Let’s give it a go…sort of live-ish Getaway February 18-26, 2023–I’ll do my best!

[Dorhead1230]

Well, we were thoroughly confused by the procedure for the immigration check this morning, even though we read the letter. We didn’t realize exactly what time everyone would need to get off the ship, so we weren’t hustling enough. By the time we would have gone to eat breakfast, they were announcing that everyone had to get off now. I felt pretty dumb that we didn’t know how it would work, but then I realized maybe they didn’t communicate the whole process entirely clearly—a lady by the elevators who said she’d been to Miami on cruises several times before didn’t realize she had to get off even if she didn’t intend to go into Miami, and one of the cruise director staff was still doing trivia with some people in the Atrium as we were being directed off (we heard her suddenly tell them they needed to leave now as we were leaving lol). So, all we did when we got off was Uber over to Bayside Marketplace so we could eat. We ended up going to Margaritaville, which is obviously touristy, but we really weren’t going to start wandering all over. And LM is very tired today—he didn’t nap yesterday because we were at GSC in the afternoon, and between the sand, sun, and water there and the fact that he ended up staying up pretty late he’s just wiped out. The food was decent there and the server was super nice and efficient. Then, we just wandered around Bayside for a while, LM picked a new pair of crocs, and we Ubered back to the ship because this kid needs to sleep. Miami is beautiful though, and I am thinking of checking out some cruises that leave out of here so we could add on a couple days here and really check it out.

 

Food from Margaritaville:

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes I agree that the lack of clear communication was astounding. The letter last night made no sense. I’m going to put my “ I survived Miami along with my I survived Disneyworld tee shirt. Safely and comfortable on board. Had frito misto, mushroom flatbread and chicken BLT by the Haven pool for lunch. Kids went on the water slide and are now in the arcade trying to get our moneys worth on the $175 unlimited pass. Hibachi restaurant and Million Dollar Quartet tonight!

[Dorhead1230]

28 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Yes I agree that the lack of clear communication was astounding. The letter last night made no sense. I’m going to put my “ I survived Miami along with my I survived Disneyworld tee shirt. Safely and comfortable on board. Had frito misto, mushroom flatbread and chicken BLT by the Haven pool for lunch. Kids went on the water slide and are now in the arcade trying to get our moneys worth on the $175 unlimited pass. Hibachi restaurant and Million Dollar Quartet tonight!

Ok glad it wasn’t just us! We completely understood we had to get off, but it seemed like we would have time, or that if you weren’t in a rush to go anywhere you could hang back a bit longer. Then all of a sudden it was everyone off the ship NOW! Lol. We have our Cagney’s reservation tonight.

[Dorhead1230]

Going backwards a bit again…

 

Since the GSC stop was extended to 6 PM yesterday, we didn’t rush off the ship. We knew LM wouldn’t last too many hours out there. We didn’t feel like lugging our phones, so I have no pictures besides a few of the whole island that I took from the ship as we were pulling out. We walked right onto a tender when the time came to head over, and I’m such a dork because I was so impressed by how nice the new tenders are. It has been years since we went to GSC, and I remember the old tenders being like glorified rafts with engines lol. The weather was beautiful, the island is beautiful, and it’s just such a nice, relaxing time. It’s the perfect Bahamian beach day without having to worry about anything because it’s all so clean, nicely-maintained, and you can still get all your food and drinks just like you’re on the ship. We also made it right onto a tender to come back, but as @Treasure Hunter mentioned, you may wait just a little while as they keep filing more people on to run the tender back full.

 

We figured a lot of people spent more hours there than we did so a lot of the kids might be pooped, so we took LM to the kids’ splash area. It’s very cute and the “pool” part of it is nice and shallow, with a couple of very small slides they can go down. I was wondering if they don’t turn on all the squirting features at times they anticipate it being less busy, because I know there are way more spots that squirt water than what was on yesterday. But he still had such a good time and there were not more than maybe 1/2 dozen kids there total.

