NCL Getaway Sept. 19th Eastern Caribbean Review

[aubreyc1988]

Debarkation morning was relatively smooth - sweetpea_1993 and her husband graciously offered to take us to Fort Lauderdale, because we had at 8PM flight out of FLL. They needed to leave early, so we got up around 6am and were out of our room by 6:30. They already had a self disembarkation line that was super long and even went through the Casino.

 

Since we only had two backpacks, no toting around luggage was nice, but it’s always sad to leave a cruise!

 

Summary

 

So here are my thoughts on dining, entertainment, service on this Getaway cruise. Keep in mind that I am not rating some entertainment venues, like Burn the Floor. Legally Blonde, Illusionarium, because I did them on my first Getaway cruise and did not them on this Getaway cruise

 

Dining

 

Buffet: 8/10

I thought the buffet was really good. Always something to eat, good variety, about as good as you could expect from buffet food. It was interesting comparing cruise buffets to the Vegas Buffets we recently tried (Aria/Bellagio/Luxor) and we found this buffet to be better than the Vegas ones we’ve tried. I give it 8/10 instead of 10/10 because the ice-cream machine needs better hours.

 

O’Sheehan’s: 9/10

I LOVE this venue! The food is usually SO good and piping hot when it arrives. Very prompt service most of the time, never experienced a terrible wait. I felt like the desserts at this O’Sheehan’s were not as good as the ones I got on the Jewel, only negative I can think of.

 

Taste/Savor: 5/10

Nothing wrong with it, but nothing outstanding either. We ate there two times, service was speedy and good. We just weren’t impressed with any of the dishes we ordered. Just OK.

 

Noodle Bar: 10/10

SO great this is offered for free now. It was usually full most evenings and there is a bit of a wait sometimes to get in, but delicious food and service.

 

LeBistro: 9/10

I love LeBistro - food is always delicious, and service is great, I just wish they would better communicate that if you need a last minute reservation, you can ask to be seated outside! If you go to the reservations desk, they will tell you they are “Sold Out” but I don’t think they count the outside bistro tables, so always go up to the actual LeBistro desk and ask if they have openings and state you will be willing to sit outside.

 

Cagney’s: 10/10

Great food and great service in my experience. Very good value, amazing menu choices. Prepared to be very full after you leave here! Try the Speakeasy martini!

 

Entertainment:

 

Headliners Comedy: 7/10

Wish they had more different shows instead of repeats, but good comedy and tasteful! The bar service here is very good and they make a mean chocolate martini.

 

Getaway Theatre 7/10

I wish they actually did more daytime events in the theatre instead of the atrium. I love the seats and the drink holders and the chairs are comfortable!

 

Howl At The Moon: 8/10

It can be hit or miss different nights with song choices, but normally is so much fun, especially with friends and a few drinks.

 

Game Shows: 8/10

CD staff had good energy and the game shows were entertaining to watch.

 

Service: 9/10

Service was outstanding. Bar service was crazy good, couldn’t believe how fast these bartenders work. I wish I saw my room steward more, but might have not really been his fault as I wasn’t in my room a lot. I also appreciate a lots of towel animals, but not a big deal. Really no complaints in this area.

 

So there you have it, folks, my Getaway review! Hope you enjoyed it and feel free to ask any questions.

 

[HoopTroop]

Enjoyed reading, thank you.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Misskitty72]

Great review! I've always wanted to check out the Eastern Caribbean.

 

You guys traveled with only two backpacks?!!! That's awesome!!

 

I'm challenging myself to only bring a carry-on with me for my cruise. Didn't think it could be done. I now have hope. Mix and match, baby. :D

[aubreyc1988]

Great review! I've always wanted to check out the Eastern Caribbean.

 

You guys traveled with only two backpacks?!!! That's awesome!!

 

I'm challenging myself to only bring a carry-on with me for my cruise. Didn't think it could be done. I now have hope. Mix and match, baby. :D

 

It totally can! I've downsized on makeup, which really helps, most of it I am too lazy to put on during a cruise anyhow, and mix and matching is important - loads of great videos on youtube that I watched on backpacking for women :) Definitely check it out, a carry on is DEFINITELY enough room!

