Any Getaway tips and secrets?

We'll be cruising the Getaway soon and it is our first time on NCL. I recall the last time we cruised RCCL we found a lot of cool "hints and secrets" about the Serenade. Hoping to hear about some for the Getaway.

For us were staying in a mini-suite on deck 13;we're a family of 3, dd is 12; have 4 nt sdp and ubp; and will be sending 2 port days on the ship.

Please bring on those hints and secrets.THANKS!

Ha ha!! I have some first time NCL secrets here: http://cruisingisntjustforoldpeople.co.uk/2016/12/04/8-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-cruising-with-ncl/

I have a getaway gallery on there to of my holiday snaps. I loved the getaway! You'll have a super time :)

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Loved your blog post, thanks for sharing!

Eat breakfast in Margaritaville and have your choice of tables!!! They set up a smaller buffet there each morning or you can carry food up from the main buffet downstairs if you want all the options. It is empty every morning. Because it is a "for fee" lunch venue people do not realize it is open for breakfast for free. Our group of 17 were easily able to find tables together which was impossible in the main buffet....we ate breakfast here every day of our trip. We felt like we had our own restaurant!!

Have a great cruise!!!

Jerry

Eat breakfast in Margaritaville and have your choice of tables!!! They set up a smaller buffet there each morning or you can carry food up from the main buffet downstairs if you want all the options. It is empty every morning. Because it is a "for fee" lunch venue people do not realize it is open for breakfast for free. Our group of 17 were easily able to find tables together which was impossible in the main buffet....we ate breakfast here every day of our trip. We felt like we had our own restaurant!!

 

Have a great cruise!!!

Jerry

Wow, that's a great tip. Will have to check this out for sure on our cruise in March.

Very quiet place for sun (free) is Spice H2O Deck 16 at the rear of the ship. Best bartender too- Dhurv.

Dining tips I posted a few months ago:

- O'Sheehan's is excellent for lunch on departure day. Very few diners (I think everyone was at the buffet), so we got great service, and a no-charge sit-down meal that was very well-prepared. The salmon fillet on the Caesar salad was consistently flavorful and perfectly grilled (we ended up eating lunch there almost every day).

- Skip the lobster roll from the walk-up window at Ocean Blue on sea days ($11.50 with the required tip). Half the size of a normal lobster roll, and more bread than lobster. Plus you have to eat outside, downwind from the cigar bar.

- Specialty Dining Package: many specialty restaurant waiters are still uninformed, and will tell you that you can get only one appetizer and one dessert. Not true (although you are limited to one entree, and will incur a surcharge if you order two). I sometimes ordered two appetizers or desserts, and when told we could get only one, asked them to check with the manager. The bill total always came to $0.00.

- If you like Eggs Benedict, breakfast in Taste/Savor prepares them near-perfectly. The ones in the breakfast buffet are pretty good too, but the sit-down version is excellent.

good tip about Margaritaville for breakfast. i assume this is the same on breakaway as well? We LOVED the uptown grill for breakfast for the very reasons you stated - no lines/crowds! i was sad to hear this venue was replaced by the (in my opinion) sub par Margaritaville. we loved teh breakfast sandwiches that were grab and go - do they still have those?

We'll be cruising the Getaway soon and it is our first time on NCL. I recall the last time we cruised RCCL we found a lot of cool "hints and secrets" about the Serenade. Hoping to hear about some for the Getaway.

For us were staying in a mini-suite on deck 13;we're a family of 3, dd is 12; have 4 nt sdp and ubp; and will be sending 2 port days on the ship.

Please bring on those hints and secrets.THANKS!

For a quiet secluded spot, find your way to the Vibe. As you go up the stairs to reach the deck where the Vibe is, look to your right and you will see another staircase. Go up those stairs and you will be on a sun deck with a LOT of chairs and loungers that are almost never used at all. There is a bar right at the bottom of that last staircase. If you tip the barkeep well and let him know where you are (and about how often you need a refill), he will most likely bring you drinks while you are up there. Great place to enjoy some privacy, peace and quiet, and lots of sun!

