Norwegian Getaway
7-Night Eastern Caribbean
02/28/2015: Miami, Florida
03/01/2015: Sea Day
03/02/2015: Sea Day
03/03/2015: Philipsburg, St Maarten
03/04/2015: St Thomas, USVI
03/05/2015: Sea Day
03/06/2015: Nassau, Bahamas
03/07/2015: Miami, Florida
"Getaway on the Getaway, a large ship with a small ship feel."
Finally did the Norwegian Getaway! I know a lot of you been wanting and waiting for this review so here it is!
For starters the Norwegian Getaway is the newest (as of now) in Norwegian's fleet, however as of later this year a new ship will take that crown for a short while and that will be the Norwegian Escape. Now if you're sailing on the Getaway (or any Norwegian ship) and want to book your next one while on board make sure to do so. On our sailing (other sailings may be different) we had to put $250 down for any booking for up to four years and get $100 back on the sailing we were on for OBC (On Board Credit). We unfortunately have cruises booked up until next September but the offer was tempting! So I do suggest that.
Now the ship may be very large however don't let her size fool you. I say that she is a large ship with a small feel. Meaning, that for her size (146,600 gt and 1,069 ft long) she is large on the outside but with her deck plan setup she has a small feel to her. Which really made it great to get from one part of the ship to the other. Now our room was all the way in the back on deck eleven, so no matter what we had to walk, no shortcuts at all for us! Also I want to mention that the Norwegian Getaway only has two sets of passenger elevators (aft and fwd), not the usual mid-ship. The ship honestly did not need them at all. We could always get an elevator (maybe with the exception of a few busy times) and everything was near by.
Most of the inside decks are on 6, 7 & 8. Front to back won't take you long at all to walk on each of these decks. Mainly because the forward and sometimes aft areas are made from large venues like the Getaway Theatre and The Tropicana Room, along with staterooms. So getting around is easy. Also ship maps are available either on the wall or at guest services. Along with everything you need to know for the day.
Now on to the food. I say it was alright, nothing we hated and a few things we loved. NCL does offer the Ultimate Dining Package, which allows you to dine at a Specialty Dining Restaurant each night of your cruise. It does not include any al la carte dining venues. Also read up on it, I'm not going into all the details of it. We did do the match just for our sailing and it was worth the money, however we did not get this package for our sailing. We did try a few places out, you will read about that below.
So the food, never had an issue finding it. Something always available. Loved the concept of being able to dine at a different free restaurant (Savor, Taste and Tropicana) any night we wished. We honestly enjoy just going, eating and leaving. Not much into having people join us and sometimes not into talking and seeing our waitstaff all over the ship and stopping to talk all the time. Not that we are not people-friendly, just on vacation we just like to veg out and relax and enjoy the ship.
Entertainment was pretty good on this ship, I will go into detail below but I want to say something before hand. When you book (even on the ship) you will have to pre-book your shows and entertainment. Now we did this prior to sailing. We double booked everything, honestly it doesn't hurt to do this as well. We did go to everything we doubled up on except for Legally Blonde. We like to plan our day around the daily activities guide, not fans of pre-booking as I'm sure a lot of you are. This was a first for us, but luckily we had a heads-up about it so we were fine. So yeah, book online or at the box office on the ship (outside the Getaway Theatre). Not sure how they work getting people in without any reservations. Also get to any booked show/event early, crowds do form and seats are hard to get at times. This goes for any event around the ship, not just shows.
We will return to Norwegian in the future, it is a really great line with a lot to offer. We did notice that the larger ship is much better than our time on their smaller ship (NCL Sky).
Well time to go into the rest of our review of the Norwegian Getaway. Enjoy!!!
Pros
- So much to see and do. The ship is a real eye-catcher.
- Easy to get anywhere on the ship, not a ton of walking and getting lost.
- Large variety of dining options on board.
- The Illusionarium was a MUST DO attraction, it's just an amazing show.
- O'Sheehan's was a hotspot day and night, nothing like the pub on NCL Sky, this time is was a full service restaurant, almost a fourth main dining room.
- Very friendly and happy ship, for the most part. Did find a few evil ones here and there.
- Tons of things do to day and night around the ship. Always had something for everyone.
- Burn the Floor was a great show, both in the Getaway Theatre and in the Tropicana Room.
- NCL has Pepsi Products (did not see Mountain Dew on the list, but saw people bringing it on and some on with glasses of it). #NotAFanofCoke :)- Very relaxing cruise also very entertaining cruise.
- Comedy was pretty good, saw them around a lot!
- Now anyone looking to get us a gift, we love giraffe's. They travel with us (they are stuffed but still our family), sleep with us and go anywhere we do. Okay we are a bit crazy but they are us. So the Art Gallery has a very large and heavy giraffe that is about $25,000. Since we cruise and don't want to max our a few cards a couple of you millionaire's out there feel free to send us this beautiful guy! Or everyone can tell him we said hello. We did name him (for our own amusement), his name is Doodleture. Again don't ask. lol
- Port days had the ship empty for the most part, not many people around.
- Being able to see most of the dining menus for the week. Now we found this on day 4 and had our specialty dining already booked for the night that had some really good stuff on the MDR menu, so check it out first before booking.
- Only got asked if we wanted drinks maybe two times the entire cruise. Come to think about it we never saw too many people even coming around with drink service.
- Their chocolate lava cake (main dining room) hand's down (on their best night) beats Carnival's chocolate melting cake.
- Speaking of service the bar staff was the best by far we ever had on a cruise. The menu is limited but they will make you anything you want. Also thanks again to the Atrium Bar for my free Shirley Temple! I'm not a big drinker, I (Patrick) can live of Mountain Dew and Chocolate Milk and I'll be fine. My favorite drink is a White Russian and they made them so good!
- O'Sheehan's had nightly specials for dinner, check it out.
