Getaway Review - We Are Back !!

[Winchester Ranger]

So it is that we arrived back on Getaway just yesterday after 7 wonderful days of Caribbean cruising. Before continuing with my posting I feel it necessary to point out a few things to potential readers:

 

1. This review is "Haven Heavy", actually it's VERY Haven Heavy, the reason will become apparent, so if you aren't interested in the Haven......

2. This is more of a travelogue than a QA review of every shipboard amenity, so if you don't like LENGTHY and often tangential travelogues.......

3. This will be a warts and all type article, so if you're one of those people who takes personal offence at any NCL critique (however slight) or if you are one of those posters who actually works for NCL........

 

And so on with the show.

 

A few basic facts, there were just 2 of us, myself and my DW. We had a Haven Penthouse suite on deck 16 forward, starboard side. The reservation gave us both the UBP and UD options free of charge. Out concierge was Anoop (correctly pronounced Anup), our butler was Flor, our steward was S'opi, and then there was Joyce the bartender and our adorable bevvy of waitresses - Rose, Michelle, and the positively effervescent Estela.

 

I posted an earlier thread about our boarding experience and initial lunch in the Haven while we were still docked in Miami (and while I still had cellphone reception), so I won't bore you with all those details again - suffice to say that we were EXTREMELY impressed with the boarding process, albeit the VIP version.

 

The Haven Penthouse Suite - rather a grand name for what is a very nice but hardly amazing stateroom. It was very well laid out, my DW was especially grateful for the separate dressing table area while I appreciated the simple but effective safe and the balcony which was adequate but not exactly "Penthousey" in nature. Our suite was right by the flying bridge that the bridge crew use for docking and that was quite an experience in itself as I could clearly see them manipulating the controls to maneuver Getaway into harbor. Very cool and I can assure you very videoed. The toilet was on occasion a little recalcitrant, and those occasions were always the ones when you really NEEDED it to flush. There was a certain knack to it, and once mastered it was never forgotten.

 

The staff - Anoop was simply a polished professional. Confident, polite, and capable. For those asking about his own personal itinerary, he has another 7 weeks on Getaway, then 2 months of vacation back in India, and then a return to Breakaway as their Haven concierge sailing on the New York route, I promised him that I would post this for his legions of fans. He gave us an unrequested refund on The Illusionarium (after self and DW bailed early - see below) and then a refund on our St.Thomas eco hike when we also bailed on that, at less than the mandatory 24 hours notice I might add, because of the heat and humidity. Suffice to say that I liked and admired him immensely and it was obvious that the junior staff regarded him with a certain amount of awe and an even larger amount of respect. Ok who's next, let's keep the pecking order intact and go with Flor our butler. A diminutive and very polite little lady who tended to our every need and request, she missed nothing. We ate breakfast in our room every day except one and she was on time to the minute every single time, and the order was correct every single time as well - she made zero mistakes and was invariably polite and smiling. I will however add that she was, at least to my eye, very jaded and often tired. I got the impression that in spite of her superb personal work standards she was simply going through the motions and for want of a better phrase was somewhat oblivious to the passing of each week's guests - I quickly assessed her as being burned out, and this half-baked theory was later evidenced by her revelation that she was approaching the end of 8 months of straight work and was just one month away from freedom and a trip home to the Phillipines to see her kids. Good luck and god bless Flor you badly need and have so clearly earned that rest dear lady. Then there was Joyce, simply a very nice bartender in the Haven who always mixed drinks in a precise and highly formulaic manner - this was fine with me as I appreciate consistency. Then Rose who was the very young and very sweet maitre D' complete with braces that did nothing to dim her smile. Rose was invariably happy and bubbling, and would always yell hello to us from way across the room. Then there was Michelle who I liked very much, and who unbelievably was actively teased by the other girls for weighing in at a "huge" 120 pounds instead of their more typical 110 pounds, I simply adored her - and courtesy of several Peach Collins cocktails was foolish enough to tell my wife that if a shark made a snack of her at Orient Beach then I would be taking Michelle home with me - this situation was not aided when Michelle appeared in the bar and promptly gave me a neck massage, a neck that was later at risk of being broken by my wife.......Finally there was Estella, I may have adored Michelle but Estella was my favorite. Married and with her husband on board she was tragically beyond the reach of this salacious old man, but her personality was as genuine as it was infectious, and on the last day when she grabbed me in a goodbye bear hug she came very close to squeezing tears out of me, and I don't cry, even at Lassie movies. These girls are very special, their bonhomme and energy does not come from an NCL instruction book, it comes from the heart, if it had been fake I am confident I would have seen right through it because let's just say that I have to interview a lot of people in my line of work and I am paid to spot fakes. Last and not least there was S'opi our steward, no matter what time of day or night I was in that passageway he was there working and always with a smile - he may have been at the bottom of the totem pole, but he set a pretty high bar for the others to remain above.

