paulanddarnell

Is Moderno available for lunch and breakfast on the Getaway as well? TIA

It is not listed on my Dailies from 3/28-4/4 so I do not think it is available on the Getaway.

We stayed at the Hampton Suites, Blue Lagoon. It was very pricey because this was a day during Spring Break, but we liked the hotel. I called from the airport about a pick up, and the front desk person explained in detail what to look for in the van. The van came in about 20 minutes and with the description, I was able to spot it easily from far away. After what seemed like a 15 minute ride, we were at the hotel. We wanted to get some dinner since we were still awake as we were still on West Coast time. There was a Wendy’s, McDonalds, and Burger King close, but unfortunately, the dining rooms were all closed, and we did not have a car. There was a Subway open until midnight so we got some sandwiches, and then went to Walgreens to get soda, coconut water, and some water for the trip. Walgreens is right across the street and CVS is kitty corner. Such a great location. Soon we were off to sleep. In the morning, there was a decent breakfast buffet that way busy but good (of course, nothing like on the cruise ship. They had waffles, eggs, and bacon. The location was very convenient for getting what we needed and we were very happy.

Saturday morning, we took our time and decided to skip the shuttles as they seemed busy, and we decided to get a few more things. We had a cab called and after some time, we had them call again. At about 12:30, we were on our way to the ship.

The line was pretty big when we got there. It was slow moving to get through security. We gave our luggage and soda to the porters but decided to walk the coconut water on in hopes of getting it through. My husband told me to take it as they were more likely to be nice to me. Well, he was right. The security guy looked in the bag, looked at me, and let us go. I think it might have been good to be there when busy. Once we got into the cruise check in part, it was pretty much chaos. We were standing near the back when they opened up the last section but told us we could not go through. All these people come filing past us including one woman and her family who had pushed her way through security. We were slightly annoyed, but then the guy trying to direct us elsewhere told us to get in that section also. That was quite a bit shorter of a line for us so we were happy. As we were standing in the back of the line, we realized what that line was for. We talked to Casino Mike (what he called himself) and his wife who were extremely nice. They told us this was supposed to be the Casino at Sea line, but because the check in was taking so long, some people had been funneled in. We offered to let them go in front of us, but they just laughed. They were nice and patient with the situation.

Soon, we were heading up the escalators (at this point I saw some who had been with us going through security still far back in line and realized we got lucky. A quick picture, and we headed to our room.

We were in room 13196 which was a mini suite balcony. We were able to go right to our room and met Nicoleth our room steward pretty quickly.

Le Bistro - lobster,lamb, escargot, and mushroom soup (NCL is the only escargot I love).

La Cucina - beef carpaccio (we ate multiples of this)

Cagney's - any ribeye

Moderno - lamb, lamb, lamb

Ocean's Blue - sole or sea bass

Also, ask the servers - they know their stuff!

We were on the Getaway March 28th-April 4th with the UDP. One night we did appetizers at La Cucina and dinner at Le Bistro. We were early (6) to La Cucina and sat outside since we did not have reservations, and then went to our reservations at Le Bistro at 9. The host did say something about us having reservations, but we had no problems. We also ate at Le Bistro three time. After the first night, we realized the lobster was much to big for one person so each night, we ordered an entree and shared the lobster (that is supposed to be $10 upcharge). We were never charged for anything.

Yes, mine was very much mid-ship. My husband said it was not bad at all, but for me, I could feel it. I never actually got sick, just felt a little queasy a couple times. When that happened, we went and ate, and I was better. I did like the 13th floor and I am sure the 14th because there were not many people. I am very sensitive though. I even got a little sea sick snorkeling because I spun around a bit to much.

You reminded me of something else. The other thing I did notice though was you could usually hear the thump from the music from the upper deck. My husband said mostly with the sliding door open, but I could hear it other times at night. I was thinking that this might be annoying on the 14th floor. We are late night people so it was not really a big deal, but I do remember thinking I was glad I was not on the 14th floor.