For a quiet secluded spot, find your way to the Vibe. As you go up the stairs to reach the deck where the Vibe is, look to your right and you will see another staircase. Go up those stairs and you will be on a sun deck with a LOT of chairs and loungers that are almost never used at all. There is a bar right at the bottom of that last staircase. If you tip the barkeep well and let him know where you are (and about how often you need a refill), he will most likely bring you drinks while you are up there. Great place to enjoy some privacy, peace and quiet, and lots of sun!

NHL Philly fan- Is this area IN the Vibe, or separate from the Vibe? I am going in Nov on the Getaway & debating if getting the Vibe for 2 days at sea for FOUR people is worth it..if we can all sit at this location you are posting here, that may be ideal..how close/ far is the hot tubs? Opinion?

Big Al

Heading on the Getaway in March for my second time. Here are some tips

1. You use you NCL card to slide into the device that turns on the lights in your cabin. If you don't want to use your card, then bring an expired gift card, an old hotel key you never gave back instead.

2. Bring magnet clips with you as the wall are metal so you can hang your daily bulletins. Bring Highlighters to find the things you want to do.

3. If you don't like any of the deserts, order another appetizer instead for after the meal

4. If you don't buy the drink package, I have brought bottles of MIO or other drink additive to add flavor to the provided water.

5. I bring old lanyards to clip my key unto so I can put around my neck. you can bring your own hole punch or the agents sometimes have them at check-in or at the casino.

All for now.

Eat breakfast in Margaritaville and have your choice of tables!!! They set up a smaller buffet there each morning or you can carry food up from the main buffet downstairs if you want all the options. It is empty every morning. Because it is a "for fee" lunch venue people do not realize it is open for breakfast for free. Our group of 17 were easily able to find tables together which was impossible in the main buffet....we ate breakfast here every day of our trip. We felt like we had our own restaurant!!

 

Have a great cruise!!!

Jerry

Thanks cruisinskier! Great tip that I plan to take advantage of in April!

Make sure you go see the Million Dollar Quartet. FANTASTIC!

Also, go to your cruise critic meet and greet. This was the best one we ever had. Besides pastries and juice, servers came around with additional food items and smoothies. The officers come around to each table and hand out their individual cards. This includes the maitre d or assistant from each restaurant. We spoke with the one from cagney's and the night we went there to eat, he sat us at a great table with good sea view and gave us a bottle of wine on the house. Then he remembered that we said we were disappointed that they no longer had the Oreo cheesecake and asked why we didn't call him to tell him we were coming. So he gave us a slip and said to give it to our server at whatever restaurant we were eating in the next night. When we did so in the manhatten room the next night, we had Oreo cheesecake for dessert!

We also spoke with the assistant for the magic dinner show. She told us to give her card when we showed up (which by the way she recommended 45 mins to 1 hour prior to show time to get better seats). So we did, she came out and met us and took us to front row seats. Then told me that she remembered my nut allergy and had a special waitress just for me so I would not get anything that may have come in contact with any nut I am allergic too. And, because she placed us up front, I was picked to participate in one of the tricks!

Thank you for the tips...keep them coming....I leave in 4 weeks:D

I have lots of tips in my review here-

http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/2016/06/norwegian-getaway-review.html

:)

You will love the Getaway. We've been on her twice and I absolutely loved her!

Guest services will punch a hole in your spillway card if you have a lanyard at home to put around your neck so you don't lose it!

I second the bring an old hotel or rewards card so you can keep the lights on and yet not forget your key card in the slot.

I love, love, love having magnets on the wall to hold my dailies and magnet hooks for hats, sunglasses, beach bags, etc...

In a regular room, bring liquid hand soap with you -- they have bar soap in non-suite rooms and my hands never feel clean enough.

Don't miss the piano playing at the mojito bar in the evenings, really nice.

Also, O'Sheehans has great places to sit where you can watch what is going on in the atrium.