 

The Food - here's where the tone will shift, at least slightly. On night #1 we dined in Ocean Blue and both had our absolute favorite dish - Dover Sole (the same meal we had the night before at a restaurant on land in fact). This Sole was fresh and cooked to absolute perfection, but it was covered in a meuniere sauce that tasted like it had been wrung out of a postman's sock and paired somewhat incongruously with curried rice of all things, the seared broccoli was strangely sweet and rounded off a very awkward threesome (did I really just type that ?). Suffice to say that it simply didn't work for either of us. Night #2 was Le Bistro where we were positioned at a table in a blind corner that left us feeling as if we were dining in a closet - the situation was not improved when we ordered the "Ribeye for 2" and were served with the fattiest, chewiest, most unpalatable ribeye it has been my displeasure to munch on. I almost succumbed to an episode of Steakhouse Syndrome (look it up) and we bolted for the door. Finally and with a sigh of resignation we dined in the Haven restaurant - and found perfection. From the simple beet salad, to the superb filet de bouef, to the delicious chicken with polenta, to the mushroom ravioli, the only true fine dining to be found on Getaway, or at least the only fine dining we could find, was at the Haven - and it was Michelin Star good. We were going to try Cagney's but honestly after our first meal in the Haven we canceled everything else.

 

Okay, time for me to take a breather - if anyone has reached this far and has any interest in my highly subjective ramblings about the rest of the ship and the ports of call, then sing out and I'll make an additional post. Hope the above was at least mildly amusing, and above all happy cruising.

[SissasMomE]

It's a shame you didn't try the MDR. The Chateaubriand was a perfect medium rare, as well as the rack of lamb!

 

Did you meet Bong?

 

Glad you had a good time! Write more!! :D

[Sabiney]

I can't sing, but I'd love to read more of your review! Thank you for reporting back on Anoop. It'll be great to see him again on Saturday.

 

Ok, patiently waiting for more.

 

Pat

[Medtech2]

glad to know the haven restaurant is so good! so what happened at the illusinarium?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[Greenesailor]

Enjoying your review!

[lfk60]

We'll be in a Haven aft Penthouse in January and would love to hear more of your experience.

 

Thanks!

Edited May 12, 2014 by lfk60

[PCLMassachusetts]

As someone who also has "to interview a lot of people in my line of work and I am paid to spot fakes", I am thoroughly enjoying your review so far, as well as your writing style. I can't wait to read more so keep it coming!

[david_sobe]

Welcome home.

Cant wait to read more. I don't like the Haven penthouses. You get much more bang for the buck in a forward or aft penthouse. They look like a standard balcony cabin with a few upgrades. Totally amazing that you had BOTH the UBP and UDP when you booked. That is a home run.

Anoop is very good and he helped us out last year on Epic with many things.

Edited May 12, 2014 by david_sobe

[ks]

Loving your review. Cannot wait to read more. Do you know who will be replacing Anoop?

[maja651]

Enjoying your review! Which penthouse were you in (#)? We will be in cabins 16712 and 16714 in 34 days and I just wonder if your cabin was close to ours.

 

I am also very pleased to hear about the Haven restaurant, as we plan to eat morst meals there as well.

 

Looking forward to reading more! :)

[SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana]

We sail her in the Haven in June 7th. We have an aft penthouse corner Haven suite 11308.

 

This will be our first NCL cruise so not sure what to expect. We have sailed other lines many times.

 

What was the Haven pool area like? Crowded? Quiet? Over run by chair hogs? Perfect? How did it compare to the main pool areas on board?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Winchester Ranger]

Let me see if I caught all the questions:

 

1. I looked for Bong at the Sunset Bar but only saw a different bartender.

 

2. Sorry, no idea who will be replacing Anoop.

 

3. Illusionarium explanation will be below.

 

4. Our suite number was 16704 - and although the Penthouse Suite lacked a certain something and really was just a souped up balcony room as someone correctly pointed out, we loved it mostly for the location. Deck 16 forward is SO quiet, no stomping feet at night, no music from the nightclub, and our balcony was completely private with a large double window on either side before the next balcony. Like I said, we loved it.

 

Speaking of which, a little about "us".......

 

I'm afraid we love our privacy, this can make us look a little aloof at times, something that wasn't aided by us dressing up for dinner every night with my wife in a sparkly cocktail dress and me in a suit or tuxedo with us then compounding the image by engaging in quiet but giggly private chit chat. One of the other Haven guests finally reached a breaking point after my wife jumped in the plunge pool following a sauna session and was promptly buttonholed with the following question "are you 2 really married ?" - the question was posed with an absence of humor, they were serious. Evidently you are not supposed to yearn each others exclusive company to such a degree after 16 years of marriage - well I'm afraid it's a case of mea culpa, mea maxima culpa because you see I rather like her. I explain this otherwise self-indulgent fact for 2 reasons, firstly if any of our fellow cruisers are reading this I want them to know why we didn't engage in the drinking parties at the bar or pull our tables over to merge with yours because we didn't like you, and secondly because our love of privacy may explain some of our other more unusual decisions of which more below (see Illusionarium story).

