Getaway May 23, Solo in a studio review

I sailed on the Getaway for the May 23rd voyage to the Eastern Caribbean route in a studio and this is my review. Our roll call was pretty quiet for a while but did pick up at the end. I accepted the role of Meet and Greet coordinator for our roll call and also had a slot pull sign up. Both of those turned out really well with almost everyone attending and the slot pull making back our cash with one lucky contestant getting the left overs from rounding down.

I'm uploading my pictures to Flicker now and it's just taking a bit so I might need to wait a bit between some posts. For this review I'll break it into the hotel stay the night before, the ship and it's venues, and then the ports.

HOTEL:

I chose the Hampton Inn Brickell since it had good reviews, wasn't too expensive, and was well situated. My flight was a red-eye from Las Vegas so I got in at around 6:30am that Friday morning. After getting my luggage I followed the signage from the baggage claim to the MIA mover.

Signage was fairly easy to follow, just stick to the pink and purple to the MIA mover that takes you to the station.

They had automated kiosks that you used to get a ticket. It was not totally intuitive but thankfully they had an attendant to help out right there. I got a one way ticket for $2.25 and went down to the Metrorail station.

The cars were air conditioned and had enough room to keep your luggage near you. The ride was as expected, a little rough but not bad. You really had to listen to hear the announcer call out what station was next. I found it easier to keep track on the little map above the door and the stations were usually marked.

I got off at the Brickell station and was a little concerned since the elevator was out of order. However, they had escalators so I was able to use those to get my luggage down just like I had at the MIA station. One thing though is that you do need to tap your ticket to the gate to get out.

After getting my bearings I headed over to the hotel about 2 blocks away and saw the entry.

Thanks for the directions on the trip to Hampton Brickell. We stayed at Hampton Blue Lagoon for the free airport shuttle, but your trip to Brickell sounds very doable. Does Brickell Hampton offer shuttle to port or how did you travel to ship? Looking forward to rest of your review:)

I had a standard king room at the Hampton Inn and it was clean and a nice size. There was no mini fridge but it did have a little coffee maker in the bathroom. They had Neutrogena toiletries for shampoo, conditioner, and lotion along with a make-up mirror and a hair dryer.

Check in was easy and even though it was only about 8:30am they did have a room for me. I grabbed some breakfast from their amble spread and headed for a nap. After my nap I went out to wander and find some coffee and lunch from some spots I book marked in Yelp. Miami Brickell and Downtown area has a free trolly system and there is stop right by the hotel. There was a Biscayne trolly when I walked up so I hopped on that and took it to the first Bayfront Park stop. First of was the Eternal Coffee Roasters for an iced coffee. Next I went another block and had lunch at Burrito San which was very filling and delicious. I figured since I was in Miami I needed to have at least one Cafe con Leche so I stopped at Havana Coffee & Tea.

I then took a walk over to the Bayfront market to check it out. It was ok but I was thirsty so I stopped at Tradewinds to get a Margarita. I stuck with a regular margarita and not the ones the size of your head that they were making.

The size of your head margaritas:

After that, it was time to head back to the hotel. I had a my free drink at the bar, played a horrible game of pool, and then had dinner around the corner.

While they did have a shuttle service, it started at 11:00 and I was ready in the morning by 9:30 so I got a taxi. Now here is a warning to everyone who takes a taxi from there - make sure they do not take you on the expressway through the tunnel. The little F-er that I had said "oh it's a better way" when I asked why he was going the wrong direction. It cost me $23 for something that should have been around $11. Yes, I did put in a complaint on him to the Taxi Authority but I doubt it did any good.

Next up, the ship!

Thanks for the directions on the trip to Hampton Brickell. We stayed at Hampton Blue Lagoon for the free airport shuttle, but your trip to Brickell sounds very doable. Does Brickell Hampton offer shuttle to port or how did you travel to ship? Looking forward to rest of your review:)

They do offer a shuttle for $8/person and it starts at 11:00am. I took a taxi since I was ready to go before then.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

I'm thinking of booking at studio cabin on Getaway the beginning of October as a solo. I'm interested to read what you thought of the solo lounge and if you felt the ship was too large..