- Got to check out the bridge, it was very cool like always.
- Liked how most if not all of the restaurants on board catered no problem to couple passengers, not having to sit with others was great. With the surplus of restaurants it made most places feel less cramped than they would on other lines.
Cons
- Maybe the rockiest cruise we ever been on. Didn't get sick but just became annoying.
- Couldn't stand the muster drill. It was more like being in detention. The guy in charge (Tropicana Room) was yelling at everyone to be quiet and stop talking over the microphone every two seconds. I understand that we are doing a drill for safety, but lighten up man.
- Did not like having to reserve shows and comedy, NCL is known for being all about "freestyle". To me that's not freestyle.
- Pool deck was super small for a ship that size. Pools were mostly always empty but it felt cramped because between the adults area pool and kids pool (which are both good sized) you have a shopping area, which just needs to be taken out. Not worth having for two or three days of a week long cruise and only for a couple hours each day. Just my opinion anyways.
- I get the complaint of the smell of smoke. As soon as you're near the casino (which is a large area) you smell nothing but the smoke. Which a complaint I'm sure some had was one of the dining venues (I believe Wasabi), was right next to the casino. I get people want to smoke, I'm not denying you have that but the smoke smell is just too harsh at times and it will stick to that casino and nearby areas and won't go away. However as far as the atrium area always being full of smoke smell, we did not even get a hint of that. We smelled it more towards the back near the Bliss Lounge and Bar 21.
- The bathroom in our stateroom was pretty good in size but the position sucked. Cramped in between the shower and the sink.- Not much shelf space. The room we was was a decent size but it lacked in compartment space. For example for socks, underwear and things like that they had shelves inside the closet, which wasn't big to begin with. However the bathroom had more than enough room and space.
- No lobster. Need I say more?
- Cafe had a very limited menu, which didn't have many items at all.
- Did not like that no many people got into any of the activities. On Carnival I had to fight and claw to get on stage this cruise it took me about 30 seconds before my wife told me to volunteer as a captain for the Gender Showdown. Once I became captain it was like pulling teeth to get people to come up and play. I was lucky to get on stage with Carnival.
- Before some of the shows like comedy and the main shows some of the staff would welcome you in and then go on to tell you about the pull tabs to buy. That kinda distracts the performers 5 minutes before a show when they start doing it and the preform is heading on.
- Did not like that no extra Daily Activities guides were available around the ship or in the front desk without having to wait in line or ask.
- We were late to several ports due to an engine problem.
- We had wet luggage when we finally got them, I mean soaked clothes, then after dinner our finial piece came, soaked as well. It was raining in Miami, but the port did not cover or do anything to protect anyone's luggage. Many people had the same complaint.
- Our room steward was not the best with getting our cabin cleaned. We got it done on average between 2pm and 4pm and at night from 8pm to 9pm. One day we took a nap at 3pm and came out at 5pm saying they tried but we had the DND on. I heard a lot of complaints about this as well. They tend to serve the suites more than the interiors.
Aqua Park
NCL Getaway has five slides. Most part levels from fun to scary. Depending on the thrill-seaker that you are. I (Patrick) honestly, didn't even get time to do them. I did go up to the top (which is almost level to the top of the NCL funnel), which gives you an amazing view. However most of the time we saw 3 or 4 running out of the 5 slides. Didn't understand why. Also down below the kiddos will find their friends from Spongebob Squarepants hanging around Bikini Bottom. Wait that was at the adults only area. Just kidding! The pool area is just as big as the Waves Pool but just blocked by the Market Place, so I kinda get the separation but I think NCL could have done it another way. The Waves Pool did host some games (which were very well done by the staff), so take out the Market Place section, totally useless in my eyes. So my suggestion here is to either relax by the pool or try out the slides, but most important thing, just enjoy your vacation.
Atrium (Internet, Bar & Cafe)
The atrium hosted so many different events. Either demos, dancing or movies always something going on here. Check out the Daily Activities either on the paper form or one of the many kiosks. Located the the atrium is the Guest Services & Shore Excursions on the Left and the Internet, Bar & Cafe on the Right. The Bar had great service most of the time. The Cafe had a very small menu and internet was under a dollar per minute with packages available. Now again make sure to come to the atrium which spans on decks 5 and 6, on deck 6 O'Sheehan's surrounds the entire atrium area for viewing purposes. So you can enjoy a basket of wings and a cold one while watching a movie on the big screen. Norwegian really did excel with the concept.
Bar 21
Right outside of the Bliss Ultra Lounge, the Bar 21 is for those in the casino wanting drinks. Also you can play on the machines at the bar while sipping on a cocktail.
Bliss Ultra Lounge
Never came for the late night fun, but the times we did they had a few classes which at times depending on where you sat made it very hard to see anything, the area is long and a bit narrow.
Cagney's Steakhouse & Waterfront Dining
Opposite of Moderno, Cagney's is Norwegian's Signature Steakhouse. They also have waterfront dining available if you choose that. Great feature of this and Moderno is that it over looks the Tropicana Room which was a nice view at times.
Card Room & Library
Off from the Atrium you will find a door on the right side. Take that and on the right will be these two locations. Also some pictures outside to check out.
Carlo's Bake Ship & Dolce Gelato
That's right! The Cake Boss Buddy has his own spot on Norwegian Getaway. Carlo's Bake Shop which is available at the Atrium Cafe as well is also located on deck 8 aft as well as ice cream which is even better. You can also take classes (for a fee) for cake decorating. Cupcake decorating is free and in the atrium.
Flamingo Bar & Grill
Norwegian Getaway was thought for us to be a more Miami-Latin feel to the ship. This is maybe the only place that was like that. The Flamingo Bar and Grill is a great little hideout where you can get some great dishes. We tried this place out on the first day, but not many other times. Probably too lazy to walk upstairs.
