Schmoopy

We just got off the Getaway last week and we had the UBP, so I think I can answer most of your questions...

I have searched and searched on this site about the drink package but can't to seem to find exactly what I am looking for.

 

1: Everyone says oh not much of a drinker so not worth it for me. I am a drinker, not a drunk, but enjoy drinking. I go out and can drink several in an evening. So is this a good option? I know to book beforehand to save money.

There is the benefit beyond "cost" when getting the UBP, which is not thinking about what your spending and just going with the flow and trying new drinks and abandoning ones you don't like (I did that several times).

 

The downside, however, is that bottles of wine are not included so you can't grab a bottle and go enjoy it in your room if you like. However, our work-around this was to bring a water bottle and we just stocked up on several glasses of wine, poured them into the water bottle and left that in our mini fridge in our room for when we wanted to enjoy a glass or two in the room.

 

Another supposed "downside" is that NCL's policy online says you can only orer 1 drink at a time and both one person can't go to the bar and order a drink for another person in your party with the UBP. They do NOT enforce this at all. As long as you have all the UBP cards (in our case 2), one person can go to the bar and order for both people AND the bartenders will serve each person more than one drink at a time.

 

2: Does anyone know what drinks are not included? I know specialty restaurants drinks are included and the ice bar as well. Are all the bars such as howl at the moon, mojito bar and such covered?

All the bars, except the Ice Bar, are included. The restaurant Ocean-something (Zacharias-somethin'-or-other, some "celebrity chef" I never heard of), UBP doesn't work there either, from what I've heard. Otherwise, you're good.

 

3: It says drinks under $10 are included. What seems to be the average price? I drink vodka pineapple juice and orange juice? Would that be covered?

There are VERY FEW drinks that are over $10. A few glasses of wine, the top-shelf spirits and maybe a cocktail, but none of the ship's advertised signature cocktails are more than $10. They range between $7 (special day) and $9.50 or so.

 

One more piece of advice you can take or leave, we always left an additional $1 per drink when we ordered (stocked up on singles before we left). The bar staff remembered us after Day 1 and we very attentive and happy to help throughout the rest of the cruise.

 

 

Thank you in advance. If you feel this should get asked somewhere else please let me know. Im new here. :confused:

We got there at 12:30 and it was well underway. The line was long, but we were on the ship in 45 minutes.

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We just stayed in 9320 on The Getaway. The balcony had 2 loungers, 2 chairs, a small table and plenty of room to move around. Huge, imo.

That said, it was really hot and you get no breeze on the aft balcony, so we got little use of it. We wanted it because we had an aft on our Alaskan cruise and it was perfect. For the Getaway and the heat of the Caribbean, the non-breeze issue may be something to think about before paying the extra expense of an aft.

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Hi All,

Everyone was so helpful to me leading up to my cruise (Aug. 9-16) that I wanted to stop back in and offer answers, if I can, to any questions you might have about the Getaway.

My personal experience was mixed--the good and the bad was about equally split for me. Our party included three of us: my husband, my 5-year-old son and me.

My abridged "review" is as follows:

The Aqua Park

We spent a LOT of time here. Slides were really cool. You forgot you were on a ship. Sometimes the lines were long and other times they were really short. When they were long (sea days, middle of the day), wait times were about 15-20 minutes. Management of the lines was really bad to just OK, depending on who was handling it. Forget about getting a chair or lounger during any part of the "day." People get there early and "save" them with towels. No one seems to be using them, though.

The Main Pool

Yes, it's small. Teeny-tiny to be exact. But we always found room and had a good time. Earlier in the day and on port days, it was less crowded.

Food

MDR - My favorite dish on our entire cruise was the first thing I had in the MDR, crab cakes. They were really good! We only ate there once, and the rest of the meal was certainly satisfying. Food service was adequate, bar service was awful. I eventually got up and got my own drinks.

Teppenyaki ($) - Super fun, super tasty, entertaining and well-worth the extra cost. That said, as soon as the waiter set the first course (a bowl of edamame) in front of me, there was a giant black hair on top. Not sure how he didn't see it. I stopped him before he took his hand off the plate and he realized the problem. He immediately replaced it.

Le Bistro ($) - Very very good food start to finish. They even have a kid's French food menu to order from for the little ones. Service was great as well. Restaurant itself is very dark. If you're tired, you'll get even sleepier!

La Cucina ($) - Good food. Good service. My dish was overly salty, but I'm sensitive to too much salt, so it may have been perfectly fine for another's palate.

Taste and Savor - Service was faster than I expected considering they were both busy both times we dined here. Food was decent--nothing to complain about. Portion sizes very large!