 

We went to Taste for dinner and again did not wait. We haven’t been doing any shows, so I don’t know what that’s been like as far as lines and all, but we haven’t had issues as far as lines and waiting. Maybe we just do things at odd times 🤷🏻‍♀️. Last night, the service was totally on-point. Bread and butter came right away without us asking, drinks were delivered quickly, and it didn’t feel like a long wait for any of the food. Everything we ordered was good, too. I decided to get LM the fettuccine Alfredo without the mushrooms or shrimp, just so he could get something other than the kids’ menu items for once. It came out just as ordered and he liked it (although the little kiss-up told me I make it better lmao).

 Stuffed mushrooms (good, but a little too much of an herb I couldn’t put my finger on)

 

French onion soup (DH says it used to be better but it’s still ok)

 

 Caesar saladShort rib ragu over pappardelle (very tasty; had a weird garnish of a quarter shallot—the shallot wasn’t weird, but the fact that it wasn’t peeled was)

 

fettucine Alfredo 

 

LM’s very fancy brownie dessert 😊

 

flourless chocolate cake (I asked for the chocolate ice cream with it in case I didn’t like it, but it was pretty good!)

 

Not pictured is DM’s corn and chili bisque, fried chicken entree, and the Black Forest cake she and DH had for dessert. All of that was pretty good, too.

 

It was pretty late by the time I got LM to bed, so we went to the casino only for a little while (wasn’t very busy at all last night, as I think a lot of people got a bit too much sun). Again, we lost and again, I didn’t see anyone winning anything significant. I have been really pacing myself so I can enjoy a little time in there each night since it has been so tight and we have two sea days coming up now.

[mking8288]

@Dorhead1230 It sounded like someone onboard the GA possibly triggered a boo-boo in not better alerting and informing all the pax of the CBP protocols and procedures, timing, etc.  If I wasn't skimming and reading quickly thru the Dailies, probably would've missed the details - not uncommon for even seasoned cruisers on these milky routes to ignore the details & toss them into the round file, especially on top of all the extra promo flyers.  On our 2019 Canada/NE cruise, we're cleared CBP in Bar Harbor on the return as the first port and the disembarkation in NY was supposed to be an easy walk thru the park, express off in the morning ... nope, confusing and madly delayed.  Hopefully, this won't happen on Sunday morning with this sailing.  

 

Our CAS friends wasn't happy with the casino's payout percentage either, he felt the machines were too tight, and not being "fair" and reasonable - and gave up after Day 3 or 4 as he decided to discontinue his generous daily contributions ... gave it one more try on the return with 2 full sea days and spend more time on their balcony instead.  Good luck & let us know if you can beat the odds - he told us he didn't see any hand pays either on the days he played.  

[Dorhead1230]

Heading away from the terminal now at 6:30 PM—not sure if everyone made it back onboard, though. I was heading to DM’s cabin and I heard a list of people they were looking for, maybe 10 or so? We went on her balcony to look for runners because the starboard side was against the pier. At least some of the people must have made it but more towards the aft because we couldn’t see them but heard some clapping and cheering. Hopefully no one is on their way to the airport right now!

[Dorhead1230]

The Captain announced that everyone made it back on, but I’m assuming that must have still been pretty stressful for the latecomers…gotta watch that clock when you’re ashore!

 

Farewell, Miami!

[Dorhead1230]

@mking8288 they put a letter with the Daily the other day explaining about the immigration check. I commented to DH and DM that it’s almost guaranteed that 1/2 the ship probably didn’t read it. I read every word and was still confused, and I read for a living 😂. I said to DH and DM this morning that I think they needed to go over the PA and explain it to the whole ship as though we were all toddlers! DH said it probably would have been useful if the letter flat-out stated everyone needs to get off by 10 or 10:30 or whatever; just set a hard deadline for getting off so everyone would know. I think that would have helped!

 

Maybe they’ll change the settings in the casino on the way back now 😜…hope springs eternal!

 

At any rate, it’s a beautiful night onboard and I’ll be eating steak soon!