Garden Cafe Buffet
This is the only buffet on the ship. It is pretty big in size, kinda like MSC Divina but not as insane. Was open from early on to late at night, always can find something. If you can't go down to O'Sheehan's for something either to stay or for take out. The Garden Cafe did at times had to be closed to clean, however people always found their way into those quiet areas. Lines were never too bad for anything at all, you can always get food pretty quickly. You can also get hard ice cream (and soft at machines) along with glasses of wine. Wine is for a purchase. Ice cream is free. Our favorite was the crepe station, yum!
Getaway Casino
This was a fairly large casino. We were tempted to place but didn't bother. Well can't say didn't. We actually on the last night of the cruise spent $20 in the Getaway Theatre for 7 cash pull tabs (usually $5 each). We won about $3 so we used the quarters in the quarter machine thing, you know the round one with all the chairs around it.
Getaway Theatre
Didn't like the overall theater to much. It was only two levels, but nowhere as large as the other theater's on most other large ships. Seats after a while got to be very uncomfortable, especially for long shows like Legally Blonde. It is worth it for the shows that the ship had. Burn the Floor was excellent, we saw it twice. Not too much singing but a lot of dancing this show was just amazing. Also make sure to check them out in the Tropicana Room on a couple of the nights throughout the cruise, times are in the Daily Activities. Legally Blonde was the other production show which runs about an hour and a half. It is pretty close to the movie, drifts off a bit, but still a really good show. On our last day some of the cast from both shows did a Q&A, it was pretty cool. The theater does have bar service that comes around. Outside of the Getaway Theatre sits the Box Office, where you can reserve your tickets for the shows. You don't get assigned seating, unless you're in the Haven and a section is roped off for you. The Box Office is where you have to reserve the entertainment (shows and comedy), unless you did it already online earlier. Our suggestion is to do it before hand and book multiple dates and times. Not saying everyone but ones you know you will go to. We booked everything twice and went to everything twice except for Legally Blonde, which we would have but it was just too long to sit on those seats for.
Headliners Comedy Club
We had three comedians throughout our cruise, that were around all the time at different events. They were pretty good, stuck to the PG shows since we couldn't find reservations for the R ones. The comedy club is a bit small but with reservations everyone can rest assure that they will have a good seat. The club also has a bar to get drinks.
Ice Bar
The temperature here when we went in was a -20 degrees which is well below freezing. Yes it is that cold in there, especially from the air conditioner blowing the air. We did this our last sea day, which we were invited by the Hotel Director. It was a really cool experience. When you get the tickets ($20 each), you get two free drinks (pre-made). Did not like the drinks at all, horrible flavor in the orange one I had. Still go in and check it out.
Illusionarium
BOOK IT! All I need to say there, moving on......Okay well we were invited here for dinner and had a front row seat to the action. It's just an amazing magic show, and we are the type of people who try and look for the tricks, but nothing. These people are absolutely thrilling with their performances. The food wasn't the greatest, but the show makes up for it, just an experience you need to try at least once. On one of the last days the cast does a Q&A about how they started out in magic and people get to ask questions. Really cool show that you need to check out.
La Cucina Italian Restaurant & Waterfront Dining
Here are some pictures of the Italian Restaurant, La Cucina and it's Waterfront dining. Only time we were here was for the pizza making, which we thought was actually learning to make pizza. Nope, just get a small premade crust and add sauce and toppings, eat and leave. Still fun though, check it out!
Le Bistro French Restaurant
Here are some pictures from Le Bistro. Le Bistro is located on deck five in the other atrium. We don't recommend eating outside (feel free to as we did not dine here), for it being located where it is, it would just be very noisy and people will be looking at you every two seconds eating. Again your choice with that.
Miami, Florida (Homeport)
Honestly we don't remember to much of the boarding process. We were on in a decent amount of time. Getting to the port (by car) was a nightmare, I95 was just a complete downpour from start to finish on the highway. When we got to the port it cleared up. We checked out luggage (MISTAKE NUMBER ONE), the porters took it and must not have covered it because when we got it everything was soaked. Many others complained as well. Also a note to self, secure the luggage tags properly with tape. Tape every part that is exposed. I didn't on one piece, still got to us but barely. Also another tip if it's raining outside you're better off just lugging it on. We were in our rooms before 1pm.
Mixx Bar
In between Taste and Savor is the Mixx Bar. Great place for a round of drinks before and/or after dinner.
Moderno Churrascaria & Waterfront Dining
We ended up trying this restaurant out. We heard a lot about it online and how people loved it. For starters this restaurant offers different selections of meats and waiters come around table to table with different options and you take what you want. Leave the card (that they give you) green for more and red to stop. We tried one of everything, the food was alright, nothing too great. They also have a buffet that you can go up to that has a lighter selection of foods. We recommend trying it out because it is a great experience. Everyone also has a different palate of flavor and taste, so try it out.
Nassau, Bahamas
We stayed on this time around. It was our last port and last day of the cruise so we decided to enjoy the Norwegian Getaway one last time. We took a few pictures around, enjoy!
Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian & Waterfront Dining
For the seafood lovers out there this place is for you. They also have an outside area to get smaller items.
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill
LOVED this place. Nothing like the Norwegian Sky. You can also get food to go. Plenty of space and loved that you can dine like you would in the main dining rooms. Also located around the atrium you can have wings and enjoy wants going on a deck below.
Phillipsburg, St Maarten
This was our first time here and it was more than we expected. We recommend spending a few dollars per person and taking the water taxi to the other area around the port. It was just a beautiful day and just so much to see and do on foot. We can't wait to come back and enjoy the area even more.
Photo Gallery
Here are some photo's of the photo gallery on board.
Prime Meridian Bar
In between Moderno and Cagney's the Prime Meridian Bar is perfect for a pre-dinner cocktail.
