Getaway Western Caribbean 1/21/18-any “research”’requests?

As a task oriented individual, I like to keep busy, even on vacay...any “research” requests to report back on details? Staying in Haven Penthouse cabin, no vibe and no spa, no kids. Let me know what you want to know:) happy to report back findings.

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First - thank you so much for offering! I'm also a 'type A planner' . We are a group of 10 Golf Bags cruising for the second time. Haven was a bit out of our reach but aft cabins will be fantastic!

I'd like to know how the fitness center is - are there yoga, Zumba, spin classes? Steam, hot tub? Anything special there?

Also, one in our group is a super fisher woman - which of the four Western ports is our best bet for fishing, boating, maybe snorkeling, swimming, etc?

Thanks again - have a BLAST!!

I have a few questions I would like answers to.

I would like to know can you still request a bowl of Peanut m&ms?

Do they still hand out fruit skewers around the Haven pool deck?

Are there still treat areas where they have pasteries cookies and candies in various places in the Haven?

I know these are kind of silly questions, but these are various things that I have heard from different posts that are no longer done.

Got it on both...happy to answer! No silly questions, I found haven specific info particularly sparse in my research, so I am definitely planning to do a full Haven report!

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First - thank you so much for offering! I'm also a 'type A planner' . We are a group of 10 Golf Bags cruising for the second time. Haven was a bit out of our reach but aft cabins will be fantastic!

I'd like to know how the fitness center is - are there yoga, Zumba, spin classes? Steam, hot tub? Anything special there?

Also, one in our group is a super fisher woman - which of the four Western ports is our best bet for fishing, boating, maybe snorkeling, swimming, etc?

 

Thanks again - have a BLAST!!

Having been on Getaway, and sailed the itinerary at least six times let me chime in here.

There are some yoga, spin and zumba classes offered, usually early morning, and at an extra charge. The steam and hot tub are in the spa, and to use them you have to have a spa pass. There are some hot tubs on deck that are usually full of kids.

IMO the best snorkeling and swimming is on the west end of Roatan, at West Bay. Second best choice will be Cozumel. For fishing I would try Costa Maya. I would not plan on doing any of these activities at Harvest Caye.

Sailing this itinerary end of February on dawn

Not an excursion kind of person. Found my beach bar in costa Maya and I think maybe in Cozumel

Like to walk if I feel safe. So, are there places (beach bar) walking distance Roatan and Cozumel

Having been on Getaway, and sailed the itinerary at least six times let me chime in here.

 

There are some yoga, spin and zumba classes offered, usually early morning, and at an extra charge. The steam and hot tub are in the spa, and to use them you have to have a spa pass. There are some hot tubs on deck that are usually full of kids.

I'm wondering if Vibe has hot tubs?

Just off Getaway today. First time on NCL (and tried the Spa Suite). Had a Fabulous time!!! Overall, I was SO impressed! Let me know if you have any other questions.

I would like to know can you still request a bowl of Peanut m&ms? DID NOT SEE THIS HAPPEN

Do they still hand out fruit skewers around the Haven pool deck? DID NOT SEE THESE, ALTHOUGH WE DIDN'T SPEND ALL THAT MUCH TIME AT THE HAVEN POOL DUE TO PRETTY BAD WEATHER THE WHOLE WEEK!

Are there still treat areas where they have pasteries cookies and candies in various places in the Haven? THEY HAD PASTRIES OUTSIDE IN THE MORNING AND SOME CAKES OUTSIDE IN THE AFTERNOON. DO NOT RECALL ANY CANDIES ANYWHWHERE (inside or out).

Yes, Vibe has Hot Tubs. The Haven Hot Tubs were out of order for a few hours on several days ("maintenance issues"), so we were allowed access to the Vibe tubs if we wanted to. Did not take them up on that offer, though.

Thanks, Stines!

Thank you for the offer.

Would love to hear your review after you return.

Enjoy.

Keith

Looking forward to a review!

Looking forward to a review - we sail in April and are in an aft balcony.

No specific questions just hoping to hear how your trip was.

Few questions as we are sailing in a Haven cabin on Getaway in the upcoming weeks:

1. Can you use the provided phones to call other rooms or is it just to contact your butler?

2. Are there Haven sections in the theater for each show? Would be nice to not have to arrive too early for good seats.

3. Any other perks/recommendations for first time Haven customers? What types of things does the butler do?

4. Could you post a copy of one/two Freestyle Dailies?

Thank you!

