GETAWAY Picture Review (Great Stirrup Cay, Cozumel, Grand Cayman & Jamaica)

[gottacruisemore]

Small cozy balcony:

 

 

 

 

I was going to question how you could NOT enjoy a balcony, but then you provided a photo. That has to be the smallest balcony I've ever seen, it's ridiculous. I truly believe if it a bigger, more comfortable balcony, you would have enjoyed it more.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

I am enjoying your review - we sail in two weeks and can't wait! The pic of the public bus station in Grand Cayman is very helpful. How do we get there from the pier? I have seen the busses mentioned in other posts but am not sure how to find them.

[mpcaruth]

I was going to question how you could NOT enjoy a balcony, but then you provided a photo. That has to be the smallest balcony I've ever seen, it's ridiculous. I truly believe if it a bigger, more comfortable balcony, you would have enjoyed it more.

I know, I know. I sounded like a complainer! It was just that this was our first, and highly anticipated, balcony. The expectations were probably too high. Don't get me wrong, we still enjoyed it, but if I had to pay $600 more for this balcony, I would pass next time.

[mpcaruth]

I am enjoying your review - we sail in two weeks and can't wait! The pic of the public bus station in Grand Cayman is very helpful. How do we get there from the pier? I have seen the busses mentioned in other posts but am not sure how to find them.

Thanks! Upon exiting the port, take a left to the first intersection. Then turn right onto Fort Street. You'll see the public library a block ahead on the right. The buses are lined up to the right of the library.

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the green and yellow bus routes. Both will take you to the Turtle Farm and Seven Mile Beach.

 

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

Awesome, very helpful, thank you!

[gottacruisemore]

I know, I know. I sounded like a complainer! It was just that this was our first, and highly anticipated, balcony. The expectations were probably too high. Don't get me wrong, we still enjoyed it, but if I had to pay $600 more for this balcony, I would pass next time.

 

You definitely did NOT sound like a complainer. Although that would have been worthy of it. Honestly I was so shocked by the size of that balcony I never got around to finishing the review. About to rectify that now.

[Honeymooner15]

Thanks! Upon exiting the port, take a left to the first intersection. Then turn right onto Fort Street. You'll see the public library a block ahead on the right. The buses are lined up to the right of the library.

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the green and yellow bus routes. Both will take you to the Turtle Farm and Seven Mile Beach.

 

 

 

How long was the bus ride to the turtle farm?

[mpcaruth]

How long was the bus ride to the turtle farm?

Around 15 minutes. The bus only stops if someone needs off or if someone is standing at a bus stop to get on. There is no set schedule, the bus just constantly loops around. It really doesn't take much longer than a taxi. I think we stopped to pick up/drop off riders 5 times. We were the only tourists on board, the rest were locals heading to work.

[cruiser81!*]

[emoji3]

[mncruiser84]

Great review. We are doing that same itinerary next january so the ports are great. I might have some specific questions for you when it gets closer.

[mpcaruth]

Great review. We are doing that same itinerary next january so the ports are great. I might have some specific questions for you when it gets closer.

Thanks. And definitely ask questions. I LOVE discussing cruises.

[mpcaruth]

Entertainment:

 

 

 

Illusionairium Dinner and Show

We saw the Illusionairium on the first night of the cruise. There were four different magicians and they played out a storyline. Two of the magicians were great while the other two were so-so. We really enjoyed the show, especially my son. However, getting to, and getting through, the show did not prove to be a simple feat… Since I had a few hundred dollars of OBC, and you cannot use OBC to pre-book shows, I decided to wait until we boarded the ship to book. Also, I was hoping to book the first night and receive 25% off the reservations (this really adds up for 4 people). So, immediately following the muster drill, we headed to the Box Office to make our reservations for Illusionairium’s second showing (8:30). No one was at the Box Office, so I decided to try my iConcierge App. I selected 4 guests and the show date and time, and double checked. After hitting enter, I got the message that only one reservation had been made, and that there were no more available seats. What?!? I did not want only one guest. It was to be all of nothing. I then proceeded to guest services to have this issue fixed. Uh Oh. Have you seen the line and chaos at Guest Services on embarkation day? I looked around and walked towards another desk. I guess I must have looked pouty and/or irritated, because a crew member came up to me and asked if I needed anything. Yes! Ok, this must be the amazing NCL customer service I hear the folks rave about on the NCL board. The crew called the Box Office and got our reservations taken care of. Awesome! Well… not quite awesome I learned later, as we did not receive our 25% discount.