Savor & Taste Restaurant
To accommodated the large number of passengers day and night on the Norwegian Getaway they have more available restaurants (both payable and free). These two were free. So being able to choose from an additional two dining rooms in addition to the buffet, O'Sheehan's and the Tropicana Room was great. No lines at all and service was pretty quick. Again try out all of these places, all three main dining rooms (Savor, Taste and Tropicana) serve the same items each as one another, but different everyday. Some lunch menus on different days are the same, same with breakfast.
Shanghai's Noodle Bar
Worst location on the ship for a specialty restaurant. Right in the Getaway Casino it is just a horrible place to eat (in our opinion). Just the massive amount of smoke smell is just insane. Who can even eat in that! I'm sure the food was great, but the location was not.
Shore Excursions & Guest Services
Here are some shots from the Guest Services and Shore Excursions area on the Norwegian Getaway. One small complaint I had was that they had an expediter in front of the counter trying to answer questions for guests before going to the desk. Maybe 80% of the time (maybe more) the passengers would end up at the desk anyways. I remember one morning having to wait for about 10 minutes for a glass of water at the atrium bar, while across the atrium at Guest Services having about 4 people working and an expediter (5 total). My management thought would be not to have an expediter during slow hours and add on a person at the bar. The person took so long at the bar was because they were pulling double duty with the cafe counter.
Spice H20
There was a party here just about everynight, yet we didn't make it to them. Heard that they were great. Up here you can also find a bar and movie screen which does show some movies. To the right side (when you walk out) you will find a little area with waterfalls where you can hang out and put your feet in the shallow waters. Very relaxing.
Sports Complex
Let us tell you that the pictures look bigger than this place actually was. The ropes course is big for being a "U" shaped, but we expected bigger for some reason. The Carnival Breeze also has one which is more square shaped. They also have a small ropes course for the little ones, and myself. lol. Also located in this area is the mini golf (not too big), the spider web, bungee jump and rock wall. A deck above is the full length basketball court, which was very spacious.
St Thomas, USVI
We took a nice long walk down the pier and went to the skyride up to Paradise Point. Going up was pretty smooth, not rocky. Our suggestion get there early before the crowds, because they do form quick. It was just an amazing view, they also have a restaurant at the top along with a bar and some shops. Will do this again if and when we come back.
Stateroom 11685 (Interior)
Well this room wasn't horrible. The attendant we had was probably the worst part of it. We are used to having the cabin cleaned in the morning from 9am to 12pm and at night from 5pm to 7pm. This time they were all scattered around with times we were lucky we even had it done. Seems like when they would finish with the afternoon shift they turn back around coming in for turndown service. They did seem to cater the suites more often, since that's where we could always find them cleaning. Well the size of the room was small but big. It has some design flaws in a good and bad way. First was the closet had a decent size to it but only had open shelves inside of it, making hard to grab things like undergarments. It was also attached to the bathroom (just along the wall not open in anyway), but the bathroom was bigger along with the shower with the bathroom having more than enough room in it. We were all the back in the back of the ship and inside another corridor on deck 11. Wasn't too bad, still somewhat close to the elevators and didn't have too far of a walk. Also got to our room very quickly on the ship once we boarded. Which we should have brought on our luggage cause once we actually did get it everything was soaked, that's another story which I explained above.
Studio Lounge
Here are some shots of the Studio Lounge, which is designed for solo cruisers. Kinda like the Haven it's a private area designed for them, unless a door was left opened accidentally and we happen to walk in and take pictures. :)
Sugarcane Mojito Bar & Waterfront
Another bar on the Norwegian Getaway was the Sugarcane Mojito Bar, also available on the waterfront.
Sunset Bar & Waterfront
Across from La Cucina was the Sunset Bar, which most of the time was busy. The smoking room was located inside this area as well in a separate room.
Teppanyaki
They Teppanyaki chefs during on of the day's will show you a long video of their chefs and a little demonstration of their restaurant. Looked like a lot of basic tricks, nothing too outside the box. I also got up on stage and did a trick with an egg. Check out the demo in the atrium, any interest then go and book.
The Grammy Experience & Waterfront
This place had a lot of signer memorabilia and a few Grammy trophies. Didn't get a chance to check it out at night, but looked like a cool place to hang out.
The Humidor Cigar Lounge
Located right in the corner of the Sunset Bar this little room is for the smokers to light up and enjoy.
The Market Place
TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE!!!! I (Patrick) can not say that enough about this area. Now the function of this place (that I saw) was to sell cheap stuff and to have a sunning area on top. Now we been on several ships that had both of these things. I can careless to shop on a pool deck, either put a store or just do it IN THE SHOPS!! My opinion, just destroy this area and make it an open deck from the kids pool to the adults pool. If you want to separate the two then put a bar or a stage, not that hard designers. Couldn't stand this place, sorry I needed to vent. At times I just wanted to take an emergency ax and chop it down myself. Open the deck up and make it less cramped. Sucks to have a stage, adults pool, shopping area and kids pool. Again my opinion.
The Raw Bar
Here are some photos of the Raw Bar.
The Tropicana Room
This is the largest dining room on board the Getaway and was very elegant with it's large dance floor. Live music would fill the room just about every night. Also Burn the Floor did a couple performances here, check out the Daily Guide for that. Food and service was both great. I did wish that the large windows in the back would have been opened to make to room more open.
Tradewinds Tax-&-Duty-Free Shops
Shopping wasn't the biggest draw on this ship. Most of the standards, large jewelry store and some smaller ones here and there.
Video Arcade
Probably the largest arcade we ever seen on a ship. Just give the cards you're ship card and let the arcade be their baby sitter.
Wasabi
Here are some shots of Wasabi.
