acurleegirl

Thank you! I think we are going to try booking independently for a 3-4 hour kayak, hike and snorkel! Seems fun and a little different than going to a beach!

We will be in St. Thomas on Feb. 2nd while on the Norwegian Escape, and are thinking of booking a kayaking trip while there. I have been searching the forums to find some info, but can't find much!

Has anyone done a kayak/hike/snorkel in St. Thomas? If yes, did you book through the cruise or another company? And how was it?

Thanks!

The tour sounds great. Is it worth $69.00 pp? I just think it sounds pricey for lunch. Thanks so much! I hope to have an equally good time on our upcoming cruise. Also, how did your dad get to become the Bingo King?

We ended up finding a 15% discount code online - search for it - so that makes the price a bit better. Either way I do think it was worth it! Definitely more than just lunch!

There was a raffle at the first bingo and he won! :D

Was the Lobster Roll at Ocean Blue a lunch option? How much did it cost to eat there if it was for lunch?

Yes, it was lunch only, and only on sea days. Sort of hidden - you have to go outside through Ocean Blue and it's "Ocean Blue on the Waterfront," a little walk-up window and a few tables. I think it was $9.75 for the lobster roll. Hope that helps!

Me too! We use our balcony a lot. Hate to see what would happen if someone tried to do that to us LOL

It was definitely not a big deal at all. My dad even chatted with the couple in between us on the balcony one night when we were out. They were not bothered.

We have never tried ncl so I would love to know what disappointed you about the allure.

 

Thanks!

I think it was a variety of unfortunate circumstances, some not necessarily RCCL's fault. We overall found that there was not as much to do during the day - no dance classes, demonstrations, etc. We also had terrible weather before and while we were in Cozumel and they ended up cancelling our excursion. They didn't tell us until we were off the ship (VERY early) and then had little to no other options to book. We ended up walking around and then going back on the ship. We figured we'd grab some food, relax in the hot tub, do fun "ship" things, but only 1 eatery was open, they were cleaning the hot tubs and had virtually no activities planned or open. They also messed up our dining arrangements (we requested the largest table and were put alone) and it took almost the entire first night's dinner to change and was a huge hassle. We did have a lot of fun and really enjoyed the food and entertainment, as well as how amazing and beautiful the ship was, but I guess we had hyped it up so much and it didn't completely deliver.

I just thought the OP was joking around or exaggerating, and maybe did it when the middle cabin passengers weren't there, or else a couple quick words. Personally, it wouldn't bother me that much if I was in the middle cabin. I'd probably laugh and enjoy listening to their fun.

Totally joking! When we booked the rooms we didn't realize it was just 1 cabin away for some reason, so suddenly I hear my mom's voice and I said "hello?" We were laughing. But we didn't talk much (we were too busy out and about on the ship) and only when no one was on the balcony in between!

Thanks for the review. Question for you - Were the shows appropriate for a 9 year old (legally blond and the illusionarium)?

Yes - I think so! Legally Blonde was very happy and upbeat - based on the movie if you've seen it. We went to the later showing of the Illusionarium so the audience was mainly adults, but I do think it was very kid friendly!

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for the info. I always say that every single review I read gives tidbits of info that I hadn't read yet. I appreciate it.

 

Glad to hear that someone who has actually tried lots of lobster rolls liked the lobster rolls! When you say the buffet had trouble keeping up on lobster night, was there actually a line waiting? I don't think I'd stand in a line for a tail.

Yes, there was a line at one time while we were there waiting for more lobster tails to come out. I think there as a little confusion if there was 1 or 2 stations (the servers were sending us to another station that didn't seem to exist), so maybe there was just a miscommunication. It wasn't too long of a wait, but still sort of annoying.

I was on the Getaway March 1-8 with my boyfriend and my parents. This forum was so helpful to us while planning, so I figured I'd write up my review for those of you hungry for Getaway info!

First I'll say that we had an absolutely fantastic time! My boyfriend and I were on the RC Allure last year and were frankly disappointed by a lot. We really had no disappointments on the Getaway!

Embarkation was a breeze - we got in a little earlier than we thought, around 11:30am, and didn't have to wait at all to check in. We got right on board, welcomed by the crew singing and dancing.

Rooms:

We had balcony rooms on the 13th deck - one room in between our two rooms (funny for when we were all on our balconies and talking to each other - I'm sure the people in between us REALLY appreciated that haha). The rooms were actually pretty spacious and the bathroom even felt larger than past cruises. The balcony was narrow, but we had no issues sitting out there and enjoying being on the water. We watched the fireworks from our balconies, but wished we had gone up to the 15th or 16th decks because they were a little blocked by the balconies above us.

