NCL Getaway Review w/ Pics - April 3-10 from a past Carnival perspective

[santacap]

Thanks for the info, my dd is 13, doesn't eat shrimp and won't eat the beef unless it's plain and as far as I can make out it's served with a sauce/gravy so hoping she can order from the kids menu :cool: But, we are in the mindset of it being a show rather than about the food so we'll make it work (we'll visit the buffet later if needed).

 

Thanks again, looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip :)

 

there was definitely a sauce on it. The food comes fast and furious so you don't get distracted from the real show which is very nice. That was our thought exactly, I think we might have ordered some room service pizza this night too:)

 

tampadee How early would you suggest arriving at Illusionarium?

 

we were there about 520 - 525, I would say about 510 - 515 would be a lot better. Depending on how long you wanted to sit. Service was good, so you could always order a drink etc and wait.

 

Joeghartman Exciting pictures!!!! 5 months exactly until our cruise

 

Thanks... let the countdown begin (or continue if you are like me :eek: )enjoy your cruise

[santacap]

Day 5 - Grand Cayman

 

We have been to the Grand Cayman before, 3 times for my wife and I, and twice for Josh, but for different reasons it had never really worked out to do what we wanted, always out of the ships control and mostly weather related we had never really had a chance to truly get out on the island.

 

We had always wanted to do a tour of Stingray City and this trip we settled on Aquarius tours with Captain Mario. We chose this tour due to their promise of a small group and to customize the tour due to boat traffic. No deposit necessary just show up and pay after the trip. Through the process in the months leading up they were very responsive to any questions I had incredibly fast.

 

As I mentioned earlier, early in the week I booked the early tenders (think the 8:15 off) on the TV and we were set down to the Getaway Theatre to catch the tender down. No line at all at this time and we were on the tender in a matter of minutes. (not a sign of things to come later in the day). We were tendering to the south terminal with 3 other ships due in port that day so we once on land we had a little 5 minute at most walk down to the Royal Walter terminal to meet up with our tour. We were met with the usual people with the same signs promoting snorkel / turtles / stingray but were never pressured and everybody was helpful.

 

Our captain mario was a little late, but that didn't affect the tour we were due to meet at 8:45 Cayman time and he was sure to note all ships in his tour and if they were on island time or eastern time. Once checked in we were walked over to a tour bus to drive to the harbor. Our driver was very nice and gave us a little talk about his island with a bunch of jokes. It was a nice drive over in an air conditioned bus that took about 15-20 minutes.

 

We were brought to our boat for next 3.5 hours Big John and given the usual safety briefing by the crew, the boat had ample areas for people to sit as we set out to our first stop Starfish Island. About 25 minutes to get there at a slow cruising speed was a nice pace in the gorgeous waters of the Cayman Islands. Took about 15 minutes to see and hold the starfish at this point was fun, about waist high waters at most.

 

Up next was a snorkel stop, we were set up with masks and flippers. This is where one of the guides who called himself the stingray whisperer rubbed us the wrong way. He was just overly pushy that he knew everything and could guess our shoe size. not endearing at all, and kind of annoying. The snorkeling itself was amazing, nice and quiet and we saw a tonne of marine life and colourful coral. Josh had an amazing time, he has been practicing his snorkeling for months just for this trip and did great in the ocean for the first time in deep waters. We were hear for about 30 minutes or so and off to Stingray City.

 

Stingray City was super busy, the captain explained that the previous day the city had been closed so the other tours were doubling up on the trips and would be busier than normal. due to this, the stingrays were kind of forced out due to foot traffic. You could tell the guides cared about their island and stingrays and knew them by look and touch. We all got turns to hold, and touch and our guide was once again a know it all. It's fine to be smart, and it's another thing to be way too pushy and 'poop dont stink' like. Didn't ruin the experience but something I noted in the review for their future. One big bonus of the tour was they didn't force photos on you as a revenue generator, you could send them an email on return and all photos would be dropboxed to you for free. A big plus in my books.

