Getaway Review - the New Itinerary - April 4 - May 1

So I'm going to attempt a review of our cruise - I love reading these and I got a lot of great information from them. I know we were the first on the new itinerary for this ship so I thought some of the information might be helpful ...I took notes - LOL!

A little back ground - this is our 6th cruise overall and our second with Norwegian. Our first four were with Carnival on the older and smaller ships and last summer we tried our first Norwegian Cruise out of Boston to Bermuda on the Dawn. This time we were looking to try one of the newer ships and the Getaway definitely fit the bill :) My family consists of my husband and I (in our late 40's) and our two girls who are 17 and 15. For this cruise friends of ours who had cruised with us once before went with us and they have three kids ages 17, 14, and 11.

We booked in December and were able to get the Free Beverage Package and the Free Dining which was a great bonus.

By the time we booked we had difficulty finding reasonable airfare. I would much rather drive to a port than fly but living where we do in Northern NY that's limiting our choices especially in the spring. We flew out of Rochester, NY which is 2.5 hours from home. We dropped our dog at the kennel Saturday morning and were in Rochester with plenty of time to spare. Our flights were fine and on time and we arrived in Miami late that night. By 10:15pm we had our luggage and we we used the free shuttle to the Marriott Airport hotel which was literally minutes away. The hotel was nice although our friends had trouble because when they booked they were told that roll away beds were available and when they got there they were told they weren't. There was no free breakfast but there was a Starbucks on site so we had breakfast there.

We had arranged for John's Car Service to pick us up and take us to the pier and then on the return pick us up from the pier and take us to the hotel. The cost for that was $220 round trip for all 9 of us. The drivers were great about texting and letting us know when they were arriving exactly and the ride to the pier was maybe 15 minutes and John told us a lot about Miami on the way ...he was personable and efficient

Next up - getting on board the Getaway ....

Thanks for posting! Can't wait to read your review! I sail May 22 :)

Yay! A new review to read! We cruise on May 29th. Looking forward to your review. Thanks!

Awesome! We sail out on the 8th keep it coming =) , anyway you can post Dailies if possible. Would really appreciate it... thanks

We arrived at the pier around 10am and walked right in to security with no wait. We had our paperwork to fill out, got our sign and sail cards and our picture taken and we were boarding group #15. The wait was short - maybe 30-40 minutes. Around 11am they started calling boarding numbers and by 11:30am we were on the ship ready to start our vacation! We had our first drink (may as well take advantage of that beverage package, right?? :) and the kids had brought bathing suits in their carry on bags so they were ready to soak up the sun - remember we live in the northern part of NY. We had waited MONTHS to be warm! We spent a few hours taking turns in our group of 9 sitting in the sun, exploring the ship, and having lunch at the buffet.

The muster drill was at 3:30pm and before that 3 out of our 4 bags had arrived (my 17 year old was nervous because hers was MIA for a while!) so we unpacked a little. Our muster station was in the back of a bar area - I can't remember the name of it - but it didn't last too long. We went back to unpack a little more then went on the upper deck to watch the sail away. The kids had already tried out the water slides and one had tried the ropes course and rock wall. We debated about dinner and finally decided on the Tropicana Room. We were there at 6:15pm and expected to wait for a party of 9 but had no wait at all. Dinner was really good - I had the crab and cheese souffle as an appetizer and shrimp risotto as the meal. After dinner we explored a little more of the ship then some of us went to the Welcome Aboard show. Scott was the cruise director and I thought he was good - he seemed to enjoy interacting with the guests and I thought he did a good job with the shows we saw him in.

The 15 and 14 year olds went to Entourage and signed up for the Teen Club. They participated in some of the activities off and on during the week and met some other kids that way too that they had fun with. We walked around the Waterfront area which is a nice place to sit and have a drink (which we did - again the free beverage package :) We never found a long wait at the bars and the service was good - my favorite drinks were made at the pool bars for some reason ...

We paid for the unlimited internet ahead of time and that was easy. You sign on and come up with your own password. You can use it on any and all of your devices but just one at a time. This worked out well for us so the girls could stay in touch with their friends and of course post pictures of where they were and what they were doing ..

Up next : day at sea

Looking forward to reading more! Thank you for taking the time to write a review! We'll be on the Getaway in July.

Thanks-looking forward to hearing more! We board the Getaway in 13 days!! :D

We were in room 11238 which was a mid ship balcony mini suite. The location seemed fine and the room was nice - it had the couch that made into one bed and then the pull out over head bed for the other twin. We all seemed to sleep well - when you shut the balcony curtain it's so dark in there! Our room steward was Ronald. My husband met him on the first day then we never saw much of him but our room was always in perfect condition and he seemed to appear whenever we left :) We had a big closet then one other cabinet for clothes plus one big pull out drawer under the couch. The luggage fits under the bed and I like the set up with our bed closer to the balcony since I'm always the first one up and love to sit outside. I also found using the internet early in the morning worked out well. There's a lot of storage in the bathroom and the shower is so roomy! We were port side and in every port except Cozumel we were docked on the side to see everything.