O'Sheehan's - Mozzarella sticks: YUM! Burger was good. The Chopped Salad was tiny and more meat and cheese than lettuce or other vegetables. If you want a "big salad," order two and ask them to put it in a "big bowl."

Buffet - Always extremely crowded. Closed or partially closed when you wouldn't expect it to be. The morning we stopped in Nassau, it was so crowded, there were no tables left (this was the only time I saw that there were no seats) and you had to elbow and complain your way to the actual food. We abandoned our mission and decided to starve (because, at this point, Taste and Savor had closed for breakfast. What kind of "restaurant" closes for breakfast at 9:30?)

Despite NCL's best efforts to keep everyone's hands clean as they enter the buffet, with SO MANY people using it, it's nearly impossible. On Day 3 of our cruise, I ended up getting the classic "cruise ship" sickness (so did my husband; kid was fine) and my best guess is we picked up something from the thousands of people congregated and touching stuff in the buffet. Not sure, but it's my best guess.

Activities

We loved the movies in the Atrium, Spice H2O and theater (the theater is freezing, bring a sweater) and the Happy Family Deck Party. The 60s and 70s party was a blast, and I assume the Fireworks and 80s party was fun but I was too sick to attend. These parties were held in Spice H2O on the back of the ship, which is a nice open space with a big screen. Very nice atmosphere. The Glow Party was awful, in my opinion. The music was WAY too loud and it sucked (imo). Also, I was still sick but trying to enjoy the cruise a bit, so that affected my attitude. But others appeared to enjoy it. We left when they turned the volume up to 11.

Ports

We were too sick to really do anything in the ports. Needed to stay close to our room at all times.

Bars and UBP

There is no dearth of bars on the Getaway. The Sunset Bar was our favorite -- outside in the breeze, great bartenders and fellow cruisers. We were only able to hang out there the first few days before we got sick, but it was a lot of fun when we did.

As for the UBP, I still recommend it. We didn't even come close to getting our value out of it, which is a crying shame. But we couldn't predict we would get so sick. We were unable to really drink anything but water or soda after Day 3 but for drinkers who don't get sick, it's like "gold" as one fellow cruiser said.

Embarkation and Debarkation

They were a breeze--the debarkation especially so as we didn't have to wait in any lines for anything.

Splash Academy

My son hated it. He was with the 3-5 group and the activities were just too "young" for him. He went twice--only to play the Nintendo Wii for 1 hour each time, then swore it off forever. He would probably have done better with the 6-9s, but that wasn't an option.

iConcierge App

Worked great with not a single problem. Not only could I text or call my husband, it allowed the Splash Academy to reach us when our son wanted to leave (they only offer pagers to parents with special needs children) and I was able to text with other cruisers I met who had the app ("sorry, can't come out tonight. Got a tummy bug. :("). Always worked while on the ship. Never "went down." Also, you can closely monitor your acct at all times with this app.

Overall

Despite getting sick, there were plenty of high points and thankfully my son stayed well the whole time and had a blast in the Aqua Park.

The cruise was EXTREMELY crowded and felt like it. As big as this ship was, unless it was docked, there were always crowds of people around--the pool (no chairs to be found unless it was "off" hours), the buffet, the elevators, the hallways, the casino (although I didn't go there so I didn't care). I think this cruise must have been sold out. If it wasn't, I can't even imagine what it would have been like otherwise.

NCL's management of our account was an issue. We had prepaid for Teppenyaki and they charged us a second time when we dined (double charged? Whaa?). La Cucina was a "gift" from NCL, yet they charged us for it anyway when we ate there. That took time to go to Guest Services to sort out on different days.

I wish things had gone a bit differently, but it wasn't horrible. Like I said, it was 50% good, 50% bad. When you cruise, you take a chance. And, in all honesty, it could have been worse.

Thanks to all! This is very helpful and assuring!

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We're coming down the wire (leave for Miami on Friday morning!). Our LR is covered in clothes and suitcases and full-on vacation excitement! But we have a major question:

Can you request an iron to iron your own clothes in your room?

And a secondary question...

If not, are travel steamers allowed?

We actually purchased the travel steamer we have for our Alaskan cruise in 2011 and used it most of the trip. Worked well, but I've seen a few posts on CC about them not being allowed. Not sure if that's a new rule or we just got away with it due to ignorance.

Preferably 1, we'd like to request an iron when needed and not bring the steamer. Preferably 2, we prefer not to pay big-bucks to have them press stuff for us.

