Giorgi-one

Try Priceline or Hotwire. Specify 4 star. Specify Downtown and Beach. You will see some express deals. You won't know which hotel until you book. My daughter hyst got W Fort Lauderdale Beach for $129 a night. I think regular price is around $279 a night!

Staying precruise in Fort Lauderdale. Any recommendations for dependable Van or Limo service to Miami Cruise Port.

book an inside and put the babies in there :)

I assume you are joking. No cruise line allows children in a cabin without an adult and any sane person would not consider leaving babies alone even if permitted.

Yes most definitely C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-N-G rather than adjoining.

Maybe that is why NCL does not have adjoining cabins.

Hard to go between adjacent cabins with NO common door !

Actually, all cabins are ADJOINING.

Five persons in any cabin is not a vacation.

Two words: Medical evacuation. Thousands of dollars your home health insurance won't cover. Flying home from a foreign port on short notice is thousands. Hospitals and doctors often demand payment in cash (Mexico story in news recently) and forget about being airlifted off the ship. Ever seen a medical helicopter bill? tens of thousands of dollars!

 

Always get good insurance.

Totally agree but I believe evacuation costs are much higher. Many policies cover medical evacuation up to $1 million dollars.

Seems like you are conveniently leaving out a lot of the entertainment events. Not sure why you don't think the comedy shows don't count as entertainment. How about Howl at the Moon? Cirque? Wine Lovers Musical? Duo in the atrium? :confused:

Celebrity and RCL have great FREE Cirque shows in the main theater. I have no desire to pay $35 for a meal which is not as good as what I can get in the dining room at no charge. Same goes for Wine musical since I have Beverage Package. Every cruise has Comedy shows which are usually later at night AFTER THE MAIN SHOW. Please understand that I am not worried about spending an extra $100 for entertainment after I spend $10,000 on a cruise. I just refuse to pay for something which should be free. Since I do have the Beverage Package, I will just have more time to take advantage of that toasting NCL for not having more entertainment options!:evilsmile::ship:

Damn, chill out dude. He wasn't being snarky and made a comment that I'm sure many other posters including myself thought about. It's a discussion forum and he asked a simple question.

Sorry but that is something that just really gets my blood boiling. People do that on these boards all the time. They disagree with what you say so they tell you to go on another cruise line. Same as telling you that if you don't like what I said get off these boards, which I am not saying, unless of course you are telling me to try another cruise line.

Not trying to be snarky here but from your posts you seem to already be very upset with NCL. Why not just sail a different line if the NCL system is not satisfactory for you? There is plenty of choices out there on other lines.

Really, I didn't know that. Thanks so much SNARKY!

I have been on 34 cruises so I don't need you to tell me what to do. Not that you deserve any explanation, but I want to try a Breakaway class ship and this ship seemed good for my daughters four children. I would have preferred RCL Harmony of the Seas but price was not competitive. I'm not disappointed, just discerning, and I always point out what I consider deficiencies which need to be corrected.

Pretty much the same on any mega ship on any cruise line. They aren't going to build 3000 seat theaters so that they can have a different show every night. They have brought on broadway shows that would cost $100+ per seat if you went to see them on broadway. I would gladly take that over the "old school" not-funny comedian, and half-rate dancers and singer, and armature magicians "every night". Freestyle cursing is the best!!!!

We usually sail Celebrity and they have a GREAT show every night on a 3000 passenger ship. RCL has a show almost every night on a 6000 passenger ship!

Another FREESTYLE MOMENT. I just read that Illusionarium seating is on first come basis. Suggested you be in line 60 minutes prior to show. I have been on 32 cruises and have never stood in line to see a show, or paid for a show for that matter. You cannot justify payment because there is a meal since meals are included on the ship and the Illusionarium meal is not very good. No reason for not having reserved seating when you book. FREESTYLE is really PAYSTYLE!

Theaters on new NCL ships are definitely too small - no excuse for this except greed. Just booked entertainment for Getaway cruise. Even with smaller theater, Burn The Floor and Million Dollar Quartet are only offered on two night. Freestyle does not mean you can REASONABLY do things when you want but rather WHEN WE LET YOU.

Another example. We have 8 in our party, 4 children from 3 to 13. When I booked Specialty Dining I was only offered 5:30 or 8:30. If I had 4 in my party, I could have booked any time I wanted. 5:30 is really a late lunch. If you are doing excursions or just having fun on the ship, getting ready for 5:30 dinner is like being on a treadmill, especially with kids who need a nap. I always book late dining but 8:30 is way too late for kids. Why these times? It's not like they take the larger tables out at 7. NCL encourages bringing families but does not accommodate them once they are on the ship. Another great example of the FREESTYLE MYTH!