I was at the port a little before 10:00 and there was already a line for the security. They were suppose to be open by 10:30 but we didn't actually start being let through until about quarter to. Still after paying for my wine corkage, filling out the health form, and checking in i got boarding group 4. They had some large groups pre-boarding and then they took the Haven people so it was a little after 11:30 that they started boarding everyone else. It went fairly quickly and as soon as I was on I went down one deck to Guest services to get a Vibe pass.

There were a few people in line ahead of me but it looked like they still had quite a few passes left. $79 for the week at Vibe, then $99 to sign up for the Chef's Table at the Le Bistro reservation podium, and then I headed up to the spa and got a spa pass for $199.

Spa pics

The spa pass was well worth the money since I was there everyday at least once, except on St. Thomas day which was when we did the chef's Table. It also wasn't very crowded for most of the time, which was good since I wound up returning my Vibe pass before the end of the day. Story coming up.

I headed up to Vibe for my first drink of the day. I saw on the NCL Pinterest board and on their website that they had special cocktails that looked good and I wanted to try. When I asked about them, not one of the bartenders knew what I was talking about. To be honest I wasn't surprised, so I pulled up the pins and after reading what was in them they did recognize them, they just had different names for them.

So I got a Norwegian Mai Tai for my first drink and then went to the Flamingo Grill for lunch. That was to be my go-to for Breakfast and lunch the rest of the trip.

After eating I thought I'd pop down to 10 to see if the studio lounge was open. They had the doors open at the lobby so I went on down to the lounge. My room's door was opened and the steward was cleaning other rooms. I asked if i could throw my carry on in the room and he said sure. This was my second studio room as I was in one on my Epic Mediterranean cruise. It was basically the same but only had the white lighting, no colored mood lighting. Booooo! I really liked the purple and red lighting they had on the Epic. BRING IT BACK FOR ESCAPE!

Now the studio itself was a fraction of the Epic's studio space. It was really a bar with the little seating area around it. I did not take any pictures but there are plenty in Megacruiser's review including this one:

So go check out his review for more information: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2171334

With my baggage dropped I headed around the ship for a tour. First stopping in the Sugarcane Bar for another drink, this time a Pacific Ocean.

Now both the Sugarcane and the Sunset were either just about dead or full to the gills whenever I came by so it really seemed to be hit or miss as to busyness. Yes, it did take a little bit to get service and get your drink made when they were packed but it was always worth it. Some people would come up to the busy bar and would start huffing if the bartender didn't get their drink order in less than a minute. Most everyone else was pretty chill about the wait, knowing they would get their turn.

Anyways it was getting close to the Muster Drill so I headed to the theatre where our station was. After the muster I changed into my swim suit and headed back up to Vibe for sailaway in a hot tub. I had another Mai Tai and was chilling in the hot tub when the thing that made me turn in my pass happened.

Now the Vibe is 18 and over and only open to those who buy a pass. Also available are several cabanas that hold two people each. When I was up there earlier there was a family with two young (under 14) girls who were up there. Not a big deal since most spaces are open for the looky-loos and the lady was talking about getting a cabana. Well, she did because she and her husband came in while I was in the hot tub. And then the rest of the family including the kids came in. The hell is this? I thought. After a little while the sun was invading my hot tub area so I got out and asked the bartender if the kids being here was just a one time sail-away thing. He did not say it was. He said, "oh, my boss asked me to do a favor and let them up here". So, I went down to guest services and gave them back my pass letting them know why.

