DINKinlove

We booked both our excursions through the ship and I'm glad we did because when the hurricane blasted the Bahamas and we didn't make it to our last port the excursion was cancelled and refunded to our room..no phone calls..no worries!

Question about the Escape.. so if you need the card in the slot for electricity... how can I

Charge my phone at night while we are sleeping as the lights will be off. I use my phone to take pics every day. Ty

 

 

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Bring another type of credit card..like a casino players card and leave it in the slot..that way your electricity is always running..A/C..etc

All I can say was amazing! Didn't want to leave. Left off the ship as relaxed as I ever could be. Yes this was my first cruise ever so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I've been to all inclusive resorts and stayed at a private condo in Hawaii..this by far was the best!

Once on the ship we found the pub O'Sheehans and proceeded to try the yummy snacks and started using our UBP..note: while in port you will be charged tax on the drinks but once we were sailing all drinks were free. One thing we did find out towards the end was that our pre paid gratuities did not go to bartenders which we felt really bad about because we were not adding tips to any of our receipts(every drink you order you do get a bill to sign but no charge). What was difficult is that the bartenders work all over that ship so trying to give one of them something every time Would have cost us as much as the cruise!

Our room 14186 was perfect for the two of us. We are RVers so we settled in almost immediately. Love the balcony..will never do another one without it! Our room steward Ryan was so wonderful to us and outdid himself. Unfortunately anyone staying there now had someone different because he told us he was heading to another ship after our cruise..he will be missed!

Food was great and always accessible. We were very impressed with the drinks. Top shelf alcohol and free pouring did us well!

The entertainment staff was awesome! JC was our cruise director and he and his staff kept us in stitches most of the time. Enjoyed the adults only pool even though some adults love to splash around as much as kids do!! Haha

Yes Hurricane Joaquin did keep us from going to Bahamas but our amazing captain was not going to risk anything so the wonderful staff kept us busy and we forgot all about it!

Heard the Getaway is changing ports soon so we will be booking another cruise eventually so we can go somewhere else but still get to be on this beautiful ship!

BTW..booking excursions thru the ship really paid off for us..Bahamas excursion was fully refunded after we had considered using a private company because we didn't want to pay extra..we would have lost our deposit because we had such last minute itinerary changes!

Just FYI..got off the cruise Oct 3 and we all decided to wear our room keys on lanyards which worked out perfectly for us..quick disconnects on them helped with showing our card which we needed since we had the UBP and definitely used it!

I have the same question as the OP. The website for Blue Lagoon says the last boat is at 4pm. Our port time is 12-7. I'm curious as to how much time we really will have on the island. Seems like we will be lucky to have a few hours especially if we have to go pick up other passengers next to Atlantis. Anyone know??

Thanks!!

NCL rep said we have our own shuttle that should take about 30 min. Going over takes a little longer since they tour thru the homes area before dropping off at the beach but they try to keep us there as long as possible

I HAVE asked this over on the Bahamas board but with no response so I thought i'd try the NCL board as these times are specific to our ship.

We had planned to go to Blue Lagoon on the Getaway in September. Our time in Nassau got changed from 10-6 to 12-7. The website for Blue Lagoon shows the last boat leaving at 4:30, but the excursion on NCL says it is 5 hours long.

Does anyone who has done this excursion know for a fact they offer a later ferry for those that are going by cruise ship or would our excursion, in fact, be shorter because of our late arrival?

We are booked for this excursion in Sept on the Getaway. 12-7 itnerary. I had the same question. I called NCL worried about time. Rep told me that we have our own shuttle that will get us there right after we dock and we get to stay a bit longer than 4:00 so we should have plenty of time there. Hope this helps!

You'll have a great time on the Getaway, I had my first cruise on it as well!

The cards don't come with a lanyard, but I would recommend bringing one. Guest services will punch a hole into your card for you so you can wear it around your neck. I found that to be the best solution.

 

As for the UBP ... when you get your guest card at check-in, it will have a UBP sticker on it. Every time you order a drink, you hand over your card to the barkeeper, he'll swipe it and see from the sticker + the digital info that you are on the UBP. You will sign a slip for the drink, but you are not billed for it. The UBP is a lot of fun, try different drinks!

