Review: NCL Getaway February 4, 2018 Western Caribbean

Hi everyone. We are experienced cruisers and enjoy various lines. Had not cruised NCL in 2 years but decided we liked the Getaway itin for this particular week.

Got to FL on Saturday and stayed at the Marriott on the bay--along with many other cruisers on the 6 ships that were in port that Sunday.

Got to the port around 11:15am via Uber from the hotel. Went through security and then inquired where to check in for platinum. Directed to a person who opened the gate and we were next for the check-in agent. This was great since by this time the line was probably several hundred people deep. Checked in, went up the escalator and boarding #13 was being handed out. Boarding had started and they were on #3, so we showed our platinum cards and went right onboard.

We had a B1 aft-facing cabin, and traveled with a friend who had a guarantee inside cabin. She was assigned one far forward on deck 9. This made for a lot steps walking from forward to aft, etc. Not a problem.

We went to the buffet because we love the variety offered. Wasn't too crowded yet. Wandered around, dropped our items at our cabins. Our sparkling wine was already waiting in our cabin. Love the cabin with its space, storage, lighting. Balcony was great and had 2 chairs, 2 loungers, and one tiny table. There seemed to be a lack of regular coffee pods as we repeatedly had to ask for them. Why does NCL still fill the minibar fridge? Just leave it empty!

Muster was at 3:30. I did find it interesting that they emphasized the smoking areas, and that staterooms and balconies were not for smoking. It was repeated twice. Thank you!

We had the drink package and the dining package, plus two platinum dinners. I have to say Cagney's was a disappointment--pretentious and my steak was not good. They offered me another but I was already full. When the person came around to tables to ask how everything was, he looked at us and kept walking to the next table! what? Perhaps he already knew we weren't enthralled. Moderno has that great salad bar, but we found most meats way too salty. The pleasant surprise for us was La Cucina. I wasn't too excited to go there because we ate there 2 yrs ago on Gem and it was 'eh but was so glad we tried it again on Getaway. Teppanyaki was the best! We ate in Taste once and Savor too; both were very good with food and service. Themed buffets in the buffet and Moderno were good too.

Note that there is a photographer in Teppanyaki. Your photo gets taken. Later in the dinner you are handed a nice folder with your 8x10 photo in it. The person walks away and comes back 5 minutes later to tell you it is $24.95 if you want it!

CD Paquito was everywhere and we liked him a lot. I remembered captain Roger from when he was on the Gem.

Past Guest (silver and above) was in the Fat Cats lounge. Officers spoke a bit and that was it. Performer was on the stage. Cheese tray and some drinks were passed.

Coffee bar in atrium had great cappuccinos. We didn't buy the cupcakes. I wonder how long they sit there. Should be included in the cruise price.

I like the bow camera on channel 22 and the nav channel on 21. There is one channel that shows comedies like Two Broke Girls and Mom over and over. One movie channel. Four news channels. A bit unbalanced. Lack of variety compared to other mainstream cruise lines.

Shows: Million Dollar Quartet. Wasn't sure what it would be like but it was superb! Very entertaining. Burn the Floor was as excellent as I remembered from Breakaway. Comedians were ok. Various musicians onboard were very good. Howl at the Moon were good but we only went once. Seems it's the same songs over and over with a few new ones thrown in. The Welcome show and the Farewell shows in the theater were very good too.

Games. Very entertaining but the atrium is a horrible location--too small for all who want to watch or participate. There is a game room forward on deck 6 that had games to use. Also a library.

The platinum "free" 30 minutes wifi requires $3.95 activation fee.

Spice H2O had some great parties at night. Loved being outside with the music.

We did use the Norwegian app on our phones.

Service was good. There are always some crew who are friendlier than others. But that's ok.

Ports. We did not book anything through the cruiseline.

Roatan. Ziplining and beach break. Was great but if there are multiple ships in port I'd re-think it. There were 3 ships that day and it took a long time as many many people were ziplining.

Harvest Cay. What a gorgeous place! Absolutely loved it here. Much better than Great Stirrup Cay EXCEPT: NOTHING is included on the island. All food and drink is for purchase. Did not like that part.