They were shocked that kids were up there and actually called several people to try and confirm if someone let them up there (of course no one said yes) and reiterated to me that yes, it was only 18 and over and offered many apologies. Still, it pissed me off so I still turned in my pass (which I found out another solo traveller got so it all turned out well). There was only once during the trip that I really did want to go back to the vibe because it was the only place outside of the Haven with padded outside chairs; instead I went to the spa and napped on those chairs.

Next up Dinner at Ocean Blue.

After getting that taken care of I went and changed for dinner since I had decided to do Ocean Blue this evening. I thought I had missed the solo group since it met in a bar but I saw them coming down the hall when I was leaving so I figured I'd join in. Rowena(sp?) was the Solo coordinator for this trip and she was really upbeat and engaging. We all introduced ourselves and then they started talking about dinner in one of the MDRs so I excused myself.

Ocean Blue was not very full when I walked up and did not fill up at any time I was there so if you're looking for a nice, intimate dinner the first night, check it out.

I was sat a small booth and started with a drink. I ordered the beef tartar for an appetizer, the grouper as a main, and the apple strudel for dessert. All of it was fantastic!

The tartar was served with chips and celery leaves dressed in vinagarette on top.

The grouper had forbidden rice and a light cream sauce with it.

The strudel had a slice of sharp cheddar cheese with it that set it off perfectly. It was also served with petits fours, most of which I found to be too sweet.

That was basically my night since I was kinda beat from not getting very much sleep on the plane along with my full day before. Next up is the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet and some more about the ship and some specialty restaurants.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

I'm thinking of booking at studio cabin on Getaway the beginning of October as a solo. I'm interested to read what you thought of the solo lounge and if you felt the ship was too large..

The ship was definitely not too big. My sailing was full but it never really seemed overly crowded, except in the main pool at times. The Studio Lounge is meh. It's nice to be able to quick grab a cup of coffee in the morning or something during the day but I never really spent time in it. However, there were people occasionally there either chatting or waiting for others. There were also solo events that went on throughout the week you could go to. It's just a matter of how much you want to do by yourself and how much you want to do with others.

Our Roll Call Meet and Greet was scheduled for 11am and when I spoke with the group coordinator, Gianniana, she said they would start setting up at about 10:30. So I had a nice sleep and got up for a leisurely breakfast at the Flamingo Grill.

Now the Flamingo Grill always had the same thing for breakfast along with a omelet/eggs-to-order station so if they have what you like, it's probably going to be less crowded than the regular buffet. The only thing is that it doesn't open until 8:00 so if you want to eat earlier, it's any of the other venues including the MDRs.

Giannina Pedraza and Katherine Kabiling are the Guest Service Coordinators on the Getaway and can they throw a Meet and Greet! They had brought blank name tags with the Cruise Critic logo on them and were surprised that I already had name tags all made up and had extras. They had a nice spread of coffee, tea, juice, water, and pastries and came around with smoothie samples. They also had everyone sign in with their cabin numbers and I'm not sure, but I think everyone who did got a little something in their cabins just from talking to a few of the attendees.

The M&G was well attended with only 20 people who asked to be on the list not attending. The officers and staff mingled with the group and answered questions before the CD got everyone up in a line to introduce them.

And, yes, Sponge Bob showed up to lead everyone is brief dance of the twist.

I found out my Vibe issue had been brought to the attention of the Beverage Manager, O'neil Pandit, and he again apologized for the inconvenience and sent me chocolate covered strawberries for the hassle. It was nice that it was acknowledged so if you do have any issues and attend the M&G, do contact the people on the card you will receive.

I really enjoyed my time on the ship and, along with Ocean Blue, tried Tenppanyaki for dinner one night. That was fun, good, and very, very filling!

I also tried Shanghai Noodle bar for two nights. I suggest you get there early or late since it fills up fast now that it's a fee-less venue. The menu looked the same from when it was a la carte but I do believe the portions were smaller on the noodle dishes.

Menu

Spring Roll

Singapore Noodles

5 Spice Cake

Glass Noodle Soup

I really wish they would have been open for lunch, even if just on the sea days. I probably would have eaten there more if it wasn't for how quickly they fill up.

