NCL Getaway Sept 13, 2014

[RMS Olympic]

I have booked an eastern Caribbean cruise out of Myjamme Florida.

Although in hurricane season, its after school starts.......

Hope to find other family to dine with in all those specialty restaurants!

Tom

[RMS Olympic]

Very anxious to see how the Miami flavor will be introduced to the Getaway to differentiate from the Breakaway. Seems the is a Mohito bar onboard.....yum.

Anyone else booking?

[RMS Olympic]

Just wondering if anyone else has booked? Very anxious to see how this ship differs from Breakaway to make her a Miami ship.

September isn't so far off anymore.;)

[valleyguyva]

Hey, there! My partner and I have booked this sailing on Getaway out of Miami after enjoying Breakaway to Bermuda the same week in 2013. We enjoy sailing in September and simply take our chances on bad weather. Breakaway was one of our best cruise experiences ever, so we have high hopes for Getaway.

[RMS Olympic]

Great to hear you will be on this sailing. My traveling buddy Brion and I will look forward to meeting you both. I will probably want to ask you questions about the Breakaway to get a better feel for what to expect onboard. I must admit I disliked the EPIC and am looking forward to the Getaway to have a fun time. Maybe we can gather for drinks or dinner during the cruise.

Any suggestions on where to be for sailaway? As I am considering purchasing a Vibe pass, would that be good area to be for sailaway?

Thanks

Tom aka Bertha

[valleyguyva]

Well, as the date suggests I don't check Cruise Critic as often as I should, but I'll try to do better. Great to hear from you. Vibe is a great location for sail away, but it's a big ship and there are plenty of good spots otherwise. If Vibe is of interest to you for the entire week, rush to buy your ticket the moment you board. Access is limited and tickets go fast. As for Breakaway, please feel free to ask anything. As with all new designs there were hits and misses, but it was evident someone did their homework after Epic. We had a great time and found the staff and crew very accessible and in good spirits. We also found NCL's attention to veteran cruisers the best on Breakaway of any ship we have sailed before. After a miserable winter we could use some tropical sunshine now, but I guess September will be here soon enough.

[RMS Olympic]

Switched to the Nov 29th sailing. Best wishes to those on the Sept 13th sailing.

[valleyguyva]

Making another check of the Cruise Critic community for LGBT folks sailing with us! Having enjoyed Breakaway in September 2013, we are trying out Getaway. Looking forward to meeting everyone onboard. :)

[valleyguyva]

Checking in again to see if any LGBT friends are accompanying us on this sailing. Three weeks and counting!

 

 

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[tiggerman101]

Hey, this is David from Atlanta. I am going on this cruise with my parents. We are all avid cruisers have done a fall cruise together for the past 6 years.

 

I am in a Studio cabin. This cruise is for relaxation so I will just be lounging about on the ship. However. I will have plenty of free time.

[valleyguyva]

It's great to hear you and your family are joining us on this sailing! Like you, we are avid cruisers and typically sail in the fall when most ships are a bit more serene than summer. Please stay in touch. We would love meeting you on board.

 

 

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[swandive]

David from Dallas here! Just booked my trip yesterday. Solo cruiser here staying in an inside cabin. Went on my first cruise in January on Disney and loved it. Looking forward to my second cruise on NCL and this great new ship! Hope to meet all of you while on board. Take care and see you next week.

 

David

Edited September 5, 2014 by swandive

[tiggerman101]

Another David. Good to meet you. I did the Disney Dream once and enjoyed it. It is just a different cruising experience then the other lines. Honestly, I cruise for many different reasons. This cruise is just about relaxation.

 

I am a bartender in a fine dining steak house here in Atlanta. The three days before I leave our restaurant is bought out by a humongous group. They all party like frat boys (grown men with a tom of money). It is our biggest time of the year. Complete insanity. I will be jumping on my plane right after. I Will be ready for nothing.

 

I would love to meet up with you guys. I have a good time with the parents, but we have done this several times now. I will be alone a lot as well.

[valleyguyva]

Great to meet you David from Atlanta and David from Dallas. We have a few cruises under our belts but last sailed from NYC on Breakaway to Bermuda. At that time Getaway was still under construction, but we knew we had to sail! We love cruising for many of the same reasons: mainly to escape insanely busy jobs and just chill. Frankly, there are many ports where we never get off the ship and simply enjoy the solitude! Looking forward to meeting you both on board! You picked a fantastic ship!

[nyc2theworld]

I actually finished a cruise recently on the Getaway (August 16-23). Here's a couple of things to keep in mind with the FOD meetups.

 

They are at the Sunset Bar which is on Deck 8 which is the Waterfront. The problem is that there are two sections to this bar (one inside and one outside). Also, NCL provides absolutely no signage or cruise staff to bring people together for the FOD meeting so you aren't quite sure who is just drinking at the bar and who is drinking at the bar for the FOD meeting. The bartender didn't even know that there was a meetup (that's listed in the Getaway Daily) happening at his bar.

 

If I had known this before hand, there is some seating inside with tables where I would have made a table sign saying "Friends of Dorothy" or something. (Really this is something NCL should do).

 

So because of this I don't think you'll see a lot of people attend this meetup unfortunately.

 

I have since wrote a letter and sent it to the captain of the ship and NCL's SVP of hotel operations (which is responsible for entertainment) letting him know my displeasure about this.

 

Hopefully your turnout will be better than mine but just an FYI it may not be all that packed for FOD.

 

Now for those staying in a solo studio the meetups really depend on two things.

 

1-Who your cruise director is (Steven who was on my cruise was not all that great - no personality, screwed up 3 reservations). Hopefully you'll get a different CD to organize the solo meetups.

 

2-The other solo cruisers. My group tended to be more younger (late 20s-mid 30s with some outlyers) who were fun and outgoing and liked to party (like myself!) and what ended up happening is we did our own thing during the day (maybe met up for lunch during the days at sea) but at night we hung out as a group and did dinners and some of the shows together. In addition, BEFORE you leave download the iConcierge App. Then on the ship you can link it to your stateroom and use it to book various reservations. If you pay the 7.99 you can even use it to message and/or call other people on the ship...though the call quality leaves a lot to be desired. Hope this helps!

Edited September 8, 2014 by nyc2theworld
Forgot my solo experience

[valleyguyva]

Thanks very much for the tips. We sailed Breakaway last September and found much the same situation with FOD meetings. The daily schedule noted the meeting, but from there you were relegated to GAYDAR and and being proactive. Our sailing had a fair contingent of LGBT folks, but FOD meetings were not well attended. An NCL host or some signage to suggest the venue was an officially sanctioned meeting place would have helped.

 

 

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[valleyguyva]

Thanks to all the guys who contributed to a fantastic sailing aboard Getaway, especially David from Atlanta! We absentmindedly left the farewell party without getting your contact information, but wanted you to know how much we enjoyed meeting you! Here's my email: valleyguyva@aol.com Hope you arrived home safely! Let's all do it again soon!