Adventures of Mark and Tom on the Getaway Western Caribbean 1/28/2018 - Pseudo Live !

[san diego spartan]

I'm following as well. We will be on the same Cruise in October and it will be our first Norwegian Cruise in an extremely long time. In fact I believe we sailed on the Norwegian Dawn when it first launched. Really enjoying your photos.

[TOMTOMRN331]

Good Morning from Harvest Caye

 

Weather is ok - at least it’s not raining.

 

Last night about 2100 the captain came over the PA and announced we were diverting for a mayday rescue. A small sailboat was taking on water. At about 2200 we came to a stop and a tender was dropped and rescue to people from said boat. A good outcome to a potentially bad scenario.

 

Last night we saw Burn the Floor - very good. A sensual marine experience. Dinner was in Tropicana - ok ish. Although I have to admit, in general I have always like NCL cruising. And so far they are not disappointing.

 

Tonight we are going to Ocean Blue.

 

Here are some photos from our Beach Villa

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[TOMTOMRN331]

Enjoying your review' date=' thank you for sharing. I just noticed from another thread I am following, that you and the Equinox are in port together.

 

From gordylad's thread on the Celebrity board. Too funny! Both are good live reviews. Enjoy the rest of your cruise and hope the weather improves.

 

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Yes they were the third ship to arrive.

 

 

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[lkj1301]

I'm very glad I happened upon your "semi" live. Loving all the details and pics. We'll be boarding 2/25 and have a forward facing haven suite on deck 12. Can't wait.

[TOMTOMRN331]

Good Morning from Harvest Caye

 

Weather is ok - at least it’s not raining.

 

Last night about 2100 the captain came over the PA and announced we were diverting for a mayday rescue. A small sailboat was taking on water. At about 2200 we came to a stop and a tender was dropped and rescue to people from said boat. A good outcome to a potentially bad scenario.

 

Last night we saw Burn the Floor - very good. A sensual marine experience. Dinner was in Tropicana - ok ish. Although I have to admit, in general I have always like NCL cruising. And so far they are not disappointing.

 

Tonight we are going to Ocean Blue.

 

Here are some photos from our Beach Villa

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Apparently I did not proof this post very well

 

Marine ... Latin

 

Cruising ... cuisine

 

 

 

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[Highpeaklad]

If you liked burn the floor, look out for the night they perform in Tropicana. It’s only a half hour show but you can get very close up it you get a table by the dance floor.

[TOMTOMRN331]

Good SUNNY Morning from Cozumel. Having breakfast in Haven as we have done every morning thus far. Very good, quick service essential for excursions.

 

Also enjoy the priory debarkation with the concierge.

 

Ocean Blue was very good. The service was on the slower side, but since we had no evening plans it was not an issue. A couple next to us complained the lobster claws were “slimy” but no issues for us.

 

Roatan - a small port with many cute shops. Got a wood inlayed cutting board. As mentioned in other posts, don’t venture outside the fenced area. Also some shops had issues with credit cards, so bring cash and insist on getting American cash in exchange. This is widely publicized from the ship and crew. Dinner Le Bistro. Amazing as always.

 

Saw a women win a $2500 jackpot ... yay her ...

 

Cozumel - today we are doing an ATV and snorkel adventure.

 

Some pictures from yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

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[TOMTOMRN331]

Off the ship waiting for our excursion

 

 

 

 

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[kzguns]

Hows the wifi on the getaway? sailing out march 4 and may need to email a bit here and there. I'm mostly only going to be using email seem ok for that?

[TOMTOMRN331]

Hows the wifi on the getaway? sailing out march 4 and may need to email a bit here and there. I'm mostly only going to be using email seem ok for that?

 

 

 

It’s actually a lot more responsive than I thought. The only time we’ve had trouble was the first day at sea.

 

If you have the choice 250 promo you can upgrade to the ultimate unlimited WiFi (which says you can stream Netflix). You are given $125 towards the purchase of the unlimited package.

 

 

 

 

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[grest]

thanks...a fun read!

[TOMTOMRN331]

Back on the ship from our ATV adventure ... here are some pictures from the beach area we were at.