Great review and great job with the M&G. We also stayed at the Hampton Inn Brickell and took the metro rail. Hubby grew up in very small towns and never used public transit. It was easy and hubby was excited over the low cost.

I also tried some of the a la carte venues but missed doing the Raw Bar. Wasabi wasn't too busy but I only went once. Quite frankly their menu didn't thrill me even though the price was decent.

What I really liked was the Ocean Blue window open on sea days from noon to 2pm. I got the crab toasts and tostada, and while I enjoyed both I really liked the tostada better. The vinagarette dressing and the crab was just perfect on that. Since they were only open sea days and only for a couple of hours I only ate there the one time so I missed trying the lobster roll.

I also hit up Carlos' Bake Shop once when I had had a couple of Pisco Punches at the Sugarcane bar and needed to sop up some that alcohol before the Martini Tasting. The pecan square I got was very large and really good but I didn't get anything else the rest of the cruise. The memory of that horribly dry and tasteless cupcake from the Epic still lingers in my memory.

Finally, I also went to O'Sheehans once and that was before the Mojito tasting so that I could get something my stomach. It was pretty busy but they did have a bar right in the restaurant portion so I was able to sit there. Service was fine and I ordered the wings with a water. Now I have read that on the boards that if you don't order them with sauce on the side you may get some wings that have been sitting a while. I did not order the sauce on the side and I can tell you, some of those had been sitting. Not because they tasted stale but because some of them were cold. Not just not as hot as the others but actually cold to the touch like they had been in the refrigerator. Yuck. otherwise the flavor was good and I could see how these would be a late night favorite.

The Chef's Table was a far cry from the cold O'shehans wings I can tell you that. It was on Tuesday night at 6:00pm in the Haven Restaurant. They had separated a little area for us by setting up some art work and there were 13 of us in attendance with room for one more. So it looks like they can juggle it a little from the 12 if they need to. More Chef's Table next post!

Great review and great job with the M&G. We also stayed at the Hampton Inn Brickell and took the metro rail. Hubby grew up in very small towns and never used public transit. It was easy and hubby was excited over the low cost.

Thanks! I love it when I'm visiting a place that has good to excellent public transport so that you can use that instead of relying on taxis or even renting a car.

Thanks for the review - I'm really looking forward to my 2 weeks on the Getaway next year!!

My first Chef's Table was on the Epic so I knew what to expect since the menu did not change. Still it was fantastic and, at least to me, worth the $99 (+18% gratuity now) that they charge per person. Unfortunately with the sun and drinks I had had on St. Thomas close to the dinner I did not drink as much of the wine I normally would have and passed on the after dinner cordials in the lounge. Still worth it.

First course consisted of an Amuse Bouche of mango, vodka, ans jalapeno ravioli.

Along with a Ahi Tuna Tartre

These were served with a Sauvignon Blanc wine.

Second course was an Asparagus Cream soup with cauliflower flan. they presented it first with the flan in the bowl

and then poured the soup into the bowl.

The presentation of these was completed for all guest at one time. Servers stood behind the guests and then presented the plates all at once which was really fancy.

A Short Crust Tartlet with goat cheese followed.

Then it was time for a palate cleanser of the citrus variety in the form of a Granite from grapefruit and moscato.

These were all served with a chardonnay but you could also get refills of the previous wine.

Thanks for the review - I'm really looking forward to my 2 weeks on the Getaway next year!!

Two weeks! I'd be looking forward to that, too. Have a great time!

Finishing out the second course and also served with the Chardonnay was a Pan Seared Sea Bass with plantains and tropical fruit salsa.

This was one of my favorites. the sea bass was mild but flavorful and the fruit salsa went along with it wonderfully.

The third course stood all by itself and was a Milk-Fed Veal Chop. This thing was huge! It was served with a truffle veal jus and a Cabernet Sauvignon, the only red of the evening. And yes, they did switch to a red wine goblet for this one. I told you it was all fancy like.