 

It's just how we are I'm afraid, I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with us.

 

Ok - on with the story and please remember that this is a very personal journal, you don't have to agree with it - it isn't necessarily right or wrong, for the most part it just "is". ;)

 

The Ship - as we strode up to her we fell in love with her size and shiny new appearance, the artwork while at first a little garish really grew on us at each stop, especially as it made her stand out when she was berthed alongside other ships. The RCCL ship (darned if I can remember her name) that was berthed alongside us looked very tired and scruffy by comparison with rust and ugly scars down her rather dirty looking flanks, all the more significant as RCCL is regarded as an elite line - I had no desire to trade ships from what I saw.

 

Now here's the controversial part - we were shocked at how small and crowded she felt on the inside, sort of a reverse Tardis for any Doctor Who nerds out there. I'm used to ships having a grand atrium right at the boarding point, complete with colored glass and sky elevators running right to the top of the ship in a huge open deck area amidships. Getaway doesn't have that. Matters became a little more gloomy as we explored the main decks (6,7,and 8) - when a stroll from the forward elevators came to an abrupt halt after what seemed like a distance of less than half the ship. We never did quite figure it out, but it seemed like the deck layout had cut the ship in 2 with all the interesting stuff crammed in the front part resulting in 3,000 passengers all jostling for very limited space - this is the first time we have ever felt crowded on a cruise. We put this down to a) our advancing years b) our aforementioned "privacy issues" and c) our plainly unrealistic expectations. But then we heard other guests in the Haven saying the exact same thing, and adding (as we ourselves had) that they had no further desire to leave the Haven area. It was fast becoming obvious to us that this really was 2 ships, but only one of them was truly wonderful. Matters worsened one night when the doors to the forward elevators were sealed on deck 6 (I think) for some type of entertainment event forcing us to jostle through the crowds to get to the steps up to deck 7, only to find that some genius had chosen that night to do the family photographs on the glass stairways thereby blocking those off as well - gulp, we couldn't get "home". In the end we blushed our apologies and barged through the middle of a large latino family complete with wailing babies that was assembling itself on 10 sequential glass steps - our barging also earning us the chagrin of the photographer who muttered some oaths in our general direction and eyed us with acute distaste.

 

The Haven - I know, I know, here it is, my annoying favorite subject. So I covered the dining options earlier - but I should summarize further as there were also some tables on the "pool" deck, plus in-suite dining which we limited to breakfast and then one additional night when we got the munchies and ordered a pizza (not exactly haute cuisine but just $5 and surprisingly large), and then of course the Haven restaurant itself. If you haven't figured out yet that you really should eat in there all the time then my earnest ministrations have been a dismal failure. One early question I asked before cruising was about how they controlled access and whether it was enforced (especially as one poster on here had goaded Haven guests by saying that he delighted in "hopping the fence" to eat their canapés). On Getaway, access can be obtained via an etched glass door on deck 15 immediately adjacent to the gym and Mandara spa with steps up to deck 16 where the main amenities are located, and another solid access door on deck 16. While it is possible to "piggy-back" in by following another guest, I personally witnessed what happened when one over-inquisitive guest thought he would do just that and try his chances. He was stopped at the top of the stairs from deck 15 by Anoop who must have radar, because the guy never even reached the concierge desk let alone the Haven area proper - I faked an untied shoelace and eavesdropped on the following brief conversation between our valiant concierge and the interloper:

 

"Hello sir, how may I help you?".

 

"Err, I just thought I'd take a look around".

 

"I see, well this is the Haven area which is reserved for our suite guests".

 

"Well, err, can I just take a look around".

 

"I'm afraid not sir, but I'd be happy to escort you out".

 

And with that, off they marched.

 

Your key card will be platinum colored and you will need it to gain access at either door. It is easily recognized and on one occasion when I tossed it onto a Craps table (for player identification - I decided to play in spite of NCLs shaved odds) both dealers delighted in bursting into a well practiced verse of "Haven, I'm in Haven, and my heart beats so that I can.....etc, etc" - funny.

 

One other thing - all the Haven staff are given a list of names and your photo for each week, i.e. they get to know you very quickly. My jaw hit the table on day #1 after having boarded just 10 minutes prior when the delightful and aforementioned Estella walked over to me and asked "Hello Sir Michael, would you like a slider" - my head whirled with visions of the Queen's sword touching me lightly on each shoulder closely followed by the vain hope that "slider" was a code word for something a lot more enjoyable than a small cheeseburger - sadly it was not. Anyway, you get the idea - they will know you, and they are very observant.

