SugarStar00

Awesome hoping to check it out next week!

15 minutes ago, cruiseDH22 said:

Carnival that bad, huh?  🤨

It's not that bad. I cant help much because i'm going on my first NCL cruise in a few weeks, but I've been on many Carnival cruises as well as Princess and Celebrity. Carnival is definitely a lively crowd, everyone is there to have a good time, and they do! In my experience Carnival has a ton of kids, and most of the parents let them run wild, so I would pick a week that is NOT during a school break. The food is subjective, I think its pretty low quality in the MDR and buffet but the other restaurants like guys burgers, the bbq, blue iquana and all the newer ones open during lunch are pretty great, which I missed on other cruise lines. There is a good amount of entertainment on Carnival, comedy all week, piano bar, shows etc, something every night where the other lines I've gone on didn't have that. I think NCL might be comparable in that regard but don't know yet.  Plenty of variety with the bars too if you're a drinker. Carnival does a lot well, but the product is definitely changing, more nickel and diming but I think that's the same of all cruise lines now. Let me know if you have any specific questions maybe I can help. (I'm also from Central CT, Manchester to be exact)

On 3/10/2024 at 5:57 PM, GotMINI said:

Personally saw it, but never ended up venturing out there... sorry.   We were pretty satisfied vegging on the beach.  

Where on the beach did you sit?

On 1/15/2023 at 5:06 PM, GotMINI said:

Has anyone been there recently (2022/2023?).   Curious on peoples' thoughts...   What are prices like at the floating bar?   Think I read it's cash-only, which makes sense.   How often to the boat run back/forth to the beach?     

did you ever get your info? or did you go? curious as well 

On 3/8/2024 at 1:18 PM, vacation44 said:

That was quick!   

 

Thank you for the update and glad to read it was a perfect day.

 

Did you take a cab there and if so, do you remember how much it was?   Also how long did it take to get there?

Hello thank you for the report, do you recall if you could see or get to the Kon Tiki floating bar from there? Thanks

On 3/8/2024 at 6:03 PM, Buford T Justiice said:

four years ago the NCL beach excursion to you to Mistic Beach Bar on Runaway Beach

Thanks, the shorter excursion says it takes you to Runaway but the description on the longer one didn't say. Maybe they are both the same! Would make sense

23 hours ago, suech1970 said:

Or you could get a shared beach shuttle from the taxi guys on the pier, pick your own preferred beach, not be part of the herd and save yourself a load of $$$

yea I'm working on that as an alternative, but NCL gives us a $50 credit so I was trying to figure out if NCL excursion would actually save me money since it includes lunch, drinks, a chair and transportation. 

23 hours ago, suech1970 said:

Or you could get a shared beach shuttle from the taxi guys on the pier, pick your own preferred beach, not be part of the herd and save yourself a load of $$$

Does anyone know which beach they take you to for this excursion?

I'm not going until April but also trying to figure out the same thing! We are in Manchester but will be dropping a dog off in Derby, CT so trying to figure out our options. So far we are leaning towards just doing an uber directly in, eliminates the hassle of parking at the train station, dealing with bags on the train and then an uber in the city from GCT to Port. Just a 15min uber in manhattan is half the cost of an uber from CT. 

Its been many years since we sailed from Baltimore but we drove in from CT and stayed over night at a hotel that offered a sleep and park package I believe booked through trinity reservations, then took a cab to port. (before uber existed). I believe we stayed at the Sleep Inn? We got lucky and the Orioles were playing that day so we used the lightrail to go to a game. Was a great port to sail from. 

17 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

Actually, the parking at MCT for 10 days is 315 plus a fee of $9+.

I purchased parking a few weeks ago and that was what it came to, $324.

I ended up canceling and rebooking as someone on the other website posted a coupon code that made it $292 total. 

We are coming in from CT thinking about just taking an uber the whole way vs train then uber. i'm so afraid to drive into the city

@mking8288 Thanks for the info I have one of those mid/aft on port side 11th floor. exicited! I was hoping for the room configuration to be cough first then bed by the balcony like the one you showed but looks like mine is opposite. oh well small problems 

5 hours ago, hallux said:

At the top of the topic list in the NCL forum is a drop-down with a list of the ships.  There are pre-configured searches to find all the topics mentioning the ship name.  Use that to narrow the list of topics you need to filter through.