As an aside, there was one diner who didn't eat veal so they prepared a steak for her instead. They also did call before the dinner and ask if you had any food allergies so I would expect that they can accommodate those to a certain point. They probably can't make you an entirely different meal but can certainly swap out things to meet your requirements.

The fourth and last course was a little weird. It starts with a cheese platter which has both mild and strong cheese (sorry for the darkness of the photo)

and then they offer two desserts. You're suppose to share them so that both diners get the to try each of them but dining solo it's a little awkward, even though there were plenty of offers to let me try the 2nd one. I had had it before on the Epic though so I passed. This time I had the Chocoholic's Delight which included a dark rum infused banana cocoa mousse inside.

During dessert they took orders for what cordials we would like in the lounge. Had I been up to it, I would have gone with port but I was wiped and headed back to my cabin. Oh, they also take a group shot of you in the lounge before dinner and then separate photos of you with the chef which they present to you at the end in a folder along with the menu.

One more thing on the Chef's Table, you do need to book it through the dinner reservations. I ran into one couple at the bar who wanted to do the Chef's Table but asked at Guest Services and they had no idea what they were talking about and couldn't even direct them to reservations so they missed out.

Another perk of the Chef's Table on the Getaway (which they didn't do on the Epic) was you were offered a tour of the Galley on the last sea day. It was after breakfast was served in the MDRs and before lunch so there was a bit of break in the galley so it wasn't a mad house but people were still working.

We were met by the executive sous chef who gave us the first part of the tour then handed us off to another sous chef to complete the tour. It really was interesting to see how such a large kitchen worked. While I've installed a few restaurant and catering kitchens in my time as a construction Project Engineer, I've never actually seen them in use.

Our tour guide for the first half:

Part of the pastry section:

Meat prep and veggie prep:

Rice ans spices storage, so much rice!

The crew mess where they feed them buffet style. I like that it actually has a venue name:

This was outside the crew mess:

Pictures from Meyer Weft of the construction of the Escape. Which I will be on her maiden voyage out of Hamburg to Southampton later this year. Watch for the review because I may try my hand at a live one.

They keep track of everything that comes in and goes out because they only have Miami and, in some cases, St. Thomas where they can take on supplies.

Anyways, if you do the Chef's Table and they offer the galley tour try to take it. It's really a fascinating look at how thing run on such a large ship.

So now that I've done the dining I'll take a look at the bars. For the most part I kept to the Sugarcane bar which was where they did their tastings, including the martini one. The first mojito tasting was great and they had a second one later on where they said they tasted some different ones from the first. I can't confirm that because I got my times mixed up and missed it. The tastings were $15 +18% gratuity but were worth it. Some of the refreshing beverages I imbibed at the the Sugarcane:

fruity Mojito (i won it after the tasting for answering a mojito trivia question)

Pisco Punch

Drink of the Day Rebellious Fish

The two best bartenders inside

I also enjoyed the Sunset bar even though I didn't get to it very often. I guess I just wound up near the Sugarcane more often. I did not get a dink inside the bar but always outside. The inside never seemed too busy but the outside was usually hopping and full. Perhaps because you could smoke there and at the seats? I'm not a smoker, but the smoking didn't bother me because I was usually upwind.

The specialty drink menu at the Sunset:

The Lavender Patch

A Hemingway Daiquiri (which I almost didn't get because it wasn't on the menu and apparently not a common drink but the bartender had his recipe cards and made me one anyways. Still, you call it the Sunset Bar and have all this Hemingway memorabilia in it but you don't make his drink?)

And a bushwacker:

I went into the Ice Bar two times this trip. The first time was as part of the solo cruisers group where we met in the Sugarcane before lunch and they were having a showing only, no one was at the bar, for the Ice Bar. That was nice because it wasn't very crowded and we were able to get some good pictures.