 

Entertainment and Excursions - ok so the Illusionarium story, keep our "privacy issues" at the back of your mind. We assembled at the appointed hour with all the other hopefuls by the Concierge desk and Anoop took us down in the service elevator directly to the Illusionarium, we had already planned dinner elsewhere as we heard the food was pretty bad down there but wanted to see the show. They give Haven guests priority seating and we were penned up in a short hallway filled with fascinating objets d'art ranging from small animal skeletons to antique microscopes - very cool for a science nerd like me, and we were encouraged to go through the drawers to look at the other stored items. Finally they threw open the doors and in we marched, my wife in the lead - I swear we both froze simultaneously, all we saw was bench seating at glorified picnic tables with a few large booths scattered around the back of the gloomy room. We exchanged one glance, and then one shake of the head, and immediately reversed course and made for the exit - King Henry VIII style BBQ seating isn't for us I'm afraid. Unfortunately we had neglected to tell our uniformed guide who finally caught up with us back at the elevators, and we felt genuinely terrible at how upset she looked when we told her that it just wasn't "our scene". We ran into Anoop back in Haven (of course - they miss nothing) and he immediately refunded our money even though we didn't ask. We skipped the other entertainment options as well.

 

Now the excursions - we had booked 2, Orient Beach on St. Maarten and the Eco Hike on St. Thomas. We dutifully boarded the bus for Orient Beach but advised our tour guide that we would be leaving independently (I know, it's a trait of ours) as we wanted to see the famous airport with the jets landing directly over the beach. My wife sunned herself for a couple of hours while I sat drinking beer at the bar and practiced my French on the bartender, something that fell somewhat flat when I mixed up "homme" with "femme" thus asking him if he had a boyfriend, a fact that became readily apparent courtesy of the expression on his face. I really should have gone for a swim, but it was incredibly hot and humid and the barkeep advised me that the heat had really kicked in that day, at least he did when he got over me suggesting that he was "on the other bus". The taxi ride out to the airport was all the more entertaining courtesy of a plainly deranged taxi driver called Scottie - this particular Scottie didn't want to talk about Dilithium crystals or warp drive, but he did want to explain to us where the "N word" originated from and delighted in using it more than a rapper's convention. I secretly videoed him and if I pluck up the courage I may post his semi-lucid ravings on YouTube. Anyway I saw the beach, took video of people being blown off the beach fence when a KLM 747 series 400 blasted down the runway, and taped an American Airlines 757 landing just a few feet over the top of the sunbathers - pure paradise for an aviation nerd like me, less so for my patient wife. So back to the ship through some of the worst traffic jams I have ever seen, St. Maarten has BIG traffic problems, the number of cars for such a small island is quite ridiculous. Meanwhile Scottie proved that he wasn't entirely crazy by ripping me off on the taxi fare - oh well, I guess that makes him an entrepreneur.

 

On our return to the ship we witnessed a lady passed out at the gangplank being loaded into a wheelchair. I felt bad for her and chatted with her while we waited for the elevator - get plenty of fluids, stand on one leg and cough, wink at a Seagull, that sort of thing. Poor dear, I really did feel bad for her and it helped us decide that hiking through the sub-tropical flora at St. Thomas probably wasn't such a good idea hence us canceling the Eco Hike.

 

At Nassau we hopped a taxi ($12 there became $40 on the way back - locals, sigh) and had lunch at Atlantis while looking at the incredible yachts with the incredible people sipping incredible cocktails on them. Suddenly Haven didn't seem all that special. And so back to the ship, back to Miami, and back to the airport.

 

Work tomorrow, I am actively considering suicide - suggestions appreciated.

 

Hope you enjoyed the ramble :)

Edited May 12, 2014 by Winchester Ranger

[Winchester Ranger]

We sail her in the Haven in June 7th. We have an aft penthouse corner Haven suite 11308.

 

This will be our first NCL cruise so not sure what to expect. We have sailed other lines many times.

 

What was the Haven pool area like? Crowded? Quiet? Over run by chair hogs? Perfect? How did it compare to the main pool areas on board?

 

 

 

Essentially deserted around the pool during our cruise just a few sun worshippers and remember there is also an upper deck that was even more deserted, I wouldn't give it a second thought, just remember that the Haven "pool" area isn't really a pool, just a plunge pool for the sauna and those strange 3 inch pools with loungers in them - even the hot tubs barely saw any use when we were there. But - I would imagine that situation changes drastically during the kids school vacation periods, avoid those like the plague.

 

You'll love it, guaranteed.

[lfk60]

We sail her in the Haven in June 7th. We have an aft penthouse corner Haven suite 11308.

 

This will be our first NCL cruise so not sure what to expect. We have sailed other lines many times.

 

What was the Haven pool area like? Crowded? Quiet? Over run by chair hogs? Perfect? How did it compare to the main pool areas on board?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the aft suites!

