Back from the Getaway sailing on 30 May 2015

[antas901]

We were on the Getaway May 30th to the Eastern Caribbean. "We" is a little hard to define as there were 21 of us traveling together. But primarily, "we" is me, my GF and my two daughters (17 and 16). The majority of the group had some sort of balcony cabin (BA or BC), there was one Ocean view (OA) and one "Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse with Large Balcony" (H6).

 

Embarkation

We flew into Fort Lauderdale and stopped for massages (my GF and I have massage memberships and I treated my daughters to their first massages). Getting massages as we start our vacations helps us relax and start the vacation at ease. :)

We finished the massages and there was a grocery store nearby. I got a case of water for my room, and a case of water and a 12-pack of Coke for my parents. I taped on the Getaway luggage tags and they were treated like the rest of the luggage.

Since I knew we were getting massages, we rented a car to get us from FLL to the port of Miami. Thankfully, my company gets a great deal with a major rental car company and the cost of the rental car (including taxes) was less than the cost of four transfers.

We took the rental car to the NCL terminal, unloaded our luggage with the curbside porters, tipped him and took the rental car to the return location about 5 minutes away. We dropped off the car, the rental car shuttle brought us right back to the NCL terminal and we were in line just before 1:00. The line was long, but went pretty quickly.

 

Cabin(s)

Our cabin, 14230 was fine. The balcony is small: two chairs and a small table (that often served as a footrest). This was cruise number 9 for me and this was the smallest cabin that I've been in (smaller than the Royal Caribbean cabins which seemed smaller than the Carnival cabins). I liked the room and I got used to the size fairly quickly. It was small, but it didn't seem cramped. I thought having only the two power outlets would be a problem, so I bought some outlet adapters which allowed for three items to be plugged in at once. The design of the outlet adapters only allowed one to be plugged in at a time (both of them wouldn't physically fit at the same time). It turned out we really only needed one of the adapters. We charged our phones at night and in outlet without the adapter, we had a night light. We also brought some electronic tea lights which also helped with the lighting at night.

My daughters' cabin 14270 was the same size just farther back on the ship. It was next door to my parents' cabin 14272, the Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse. My mother thought the cabin was "narrow" but they cruise a lot and in pretty nice accommodations so she wasn't impressed but I was! The living room was spacious and their living room TV was significantly larger than the TV in our room. I was surprised that there were two bathrooms (both with showers). The balcony was roomy with lounge chairs and a table.

The ocean view cabin in our group was an accessible room (13700). It was wide and was what that passenger needed. The only drawback that they mentioned was that when the cabin stewards have their carts in the hallway, her walker couldn't fit down the corridor. Another passenger rented a motorized scooter and mentioned the same trouble navigating around the cabin stewards' carts.

 

Restaurants

Everyone in our group had the UDP and we tried all of the venues included in the package. The first night we went to the Illusionarium. The "host" was a bit cheesy but as I explained to my daughters, I think his part was so you could eat your food and get settled before the magicians got going. I liked the show. The magicians were good. I've seen complaints about the food and it wasn't the best meal on the ship but it was good. The shrimp was the best that I had on the ship! The steak was okay - I wouldn't rave about it and I can't complain either. To be clear, I ate it and enjoyed it but there are other (better) steaks onboard. Since this was included as part of the UDP, I'm probably more forgiving than if I'd paid additional for it.

Day 2 was Moderno. Many/most of the group thought this was the best dinner on the ship. I liked that they were able to seat all 21 of us together (all of the restaurants did). I liked Moderno. The beef ribs were my favorite but most of the group loved the Picanha. The pineapple dessert was amazing! I think we ate as much pineapple as we did meat :)

Day 3 was Teppanyaki. Our group of 21 squeezed in together. While I thought it would seem crowded, I was comfortable. My GF and DD (16) love Japanese Steakhouses and we've been to them on land more times than I can count. The soup and salad were good but not what we were used to so that seemed odd. The sauces that accompany the meal were not what we were used to either (not bad; just different). The performance by the chefs was one of (if not the best) I've seen. The only one that comes close was a place in Puerto Rico that had my daughters come behind the grill and try to toss the raw egg with the spatula. They didn't do the "open flame" tricks that I've seen on land - I guess there's a problem with open flame on an enclosed ship ;) Excellent performance! The portions were huge. I think more people left with food from here than any other restaurant.

Day 4 - Le Bistro (early). My mother thought the venue wouldn't accommodate our large group so we didn't make the large reservation for this restaurant. I wanted my daughters to try it (it's not often that they get French cuisine). My GF hated (and I mean HATED) the escargots. My daughters and I have had them before so that wasn't a new experience for us. This was the best lobster that I had on the ship. My DD (16) said her pork tenderloin was the best meal she had on the ship. We joined the entire group in Savor for dinner later that night. I'm probably not the best judge of the food in Savor because I was stuffed from Le Bistro. But the others were pleased, but not overly impressed.

