First time NCL Getaway Review 2/21-2/28

[Mouse's Shadow]

Thanks for your wonderful review. We will be sailing on NCL in Jan. for the first time. How was the bar service while sitting on the sun deck? Are there a good number of servers that come by and take your drink orders, or do you have to go to the bar and get them yourself?

[Mirrasi]

Fantastic review! Can't wait to get on her. And thanks for the tips about plug converters

[MORENAREKE]

I was on the Getaway 21-28 March & had originally planned to sail solo until my friend decided at the last minute to come along.

 

I have an unpredictable work schedule, so I was looking to get away- from cell phones, computers, etc. I probably spent most of my time relaxing on my balcony, sleeping, or watching movies that I had never soon (5 to be exact).

 

Much to my surprise, I did not get in the pool or try out the slides, as I intended. I was not feeling well on Day 3, so I thought it might not be a good idea.

 

We mostly ate at O'Sheenan or Savor/Taste. We went to Flamingo Grill a few times.

 

I stayed away from the buffet after Day 1 because I saw a lady completely ignore the tongs, and there were 4 of them, & she decided to pick through rolls with her hands. So, no more buffet for me. I ordered room service a few times.

 

I probably spent most of my time in the casino at night. This was my 1st cruise where I saw a lot of winning on the slots, so I was excited. A little too excited, as I probably paid several of the crew salaries. Lol! But my losses & winning were probably equal. The smoke was annoying & I dislike when people literally blow smoke in your face. But, most of the smokers were considerate.

 

Our room steward was very nice, & gave us an extra key card to keep the lights & power on.

 

Best prior decision was bringing my own water & soda. For the soda I brought the 8-pack plastic bottles. I usually kept one in my bag/purse, & we took water with us when the visited ports. And I actually passed some out to other cruisers on the beach.

 

The ship was a bit rockier than other cruises, especially the 1st few days. My cruise buddy became ill from the motion on Day 1. The pills from Guest Services did not help. I'll be sure to pack meds for motion sickness for future cruises.

 

Best port was St. Thomas. I enjoyed Coki Beach at St. Thomas.

 

After having unpacked & washed clothes 2 weeks ago, I'm re-packing for the Getaway on 28 March. It is Spring Break time, & I'm bringing along my teenage daughter, & possibly my teenage son.

 

I've cruised on the Dawn, Pearl, & Epic. Although this was the biggest ship I've sailed on, I was disappointed with the customer service. So I'm hoping it is better next time around.

[LeahH]

Thanks salesmansam! Agree 110% about the preparation being a big part of the pre-cruise anticipation! Have fun with the UDP! Everyone has different tastes but I particularly enjoyed Le Bistro and Cagneys, and take advantage of the 20% off at Ocean Blue and Shanghai!

 

Seguetocaribe - yes! The glass noodles were my favorite (I may have managed to eat 4 bowls in 7 days :)

 

Luvnlyfagain - thanks for reading. Have a great time on your cruise!

 

dshongkham - just 3 months to go! Jealous!

 

Calmpets - thanks for the kind words. I couldn't get enough reviews to read before we cruised and I'd pour over them to find tips and useful information. I figured I'd try to make it all a little easier to read!

 

Mouse's shadow - I only sat out a couple of times and I found a super quiet spot on Deck 16 so I can't really comment about bar service. Sorry! There are large bars around the main pool area and in H20 and I know Vibe has a private bar. Maybe someone else can comment?

 

Mirrasi - thanks for your comments! Having the extra socket was great when we had 2 iphones, 2 ipads, 1 kindle and a camera to charge not to mention my hair straightening irons ;)

 

Morenareke - that's rude that someone just took bread without tongs. We grabbed breakfast or lunch quite a few times in the buffet and I was impressed with all of the hand sanitation/hand washing sinks but I guess it only takes one rude guest who doesn't follow the rules...how fun to be going away again later this month! I was very happy with the customer service in all of the restaurants and with our room steward. I wish there had been more staff behind the bars though!

[muffy168]

Going on the Getaway in 2 weeks. thanks for the review. Can shorts and jeans be worn in main complimentary dining rooms every night? thanks

[WoodsDrive]

Thanks for the excellent summary. We are taking the Getaway in May and it was very helpful.

[ShannonSC2]

Thanks Leah for a great review. We will be on the Getaway April 4th. I am excited and ready for 3 sea days.

 

Your pictures were great.

[A Libra]

I will be on the Getaway May 16th and your review is one of the best reviews I have ever read. Thank you so much for all your hard work in putting this review together. We were on the Epic in The Haven last October and came across a great review by KJE Atlanta of The Haven area for anyone staying there. Your tips and suggestions are the best!