 

We were done at stingray city in 45 minutes or so, then headed back to meet our bus at the marina and take it back to the city with the chance to drop off at a beach. All our group chose to go back to the terminals. We walked around a bit and headed to Margaritaville for a quick drink and appetizer.

 

This is where things got frustrating for us. I don't know what NCL can do better but the lines back to the ship were crazy long, yes we got there 30 minutes before the last tender was due, but the line snaked all the way down from RW to the far and of the South Terminal and back to the gate. Others in front were told they could not sit in the shade and take turns by NCL staff, a quick way to heat stroke as we were directly in the sun. Again, not sure what could be done better but it was something we had never experienced in 3 other times there. Maybe the set up at Royal Walter is better for lines. We were on the tender in 45 minutes of waiting in the sun and back on the ship in an hour from waiting.

 

We met up with our others in the group, and decided tonight we would head to Tropicana for dinner. The dinner hear was a nice touch with the dancing show. Dinner was served fairly quick, and was absolutely warm. Desert took a little longer than we would have liked, but was nice to watch the show while we waited.

 

After the show we went to Legally Blond which we had pre booked. Again, lesson learned to arrive a little earlier than us, especially with a larger group. As a comparison to Carnival and their productions this was light years ahead in terms of talent an overall production. I personally love getting to Broadway type shows / musicals and this one was right up there IMO. If you do need drinks you will need to leave to get them from the bar as there was no service after curtain call (which is fine, but noted due to Carnival serving)

 

Couple drinks and a walk around the deck we headed back to the rooms to relax and have a bit of a sleep in with a later arrival in Cozumel up the next day.

 

 

[santacap]

Tenders arriving

 

 

Captain Josh

 

 

Some nice houses on the drive out to the ocean

 

 

 

Big John

 

 

[santacap]

Snorkel Stop

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cant beat these waters

 

[santacap]

 

 

no tongue

 

 

 

This line went behind me into the bus parking lot, down to the south terminal and back to the gate at north terminal.

 

[Kfamilycruise]

Gorgeous photos! That line is a serious problem!

[Seminole1975]

That is just the line to get back on the Getaway?! Yipes! Who are they to tell you that some people in your party cannot wait in the shade?! Some folks, like myself have photosensitivity due to medication and cannot be in the direct sunlight very long without burning. I guess if I told them I had medical issues they would have let me. Or bring a long sleeved shirt and a giant hat!

[santacap]

Gorgeous photos! That line is a serious problem!

 

not sure what could be done, I can't confirm, but I did hear later that night that they only have one gangway on the ship for tenders.

 

Thanks, glad you like them.

 

That is just the line to get back on the Getaway?! Yipes! Who are they to tell you that some people in your party cannot wait in the shade?! Some folks, like myself have photosensitivity due to medication and cannot be in the direct sunlight very long without burning. I guess if I told them I had medical issues they would have let me. Or bring a long sleeved shirt and a giant hat!

 

I did see people in the shade so assume it's more of a 'if I let one person, I have to let everybody' kind of situation, but will allow for special circumstances. Bring a hat and UV shirt anyways, that carribean sun is crazy hot;)

[ilovetotravel1977]

Day 5 - Grand Cayman

 

We had always wanted to do a tour of Stingray City and this trip we settled on Aquarius tours with Captain Mario.

 

We went with Acquarius as well! Capt Mario is hilarious! His 1st Mate was Manny, a different guide then who you had.

 

Their prices are so cheap and you get all the photos for free. Can't beat that!

[erocrobro]

Are the lines to get back in the ship longer/shorter at certain times of the day? I'm thinking if there is a pattern we would try to time our arrival back at port to coincide.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[santacap]

We went with Acquarius as well! Capt Mario is hilarious! His 1st Mate was Manny, a different guide then who you had.

 

Their prices are so cheap and you get all the photos for free. Can't beat that!

 

He was amazing, great with our little guy. Can't beat the value you get for 50 bucks. Would definitely recommend.

 

Are the lines to get back in the ship longer/shorter at certain times of the day? I'm thinking if there is a pattern we would try to time our arrival back at port to coincide.