 

The excursion was fun - but not sure I would book it again. After waiting Pier side we were taken to taxis (but first a tour of the mall by the pier, Punta Langosta). After a 20-30 minute ride we arrived at the ATV company. After a short video we started out on the adventure. The trail was muddy (super fun) but also very bumpy. They stop to take pictures throughout.

 

After returning we viewed our pictures (they took 104 pictures total between the two of us and we bought the USB drive for $60).

 

Another taxi took us to the small beach area which had chairs and loungers on a small sandy area. The water was rocky so wear shoes. They have servers to order food and drinks. Had chicken tacos. Amazing.

 

Another taxi returned us to the pier, but not first without having to walk through the mall. Which is fine. Did some trinket shopping and restocking of home supply antibiotics [emoji38]🤷*♂️.

 

Glad we are docked instead of the international terminal, which had five ships docked, the RCL Allure, Pearl, another RCL, Carnival, and Princess. We are docked next to MSC Opera

 

Tonight we are eating at Cagneys and seeing Million Dollar Quartet. Till tomorrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[ynotpaul]

We're enjoying your posts! Have a blast guys.:cool:

[TOMTOMRN331]

Good Morning from MIA International

 

We survived! But that means we have come to the end of our cruise and time to return home.

 

We started arriving into Port of Miami around 0500, and judging from the vibrations we were tied up around 0645. At 0715 I saw people walking off the gangway.

 

We had a leisure morning, showered and had our last breakfast in Haven and used priority debarkation around 0930. Customs was quick, though the line was long, but moved.

 

Uber was quick to find us and take us to MIA. The TSA PreCheck line was INSANE! Took around 30 minutes to move through.

 

We had a wonderful cruise and NCL did not disappoint. Here are my Pros and Cons for the trip.

 

Pros:

-The Haven

-Itinerary, would definitely do this trip again, loved all the ports san Roatan.

-The restaurant Maitre’d, all them were responsive and friendly.

 

Cons:

-The weather, we only really had one sunny day, which was in Cozumel.

-Choke points in the ship - depending on where you were at certain times, the Atrium, Casino, and shopping areas were tuff to navigate.

-Miscommunication with the Butler - on our first day I asked him to clear the mini fridge to use for storage of club soda, which is not covered by the UBP (my fault) but yesterday we had a $60 charge for mini bar usage. Not blaming NCL, just wished this was communicated better on their part (and yes I did read the T and C after the fact.

 

All in all a GREAT trip. Can’t wait till March 2019 for Breakaway.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

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[justme665]

Cons:

-The weather, we only really had one sunny day, which was in Cozumel.

-Choke points in the ship - depending on where you were at certain times, the Atrium, Casino, and shopping areas were tuff to navigate.

-Miscommunication with the Butler - on our first day I asked him to clear the mini fridge to use for storage of club soda, which is not covered by the UBP (my fault) but yesterday we had a $60 charge for mini bar usage. Not blaming NCL, just wished this was communicated better on their part (and yes I did read the T and C after the fact

Sorry, can you clarify this? I must be misunderstanding - were you charged $60 for having your minibar emptied? We will be sailing soon and I was hoping to use the fridge to store food for our baby. Thanks!

[sharlon]

Great "cruising" along with you real time! I would love to hear more about your stateroom. We cruised the Getaway in 2016 and are considering doing it again for our 25th anniversary. We were in a 2 bed family suite last time and are considering the category you had since it will just be DH and I. What deck were you located on? We really liked our stateroom being behind the door of the Haven, so to speak. Only thing really turning us off on the available forward suites.

 

ETA: Just saw you replied on my thread! Thanks so much!

Edited February 4, 2018 by sharlon
saw reply elsewhere

[erdoran]

Sorry, can you clarify this? I must be misunderstanding - were you charged $60 for having your minibar emptied? We will be sailing soon and I was hoping to use the fridge to store food for our baby. Thanks!

Me too! Never heard of this before.

[TOMTOMRN331]

Sorry, can you clarify this? I must be misunderstanding - were you charged $60 for having your minibar emptied? We will be sailing soon and I was hoping to use the fridge to store food for our baby. Thanks!