[Sara_smile]

Nice review

Curious if you did any research on Getaway before booking. You sounded disappointed by the ship and no atriums, etc. I cant imagine how fussy the concierge must have thought you were because you had to sit with other passengers to watch a magic show. Anoop gives you pick of the litter seating and it is chairs not benches. But to each their own.

[Jenjer]

Wonderful review thank you very much for sharing.

 

We leave in 18 days and can not wait.

[LrgPizza]

Thank you for the review!

[SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana]

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the aft suites!

 

Yes!! I do plan to do a full review once we are back mid June :)

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to load pics on this site so if you know or anyone else, please tell me. It used to be that you went through another picture website to post but I am not sure if they have improved upon that or not. I'm pretty computer savvy and sometimes I couldn't even figure it out a couple of years ago.

[Barb Nahoumi]

So it is that we arrived back on Getaway just yesterday after 7 wonderful days of Caribbean cruising. Before continuing with my posting I feel it necessary to point out a few things to potential readers:

 

1. This review is "Haven Heavy", actually it's VERY Haven Heavy, the reason will become apparent, so if you aren't interested in the Haven......

2. This is more of a travelogue than a QA review of every shipboard amenity, so if you don't like LENGTHY and often tangential travelogues.......

3. This will be a warts and all type article, so if you're one of those people who takes personal offence at any NCL critique (however slight) or if you are one of those posters who actually works for NCL........

 

And so on with the show.

 

A few basic facts, there were just 2 of us, myself and my DW. We had a Haven Penthouse suite on deck 16 forward, starboard side. The reservation gave us both the UBP and UD options free of charge. Out concierge was Anoop (correctly pronounced Anup), our butler was Flor, our steward was S'opi, and then there was Joyce the bartender and our adorable bevvy of waitresses - Rose, Michelle, and the positively effervescent Estela.

 

I posted an earlier thread about our boarding experience and initial lunch in the Haven while we were still docked in Miami (and while I still had cellphone reception), so I won't bore you with all those details again - suffice to say that we were EXTREMELY impressed with the boarding process, albeit the VIP version.

 

The Haven Penthouse Suite - rather a grand name for what is a very nice but hardly amazing stateroom. It was very well laid out, my DW was especially grateful for the separate dressing table area while I appreciated the simple but effective safe and the balcony which was adequate but not exactly "Penthousey" in nature. Our suite was right by the flying bridge that the bridge crew use for docking and that was quite an experience in itself as I could clearly see them manipulating the controls to maneuver Getaway into harbor. Very cool and I can assure you very videoed. The toilet was on occasion a little recalcitrant, and those occasions were always the ones when you really NEEDED it to flush. There was a certain knack to it, and once mastered it was never forgotten.

 

The staff - Anoop was simply a polished professional. Confident, polite, and capable. For those asking about his own personal itinerary, he has another 7 weeks on Getaway, then 2 months of vacation back in India, and then a return to Breakaway as their Haven concierge sailing on the New York route, I promised him that I would post this for his legions of fans. He gave us an unrequested refund on The Illusionarium (after self and DW bailed early - see below) and then a refund on our St.Thomas eco hike when we also bailed on that, at less than the mandatory 24 hours notice I might add, because of the heat and humidity. Suffice to say that I liked and admired him immensely and it was obvious that the junior staff regarded him with a certain amount of awe and an even larger amount of respect. Ok who's next, let's keep the pecking order intact and go with Flor our butler. A diminutive and very polite little lady who tended to our every need and request, she missed nothing. We ate breakfast in our room every day except one and she was on time to the minute every single time, and the order was correct every single time as well - she made zero mistakes and was invariably polite and smiling. I will however add that she was, at least to my eye, very jaded and often tired. I got the impression that in spite of her superb personal work standards she was simply going through the motions and for want of a better phrase was somewhat oblivious to the passing of each week's guests - I quickly assessed her as being burned out, and this half-baked theory was later evidenced by her revelation that she was approaching the end of 8 months of straight work and was just one month away from freedom and a trip home to the Phillipines to see her kids. Good luck and god bless Flor you badly need and have so clearly earned that rest dear lady. Then there was Joyce, simply a very nice bartender in the Haven who always mixed drinks in a precise and highly formulaic manner - this was fine with me as I appreciate consistency. Then Rose who was the very young and very sweet maitre D' complete with braces that did nothing to dim her smile. Rose was invariably happy and bubbling, and would always yell hello to us from way across the room. Then there was Michelle who I liked very much, and who unbelievably was actively teased by the other girls for weighing in at a "huge" 120 pounds instead of their more typical 110 pounds, I simply adored her - and courtesy of several Peach Collins cocktails was foolish enough to tell my wife that if a shark made a snack of her at Orient Beach then I would be taking Michelle home with me - this situation was not aided when Michelle appeared in the bar and promptly gave me a neck massage, a neck that was later at risk of being broken by my wife.......Finally there was Estella, I may have adored Michelle but Estella was my favorite. Married and with her husband on board she was tragically beyond the reach of this salacious old man, but her personality was as genuine as it was infectious, and on the last day when she grabbed me in a goodbye bear hug she came very close to squeezing tears out of me, and I don't cry, even at Lassie movies. These girls are very special, their bonhomme and energy does not come from an NCL instruction book, it comes from the heart, if it had been fake I am confident I would have seen right through it because let's just say that I have to interview a lot of people in my line of work and I am paid to spot fakes. Last and not least there was S'opi our steward, no matter what time of day or night I was in that passageway he was there working and always with a smile - he may have been at the bottom of the totem pole, but he set a pretty high bar for the others to remain above.