Monday morning I woke up around 6:30 am and just went out and sat on the balcony enjoying the sunshine. It was already warm and sunny which would be the theme of the week - it really was picture perfect weather! After my oldest daughter got up and moving with me we went to the pool deck to set up shop for the day. I thought for such a big ship there were more chairs than I expected. We did go early on sea days but not super early - maybe 9:30 am or so. She and I had breakfast at the Flamingo Grill which was quick and easy and not as crowded as the buffet. They had great granola and yogurt already made up and some fresh fruit and then they had eggs, bacon, and ready made breakfast sandwiches. We spent most of the day in those beach chairs. The kids came back and forth and it was nice to have a "home base" set up - they went on the water slides, the ropes course, played mini golf, and hung out with us. We ate lunch at the buffet again and all found something we liked and thought the food was good. We tried to pace ourselves with the sun since we knew we had the whole week. I'm not a huge sunscreen user since I usually tan and don't burn but we went quickly through the two cans I brought and had to buy more. Ir felt so good to be outside and be warm!

We had 5:30pm reservations at Illusionarium so we all went back to shower and change for that and headed there around 5:10pm. That was a great time to get there as our seats were excellent - just a few rows back but in the center. We had tomato and mozzzarella as an appetizer then dinner was a basic plate of steak and shrimp, fries, and broccoli. Two of the kids ordered chicken tenders and fries from the kids menu For dessert they gave you a plate with three small things on it - I thought the cupcake was the best. I had read it's the show not the food for this one that makes it worthwhile and I have to agree. While it wasn't terrible it certainly wasn't my favorite. We all enjoyed the show though and I was glad we went. After we spent some time walking around the waterfront and having a drink and checking out the shops. We stopped by the Atrium to watch the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed Game and that was really great - the absolutely cutest older couple won - I think everyone fell in love with them. If there's a show you want to see that's in the Atrium go early - there's definitely not enough seating and you end up standing behind people trying to see. The two girls went to play Dodgeball at the teen club and then we called it a night - they came in at 11:30pm and we had to switch the clocks back an hour so that we will be on Honduras time in the morning ...

Next up : Roatan Bay

they came in at 11:30pm and we had to switch the clocks back an hour so that we will be on Honduras time in the morning ...

Next up : Roatan Bay

I was wondering how the whole time change thing would work.

You said you turned the clocks back 1 hour...I thought Roatan is 2 hours behind Miami time?

You said you turned the clocks back 1 hour...I thought Roatan is 2 hours behind Miami time?

You're probably right - I see in my notes I wrote down "we have to change the clocks back another hour and should be in Honduras by morning" ...I just didn't see where I wrote down that we had already changed them once?? I know we never changed them by two hours - just one at a time so maybe we changed Sunday and Monday nights?? the whole thing was pretty confusing. I see why they do it otherwise I'm sure people would be asking the locals for the time and missing the boat but I'm bad enough with two time changes a year not four in a week AND we flew across them too so I was gaining and losing hours all over the place - LOL!!

They do tell you at night if you have to change the clocks so don't worry - it's not something you have to figure out on your own. There will be a note card with your towel animal if you're supposed to change the clocks that night ....

You said you turned the clocks back 1 hour...I thought Roatan is 2 hours behind Miami time?

 

You're probably right - I see in my notes I wrote down "we have to change the clocks back another hour and should be in Honduras by morning" ...I just didn't see where I wrote down that we had already changed them once?? I know we never changed them by two hours - just one at a time so maybe we changed Sunday and Monday nights?? the whole thing was pretty confusing. I see why they do it otherwise I'm sure people would be asking the locals for the time and missing the boat but I'm bad enough with two time changes a year not four in a week AND we flew across them too so I was gaining and losing hours all over the place - LOL!!

They do tell you at night if you have to change the clocks so don't worry - it's not something you have to figure out on your own. There will be a note card with your towel animal if you're supposed to change the clocks that night ....

ah ok thanks for the info! I thought maybe you had already turned it back an hour the first night. That does make more sense doing it 1 hour at a time to ease people into it. I'm sure it'll be ok, I had read things about the time changes on this forum before. I was just curious to officially hear how they did it for this new itinerary! :)

Enjoying your review!

Thanks for getting us ready for our June Getaway:D

Very excited to read your report of the Getaway on the new itinerary, thank you.

We were port side and in every port except Cozumel we were docked on the side to see everything.