Day 5 - Cagney's. We'd heard that Cagney's was good so we planned to come on the 5th night and again on the last night. Everything was great...everything. The appetizers, the salad, the soup, the side dishes were great. The ribeye was seasoned so well and simply wonderful. This was my favorite restaurant on the ship.

La Cucina was Day 6. I heard not-so-good reviews on Cruise Critic and from one of the passengers on the ship. In the spirit of full disclosure, I ordered a lobster pasta dish that was not good at all. Fortunately, I was with other people and I was able to taste their dishes. The wait staff was accommodating brought me a replacement entree which was delicious!

Day 7; the final dinner. 15 people in the group wanted to go back to Moderno. 6 of us wanted to go back to Cagney's. We already had reservations at Cagney's because we planned that before we sailed. It was no problem reducing that reservation down to 6. Fortunately, the Haven passengers get pretty much anything they want and when my mother called the Maitre D he said "you can have as many people for whatever time you would like." My second meal at Cagney's was out of this world! My GF got the filet but she said she preferred the ribeye that she had the other night at Cagney's.

 

Other dining

We never ate at the Flamingo Grill. My GF grabbed a pastry on the way back from the pool one day and she liked that. We had lunch in Taste on the first sea. We shared some nachos and fish and chips. We liked them both. We only had breakfast in the main dining rooms once (on the last sea day). We preferred the breakfast in the Garden Cafe (mainly because of the made-to-order omelets). The Noodle Bar appetizers (pot stickers, shrimp dumplings and spring rolls) were okay. I would have been disappointed if these were for an additional fee. My GF and I didn't stay for the main course (fried rice) but my DDs stayed and enjoyed it. We left because my GF wanted to wash her hair before dinner, not because of the food or service :)

O'Sheehan's was good for a snack. The only complaint with O'Sheehan's was the service. No matter what time you went or where you sat, the service seemed really bad :( Everyone in the group had the same experience. One afternoon, the assistant maître d' from Le Bistro was working/directing things in O'Sheehan's. She recognized me and I asked her if she could help us order. Before I was fully seated in my chair the waiter was standing next me, ready to order. The food came fast and it was the best service that we had there!

Wasabi. I didn't try this personally, but members of my group did and they enjoyed it. I make my own sushi so I'm really (and I mean really) picky about sushi and I didn't think I'd enjoy the selections that they had. Again, the eight members of our group that tried it liked it very much.

Carlo's Bake Shop. My DD (17) is very picky about food. When I saw that my DD (17) went to Carol's Bake Shop twice, I expected great things. I wasn't a fan. We had a carrot cake cupcake and a vanilla cupcake. The carrot cake was inferior to the carrot cake from the Garden Cafe :( The vanilla cupcake was just okay.

 

Bars & Casino

My GF was excited about the Ice Bar. If you really want to go, I suggest making reservations. We thought we could just walk up and go in. We tried that one night and they were booked until later than we wanted (I think it was going to conflict with our Legally Blonde show). We did get reservations for the last night and it was an interesting experience. The limited drink menu is all pre-mixed. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but drinks topped with soda shouldn't have the soda pre-mixed (it loses the "fizz"). I suspect they pre-mix the drinks because the sodas and juice would freeze on their own.

O'Sheehan's bar seemed to serve the weakest drinks. The other bars seemed to give a generous portion of alcohol.

The casino seemed to have a smoking section and a non-smoking section. But that didn't seem to matter as the smell of smoke seemed to make its way to both sides and downstairs. If we walked deck 6 (past Le Bistro) we could smell the smoke. If we took deck 8 to get to the front of the ship, we didn't smell the smoke.

 

Shows

We saw the Illusionarium which was good. We saw Burn The Floor which we also enjoyed. My father thought it was "so-so" while my mother wanted to see it again if it was available. Legally Blonde was very much like the movie. If you liked the movie, you'll probably like the show. We had to rush from Cagney's to get to the show and we arrived moments before the show started. This was a good thing because there was a section roped off for Haven guests who didn't come. So as we were walking in, the staff was removing the ropes for the reserved Haven seating and we got really good seats (even though we were really) late :)

The band, Groove International played several nights (Motown one night, Reggae another night, Pop music another night). One night, the headliner from The Grammy Experience (I forget her name) did a couple of songs with them. We decided to see her in The Grammy Experience. It was interesting because we left the Glow Party (incredibly high energy, huge crowd) and went to see her in The Grammy Experience and it was maybe 15 people in the venue. Her music seemed more "country western" and the atmosphere was slower and really mellow; night and day from the Glow Party). :)

 

Shore excursions

Each cruise I've taken my DDs on, we've done something "special/unique". First cruise we swam with dolphins, the next cruise we got jet skis and parasailed, and their third cruise we did underwater scooter. This time I was running out of ideas. Fortunately someone showed me a video of flyboarding and I found a company in St. Thomas that offered it. I don't swim but 7 group members, including my DDs and GF did it and loved it!!!!!