[cruiseny4life]

You'd think they would have it down by now. Back in September our cruise had a Miami stop due to a cancellation of Bermuda. Our Freestyle Daily's were good about announcing what to do.

 

Day before Miami:

 

 

Miami day:

 

 

It stinks they didn't announce it as well on your Getaway cruise! But, I'm glad you made it through and enjoyed Great Stirrup Cay (my husband and I's favorite place in the Caribbean).

[ebheart]

I just caught up with your trip report and really appreciate it! I’ll be on the Getaway 8 day itinerary in 2 weeks, with my 5 year old and 2 year old, DH, and parents in law, so it’s great to hear about your experience with your LM. Hope the rest of your trip is fantastic!

[Dorhead1230]

4 hours ago, ebheart said:

I just caught up with your trip report and really appreciate it! I’ll be on the Getaway 8 day itinerary in 2 weeks, with my 5 year old and 2 year old, DH, and parents in law, so it’s great to hear about your experience with your LM. Hope the rest of your trip is fantastic!

You will have a good time! Glitches aside, we’re still talking about what cruise to do next, so it can’t be that bad lol.

[Dorhead1230]

It is very late, but I figured I’d post a Cagney’s review while I’m sitting here watching DH play in the casino because I lost my allotment for the night pretty quickly tonight 🙄, but he’s doing a little better tonight.

 

Cagney’s was okay overall. The service was definitely a highlight—everyone was very attentive and efficient. The food had some hits and misses. We were able to order an extra full meal because LM was entitled to a regular SD meal. He doesn’t eat anything on that menu, so we ordered for him off the kids’ menu and ordered one extra item from each course for ourselves. DH and DM had shrimp cocktail, which were fresh and fine. DH also tried the tuna tartare (our extra app from LM’s meal), which he liked. I decided to try the oysters Rockefeller for something different, and they were not good. I don’t know if it’s just maybe me and oysters that have an issue, but I thought they tasted fishy and gross so I didn’t finish them. Then DH had a Caesar salad, which was good, and DM and I had lobster bisque. The soup was, frankly, disgusting. I never say that about almost any food—usually my worst comment will be meh it’s ok, but that soup was completely inedible. It was watery and strongly, unpleasantly fishy. Not like lobster stock taste, just gross fish stink. We sent the bowls back pretty much full. I also got a wedge salad because of the extra from LM’s meal and that was fortunately very tasty. 

 

The entrees and sides were much better. I have always thought Cagney’s filets are delicious, and this was no exception. DH had the ribeye and liked his too. Both of our steaks were cooked perfectly. DM had the fisherman’s platter and DH and I also ordered a fisherman’s platter with LM’s meal. Those were pretty good. The scallops and crab cake were comically small (quoting DH: “You can have the whole crab cake because you can probably shove it in your mouth in one bite.” 😂). DM did not like the branzino, but I think that may have been a matter of personal taste (I didn’t taste the one on the extra entree). The sides were all fine. We didn’t order extra sides with LM’s meal. DH had broccoli (very plain), and the mushrooms, which I had too. The mushrooms were good. I also got a baked potato, which is nice because they bring over the toppings and top it tableside for you. DM had the infamous 3 slices of zucchini, which she really liked, and the potatoes au gratin which she said were ok.

 

Dessert was a highlight for me because the chocolate layer cake at Cagney’s is my other favorite NCL dessert. LM took on his own dessert and had the cake as well, as did DH. DM ordered the apple pie, which she didn’t seem enthusiastic about, but she said was good enough to eat at least.

 

All in all, the staff there made it a very pleasant dining experience and we ate several very good items, but I would never order the oysters or the lobster bisque again.

 

Oysters Rockefeller…just nope.

 

lobster bisque…triple nope.

 

cake was slightly started and ice cream was removed because LM decided we don’t like vanilla today 🤦🏻‍♀️

[sailorusvi]

12 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You'd think they would have it down by now. Back in September our cruise had a Miami stop due to a cancellation of Bermuda. Our Freestyle Daily's were good about announcing what to do.