 

We had 5:30pm reservations at Illusionarium so we all went back to shower and change for that and headed there around 5:10pm. That was a great time to get there as our seats were excellent - just a few rows back but in the center. We had tomato and mozzzarella as an appetizer then dinner was a basic plate of steak and shrimp, fries, and broccoli. Two of the kids ordered chicken tenders and fries from the kids menu

Our balcony is on the port side so I'm very happy to read this.

We have reservations for the 5:30 Illusionarium show, I have read that you should get there super early but your timing sounds good and glad to hear a kids meal is available.

Can't wait to read more about your trip :)

We are sailing in July and we are a total of 10. I tried to book online and you can only book for fixed dining time and no more than 8.

I just wondered if you had any trouble with your dining reservations? We do not have a dining package.

Following, as I am leaving on the Getaway on the 15th!

I hope you all enjoyed your cruise!

I just wondered if you had any trouble with your dining reservations? We do not have a dining package.

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We did ...we had 9 people and three rooms since one was a family of 5 so all of our dining reservations were for 4 people, 3 people, and 2 people. When we got on the ship we went to ask and got them all linked together and had no problems after that.

I woke up early and again went out to the balcony. I remember wondering if I was getting up earlier than normal or later - the time change thing was a bit odd when you seemed to be doing it so often. It was definitely a lot more humid feeling but again - NOT complaining! we spend so much time being cold in NY that I was enjoying it all! We again went to the buffet for breakfast and then got ready to get off the ship for the day. We had booked the excursion to Maya Key and our time was 10:20am. It took less time than we thought to get off the ship - being on such a big ship I was worried that it would take forever to get on and off but we never found it to be that way. I guess people are all on such different schedules that it just works out. Anyway, we walked around the shops for a bit then got in line for our excursion which was just a short boat ride over to Maya Key. When we got there a lady came out to explain all of the options we had for the day and what time our boat could do the animal encounters and other things. There were lockers available and a gift shop but we never even went into the building. We set up on beach chairs and got ready to enjoy the day. This excursion really worked for us - the scenery was beautiful and it was enough to keep everyone happy. The beach wasn't huge but enough to get wet and swim and there was also a pool. Lunch was included and it was a traditional chicken, fish, rice and beans meals. The kids weren't crazy about it but the adults liked it. Part of Maya Key is an animal sanctuary and this was the highlight for the kids - at a certain time you followed a guide (ours was 1pm) and he took us to the monkey cages. They went in small groups into the cage and they would take your camera to take pictures - you held a bowl of food and literally the monkeys were all over you! They didn't charge extra but of course you could leave a tip :) It was worth it - they took great pictures on my camera! They had replicas of Mayan ruins you could walk around and climb on and you could also do a sea lion encounter but we didn't get any information about that. We honestly were having too much fun just enjoying the animals, beach, and pool. The people came around to let you know they offered snorkeling and paddle boards for an extra cost but they weren't pushy.It looked like the snorkeling was good there as there was a reef and they had guides to help. They also sold buckets of beer and other drinks. The boats back left on the hour and half hour so you could leave whenever you wanted. We took the 3pm boat back. I think the latest was 4 ....

We wanted to do some shopping at the pier so we had time for that. I think the all aboard time was 5. Honduras and Belize had beautiful wooden gifts so if you like those they are good places to shop...

We didn't have dinner reservations so we checked Taste and Savor after everyone showered and got ready to eat. There were waits at both of those so we went to Tropicana and got seated again with no wait. I had a ceasar salad and the tilapia and it was really good. We left before dessert because we had a 7:30pm seating for Burn the Floor. The show was excellent! The kids found a spot at the buffet where they made crepes in the evening so they frequented that for dessert :)

After the show we went to look at pictures then ended up at the pool bar for some evening mud slides and other beverages. The two girls went to the Teen Pool Party for a while then we called it a night ....

On to Belize ....

By any chance did you happen to take any pictures of the MDR menu's? How was the food there in relation to the SDRs? Loving the review so far! Trying to plan out my nights of when to go to the MDR and when to go to SDR based on what is on the menus.

We were also on the ship last week, loving your review. We were at the Illusionarium at the 5:30 show on Monday also!

Following. Great review. Thank you!

Thanks!

Loving your review!

Thanks for taking the time to post.:)

By any chance did you happen to take any pictures of the MDR menu's?

I didn't ....sorry! I found the food in the Main Dining Room to be very good ...they had the "classic" choices I think they called them every night then other dishes that were only for that night. Out of the 9 of us everyone found something to eat that they were truly happy with both nights we ate there. On our last NCL Cruise we ate at just one specialty restaurant - the Brazilian Steakhouse. This time with the package we were able to try more and I thought that Cagney's was by far the best. Everything was just absolutely wonderful there from start to finish. If I had to pick one - Cagney's would be it!

Thanks for sharing! Loved your review, would you have any dailies avail =) would love to see them, thanks...

Loving your review! We sail on the Getaway in June.

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