Waves Pool & Bar
Pool was a good size, again the Market Place was a big distraction. Would have liked to see a big screen and a bigger stage. Lot's of events were held here. Another thing we noticed was not many people were inside the actual pool. Lot's of people around the pool and in the hot tubs, not many in. Found port days with more people in them. Water was warm enough, just didn't understand.
https://www.facebook.com/cruiseaddictjunkie.blogspot
03/07/2015: Miami, Florida
"Getaway on the Getaway, a large ship with a small ship feel."
Finally did the Norwegian Getaway! I know a lot of you been wanting and waiting for this review so here it is!
For starters the Norwegian Getaway is the newest (as of now) in Norwegian's fleet, however as of later this year a new ship will take that crown for a short while and that will be the Norwegian Escape. Now if you're sailing on the Getaway (or any Norwegian ship) and want to book your next one while on board make sure to do so. On our sailing (other sailings may be different) we had to put $250 down for any booking for up to four years and get $100 back on the sailing we were on for OBC (On Board Credit). We unfortunately have cruises booked up until next September but the offer was tempting! So I do suggest that.
Now the ship may be very large however don't let her size fool you. I say that she is a large ship with a small feel. Meaning, that for her size (146,600 gt and 1,069 ft long) she is large on the outside but with her deck plan setup she has a small feel to her. Which really made it great to get from one part of the ship to the other. Now our room was all the way in the back on deck eleven, so no matter what we had to walk, no shortcuts at all for us! Also I want to mention that the Norwegian Getaway only has two sets of passenger elevators (aft and fwd), not the usual mid-ship. The ship honestly did not need them at all. We could always get an elevator (maybe with the exception of a few busy times) and everything was near by.
Most of the inside decks are on 6, 7 & 8. Front to back won't take you long at all to walk on each of these decks. Mainly because the forward and sometimes aft areas are made from large venues like the Getaway Theatre and The Tropicana Room, along with staterooms. So getting around is easy. Also ship maps are available either on the wall or at guest services. Along with everything you need to know for the day.
Now on to the food. I say it was alright, nothing we hated and a few things we loved. NCL does offer the Ultimate Dining Package, which allows you to dine at a Specialty Dining Restaurant each night of your cruise. It does not include any al la carte dining venues. Also read up on it, I'm not going into all the details of it. We did do the match just for our sailing and it was worth the money, however we did not get this package for our sailing. We did try a few places out, you will read about that below.
So the food, never had an issue finding it. Something always available. Loved the concept of being able to dine at a different free restaurant (Savor, Taste and Tropicana) any night we wished. We honestly enjoy just going, eating and leaving. Not much into having people join us and sometimes not into talking and seeing our waitstaff all over the ship and stopping to talk all the time. Not that we are not people-friendly, just on vacation we just like to veg out and relax and enjoy the ship.
Entertainment was pretty good on this ship, I will go into detail below but I want to say something before hand. When you book (even on the ship) you will have to pre-book your shows and entertainment. Now we did this prior to sailing. We double booked everything, honestly it doesn't hurt to do this as well. We did go to everything we doubled up on except for Legally Blonde. We like to plan our day around the daily activities guide, not fans of pre-booking as I'm sure a lot of you are. This was a first for us, but luckily we had a heads-up about it so we were fine. So yeah, book online or at the box office on the ship (outside the Getaway Theatre). Not sure how they work getting people in without any reservations. Also get to any booked show/event early, crowds do form and seats are hard to get at times. This goes for any event around the ship, not just shows.
We will return to Norwegian in the future, it is a really great line with a lot to offer. We did notice that the larger ship is much better than our time on their smaller ship (NCL Sky).
Well time to go into the rest of our review of the Norwegian Getaway. Enjoy!!!
Pros
- So much to see and do. The ship is a real eye-catcher.
- Easy to get anywhere on the ship, not a ton of walking and getting lost.
- Large variety of dining options on board.
- The Illusionarium was a MUST DO attraction, it's just an amazing show.
- O'Sheehan's was a hotspot day and night, nothing like the pub on NCL Sky, this time is was a full service restaurant, almost a fourth main dining room.
- Very friendly and happy ship, for the most part. Did find a few evil ones here and there.
- Tons of things do to day and night around the ship. Always had something for everyone.
- Burn the Floor was a great show, both in the Getaway Theatre and in the Tropicana Room.
- NCL has Pepsi Products (did not see Mountain Dew on the list, but saw people bringing it on and some on with glasses of it). #NotAFanofCoke :)- Very relaxing cruise also very entertaining cruise.
- Comedy was pretty good, saw them around a lot!
- Now anyone looking to get us a gift, we love giraffe's. They travel with us (they are stuffed but still our family), sleep with us and go anywhere we do. Okay we are a bit crazy but they are us. So the Art Gallery has a very large and heavy giraffe that is about $25,000. Since we cruise and don't want to max our a few cards a couple of you millionaire's out there feel free to send us this beautiful guy! Or everyone can tell him we said hello. We did name him (for our own amusement), his name is Doodleture. Again don't ask. lol
- Port days had the ship empty for the most part, not many people around.
- Being able to see most of the dining menus for the week. Now we found this on day 4 and had our specialty dining already booked for the night that had some really good stuff on the MDR menu, so check it out first before booking.
- Only got asked if we wanted drinks maybe two times the entire cruise. Come to think about it we never saw too many people even coming around with drink service.
- Their chocolate lava cake (main dining room) hand's down (on their best night) beats Carnival's chocolate melting cake.
- Speaking of service the bar staff was the best by far we ever had on a cruise. The menu is limited but they will make you anything you want. Also thanks again to the Atrium Bar for my free Shirley Temple! I'm not a big drinker, I (Patrick) can live of Mountain Dew and Chocolate Milk and I'll be fine. My favorite drink is a White Russian and they made them so good!
- O'Sheehan's had nightly specials for dinner, check it out.
- Got to check out the bridge, it was very cool like always.