Here's Rowena helping the eldest solo cruiser get into her parka.

The Ice Throne for all your photo opportunities

The ice bar itself and the drink menu for when you go as a regular patron.

And Debbie getting down with Beverage Manager O'neil after the trip inside to get the blood flowing again.

The second time I was invited by Mr. O'neil and we got one free drink inside. There were quite a lot of people there that time as you can see from these pictures.

There wasn't a choice for the drink it was already premade so I'm not sure which one it was, but it was definitely orange juice in there so maybe the Carmen Miranda:

Now for all the miscellaneous ship stuff before I move onto the ports. Overall I had a very positive reaction to the Getaway except for the upper deck areas. Compared to the Epic, the layout was just not that great. There were multiple areas I called "pinch points" becuse you would have people being funneled to one small area that they needed to move through. The biggest one was right at the intersection of the Flamingo Grill, the arcade, and the staircase to get up to the mini golf and ropes course. The door to get to the elevator lobby was also there and you had to go into the vestibule of the arcade to get through it. Quite a few back-ups there.

Also who's brilliant idea was it to run the jogging track through the only access points to get to the climbing rock and the Flamingo grill from the deck? I'm surprised there weren't any collisions when I was up there having lunch one day and watching the runners avoiding the walkers and the people who just wanted to get to somewhere.

As has been discussed before, the main pool and the area surrounding it is small. Every time I walked by it during a sea day it was packed, not so much with people in the water but with everyone around it. The family area was a little better simply because there wasn't really any room to sit around it. The only time I was actually in the main pool was at night when there were little to no people around. It was actually quite pleasant then.

Main pool at night

The Vibe packed up for the night (this was before 8pm)

The kid's area and family pool (I admit I was a little tempted to go splash around in there. What?)

One of the things I noticed on the last sea day was that they put out coffee, tea, and pastries at the outside Waterfront Sunset and Sugarcane Bars for people to help themselves to. I'm guessing they do that for each sea day.

Speaking of the Waterfront, I really enjoyed that space. It was so nice to just stroll along after lunch or dinner. It was also great to be able to take a seat or get a drink and enjoy it outside without being in the loud pool area. The "cracked" glass panels at the aft are also a nice touch allowing you to look through to the ocean below.

in regards to entertainment, I only went to one Burn the Floor show but I really enjoyed it. I guess I'm just not that into the shows but I do wish I would have stopped in for the Grammy performance.

Taking a little break but I'll come back tomorrow with the ports.

Wow...I was on the getaway...I did not even finish covering the whole ship....

You have a great detail review...

I was supposed to be in studio and got upgraded to balcony...

Now I can see what it's like in studio room...

I would not mind the studio room either...

Thanks for the detail review...

I definitely would go back for a cruise on Getaway...

I had a great time...

Clara

 

Now the Vibe is 18 and over and only open to those who buy a pass. Also available are several cabanas that hold two people each. When I was up there earlier there was a family with two young (under 14) girls who were up there. Not a big deal since most spaces are open for the looky-loos and the lady was talking about getting a cabana. Well, she did because she and her husband came in while I was in the hot tub. And then the rest of the family including the kids came in. The hell is this? I thought. After a little while the sun was invading my hot tub area so I got out and asked the bartender if the kids being here was just a one time sail-away thing. He did not say it was. He said, "oh, my boss asked me to do a favor and let them up here". So, I went down to guest services and gave them back my pass letting them know why.

 

They were shocked that kids were up there and actually called several people to try and confirm if someone let them up there (of course no one said yes) and reiterated to me that yes, it was only 18 and over and offered many apologies.

Really enjoying your review! This part makes me angry though. Under no circumstances should the 18 and over rule be ignored in Vibe. It's one of the few places on the ship to escape kids, and they pretty much have run of the rest of the ship (except Spice H20 during certain hours). Also you are paying a premium to have a kid-free environment in Vibe. I would have raised you know what!