 

As for the MDR menu - NCL has 21 menus, the head chef can pick any menus from that for which to provision the ship for the sailing.  There's no knowing which of those menus will be on that sailing (or on which day) until the menu is posted each afternoon.

Thanks for that little tip about the search, I have never noticed that before!  

14 hours ago, mking8288 said:

There are, reported & posted on a standalone site - updated 2024 NCL Dining menus for the MDR and Specialty Restaurants (although, I am seeing much change, if any, yet to specialty) ... expect a la carte prices to go up soon, with little to no advance notice as that's NCL's motto, to sail & sustain 🧓  -  https://profcruise.com/ncl-menus-2024/

 

These are not specific to the Getaway, rather used fleetwide on NCL ships, subject to provisions & availabilities, etc.  I just updated & added to the other "not semi-live" thread from a few weeks ago as the "search function" on CC isn't the best.  

 

See post below yours for some of the generic answers you are looking for.  NCL has been making entertainment changes for the past 6+ months, the major near/B'dway style production show(s) in the main theater are ending and/or changing, so anything you see now ... over the next 2 months might be gone or entirely different.  Game shows are rolling across the stage already on (other) ships in the fleet, like "The Price is Right" and "Wheel of Fortune" - being actively "chatted" here on CC.  

 

Depending on how full the ship is and the popularity of the specific (non-reservable) show and events, it's not uncommon for folks to show up 30, 45 to 60 minutes before the event, as doors open 15 to 30 minutes prior ... seating capacity is limited and even if you do get it, could be standing room only.  

 

Go to the mobile NCL App, which I assumed you've done so already ... as that it should serve as a useful tool & guide on how and where ... the digital online version of the FSD is posted/updated on the App, available once onboard.  

 

@TenForward  The 12 days and 10 days GA sailing to the Caribbean w the brief Bermuda stop are fairly similar with sea days between ports, Freestyle Dailies just about the same ... I believe other CC'ers recently on the Getaway had posted them - finding them again is the challenge ... 

 

Will use other A.I. tools including Bard (that's Co-Pilot on Microsoft's Window 11) to see what I can retrieve and post direct link here.  

 

Enjoy your cruise ... 

Thank you so much, I actually did read your review yesterday thank you for post it! I was wondering what room you had on that sailing as I also have an angled balcony booked. 

Hello, we booked The Getaway for April 7, a 12 day sailing. This will be our first time on NCL. Between CC, FB and Google I've been trying to answer most of my questions on my own. I can't find much information as to the entertainment. I realize it might change by April, but can anyone who has been on recently give me a run down? Or does anyone have images of the "Freestyle Daily"? We are curious about show times, are there repeats of shows, how often is there comedy, pianos etc? Is there bingo, trivia, corn hole tournaments, deck parties etc? Is there a lot of live music around the ship? How early do you need to get to events that you can't make reservations for in order to get in?

 My boyfriend is also looking for MDR menu's which have been surprisingly hard to find. He also wants to know if the bake shop items complementary or is there a charge? Does the bake shop serve starbucks coffee? 

Any other tips, tricks or advice?

Thanks!☺️

Can you tell me which room number was this? 

On 1/14/2024 at 6:42 PM, PistolPete13 said:

As someone with no priority boarding, I've been able to get on the ship around 11AM if you get to the port around 9:30AM for check in.

As for cabin access, most likely after 3PM.

 

This is all assuming there are no issues with the ship arriving on time and all the passengers from the previous sailing being able to get off the ship with minimal issues.

 Yowza 3pm is so late! thanks for the info

On 1/6/2024 at 12:03 PM, tgloersen said:

Yes you can request, i really don't like the coffee they supply, so i buy some pods from Amazon and bring them with me.

The pods look specialized, which do you bring that is better and fits this machine?

is it possible to request it ahead of time? 

this might be a dumb question but when you have reservations for a show, do you have assigned seats? Or is it open seating?

I’m just wondering if I can upgrade to premium drink package on board, never sailed NCL before 

Came here looking for same info. 

Thank you so much I appreciate the response!

I tried the search feature but I get everything but what I’m looking for. 
 Has anyone done this excursion through Carnival? Looking for reviews besides what’s on their page.

Thanks!

Thanks for the review! We are looking to book the same itinerary in the spring. My only complaint is you mixing Blanton’s with soda!! 😱😉 

cheers!

Oh we are also on 4/3 sailing so I guess it’s all booked up then… that answers that 😏