Costa Maya. Lots of shopping at the port. Got henna tattoos and I asked the tattoo artist about a good beach nearby. He told me it would be very crowded due to 2 ships in port and it was a holiday so locals would be there too.

Cozumel. We went to Mr. Sancho's again. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.

Sunset sailaways were beautiful.

Debarkation. Ugh. We booked the noon flight instead of the 10am (won't do that again) so we weren't in a hurry to get off the ship. We were at the dock at 6:45am and the first debark announcement was at 7:30 though I imagine some of the walk-off and suites had already begun. The forward gangway was for Canadian and USA citizens, and the aft gangway for all others. By the time we got to deck 7 the line went from the theater to the aft circle in the casino, and then back through O'Sheehan's before getting off the ship. I'd say 20 minutes later we were at customs and then got an Uber back to the airport. Flights to the NE became delayed so the 10am had left on time and our noon left around 3pm. Reminded me why I love to cruise from NJ or NYC.

Enjoyed the cruise a lot.

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise. And I also prefer cruising out of NYC. No planes to catch. ;)

We did use the Norwegian app on our phones.

How did it work for you?

Thanks for the review.

Wow, 3.95 activation fee for the "free" 30 minutes of internet. I don't remember having to pay that a few months ago when I was on the Sun Such is life.

How did it work for you?

Worked fine. Could see what was going on for the day, our account, other information.

We were on the same cruise. Ahhhhhh it's nice to know we weren't the only ones searching for coffee pods!!! lol. Had to ask several times for more and was shown the empty drawer by our room steward on his cart. Strabge

Mr. Sanchos! Loved it!! Absolute fabulous place to go!

The staff.... Wondering if you experienced what we did... We had 40 in our group and all felt the overall friendliness of the staff was lacking. It was almost like this was a training voyage! Saw several officers looking and checking staff throughout the trip. When on the Escape last year the entire staff was exceptional and made our cruise perfect! This year on the Getaway... overall... was so lacking it really affected how we viewed such a great ship. The general attitude was I hate my job and you're bothering me. And we are not picky people who require a lot lol. Trully... the only friendly people we encountered were in Cagneys, Tapanki (sp*) and the nice buffet staff that clears tables.

Thank you for your review. We sail in April and like you are platinum and also in an Aft Balcony. Thank you for the info on asking for the platinum check in line and not worrying about a boarding group.

We were on the same cruise. Ahhhhhh it's nice to know we weren't the only ones searching for coffee pods!!! lol. Had to ask several times for more and was shown the empty drawer by our room steward on his cart. Strabge

 

Mr. Sanchos! Loved it!! Absolute fabulous place to go!

 

The staff.... Wondering if you experienced what we did... We had 40 in our group and all felt the overall friendliness of the staff was lacking. It was almost like this was a training voyage! Saw several officers looking and checking staff throughout the trip. When on the Escape last year the entire staff was exceptional and made our cruise perfect! This year on the Getaway... overall... was so lacking it really affected how we viewed such a great ship. The general attitude was I hate my job and you're bothering me. And we are not picky people who require a lot lol. Trully... the only friendly people we encountered were in Cagneys, Tapanki (sp*) and the nice buffet staff that clears tables.

It probably was a training voyage. Lots of seasoned staff either have left or will be leaving soon for short break and then on to Germany to get The Bliss ready to sail in mid April. This is occurring on a number of other ships as well. The Bliss is scheduled to "float out" of Her Construction Barn early morning East Coast Time Saturday morning.

True about staff moving to Bliss. It was mentioned at the CruiseNext discussion too that many would be going to Bliss.

We were on the same cruise. Ahhhhhh it's nice to know we weren't the only ones searching for coffee pods!!! lol. Had to ask several times for more and was shown the empty drawer by our room steward on his cart. Strabge

 

Mr. Sanchos! Loved it!! Absolute fabulous place to go!

 

The staff.... Wondering if you experienced what we did... We had 40 in our group and all felt the overall friendliness of the staff was lacking. It was almost like this was a training voyage!. . .

