Getaway Entertainment

Sailing on Getaway in November. Have sailed on NCL frequently in the past when NCL was rated the best entertainment - a different show every night. We sail Celebrity frequently and they have a different show every night. As far as I can tell, NCL has two shows - Million Dollar Quartet and Burn The Floor. Am I missing something? Comedy clubs do not count as shows. 4000 people trying to get into a room that holds 200. Also, please don't tell me about Freestyle when I have to book everything in advance or get shut out.

I'm with you on this one. I usually cruise Celebrity but picked the Getaway in October because Celebrity doesn't sail the Baltic in October.

This entire cruise feels overwhelming already. I have to buy bottled water or specialty coffee(even with a ridiculously high priced drink package), and pre-book dinners and shows taking away from the freestyle sales pitch.

I like price I paid and am happy with the timing and itinerary, but this all seems like the opposite of freestyle cruising.

whatever will bewilder me

Sailing on Getaway in November. Have sailed on NCL frequently in the past when NCL was rated the best entertainment - a different show every night. We sail Celebrity frequently and they have a different show every night. As far as I can tell, NCL has two shows - Million Dollar Quartet and Burn The Floor. Am I missing something? Comedy clubs do not count as shows. 4000 people trying to get into a room that holds 200. Also, please don't tell me about Freestyle when I have to book everything in advance or get shut out.

Pretty much the same on any mega ship on any cruise line. They aren't going to build 3000 seat theaters so that they can have a different show every night. They have brought on broadway shows that would cost $100+ per seat if you went to see them on broadway. I would gladly take that over the "old school" not-funny comedian, and half-rate dancers and singer, and armature magicians "every night". Freestyle cursing is the best!!!!

Sailing on Getaway in November. Have sailed on NCL frequently in the past when NCL was rated the best entertainment - a different show every night. We sail Celebrity frequently and they have a different show every night. As far as I can tell, NCL has two shows - Million Dollar Quartet and Burn The Floor. Am I missing something? Comedy clubs do not count as shows. 4000 people trying to get into a room that holds 200. Also, please don't tell me about Freestyle when I have to book everything in advance or get shut out.

The Getaway theater holds about 900 people. Howl at the Moon also gets good reviews (not sure where that is held. I am going to try and see it this time) Also they have added a Cirque show: Dreams and Steams. I heard that was good. Reservations are recommended for the Cirque show however and it is a dinner show that costs an extra $15 pp. We have ressies for MDQ, Burn the Floor and Cirque on our Getaway cruise in 30 days! You might be able to get in MDQ and Burn the Floor without reservations. Not sure what kind of seat you will get however. It is open seating, but recommended you get there ahead of time to get the seat you might want. The concierge can change your reservation if you get on board and want to change your mind. IMHO there is plenty to do and see!

Sailing on Getaway in November. Have sailed on NCL frequently in the past when NCL was rated the best entertainment - a different show every night. We sail Celebrity frequently and they have a different show every night. As far as I can tell, NCL has two shows - Million Dollar Quartet and Burn The Floor. Am I missing something? Comedy clubs do not count as shows. 4000 people trying to get into a room that holds 200. Also, please don't tell me about Freestyle when I have to book everything in advance or get shut out.

To put it straight - this past cruise was my first on NCL, and this is not in any way my idea of "freestyle either" - and IMHO believe it is completely mis-titled.

HOWEVER

I will also state that the entertainment was very good. The Million Dollar Quartet was Broadway quality and the Burn the floor was very good. The Cirque show was also excellent (and worth the extra money). I also loved the Howl at the Moon, which is almost every other night. I did not get to any of the comedians, but my DW said it they were "just okay." The Escape the Room activity was a hoot. The other performers they had were also, in my opinion "just okay." Dinner in the Tropicana was very nice with the entertainment they provided. But for the most part, there was pretty good entertainment most nights of a 9 night cruise.

So while this is no way (IMO) freestyle, and a big pain having to book things at 90/100 days out (and the rest as soon as you board the ship), there is enough entertainment to go around.

So while this is no way (IMO) freestyle, and a big pain having to book things at 90/100 days out (and the rest as soon as you board the ship), there is enough entertainment to go around.

Which part don't you consider freestyle. I mean how can they resolve it the larger ships (notice they don't do it on the smaller ships) use booking because with >4000 people space will be limited in places you can still walk up and try but i can't see how NCL or any other cruiseline can resolve this.

Daniel.

the large NCL ships do not show a different theater show every night. that is a BIG reason why we prefer the smaller NCL ships.

that said, the theater shows they do have are excellent.

