Getaway 16 May The Good, The Bad, The WT*

Greetings

My SO and I returned from the 16 May cruise on Getaway. This is a quick summary of our trip.

The Good:

The boarding process went very smoothly. We arrived at the terminal around 10:20 and the check-in lines moved quickly. After just a few minutes we were upstairs awaiting the start of boarding. Boarding began at about 11:30 and we were on board at 11:45. We went up to the buffet for lunch, there were no big crowds as I was expecting to find. It was a very nice start to the week.

The ship is new, big, and beautiful. It carries about 4,000 passengers but it seldom seemed crowded. Yes, there were a few times everyone wanted to be in the same place, but for the most part it seemed no more crowded than the S-Class Celebrity ships we frequently sail. The pool area was always busy, but we always found loungers that were empty. There were old photos of Hemmingway and the Keys throughout the ship. It was fun just wandering around looking at all the photos (SO is a big fan of Papa).

The food was good, not spectacular. Our dinner at Le Bistro, the only premium venue we tried, came close to hitting the spectacular mark. A couple of items in the buffet were less than hot, but most items were fine. The lunches at the buffet did not change very much from day to day but there were plenty of choices. I was surprised that there were no carving stations at the lunch buffet. The prime rib at O’Sheehan’s was very tasty and lunches at Flamingo Grill were a nice change from standard fare. We only had one real issue with the food which I will touch on later.

Service was good throughout the week. Bars were busy but we never waited very long. The mojito bar was great. We met a lot of very nice people there.

We never met our cabin steward. He did a decent job, but he was not to be seen. Usually they introduce themselves at the start of the cruise, guess NCL does it differently.

The shows were quite good. We attended more shows on this cruise than usual because there was a good selection. All were well performed and were entertaining. At the Grammy show the poor singer’s mike was too low and she was overpowered by the music, but it was still a good show. My SO loved Burn the Floor. She wanted to go again, but we never got to it.

The ports are the ports. We have been to most of the ports so many times that now we cruise to have a relaxing time on a nice ship.

Debarkation was a breeze. We did the walk-off and it was the easiest we had for many cruises. We usually do walk-off and we have found it a bit unorganized on other cruises. Thecustoms lines were fast and we were in our car by 8:00AM.

The Bad:

It is a short list but let me cover some of the less than good moments.

On Tuesday night we ate in one of the regular dining rooms. They had a great sounding menu that included rack of lamb and chateaubriand. We decided to eat a bit lighter and selected the grilled grouper. What came had no relationship to grouper except they are both fish!!! We mentioned this to the waiter who said he was sure it was as listed but then the dining manager came over and said “she would inquire”. Next came the maître d who bashfully admitted it was not grouper but added that 95% of people do not know the difference. They offered another entrée but we had show reservations and did not have time to wait. If I had known it was “imitation grouper” I would have selected differently. In fact, here in Florida it is illegal to advertise grouper and serve/sell another fish. They were pulling a bait-and-switch hoping people would not notice.

Another minor dining issue was that the beverage servers were ok getting you an initial glass of wine, but you had to flag them down for a second glass. They seemed to be short staffed in this area.

The WT*:

Our final day was in Nassau. We decided to have an easy day. We let the crowds exit the ship, then we strolled into town and did one pass of the main street. We had just visited in December, so it was a stretch your legs and return to the ship kind of day. We decided to get cleaned up early and have the final sail-away with all our friends at the mojito bar then go directly to dinner. My SO got in the shower while I relaxed but soon my peaceful afternoon was shaken by a screaming/crying woman. The shower water had turned her hair green. Now I can tell you one thing, no matter how many time you tell a hysterical woman that she looks good with green hair and that you like the punk-rock style she does not hear you!!!!! She made a frantic call to customer relations where they said “we know of no problems with the water but we will get back to you”. She had green hair, the bottom of the shower was green and the shower walls were green. Something was amiss.

In reality, they were working on the water system and had water turned off on most the ship for maintenance. They perform this type of maintenance when most passengers are off the ship. They were in the process of restoring the water and had injected a major dose of chlorine which was to be flushed through the system. If you were unlucky enough to be taking your shower right at that time, well it wasn’t good.

