Carnival Breeze or Norwegian Getaway?

[hartskys]

We have mostly cruised with Carnival and a few times with Royal but our last cruise we noticed the Norwegian Getaway in port in Miami. What is the differences between both lines?

[pe4all]

After several (16 in a row) cruises with Carnival, we tried the NCL Breakaway. (sister ship to Getaway.) We found the change refreshing! NCL is - believe it or not - more "lax" in their dress code than Carnival. There are no formal/elegant nights. We enjoyed the free-style cruising, and found the buffet had a nice/different selection of food. I swore I would never pay for dining, but enjoyed the Ultimate Dining Plan. One dining room is more formal than the other (has live music/dancing) and you have to wear a nicer outfit for that one - no suit/tie/cocktail dress, though. Just cruise casual. No shorts/flipflops/tanks/tees. The entertainment was a nice change also. Howl at the Moon (their dueling piano bar) was fantastic, as was the Second City improv shows they had. They have a Cirque show, and I think that ship has Legally Blond as their Broadway show. (we saw Rock of Ages and Burn the Floor on Breakaway). They have live music throughout the ship, along with a calypso "band" on Lido. Also loved their ropes course. Nicer than Breeze, with a zip line! (Make sure you "walk the plank - crazy scary!) And their drop slides were great, also!

Their cabins seem a bit smaller than Carnival, but we had a "large" balcony cabin, and it was fine for 3 of us. (balcony was larger than CCL's.) Service was good, and we enjoyed it so much we just sailed the Gem 2 weeks ago, and have Epic for this Christmas. (CCL Splendor for Feb.) I would give Getaway a try. Change is good!

[Cruising4]

Our most recent 2 cruises have been on NCL, most recently the Epic. I just booked the Breeze for President's week over the Getaway; simply for the ports (Aruba, Curacao, Grand Turk).

 

We love freestyle on NCL, even their "formal nights" are called "dress up, or not". No need to bring formal clothes or even "nice" clothes. Which is great, especially with kids. Like pe4all said, there are two dining rooms - one with a nicer dress code. Shows on NCL are really good, but usually require reservations. NCL will issue you a pager if there is a wait for the dining room.

 

Looks like the buffet on NCL is better, especially for dinner. They serve the dining room menu at the buffet and I'm reading the buffet on the Breeze for dinner is not as abundant.

 

The balcony on Getaway are teeny (from my research) and we spend a lot of time on the balcony. Booked a cove on the Breeze.

 

Cannot figure out why NCL doesn't put 3 banks of elevators on the large ships! It wasn't the walk or the wait but the PACKED elevators, constantly.

 

Unlimited beverage program on NCL isn't available during spring break season.

 

Now I'm re-thinking my Breeze choice but I have to go with Aruba/Curacao over St.T/St.M.

 

If you can afford the haven ... DO IT!

[kwazi07]

After several (16 in a row) cruises with Carnival, we tried the NCL Breakaway. (sister ship to Getaway.) We found the change refreshing! NCL is - believe it or not - more "lax" in their dress code than Carnival. There are no formal/elegant nights. We enjoyed the free-style cruising, and found the buffet had a nice/different selection of food. I swore I would never pay for dining, but enjoyed the Ultimate Dining Plan. One dining room is more formal than the other (has live music/dancing) and you have to wear a nicer outfit for that one - no suit/tie/cocktail dress, though. Just cruise casual. No shorts/flipflops/tanks/tees. The entertainment was a nice change also. Howl at the Moon (their dueling piano bar) was fantastic, as was the Second City improv shows they had. They have a Cirque show, and I think that ship has Legally Blond as their Broadway show. (we saw Rock of Ages and Burn the Floor on Breakaway). They have live music throughout the ship, along with a calypso "band" on Lido. Also loved their ropes course. Nicer than Breeze, with a zip line! (Make sure you "walk the plank - crazy scary!) And their drop slides were great, also!

Their cabins seem a bit smaller than Carnival, but we had a "large" balcony cabin, and it was fine for 3 of us. (balcony was larger than CCL's.) Service was good, and we enjoyed it so much we just sailed the Gem 2 weeks ago, and have Epic for this Christmas. (CCL Splendor for Feb.) I would give Getaway a try. Change is good!

You saw Burn the Floor!!! They are great, some of them perform it Busch Gardens Tampa and a saw them at a performing arts center near me. If they are on Getaway, that is tempting me.

[pe4all]

You saw Burn the Floor!!! They are great, some of them perform it Busch Gardens Tampa and a saw them at a performing arts center near me. If they are on Getaway, that is tempting me.

They don't put on the full show - about 1 hour, if I remember correctly. Just looked up what entertainment is on Getaway: Legally Blonde the musical, Burn the Floor, Illusionarium (supposed to be outstanding!), Levity Entertainment group (guess they took over Second City), Wine Lovers the musical, Grammy Experience. Forgot to mention they also have Fireworks display which is fun to watch from the decks. Itinerary is very important when we book a cruise. Having been to so many of the ports so many times now, we now find that the ship we are on is almost becoming more important, as we stay on the ship in many of the ports (Nassau, St. Thomas, SJ, etc.) and get to use the slides, ropes course, pools, and other activities without any lines.

[jakesnana]

We have mostly cruised with Carnival and a few times with Royal but our last cruise we noticed the Norwegian Getaway in port in Miami. What is the differences between both lines?

 

We have sailed with Carnival ALOT (we are platinum), RCCL about 6 times and NCL about 6 times (most recently this past March on the Epic, but have been on the Breakaway also).

 

I would sail on the Getaway in a heartbeat :) The experience is totally different from Carnival, not better or worse, just different.

 

NCL INVENTED Freestyle dining (or anytime dining) and they have it worked out to a science. If you are a "traditional dining" person, NCL will not be for you. I LOVE the 24 hour bistro, the entertainment, and the activities areas on the upper decks. If you can get the Getaway for a price anywhere near Carnival, go for it.