wannab4Ecruiser

Was there any additional entertainment besides Mama Mia, the ice show, the water show and the comedians? I saw on a prior cruise compass there was “a night with Adele” (a cover singer). Just wondering if there was anything like that in addition to the entertainment that is always on board. Thanks! Great review!

My husband and I did an antigen test at CVS in December and just waited 20 minutes at the pharmacy for our results to be printed. We received a text or email (can’t remember) about an hour later but since we already had the printed results no need to me with links. Not sure if every CVS will do this but worth calling and asking and even trying out if you’re willing to wait. 

lately though, boarding has been by deck, regardless of C & A status. My cruise docs for my upcoming EX cruise say Dec 11 and 10 /check in/board first from 11 am - 12 pm. Then Deck 9 and 8 from noon-? and so on down to Deck 2 checking in/boarding at 2:30.

Wondering how this works with guests traveling together but staying on different decks. Also wondering if online checkin (now they ask you a time you plan on boarding) has anything to do with it!

My experience has always been that when boarding they go down the line of status and it is much quicker than "stand by." Same goes with check in. Beware of looks from strangers as you walk by while they wait in line! :confused:

On an Oasis sailing in 2011 my husband and I made friends with a couple we had been chatting with through our roll call. They were staying on a Crown Loft suite and had rented a Cabana for the day in Labadee. They invited us (Central Park balcony) and another couple (ocean view balcony) to spend the day with them. They just let the concierge know and we all were able to enjoy the day - no problems whatsoever! We are still friends to this day!

Thanks for posting this review! It has made me even more excited for my cruise in July! I will definitely be taking some of your tips/advice into consideration as we plan/cruise. And those drinks...which to try first? RC should pay you for advertising! :D

Would love to see the compasses and menus...cruising Adventure in July! Looking forward to your review too!

Do you happen to recall the price of the inflatables park at Blue Lagoon? I am still considering Blue Lagoon on our trip and think my 12 year old DD might enjoy the inflatables.

To be honest I didn't even look since we weren't going to use them. You may want to check the Ports Thread. Sorry I can't be of any help!

Glad you have a great cruise :) Even though I don't have a toddler, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on dining and entertainment and found it quite informative. Thank you!

Thank you! Glad you found it informative!

Thank you!

Thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed. We're heading out next week and are very excited. BTW, kids in diapers ARE allowed in the splash area, just not the pool so you were okay. A crew member would have told you otherwise (this is how it was on our Breakaway cruise as well).

Thanks for clarifying, although I must say I saw children in diapers in the pool in the splash area and no crew members said anything to them either. I'm just glad I followed the rules. :D Enjoy your cruise!

That picture was not the same menu we had on the Getaway just 2 weeks ago. There were not that many choices, and it was the same every night. Buffet did not have a kids section but did offer kid friendly foods.

Hi all. This review will be brief and with the focus of traveling with my 15 month old son. I am hoping that this will be helpful to any travelers with questions about cruising with their little one, as I had many questions/concerns that I felt I didn't have clear answers to prior to sailing. This was our first cruise on NCL and our first cruise with a child so I was a little apprehensive but our trip was great. So here goes...

Prior to Sailing: We booked an inside guarantee and were placed in a handicap inside room on deck 12, but a few days before sailing the price dropped enough for us to be pumped up to an oceanview guarantee. We really lucked out here because we were placed in a family oceanview (the largest cabin in the oceanview category) on deck 5. I highly recommend a family oceanview if traveling with kids, especially toddlers! It was spacious, the window was great entertainment, and they had a bath tub *cue angelic ahhhh music*! :D

Embarkation: We got to the port around 10:30, dropped off our luggage with a porter, parked the car in the garage and made our way to the terminal. We had to separate from my husband's parents because their boarding pass said Terminal C and ours said Terminal B (we asked if we could stay together but they said no and that we could meet up once passed ticketing - just keep this in mind if traveling with others). Ticketing was quick and easy and when we got up to the holding area we were still separated from my in-laws. We asked a security guard if there was a way we could join them and were told where to go. We crossed through some doors and found them pretty easily in a different room. There was juice, coffee and water and some pastries for whoever wanted. We waited about 45 minutes before boarding began. They called you by group number, maybe 3 at a time (my in-laws were given number 14...we never got a number). Not sure if it much mattered...looked like they weren't really checking for proof you belonged to one group or the other. Either way, we followed the line up the gangway and was on the ship really quickly.