[JKSWonder]

Thank you so much for this review! We will be sailing on the Getaway, our first cruise with Norwegian, in April 2016. I just copied and pasted your tips into a word doc I'm compiling to help me with the planning. Very helpful stuff there.

[Becky50]

Thanks for the informative review and the tons of suggestions. I took quite a few notes. We are sailing on our second cruise on Sunday. So excited!

[DreamingBig1]

Hey david_sobe! Loving your review, agree it's fun to read about someone else's experience on the same ship at the same time!

Thanks Love2Travel4, you'll have a blast in October!

Seguetocaribe - thanks and sorry for any confusion, hopefully you saw the edit about the UBP gratuities, I guess it is included and I wasn't looking at our onboard account correctly!

Thanks for reading PathfinderEss!

Salesmansam - have an amazing vacation! I would definitely get tickets for the Illusionarium on your first night with the UDP. There was nothing wrong with La Cucina and I know others have really enjoyed it, I personally thought Cagney's, Le Bistro and Ocean Blue were better. You could also double up on two restaurants in one night if you really wanted to! We spoke with a few people with UDP who would make an early reservation at one specialty restaurant and then a later one at another!

Mirrasi - the card room is just that! A room for playing cards, it's next to the library. It was a cute little room with people playing all sorts of fun card games

 

Day 3 - At Sea (Monday)

 

Freestyle Dailies - I'm just posting the essential info pages with the times

 

Does the Getaway rock/have excessive movement?

I've seen a bunch of people posting and asking about the rocking/motion on the Getaway. You obviously knew you were moving/sailing but it wasn't a bad feeling at all. My husband gets really seasick and he took a precautionary Dramamine on Saturday but didn't bother for the rest of the week. It was a little choppy/windy the first day and that's when we felt the most movement but it really wasn't an issue.

Probably the weirdest thing was being back on land on Saturday, if I moved too quickly I felt slightly disoriented like we were still sailing! I believe this is fairly common.

 

Some of the most choppy waves (no rocking, rolling or seasickness):

 

I found this quick snap showing our larger balcony (Cabin 8136) from the shuffleboard place on Deck 7. It was really great to have the larger space with the 2 loungers but the balcony wasn't super private as people above could look down. No big issue but just a heads up.

 

Lunch at Shanghai Noodle Bar

From top left to right - Glass noodles with chicken and vegetables in broth, spicy Singapore noodles, Beef Chow Fun, the cute little ordering pads, fried pork potstickers (you get 3 per order but I ate one before remember to take a picture!) and shrimp dumplings

• Shanghai is in a slightly weird location, it's on deck 7 sort of at the back of the casino and opposite Bar 21 and it's not super atmospheric (you're kind of right next to a bunch of blackjack tables and can hear the slot machines) but we REALLY liked it!
  
• I'd heard that you should skip the apps as they were "frozen" but I think pretty much everything is frozen on the boat and they were actually pretty tasty.
  
• The pork potstickers were our favorites, you can get them steamed or fried and there are 3 per order
  
• The shrimp dumplings were OK, a little heavy/gluey
  
• The noodles - oh so good!!! A couple of times on the cruise I felt myself just feel so bloated and heavy from all of the food we were eating and that was when I'd go to Shanghai for a bowl of Glass noodles in fragrant chicken broth with mushrooms (the ones beginning with s - CC is assuming I'm typing a curseword and changing it to ****ake!) and bamboo shoots. I'd always ask for a little hot chili sauce on the side to boost the heat. It's the perfect light meal (surprisingly filling) and also a good late morning option if you've had a couple of cocktails too many the night before (easy on your tummy!)
  
• Not pictured but just as delicious - the Peking shrimp and chicken stir fried noodles and the Shrimp fried rice
  
• Everything is in the $3.00-4.50 range so a generous lunch for 2 would come in at maybe $20 and then you'd get 20% off so $16 tops
  
• I was only sad that Shanghai (and Wasabi) weren't open for lunch when we were docked (only open for lunch when at sea) and it would also have been great if they were open later. A couple of times we'd head to bed around 1am and there would have been nothing better than a bowl of the noodle soup!
  
• Being in the middle of the casino it's not exactly romantic or intimate but it's a great place to people watch or sit at the counter and watch the food being prepared in big sizzling woks
  
• Shanghai would be in my list of "must-eat" places next time!
  

 

Casino:

• If we're up to Day 3 then I should probably mention the casino
  
• I'm a small time gambler - maybe $20 on roulette or $50 if I'm feeling crazy
  
• We both signed up for Players Club cards once the casino opened (free and they then track your play on both slots and tables)
  
• My Husband likes to play blackjack (Hello Mark & Lois!) and he played a little each morning and also after dinner.
  