 

The other people in our group said they went back about 130 and they were on the second tender. I would guess the line started forming a little after that. It's not a long stop in GC lining up that early (8 Am arrival on Getaway)

 

I would imagine they say 3 PM last tender with a 4 PM departure just to get everybody there in time, but it certainly created quite the bottleneck

[tropical83]

Great pictures :)

 

I have a question. How did you find the air conditioning to be throughout the ship? I get cold very easily so I'm hoping the AC isn't kept too cold. On my first cruise I found it to be way too cold, I had to wear pants and sweaters every night. 2nd cruise I found it to be pretty good and I was able to wear dresses and a light sweater.

[santacap]

Great pictures :)

 

I have a question. How did you find the air conditioning to be throughout the ship? I get cold very easily so I'm hoping the AC isn't kept too cold. On my first cruise I found it to be way too cold, I had to wear pants and sweaters every night. 2nd cruise I found it to be pretty good and I was able to wear dresses and a light sweater.

 

Tough one for me, I typically like it cooler. I can say that when you were going from say the pool deck, to indoors there wasn't that blast of cold air that I did notice on some carnival ships.

 

The room to us seemed very responsive to the temperature settings on the thermostat.

 

Also, my wife who tends to be cold more often than not never complained about being cold and was regularly in light dresses, shirts in the evening inside and out.

 

Thanks:)

[tropical83]

Tough one for me, I typically like it cooler. I can say that when you were going from say the pool deck, to indoors there wasn't that blast of cold air that I did notice on some carnival ships.

 

The room to us seemed very responsive to the temperature settings on the thermostat.

 

Also, my wife who tends to be cold more often than not never complained about being cold and was regularly in light dresses, shirts in the evening inside and out.

 

Thanks:)

 

Thanks! Sounds like I should be ok then :)

[santacap]

Day 6 - Cozumel

 

We have been to Cozumel a few times and continues to be one of our favorite stops. There is such a variety of things to do for all types. When we were on our honeymoon on the Carnival Valor we did a great private tour by jeep and saw the entire island. Since we have had Josh with us we have tried a variety of different all inclusive beaches. For the most part we have stuck with Nachi Cocum and had a great time each visit.

 

With Josh turning 6 last July and getting old enough for the water toys we set up a a visit at Mr Sanchos after reading reviews in this forum and the Ports of Call. It was a little more money with the water toys included, but for Josh it was well worth it. On the next visit I wouldn't get it for Diane and I... I tried the large iceberg once and made it a few steps, not sure how the kids do it lol.

 

Due in at 11 AM Josh was up early for a breakfast at O'Sheehans. Once again it did not disappoint and our server was excellent. We were seated promptly, and orders taken right away.

 

We had some time to spare after breakfast and Josh really wanted to try the ropes course, figuring tomorrow (last sea day) would be busy we said sure and headed up to the ropes course to get set up with our harnesses and off we went. Very proud of him for making it all the way around, he didn't want to do the plank and I promised if he wasn't comfortable I wouldn't either. The line was non existent when we got there, and we were one of a few on the course. The attendant was great with Josh showing him how to use the harness on the lower portion and certainly helped his confidence up top.

 

With the ropes course completed we went back to the room to change for our beach day at Mr Sanchos. We were due in port a 11 but think we arrived a bit early. A concern of ours with 5 ships in port this day was the amount of people at the beach when we arrived so we wanted to get on a taxi as soon as possible. I hadn't docked at Punta Lagosta since our first visit so it was nice to see this area again to walk around. The walk to the taxi from the ship would take about 15 minutes (up and down through a mall type set up). With our group of 7 the fare to Mr Sanchos cost 34 USD a very fair price.

 

We arrived at Mr Sanchos with little to no line having paid already, our reservations were in the computer system and and we received our wristbands for AI and water toys and were given a waiter for the day. With the package you get a table and beach chair. The tables seemed to be a little too an afterthought for us to see the water, which is what we were there for so we headed down to the beach and had front row seats for the day.

 

The nice thing about Mr Sanchos is that it is truly AI, I found at Nachi Cocum that once you got food that was it, but we were served variety's throughout the day and it seemed that once your drink was empty you were filled up right away or placing an order. The food and drinks were excellent for us.