At first, my husband did not like that the television was not in front of the bed since our bed was by the balcony, but I liked that. He soon was just fine with it. We felt like we had so much room, but it was just two of us to the room.

Well, I have been back for over a week so it is time to start my review. We loved, loved the ship and trip. I will include some critical details only to help others. I am not complaining - give me a cruise over a day on land any day! I wanted to start with a few helpful tips I thought I should pass on. I read and read reviews and garnered so much info, I wanted to pay it forward.

1st - the dreaded 13th floor - we really liked this location; however, I do think a few cautions might be necessary. I did feel motion. I am very sensitive, and it took me a couple days to get used to the motion even with a nighttime Bonine. We also found the room a little creaky. I sleep with earplugs always so the first night was fine for me. My husband however had to move things to get them to stop banging (like the sodas I took our of the fridge) and had a bad first night. After that, he used earplugs and we were fine.

On the night of fireworks, I could hear the people on their balconies on the 14th floor say they could not see them because of the overhang - we had a great view.

Mini-suite - shower heaven! We liked the extra square feet in this room and the shower was amazing! I have a beautiful sani-jet tub we installed at home about three years ago. I am now no longer impressed with any tub at a hotel, but that shower, oh that was something else. It had six jets and a beautiful adjustable shower head. For us, it was worth every penny to upgrade. We had to plan extra time to get ready because one cannot take a quick shower with that luxury. Now, that extra penny, for us, it was $60, yes only 60. I originally booked a mid ship balcony on January 25th. On February 19th, the price dropped so I upgraded.

Excursions - booked our own in St. Martin and then did ship tours for the other two. My reasons for that mostly were because it was Spring Break and there were many ships in dock for St. Thomas.

We loved Atlantis. It was our first time there. We originally booked the Aqua Adventure, but after NCL changed the arrival time until 12:30, we changed to the Discover Atlantis and Beach Break. This worked out great although I realize now we did not need the Beach Break. We wandered around and saw all the aquariums and different lagoons with wildlife. At times, we were the only people in many locations. I could not believe it was Spring Break! For us, this as great! It was a very relaxed day. We do live in Southern California and had spent the previous two days snorkeling so we were okay skipping the beach, but I understand that may be important for those who have not seen the sun for awhile.

UDP - wow! We booked under the choose one promotion and we picked UDP. I fretted over this was the right economical decision, but really, we do not drink that much. I would have maybe a drink or two at dinner, and my husband an occasional drink here and there so the UBP would not have worked out better. We did eat at a specialty restaurant every night and one night appetizers at one and dinner much later at another. It was fabulous. We have found in the past that Princess had the best food, but this cruise by far had the best food of any cruise! Great service and food.

I will go into all this more as I post my review. I am going for a long one because I want to write this to keep for myself also. Hope you enjoy and that there is good info. Do feel free to ask me any questions.

Hmmm...maybe wearing my 49ers shirt in 6 days. Of course, then I just get looks or people sobbing about our woes!

I am in the same situation. Thanks Hotlady! I copied your instructions and will do that. Does anyone know if we have to go through security before leaving our bag at storage or is it in a convenient location outside of security? I do have the map from the website but cannot tell.

I did do the upgrade for $60 on the Getaway, but I found a room that had a king bed. So for the king bed, a bit bigger shower, and 20 extra sq feet, I thought the upgrade was worth it. We will see!

I am following too. Looking forward to more.

Am I right that it says this is discontinued or only offered on certain ships? I am not sure if it is referencing upcoming October or 2014.

I am going to say Random Wind. We booked a tour in August because we were going to stay for a week. We had issues and could not go. The owner gave us a full refund which was very gracious considering that her refund policy was 50%. We have not yet made it to St. Martin, but when we do, I will be sailing with her.

We have done the ship excursion to St. John, but I cannot remember if it was with NCL or Carnival. We did one that hiked through St. John and then were left to snorkel on a beautiful secluded beach for a good amount of time. We then were taken back to St. Thomas and had time to shop. We were one of the first of the boat so it was a great, long enough day. I will check my photo album to find which excursion and ship it was and let you know.