Dining: I was a little anxious about eating in the MDRs with my little one. He eats out with us frequently and is fine, but I know that the MDRs usually take longer to get your whole meal and tend to be quieter than most establishments we eat in at home. We liked the idea that NCL offered the flexibility in choosing when/where you ate each night and this helped ease my tension. We ate in Savor the first night, the buffet on Seafood Night and ate in the Tropicana Room the rest of the time (with the exception of our Illusionarium night - more on that in a bit). We found the Tropicana Room to be the best MDR for our little one because of the atmosphere. The music/dance floor kept him entertained between courses. Also, you are right on the back of the ship so you can see the water (which he loved) if seated near that part of the restaurant. The maitre d's were in love with our son and even ended up sending him a special fruit bowl or dessert plate to our room each day. This made up for our disappointment with our wait staff throughout the ship. Of course with the flexible eating you do not get seated with the same wait staff everyday, but we felt that this took away from the enjoyment, as the wait staff didn't seem to go out of their way to ask about your day and such. The Illusionarium was great! Meal was quick to get to your table, food was tasty, and the show was amazing. It even kept our son engaged the whole time! We are so happy we chose to spend the extra money to do this (of course our son was free and ate off the kids menu).

Shows and Entertainment: Even though we booked the cruise within a few weeks of the sail date we had no problem booking the shows ahead of time online. The only show we were unable to book ahead of time was the comedy shows, but as soon as we got on the ship I booked them using the reservation system on our cabin televisions and had no problem getting a show for all 5 of us that worked with our schedule. We attempted all shows with our son, but usually someone had to leave part way through as his attention span was not met with these shows (I was a little surprised as he sits through shows at Sea World/Disney quite often), but no big deal.

Family Welcome Aboard Show: You can't book tickets for this ahead of time and honestly I wouldn't waste your time. It is sort of like a preview of all the shows you can see aboard.

Burn The Floor: Dancers are super talented. Plot lacks a lot. Overall, kind of long and boring, unless you are a huge lover of dance. Tip: One night on the ship there is a shorter performance by the Burn the Floor dancers in the Tropicana Dining Room which would make for a great dinner and a show experience if you time it right!

Legally Blonde: Great! I am a lover of musicals and had a high interest in seeing this because of a television show a few years back in which they were searching for an actress to play the lead character, Elle, on Broadway. I was not disappointed, though I will say I thought the productions of Hairspray and Chicago that I saw on Royal Caribbean Ships were much better.

Comedy: Not the funniest guys I've seen but definitely not the worst. I'm sure their night time shows are funnier since they are "Adults Only."

Overall, I was more impressed with the shows on Royal Caribbean than NCL, but not bad for "free" entertainment. Also, don't miss the crew's talent show. I thought that was pretty good and something different. They also had the Newlywed Game show, Jeopardy, Majority Rules game, trivia, bingo, Deal or No Deal. Lots going on!

Guppies Program: They do not offer a kids "babysitting" program for children under 3 on the Getaway. I wouldn't have used it even if they did. What they did offer though was a Guppies Playroom, open daily 9am-9pm, with different toys (varied daily) for children 3 and under to visit with their parents. We used this room a few times and our son loved it! They also had a daily (twice the first 2 sea days), 1/2 hour program run by a NCL staff member for children 3 and under in which parents had to stay to participate. The activities ranged from making "goopy glop" to parachute play to story time. Unfortunately, we only got to experience 2 classes because the other times interfered with other events and/or dinner time. It was great to meet other families with young children and our son enjoyed it all!

Kid's Aqua Park: Before we even booked the cruise we asked NCL representatives if our son (still in diapers) was allowed in the splash park area of the Kid's Aqua Park. We were told multiple times that he could. Once on board I did note that the signage which said "Kids Pool" near the Aqua Park said no children with diapers allowed. I'm sure I'll get much criticism for what I'm about to say next but, we played in the splash area anyway, based on what the NCL representatives told us prior to and post booking. He never went into the little pool that is in the splash area, just walked around the fountains and such. No crew ever stopped us or any other babies/young children that used the area, and so it was. Fun was had by all!

Ports: When we booked our cruise we got the $50 shore excursion credit per port so we of course took advantage of this booking all of our excursions through the ship. Our son was free on all of the excursions which was also a nice savings!

In St. Thomas we did the Megan's Bay Beach Break. This was a nice, easy excursion to start our ports with toddler experience. We took a 20 minute opened air bus (son sat on husband's lap in the middle of the row) to the beach. We brought a few small sand toys from home and son was in his glory. We had 2 hours at the beach and then the 20 minute ride back (plus a stop for a mountain view pic). My son fell asleep on the ride back and so when we got back to the port we put him in his umbrella stroller and walked around the shops. There are a few free picnic tables in the shade, but you must purchase chairs if you want them. Also, there is a place to purchase food and drink if interested. Otherwise, just fill up a water bottle and grab a box of cereal at breakfast to take with you off the ship for a snack.