Which part don't you consider freestyle. I mean how can they resolve it the larger ships (notice they don't do it on the smaller ships) use booking because with >4000 people space will be limited in places you can still walk up and try but i can't see how NCL or any other cruiseline can resolve this.

 

Daniel.

Exactly. Do to the number of passengers and the need to have to reserve many things, I do not believe the term "freestyle" adequately represents the situation on the Getaway. As you mentioned, there are just too many passengers and too many different venues to allow anyone to just go where they want, when they want. Therefore, it takes "freestyle" out of the equation.

Freestyle was a great marketing idea when NCL innovated the idea to overthrow the whole idea of traditional cruise ship dining. A great idea, and calling it freestyle was appropriate as well as a great marketing tag line for the company.

I did not state that there was not ample entertainment on the ship - but to ensure that a passenger is able to see all of their offerings, they need to first make reservations a few months before cruising, then make additional reservations once you board.

There are also Getaway passengers that make absolutely no reservations at all - and they have a great time.

As mentioned, I enjoyed our cruise on the Getaway and most of the entertainment. (also as mentioned, MDQ was Braodway quality). However, in my opinion the term "freestyle" does not correctly describe the process for procuring reservations for entertainment on the Getaway. If you think the term is okay - great - obviously there are people at NCL marketting that will back you 100 percent. I am someone that wants to see all of the entertainment without having to wait on standbye, so for me, I do not see anything freestyle about it.

Since this is what NCL is calling it, this entire conversation on semantics is really moot in the big scheme of things anyway. No matter what anyone wants to call it, let's all enjoy it.

Let's agree to disagree.

[And as an FYI, we had just under 4600 pax on our sailing.]

the large NCL ships do not show a different theater show every night. that is a BIG reason why we prefer the smaller NCL ships.

 

that said, the theater shows they do have are excellent.

It also depends a little on luck. we had some great smaller artist ( a couple forgot their names ) on the star or dawn once they used the atrium and it was filled so often they moved it to the theater one night. Last time on the star (may) it was much less sorry to say the smaller performers just where not as good.

Daniel.

Let's agree to disagree.

 

We didn't disagree i really was wondering if you would know a better way. seems its just the effect of having a bigger ship sorry if i made it sound any different. I have the same problem with paying for the special (drinkable) coffee even if you have ubp coffee i asked and understand why they do it...

Daniel.

Theaters on new NCL ships are definitely too small - no excuse for this except greed. Just booked entertainment for Getaway cruise. Even with smaller theater, Burn The Floor and Million Dollar Quartet are only offered on two night. Freestyle does not mean you can REASONABLY do things when you want but rather WHEN WE LET YOU.

Another example. We have 8 in our party, 4 children from 3 to 13. When I booked Specialty Dining I was only offered 5:30 or 8:30. If I had 4 in my party, I could have booked any time I wanted. 5:30 is really a late lunch. If you are doing excursions or just having fun on the ship, getting ready for 5:30 dinner is like being on a treadmill, especially with kids who need a nap. I always book late dining but 8:30 is way too late for kids. Why these times? It's not like they take the larger tables out at 7. NCL encourages bringing families but does not accommodate them once they are on the ship. Another great example of the FREESTYLE MYTH!

Another FREESTYLE MOMENT. I just read that Illusionarium seating is on first come basis. Suggested you be in line 60 minutes prior to show. I have been on 32 cruises and have never stood in line to see a show, or paid for a show for that matter. You cannot justify payment because there is a meal since meals are included on the ship and the Illusionarium meal is not very good. No reason for not having reserved seating when you book. FREESTYLE is really PAYSTYLE!

Pretty much the same on any mega ship on any cruise line. They aren't going to build 3000 seat theaters so that they can have a different show every night. They have brought on broadway shows that would cost $100+ per seat if you went to see them on broadway. I would gladly take that over the "old school" not-funny comedian, and half-rate dancers and singer, and armature magicians "every night". Freestyle cursing is the best!!!!

We usually sail Celebrity and they have a GREAT show every night on a 3000 passenger ship. RCL has a show almost every night on a 6000 passenger ship!

We didn't disagree i really was wondering if you would know a better way. seems its just the effect of having a bigger ship sorry if i made it sound any different. I have the same problem with paying for the special (drinkable) coffee even if you have ubp coffee i asked and understand why they do it...

 

Daniel.

Sorry, I misinterpreted your post.

I do not see many other options - and most of us that do research and log into Cruise Critic do have a leg up on other passengers since we do know that making reservations is many times needed.