 

Day before Miami:

 

 

Miami day:

 

 

It stinks they didn't announce it as well on your Getaway cruise! But, I'm glad you made it through and enjoyed Great Stirrup Cay (my husband and I's favorite place in the Caribbean).

Here is our letter. It was given to us the day they made the announcement. Maybe it was too early and people forgot? 

 

[mking8288]

Mouth-watering, getting hungry looking at those food pictures from Cagney's - isn't it great to re-live those memories post-cruise without shopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning up; just order and eat.

 

Enjoying your two sea days ... something about snow in metro NY area, don't worry - city is going to get 0.1 inch per latest weather forecast, a bit windy and expect seas to be a bit choppy. 

 

Here's a "test" for you - can you access and read CruiseCritic contents, i.e. this post and other recent posts, without being "connected" - or just being to ship's WiFi inTRAnet (as if you are just checking your onboard account charges)  This could be helpful to Pete ready to embark for the next 12 days cruising the Getaway.

 

  *** And, only if you can remain "connected" on CC, a secondary test - can you post something simple (and, not upload any pictures ... just text only) to this post. 

 

A question as I forgotten to check and/or look around - anyone including you had seen prime rib on the MDR menu, O'Sheehan's and/or even in the buffet b/c I don't recall, I am pretty sure in the Garden Cafe a/k/a - they served different cut of beef, chicken & pork loin (which was actually edible good)

 

 

 

  

[Dorhead1230]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Mouth-watering, getting hungry looking at those food pictures from Cagney's - isn't it great to re-live those memories post-cruise without shopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning up; just order and eat.

 

Enjoying your two sea days ... something about snow in metro NY area, don't worry - city is going to get 0.1 inch per latest weather forecast, a bit windy and expect seas to be a bit choppy. 

 

Here's a "test" for you - can you access and read CruiseCritic contents, i.e. this post and other recent posts, without being "connected" - or just being to ship's WiFi inTRAnet (as if you are just checking your onboard account charges)  This could be helpful to Pete ready to embark for the next 12 days cruising the Getaway.

 

  *** And, only if you can remain "connected" on CC, a secondary test - can you post something simple (and, not upload any pictures ... just text only) to this post. 

 

A question as I forgotten to check and/or look around - anyone including you had seen prime rib on the MDR menu, O'Sheehan's and/or even in the buffet b/c I don't recall, I am pretty sure in the Garden Cafe a/k/a - they served different cut of beef, chicken & pork loin (which was actually edible good)

 

 

 

  

I know they say that CruiseCritic is one of the websites that you can post to without using paid minutes, but I was not able to get anything to load beyond the main page when I tried earlier in the cruise. Maybe if I had waited a reallllly long time it would have loaded, but I couldn’t get it to work in a reasonable amount of time. I didn’t post anything earlier today because even the paid internet was taking forever to load and I kept having to log out to do other things. I finally got it to load now but my minutes are almost up, so I’ll have to log out and start using LM’s to keep posting.

 

I’ll have to look at the Dailies from earlier in the week to see about the prime rib in O’Sheehan’s and/or Garden Cafè. I didn’t see it on the MDR menu, but there were 3 nights so far we didn’t eat there.

[Dorhead1230]

5 hours ago, sailorusvi said:

Here is our letter. It was given to us the day they made the announcement. Maybe it was too early and people forgot? 

 

Yes, we got that too and we knew about that part. It was more that we didn’t know the deadline for when we would have to LEAVE the ship. The Daily said Garden Cafè breakfast until 11, and there were even activities listed in the Daily for like 11-11:30, so we didn’t know what time we’d have to be ready to leave by. We had already planned on going to Miami to kill time until the ship was cleared, but we just wish it had said everyone off by 10:30 or whatever so we would have known when the leave now now NOW announcement would have come lol.

[Dorhead1230]

OK, I’m hijacking the LM’s internet now, so I have a fresh 150 minutes to work with. I still have DM’s, too, now if I need it, so I’ll try to post more today and tomorrow.

