Short review: Nov. 26th on the Getawa

We did this exact same cruise last year, but in December, so obviously we like a lot about the ship. We repeated for this reason and because it worked out for timing for our family group from 3 different states.

Great things about the cruise: Loved Burn the Floor and especially Million Dollar Quartet. Our room was fine, (regular balcony) with plenty of storage. Last year we had one of the larger slanted balconies, so the teeny on this year was a bummer, but we knew going in it was small. I like to read outside, but it wasn't comfortable enough for that. We used it mostly watching sail aways.

The Cirque show was good considering the limitations they have due to the size of the venue. I especially enjoyed the pageantry, staging and costumes. The meal was fine.

We like not having to dress up--although we weren't super casual-- and the large variety of eating places. Most of our meals were fine; the only stand out was Le Bistro. The other specialty restaurants were just ok. We had the 3 meal SDP and also went to the Cirque Dreams show.

The staff was great and service very good. The ship is beautiful and well-maintained and the crowds weren't too bad, considering the amount of passengers on board. We'd go on this ship again, although maybe not the same itinerary. We didn't do any NCL excursions..

There were a lot of kids and teens on the ship, which I did not expect, being the week after Thanksgiving, but they were mostly well-behaved and not a problem.

Some things we did not care for: Although the two main shows are spectacular, the main show room entertainment on other nights was lacking. Did not like the comedians at all and there were no singers, magicians, etc.

The level of noise in the Atrium was so bad I think my ears rang for days, especially the band and anyone speaking on the microphone. Having the internet cafe right beside the Atrium made it almost impossible to use if anything was going on there. Internet was bad, of course, but we're used to that on cruises.

The tv situation was not good. I know some people don't watch much tv, but we do, especially my husband. On this new of a ship, there should be a large menu of free movies on demand. Even the pay movies didn't appeal. The free movies had no schedule, so it was hard to catch the beginning of anything.

Sports, especially North American sports, was non-existant. Lots of soccer and cricket, but often old matches.

I guess I was expecting more (we don't usually do specialty dining, but had a dining package), but the specialty restaurants, except for Le Bistro, were a let down, especially Cagney's; two or our four meals were not good at all.

I can't address drinking--we don't--except my sisters, who had the drink package, said the drinks were pretty mild, in fact tasted almost virgin. We also don't do the bars and other night life except for shows, so can't comment on that. We also don't use the casino.

I think you should be able to use NCL on board credit for the daily service charges. But, we did have a good amount from NCL and from our travel agent. We actually had to run a round spending the last $120 on the last night! Bad problem, huh?

Enjoyed the report, thanks.

Thanks for the review.

Appreciate the feedback!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for writing and posting your trip report/review.

Keith

Thanks for the review. We leave on the Getaway in January and are repeating the same cruise we took this past January. The thing I didn't like hearing was "mild drinks", that certainly would be a change from January of this year.