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Getaway Review - March 22nd to March 29th, 2014 Spring Break Cruise

battweb

By battweb,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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battweb

battweb

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Norwegian Getaway

Spring Break Cruise – March 22 to March 29th, 2014

 

This was our forth-straight spring break cruise and our seventh overall cruise. We have been on RCCL(3), NCL(3) and Carnival (1). My review is based on our experience and background. Opinions vary and this is our $.02, for what its worth. I throw in a few tips as they have always helped us out in reviews as well.

 

Cruises are a great spring break vacation for our family of four (including two kids, 8 & 11). It allows the kids to do their thing, the adults to do our thing and for us to have great family time. I would guess that our ship was about 65 – 70% families on spring break. This being said, I thought it was a really well behaved group of kids. Note: I don’t think I would want to be on a cruise in March or early April if I was not with kids – unless you were on a cruise line that does not cater to families. Again, I thought the kids on our ship were great, but it is a cruise season with tons of families.

 

Prior to the cruise, we stayed at the Conrad Hotel on Brickell Ave in Miami. Great hotel and close location to the port. We are just travelling from Orlando, but it is so nice to travel the day before and have a relaxing morning on embarkment day.

 

We were really excited to check out the Getaway, so we decided to get to the port earlier than we typically do. As such, we arrived about 10:15 a.m. and dropped off our luggage with the porters. $10 tip and we were off to park in Garage C. With our early arrival, we got Boarding Group 1 and were on the ship by 11:30 a.m. My wife and I were interested in getting Vibe and cabana passes and we headed to guest services on deck six right away. We were fifth in line and the cabana passes were already sold out (to suite guests I assume). Regular Vibe passes were about $80 each.

 

Our kids like to go to the kids club in the afternoon and this is why Vibe appealed to us – a nice quiet escape during this time. Vibe is adults only and has comfortable loungers, about five cabanas, private bar, two hot tubs, fruit skewers throughout the day and the occasional cookies being offered. Service was outstanding and very friendly. I will note that on days that are mid 80s in temperature and above, it will get warm up there. I wish there was a small pool or cool water feature up there. The best part is that it is quiet and they sell just enough passes that it never feels crowded. We did visit Spice H2O for a comparison and it was significantly more crowded and not quite as nice. Also, we were glad that we were not able to get a cabana. Once we saw them, it was not worth it. It would be very hot in the cabana and we did not see any waiter service catering to the people inside.

 

We had a large balcony cabin on deck nine. The large balconies are in the mid to forward section of the ship. We really enjoyed having a little bit bigger balcony. The cabins are not huge, but we like the set-up much better than on the Epic. Our family of four was fine in there. We did have a bunk-type set-up with one of the beds coming out of the ceiling. The main bed was very comfortable, though I am sure that anyone over 6’ tall has their legs hanging a bit over the bed. Our cabin steward, Roy, did a great job for us. Our kids loved the towel animals that we got every night. My daughter left a note for him not to remove the snake or mouse animals, because they were her favorites.

 

The ship is very nicely decorated and easy to get around. I will say that it is probably our favorite ship that we have been on. NCL excels in entertainment and there are lots of great things going on all day long. We did lots of the game shows, music acts, comedy shows, Howl at the Moon, saw a bit of Burn The Floor (had to leave early to get the kids), Deal or No Deal, Bingo, Who’s The Boss? and more. The cruise activities staff does an excellent job. I do have to give extra kudos to the cruise director, Sinan, and two of the assistant cruise directors, Omar and Jersey Boy. They were friendly, funny and personable. Each of them got the crowds involved and put smiles on faces. Sinan, from Turkey, was our favorite cruise director that we have had—super entertaining and personable.

 

Fireworks were on Wednesday during the 80s party in Spice H2O. Great to have this at sea.

 

We enjoyed the casino on a few evenings and NCL enjoyed the money they got from us. The casino is well laid out, but I do wish there was a bigger non-smoking section or system to remove the smoke smell. It is not as bad as some would have you think, but you still notice it. Note that the non-smoking section is toward the aft section of the casino.

