allure/Oasis cruise.

Thanks for taking the time to do a live.

Excited to see how you enjoy the cruise! We're contemplating taking this or Allure of the Seas next May. Can't wait to read your comparisons. Have a wonderful cruise :)

Yeah!! You just made the rest of my Saturday. I have been up since she pulled into port this Morning. I will be watching you sail out on the webcam

and reading your review. Thanks

/subscribe. :) Can't wait to follow you this week - and can't wait to see you next week and hear all about this trip in person!!! Enjoy your cruise, babe.

Happy Sail Away Day! :D You've got my attention and will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the Getaway!

Enjoy!!!!

Kathy

I will be following along with anticipation. . . . I love "LIVE" posts, and am interested in Norwegian Getaway. I will be on Norwegian Breakaway in 2 weeks !

Radio

;);)

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Looking forward to hearing all about your trip! Hope you enjoy the Getaway as much as we did! Safe travels. :)

Can't wait to see your review as you go along, and the comparison at the end of your b2b. We will be on the Getaway in January and so can't wait!! Enjoy your cruises.

Have a wonderful cruise. I have had the honor and privilege to have sailed on her twice. She is a great ship with a wonderful staff from the Captain Rune Myre (from north of the Arctic Circle in Norway) on down to the housekeepers, wait and bar staff.

Hello from the... Port of Miami. We're checked in and ready to board.

We had a couple glitches during check-in. First, we brought wine with us, but they didn't have anyone manning the alcohol table, so we waited fifteen minutes for someone to charge us the corkage fee.

Then, since we booked through CAS, we were directed to the Casinos at Sea line, but that was very slow. After ten minutes of waiting for the single representative to become free, they ended up directing us to the regular line.

Lastly, Bryan's key card didn't work, so we waited a few more minutes for them to make a new card for him. Because he got a new card, it doesn't have the stickers on it, so we'll have to go to Guest Services onboard to get the soda and dining package stickers.

All in all, a bit of a rough check-in, but it's all done now and soon we'll be onboard!

Following! Have a great cruise!

This is great, as I am on Getaway in 2 weeks for my 1st ever NCL cruise...very excited and it's great to see that you're there and will be posting great info and pix...

Thanks and have a great cruise..

Are ya having your first DOD yet?? LOL

Following along with you this week to get my feet wet and then next week we will be joining you on Allure!! Have a wonderful cruise!!

Aren't you done with this cruise yet? Until then, we can't leave on ours!