Customer relations called back and said there had been no other reports of problems and they would “get back to her”. I had just strolled by the customer relations desk and saw an upset couple whose female member had green streaks in her hair. I stopped and chatted with her so she would know she wasn’t alone. I knew that my SO wasn’t the only unlucky person. After a considerable period of time, customer relations called and said there may have been an issue with the water and that they had tried to get her an appointment at the spa to correct her hair but no appointments were available. They said she should put ketchup in her hair and let it set for 20-30 minutes then wash it out. My SO was not happy, but she agreed to try the remedy. They sent down ketchup (we don’t normally keep any emergency ketchup in the cabin). My SO noticed that the steward had a tray full of ketchup bottles. Now maybe there were a number of room service orders for French fries where they had forgotten to provide ketchup, but I doubt it. There were several cruisers requiring “ketchup treatment”. The ketchup trick turned her hair from bright green to pale green but mainly just left her smelling like tomatoes.

Another call to customer relations followed by another “we will get back to you”. They finally got her an appointment at the spa – at 8:30 pm. At the spa she met some very nice fellow cruisers all with similar stories. Her stylist at the spa told her not to worry that this happens all the time and customer relations sends the ladies up and that he knew exactly what to do!!!!! So much for the “this has never happened before" claim. She emerged from the spa returned to her “natural” state just after 10:00pm.

The ordeal started a little before 3:00pm. Seven hours of our final evening lost never to return. Customer relations did keep sending her no charge glasses of wine (we had the UBP) even though the UBP does not include room service wine (there was no room service fee either). It was an unforgettable ending to the cruise.

Summary:

All in all we had a nice vacation. It did not exactly end on a high note, but we were on a nice ship with good drinks, decent food, and there were some great people we met along the way. While I would gladly try another NCL cruise, my SO may take some convincing. Maybe I could promise to bring extra ketchup.

Good Sailing

Tom

Thanks for the review. OMG, I would die if my hair turned green, but your story (sorry) made me giggle.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I hope you can look back on this incident years from now and laugh. I wonder what the room steward thought when given all those bottles of ketchup to deliver. I really question that "this happens all the time". If that were true I would think they'd find a better way to handle water system maintenance.

Your poor SO ... even though I'm cracking up laughing at your telling of the story I am sorry that the cruise ended this way. Thank goodness for the stream of glasses of wine delivery. LOL not sure what I would have done while waiting for the spa appointment to fix my hair .... maybe enjoyed the ship activities with green hair ????

If she has the same sense of humor you do we'd be pleased to sail with you anytime. Can just imagine how some passengers would react to the same situation and would not want to be sailing with them.

What a great story!

I hate to laugh at the misfortune of others, but it was just too funny, and it seemed to turn out ok.

It's a good tip to try to find out when they plan to do water maintennance.

Good story.. My GF would go crazy if that happened to her, I mean crazy. We are leaving on the ship Saturday. Do you need to make reservations for all the shows? I can only make reservations for the 2 main shows on line.

Summary:

 

All in all we had a nice vacation. It did not exactly end on a high note, but we were on a nice ship with good drinks, decent food, and there were some great people we met along the way. While I would gladly try another NCL cruise, my SO may take some convincing. Maybe I could promise to bring extra ketchup.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

Memories are the best part of most cruises...and as you've said...this one was unforgettable.

Thanks for sharing, and for your good humour.

Stephen

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That story was priceless! The way you told it had me laughing right out loud. Glad you all were such good sports. Too funny although if it happened to me I probably would be screaming too [emoji13]

So glad you posted your final day story. And glad all ended well.

I was doing our packing and went in to get a drink of water and thought I had been poisoned. When my dh got back to the room, he tried the water and said it was ok. Guess I flushed it out. It took several days for my taste buds to return to normal. Later, my niece mentioned they had no water but we never knew what happened, until now. :eek:

Thank You for your review and the laugh.....of course if my hair was green I too would not be laughing.

I will try the ketchup treatment on my DD hair this summer. She is a swimmer and water polo player and by the end of summer she has a green cast to her hair naturally very light blonde hair.

I can only imagine how much chlorine would have to be used to turn in instantly green.