Food:

We mixed it up for breakfast and lunch - some days in the MDR and some in the buffet - and we enjoyed both for the most part. MDR service was a little slow at times, but we typically were not in a rush, so we didn't mind. On the last sea day, we also had lobster rolls at Ocean Blue on the Waterfront (which is outside of Ocean Blue), and it was amazing. We've had a lot of lobster rolls, and my boyfriend said this was the best he's ever had.

Dinners were mainly in the MDR - we tried Taste, Savor and the Tropicana room. Overall, the food was a little boring for us - we like to try some more interesting things when we are crusing, but we always had something to try and enjoyed just about everything. And they were able to accommodate some of our odd requests (no onions, no mushrooms, etc.). We had a slightly odd experience in Tropicana, with a very strange waiter and extremely slow service, but we laughed about it. We also had the buffet for seafood night. Our waiter the first night told us they were trying something new, doing lobster in the buffet. It was nice to have unlimited choices for lobstertail, steak, shrimp kabobs, etc. and everything tasted great, but it felt a little weird. They also had a tough time keeping up with demand at the time we were there - around 7:30pm. Our one specialty dinner was at Cagneys and it did not disappoint. Our waitress was fantastic, food was delicious, and we had a great time.

Activities/Ship:

We really enjoyed the layout of the ship - it was big enough that you didn't feel like there was 4,000 people on board with you, but not so big that you got lost. There was always something for us to do. We aren't too big on laying out in the sun all day, so we appreciate the smaller day-time activities. We also LOVED the waterslides - we went around 1pm almost every sea day and it was never too crowded. We rarely waited on a line and it was really tons of fun. My boyfriend also did the ropes course, although he was disappointed that the day he did it, it was too windy to do the zipline. He still enjoyed it though.

The activities staff was fantastic - they were everywhere and always so happy and upbeat. My dad was crowned "bingo king" the first day, so he was able to play bingo for free the entire cruise, which was so much fun. We played every chance we got and even won the last day's "jackpot" - to say that we were excited would be a complete understatement! Woo hoo!

We spent a good amount of time in the casino - mainly playing penny slots - and thought it had a great mix of games (table and slot). The smoke got to us a little - even in the non-smoking areas, you still smelled it. We also did a few slot tournaments - my mom won her round, but her score got beaten by the finals, so she didn't get to play in that. It was still really fun! My boyfriend and dad did a gaming lesson and ended up playing one of the games (three card poker) a few nights, with (some) success. :)

We also attended a bunch of gameshows, trivia, dance lessons, competitions, etc. As I mentioned, we never felt bored or ran out of things to do.

Shows:

Burn the Floor was really impressive - we loved the dancing and it had some great music! We saw Legally Blonde late one night and we were all exhausted, so it wasn't as good as we thought. It was cute, just not as great as we hoped (I should also mention we are from NY and see a lot of shows on Broadway, so it might be tough to impress us). The highlight of the shows for us was the Illusionarium. It was truly an experience from the moment you walked in, and we really loved that it was dinner and a show. We heard beforehand that the food wasn't so great, but we actually really liked it. And of course, the fact that my dad was called on stage to do a trick certainly made the experience and show even better for us. We were really impressed with the quality of the magicians and the show itself - seriously, it's a must see!

Ports:

We have been to all three ports - St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau - before, but years ago. We ended up booking a tour in St. Maarten with Bernard's Tours after reading such positive reviews here, and it was really great. We loved Maho beach with the planes flying right over the beach - really cool. We love shopping, so just took the bus into town in St. Thomas and went from jeweler to jeweler. In Nassau we did the Tru Bahamian Food Tour after reading lots of great reviews online. This was probably our favorite tour - a perfect mix of history and food. Conch fritters...yummm! One small thing we really appreciated was when we were walking to board the ship at the end of the days at port, we were greeted by Norwegian staff handing out drinks and ice cold towels - totally refreshing after warm days spent outside!

I'm sure I am missing a lot of things we saw, did and enjoyed, but overall...fantastic ship; fantastic vacation! If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer!! :D

Interesting unique thing about this bar and menu is that there are two flights available.

 

A steal at $15

 

Martini flight = Cosmo, Aviator, Le Fizz, Appletini, Coconut cocktail plus another I can't remember!

 

Mojito flight = 6 different Mojito flavours

 

They are 1/3 size and served on a little glass tray, they were very good but took a long time to make.

Yum! This sounds amazing - I love mojitos! Can't wait!!

Hey, why does my cruise-ships dot com Getaway ticker say I "sailed" already on March 1st, 2014? :rolleyes:;)

Ha! Too funny! I am booked with my boyfriend and parents for the 3/1/14 sailing on the Getaway too! We can't wait (unless we missed it already :p)!