Mike & Tracy's continuing adventures: B2B on Carnival Vista & Norwegean Getaway

Background info: Mike (61), occupation- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Mountie), Tracy (44) Formerly a Paramedic now a Mountie since 2011, originally from Wales, UK. For the people who have been following our adventures this was our first cruise without the kids. Arielle now 22 and Mitchel now 20 had school and work commitments. Our biggest worry was leaving the house in their care; we were pleased to come back to a fully intact home. We had friends who joined us on our Vista cruise, Ashley (31) also a Mountie and Curtis is a Fireman who turned 38 during the cruise. Ashley had cruised before and Curtis was a cruise virgin.

We did a back to back on Carnival Vista (11 days) and Norwegian Getaway (7 days). After 13 Carnival cruises this was the first sailing with another cruise line.

This was also our first cruise since March 2014. Tracy’s position at work did not allow us to plan any vacation in advance, they were allotted time off with little notice. She changed position in October and we are now back to cruising.

Like most cruise critic members I started counting the days from the day I booked the cruises. I love to research and plan everything, our itinerary, things to do on the ship and in ports. I do run most things through Tracy before finalizing anything. One thing that has changed over the years is that we don’t try to do everything listed on the Funtimes. Tracy used to complain that we were always on the go with little time for relaxation.

I will be doing a review of our Vista cruise and for whoever wants to stick around I will also do a review on Norwegian Getaway which will end with a comparison of the two ships and the cruise companies.

Ports visited on our Vista Cruise:

Grand Turk (Beach & Margaritaville))

Bonaire (Private Snorkelling and Island Tour)

Aruba (Jolly Pirates Excursion)

St. Maarten (Island Tour)

The ports visited on our Getaway cruise included:

Belize (Shopping)

Harvest Caye (Parasailing)

Costa Maya (Maya Chan all Inclusive)

Cozumel (Mr. Sancho’s all Inclusive)

Pre-Cruise

Tuesday, November 15th, 2016,

The day prior to the cruise we flew from Ottawa to Newark. We stayed at the Robert Treat Best Western. Tracy and I had nothing planned other than picking up cans of soda and bottles of wine. However, Ashley and Curtis suggested we take the train to Time Square. Since Tracy and I had never been before we agreed to accompany them.

We had dinner at the Pig’N’Whistle, an Irish Pub in Time Square. Then the girls decided we should go see a Broadway show. We checked out Aladdin and The Lion King but they were sold out. We finally settled on the Broadway Show “Holiday Inn”

Yay!!!!!!!!!

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Yayyyyyyy! I'm so glad you are back! I love your reviews and will definitely be following this one. Can't wait!

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Embarkation Day

Wednesday, November 16th

We departed the hotel at 9 a.m. We took the free hotel shuttle to the Newark Penn Station, then the train to Manhattan Penn Station, $5.00 per person, total $20.00. Then we hopped into a taxi and travelled to the pier, $26 with tip. Total cost $23 per couple. Very inexpensive considering the hotel staff informed us that a taxi would have cost us at least $100.00.

We arrived at the pier at 10:45 a.m. and boarded at 12:00 p.m. We dropped off our carry-on luggage in our cabin.

Then it was off to Guy’s Burger for lunch.

nice to see you cruising again

Hi Mike and Tracy! It was wonderful to finally meet you both :). Very excited for this review! Great start!

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So excited to see this - I had thought about you and Tracy the other day & wondered if I had missed a review! Welcome back - I am looking forward to reading your B2B adventure - we have never been on NCL - so will be interested in reading your thoughts.

Betty

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After lunch we went to the spa, Tracy had gotten a spa pass; I’m not into steam rooms and saunas, etc. She got the tour of the facility and a little sticker put on her fun card. Every day she went to the spa she was given a colored bracelet as proof of membership. I’ll post some photos of the spa and gym later when I post photos of the whole ship. We wandered around the empty ship.

Welcome Back. Going to have to book mark this so I can read it after I return from my cruise on the Vista. Very interested in hearing your thoughts on Harvest Caye as posts on the Belize board tend to negative after years of building great expectations. Nice pictures to start. Great move on taking the path train.

Welcome Baaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!:D:D:D

Missed you guys, and your adventures.

Too bad the kids weren't able to make it.

Maybe you could post pictures of them so we can see how much they've grown........:D

Patiently waiting for more!!!!

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The ship was supposed to sail away at 6 p.m. but due to record amount of luggage according to announcements we departed at 7:30 p.m. The cruise director mentioned that 2 persons in one cabin had 8 pieces of luggage.

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Following along

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By the way I inputted the wrong date on my new camera (2015) and it's ahead by 1 hour. Sorry, it really bugs me.

We had your time dining and chose to go early at the Horizon Restaurant so that we would not miss sail away.

Sweet & Sour Shrimp

Roast Chicken

Salmon Fillet

I believe this was Braised Beef Brisket

Caramelized Phyllo with Caramel

Ashley and Curtis

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SOOOOOO excited to see another Mike & Tracy review come up! We really missed you guys. Hope the kids are doing well...

I havent been on CC in a coupke of years..My dad passed away and bff had a cancer battle. We are doing a weekend cruise next month. I was SO EXCITED to see your review. They are always the best!! Thanks for giving me something to look forward to!:D

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Nov 16 Funtimes

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Was wondering where you two have been! Missed you on the CCL boards with your great reviews! Will be interesting to see how you liked NCL. We have "wandered" from Carnival also - now go back and forth between the two lines.

Welcome back to cruising!!! Enjoying your review so far and looking forward to the rest. :)

Howdy neighbour (when did u move to Ottawa? :D)

Looking forward to your opinion on the Vista - I did the Vista Transatlantic and will be back onboard in February!!!

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As mentioned earlier sail away was 1.5 hours late because of the excessive luggage

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Ashley and Curtis wanted to check out the spa so we tagged along

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