Getaway Review 11-26-17

This is my 1st ever review, so hopefully I'm doing this correctly.My wife and I booked this trip at the last minute, only 10 days before the sail date. This is not how we normally book cruises, but in doing this, we got the best deal on a cruise that we've ever got. I love the new NCL bidding process, we won a bid on a balcony for only $50 pp extra over our inside room price.

This was my 27th cruise, and we don't have children. It was just my wife and I on the cruise. We are both in our late 30's. We aren't loyal to any one brand, but usually stick with RCCL, Carnival or NCL. We really enjoyed this cruise and needed this time away to relax and unplug.

Due to getting such a good deal on the cruise, we decided to splurge and get the 7 night ultimate dining package. We were really glad we booked the UDP in the end. We also booked the new Cirque du Soleil Steam show. Here are my thought on the other specialty restaurants that we tried.

Cirque du Soleil Steam- The show was phenomenal and the food was good. The worst part about the food, is that it's not cooked to order. All the steak is prepared the same way, which appeared to be rare. The show itself is worth the extra money.

Cagney's- The food was delicious, we ate there twice and loved everything we had. The filet was great and very tender. Don't forget the 7 layer chocolate cake, oh my.

Teppanyaki- This was probably the best Japanese steak house we've ever ate at. The portions are huge, everyone at our table left food on their plate.

Le Bistro- I had the Dover Sole and French Onion Soup and both we're delicious

La Cucina- We were not impressed with the food, it wasn't bad, just not great

Moderno- We loved the concept of this restaurant and the salad bar but eating this much meat is just not our thing. I think it was more quantity instead of quality.

The buffet was always very well stocked and seemed to always be open. The food at the buffet was good and they had both soft serve and hand dipped ice cream available. We ate breakfast in the main dining room several times and were not that impressed with it. We both thought that Carnival's Sea Day brunch was much better. Our least favorite place was O'sheehans, they quality of the food wasn't good, neither was the selection. It seems to have really went down hill since our last time eating there 2 years ago.

The entertainment was great, Million Dollar Quartet is not to be missed!! Burn the Floor was good, and the cast was very talented. We also enjoyed all the different game shows and events that were held in the Atrium. There were 2 or 3 different events in the atrium every evening, it was a very lively place.

The ports were Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Roatan- Honduras- We booked an independent tour with Cleve from Cleve's Tours. This tour was excellent and I highly recommend him. He also has near perfect reviews on Trip Advisor.

Harvest Caye- Belieze- This was beach day for us. All the chairs and umbrellas were free. The beach is nice, but no free food or drinks are available at the port. The food and drinks that you can purchase are very expensive.

Costa Maya- We toured the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins through NCL

Cozumel- We took the chocolate tour through NCL

I hope this review doesn't seem negative, because we loved the cruise overall. I would not hesitate to book the ship or any other NCL ship again.

If you have any other specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the report, we too have read good reviews about Cleve's.

That was a great bid price for your upgrade! Glad you enjoyed and was able to relax on your cruise.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

That was a great bid price for your upgrade! Glad you enjoyed and was able to relax on your cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We also only paid $339 pp for the inside room originally. After winning the bid, and getting a balcony room on deck 12 (B3 category) for only $389 pp before taxes made us very happy.

Great first ever review!

We also only paid $339 pp for the inside room originally. After winning the bid, and getting a balcony room on deck 12 (B3 category) for only $389 pp before taxes made us very happy.

Wow, the more I am impressed for a 7-night cruise!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I will try and go in more depth on a day by day basis, once I figure out how to post pictures. I also have copies of all the freestyle dailies, that I will scan and post next week when I’m at work.

Thanks for the trip report. We will back on the Getaway in March and so looking forward to it!

Curious, did you happen to notice if Diet Mountain Dew was available anywhere onboard?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

Have you been on RCCL's Oasis class ships? If so, what's your thoughts on the Getaway compared to them? My husband & I have only sailed with Carnival & Royal & are trying to decide between the Getaway & Allure. I'm very interested in seeing the daily newsletters too. Thanks!

Curious, did you happen to notice if Diet Mountain Dew was available anywhere onboard?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

I honestly didn’t notice if there was any on board. We don’t drink soft drinks and didn’t purchase any all week. I wished I could be of more help.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Have you been on RCCL's Oasis class ships? If so, what's your thoughts on the Getaway compared to them? My husband & I have only sailed with Carnival & Royal & are trying to decide between the Getaway & Allure. I'm very interested in seeing the daily newsletters too. Thanks!

We sailed on the Allure in 2011 and on the Harmony last year, which is an even larger ship than the Allure. The Harmony is our all time favorite ship, with the Carnival Vista being 2nd and the Allure a close 3rd. They are such impressive ships, with so many things to do. The interesting thing is they never felt crowded to us, despite having so many people on board. We’ve been on smaller Carnival ships like the Dream that felt more crowded to us than the Harmony or the Allure.

The shows in the Aqua Theatre and ice skating rink are very good, not to mention Central Park and Boardwalk. In my opinion, any cruise is a good cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Getaway, although my pick between the 2 would be the Allure.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Terrific review.

Keith

I have all the Freestyle Dailies now scanned and on my PC in jpg form. What's the easiest way to post them on here for everyone to see?

We sailed on the Allure in 2011 and on the Harmony last year, which is an even larger ship than the Allure. The Harmony is our all time favorite ship, with the Carnival Vista being 2nd and the Allure a close 3rd. They are such impressive ships, with so many things to do. The interesting thing is they never felt crowded to us, despite having so many people on board. We’ve been on smaller Carnival ships like the Dream that felt more crowded to us than the Harmony or the Allure.

 

The shows in the Aqua Theatre and ice skating rink are very good, not to mention Central Park and Boardwalk. In my opinion, any cruise is a good cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Getaway, although my pick between the 2 would be the Allure.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you!!!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have all the Freestyle Dailies now scanned and on my PC in jpg form. What's the easiest way to post them on here for everyone to see?

1. Drag and drop the pictures (click HERE).
   
2. Copy the URL under the picture.
   
3. When you reply to this thread, click the "" and paste the url in the box.
   
4. Submit Reply.
   

Thanks for the review bravesfan19. It was much appreciated!

This might seem like a silly question, but was the soap in the cabin bathroom a liquid pump or bar soap (not the dispenser in the shower but what would be by the bathroom sink)?

Thanks again! :)

1. 
    
   
2. Drag and drop the pictures (click HERE).
    
   
3. Copy the URL under the picture.
    
   
4. When you reply to this thread, click the "" and paste the url in the box.
    
   
5. Submit Reply.
    
   

Thank you, I will work on this Monday :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for the review bravesfan19. It was much appreciated!

 

This might seem like a silly question, but was the soap in the cabin bathroom a liquid pump or bar soap (not the dispenser in the shower but what would be by the bathroom sink)?

 

Thanks again! :)

The hand soap at the sink in the bathroom was liquid, which I prefer over a bar. I remember it being a green color. They did also provide a bar of soap that could be used wherever.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Great review. Glad you had a great time

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for the review.

Freestyle Dailies