You asked - so here are my comments from our first time on NCL (and in The Haven) last week...

Have cruised many times (40-something) on most of the linesout there, from luxury like Silversea and Seabourn all the way “down” toCarnival. None of the cruises reallydisappointed when you consider value for the price paid. Same goes for my very first time last week onNCL (in a Haven Spa Cabin on the Getaway) on their Western Caribbean run.

The Haven was absolutely wonderful with very little to nitpick about. Yes, it was a bummer thatthe Haven menus were the same all week for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner.Changing them up a bit would be my biggest suggestion for improvement. The food quality, service (bar &restaurant), and ambience were all outstanding! Spa suite cabin was also wonderful with a large, comfortable space allaround. And it was exceptionally wellmaintained by our room steward, Bradley, on Deck 14.

Speaking of exceptional maintenance, for a ship that is 4years old (and I believe before any major dry dock has occurred) – I was amazedat how everything looked so pristine. Usually after a year or two, you start to see scrapes, scratches, andnormal wear and tear all around. Not onthe Getaway! I will consider travelingagain on NCL purely because of the superlative cleanliness of the ship and thedetailed focus on staff and passenger hygiene throughout. I just LOVED the fact that you were alwaysgreeted at a restaurant’s entrance with hand sanitizer (either from anautomatic dispenser or in many cases, by a live crew member with a spraybottle). There were real sinks with soapand auto-dispensing paper towels near the buffet spaces we visited. You could get your food and then easily washyour hands and clean up properly before eating vs. MAYBE using the handsanitizer for a second time.

We dined at 5 of the specialty restaurants for dinner – andI would rank them in this order from best to very good: Cagney’s, Le Bistro, Moderno, La Cuccina, andTeppanyaki. Never had anything thatwasn’t at least very, very good. On theexcellent end was the Veal Chop in Cagney’s, Filet Mignon at Le Bistro, and thesalad bar at Moderno.

Also tried the main Buffet for lunch a few times and it wasenjoyable with nothing to complain about (remember it’s a buffet on a ship with4,500+ passengers – and set your expectations based on that!). O’Sheehans was good too for lunch with ahappening bar crowd overlooking the various entertainment options in theAtrium. Haven guests are permitted todine at Margaritaville for “free” on embarkation day – it was good but this wasperhaps the least favorite meal of the trip. Finally, I would highly recommend the once-per-cruise Indian buffet forlunch at Moderno on the final sea day. Yummy and so well presented, complete with Indian greetings at the doorand some wonderful Indian music to set the mood.

We did not book any excursions, as this was a trip to enjoyThe Haven amenities and escape the brutal cold in the mid-Atlantic region ofthe US this year. If you don’t bookexcursions to get out and see the sights, the ports are more or less a bustIMHO. Cozumel was fun with lots ofshopping as usual – been there before, done that. Did not get off in Costa Maya because ofsteady rain all day. Roatan was, in aword, crappy, at least in the immediate environs of the ship/dock. Harvest Caye was VERY well done, and is theonly stop on this itinerary that I would look forward to a return visit to.

On the entertainment side – we loved Burn the Floor andMillion Dollar Quartet and highly recommend both. Didn’t attend anything else, other than itwas always nice to hear live music at different venues around the ship atdifferent times of the day.

Finally – a word about embarkation and disembarkation. Embarkation was not well done in Miami. No organization with people loaded into avery small, warm room, seemingly called in random order to approach the 2(sometimes 1) attendant dealing with check in details. The “priority escort” to the ship was also amess – with a large group of us being rushed from point A to point B to point Cand then squeezing by the large line of other folks to approach **********. The entire process took atleast 75 minutes – not horrible, but I was expecting a more organized andrefined Haven embarkation process. Onthe flip side, disembarkation was a breeze. We did self-assist with our own luggage. After arriving at The Haven lounge around 8:00am, we were whisked to aprivate elevator straight to the front of the line at the gangway, in a cab by8:15, and at the airport by 8:40. Trulythe fastest and most efficient exit from a large vessel EVER!

So there are my thoughts and short review. Happy to answer any other questions and ifyou’re considering traveling on the Getaway in The Haven – it gets an A gradefrom me! We’ll be back on NCL for sure!

Few questions as we are sailing in a Haven cabin on Getaway in the upcoming weeks:

 

1. Can you use the provided phones to call other rooms or is it just to contact your butler?

2. Are there Haven sections in the theater for each show? Would be nice to not have to arrive too early for good seats.

3. Any other perks/recommendations for first time Haven customers? What types of things does the butler do?

4. Could you post a copy of one/two Freestyle Dailies?

 

Thank you!