Your poor SO ... even though I'm cracking up laughing at your telling of the story I am sorry that the cruise ended this way. Thank goodness for the stream of glasses of wine delivery. LOL not sure what I would have done while waiting for the spa appointment to fix my hair .... maybe enjoyed the ship activities with green hair ????

 

If she has the same sense of humor you do we'd be pleased to sail with you anytime. Can just imagine how some passengers would react to the same situation and would not want to be sailing with them.

Greetings

She can now laugh about the incident and we have a great story for her grandchildren. We always try to have fun, no matter what happens.

Good Sailing

Tom

Good story.. My GF would go crazy if that happened to her, I mean crazy. We are leaving on the ship Saturday. Do you need to make reservations for all the shows? I can only make reservations for the 2 main shows on line.

Greetings

The shows fill up fast. There were lines at each venue for those without reservations but some of them were fairly long. Reservations are quick and easy either via your cabin TV or the many display screens throughout the ship. There is also a show "box office" but it seems easier to use the 21th century methods.

Good Sailing

Tom

So glad you posted your final day story. And glad all ended well.

 

I was doing our packing and went in to get a drink of water and thought I had been poisoned. When my dh got back to the room, he tried the water and said it was ok. Guess I flushed it out. It took several days for my taste buds to return to normal. Later, my niece mentioned they had no water but we never knew what happened, until now. :eek:

Greetings

So you were there too. Just after she began her Kermit the Frog imitation I went to get her a mojito to try to calm the situation. They were making them with canned club soda (instead of the soda guns). I then went up to the buffet and saw all the water/drink/ice dispensers marked with "out of order" signs, so I knew something was up. I too tasted the water, thank goodness it was just a little sip. It had a very metallic taste. Glad I never had a big drink of it.

Glad your taste buds finally recovered.

Good Sailing

Tom

Thanks so much for sharing this!! I will certainly taste the water (gingerly) before I get in the shower on EVERY port day!! And to think I thought I was a well seasoned traveler and not much could faze me.....

Yikes! Thanks for the terrific review. They really should put something in the Daily or make an announcement or something about the chlorine since someone (especially the younger and older folks) could end up with some serious health issues from drinking the water "at the wrong moment"! :(

OMG-That is crazy! I'm glad she at LEAST got wine sent to the room. What a story. I've never heard of that happening. Now I'll be leary of taking a shower during port times!

Glad you generally enjoyed the rest of your cruise. We also loved the ship decor, the Flamingo Grill option and the mojito bar.

So, did your SO let you take a picture for posterity? The grandchildren would love that.

So, did your SO let you take a picture for posterity? The grandchildren would love that.

Greetings

Yes I do have pictures. I dare not post them for my own personal safety :). Now showing them to the grands, that's another story :D.

Good Sailing

Tom

I was sure you would not post but was just curious. Definitely, one of those moments you will talk about for a long time.

Sounds like you enjoyed the cruise. I know we did. :)

Thank you for the review, but I have to admit my jaw dropped to the ground when I read the WT*. I felt so bad for her! But once that passed I have to admit, I laughed! If it had happened to me, I would have been in tears! I'm so glad they got her hair color back. I'm now wondering didn't anyone smell the chlorine? Or was it odorless? Why didn't they let everyone know to flush/run the water for a minute or two is beyond me!

I could smell the chlorine in the spa on May 8 when we were in Nassau. I didn't get it in my hair but now wonder what color I would have wound up with since my hair is colored red. Green + red = brown. How funny if it made my hair look ordinary.

What color was your SO hair before green? Did this happen only to blondes or did it turn everyone's hair green?

Omg I would cry too if my hair turned green from a shower! It would take a lot more than glasses of wine to calm me down lol.

What color was your SO hair before green? Did this happen only to blondes or did it turn everyone's hair green?

Greetings

My SO is blonde, but like most ladies she does color the gray. There was a younger passenger on her honeymoon. She had very long brown hair with tiny streaks of highlights. The highlights were all green. I am not sure how they got her restored. She may still be there in the spa:).

Good Sailing

Tom

I am blonde (not naturally), but if that happened to me, I would just take it with a grain of salt. It would be a great story to laugh about.