Tortola didn't interest me. Those that did a tour through the ship (Best of Tortola and Tortola Land and Sea) were unimpressed. One group member went with a driver for a lengthy tour that she loved! The tour lasted about for hours and covered the island. She said it cost $15. My daughters and cousins their age took a taxi to the beach and didn't stay long because it was crowded. My GF and I walked around the area near the ship and bought my customary shot glass and other trinkets.

In Nassau we arranged for parasailing. My GF had not done it and I thought she'd like it. Again, the tour with the ship was sold out and I booked through the company I used the last time I was in Nassau. However, the tour conductor never showed up. There was another family of four that was scheduled to go out with us and we waited for over an hour for tour conductor who never showed up. He didn't answer his phone and the people at the marina said they had not seen him all day. Fortunately, there's many other vendors selling the same services and the eight of us that got stood up were able to go out with another company. Fun times :) Now, I need to get my deposit back from that first vendor!

 

Miscellaneous

We could see the fireworks from my parents' Haven Aft-facing balcony. It was short, but fun to see fireworks at sea.

Photos - the photographers take your room number and your printed photos are placed in a folder that you can view. You can also swipe your card and view the photos on a monitor. Strangely, when we swiped our card, there were photos of people we didn't know grouped in with our photos. Some passengers were surely saying "where are our pictures from ____?" I'll just say, ask the photographer to repeat your room number so that your photos get assigned to the right room. Also, ask the photographer to see your photo immediately after he takes it. If you don't like it, he can take another one for you.

Bingo was fun but seemed more expensive than I remembered from previous ships. The woman sitting on our row won a free cruise and it was cool that she was really excited.

The fitness center was kind of small. I went early 7-ish and all of the cardio machines were full by the time I leave. The jogging "track" is in a high traffic area. You'd have to get there really early to avoid running into people.

The ropes course and plank were great. The zip line was pretty cool too. My GF is afraid of heights and she did the ropes course, plank and zip line! The water slides were amazing. The "Free fall" water slides were a blast!

We didn't have the UBP but my parents and another couple did. My parents don't drink much but it was included as part of their Haven cabin. The husband in the other couple is one of those guys that would never admit to making a mistake but I got the impression that he would have come out better buying individual drinks. He said that he only needed to drink three drinks a day to get his money's worth. I didn't bother correcting him on the math. :) He seemed to like it.

 

Disembarkation

Same as other cruises; put your luggage out the night before and in the morning, they disembark in groups by the color of your luggage tag. You get to pick your luggage tag so you can pretty much decide when you'll get off the ship.

 

Final Thoughts

I loved it. The shows were good, the food was great, the service was excellent. Before sailing, I saw that people had been on this ship more than once. I thought "this is a new ship. Why are people repeating this ship so soon?" Now, after sailing, I know why! You can't do it all in seven days! In fact, when I finish posting this, I'm going to check on the Breakaway and Escape. I'm not a fan of the NCL itineraries but this ship is worth the trip.

Feel free to ask any questions...

[kjquilts]

Thank you for your very comprehensive review. Glad you enjoyed the Getaway - she is our favorite of the many Norwegian ships we've been on. It is great they were able to seat so many of you together for dinners.

 

There is so much to do and it looks like you hit most of the highlights :) Groove International was great - really enjoyed their various shows in the atrium. Hoping there will be good evening musical talent on our 14 night cruise on the Dawn this fall.

[micday3]

Thank you, loved reading your review.

 

I have a question about St. Thomas

 

"Fortunately someone showed me a video of flyboarding and I found a company in St. Thomas that offered it. I don't swim but 7 group members, including my DDs and GF did it and loved it!!!!!"

 

Could you share what company you used? Thanks!

[Sand and Seas]

Thanks for your great review! We love the Getaway too and have an upcoming cruise on her. Reading your review increases our anticipation :D

[antas901]

Thank you, loved reading your review.

 

I have a question about St. Thomas

 

"Fortunately someone showed me a video of flyboarding and I found a company in St. Thomas that offered it. I don't swim but 7 group members, including my DDs and GF did it and loved it!!!!!"

 

Could you share what company you used? Thanks!

 

I contacted two companies and decided to go with http://stthomasflyboarding.com/

The other company didn't return my email :( They did try to call once, but I'm on conference calls all day and I can't take a personal call. The staff at St. Thomas Flyboarding was great!

[Tiggertastic]

Lovely Review thanks, so pleased you enjoyed the cruise

[Ladytee47]

Your review was GREAT!! and such detail!! I will be on the Getaway June 20th can't wait!!:D

[MandyMommyof2]

Loved reading your review!!!! :) We sail in less than a month now :D

[GoCoastal]

I am not concerned about the rate, but can you share what can rental you used? I haven't seen many reviews about easy car rentals, and that is what we would prefer!

[antas901]

GoCoastal,

 

We used Hertz. Picked up at Fort Lauderdale and dropped off at the location in Miami (2nd Street).

[tbreeden]

Great Review Looks like I have the same cabin category as you had. Did you like being on the 14th floor? or would the 13th or 11th been better.