Thank you for your very helpful response. This was exactly the info I was looking for. I was really wondering about the lanyard thing mostly since I understand that this a key card and of course will need it to get in my room but Alot of times my husband just puts a key in his pocket since we're usually together (and I hate carrying a purse)but not sure if this is my ID as well so we would both need a card always. And I definitely will try as many different drinks as I can handle!😁

First cruise ever so my question is about our stateroom keys. Are these something we need to have on us all the time? We have the UBP so how does the bartender know this? Do they swipe our cards? Do the cards come with a lanyard or a hole in them so we don't have to carry them?

You're welcome! Hopefully you're flying AA because we are - hence my suggestions - Terminal D.

 

JUST TODAY ... we received a dreaded email from AA telling us our flight has been changed from 5:00pm to 6:15 pm. @#$%^&!!

 

LOL - 'tis life!

Yes we are flying AA..will keep an eye out for emails from them..they have already changed our flight # and tweeked the times already so who knows what Oct has in store for us..I am just crossing my fingers for no hurricanes!!!!!

MIA Airport is a zoo on cruise days (Sat and Sun). The TSA security lines are so long. Expect long walk to gate.

 

Each time we disembark in Miami, we stay on ship as long as we can, and take a cab (long queue also for cabs! But it moves fast) to MIA - fixed price.

 

A bit of a queue to check in (remember we do not use internet at all on ship) and then there's the usual TSA line. Then we are in terminal, walking leisurely looking in shops and having lunch in one of many restaurants there (we have a couple or so favourites, and it depends on the proximity of the gate our flight departs from).

 

Twice we went to MIA airport hotel (after checking in and getting rid of luggage) to the top floor restaurant for a leisurely lunch.

 

Our flight home has been between 4:30 to 6:30 pm each time.

 

We would not go west to South Beach and then get stuck in traffic going to airport later and get ourselves stressed out.

Thank you thank you..very helpful..will definitely take this into consideration!

last time we were in Miami we were caught in terrible traffic leaving south beach . It took us 90 minutes to get from south beach to Bayside on Saturday afternoon . Just make sure you allow plenty of time .

This is why I started this whole question!!! I wanted to get this kind of info. I've been told that the traffic could be hectic so I wanted opinions from Miami point of view. I am from So Cal where you leave an hour early for anything if you want to make it on time because we have traffic at all hours of the day!! Lol

Unfortunately we're using miles and that's the flight we have to take. The airboat was actually my first pick because it sounds like a blast but my hubby was the one who pointed out the bug spray fact. I think we will be kind to the other airline passengers and spare them from the deet smell. Savoy is $25 per person day pass for pool/gym so we can use the facilities then hop on the airport city bus that afternoon. Weather will be our deciding factor I guess.

that would be cool pulling up to the terminal in an airboat.

lmbo!

Lol

We have already vetoed any post cruise excursions..we dont want to get on a plane for 5 hrs with sunscreen/bug spray slathered on us..its either heading to the hotel for some lunch and relaxation or heading to the airport for some lunch and staring at airport people..I just wanted to see if traffic leaving the port and traffic from sobe to airport will cut into our time where we will only get 1-2 hrs then its not worth it..ya know?

This a question for Miami experts..we dont have an extremely long layover after our cruise (arrive back in Miami 8:00 am, flight 5:30 pm Miami Int.) Have a feeling we're going to be one of the last off the ship so we were thinking of heading over to the Savoy hotel for their day pass by the pool to kill some time. Being that its a Saturday but considered "off season" I have been told that traffic could be pretty heavy on the bridge and then trying to get to the airport later from SoBe might just take up most of our time..guess my question is should we just make our way to the airport after we debark or try to relax a little before the trip home?

Sailing on the Getaway next month. Reading different info about the theme parties. I'm understanding its a glow party instead of a white party so glow clothes or whatever looks good under a blacklight? Is this more of a kid thing? Also is there 70's/80's theme as well? Really trying not to bring an entire wardrobe but we do like to be involved and go with the flow. Past Getaway passengers I would really appreciate your help with this.

We have booked at the Hampton Inn as well..planning on buying water and soda at the store across the street then grabbing their shuttle to the port

Thanks all! Appreciate the advise

We will be crusing on Getaway Sept 26 to Caribbean. This is my first cruise ever. Like most I'm trying to be conservative in packing. What type of weather should i expect especially at night? Does it get cold on deck at night or even in the day by the pool? Humid in the ports(USVI, BVI)? Temperature on the ship in the restaurants, etc? Also they mention theme parties at night...do people actually dress for the themes or just as you are?