• The dealers we met and also the pit bosses were all incredibly friendly
  
• Tip your dealers! Especially if they give you good advice on what "the book" would say!
  
• I was trying to make sense of the Player Club Guide and suggested we just check in at the Player Club counter (next to the cashier) to see how many points he had after the first few days
  
• The lady behind the desk couldn't have been nicer. She offered him a drinks package (but we already had UBP) so then she offered a free dinner at a specialty restaurant (but we already have UDP), she then suggested perhaps lunch at Wasabi or Shanghai (we'd already eaten at them both at this time) and then she asked if we had plans to go to Ocean Blue. Yes! We had a reservation for the following night. She said they'd take care of dinner and wine for us which was a nice little perk (Ocean Blue is not included in the UDP, it's $39.99/head but you get a 20% discount with UDP)
  
• Ocean Blue plus wine plus the Raw Bar menu was a WAY better deal than lunch at Shanghai or Wasabi...more on that later
  
• The casino is located on Deck 7 and is bang in the middle of the ship (presumably to catch you as you go from one end to the other)
  
• At times the smell of cigarette smoke was a little more noticeable than others but it wasn't too bad. I'm fairly sensitive to the smell of smoke and it didn't bother me. It also seemed confined to the casino area and I didn't notice it elsewhere. The only time I really noticed it was back in the cabin when I was packing up clothes that had been worn when we'd been in the casino for a few hours, you could smell a faint cigarette smoke on them
  
• There are a bunch of slot machines and stuff like Wheel of Fortune, Deal or No Deal
  
• Black Jack tables abound, I think the lowest minimum was maybe $6 and then there were $15, 25, 50 and in the high roller room it was usually $100
  
• Helpful tip (we didn't find out about this until the second to last night) - in the casino there's a little late night snack area (free) with cheese cubes, fruit and hot snacks (tiny deep fried spring rolls with dipping sauce on this specific night). You don't have to be playing to go make yourself a little plate. Just don't try to eat AT the table.
  
• There was a real mix of people playing. Usually the roulette table would be fairly full but they'd open the second one if you asked nicely. Just like David_sobe I saw the same guy playing #17 obsessively on roulette. He mentioned that he brought $12k on board and currently owed the ship $25k - ouch!
  
• The casino is only open when you're sailing - they have to be 3 miles out in US waters and have left port in other locations. I think they usually shut down an hour or so before docking.
  
• I'm jumping ahead but I'll keep all of the casino stuff in one place so on the last night we notice a big sign saying "Redeem your playing points before 10pm" we didn't know what this meant so figured we'd check in with the lovely Players Club lady again. She reviewed our account for a good 10-15 minutes and refunded back around $1200 to "offset our losses" and also gave us a business card for one of the Casino At Sea people in case we want to cruise again.
  

 

Dinner at Cagney's

• We'd heard so much good stuff about Cagney's that I made our reservation early in the week so we could eat there again later if it was as good as everyone said.
  
• There's a bar just outside inbetween Cagney's and Moderno where we had a pre-dinner drink.
  
• I ordered a "Sparkling Garden" and it was pretty great - St Germain, sparkling wine and fresh rosemary. Interestingly I'd tried to order one of these earlier at Bar 21 and the bartender made a face and said it wasn't very good. He insisted he'd make me "something special" which turned out to be mostly vodka and orange juice which I thought was a little strange. This happened a couple of times with different cocktails at different bars - I suspect it was due to the understaffing of the bar and the bartender trying to avoid running around to find fresh rosemary and make a complicated cocktail.
  
• The dining room was darker and atmospheric
  
• Our server was fabulous, friendly and accommodating
  
• We ordered from the wine list (by the glass due to the UBP). I stuck with the Sparkling Garden and my parents/husband enjoyed the Wolf Blass Shiraz with dinner
  
• The food was great. If you're a steak fan then I'd definitely recommend making a reservation here.
  
• Appetizers were very enjoyable, the Wagyu sliders are kind of filling so maybe split them or don't plan on eating both!
  
• My 5oz filet was perfectly cooked (there's also a 10oz filet option)
  
• My dad's 12oz ribeye didn't quite look 12oz but he enjoyed it
  
• The sides are fairly small but you can order as many as you like so go nuts!
  
• There were 4 of us and I think we got 2 gratin potatoes (divine! must must must order these), 1 Cagney fries (truffle and parmesan - tasty), 1 sauteed mushrooms (we probably should have ordered 3 of these there were so great) and I think an onion rings and mac n' cheese. I'd heard that some people thought the mac n' cheese was dry but this wasn't the case with ours, it was good and cheesy and nicely creamy (I hate it when the sauce splits and you have a big pool of oil at the bottom but this didn't happen)
  
• We actually skipped dessert because we were all so full but they looked amazing
  

 

From top left - a "sparkling garden" with fresh rosemary (highly recommend), the jumbo crab cake, Wagyu sliders, shrimp cocktail, 5oz filet with Bearnaise on the side, Shrimp pasta, 12oz ribeye and a bunch of sides.