I do not know how to improve upon their system - although making all of the shows available for reservations pre-cruise, would be a benefit to someone like me that wants to get all of the reservations out of the way so I do not have to do anything like that while on my vacation.

Another FREESTYLE MOMENT. I just read that Illusionarium seating is on first come basis. Suggested you be in line 60 minutes prior to show. I have been on 32 cruises and have never stood in line to see a show, or paid for a show for that matter. You cannot justify payment because there is a meal since meals are included on the ship and the Illusionarium meal is not very good. No reason for not having reserved seating when you book. FREESTYLE is really PAYSTYLE!

I too was very frustrated when I first began preparing for my first NCL cruise last year. I even started my own thread entitled "When Does the "Freestyle Begin" (see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2505152).

This is a new and different experience, so just take it as it comes. Once you get through all of the planning and reservations, it will be okay - or since you are an avid cruiser, enjoy your cruise, then afterwards you can look back and compare - and then decided if you would ever cruise NCL again, or not.

I would travel NCL again. My DW prefers RCI. My kids will cruise on any ship that has a kids/teen club.

FYI - My whole family enjoyed the Cirque show, and believe it was worth the up-charge (and we payed full price for the kids). The food was actually not bad at all, and 30 minutes was okay for us to wait for the show. But note, the room was not very large, so there are really no bad seats. If you pay the extra price for the floor seats (yes, more money), they are all within 5-10 feet of the stage.

I was on the same Getaway cruise ( but later in the month) as TravelR and agree that the entertainment was great. We saw a "show" in the theatre just about every night. There were 9 nights. First night was the welcome show. Last night was the farewell show. We also saw MDQ, burn the floor, Russian folklore show, a female singer and a vocal quartet, so 7 nights out of 9. We saw cirque one night and wine lovers the musical one lunch time.

The only theatre shows available to pre book were MDQ and burn the floor, all the others were just turn up on the night so it's not as bad as you think.

Don't stress about it all. You only need to be there 15 minutes before if you've booked as that's when the reservation is released.

If you need to have a "good" seat then turn up earlier, but all have a good view.

Getting to the illusiionarium early doesn't guarantee a better seat as the seats are arranged around tables spoke style from the round stage and there was no obvious pattern as to how they filled the seats.

Another FREESTYLE MOMENT. I just read that Illusionarium seating is on first come basis. Suggested you be in line 60 minutes prior to show. I have been on 32 cruises and have never stood in line to see a show, or paid for a show for that matter. You cannot justify payment because there is a meal since meals are included on the ship and the Illusionarium meal is not very good. No reason for not having reserved seating when you book. FREESTYLE is really PAYSTYLE!

Not trying to be snarky here but from your posts you seem to already be very upset with NCL. Why not just sail a different line if the NCL system is not satisfactory for you? There is plenty of choices out there on other lines.

Theaters on new NCL ships are definitely too small - no excuse for this except greed. Just booked entertainment for Getaway cruise. Even with smaller theater, Burn The Floor and Million Dollar Quartet are only offered on two night. Freestyle does not mean you can REASONABLY do things when you want but rather WHEN WE LET YOU.

 

 

MDQ and Burn the Floor- each are two nights-two shows a night, 7:30 and 10:00 pm-that schedule can accommodate about 3200 passengers total. What do you want from NCL or any cruise line for that matter? Seven Broadway shows each cruise? The logistics and cost of that is mind boggling. I have been on Holland America and Carnival where they have a different show each night: cheesy made up shows with performers who would not have a chance on Broadway. I would take quality over quantity any time.

Not trying to be snarky here but from your posts you seem to already be very upset with NCL. Why not just sail a different line if the NCL system is not satisfactory for you? There is plenty of choices out there on other lines.

Really, I didn't know that. Thanks so much SNARKY!

I have been on 34 cruises so I don't need you to tell me what to do. Not that you deserve any explanation, but I want to try a Breakaway class ship and this ship seemed good for my daughters four children. I would have preferred RCL Harmony of the Seas but price was not competitive. I'm not disappointed, just discerning, and I always point out what I consider deficiencies which need to be corrected.

Sailing on Getaway in November. Have sailed on NCL frequently in the past when NCL was rated the best entertainment - a different show every night. We sail Celebrity frequently and they have a different show every night. As far as I can tell, NCL has two shows - Million Dollar Quartet and Burn The Floor. Am I missing something? Comedy clubs do not count as shows. 4000 people trying to get into a room that holds 200. Also, please don't tell me about Freestyle when I have to book everything in advance or get shut out.