1. I'm sorry I don't know. I presume you are talking about the cell phone provided in each Haven cabin. Never used it honestly. Now that I think about it, I never used either the bedside phone either for the entire cruise!

2. Yes, that is a great benefit I forgot to mention! The reserved seats are on the left side all the way down front. Do note, however, that they remove the "reserved" signage and blockage about 5 minutes before showtime, which allows anyone to move into this area. So I would recommend arriving about 10 minutes before showtime at the latest.

3. Never used the services of the Butler! I booked the restaurants and shows in advance online, didn't order room service, and didn't feel the need to engage the Butler's services at all. Yes, he did leave canapés each afternoon - but that's about all he did for us. Nothing negative at all to say about the Butler - he was SUPER nice, but we're just not the "Butler-type" guests I suppose.

4. I'm sorry, I left all the Dailies and other paperwork in the cabin upon departure. You will be delighted with the very detailed schedule of activities, music, entertainment, dining specials, and other odds and ends happening each day. Loved the surprise element each evening reading about what's going on the next day.

You asked - so here are my comments from our first time on NCL (and in The Haven) last week...

 

 

Have cruised many times (40-something) on most of the linesout there, from luxury like Silversea and Seabourn all the way “down” toCarnival. None of the cruises reallydisappointed when you consider value for the price paid. Same goes for my very first time last week onNCL (in a Haven Spa Cabin on the Getaway) on their Western Caribbean run.

 

The Haven was absolutely wonderful with very little to nitpick about. Yes, it was a bummer thatthe Haven menus were the same all week for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner.Changing them up a bit would be my biggest suggestion for improvement. The food quality, service (bar &restaurant), and ambience were all outstanding! Spa suite cabin was also wonderful with a large, comfortable space allaround. And it was exceptionally wellmaintained by our room steward, Bradley, on Deck 14.

 

Speaking of exceptional maintenance, for a ship that is 4years old (and I believe before any major dry dock has occurred) – I was amazedat how everything looked so pristine. Usually after a year or two, you start to see scrapes, scratches, andnormal wear and tear all around. Not onthe Getaway! I will consider travelingagain on NCL purely because of the superlative cleanliness of the ship and thedetailed focus on staff and passenger hygiene throughout. I just LOVED the fact that you were alwaysgreeted at a restaurant’s entrance with hand sanitizer (either from anautomatic dispenser or in many cases, by a live crew member with a spraybottle). There were real sinks with soapand auto-dispensing paper towels near the buffet spaces we visited. You could get your food and then easily washyour hands and clean up properly before eating vs. MAYBE using the handsanitizer for a second time.

 

We dined at 5 of the specialty restaurants for dinner – andI would rank them in this order from best to very good: Cagney’s, Le Bistro, Moderno, La Cuccina, andTeppanyaki. Never had anything thatwasn’t at least very, very good. On theexcellent end was the Veal Chop in Cagney’s, Filet Mignon at Le Bistro, and thesalad bar at Moderno.

 

Also tried the main Buffet for lunch a few times and it wasenjoyable with nothing to complain about (remember it’s a buffet on a ship with4,500+ passengers – and set your expectations based on that!). O’Sheehans was good too for lunch with ahappening bar crowd overlooking the various entertainment options in theAtrium. Haven guests are permitted todine at Margaritaville for “free” on embarkation day – it was good but this wasperhaps the least favorite meal of the trip. Finally, I would highly recommend the once-per-cruise Indian buffet forlunch at Moderno on the final sea day. Yummy and so well presented, complete with Indian greetings at the doorand some wonderful Indian music to set the mood.

 

We did not book any excursions, as this was a trip to enjoyThe Haven amenities and escape the brutal cold in the mid-Atlantic region ofthe US this year. If you don’t bookexcursions to get out and see the sights, the ports are more or less a bustIMHO. Cozumel was fun with lots ofshopping as usual – been there before, done that. Did not get off in Costa Maya because ofsteady rain all day. Roatan was, in aword, crappy, at least in the immediate environs of the ship/dock. Harvest Caye was VERY well done, and is theonly stop on this itinerary that I would look forward to a return visit to.

 

On the entertainment side – we loved Burn the Floor andMillion Dollar Quartet and highly recommend both. Didn’t attend anything else, other than itwas always nice to hear live music at different venues around the ship atdifferent times of the day.