Again, the top of that sign says Kids Pool. The question is not about the Kids Pool. It's about the splash area. They are near each other, but separate things. The OP still doesn't have an answer, even if that picture is posted 780 more times.

Giddy up! The poster of those photos is the one saying it applies to the splash pad. We don't see it on the signs (which are hard to read), nor has it come from an official NCL source. Post all the pics you want ... it's not answering the OP's question.

Okay so I bet there's going to be backlash now! Maybe the no diaper rule would be followed by more if they imposed a warning for the first offense and a $250 fine for each additional offense. Rules are to be adhered to. And not just some rules.

No one here (that I can tell) is suggesting the OP's mom-friend breaks the rules. Considering the extreme ambiguity on whether there is a an actual rule, we are weighing in on our thoughts about swim diapers in splash areas. Some of us believe the risk of swim diapers in splash areas where there is little to no standing water is minimal. Others believe that risk is high and (and allow me to inject a bit of hyperbole) life-threatening to everyone on board. Again, no one is saying break the rule, when so far, we can't find a rule.

A $250 fine for an offense that isn't clearly and obviously posted or stated will not hold up in court.

I guess you didn't read the commentary that the poster included with the picture:

 

If you are taking your baby into the pool then you are doing it against the posted rules. The OP was asking if Breakaway was like Oasis with the infant splash zone and the answer is NO it's not. For some reason - Norwegian has not made the steps to add an infant only splash area for kids in diapers.

 

Yes - people ignore the rules and take babies in diapers as they do on all other ships without an infant splash area.

 

Sorry OP - here is the posted sign at the splash park - no diapers

The OP's question is about the Getaway, not the Breakaway. I realize they are very similar, but I also understand there are some differences, and the Getaway is a newer ship.

Until someone posts a picture of the rules (or cites some otherwise credible source) about the Getaway, there still is no definitive answer.

As I said, I'll be on the Getaway later this week, and I will be spending a lot of time in the kids splash area (rest assured posters: My kid is potty trained). I'll look for a sign that clearly explains the rules and if I see one, I'll snap a pic and post it ... if no one else does before then.

Here's a picture.... NO SWIM DIAPERS doesn't matter how much you " know" or "watch" your child...

It may be a bit helpful to read the thread before posting. The question isn't about the pool. Everyone knows and agrees swim diapers aren't allowed in the pool.

The question is regarding the splash pad area where this is little to no standing water.

Now, let's see your sign that says "no swim diapers in the splash pad area." THEN we will have an official answer.

As of now, this is all still opinion.

So far, no one has been able to officially answer the OP's question with a cited authoritative source, picture of a "no swim diapers allowed" sign or verbatim language from NCL's site.

So, at this point, it's all everyone's guess.

I'll be on the Getaway this week. I'll make a point to check for a sign, take a picture if there is one and post it to this thread.

This post was very disturbing!!! I really dont understand people. You were all children once. And dont tell me oh an one year old will be fine they dont need to go in the pool. I am sorry but when a child sees the spraypool they are going to want to go in. And I was on the Breakaway and the spray area is just for kids the only adults their were the parents. My child is semi potty trained. He has a speech delay so i still put on diapers/ swim diapers just in case. But he went in the spray area and i was on top of him and everything was fine. Sorry to tell you this but if you think that a older child in the pool hasnt peed in it because they are having to much fun and dont want to get out you are work.

 

Th e person on this thread had a question if you cant just answer that question then move on.

 

To answer the question: The sign in the KIDS SPRAY AREA does say no swim diapers but almost every little child had a swim diaper. I always make sure my child goes to the bathroom first and I stay on top of them. There were no accidents from any one.

Hear hear! I actually had a look of disgust on my face at some of the rude responses while reading this and my husband asked what horrible news event was I reading about now.

I agree with LrgPizza and all the others who said NEWS FLASH: Some of us LOVE spending time with our children!

I'm sorry OP, I don't have an answer to your question. But it sounds like Michie78 does. And I believe there is minimal threat in taking a little one wearing a swim diaper to an area where there is no standing water. It's not like babies are pooping all day long. And when they do, they kind of give you some warning or the mom can waits until the baby goes for the day to take her.

I hope it works out and it's a great cruise for the whole family.

I second The Husband's Secret, although it's not a "shore" setting and it's kind of predictable. But it's till one of those can't-put-it-down books.

Thank you to whoever recommended Gone Girl. I'm going to put it on my Kindle today and read it on our cruise later this week!

I wish this was available now! I'd definitely upgrade to the all-inclusive for our cruise next week. Looks like a deal to me.