Don't miss the huge model of the Getaway on this ship -- great photo moment.

Spice H2O is the place to be for sailaway.

Don't miss the meet and greet.

The waterfront is an amazing and underutilized area. Enjoy it!

Have an amazing time!

Read more about my last trip on the Getaway here.

This thread is great! We just booked the Getaway and this was lovely to find. :)

Just completed our third cruise on the Getaway..loved it!!!..better than ever

be sure to see Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet, even without reservations you can always walk in and get great seats

Howl at the Moon is very good, bring some cash if your want your requests played

we always ate at the Tropicana, entertainment every night, Burn the Floor dancers on two nights and the Latin Express several evenings, we danced on the dance floor and had a great time

If you are up for it, do all the dance parties every evening on Spice H20..great fun

Just completed our third cruise on the Getaway..loved it!!!..better than ever

be sure to see Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet, even without reservations you can always walk in and get great seats

Howl at the Moon is very good, bring some cash if your want your requests played

we always ate at the Tropicana, entertainment every night, Burn the Floor dancers on two nights and the Latin Express several evenings, we danced on the dance floor and had a great time

If you are up for it, do all the dance parties every evening on Spice H20..great fun

Nice to hear you had a great time on the Getaway..I will be going with my wife & her sister & hubby in November..question: they are from Peru & speak very little English..do you remember what nights of the week in the Tropicana there was the Latin Express? I am going to try & schedule our specialty restaurants on the nights the Latin Express DO NOT play in the Tropicana..thanks!!

Big Al

we saw the Latin Express at least four nights, you don't need reservations!

you can look in your daily paper and they will list that night's entertainment schedule and we would show up at the Tropicana, ask for a table and never had to wait more than 3 minutes to be seated

If you would like to have a table around the dance floor to see the show and or dance you probably should get their by 6:00

The Latin Express will also play in the Atrium and at the Latin dance party at Spice h20

Just off the Getaway two weeks ago. My #1 tip would be to get Vibe passes. Totally made our trip. Definitely worth the money. My other tip would be to eat in the specialty restaurants. Very good experience with nightly dinners, thanks to our 7-night SDP. I would maybe skip Moderno, but the others were fantastic.

we saw the Latin Express at least four nights, you don't need reservations!

you can look in your daily paper and they will list that night's entertainment schedule and we would show up at the Tropicana, ask for a table and never had to wait more than 3 minutes to be seated

If you would like to have a table around the dance floor to see the show and or dance you probably should get their by 6:00

The Latin Express will also play in the Atrium and at the Latin dance party at Spice h20

Great info, Thanks!!!

Just off the Getaway two weeks ago. My #1 tip would be to get Vibe passes. Totally made our trip. Definitely worth the money. My other tip would be to eat in the specialty restaurants. Very good experience with nightly dinners, thanks to our 7-night SDP. I would maybe skip Moderno, but the others were fantastic.

First time NCLers here, boarding the Getaway at the end of March. We plan to get to the ship as early as possible, but will be boarding after all the higher status folks. What are our chances of snagging Vibe passes if we race up first thing after boarding? Also, is Vibe quiet or is music always blaring, and is there much shade available? The photos seem to show lots of sun but not too much cover.

First time NCLers here, boarding the Getaway at the end of March. We plan to get to the ship as early as possible, but will be boarding after all the higher status folks. What are our chances of snagging Vibe passes if we race up first thing after boarding? Also, is Vibe quiet or is music always blaring, and is there much shade available? The photos seem to show lots of sun but not too much cover.

Your chances are good. We had a group of 20 with no priority status. We all got in. No loud music in Vibe and fairly quiet. There are umbrellas for shade. If you don't see any, ask the bar staff and they'll hook you up.

Your chances are good. We had a group of 20 with no priority status. We all got in. No loud music in Vibe and fairly quiet. There are umbrellas for shade. If you don't see any, ask the bar staff and they'll hook you up.

Great news, thanks very much. Looks like Vibe will be our first stop....