Just off Getaway! Great week!

[annmarz]

Just got off the Getaway and enjoyed the trip very much! Will post some comments ASAP and happy to answer any questions.

[Gertie17]

Awesome. We will be boarding her on February 18th. :cool:

[emcarle23]

We are going on Getaway in September 2018. Would love to hear your thoughts!

[annmarz]

To preface my comments - this was my first cruise on Norwegian, altho' I have traveled on many, many other cruises on many other lines so I have a lot to compare to. I am a 59 year old female.

 

I chose this cruise for one reason - the Studio cabins. I was planning a trip with a friend and we wanted our own space without a huge single supplement.

 

We had a blast, felt we got our money's worth and were very pleasantly surprised by several standouts that exceeded our expectations. There were several areas in which NCL needs to improve, IMHO.

 

 

 

The Studio Cabins -

Better than I expected in design. More than adequate storage. Bed was comfy. Perfect location on ship. Studio lounge was convenient and nice to grab cold water or good coffee without walking far. Our stewardess was not too efficient however. She would forget little things - kleenex, pillows etc. and would not remove dirty glasses. For the first time in my life I resorted to the slovenly practice of putting them out in the hallway. Several times when I called her on the phone, there was never any answer. In fact, this was usually the case, whomever I tried to call - guest services, whatever. Room service DID answer once.

 

Service - Very inconsistent. Most crew members were friendly and polite. I think most of them were overworked and just too busy. Perhaps the ship is understaffed? Some were snippy and actually ARGUED with me. Unacceptable. I noticed dirty uniforms in some cases, not much understanding of English, and general unprofessionalism. I think NCL needs better training. The service was the biggest negative on this cruise.

 

Food - Exceeded my expectations - Very very good - Some was excellent. We ate mostly in the complimentary venues and in Margaritaville. Shanghai's was fun and delicious. The buffet was as good as any ship I have been on.

 

Drinks - We had the Ultimate Beverage Package, like everyone it seemed. Great selection, specialty drinks - fun bars everywhere. As long as you don't mind getting your own drinks and waiting (few roaming servers), you will be very happy!

 

Entertainment - OMG!!!! Million Dollar Quartet!!! One of the best shows I have seen in my life - even counting Broadway. The talent! It is 90 minutes long. We went back again - it was that good! Burn the Floor is amazing. Loved this!!! One of the the comedians was excellent - rest were good. We enjoyed the Headliners venue at night a lot. Howl at the Moon was not as compelling as I thought it would be - one night it was spoiled by some inebriated passengers who took over. The next night it was a repeat of material.

 

Activities - Lots and lots of the typical cruise ship stuff. Something for everyone all day long.

 

The ship itself - Big, noisy and crowded of course. We usually were able to find seats however, except in the bustling horribly packed atrium at night where everyone converges for the game shows, the bar, etc. It is a beautiful ship, lovely decor. We did miss having a lounge where you could just go and sit and look out and enjoy the views without a loud activity occurring. And the SMOKE. We avoided Deck 7 as much as possible because the smoke from the casino wafts everywhere. Ditto with the Sunset Bar area. And the starboard side of the pool deck. They DO NOT enforce the smoking policy.

 

Speaking of the pool deck - it is strange. The pool is smallish, which we didn't really care about. But I didn't understand the wasted space between the kids play area and the adult pool. It looks like they were intending to put a shopping are there but didn't? When the ship gets retrofitted in the future, they should redesign this deck. If you have a family, this looks like a great ship for you - the kids area was very cute and lots to do for them.

 

I will continue later!

[BirdTravels]

Thank you very much for you comments!

[Pattakins]

Thank you for the info on the cruise. I have a couple questions, as we are booked for the May 13th cruise. When we went on the Escape last year, we loved the 80's and Glo parties. My question is if they have these on the Getaway as well and what nights and times each is. I need to know because I want to plan all our reservations and want to make sure I don't overlap. I appreciate the help. :p

[Keith1010]

Greatly appreciated your report.

 

Thanks for writing it.

 

Keith

[Tiggertastic]

Did you try and specialty restaurants?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[2naBill]

Was on same trip. Had a great time. 80's night was Thursday and Glow party was Friday night.

 

Sent from my Z956 using Forums mobile app

[annmarz]

To Tiggertastic:

 

Nope. Only Margaritaville for lunch twice. HUGE portions, great food. Great drinks. Inconsistent service.

 

We were happy with the MDRs, especially Tropicana, and Shanghai's and ate in O'Sheehans one night. We like to eat early and had no problems with being seated.

 

I would have tried the raw Bar and Wasabi but my companion did not care for that type of food.

[walkintheplank]

Bummer. We leave Sunday. We hate noise, crowds, lines, and especially smoke. Good thing we have aft balcony, probably where most of our time will be spent.

[kimbjohns0n]

Thank you for the info on the cruise. I have a couple questions, as we are booked for the May 13th cruise. When we went on the Escape last year, we loved the 80's and Glo parties. My question is if they have these on the Getaway as well and what nights and times each is. I need to know because I want to plan all our reservations and want to make sure I don't overlap. I appreciate the help. :p

 

We will be on that cruise as well. My 1st time on NCL!

[kathy884]

We were planning to get the large balconies on 8 (mini suites) on the Getaway (rooms are forward to some extent Port and Starboard). Any recommendation as to which side to book, etc. to have less of an issue with smoke? Do you think we'll have any problems out on our balcony with smoke, given that this is the floor of the waterfront?