 

The Food - here's where the tone will shift, at least slightly. On night #1 we dined in Ocean Blue and both had our absolute favorite dish - Dover Sole (the same meal we had the night before at a restaurant on land in fact). This Sole was fresh and cooked to absolute perfection, but it was covered in a meuniere sauce that tasted like it had been wrung out of a postman's sock and paired somewhat incongruously with curried rice of all things, the seared broccoli was strangely sweet and rounded off a very awkward threesome (did I really just type that ?). Suffice to say that it simply didn't work for either of us. Night #2 was Le Bistro where we were positioned at a table in a blind corner that left us feeling as if we were dining in a closet - the situation was not improved when we ordered the "Ribeye for 2" and were served with the fattiest, chewiest, most unpalatable ribeye it has been my displeasure to munch on. I almost succumbed to an episode of Steakhouse Syndrome (look it up) and we bolted for the door. Finally and with a sigh of resignation we dined in the Haven restaurant - and found perfection. From the simple beet salad, to the superb filet de bouef, to the delicious chicken with polenta, to the mushroom ravioli, the only true fine dining to be found on Getaway, or at least the only fine dining we could find, was at the Haven - and it was Michelin Star good. We were going to try Cagney's but honestly after our first meal in the Haven we canceled everything else.

 

Okay, time for me to take a breather - if anyone has reached this far and has any interest in my highly subjective ramblings about the rest of the ship and the ports of call, then sing out and I'll make an additional post. Hope the above was at least mildly amusing, and above all happy cruising.

 

Great review. I chuckled about your comparison to a postman's sock, since I am a retired postal person.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Have you ever sailed on the Pearl, It had a very nice Atrium area.

[SissasMomE]

I understand how you can feel "compressed" on the Getaway. We met friends in 2012 on our Epic roll call, and have sailed with them ever since. They felt the same way you did. In fact, so did my teenage daughter. They felt the ship was "narrow". Your description of it being compressed is probably a better word. They prefer the layout of the Epic better. I had no problem with the layout of the Getaway. Each ship is different, but I most certainly do appreciate and understand your description! Also, the picture taking on the stairs outside of Le Bistro ... geez, why would they do that? I saw more than a few people try to get up and down those stairs while pictures were being taken. Just a bad idea and location for photos!

 

PS - My husband and I are the same way as you and your wife. It's one of the reasons we sail NCL - we don't want to sit with others, and we definitely prefer our own company to other people. We have been together for 24 years. :-) Enjoy what you have - it's rare! We feel very blessed ;-)

Edited May 12, 2014 by SissasMomE

[Terpsince74]

Great review! I am thinking about doing the same exact thing in St Maarten on my July cruise. Orient Beach in the early am, then a taxi ride over to Maho Beach to check out the planes landing and taking off. How long does the cab ride take to get from Orient to Maho? Also how much time would you give yourself to get back to the ship in the afternoon given the traffic jams are so bad? Being a DC guy sounds like I will be right at home on the Beltway ughh! Thanks in advance!

 

 

Let me see if I caught all the questions:

 

1. I looked for Bong at the Sunset Bar but only saw a different bartender.

 

2. Sorry, no idea who will be replacing Anoop.

 

3. Illusionarium explanation will be below.

 

4. Our suite number was 16704 - and although the Penthouse Suite lacked a certain something and really was just a souped up balcony room as someone correctly pointed out, we loved it mostly for the location. Deck 16 forward is SO quiet, no stomping feet at night, no music from the nightclub, and our balcony was completely private with a large double window on either side before the next balcony. Like I said, we loved it.

 

Speaking of which, a little about "us".......

 

I'm afraid we love our privacy, this can make us look a little aloof at times, something that wasn't aided by us dressing up for dinner every night with my wife in a sparkly cocktail dress and me in a suit or tuxedo with us then compounding the image by engaging in quiet but giggly private chit chat. One of the other Haven guests finally reached a breaking point after my wife jumped in the plunge pool following a sauna session and was promptly buttonholed with the following question "are you 2 really married ?" - the question was posed with an absence of humor, they were serious. Evidently you are not supposed to yearn each others exclusive company to such a degree after 16 years of marriage - well I'm afraid it's a case of mea culpa, mea maxima culpa because you see I rather like her. I explain this otherwise self-indulgent fact for 2 reasons, firstly if any of our fellow cruisers are reading this I want them to know why we didn't engage in the drinking parties at the bar or pull our tables over to merge with yours because we didn't like you, and secondly because our love of privacy may explain some of our other more unusual decisions of which more below (see Illusionarium story).