 

This morning has been pretty uneventful. We slept in a little and didn’t go to Garden Cafè until nearly 11. I assumed it wouldn’t be too busy since we were so late, but I guess everyone was wiped out and got up late because it was a zoo. The Daily said 11 AM was the end of breakfast there, but they had one side open well past 11; I’m assuming because of how many people were still there.

 

We tried to take LM up to deck 17 to do giant Jenga or bean bags, but I didn’t realize how windy it was until we got up there, so naturally the stuff wasn’t out. DM was holding a glass of lemonade and some of it actually blew out of the glass lol. Nonetheless I don’t feel as though we’re having a rough ride at all.

 

A couple of random thoughts and observations I’ve had in the past couple days:

1. I know it can vary from cruise to cruise depending on the crew, etc., but I have not one time seen anything at Garden Cafe to support claims that tables go uncleared and there’s stuff piled on them, etc. They are coming around constantly clearing tables. Yesterday, DH, LM, and I were there late afternoon for a snack and when DH got up I had to tell 2 different very nice cleaners that he was returning because they came right away.

 

2. It’s been a while since I cruised, so I was struck by how nicely the shower gel in the cabins lathers up. We bring Dollar Tree suction cup hooks and poufs and keep them in the shower and when you use a pouf, the shower gel is quite good!

 

3. If you have kids and don’t plan to purchase the streaming internet, load up a tablet with as many downloads as you can before you cruise. DH received a fire tablet from Caesars recently as a gift, so to avoid bringing an iPad which is way more expensive, I loaded the entire memory of the fire tablet with shows, movies, and a game LM likes that doesn’t require Internet. The room TVs have 4 “entertainment” channels (movies and TV shows), and most of the time it isn’t kid stuff, so definitely try to bring your own. Disney+ downloads don’t expire after starting to watch them like Netflix, Prime, and some of the other services do, so I tried to download a lot of Disney stuff for him.

[Dorhead1230]

@mking8288 I looked at all the Dailies again and it does not appear that there was a prime rib night at O’Sheehan’s or the buffet. I guess that’s another item from back when that is gone now (unless they do it tomorrow or it wasn’t advertised and I missed it).

Edited February 24, 2023 by Dorhead1230

[mking8288]

@Dorhead1230  Not a surprise aa I looked at our 11 nights out of 12 Dailies and wasn't there either.  Hence, won't ask where's the beef anymore ... We had it on the Joy but wasn't good, lots of untrimmed fats, not exactly appetizing.  We ate in specialty several nights and didn't bother looking everywhere for it. My doctor is happier hearing that we are eating more fish ... just not talipia in the MDR (IHoP has it on the everyday menu, lol) 

 

Maybe they will dish out, tonight, bigger portions of starter & main course in the MDR when serving for everyone, as they did so ... on ours. 

 

Go with the flow & humor go a long way these days. Getting windy & going to be chilly tomorrow - that's mother nature & it is still winter. 7 or 8 days just seemed to fly by quickly, doesn't it. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by mking8288

[Dorhead1230]

55 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@Dorhead1230  Not a surprise aa I looked at our 11 nights out of 12 Dailies and wasn't there either.  Hence, won't ask where's the beef anymore ... We had it on the Joy but wasn't good, lots of untrimmed fats, not exactly appetizing.  We ate in specialty several nights and didn't bother looking everywhere for it. My doctor is happier hearing that we are eating more fish ... just not talipia in the MDR (IHoP has it on the everyday menu, lol) 

 

Maybe they will dish out, tonight, bigger portions of starter & main course in the MDR when serving for everyone, as they did so ... on ours. 

 

Go with the flow & humor go a long way these days. Getting windy & going to be chilly tomorrow - that's mother nature & it is still winter. 7 or 8 days just seemed to fly by quickly, doesn't it. 