- Liked how most if not all of the restaurants on board catered no problem to couple passengers, not having to sit with others was great. With the surplus of restaurants it made most places feel less cramped than they would on other lines.
Cons
- Maybe the rockiest cruise we ever been on. Didn't get sick but just became annoying.
- Couldn't stand the muster drill. It was more like being in detention. The guy in charge (Tropicana Room) was yelling at everyone to be quiet and stop talking over the microphone every two seconds. I understand that we are doing a drill for safety, but lighten up man.
- Did not like having to reserve shows and comedy, NCL is known for being all about "freestyle". To me that's not freestyle.
- Pool deck was super small for a ship that size. Pools were mostly always empty but it felt cramped because between the adults area pool and kids pool (which are both good sized) you have a shopping area, which just needs to be taken out. Not worth having for two or three days of a week long cruise and only for a couple hours each day. Just my opinion anyways.
- I get the complaint of the smell of smoke. As soon as you're near the casino (which is a large area) you smell nothing but the smoke. Which a complaint I'm sure some had was one of the dining venues (I believe Wasabi), was right next to the casino. I get people want to smoke, I'm not denying you have that but the smoke smell is just too harsh at times and it will stick to that casino and nearby areas and won't go away. However as far as the atrium area always being full of smoke smell, we did not even get a hint of that. We smelled it more towards the back near the Bliss Lounge and Bar 21.
- The bathroom in our stateroom was pretty good in size but the position sucked. Cramped in between the shower and the sink.- Not much shelf space. The room we was was a decent size but it lacked in compartment space. For example for socks, underwear and things like that they had shelves inside the closet, which wasn't big to begin with. However the bathroom had more than enough room and space.
- No lobster. Need I say more?
- Cafe had a very limited menu, which didn't have many items at all.
- Did not like that no many people got into any of the activities. On Carnival I had to fight and claw to get on stage this cruise it took me about 30 seconds before my wife told me to volunteer as a captain for the Gender Showdown. Once I became captain it was like pulling teeth to get people to come up and play. I was lucky to get on stage with Carnival.
- Before some of the shows like comedy and the main shows some of the staff would welcome you in and then go on to tell you about the pull tabs to buy. That kinda distracts the performers 5 minutes before a show when they start doing it and the preform is heading on.
- Did not like that no extra Daily Activities guides were available around the ship or in the front desk without having to wait in line or ask.
- We were late to several ports due to an engine problem.
- We had wet luggage when we finally got them, I mean soaked clothes, then after dinner our finial piece came, soaked as well. It was raining in Miami, but the port did not cover or do anything to protect anyone's luggage. Many people had the same complaint.
- Our room steward was not the best with getting our cabin cleaned. We got it done on average between 2pm and 4pm and at night from 8pm to 9pm. One day we took a nap at 3pm and came out at 5pm saying they tried but we had the DND on. I heard a lot of complaints about this as well. They tend to serve the suites more than the interiors.
Aqua Park
NCL Getaway has five slides. Most part levels from fun to scary. Depending on the thrill-seaker that you are. I (Patrick) honestly, didn't even get time to do them. I did go up to the top (which is almost level to the top of the NCL funnel), which gives you an amazing view. However most of the time we saw 3 or 4 running out of the 5 slides. Didn't understand why. Also down below the kiddos will find their friends from Spongebob Squarepants hanging around Bikini Bottom. Wait that was at the adults only area. Just kidding! The pool area is just as big as the Waves Pool but just blocked by the Market Place, so I kinda get the separation but I think NCL could have done it another way. The Waves Pool did host some games (which were very well done by the staff), so take out the Market Place section, totally useless in my eyes. So my suggestion here is to either relax by the pool or try out the slides, but most important thing, just enjoy your vacation.
Atrium (Internet, Bar & Cafe)
The atrium hosted so many different events. Either demos, dancing or movies always something going on here. Check out the Daily Activities either on the paper form or one of the many kiosks. Located the the atrium is the Guest Services & Shore Excursions on the Left and the Internet, Bar & Cafe on the Right. The Bar had great service most of the time. The Cafe had a very small menu and internet was under a dollar per minute with packages available. Now again make sure to come to the atrium which spans on decks 5 and 6, on deck 6 O'Sheehan's surrounds the entire atrium area for viewing purposes. So you can enjoy a basket of wings and a cold one while watching a movie on the big screen. Norwegian really did excel with the concept.
Bar 21
Right outside of the Bliss Ultra Lounge, the Bar 21 is for those in the casino wanting drinks. Also you can play on the machines at the bar while sipping on a cocktail.
Bliss Ultra Lounge
Never came for the late night fun, but the times we did they had a few classes which at times depending on where you sat made it very hard to see anything, the area is long and a bit narrow.
Cagney's Steakhouse & Waterfront Dining
Opposite of Moderno, Cagney's is Norwegian's Signature Steakhouse. They also have waterfront dining available if you choose that. Great feature of this and Moderno is that it over looks the Tropicana Room which was a nice view at times.
Card Room & Library
Off from the Atrium you will find a door on the right side. Take that and on the right will be these two locations. Also some pictures outside to check out.
Carlo's Bake Ship & Dolce Gelato
That's right! The Cake Boss Buddy has his own spot on Norwegian Getaway. Carlo's Bake Shop which is available at the Atrium Cafe as well is also located on deck 8 aft as well as ice cream which is even better. You can also take classes (for a fee) for cake decorating. Cupcake decorating is free and in the atrium.
Flamingo Bar & Grill
Norwegian Getaway was thought for us to be a more Miami-Latin feel to the ship. This is maybe the only place that was like that. The Flamingo Bar and Grill is a great little hideout where you can get some great dishes. We tried this place out on the first day, but not many other times. Probably too lazy to walk upstairs.