 

 

 

Sorry about that

 

No I wasn’t charged for having the mini bar cleared out, I was charged for the 12 cans of club soda we had stocked.

 

Now in reading the terms and conditions I understand this wasn’t covered (canned soda is not covered). However last year on Pearl and the year before on Spirit I was not charged. Had the butler communicated this (since I didn’t think it would be an issue) I would not have asked for this service.

 

A lesson learned.

 

 

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[trish4bruce]

Sorry about that

 

No I wasn’t charged for having the mini bar cleared out, I was charged for the 12 cans of club soda we had stocked.

 

Now in reading the terms and conditions I understand this wasn’t covered (canned soda is not covered). However last year on Pearl and the year before on Spirit I was not charged. Had the butler communicated this (since I didn’t think it would be an issue) I would not have asked for this service.

 

A lesson learned.

 

 

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12 cans of soda cost $60??? That is crazy.

 

 

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[kimbjohns0n]

Subscribing! Doing the same cruise in May! Have a great time!!

 

 

We are doing May 13th, how about you?

[kimbjohns0n]

Following... Glad you are having fun! We will be on the Getaway in 33 days. We love the Getaway!

 

We leave on it in 80 days and my 1st NCL as well!

[rbt001]

Thank you, TomTomRN331 for your review. I will be sailing in a few weeks as a solo male traveler for the first time in The Haven on Getaway with the same itinerary.

 

I did read that your weather was not the best (sorry,) but did you two spend much time up in The Courtyard area? Was it difficult to get a lounger?

 

You mentioned priority disembarkation for your excursion. Was that offered only because of the excursion, or is it available in each port?

 

Lastly, was it easy to get a table for meals in The Haven Restaurant if you just walked in?

 

And thank you, again, for a great review that touched on some finer points that I caught and excite me about my upcoming cruise. For example, private escort for Haven guests into Cirque Dreams & Steam with premium seating.

[TOMTOMRN331]

Thank you, TomTomRN331 for your review. I will be sailing in a few weeks as a solo male traveler for the first time in The Haven on Getaway with the same itinerary.

 

 

 

I did read that your weather was not the best (sorry,) but did you two spend much time up in The Courtyard area? Was it difficult to get a lounger?

 

 

 

You mentioned priority disembarkation for your excursion. Was that offered only because of the excursion, or is it available in each port?

 

 

 

Lastly, was it easy to get a table for meals in The Haven Restaurant if you just walked in?

 

 

 

And thank you, again, for a great review that touched on some finer points that I caught and excite me about my upcoming cruise. For example, private escort for Haven guests into Cirque Dreams & Steam with premium seating.

 

 

 

I am excited that you are doing this itinerary. To answer your questions.

 

- we never had a problem getting a lounger. Even on the semi sunny sea day it was never crowded enough. Although one family group did hog chairs. The courtyard is amazing. Plenty of shade and if you want sun you can go to the front facing part which is uncovered.

 

- Priority escort off the ship is a function of the concierge. During port days he or she will list the times to come to Haven and they will escort you down a service elevator to the gangway and skip the line. Every port!

 

- The Haven restaurant was easy to get into every meal. Breakfast was busier than lunch, especially on port days. Dinner was hit or miss. But we never waited.

 

 

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[rbt001]

I am excited that you are doing this itinerary. To answer your questions.

 

- we never had a problem getting a lounger. Even on the semi sunny sea day it was never crowded enough. Although one family group did hog chairs. The courtyard is amazing. Plenty of shade and if you want sun you can go to the front facing part which is uncovered.

 

- Priority escort off the ship is a function of the concierge. During port days he or she will list the times to come to Haven and they will escort you down a service elevator to the gangway and skip the line. Every port!

 

- The Haven restaurant was easy to get into every meal. Breakfast was busier than lunch, especially on port days. Dinner was hit or miss. But we never waited.

 

 

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Thank you. I tried to "friend" you on here to PM another question. Do you know if that's how it works?

[TOMTOMRN331]

Thank you. I tried to "friend" you on here to PM another question. Do you know if that's how it works?

 

 

 

I sent you a PM it should be in your “inbox” on the app

 

 

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