leaclingman

I listed our what we received on NCL on our most recent cruise (we are Platinum). For us; these bennies do keep us loyal to ncl since we have zero status elsewhere at the moment. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

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I did a pretty extensive review at https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/ on our NCL experience in December (holiday cruise to the Caribbean) and it was amazing :). I have pictures of menus and such as well if that is helpful.

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We were on the Getaway in December and I believe it was Elemis. I did a very detailed blog post at https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/ and was just trying to make out the brand in my pictures. On cell at the moment- but take a look if helpful.

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Thank you for your review; loved your blog; so in depth and explained everything quite well. Have a great day

Thank you so much! Just a hobby but I enjoy it! :)

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We had to pay a premium to be in Haven on the Getaway- as it was over the holidays. I still think the expense is worth it as there are so many additional amenities (as others have pointed out) on the bigger ships. You cannot beat the pool time. I took pictures of the rooms, Haven areas, menus etc if you'd like to review. Enjoy! https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

Glad to hear you enjoyed it - this is on my to-do list for a future visit sometime. We have enjoyed Josefina’s cooking class, which is very local, but I am sure this one is a bit more up beat in keeping with the restaurant.

We did josefinas too a couple years ago and it was great. Kondesa is in a class by itself :). Have fun!!

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We did a custom tour with Rony and outlined all of our stops here. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/. They worked with us to understand what we wanted to do and built the agenda; but also listened on the ‘day of’ if we wanted to move things around a bit (like more time at beach). Let me know if you have any questions- we had a great time.

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We used Rony on our December trip with our 15 year old. Full review and pictures are here. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/. You can tell them what you have in mind and they will put it together. My daughter fell in love with the sloth :). Let me know if you have any questions.

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I just had to take a moment to post how much fun my family and I had at the Cozumel Cooking School!!! It was about three hours in length, short walking distance from the port (NCL)- and a Starbucks along the way :). We had a wonderful time learning the history of the local food as well as the best lunch of the cruise. My husband and I were traveling with our 15 year old daughter and she loved it too. It’s held at a local restaurant called Kondesa. Just an idea if you need a break break from sun and beaches. Full review and pictures at https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!!

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I agree with the other posters that say book your own private excursions, NCL's are getting ridiculous. We are already planning our 15 day Panama Canal for next March. I have two young daughters in tow and their prices have driven me to private, highly rated, highly reputable local tours (Trip Advisor) instead. The prices are half of what NCL want and are longer and more private. If NCL's continues to raise their excursion prices out of greed then they are going to lose all and any money I had planned on spending with them. I'm not spending $500 on a 6 hour excursion, NCL can forget it and see how zero dollars works for them from me now.

We did a fun Segway tour in Cartagena , lookup Segway Cartagena. Had a blast and we were back in PLENTY of time. The Panama Canal itinerary is great fun :)

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We stayed in Haven on Getaway in December and had to print our own this time. I found cool bag tags tho to put them in for future! https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

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We typically book our own thing, especially if we’ve been to that particular port before. I do a ton of research on trip advisor and in many cases we are walking near the port (like Cozumel) so you pretty much see the ship wherever you are. You can see the reviews of the stops we made on our last NCL cruise (Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel) and what we selected to do. I’ve included links directly to those vendors if anyone is interested. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

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My family and I did the Holiday cruise this past Christmas on the Getaway- it's our favorite ship of the NCL big ships. I did a very extensive write up from our trip, including pictures, video, even photos of menus and the spa offerings if you're interested. I believe all your logistical questions are answered above; plus I've included an overview of the Latitudes program that you can compare with RCL offering. Enjoy! https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

good to know!

If its helpful at all, I did a full review of the Getaway from our Christmas Holidays trip in December. We stayed in the Haven, took many pictures, including of menus, spa sheets, etc. We even have a short video clip of Howl at the Moon (which is one of my favorite spots!) We loved the shows as well :) Take a peek if you're interested, I have alot of fun writing these up. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

You know, we didn't go to Ocean Blue this 2nd time on Getaway as the first time wasn't all that great. My husband still jokes about the "charred", i.e. burnt, broccoli. Kinda funny.