Seems like you are conveniently leaving out a lot of the entertainment events. Not sure why you don't think the comedy shows don't count as entertainment. How about Howl at the Moon? Cirque? Wine Lovers Musical? Duo in the atrium? :confused:

Really, I didn't know that. Thanks so much SNARKY!

 

I have been on 34 cruises so I don't need you to tell me what to do. Not that you deserve any explanation, but I want to try a Breakaway class ship and this ship seemed good for my daughters four children. I would have preferred RCL Harmony of the Seas but price was not competitive. I'm not disappointed, just discerning, and I always point out what I consider deficiencies which need to be corrected.

Damn, chill out dude. He wasn't being snarky and made a comment that I'm sure many other posters including myself thought about. It's a discussion forum and he asked a simple question.

Really, I didn't know that. Thanks so much SNARKY!

 

I have been on 34 cruises so I don't need you to tell me what to do. Not that you deserve any explanation, but I want to try a Breakaway class ship and this ship seemed good for my daughters four children. I would have preferred RCL Harmony of the Seas but price was not competitive. I'm not disappointed, just discerning, and I always point out what I consider deficiencies which need to be corrected.

LOL. Alrighty then. I hope your kids enjoy the cruise.

I have been on the Getaway twice now, September 2016 and October 2014. Last time we say MDQ, which was awesome. We also went to the comedy show one night and Howl at the Moon a couple of times. In addition, we went to final show. We enjoyed everything we saw. It was a year ago, so I can't speak for current entertainers, but based on my experience they have some talented people.

In the last three years we have taken 2 x Celebrity cruises (Solstice and Equinox) and 3 x NCL. (Epic, Jade and 16 nights on the Getaway)

Despite the fact for many years we cruised with X, we have decided that until we age a bit - Celebrity is now not for us. Yes X has some fantastic features - but weighing it all up - for us X doesn't hit the spot like NCL.

And especially not on a Transatlantic.

For what its worth in our experience NCL by far offered more by way of entertainment - never a dull moment - whereas Celebrity = zzzzzzzzzzzzz ;p

We have never pre booked anything with NCL other than Million Dollar Quartet and that is the single best production (on land or sea) we have enjoyed.

Our shortest cruise out of the 5 cruises was a 7 day Alaska - and for that Celebrity was fine as being in Aquaclass - BLU was fab and it was all about the ports so we were not looking for late nights or entertainment.

All other cruises were 14 nights plus. So for sure we had true experience of both lines.

Celebrity's SPA doesn't begin to touch NCL's and neither does the entertainment or activities on offer.

There is something to do 24/7 on NCL

Celebrity - get your PJs on for 11pm - the party's over :') (well aside from the yet again FabbaAbba or 80s Night yawn yawn) ...

Not sure OP if you have made your mind up you are going to hate every moment before you set foot on the ship ..seems such a shame as Getaway is just awesome - in fact, our next three cruises are booked on Epic and I am just a tad sad that we couldn't fit Getaway in again. Epic is our second favourite - then as we haven't yet experiences Breakaway or Escape it would be Solstice I guess. Jade was "OK" - but couldn't compete with the bigger ships for us.

Look to the other factors - she is a beautiful big ship with an activity on every corner - either that or cancel and re book with the line of your choice.

Keep an open mind - stay with the positives - Have a great cruise!

Theaters on new NCL ships are definitely too small - no excuse for this except greed. Just booked entertainment for Getaway cruise. Even with smaller theater, Burn The Floor and Million Dollar Quartet are only offered on two night. Freestyle does not mean you can REASONABLY do things when you want but rather WHEN WE LET YOU.

 

Another example. We have 8 in our party, 4 children from 3 to 13. When I booked Specialty Dining I was only offered 5:30 or 8:30. If I had 4 in my party, I could have booked any time I wanted. 5:30 is really a late lunch. If you are doing excursions or just having fun on the ship, getting ready for 5:30 dinner is like being on a treadmill, especially with kids who need a nap. I always book late dining but 8:30 is way too late for kids. Why these times? It's not like they take the larger tables out at 7. NCL encourages bringing families but does not accommodate them once they are on the ship. Another great example of the FREESTYLE MYTH!

We have sailed on NCL big ships 13

Times. Never seen a full theater. The bottom line is that unless there is demand for bigger theaters, why waste the space???????

Reservations work the same way on any large ship on any cruise line. You're not going to build a 5000 seat theater. Plain and simple.

You can get any time any day specialty dining if you book when dining opens or on embarkation day. People don't do things on time, then play a victim when things sell out. Works that way everywhere, not exclusive to cruise ships.

You can freestyle a cruise. Standby for left over seats at shows. Standby for late evening dining. No one forces you to make any reservations.