 

The sun was always trying to make appearances throughout the day and while there was some clouds they always passed right over us, making it for a great day. Staying true to what we have experienced at other places in Cozumel there was places to rent water toys, jet skis, beach massages etc for an added charge and there was souvenir shops on the premises with fair prices.

 

The pool bar was a very nice place, some pretty hammered people trying to figure out ship time vs local time (RCL passengers so I couldnt help) but it's AI and vacation so have at it. We spend the late part of the afternoon on the hammocks biding our time before heading back to the ship as this was our last stop before Miami and the end of the cruise.

 

Picking up a cab was a breeze, we were pretty much leaving as Mr Sanchos was closing so they were waiting for the cruise passengers to head back to the ship. Another 34 dollars back and we were walking back to the ship and doing a little shopping in the mall.

 

This was wear NCL more than made up for the lines in GC. There was a great welcoming line and red carpet along the pier with employees dancing and clapping and having a great time (I don't think I can embed videos, but I do have one). There was cold towels, water etc waiting and it was a great way to get back on board to head to Miami.

 

This was another great day, and a great way to finish up our ports on the cruise. Couldn't have asked for more.

 

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

After boarding we were obviously full from eating and drinking all day and just had a light dinner at O'Sheehans. We had made reservations for the comedy club family show via the app and or TV for the group. We were seated to the back no problem.

 

Quick review of the comedy show, it was funny to start off with, but an hour of just talking with the crowd and the same jokes about kids sucking, parents not knowing where their kids are, and grandparents being awesome for that grew unfunny pretty quick. I don;t have his name but it was definitely repetitive.

 

More from Mr Sanchos

 

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

 

 

 

Welcome back

 

[Cruzinbabe06]

Loving your review!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.:)

[karenpstok]

i have been on the getaway twice in the last 6 months and never saw anything like this line in grand cayman. Wonder why it was different. Your photos are great!!

[santacap]

Loving your review!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.:)

 

Much appreciated. My pleasure:)

i have been on the getaway twice in the last 6 months and never saw anything like this line in grand cayman. Wonder why it was different. Your photos are great!!

 

I think it might have been the perfect storm, talking to a few people in line they said it was like this before, but I always take things people say with a grain of salt... especially in line on a cruise ;)

 

Thinking back, we were there at an inopportune time before last tender, and there was probably alot more people getting every last minute of sun with a rainy day in Ocho Rios.

 

Who knows, but I will probably go check out the line next time a little earlier and decide on what to do from there.

 

Thanks:)

[santacap]

Day 7 - Last Day at Sea

 

Today was our last full day on the ship, kind of a depressing day as it means the end is near to a great family vacation. We alleviate this by spending a couple extra days in Miami to have a vacation from vacation.

 

Today was no different than the first day at sea so I wont say much about the chair / pool situation. We were able to find a spot in the hallway area near the marketplace to swim / watch Josh swim after another nice breakfast at O'Sheehans. Suffice to say this was our favorite spot for breakfast and or lunch.

 

The lines for things like the ropes course and the rock wall were absolutely fine from opening until about lunch time. I think the day before in Cozumel had some people sleeping in.

 

Before swimming Josh and I played a quick round of mini golf. Nothing much to 'review' here other than it was a 9 hole course that was in good shape.

 

With regards to the water slides for the whole week the two free falls were very fast and always open. They are very strict about any items in your pockets / clasps on your bathing suits etc which limits the people who can actually do it. There is a weight maximum that is different on each slide as an FYI, it is not 300 for both. One is 300 the other is 280. If you are close, they will weight you. I took this as an opportunity to see how the week was going and was pleasantly surprised that I was even steven for the week.

 

The other 3 slides were fairly long but moved very fast with 2 at once. In comparison to Carnival and say the Breeze the Breeze wins the water park area, but on the other classes NCL Getaway has them. The nice thing is you don't scald your feet getting up / waiting in line for the slides. As the day went on things got longer in line but Josh and I were able to hammer out 10-15 various slides.