[DeBlonde1]

i found a short video of some of this game show I took

 

 

 

Cute, thanks! Looks like fun! Also, good to know they have the Quest. I have been wondering about this. Thanks!

Edited October 9, 2015 by DeBlonde1

[Kenns10]

Hi Aubrey!

 

St. Thomas:

We are a fun couple (mid to late 20's) and are debating either the St. John Catamaran ($93pp) or the Twice as Nice Catamaran ($72pp). Given you've done both, which one was overall "better" in your mind?

 

Also did you ever consider going over to St. John / Trunk Bay?

 

Tortola:

We are planning on doing exactly what you did and go to the Baths "on our own" rather than pay the NCL price of $72 per person. I was looking at Speedy's and saw that it was $39 per person which included round trip ferry service to/from Virgin Gorda as well as taxi to/from the Baths. I think you mentioned that it's about a 10min walk from the ship to Speedy's, or did you taxi it to them? Does the $39 include the Baths entrance fee?

 

The $50 per person "water taxi" you mention, that was from Egbert? I assume that doesn't include a taxi to the Baths nor the entrance fee? So, the cost difference from him and Speedy's could be a quite a few bucks? It seems like you're paying more for a fast boat ride back to Tortola?

 

Nassau:

I think we will likely stay on the ship but you mentioned some tours for around $40 per person. Can you shed any more light on them?

 

Ship:

We are going with the Beverage package promotion, but thinking about getting the 3 or 4 meal specialty plan - did you find this worthwhile?

 

Thanks so much for my million questions!

[aubreyc1988]

Hi Aubrey!

 

St. Thomas:

We are a fun couple (mid to late 20's) and are debating either the St. John Catamaran ($93pp) or the Twice as Nice Catamaran ($72pp). Given you've done both, which one was overall "better" in your mind?

 

St. John excursion is nice, the coral is better there and more varieties of fish. They only do one stop so you are snorkeling there for about an hour or so and then you sail back. Didn't see any turtles on that excursion, which is why I did twice as nice. TONS of turtles at twice as nice, they do two stops on twice as nice excursion, one to see a shipwreck, and another to see the turtles. What is super nice about twice as nice is the price, and their service. I loved that some of the crew got in the water, pointed stuff out to us, one guy dove down and brought up a conch with a crab living in it, which was pretty cool. I felt like overall, the twice as nice is better for the money spent. The painkillers served on the way back were super good as well. Both are good, but in different ways.

 

Also did you ever consider going over to St. John / Trunk Bay?

 

Tortola:

We are planning on doing exactly what you did and go to the Baths "on our own" rather than pay the NCL price of $72 per person. I was looking at Speedy's and saw that it was $39 per person which included round trip ferry service to/from Virgin Gorda as well as taxi to/from the Baths. I think you mentioned that it's about a 10min walk from the ship to Speedy's, or did you taxi it to them? Does the $39 include the Baths entrance fee?

 

We walked to Speedy's, and when I researched it beforehand, it said 30.00 round trip per person to the baths which just was the ferry. Taxi was supposed to be like 5.00pp from the ferry port to the bath's entrance. When I walked over Speedy's, the guy bundled the taxi and ferry and it was 78.00 for two people. The bath's entrance fee is NOT included, 3.00pp.

 

 

The $50 per person "water taxi" you mention, that was from Egbert? I assume that doesn't include a taxi to the Baths nor the entrance fee? So, the cost difference from him and Speedy's could be a quite a few bucks? It seems like you're paying more for a fast boat ride back to Tortola?

 

Yes, Egbert was the watertaxi guy who we met on the way walking to Speedy's in the morning before catching the ferry. And I don't know where his boat drops you off. If he drops you off at devil's bay, no taxi is needed. But I really don't know. The faster boat IS worth the money, the other ferry takes FOREVER to get to and from, so if you could haggle with Egbert to try to get taxi included, I would do it. The cruiseship excursion I believe was over 100.00pp and it just included transportation, so 50.00pp is still way better. Believe me, you WANT the extra time at the baths instead of worrying about the ferry. Maybe see if you can contact Egbert pre-cruise and if you can get enough people to join you, might be able to get a lower price.