 

We were especially excited for the slides, pools, ropes courses and the other outside activities on the Getaway. There are two main pools – front adult pool that has four hot tubs and a back pool near the slides that is geared for the kids. The slides were amazing and a lot of fun. My wife did the ropes course twice and loved it. It is a tad intimidating with the heights and if there is any wind. However, it is very safe and the NCL staff was very helpful. The highlights of the ropes course were walking the plank and the zip line at the end. Note: If you want your picture from NCL of you walking the plank, you have to walk to the very end of the plank and pull on a rope to take your picture.

 

We did the Unlimited Dining Plan for $120 each for my wife and I. This allows you to choose a specialty restaurant for every night of the cruise. Our kids prefer to do the Garden Buffet and then head to kids club. Therefore, the UDP worked great for us. We went to Cagney’s (twice), Le Bistro, Tepanyaki (twice) and Moderno. Cagney’s had great steaks and service. We had a bit of an issue with a rude solo diner on our second night there and service and management took care of us quickly. Le Bistro was good, but not great. Service started out slow, but picked up along the way. Moderno was just okay this time for us. We enjoyed it on past cruises, but the cuts of meat weren’t great and the salad bar was not quite up to what it had been. It was fine, but not as good as we have had in the past. Tepanyaki was our surprise win with the UDP. For whatever reason, we did not do this on the Epic or Pearl, but decided to give it a chance this time around. We loved it. The first night there, the service (Leah) and chef were exceptional. The second time there, it wasn’t quite as good, but still really enjoyable. It does make a difference on who your chef is (shocking, eh?). The restaurants are all beautifully decorated and the outside Waterfront area is a brilliant idea.

I will note that I believe that NCL’s emphasis is on their specialty restaurants. In previous treks and lunch visits on this cruise, I have found the food and service to be okay. NCL wants you spending money in the specialty restaurants and I get that.

 

Illusionarium was another cruise highlight. Food was decent – steak, shrimp and really good desert. The show started out a little slow. The first two acts were good, but the last few were absolutely amazing. We loved the host and “the man who knows”. Overall, we really enjoyed the show. I should note that it is probably worth it to get the upgraded seats.

 

The kids really enjoyed the kids’ club called Splash Academy. My 11 year old daughter says, “the staff is really friendly and the upstairs area for 10-12 year olds felt more like a teen center than the other cruises. It was nice to be separate from the younger kids. They have a lot of activities that gives a chance to interact with a lot of kids. It was easy to make friends.”

 

Great service at all of the bars. We especially liked the Mojito bar and the flights of mojitos (6 for $15) were delicious. I guess the bar staff liked us too because we got chocolate covered strawberries delivered to our room one night from the Bar Department Team.

 

Our first port was St. Maarten and we took a cab to Orient Beach. It is a $7 per person cab ride. After some research, we decided on Orange Fever. Small, a tad dated, but a good set-up with friendly service. A chair, drink and umbrella were $7 per person. Drinks were not expensive and my wife especially loved the passion fruit colada. They also have delicious pizza. We have been to Orient Beach a number of times and we did remind our kids that it is a European Beach (aka topless for some). Not a big deal, but worth noting. There is a fully nude section past the rocks, so be warned.

 

In St. Thomas, we went to Coki Beach ($9 per person cab ride). Coki has beautiful clear water and is a decent snorkel spot. I only say decent because there is not a ton of marine life to see within the first 15 yards of the beach. Coki is near Coral World and I did hear some people on the ship say that they did not enjoy Coral World.

 

In Nassau we did something that we have never done – we didn’t get off of the ship. I love the Bahamas, but don’t love Nassau. Therefore, we enjoyed a quiet day on the ship. No lines for the slides, mostly empty pools, etc. It was relaxing and wonderful.

 

Disembarking: We carried our own luggage off the ship so that we could get off the ship first thing so we could get on the road quickly. Apparently, this is a popular choice. We were downstairs in line by 7:30 am and we had to wait in a very long line with hundreds of people. Not a huge deal but something to be aware of. Going through customs was easy. Once we got off, we headed to the parking garage and paid $140 for the week. A little pricey but it is nice to get in the car quickly and get on the road.

 

Overall, we loved the Getaway and look forward to sailing her again. The ship is very well designed and the entertainment is top notch.

Edited by battweb
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SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana

SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana

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Great review!!! Our 11yr old son has been wondering how the kids club will be and he will be thrilled to hear it's more like a teen area.

 

I am curious about debarkation. What time did you get through customs if you were in line by 7:30? I am trying to plan flights and there is a 10:45 flight at FLL that I'm wondering if we can make on time.