 

Finally – a word about embarkation and disembarkation. Embarkation was not well done in Miami. No organization with people loaded into avery small, warm room, seemingly called in random order to approach the 2(sometimes 1) attendant dealing with check in details. The “priority escort” to the ship was also amess – with a large group of us being rushed from point A to point B to point Cand then squeezing by the large line of other folks to approach **********. The entire process took atleast 75 minutes – not horrible, but I was expecting a more organized andrefined Haven embarkation process. Onthe flip side, disembarkation was a breeze. We did self-assist with our own luggage. After arriving at The Haven lounge around 8:00am, we were whisked to aprivate elevator straight to the front of the line at the gangway, in a cab by8:15, and at the airport by 8:40. Trulythe fastest and most efficient exit from a large vessel EVER!

 

 

So there are my thoughts and short review. Happy to answer any other questions and ifyou’re considering traveling on the Getaway in The Haven – it gets an A gradefrom me! We’ll be back on NCL for sure!

APOLOGIES for the displayed typos... I don't know what happened with Cut and Paste from Word!! Ugh! Also I was referring to the Gangway where is shows the series of asterisks.

Hi -if you order room service in the haven (especially breakfast) do you pay for the food? I know there is a delivery fee. Does anyone have room service menus.

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Hi -if you order room service in the haven (especially breakfast) do you pay for the food? I know there is a delivery fee. Does anyone have room service menus.

 

 

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You do NOT pay for the "complimentary" food aboard in The Haven nor do you pay a delivery fee. Just ask the Butler and he will get you what you want and when you want it. As far as the Speciality restaurants go, you do pay for the food (or make use of a dining package). No delivery fee. Again, the Butler will handle this for you.

That’s fantastic! Thank you!

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How many haven cabins are there on the Getaway?

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Search around a little on Cruise Critic and you'll find a lot of information... Getaway cabin types/counts:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=651&pgtype=cabins

I have a few questions I would like answers to.

 

 

 

I would like to know can you still request a bowl of Peanut m&ms?

 

Do they still hand out fruit skewers around the Haven pool deck?

 

Are there still treat areas where they have pasteries cookies and candies in various places in the Haven?

 

 

 

I know these are kind of silly questions, but these are various things that I have heard from different posts that are no longer done.

Yes to m&m’s:) we gave Charlie (I love Charlie) a letter saying no candy, please give us GF BLT or cheese plates for snacks...and we have exactly that[emoji39]!

I have not seen fruit skewers on Haven pool deck, by they have a water/tea/ juice/coffee station and treats/pastries set up, and a waiter wanders both decks and will bring melon or berries if you ask, or anything really.

Haven’t been to the gym yet...plans for that tomorrow because Haven rooms rudely have scales in the bathroom[emoji23]

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Having been on Getaway, and sailed the itinerary at least six times let me chime in here.

 

 

 

There are some yoga, spin and zumba classes offered, usually early morning, and at an extra charge. The steam and hot tub are in the spa, and to use them you have to have a spa pass. There are some hot tubs on deck that are usually full of kids.

 

 

 

IMO the best snorkeling and swimming is on the west end of Roatan, at West Bay. Second best choice will be Cozumel. For fishing I would try Costa Maya. I would not plan on doing any of these activities at Harvest Caye.

I would agree to these after a few days.

Next time in Roatan we will definitely do deep sea fishing! We did snorkeling and it was fantastic...through the ship excursion, Jolly Roger, they also had deep sea boat in their marina which caught our attention and we asked the guys about it on our boat...definitely worth it there.

Harvest Caye, we walked in the beach, had a massage (expensive but with every penny) went to the beach for about an hour and napped. Very relaxing but that island was not our scene. Plenty of loungers in the shade even with a sold out sailing!!

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I'm wondering if Vibe has hot tubs?

It does...two[emoji106]

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Sailing this itinerary end of February on dawn

Not an excursion kind of person. Found my beach bar in costa Maya and I think maybe in Cozumel

Like to walk if I feel safe. So, are there places (beach bar) walking distance Roatan and Cozumel

In Roatan: There were quite a few beach bars just out side the port area, but recommend watching your wallet...definitely catering to tourists but obviously still a third world location. Looked like quite a few decent bars (and a cigar a shop) we passed, a bojangles too[emoji23] if you are inclined.

I will try to report on Cozumel, but we are doing a flight to Chichén Itzá, so not sure how much we will see this time and last time we went straight from the ship to a catamaran and back to the ship without even leaving the dock, so I have no info at this point.

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