My personal favorite is Le Bistro, but I did write up an extensive review of the Getaway, including food pictures and menu pictures, so you're welcome to take a look to see what looks good. here is the link: https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

and Happy Anniversary!! Enjoy.

We found the wifi on the ship was awful anyway, so go for the dining! If you want to see full review, plus pictures of most menus, I put them all on this post: https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

Hopefully that is helpful for you. Enjoy.

We were on the Getaway a couple months prior (over the Holidays); Great review Poncho and agree with several areas. Saving of the main pool chairs happened every morning- i'd be out for an early morning walk and seating was incredibly limited. Now, we stayed in the Haven, so our pool time was predominantly "there", however, our daughter (teenager), wanted to be in the mix of the huge crowds, so it was more her frustration than ours! I did write a review of our trip, includes videos and such, so easier to post the link in case you're interested. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

I will say that of all the NCL ships, Getaway is our favorite. Once our daughter is off to college tho, I see us migrating to Oceania (which we tried a couple years ago and LOVED, except for evening entertainment); and we did a Viking Cruise last summer thru the south of France, which was amazing. We will be doing another Viking cruise most likely next year.

Have a great day.

Just checked it out as like most of the other resorts they are closed through the remaining 2018 year

Ouch. I will keep my eyes open for anything else that might be helpful.

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I did a review of Krazy Lobster on our blog here: https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

4/18/18 3:30p est, WordPress is having issues- should be back up here shortly per support

A couple notes, we found it difficult to navigate our way OUT of the Costa Maya port- you're trapped in there a bit, but keep pressing on and you'll find the exit- they'd prefer you just stay there :)

Once we got to Mahahual, we went to Krazy and had a few hours for lunch, beers and beach time. There are TONS of choices and yes they do mess with the bill- so pay attention. Lots of shopping in the area as well and taxi's were plentiful both there and back. Pics and more details in the blog.

Enjoy!

Just a thought; but St John is one of our favorites. If you can leave your ship as early as possible in St Thomas and take the ferry to Cruz Bay, St John, grab a 15 min taxi and go to Cinnamon Bay. It's our most beautiful beach in the world. Seriously.

If you wish to stay on St Thomas only, i found this link from 2/17 of a resort day pass review at Frenchmans: https://www.shermanscruise.com/articles/10-caribbean-resorts-with-day-passes/2-frenchman-s-reef-morning-star-marriott-beach-resort

Good luck!

http://www.gotravellife.com

This was fantastic! Thank you so much.

You’re welcome :)

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We spent a week in the Haven on Getaway over the Holidays... I spent an enormous amount of time taking pictures of menus, video, pool decks, beaches, etc. Should give you a good overview :). Enjoy! https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

Different itineraries on the big ships over the holidays; we've done them "all" now, and tired of the same ports over and over again over Christmas- so we're doing something different this year.

Live band/live music/dancing 'earlier' in the evening so you can have a nice dinner and dance well before the 11pm partiers come out? We have to work hard to stay awake so late!

Truly all inclusive fare as an option so you're not nickle and dimed to death.

Specialty Restaurants with dining hours for Adults only on a rotating basis so those wanting a quiet romantic dinner can do so! For Example: 1st night of cruise it could be Cagneys after 7 pm is for adult diners only, 2nd night it could be Ocean Blue after 7 pm. (before I'm accused of disliking children.....I have raised 24 foster children and 4 of my own, worked in a middle school and I adore children and I think its terrific that parents are doing cruises and creating memories with their children.) But, you can't ask children to be adults and sit quietly for an extended period and it would be terriffic to have a romantic atmosphere for other cruisers who are without children.

Great idea!!!