 

 

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battweb

battweb

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we were in line at 7:30 am and were through customs around 8:10 am. If you are pressed for time...get in line early. The line starts near the casino and continues through the casino towards the tropicana room.

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UKLloyd

UKLloyd

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Hey, glad you had a great time and I love the review. Thank you.

 

Me and my partner are travelling over from the UK for the March 14th cruise next year.

My question is, how are the later shows at night in terms of children. We don't mind sailing with families and children at all, but wondered if there is any shows that are "adults only" if you will? Just for some quiet time, if that's the way to put it.

 

Thanks.

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battweb

battweb

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Hey, glad you had a great time and I love the review. Thank you.

 

Me and my partner are travelling over from the UK for the March 14th cruise next year.

My question is, how are the later shows at night in terms of children. We don't mind sailing with families and children at all, but wondered if there is any shows that are "adults only" if you will? Just for some quiet time, if that's the way to put it.

 

Thanks.

 

There are comedy adults only shows in the evenings and some of the games shows are PG-13. Mostly the kids don't attend the late shows as it is - at least in our experiences.

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battweb

battweb

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Where do you dismebark from? We are headed to a Jimmy Buffett concert (yay) right after we get off the ship, so we plan to be in line by 6:45am. Just want to make sure we go to the right place. Thanks!

 

I believe we disembarked from deck 7. They do it in two spots - near O'Sheeans and near Tropicana. Enjoy your concert ... and cruise!

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connolk

connolk

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Great review!!! Our 11yr old son has been wondering how the kids club will be and he will be thrilled to hear it's more like a teen area.

 

I am curious about debarkation. What time did you get through customs if you were in line by 7:30? I am trying to plan flights and there is a 10:45 flight at FLL that I'm wondering if we can make on time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Just my two cents, but I would allow extra time, just in case. 2 years ago we waited over 2 hours to disembark due to a power outage and subsequent slowdown at Customs. I know it's worst case scenario, but you need to allow time for airport security and time limits too.

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ttnc4me Great Review Rare

ttnc4me

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Thank you for your review. Our experience has been with NCL's jewel class mostly.

 

Can you share how you felt about "finding" your kids while they were not with you? Our kids tend to make friends then go about the boat doing their own thing, but it's been fairly easy to track them down at one of ~ 3 or 4 hangout locations. We are considering this boat, but I wonder if it's significantly more difficult to keep in contact with its greater size?

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battweb

battweb

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On your large balcony, what kind of chairs/loungers were provided? Was it two loungers, or four chairs?

 

We just had a table and two chairs. You can request loungers or more chairs from what I understand.

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battweb

battweb

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Thank you for your review. Our experience has been with NCL's jewel class mostly.

 

Can you share how you felt about "finding" your kids while they were not with you? Our kids tend to make friends then go about the boat doing their own thing, but it's been fairly easy to track them down at one of ~ 3 or 4 hangout locations. We are considering this boat, but I wonder if it's significantly more difficult to keep in contact with its greater size?

 

Our kids are typically with us or are in the kids club. That being said, I don't think it would be difficult to track them down. The ship is large, but very easy to navigate. Its easy to meet up with people.

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VanessaM

VanessaM

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Thank you for your review. Our experience has been with NCL's jewel class mostly.

 

Can you share how you felt about "finding" your kids while they were not with you? Our kids tend to make friends then go about the boat doing their own thing, but it's been fairly easy to track them down at one of ~ 3 or 4 hangout locations. We are considering this boat, but I wonder if it's significantly more difficult to keep in contact with its greater size?

 

We used the iConcierge and it was well worth the $7.99! The text come through very quickly. Greatest invention ever! Wish other cruise lines offered something similar.

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ttnc4me Great Review Rare

ttnc4me

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We used the iConcierge and it was well worth the $7.99! The text come through very quickly. Greatest invention ever! Wish other cruise lines offered something similar.

 

News to me. We appreciated the pager system on Disney. I'll certainly go do more research on NCL's version of this!! Thank you.

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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We booked the Large Balcony too...they are only available on deck 9 forward. did you find that to be loud or a poor location due to ship movement or whatever? Also did you find it worth the increase in price over the standard balcony? We think we will use it being our first cruise with small children. any insight appreciated. thanks for the review

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