Garden Cafe Buffet
This is the only buffet on the ship. It is pretty big in size, kinda like MSC Divina but not as insane. Was open from early on to late at night, always can find something. If you can't go down to O'Sheehan's for something either to stay or for take out. The Garden Cafe did at times had to be closed to clean, however people always found their way into those quiet areas. Lines were never too bad for anything at all, you can always get food pretty quickly. You can also get hard ice cream (and soft at machines) along with glasses of wine. Wine is for a purchase. Ice cream is free. Our favorite was the crepe station, yum!
Getaway Casino
This was a fairly large casino. We were tempted to place but didn't bother. Well can't say didn't. We actually on the last night of the cruise spent $20 in the Getaway Theatre for 7 cash pull tabs (usually $5 each). We won about $3 so we used the quarters in the quarter machine thing, you know the round one with all the chairs around it.
Getaway Theatre
Didn't like the overall theater to much. It was only two levels, but nowhere as large as the other theater's on most other large ships. Seats after a while got to be very uncomfortable, especially for long shows like Legally Blonde. It is worth it for the shows that the ship had. Burn the Floor was excellent, we saw it twice. Not too much singing but a lot of dancing this show was just amazing. Also make sure to check them out in the Tropicana Room on a couple of the nights throughout the cruise, times are in the Daily Activities. Legally Blonde was the other production show which runs about an hour and a half. It is pretty close to the movie, drifts off a bit, but still a really good show. On our last day some of the cast from both shows did a Q&A, it was pretty cool. The theater does have bar service that comes around. Outside of the Getaway Theatre sits the Box Office, where you can reserve your tickets for the shows. You don't get assigned seating, unless you're in the Haven and a section is roped off for you. The Box Office is where you have to reserve the entertainment (shows and comedy), unless you did it already online earlier. Our suggestion is to do it before hand and book multiple dates and times. Not saying everyone but ones you know you will go to. We booked everything twice and went to everything twice except for Legally Blonde, which we would have but it was just too long to sit on those seats for.
Headliners Comedy Club
We had three comedians throughout our cruise, that were around all the time at different events. They were pretty good, stuck to the PG shows since we couldn't find reservations for the R ones. The comedy club is a bit small but with reservations everyone can rest assure that they will have a good seat. The club also has a bar to get drinks.
Ice Bar
The temperature here when we went in was a -20 degrees which is well below freezing. Yes it is that cold in there, especially from the air conditioner blowing the air. We did this our last sea day, which we were invited by the Hotel Director. It was a really cool experience. When you get the tickets ($20 each), you get two free drinks (pre-made). Did not like the drinks at all, horrible flavor in the orange one I had. Still go in and check it out.
Illusionarium
BOOK IT! All I need to say there, moving on......Okay well we were invited here for dinner and had a front row seat to the action. It's just an amazing magic show, and we are the type of people who try and look for the tricks, but nothing. These people are absolutely thrilling with their performances. The food wasn't the greatest, but the show makes up for it, just an experience you need to try at least once. On one of the last days the cast does a Q&A about how they started out in magic and people get to ask questions. Really cool show that you need to check out.
La Cucina Italian Restaurant & Waterfront Dining
Here are some pictures of the Italian Restaurant, La Cucina and it's Waterfront dining. Only time we were here was for the pizza making, which we thought was actually learning to make pizza. Nope, just get a small premade crust and add sauce and toppings, eat and leave. Still fun though, check it out!
Le Bistro French Restaurant
Here are some pictures from Le Bistro. Le Bistro is located on deck five in the other atrium. We don't recommend eating outside (feel free to as we did not dine here), for it being located where it is, it would just be very noisy and people will be looking at you every two seconds eating. Again your choice with that.
Miami, Florida (Homeport)
Honestly we don't remember to much of the boarding process. We were on in a decent amount of time. Getting to the port (by car) was a nightmare, I95 was just a complete downpour from start to finish on the highway. When we got to the port it cleared up. We checked out luggage (MISTAKE NUMBER ONE), the porters took it and must not have covered it because when we got it everything was soaked. Many others complained as well. Also a note to self, secure the luggage tags properly with tape. Tape every part that is exposed. I didn't on one piece, still got to us but barely. Also another tip if it's raining outside you're better off just lugging it on. We were in our rooms before 1pm.
Mixx Bar
In between Taste and Savor is the Mixx Bar. Great place for a round of drinks before and/or after dinner.
Moderno Churrascaria & Waterfront Dining
We ended up trying this restaurant out. We heard a lot about it online and how people loved it. For starters this restaurant offers different selections of meats and waiters come around table to table with different options and you take what you want. Leave the card (that they give you) green for more and red to stop. We tried one of everything, the food was alright, nothing too great. They also have a buffet that you can go up to that has a lighter selection of foods. We recommend trying it out because it is a great experience. Everyone also has a different palate of flavor and taste, so try it out.
Nassau, Bahamas
We stayed on this time around. It was our last port and last day of the cruise so we decided to enjoy the Norwegian Getaway one last time. We took a few pictures around, enjoy!
Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian & Waterfront Dining
For the seafood lovers out there this place is for you. They also have an outside area to get smaller items.
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill
LOVED this place. Nothing like the Norwegian Sky. You can also get food to go. Plenty of space and loved that you can dine like you would in the main dining rooms. Also located around the atrium you can have wings and enjoy wants going on a deck below.
Phillipsburg, St Maarten
This was our first time here and it was more than we expected. We recommend spending a few dollars per person and taking the water taxi to the other area around the port. It was just a beautiful day and just so much to see and do on foot. We can't wait to come back and enjoy the area even more.
Photo Gallery
Here are some photo's of the photo gallery on board.
In between Moderno and Cagney's the Prime Meridian Bar is perfect for a pre-dinner cocktail.