I did notice that some were very warm and friendly and some just weren't, but it seems that's the case on most cruiselines.

the coffee pods--how could their be a shortage onboard? We were told the same thing. Bizarre.

---------------------------

Does anyone go to that gelato/dessert booth on the waterfront? I have never seen anyone there buying anything.

Thank you for your review. We sail in April and like you are platinum and also in an Aft Balcony. Thank you for the info on asking for the platinum check in line and not worrying about a boarding group.

Once you are through the line at Security in Miami, ask one of the port agents where Platinums go for check in. We walked straight then turned right at the end of the wall, and were directed all the way to the end, past the existing line. The agent there checked our docs for "platinum" then unhooked a gate and let us in and we were next for check-in. If the ship is already boarding when you arrive, then just show your cruise card that says platinum to the agent and they will show you where to board.

We like to arrive once boarding has started. I don't like a crowded terminal with more coming in and no one going out. 11:20 or so arrival was perfect. Only line was security which was maybe 10 people at that time.

ALSO: this port divides embarkation between two terminals for Getaway. Forward people are assigned to B and mid-to aft assigned to C. If you are traveling with someone in B and your docs show C (or vice versa) you can still stay together as we did.

Thanks for your review!

We were also on this cruise and you summed it up well. The disembarkation was an absolute cluster - shame on NCL for not having this perfected.

We too thought the service was hit and miss. Once in Taste our dinner service was really bad - people who arrived 15 minutes after us were served and gone well before us. Other times in Taste it was superb! Oh well.

The photo scam in the Tepenaki restaurant was indeed really scummy. Our entire table went from "wow, what a nice little surprise!" to "are you kidding me?"

I too was glad they announced the no smoking policy. Several past cruises where we had a balcony dip*****s would continually smoke on their balcony and it really pissed me off. This time, no smell of smoke - yea! FYI - if you do have a balcony and are sitting outside, PLEASE don't have a conversation on your balcony at 10:30pm - especially by yelling to someone inside the cabin. The wind and engine noise naturally make people yell in these situations and I think the 50 rooms around our neighbor heard their entire 30 minute conversations. Seriously? Have some common decency!

Overall this was our first time on the Gateway (or a ship that class) and it was absolutely awesome! Very well designed (except the atrium) and the performers on board were superb.

MikeyD: I like that NCL is aware of Cruise Critic, even asking about it in the post-cruise survey. I have been told in the past that they read reviews too. Let's hope so since there is room for them to improve.

The Teppanyaki photo bait you describe perfectly. I did not like the trickiness of it at all. Stuff like that keeps NCL's "nickle and dime" reputation very alive.

We've had experiences with NCL and smokers in cabins next door, but it was NCL staff's lack of action that was the most annoying. I took a long (~2 year) break from NCL at that point. :eek: :eek::eek:We are so happy to have lots of cruise line options! It does seem that NCL is finally doing something to enforce its own rules.

Thanks for the feedback.

Hi everyone. We are experienced cruisers and enjoy various lines. Had not cruised NCL in 2 years but decided we liked the Getaway itin for this particular week.

Got to FL on Saturday and stayed at the Marriott on the bay--along with many other cruisers on the 6 ships that were in port that Sunday.

Got to the port around 11:15am via Uber from the hotel. Went through security and then inquired where to check in for platinum. Directed to a person who opened the gate and we were next for the check-in agent. This was great since by this time the line was probably several hundred people deep. Checked in, went up the escalator and boarding #13 was being handed out. Boarding had started and they were on #3, so we showed our platinum cards and went right onboard.

We had a B1 aft-facing cabin, and traveled with a friend who had a guarantee inside cabin. She was assigned one far forward on deck 9. This made for a lot steps walking from forward to aft, etc. Not a problem.

 

We went to the buffet because we love the variety offered. Wasn't too crowded yet. Wandered around, dropped our items at our cabins. Our sparkling wine was already waiting in our cabin. Love the cabin with its space, storage, lighting. Balcony was great and had 2 chairs, 2 loungers, and one tiny table. There seemed to be a lack of regular coffee pods as we repeatedly had to ask for them. Why does NCL still fill the minibar fridge? Just leave it empty!