 

It's just how we are I'm afraid, I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with us.

 

Ok - on with the story and please remember that this is a very personal journal, you don't have to agree with it - it isn't necessarily right or wrong, for the most part it just "is". ;)

 

The Ship - as we strode up to her we fell in love with her size and shiny new appearance, the artwork while at first a little garish really grew on us at each stop, especially as it made her stand out when she was berthed alongside other ships. The RCCL ship (darned if I can remember her name) that was berthed alongside us looked very tired and scruffy by comparison with rust and ugly scars down her rather dirty looking flanks, all the more significant as RCCL is regarded as an elite line - I had no desire to trade ships from what I saw.

 

Now here's the controversial part - we were shocked at how small and crowded she felt on the inside, sort of a reverse Tardis for any Doctor Who nerds out there. I'm used to ships having a grand atrium right at the boarding point, complete with colored glass and sky elevators running right to the top of the ship in a huge open deck area amidships. Getaway doesn't have that. Matters became a little more gloomy as we explored the main decks (6,7,and 8) - when a stroll from the forward elevators came to an abrupt halt after what seemed like a distance of less than half the ship. We never did quite figure it out, but it seemed like the deck layout had cut the ship in 2 with all the interesting stuff crammed in the front part resulting in 3,000 passengers all jostling for very limited space - this is the first time we have ever felt crowded on a cruise. We put this down to a) our advancing years b) our aforementioned "privacy issues" and c) our plainly unrealistic expectations. But then we heard other guests in the Haven saying the exact same thing, and adding (as we ourselves had) that they had no further desire to leave the Haven area. It was fast becoming obvious to us that this really was 2 ships, but only one of them was truly wonderful. Matters worsened one night when the doors to the forward elevators were sealed on deck 6 (I think) for some type of entertainment event forcing us to jostle through the crowds to get to the steps up to deck 7, only to find that some genius had chosen that night to do the family photographs on the glass stairways thereby blocking those off as well - gulp, we couldn't get "home". In the end we blushed our apologies and barged through the middle of a large latino family complete with wailing babies that was assembling itself on 10 sequential glass steps - our barging also earning us the chagrin of the photographer who muttered some oaths in our general direction and eyed us with acute distaste.

 

The Haven - I know, I know, here it is, my annoying favorite subject. So I covered the dining options earlier - but I should summarize further as there were also some tables on the "pool" deck, plus in-suite dining which we limited to breakfast and then one additional night when we got the munchies and ordered a pizza (not exactly haute cuisine but just $5 and surprisingly large), and then of course the Haven restaurant itself. If you haven't figured out yet that you really should eat in there all the time then my earnest ministrations have been a dismal failure. One early question I asked before cruising was about how they controlled access and whether it was enforced (especially as one poster on here had goaded Haven guests by saying that he delighted in "hopping the fence" to eat their canapés). On Getaway, access can be obtained via an etched glass door on deck 15 immediately adjacent to the gym and Mandara spa with steps up to deck 16 where the main amenities are located, and another solid access door on deck 16. While it is possible to "piggy-back" in by following another guest, I personally witnessed what happened when one over-inquisitive guest thought he would do just that and try his chances. He was stopped at the top of the stairs from deck 15 by Anoop who must have radar, because the guy never even reached the concierge desk let alone the Haven area proper - I faked an untied shoelace and eavesdropped on the following brief conversation between our valiant concierge and the interloper:

 

"Hello sir, how may I help you?".

 

"Err, I just thought I'd take a look around".

 

"I see, well this is the Haven area which is reserved for our suite guests".

 

"Well, err, can I just take a look around".

 

"I'm afraid not sir, but I'd be happy to escort you out".

 

And with that, off they marched.

 

Your key card will be platinum colored and you will need it to gain access at either door. It is easily recognized and on one occasion when I tossed it onto a Craps table (for player identification - I decided to play in spite of NCLs shaved odds) both dealers delighted in bursting into a well practiced verse of "Haven, I'm in Haven, and my heart beats so that I can.....etc, etc" - funny.

 

One other thing - all the Haven staff are given a list of names and your photo for each week, i.e. they get to know you very quickly. My jaw hit the table on day #1 after having boarded just 10 minutes prior when the delightful and aforementioned Estella walked over to me and asked "Hello Sir Michael, would you like a slider" - my head whirled with visions of the Queen's sword touching me lightly on each shoulder closely followed by the vain hope that "slider" was a code word for something a lot more enjoyable than a small cheeseburger - sadly it was not. Anyway, you get the idea - they will know you, and they are very observant.