In Tortola we did the Virgin Gorda and the Baths excursion. This was the highlight of our trip. It had a little bit of everything - nature, beach and adventure! I will admit that I was hesitant when reading reviews, especially since we had our little one and in-laws, but it was amazing. After a 30 minute ferry ride and a 10 minute open aired bus ride we were at the top of the park. You had a short hike down (very rocky and steep stairs) to a small beach and the entrance to the Baths. The beach was small and rocky. We checked it out for a few minutes and then decided to make the trek to Devil's Bay Beach which you can get to by going through the Baths or hiking down an about 20 minute trail which is actually back at the very top of the park. This was definitely a bit of a challenge (my in-laws decided not to do it after they squeezed through the first hole and saw the rock you had to cross while holding a rope - I think it was a wise choice for them), especially with a toddler, but it was very neat! *Note: There are guides along the way to help you get through some of the more challenging spots (steep stairs, tight spots, etc.) - one even held our son and then passed him down to us. With that said, there was a lady who uses a cane in front of us and she completed it, and of course I'm here to tell you the tale, which means we completed it too - not a problem! Also to note, there is only one way through so traffic can get backed up if a group is trying to go the opposite direction you are. We did the earliest departure of this excursion (8am) and it was still a bit crowded...I can only imagine that it would be even more so later in the day.* Once we got through the Baths we were at Devil's Bay Beach which was beautiful. We got out the sand toys and my husband went straight into the crystal clear water. He found a little cave which also had an entrance on the beach so my son and I crawled through and we had a great time playing in the sand in the shade! My one regret was not having my snorkel gear, or at least goggles, because there are rocks not far out that had some amazing fish...it would have been nice to get a clearer look. After about an hour we had to start making our way back to the buses and took the 20 minute hike back up via the rocky trail. 45 minutes later we were back on the ship for lunch!

My husband, in-laws and I have been to Nassau many times and probably would have just got off on our own if at all, but since we had the shore excursion credit we decided to book the Blue Lagoon Island Beach Break because of the family friendly reviews. Plus, besides Atlantis, which we've also done, there isn't much left. This was also a great excursion for our family! Blue Lagoon Island offers so much at no cost - beach, rafts, hammocks, games, a touch tank, and you can watch those who participate in the dolphin and sea lion excursions. There are also extra activities you can participate in for an extra fee (water inflatables park, paddle boats, snorkel gear). Also included in our excursion price was a buffet lunch which included your choice of hot dog, burger or grilled chicken sandwich, corn on the cob, french fries, salad, pasta salad, cookies and a drink (fruit punch, lemonade or iced tea). It was pretty good! We had a great time exploring all that there was to offer. The only downside was that our ship was the last one to get to the port so the island was pretty busy when we first arrived. We had a hard time finding available chairs, hammocks, etc., but once those traveling on other ships left, the island quieted down quite a bit. Overall, we had a great time and would definitely do this excursion again!

Final Thoughts: Overall, this was a great first time family vacation. Everyone on the ship was very friendly to our little guy which made our experience that much more enjoyable. I loved seeing everything through my son's eyes! Although I would say I'm a Royal loyal and was hesitant about cruising NCL, I had a great time and would definitely consider cruising NCL again.

I hope that this review proves helpful to anyone looking to book the Getaway and/or cruise with a toddler. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them as best I can.

I do not have the menu but I can tell you some of the choices from memory...

-Mac & Cheese

-Chicken Tenders

-PB & J

-Hamburger

I can't remember the others...I want to say grilled cheese and hot dog, but I definitely know there were other choices...

Thanks for the quick snippet. We are leaving THIS SATURDAY!!!! :D I am excited but a little nervous as we will be bringing our 15 month old son and it is our first NCL cruise!

At St. Thomas, I went scuba diving with a great outfit called underwater safaris they are great and top notch, but pricey but worth it. My GF went shopping at the stores and the outdoor market via small bus for a few bucks. We met at the ship at noon, had lunch on the ship, then got off the ship again and took the gondola which is fun, at the top is shopping and food/restaurant/bar/great views well worth the $20. And you can walk from the ship port/dock.

Is the gondola you mention Paradise Point? If so, did you do this on your own or book through the ship also? Thanks!