[OCruisers]

Thanks so very much for taking your time to report back!

Our older children/grands will be on her next month so loved reading your positive report.:D

[rok233]

Great report.

[gaiamother]

Thank you for your review. We board Getaway on Sunday.

[cruising_is_life3535]

I’ll be on the Getaway in April. Thanks for your thoughts.

[annmarz]

Re the smoke: I honestly don't know about smoke wafting from balconies. You are not supposed to smoke on balconies but I do not know if anyone does. We did notice smoke on the waterfront - in fact, we seldom ventured out here because of it. Too bad, because it was a great idea and very appealing otherwise.

[annmarz]

I would also like to comment on the embarkation and disembarkation. From reading other people's experiences, I think we were lucky, or just realistic. I know there is no perfect way to get 4000 people on and off a ship in a short window of time. I thought it went very well.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the pier at about 10:30 am and joined the line. At about 11:10 they started letting us go thru security. We had a very short wait for the check in desk and then proceeded to the big waiting lounge. We got our number (I think it was 3), found seats and waited. I liked that they handed everyone an info sheet about the ship and the first day's schedule. Gave us something to read and conveyed a lot of useful info ahead of time. Soon we were aboard and joined the throngs of luggage and some passengers cramming into the elevators up to the buffet. Honestly, why do some people feel the need to surgically attach themselves to their big suitcases?

 

Disembarkation: We did not opt for self-disembarkation because my friend did not want to handle her luggage. We had received Priority Disembarkation (yellow) tags. Our group was called ahead of the predicted time and we joined a really long line that snaked through the entire Deck 7 before we disembarked. Found our bags super quick and there was NO line for the immigration. Very fast.

[Trosco]

Cruised Getaway Feb 11-18 with Five O’Clock group (parrot heads) so most evenings we enjoyed music at Spice H2O private party.

Dining at Tropicana DR loud and slow service - much better at Taste and Savor DR’s, and even up at Garden Cafe the food, service and choices very good. Ate at O’Sheehans (loud and pub food but good), and at Shanghai’s (noodle bar) - lots of choices, good food, good service.

Wine Tasting show (mid day at noon) was very good - was the only show we saw, our failure to properly plan (forgot 8 P’s).

NCL’s iConcierge app needs some improvement - good for checking schedule but you can only communicate with 1 person at a time - not good for a group string. Also could book shows, but had problem when only 1 ticket available when trying to order 2 - resolved after wait in line at guest services. Making reservations for shows a new experience - other lines we attended 2 nd show after early dining - therefore missed on several reported outstanding shows.

Embarkation was smooth - arrived about 11, little waiting until after check in, group 11, but not a lot of seating.

Signed up for Swamp/Everglades/Air Boat tour for disembarkation (included transport and Luggage watch to Ft Lauderdale airport), so that went rather smooth.

Favorite bar was Sugarcane Mojito Bar, and found service faster outside (not as crowded). The beverage (UBP) package does not include specialty coffees (mochas, iced coffee) like PCL does, but does cover most drinks - and we often could use 1 card to order 2 drinks saving both a little hassle. Bottled water not covered in drink package.

Agree with some earlier comments regarding service - maybe staff overworked, had 1 drink server argue about drink ordered - not the same warm fuzzy guest feeling found on other lines (RC, PCL,CCL) though some staff would actually make eye contact and chat a few minutes. Room steward did introduce himself early, and generally was very good - did have to leave bathroom trash out for disposal. Morning breakfast room service was excellent! Some crew hard to understand - maybe my poor hearing or maybe their language skills or maybe training - always enjoy visiting with crew - 1000 stories out there.

One excursion time was changed without notification - be sure and double check against schedule.

NCL, like most cruise lines, have no electrical outlets near head of bed, so guests using CPAP breathing devices must provide their own extension cords - which requires running and taping along walls to prevent tripping hazards. They (and others) did provide distilled water.

Avoided deck 7 - casino - too smoky.

Booked on Bliss Alaska cruise in Sept - hopefully lessons learned this cruise will make a smoother voyage.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Trosco

[mgrieger]

We were planning to get the large balconies on 8 (mini suites) on the Getaway (rooms are forward to some extent Port and Starboard). Any recommendation as to which side to book, etc. to have less of an issue with smoke? Do you think we'll have any problems out on our balcony with smoke, given that this is the floor of the waterfront?

Cruised the Getaway last week... Lg Balcony mini #8118. Shouldn't have any problems with smoke. We had port side, and that was the docking (port!) side for 3 of 4 stops (except Cozumel). Also, as to the Waterfront, I believe the closest smoking area that is more highly used is on Starboard, at the Sunset Grill area, so if you want to be extra 'safe', port side again may be your best choice, IMO.

[imnva]

Just got off the Getaway yesterday. I will have to say that I thought all of the staff were at the very least, very polite, but 80% were very friendly! Some must not have understood English very well, as when we were at breakfast at 7 am on Monday and asked why the ship was stopped, the answer was that it was "resting", and that was normal. Turns out there was a medical emergency with someone onboard, and we had to turn back towards Key West to get them off via Coast Guard boat. Regarding smoking, we had a port balcony and did smell smoke a time or two, probably due to someone smoking on their balcony, I'm guessing.