 

Next up will be:

Day 4 - St Maarten (Maho Beach), a visit to the spa, Ocean Blue, fireworks and Howl in the Moon

Day 5 - St Thomas and Teppanyaki plus O'Sheehans food and bowling and The Grammy Experience

Day 6 - Le Bistro and the Ice Bar

Day 7 - disembarkation, final thoughts and copy and paste of my giant list of tips I made from previous Getaway reviews.

Feel free to comment/ask questions :)

 

Awesome review!! Incredibly detailed! Love it!!

 

Question: is the Shanghai noodle bar included with the UDP?

[abitcloudy]

Awesoe review! Thanks so much for all the tips and tricks you compiled too!

[LeahH]

DreamingBig - Sadly no, Shanghai is one of the A la carte restaurants (along with Wasabi and Ocean Blue) so not part of UDP although UDP gets you 20% off. Prices at Shanghai were very reasonable - ~$3-4 for appetizers and ~$5 for noodles and rice dishes.

[DreamingBig1]

DreamingBig - Sadly no, Shanghai is one of the A la carte restaurants (along with Wasabi and Ocean Blue) so not part of UDP although UDP gets you 20% off. Prices at Shanghai were very reasonable - ~$3-4 for appetizers and ~$5 for noodles and rice dishes.

 

Thanks!

[GonzoWCS]

WOW a fantastic, concise review. Thanks for this. We are looking forward to our trip on this ship in May!

[destiny217]

Really nothing left to say except Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

 

As all the previous posts have said everything I was thinking, I'll just add my thanks. We will be cruising in May and appreciate all the hard work you put into this review. We will be using all the info you have organized for us. It's been a few years since we have cruised on NCL, so I needed to do some homework and finding your review was like hitting a jackpot.

 

Take Care & Keep Cruising (and writing reviews).

[martyandjanice]

I really wanted to try a "Skyjuice" but we couldn't find anywhere as we walked (ah well, just have to go back!)

Ok, what is Sky Juice??

Edited March 24, 2015 by martyandjanice

[CruisinJamma]

Thank you so much for your review, Leah! My husband and I are really excited for our first cruise, and your review/tips/suggestions have us even more excited. Thanks again for your effort :)

[rogue 35]

"I really wanted to try a "Skyjuice" but we couldn't find anywhere as we walked (ah well, just have to go back!)

"

 

 

What is Skyjuice?

 

Thanks for the great review.

 

Funny, I guess I'm not the only one that was peaked by that part. :)

Edited March 25, 2015 by rogue 35

[LeahH]

Thanks all for the comments! I found other reviews super helpful in the run up to our cruise so thought it only fair that I post one and then copy and paste all of the other helpful info I found!

 

From Wikipedia:

Sky juice is a Bahamian cuisine beverage combining coconut water or coconut milk, condensed milk or evaporated milk, and alcohol (especially gin but rum can be used as a substitute). Nutmeg and cinnamon can spice it up

 

There was a Greek restaurant in the little downtown area of Nassau that offered wifi and skyjuice but I wasn't sure how authentic it would be, I assumed we'd find somewhere else but we didn't. Never mind, gives us a reason to go back!

[Tzitza]

AMAZING review! I am counting down to my first cruise ever the September and this thread is awesome!!! I am going to have reread it a few times to digest all the good info. :D

 

Thanks again!

[nbsjcruiser]

[*]Helpful tip: look at your cruise documents to see which terminal you should board at. We got out of our taxi only to realize we were terminal B and my parents were terminal C - not to worry, just a short walk.

[*]We'd printed out our bag tags (and taped extra copies to the side of our luggage) and tipped the porter well.

[*]We arrived around 11:15am and stood in line for maybe 15-20 minutes. There are separate boarding areas for Haven guests, Casino at Sea and Latitudes members (we were not any of these so general boarding for us).

[*]It was fascinating to see people not prepared to board - they'd get to a check-in agent and then start rummaging in their bags for their documents.

[*]You need your cruise documents, your passports and a credit card.

 

Looking forward to your pictures. We have this ship picked for next February.

 

One small note, you don;t need a credit card. A cash account is all you need.

[pretykym]

By far the best review I've read here on CC!!!

[Loucat]

Incredible pics; some of the best ever on CC.

Thanks so much! I want to go to the Noodle Bar!

[sandy1754]

Thanks for the Great Review !!!!! We are going in May and now can't wait !!! Thanks again for your work doing it !!!!!