Savor & Taste Restaurant
To accommodated the large number of passengers day and night on the Norwegian Getaway they have more available restaurants (both payable and free). These two were free. So being able to choose from an additional two dining rooms in addition to the buffet, O'Sheehan's and the Tropicana Room was great. No lines at all and service was pretty quick. Again try out all of these places, all three main dining rooms (Savor, Taste and Tropicana) serve the same items each as one another, but different everyday. Some lunch menus on different days are the same, same with breakfast.
Shanghai's Noodle Bar
Worst location on the ship for a specialty restaurant. Right in the Getaway Casino it is just a horrible place to eat (in our opinion). Just the massive amount of smoke smell is just insane. Who can even eat in that! I'm sure the food was great, but the location was not.
Shore Excursions & Guest Services
Here are some shots from the Guest Services and Shore Excursions area on the Norwegian Getaway. One small complaint I had was that they had an expediter in front of the counter trying to answer questions for guests before going to the desk. Maybe 80% of the time (maybe more) the passengers would end up at the desk anyways. I remember one morning having to wait for about 10 minutes for a glass of water at the atrium bar, while across the atrium at Guest Services having about 4 people working and an expediter (5 total). My management thought would be not to have an expediter during slow hours and add on a person at the bar. The person took so long at the bar was because they were pulling double duty with the cafe counter.
Spice H20
There was a party here just about everynight, yet we didn't make it to them. Heard that they were great. Up here you can also find a bar and movie screen which does show some movies. To the right side (when you walk out) you will find a little area with waterfalls where you can hang out and put your feet in the shallow waters. Very relaxing.
Sports Complex
Let us tell you that the pictures look bigger than this place actually was. The ropes course is big for being a "U" shaped, but we expected bigger for some reason. The Carnival Breeze also has one which is more square shaped. They also have a small ropes course for the little ones, and myself. lol. Also located in this area is the mini golf (not too big), the spider web, bungee jump and rock wall. A deck above is the full length basketball court, which was very spacious.
We took a nice long walk down the pier and went to the skyride up to Paradise Point. Going up was pretty smooth, not rocky. Our suggestion get there early before the crowds, because they do form quick. It was just an amazing view, they also have a restaurant at the top along with a bar and some shops. Will do this again if and when we come back.
Stateroom 11685 (Interior)
Well this room wasn't horrible. The attendant we had was probably the worst part of it. We are used to having the cabin cleaned in the morning from 9am to 12pm and at night from 5pm to 7pm. This time they were all scattered around with times we were lucky we even had it done. Seems like when they would finish with the afternoon shift they turn back around coming in for turndown service. They did seem to cater the suites more often, since that's where we could always find them cleaning. Well the size of the room was small but big. It has some design flaws in a good and bad way. First was the closet had a decent size to it but only had open shelves inside of it, making hard to grab things like undergarments. It was also attached to the bathroom (just along the wall not open in anyway), but the bathroom was bigger along with the shower with the bathroom having more than enough room in it. We were all the back in the back of the ship and inside another corridor on deck 11. Wasn't too bad, still somewhat close to the elevators and didn't have too far of a walk. Also got to our room very quickly on the ship once we boarded. Which we should have brought on our luggage cause once we actually did get it everything was soaked, that's another story which I explained above.
Studio Lounge
Here are some shots of the Studio Lounge, which is designed for solo cruisers. Kinda like the Haven it's a private area designed for them, unless a door was left opened accidentally and we happen to walk in and take pictures. :)
Sugarcane Mojito Bar & Waterfront
Another bar on the Norwegian Getaway was the Sugarcane Mojito Bar, also available on the waterfront.
Sunset Bar & Waterfront
Across from La Cucina was the Sunset Bar, which most of the time was busy. The smoking room was located inside this area as well in a separate room.
Teppanyaki
They Teppanyaki chefs during on of the day's will show you a long video of their chefs and a little demonstration of their restaurant. Looked like a lot of basic tricks, nothing too outside the box. I also got up on stage and did a trick with an egg. Check out the demo in the atrium, any interest then go and book.
The Grammy Experience & Waterfront
This place had a lot of signer memorabilia and a few Grammy trophies. Didn't get a chance to check it out at night, but looked like a cool place to hang out.
The Humidor Cigar Lounge
Located right in the corner of the Sunset Bar this little room is for the smokers to light up and enjoy.
The Market Place
TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE!!!! I (Patrick) can not say that enough about this area. Now the function of this place (that I saw) was to sell cheap stuff and to have a sunning area on top. Now we been on several ships that had both of these things. I can careless to shop on a pool deck, either put a store or just do it IN THE SHOPS!! My opinion, just destroy this area and make it an open deck from the kids pool to the adults pool. If you want to separate the two then put a bar or a stage, not that hard designers. Couldn't stand this place, sorry I needed to vent. At times I just wanted to take an emergency ax and chop it down myself. Open the deck up and make it less cramped. Sucks to have a stage, adults pool, shopping area and kids pool. Again my opinion.
The Raw Bar
Here are some photos of the Raw Bar.
The Tropicana Room
This is the largest dining room on board the Getaway and was very elegant with it's large dance floor. Live music would fill the room just about every night. Also Burn the Floor did a couple performances here, check out the Daily Guide for that. Food and service was both great. I did wish that the large windows in the back would have been opened to make to room more open.
Tradewinds Tax-&-Duty-Free Shops
Shopping wasn't the biggest draw on this ship. Most of the standards, large jewelry store and some smaller ones here and there.
Video Arcade
Probably the largest arcade we ever seen on a ship. Just give the cards you're ship card and let the arcade be their baby sitter.
Wasabi
Here are some shots of Wasabi.
Waves Pool & Bar
Pool was a good size, again the Market Place was a big distraction. Would have liked to see a big screen and a bigger stage. Lot's of events were held here. Another thing we noticed was not many people were inside the actual pool. Lot's of people around the pool and in the hot tubs, not many in. Found port days with more people in them. Water was warm enough, just didn't understand.
No comments:
Post a Comment