 

We got in line at the Illusionairium about 30 minutes before show time. We only had to wait about 10 minutes before the let us in. We got really good seats: second row in the center. Honestly, I don’t think any of the seats would have been bad. Soon after being seated they took our drink and food order. You really do not have a choice of food (unless you go with the vegetarian plate). We had fresh mozzarella/ prosciutto for appetizer. The main course consisted of filet mignon and shrimp. My daughter and I do not eat beef, but like shrimp. My son thought he had died and gone to heaven when he had both mine and his beef. Dessert consisted of a sampler of three desserts (sorry I cannot remember what they were, only that they were unmemorable – literally). Only one out of the four of us liked the meal (my son raved about it). In fact, the other three of us became sick after the meal. My husband got up suddenly during the third magician and went back to the room to get sick. My daughter and I became ill in the middle of the night. Now, I need to explain that we have digestion issues with certain artificial ingredients and preservatives. So, I do not think it was food poisoning (microbial). My husband had a difficult time all week with the food. He finally determined/suspected that there was something in the sauces they made, and avoided them. I would guess that he felt awful for about a third of the cruise.

 

 

Levity Entertainment Group (Comedy Club)

 

One of our favorite things about Carnival is their Punchliners Comedy club, so we were looking forward to sailing a NCL ship that had a separate lounge for comedy shows. My kids love the PG shows. I made reservations for the comedy shows prior to sailing, and I think I reserved a show almost every night they showed. You can also walk up around show time, and if seats are available, they will let you. Well, rarely was the entire lounge completely packed. Although the two comedians were good, their show did not change enough each night. It was advertised to be a new show, but more than half of the jokes were repeated. It was also a disappointment for us to have to sit through the MC’s same jokes more than 5 times! I was expecting a similar setup as Carnival: when they announce the show will be a different one the next night, it is. So… you really only need to go to the NCL comedy club one night, and you will be fine. We had the UBP, but it was definitely too much for us. Drinking makes me relaxed and SLEEPY, so in order to hang with my son at the comedy club, I drank a Mountain Dew with him.

 

 

 

Legally Blond:

 

The guys opted out of going to this with my daughter and me. My daughter and I LOVE live musicals, and in fact, we go to NYC Broadway every year and catch a couple of shows. With that said, I did not set my expectations very high for Legally Blond, and was afraid it was going to be corny. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The show was very good, entertaining, funny, and kept my attention the entire time. My 13 year old daughter loved it, and even asked if we could see the show the next night. I would say the caliber of the show is up there with the travelling off-broadway shows that go to the various bigger US cities.

 

One thing I will add about the theater itself, is that it was Plain-Jane. I am used to seeing glamorous or eclectic, and this theater was neither. I thought to myself, "they must have run out of budget when completing the ship".

 

 

 

Burn the Floor:

 

This show was really good… for the first 20 minutes or so. After that, it almost became monotonous and I kept looking at my watching wondering how much longer. I really think they should shorten the show to 30 minutes instead of a 60 minute show. Then, as a bonus, they could have three showings a night rather two - and lessen the need for reservations. The dancers are amazing, energetic, and seductive. I was surprised when I heard my 13 year old mumble “oh my” when one of the young cuties ripped his shirt off. Afterwards, she and I got a good giggle out of it.

 

 

Howl at the Moon:

 

Sadly, I never got to attend one of these. My husband was either ill or we were just tired from the busy days. I like to see the sunrise every morning, so I have a difficult time doing too much of the night life. This ship has soo much, it really is difficult to do everything.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Entertainment:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legally Blond:

 

 

 

The guys opted out of going to this with my daughter and me. My daughter and I LOVE live musicals, and in fact, we go to NYC Broadway every year and catch a couple of shows. With that said, I did not set my expectations very high for Legally Blond, and was afraid it was going to be corny. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The show was very good, entertaining, funny, and kept my attention the entire time. My 13 year old daughter loved it, and even asked if we could see the show the next night. I would say the caliber of the show is up there with the travelling off-broadway shows that go to the various bigger US cities.

 

 

 

One thing I will add about the theater itself, is that it was Plain-Jane. I am used to seeing glamorous or eclectic, and this theater was neither. I thought to myself, "they must have run out of budget when completing the ship".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

I am going to be on the Getaway this July. When I booked my shows online Legally Blond wasn't an option. Are they doing it anymore on the Getaway?

[mpcaruth]

I am going to be on the Getaway this July. When I booked my shows online Legally Blond wasn't an option. Are they doing it anymore on the Getaway?

 

I just looked at NCL's website and it states in the Legally Blonde description, "NOTE: This program will be discontinued as of 5/1/2016." I wonder what they are replacing it with?

[Seminole1975]

They are replacing it with Million Dollar Quartet.

[mpcaruth]

iConcierge App:

 

Great concept, but NCL has a way to go to make is truly a great app. We all had installed the app prior to the cruise. All four of us signed up for the text messaging service on the app. It was $7.95 each. Basically, under the app, you are given an onboard app phone number. You use this number to text others onboard with the app. Please note, it does not allow you to text outside of the ships service area or receive off ship texts. Once I signed up, I immediately had a conversation in my message between a father and their teens. I supposed, this father had the same assigned phone number as me. No big deal, as I erased them. The texting app worked 80% of the time. I would think it would depend on where you are on the ship, but I could not figure out a pattern. My family used the app quite a bit to keep up with each one.