Sailing on Getaway in November. Have sailed on NCL frequently in the past when NCL was rated the best entertainment - a different show every night. We sail Celebrity frequently and they have a different show every night. As far as I can tell, NCL has two shows - Million Dollar Quartet and Burn The Floor. Am I missing something? Comedy clubs do not count as shows. 4000 people trying to get into a room that holds 200. Also, please don't tell me about Freestyle when I have to book everything in advance or get shut out.

Does anyone have entertainment schedule for Getaway 2017 Caribbean sailings? We have a cruise in late November and I would like to plan dining and entertainment so I can reserve as soon as booking opens. Thanks.

The answer is MAYBE. I have read some reviews describing horrific debarkation experiences on NCL. One potential issue is number of customs agents.

I would never consider arriving for any cruise on embarkation day, and at least two days early in Europe. Tried that many years ago and cruised with no luggage for 4 days. Most people never get there luggage if it is lost or delayed. We did a Med cruise out of Barcelona a few years ago and arrived 2 days early. Met a couple at our hotel with no luggage. Luckily, the also arrived two days early and luggage arrived on embarkation day. Also, Barcelona is probably the one of the best cities on your itinerary to explore. You need at least two days to see this beautiful city.

Free gratuities would be a no brainer! To bad they're not offering it!

I haven't booked a cruise in years without getting free prepaid gratuities from my travel agent!

I have to check in 5 seats and I was trying to find a cheaper way.

Are they all on the same confirmation number. If not, you will have a hard time getting A or B boarding on the ship's internet. Best bet is to have someone on land check in at exactly 7:45 for each confirmation number.

As a number of posters have indicated, it depends on the TA. One thing to remember is that there are no discounts. NCL and TA fare is the same. The difference in price is due to amenities offered by the TA. I always book with the same large cruise agency and they almost always offer prepaid gratuities and OBC. I really don't get the infatuation with control of a booking. If there is a problem, my TA has much more leverage than I have. I used to sell cruises and have been on more than 30 cruises so I am not a novice at this.

It's the only way to go in my opinion. If you rent mopeds, you can park them right at the pier. We went off to a small beach nearby at midnight and drank wine. It's great not having to rush back.

Just wanted to point out that there are numerous articles on the danger of renting scooters in Bermuda. There is a post on cruise critic dated 20 July 2013, titles Big Mikes Guide. He and his wife are experienced motorcycle riders and almost had serious accidents when they rented scooters. His advice is not to rent a scooter unless you have at least 2 years experience driving motorcycles. I disagree somewhat in that a motorcycle is MUCH SAFER then a scooter or moped.

If you ever cruised on any RCI ship you'd know that the pool deck is well laid out with lots of room. You can actually enjoy a flop around the pool on a nice day. That rinky dink pool on the Getaway would be a good sized pool for a ship with maybe 1500 passengers but 4000? Its not even remotely large enough to accommodate the people on that ship and to make matters worse, there's never a time when there isn't loud blaring music and if they decide to do some sort of thing at the pool (volleyball, sexy legs etc) then you can forget about getting some time in the pool.

 

I'm sorry but that design of the pool deck on the Getaway is terrible. Mind you, its my only complaint for the week but it is significant enough to make me think twice about booking the Getaway again. On top of all that, they've got all the outside deck areas chopped up and compartmentalized like crazy. They simply did a poor job designing the pool deck on that ship. One of my complaints about Carnival has always been that it seems like they designed their lido deck areas and at the very last minute someone said "Holy cow guys, we forgot to put a pool in - lets put one here". I have the same feeling about the Getaway.

I've been on Freedom class ships and Allure on RCL. Definitely more pool areas. That said, I am not a pool person. My wife prefers to stay on our balcony and read. I usually look for a quiet area if I want to get some sun. ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY HATE THE LOUD MUSIC AROUND THE POOL. Can't talk or take a nap. Wouldn't bother me if there was no pool but I understand it is important for people with children.

If you book with the right agency, they will pay service charges and probably give you an OBC.

There is no such thing as a pool that will accommodate 4000 passengers. I have been to all-inclusive resorts that have pools as large as a small lake and they cannot accommodate 4000 people. The pool on most cruise ships is really a novelty. The large RCL ships have more and larger pools but even they cannot come close to accommodating 4000 or more passengers.

We already have the drink package and specialty restaurant package and have paid the service charge (tips) for them. Once we paid the $13.50 per person per day service/gratuities fee is there any other gratuities that would need to be paid.

 

Also any other venues that I would have to pay for ? such as sushi bar, ice cream stuff like that..

I always tip the waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier about $25 for a 7 day cruise, room attendants about $20 and tip servers or bartenders $1 each time I get a drink. Not required but I know that many people do the same!

Except for stingrays and 7 mile beach, there is not a whole lot to do on Grand Cayman. There is an Arboretum on the other end of the island, but I think the cab fare is about $100 and they charge to wait for you. We usually stay on the "empty ship" when we dock in Grand Cayman! Of course, you could always go to a bank and check on your Offshore Account!