 

 

 

Nassau:

I think we will likely stay on the ship but you mentioned some tours for around $40 per person. Can you shed any more light on them?

 

Graycliff Tour pdf that they sent me about 2 weeks before my cruise, so pretty up to date info - their tours rate highly on tripadvisor as well

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Iqz5oE7vexcS1VeXM5UEFad2IzS2hpQVdWZ2h4UTFZTUY0/view?usp=sharing

 

I think this is nearby Graycliff, and tours were free or low amount of cash, with samples. And they do rum tastings.

 

http://www.johnwatlings.com/

 

if the weather is good next time I go, still going to try these things, both highly rated.

 

 

Ship:

We are going with the Beverage package promotion, but thinking about getting the 3 or 4 meal specialty plan - did you find this worthwhile?

I wish we would have done it, and we will do it for our next cruise. I'd do the three meal plan, as after a couple of really big meals, you probably won't want to eat for the rest of your life lol. Plus it's also fun to try the free venues some nights, like Tropicana or O'Sheehans prime rib night. I'd recommend doing Cagney's right before bed, because you literally will have a huge desire to sleep all the steak off afterward lol. We were only planning on doing Cagney's once, so I didn't do the 3 meal plan, but ended up doing LeBistro as well. I felt the main dining room food wasn't very interesting, so needed to switch it up with some specialties. The 3 meal plan is basically like buy 2 get 1 free.

 

Also, the noodle bar used to be ala carte, but now it's free, and would highly recommend going there some nights too if you want something different and delicious and free!

 

Thanks so much for my million questions!

 

Hope those answers helped, made the font bigger for my answers

Edited October 9, 2015 by aubreyc1988

[Kenns10]

Thank you so much for all of the info!

 

I know that in St. Thomas, you did the Skyride and then ate lunch at the top, after the Twice is Nice excursion. Your review of the restaurant wasn't so great :) so we will likely grab lunch somewhere else. Or, do you think there would be time to hit up a beach, after the excursion?

 

As for the Baths, did you have time to grab breakfast on the ship in AM? What did you do for snacks/lunch?

 

I had to ask as my girlfriend will get HANGRY if she doesn't eat lol!

[aubreyc1988]

Thank you so much for all of the info!

 

I know that in St. Thomas, you did the Skyride and then ate lunch at the top, after the Twice is Nice excursion. Your review of the restaurant wasn't so great :) so we will likely grab lunch somewhere else. Or, do you think there would be time to hit up a beach, after the excursion?

 

As for the Baths, did you have time to grab breakfast on the ship in AM? What did you do for snacks/lunch?

 

I had to ask as my girlfriend will get HANGRY if she doesn't eat lol!

 

You definitely have time to grab a bite somewhere else - not sure if there is anything else up at the top there.

 

Plenty of time to hit up a beach, the excursion is over at around 11:30

 

We didnt eat breakfast on the ship the morning of the baths - no time. We did bring some granola bars and we ate those on the go in the morning. We did stop by the buffet and brought a couple boxes of dry cereal too, perfectly legal to take off with you.

[blue_water]

Confusing reading as there is NO 11:30 AM return ferry from VG to Road Town for either Speedy's or Smith's. And these ferries are very reliable, and they always have a back-up ready when there are more crowds in port. It's a 30 minute ferry ride each way...

 

For lunch you can eat at the Top of the Baths, or have a driver drop you at the Mineshaft Cafe for the spectacular panoramic view and their signature drink the "Cave In".

Speedy's also offers packages with a taxi and you can add lunch and a drink at the Bath & Turtle in Spanishtown then walk to the ferry.

Edited October 11, 2015 by blue_water

[blue_water]

I missed the note that you saw an 11:30 ferry posted at the ferry dock and on the site - that is odd, we've never seen that time but it must've been on the schedule. But they do a great job in ensuring that everyone gets back.