 

Muster was at 3:30. I did find it interesting that they emphasized the smoking areas, and that staterooms and balconies were not for smoking. It was repeated twice. Thank you!

 

We had the drink package and the dining package, plus two platinum dinners. I have to say Cagney's was a disappointment--pretentious and my steak was not good. They offered me another but I was already full. When the person came around to tables to ask how everything was, he looked at us and kept walking to the next table! what? Perhaps he already knew we weren't enthralled. Moderno has that great salad bar, but we found most meats way too salty. The pleasant surprise for us was La Cucina. I wasn't too excited to go there because we ate there 2 yrs ago on Gem and it was 'eh but was so glad we tried it again on Getaway. Teppanyaki was the best! We ate in Taste once and Savor too; both were very good with food and service. Themed buffets in the buffet and Moderno were good too.

Note that there is a photographer in Teppanyaki. Your photo gets taken. Later in the dinner you are handed a nice folder with your 8x10 photo in it. The person walks away and comes back 5 minutes later to tell you it is $24.95 if you want it!

CD Paquito was everywhere and we liked him a lot. I remembered captain Roger from when he was on the Gem.

 

Past Guest (silver and above) was in the Fat Cats lounge. Officers spoke a bit and that was it. Performer was on the stage. Cheese tray and some drinks were passed.

Coffee bar in atrium had great cappuccinos. We didn't buy the cupcakes. I wonder how long they sit there. Should be included in the cruise price.

I like the bow camera on channel 22 and the nav channel on 21. There is one channel that shows comedies like Two Broke Girls and Mom over and over. One movie channel. Four news channels. A bit unbalanced. Lack of variety compared to other mainstream cruise lines.

 

Shows: Million Dollar Quartet. Wasn't sure what it would be like but it was superb! Very entertaining. Burn the Floor was as excellent as I remembered from Breakaway. Comedians were ok. Various musicians onboard were very good. Howl at the Moon were good but we only went once. Seems it's the same songs over and over with a few new ones thrown in. The Welcome show and the Farewell shows in the theater were very good too.

 

Games. Very entertaining but the atrium is a horrible location--too small for all who want to watch or participate. There is a game room forward on deck 6 that had games to use. Also a library.

 

The platinum "free" 30 minutes wifi requires $3.95 activation fee.

 

Spice H2O had some great parties at night. Loved being outside with the music.

 

We did use the Norwegian app on our phones.

 

Service was good. There are always some crew who are friendlier than others. But that's ok.

Ports. We did not book anything through the cruiseline.

 

Roatan. Ziplining and beach break. Was great but if there are multiple ships in port I'd re-think it. There were 3 ships that day and it took a long time as many many people were ziplining.

Harvest Cay. What a gorgeous place! Absolutely loved it here. Much better than Great Stirrup Cay EXCEPT: NOTHING is included on the island. All food and drink is for purchase. Did not like that part.

 

Costa Maya. Lots of shopping at the port. Got henna tattoos and I asked the tattoo artist about a good beach nearby. He told me it would be very crowded due to 2 ships in port and it was a holiday so locals would be there too.

 

Cozumel. We went to Mr. Sancho's again. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.

Sunset sailaways were beautiful.

Debarkation. Ugh. We booked the noon flight instead of the 10am (won't do that again) so we weren't in a hurry to get off the ship. We were at the dock at 6:45am and the first debark announcement was at 7:30 though I imagine some of the walk-off and suites had already begun. The forward gangway was for Canadian and USA citizens, and the aft gangway for all others. By the time we got to deck 7 the line went from the theater to the aft circle in the casino, and then back through O'Sheehan's before getting off the ship. I'd say 20 minutes later we were at customs and then got an Uber back to the airport. Flights to the NE became delayed so the 10am had left on time and our noon left around 3pm. Reminded me why I love to cruise from NJ or NYC.

Enjoyed the cruise a lot.

Thanks for the review.. very informative! We (Party of 18 including kids) will be on the Getaway Feb 25!