 

Speaking of scalding feet, I wondered around the H20 zone in mid afternoon without anything on my feet and that lasted all of 15 seconds. The area is baking in the sun all day, leading it to be incredibly hot on the ground. The area was very busy but seemed like a good time. I just wanted to see what it was all about during the day.

 

After an afternoon of swimming and playing I headed down to pick up our luggage tag for the next day. With no flights to catch we picked blue, or off at 10 AM so we could enjoy a nice breakfast with no rush on Sunday. Back in the room we did a little packing before heading out to meet at the waterfront and have a drink for the last time this week at Sugarcane.

 

This night we had reservations at Teppanyaki and what a show they put on. I have been to a few places like this, and they have been hit or miss. I've found it depends on what your group is like, we are all fun people and our chef Harmi was fantastic. Did the usual gimmicks but talked to us the whole time. Couple notes, bring breath mints... they love garlic. Also, bring your appetite, there was a tonne of food left over (mostly rice) but the meats / proteins were cooked to perfection.

 

After our bellies were full we headed back to the last performance at Howl at the Moon. I had spoken with one of the artists the night before and he promised Josh his son, Uptown Funk. We walked in and not a song later he dedicated it to Josh and the little guy could not have been happier. I think it's still the highlite of his week.

 

Josh spent the night with Grandma tonight so my wife and I headed to the casino for a few ours of blackjack. This was really my first time walking around the casino. At first I thought it was small,but once I actually explored I was surprised at the layout. I did not notice any smoke at all.

 

Even with a late debarkation we still had to get up early to meet for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

Day 8 - Debarkation

 

As mentioned we put our bags out the night before with the blue tags with a debarkation of 10 AM. Not much to say about this process other than it went very smoothly.

 

We went for breakfast at Taste restaurant and it was just the same as any of the breakfasts. Service didn't drop because we were debarking, the food was just as good and served warm and promptly.

 

We were a little late getting started but the crew did a good job of getting things moving and caught up. We grabbed a seat in the atrium lobby and grabbed a coffee (charged to CC on account) and waited our turn for maybe 30 minutes. They had a video of the week playing on the big screen so it was nice to see the recap.

 

Once off the ship we found our bags layed out in a main hall by tag colour, and we were through customs in a matter of minutes and had a driver to the Savoy all set up. For the 7 of us it cost 60 bucks and we arranged to have them pick us up on Tuesday at the Savoy.

 

Getting some pictures loaded up of the ship, iCOncierge screen grabs and some dailies / guppies schedules now. Followed with some general thoughts not mentioned previously.

 

:)

[Yorkvillain]

Love the review. Thanks for doing this.

[Cruise-mom]

What a great cruise you all had :)

 

We are not rushing to get off the ship on debarkation morning, what time would you recommend going for breakfast? Did you go early & go back to your stateroom or bring all carry-on/off items with you? The video of the week sounds cool, if we are waiting we will go here to check it out.

 

Did you get a car service to the Savoy? We are going to South Beach after our cruise and wondering if we should just get a taxi or pre-book a car.

 

Thanks again for the great review & photos.

 

Tina

[santacap]

Love the review. Thanks for doing this.

 

THanks, my pleasure :)

 

What a great cruise you all had :)

 

We are not rushing to get off the ship on debarkation morning, what time would you recommend going for breakfast? Did you go early & go back to your stateroom or bring all carry-on/off items with you? The video of the week sounds cool, if we are waiting we will go here to check it out.

 

Did you get a car service to the Savoy? We are going to South Beach after our cruise and wondering if we should just get a taxi or pre-book a car.

 

Thanks again for the great review & photos.

 

Tina

 

It definitely was the tops of our cruises (wedding cruise aside of course lol)

 

The restarants all have different hours, if memory serves me O'Sheehans was open until 9 AM for new tables. You have to be out of your rooms, and cleared by 9 as well.

 

I wouldn't worry about setting up a service, there are ample taxis waiting in the terminal and plenty of services trying to get you from the taxi's as well. Room for negotiation for sure.

 

glad you are enjoying it