Figured we’d probably be back to the chilly weather by tomorrow. It was good while it lasted and a welcome break from the winter at home. Besides, we can’t complain much this year, I guess, as we really have had a mild winter in southeastern NY. Hard to think that it will be a few months before we start having weather like we just had for the past several days, though! Ah well, clocks change in 2 weeks so there’s that to look forward to 🙂

[Dorhead1230]

We have been having a very lazy day, not accomplishing much beyond walking through the shops and some time in the arcade, and LM was in need of a long nap, so we ordered room service this afternoon. They said 40-45 minutes but it was definitely faster than that—maybe 1/2 hour. For about $12, I thought it was definitely worth it, especially if you’re ordering enough food for a whole family. The hot food arrived hot, the cold food was nice and cold, and everything was presented nicely and was exactly how we ordered it.

 

The cheese plate consisted of cheddar, another block-type cheese (Jack, maybe?), Gorgonzola, brie, and goat, along with a few grapes, a couple pieces of walnut, a couple dried apricots, and come crackers. The only complaint is that they must have it completely ready to go in the fridge, crackers included, so they get a little soggy.

 

Everything else was pretty much what you’d expect.

 

This was the big surprise, though. Maybe I’m late to the party and everyone already knows this, but when DH looked at the menu he said to me, do you think this is THE chocolate cake? It said 7-layer chocolate cake with ice cream or whipped cream. We figured we’d check it out and it is the same as the Cagney’s cake! So that was an exciting revelation 😋.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Dorhead1230

[Dorhead1230]

Right now, LM and I are enjoying some balcony time. Although it got cloudy, it is still fairly warm, and one of my favorite things about the aft balcony has always been no wind. So it’s very comfortable and relaxing back here right now.
 

Wanted to include a little video I took from the back of the ship, but it’ll take way too long to upload, so it’s just a photo for now.

[sailorusvi]

47 minutes ago, Dorhead1230 said:

Yes, we got that too and we knew about that part. It was more that we didn’t know the deadline for when we would have to LEAVE the ship. The Daily said Garden Cafè breakfast until 11, and there were even activities listed in the Daily for like 11-11:30, so we didn’t know what time we’d have to be ready to leave by. We had already planned on going to Miami to kill time until the ship was cleared, but we just wish it had said everyone off by 10:30 or whatever so we would have known when the leave now now NOW announcement would have come lol.

 

It's a crowd control thing. If they said the deadline was say 11 am.  Guess when the majority of the ship would show up? Yep, 11 am. Which would have caused even a longer wait to reboard. Note: They seem to be process us at an averaging over 1200 p/h.  

 

So the deadline is a moving target.  People leave when told and no delays, you can make the final call sooner.  People lingering, that time becomes later.  

 

We left at 9:50 and was told less than 2k were left to go.  From another source, passengers were let on around 11:45.  Betting expectations. There is a video of the final 2 passengers who had found getting booed as they got off. Lol.

 

 

[Dorhead1230]

21 minutes ago, sailorusvi said:

 

It's a crowd control thing. If they said the deadline was say 11 am.  Guess when the majority of the ship would show up? Yep, 11 am. Which would have caused even a longer wait to reboard. Note: They seem to be process us at an averaging over 1200 p/h.  

 

So the deadline is a moving target.  People leave when told and no delays, you can make the final call sooner.  People lingering, that time becomes later.  

 

We left at 9:50 and was told less than 2k were left to go.  From another source, passengers were let on around 11:45.  Betting expectations. There is a video of the final 2 passengers who had found getting booed as they got off. Lol.

 

 

We got off and through super fast. All the woman at immigration did was look at our passports and then said to little man “Aw look you were just a baby there; so cute!” and we were through lol.

[GSfromCT]

I appreciate this thread.  Thanks OP and contributors.  Myself, wife and two boys will be on the Getaway starting 3/10.  This has been helpful as the reviews I was reading were not favorable.  The worst reviews tended to come from people on a full ship and on a holiday (Christmas / New Years and Easter 2022 reviews were brutal).  I am guessing here, but it seems to me that everyone on this sailing that is contributing here is having a great time and would leave a favorable review?