 

Entertainment and Excursions - ok so the Illusionarium story, keep our "privacy issues" at the back of your mind. We assembled at the appointed hour with all the other hopefuls by the Concierge desk and Anoop took us down in the service elevator directly to the Illusionarium, we had already planned dinner elsewhere as we heard the food was pretty bad down there but wanted to see the show. They give Haven guests priority seating and we were penned up in a short hallway filled with fascinating objets d'art ranging from small animal skeletons to antique microscopes - very cool for a science nerd like me, and we were encouraged to go through the drawers to look at the other stored items. Finally they threw open the doors and in we marched, my wife in the lead - I swear we both froze simultaneously, all we saw was bench seating at glorified picnic tables with a few large booths scattered around the back of the gloomy room. We exchanged one glance, and then one shake of the head, and immediately reversed course and made for the exit - King Henry VIII style BBQ seating isn't for us I'm afraid. Unfortunately we had neglected to tell our uniformed guide who finally caught up with us back at the elevators, and we felt genuinely terrible at how upset she looked when we told her that it just wasn't "our scene". We ran into Anoop back in Haven (of course - they miss nothing) and he immediately refunded our money even though we didn't ask. We skipped the other entertainment options as well.

 

Now the excursions - we had booked 2, Orient Beach on St. Maarten and the Eco Hike on St. Thomas. We dutifully boarded the bus for Orient Beach but advised our tour guide that we would be leaving independently (I know, it's a trait of ours) as we wanted to see the famous airport with the jets landing directly over the beach. My wife sunned herself for a couple of hours while I sat drinking beer at the bar and practiced my French on the bartender, something that fell somewhat flat when I mixed up "homme" with "femme" thus asking him if he had a boyfriend, a fact that became readily apparent courtesy of the expression on his face. I really should have gone for a swim, but it was incredibly hot and humid and the barkeep advised me that the heat had really kicked in that day, at least he did when he got over me suggesting that he was "on the other bus". The taxi ride out to the airport was all the more entertaining courtesy of a plainly deranged taxi driver called Scottie - this particular Scottie didn't want to talk about Dilithium crystals or warp drive, but he did want to explain to us where the "N word" originated from and delighted in using it more than a rapper's convention. I secretly videoed him and if I pluck up the courage I may post his semi-lucid ravings on YouTube. Anyway I saw the beach, took video of people being blown off the beach fence when a KLM 747 series 400 blasted down the runway, and taped an American Airlines 757 landing just a few feet over the top of the sunbathers - pure paradise for an aviation nerd like me, less so for my patient wife. So back to the ship through some of the worst traffic jams I have ever seen, St. Maarten has BIG traffic problems, the number of cars for such a small island is quite ridiculous. Meanwhile Scottie proved that he wasn't entirely crazy by ripping me off on the taxi fare - oh well, I guess that makes him an entrepreneur.

 

On our return to the ship we witnessed a lady passed out at the gangplank being loaded into a wheelchair. I felt bad for her and chatted with her while we waited for the elevator - get plenty of fluids, stand on one leg and cough, wink at a Seagull, that sort of thing. Poor dear, I really did feel bad for her and it helped us decide that hiking through the sub-tropical flora at St. Thomas probably wasn't such a good idea hence us canceling the Eco Hike.

 

At Nassau we hopped a taxi ($12 there became $40 on the way back - locals, sigh) and had lunch at Atlantis while looking at the incredible yachts with the incredible people sipping incredible cocktails on them. Suddenly Haven didn't seem all that special. And so back to the ship, back to Miami, and back to the airport.

 

Work tomorrow, I am actively considering suicide - suggestions appreciated.

 

Hope you enjoyed the ramble :)

[kimala]

Work tomorrow, I am actively considering suicide - suggestions appreciated.

 

DONT do it,,, Do what I'm doing( just off same cruise as you) Start planning another one! That is the only known cure for PCD ( post cruise depression)

[youngestof9]

Enjoying your review. I just wanted to throw in a comment about Anoop - I have no idea how he does it. I actually believe he has a few clones. He was our concierge on Epic and every time I turned around, he was there and helping everyone with everything. We called him the Ninja - he would swoop in, solve problems, swoop out - like a ninja. And all with a smile and professionalism. Amazing.

 

Loved the ramble!

[DrNora]

I just finished reading your most delightful review. I am a tad confused. I do believe that you are my husband. The style of writing, the humor and the comments about together time are all Niles. Except that we have the three teenagers.

You added many tidbits to my growing list of Getaway fun and not-so fun facts. A bit sad about the toilets, even sadder about the bench seating at the Illusionarium. I pictured chairs. Oh well. Better to be forewarned. Glad to hear that the Haven dining is yummy. With all the chaos surrounding the UDP and "'yipee- I can eat I all 6 places in one night" we have dreaded the thought of even making a reservation and then having to try and change it if our plans changed.

 

Thank you so much, W. Ranger for sharing with the rest of us.

 

 

Nora