Is the Glow Party only for adults or are kids allowed to join too? I thought I read somewhere that it was family-friendly, but isn't Spice H2O an adult-only area of the ship?

We have a 5-year-old, so if kids aren't allowed, we won't be going. I just don't want to take up precious packing space with white clothes if we don't need them.

Thanks for all the replies, guys!

Yeah, we're big on credit card rewards, so if it were to boost our rewards to a higher level allowing us to take advantage of some reward, I'd do it. But one of you made the point that if you prepay, then have to cancel, it may be questionable if you get that part refunded.... or at the very least, an added hassle.

I appreciate the idea of getting a very small bill at the end of the cruise as well.

A lot of good points raised here. Thanks so much for the conversation and opinions, all!

We're taking the Grand Mediterranean, and I'm dreading the very long flight from the West Coast of the US to the port!

Anyone have any great tips for making the time pass on a plane? I'll have my e-reader, and I'm considering eating a sleeping pill at Last Bording call... I feel unprepared! I don't want to arrive feeling awful and spend the first days of the cruise jetlagged.

 

Help, please?

Yes, download the following apps on your smart phone and before you leave "download for offline listening" as many episodes as you like (and space will allow):

This American Life (max 5 episodes for offline listening)

The Moth (no limit)

Radiolab (no limit)

All very educations, insightful and entertaining. And I don't think any of the apps cost more than $3 or $4.

Marc Maron's podcast (via the app) could be good too.

Enjoy!

Thanks guys! If I find some time in this crazy week ahead of me, I'll prepay for that one less worry. Otherwise, I'll wait.

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Apologies if this has been asked a million times. But...

Is there an advantage to prepaying service charges? I see a lot of you do it.

We sail a week from today and if there's incentive to doing this, I may as well do it now.

Thx!

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Others have answered already, but to clarify:

 

1. Your keycard will have UBP sticker that you need to get after boarding - to my understanding from any bar. On Getaway we had UDP sticker already on our cards when we got them but had to get the UBP stickers separately.

 

2. We tipped excellent servers with UBP just as we would with paying by drink, just added $1-2 to the receipt's tip row.

Thanks everyone for the responses! This is really helpful! I think the best route is to have lots of singles with us, and lay down a buck or two with our orders--a little more for great service.

Demonyte, thanks for answering the "how it's used" question - when you say "stickers," is this a scannable sticker you need to use at each bar or is it just something to indicate you have the UBP?

I would go alone. Early in life, I got myself accustomed to doing things along. My tastes differed from my friends, so I would go to indie films and sometimes even concerts alone. Eventually, I started traveling abroad alone. Doing things alone is sometimes intimidating, but these experiences tend to be the most memorable--and they always lend themselves to meeting new people.

Go and enjoy!

Hi CCers.

We finally decided and purchased our UBP for our upcoming Getaway cruise. I have two questions:

1. How do you "pay" for drinks? Are you given a wristband or card of some sort?

2. When we purchased the package, we paid an auto 15% gratuity. But I'm curious if we're expected to tip more. In a regular bar, we tend to tip a few bucks for 2 drinks (more than 15%). But I also don't want to overtip--we've already spent nearly $1000 on drinks at this point. What's expected with the UBP? If we don't throw down a few bucks with each order, will our service suffer?

TIA!

Thanks bkangel! That makes perfect sense for me--hope it does for the OP too.

Except, I hope the "50" isn't representative of the $$ amount because our TA OBC is $125 and we got $25 from NCL.

Helpful!

We're on the Getaway next week, and I also see AMO50 on my Vacation Summary. I know our perks included: Chocolate covered strawberries (spelled out), 1 bottle of wine (WINE02), dinner at La Cucina (DINITL) and $150 OBC (partially showing up under "Onboard Spending"), but I'm at a loss for what AMO50 means.

I think NCL was only offering this deal to people who booked balcony rooms. Could it possibly be a code to indicate you're in a balcony room?

If you have a B1, you are aft facing and will have one of the best balconies on the ship imho!! :D

So all B1s are aft-facing? Good to know. We had only cruised once before 3 years ago and we had aft-facing then, so it was a requirement this time around.

But I did NOT realize that aft = more movement. And for me, that may explain why I was so sick on the first sea day of our last cruise. Hoping that won't happen this time. That was a much smaller ship (Rhapsody of the Seas) than the Getaway, and according to the ship announcements, the seas were especially rough. There were so many sick people on that ship, they were passing out sea-sick tablets to anyone who needed them.

We are in a B1 balcony. What does that mean? How is it different from B2 or BA or all these other Bs I keep seeing?