The app also has the daily schedules, and would allow you to make certain reservations. Please note, I reported earlier about the mishap reservation for the Illusionairium. After that, I never tried to make another reservation on the app. For the app to have been truly useful, it should have allowed the user to look at their previously booked reservations. But it didn’t. I had to use the TV to check our show and dinner reservation times. Now, one of the best things about the app was the feature to see the onboard spending. Here’s a screenshot I took:

 

 

 

I had noticed that not only did I not receive the 25% discount for booking the Illusionairium the first night, but we had also been charged multiple times for drinks on the first day (we all had UBP or soda package). So, I headed to Guest Service early the first sea day to get it resolved. The line was short then, and the crew was very nice. I thanked him and headed on my merrily way… only to find half of the incorrect charges still showing up 3 days later. I repeated my trip to guest services again, and this time they made sure everything was corrected before I left. This was just a nuisance, but if I had to stand in line at guest services during a busy time, I would not have been happy.

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel:

 

We have been to Cozumel numerous times and always like to try something new. Previously we had been to Chankanaab, Paradise Beach, Mr. Sanchos, and a Private Jeep tour to Punta Sur and the eastern side of the island. So, I did a lot of pre-cruise research and decided to check out the area north of the port. I decided on Playa Azul where we could rent jet skis and possibly do a beginner scuba class. There was very little info on the Cruise Critic boards about Playa Azul. I knew it was adjacent to Buccanos, and that if we did not like Playa Azul, we could just leave and try Buccanos.

 

We took a short taxi ride from the port and was dropped off at Playa Azul. And as usual, we are one of the first to arrive. We are greeted by a waiter and he said we were welcome to any lounge or table we wanted, no charge. We quickly ordered drinks and got comfy.

 

 

 

Our chairs and umbrellas are the left ones on the front row. The open air restaurant had plenty of tables and chairs, as well as free wifi. We could get use the wifi from our lounge chairs. And this made my daughter happy to be able to connect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The left side is open to the public, and the right side is reserved for hotel guests only:

 

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel Continued:

 

 

 

 

 

I was hoping to book a beginner scuba excursion for me and my son with Blue Dream Dive Shop located on site. My husband and daughter wanted to jet ski instead. I had check the hours and costs, but decided not to make a reservation just in case the weather was bad, or we decide not to go to Playa Azul. Big mistake. They were able to call in an instructor, but then we found out they only accept cash. What??? I had brought a few hundred dollars off the ship with us, but not enough for the scuba and jet skis. So, we had enough cash for the jet skis. And guess what, we had a great time, and didn’t feel like we had missed out so much by not trying scuba diving.

 

 

We had to walk past Bucannos to get to the jet ski rental. Whoa! Bucannos is an ending point for a couple of the cruise ship excursions, and it was busy! We definitely made a good choice to go to Playa Azul. Here are some picture from the 10 minute walk to the jet skis:

 

 

Not our jet skis:

 

 

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel Continued:

 

 

 

Approaching Bucannos (sorry I do not have any photos of the restaurant/pool/bar area here).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now off to jet skiing on this beautiful day, by this beautiful island, in the beautiful turquoise sea!

 

 

[TenForward]

I couldn't help but notice the small tabletop fan in your cabin...did you bring that from home? I sleep with a fan every night and am considering bringing mine ...would rather not have to but I need the airflow - maybe I can get by with leaving the balcony door open a bit...

 

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel Continued:

 

This photo was an accident, but I thought it was cool capturing the jet ski handle bar and a sea gull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that was totally FUN for the whole family!!!

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel Continued:

 

We head back to Play Azul and order more drinks and a big plate of nachos and quesadilla to share. The food was good and relatively inexpensive.

 

My son and I decided to try out the snorkeling, while the other two hung back and relaxed. We had brought our own snorkeling gear, but you could rent gear from the dive shop.

 

My daughter took this picture of us snorkeling:

 

 

 

The snorkeling was not very good, but it kept us entertained for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel Continued:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we were ready to head back to the port, we changed clothes in the restrooms and the waiter called for a taxi. Here's a picture heading back to the parking lot to the taxi. Playa Azur is a nice clean little resort, and we had a great day. This is a great alternative to the southern beach resorts most cruise passengers attend.

 

 

 

If you have not gone to the eastern side of Cozumel, I highly recommend you do. We took a Private Jeep tour last year and had a marvelous time exploring the island. You can read my review of this tour beginning on post #15 at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2169332. You can click on the links in my signature to read the other Cozumel reviews for Paradise Beach and Mr. Sanchos.

[mpcaruth]

I couldn't help but notice the small tabletop fan in your cabin...did you bring that from home? I sleep with a fan every night and am considering bringing mine ...would rather not have to but I need the airflow - maybe I can get by with leaving the balcony door open a bit...

 

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Thanks.

 

Good eye for detail! Yes, we always take a fan with us on vacation. This serves as white noise to help us sleep better. We all sleep with fans at home too.

[mpcaruth]

Cozumel Continued:

 

The road north of the port is so much different than the southern part of the island, and I took a lot of photos from the taxi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were statues all along the road.