Allure for a 2nd time or NCL Getaway

Last December I went on the Allure and had a great time. I am trying to decide which ship to go on this year. I have been on 10 cruises and never been on the same ship twice. This year I am deciding between going on the Allure again or trying the Getaway. Not sure if going on the same ship will loose the 'awe factor'. Any advice...?

If it's with the same people (same type of cruise), I would try a new ship...

Even though my last 2 cruises were on the same ship, they were with different people. Liberty in Jan 2014 was a work convention (all adults) and Liberty in Nov 2014 was a family trip with our 2 kids under 5 years old. Two totally different experiences. We did debate doing the Indy this year for our annual Thanksgiving cruise but decided we wanted to try something new esp b/c it's the same type of family trip as last year.

If the price and itinerary are the same to you, I'd go for the new ship.

Allure. I love that class of ship!!

It depends on how you felt about Allure compared to the other ships you've been on. If you LOVED Allure for all that she had to offer you may feel Getaway might be a bit of a letdown. If she was just another ship to you, then try Getaway.

I kind of faced the same decision this summer as well. We love Oasis class but I was tempted to try Getaway to try something new. In the end we ended up with Oasis and I'm happy we did. I still think about trying Getaway but not sure we will ever pull the trigger.

Did you love the Allure? Then I'd definitely go on her again.

Not a fan of NCL, and I won't sail with them again.

I like how you came to the Royal board asking if you should cruise a Royal ship. :cool:

Allure all the way. :D

We have only repeated ships twice, one of which was Allure. We enjoyed our second time onboard even more than the first. The first time we tried to fit everything in, the second we did the things we enjoyed the first and just relaxed or explored the rest of the time. Amazing the places we found on the second cruise we didn't even know existed the first time around.

It is really up to you, but I would not hesitate to do Allure a second time if you enjoyed it the first time.

Last December I went on the Allure and had a great time. I am trying to decide which ship to go on this year. I have been on 10 cruises and never been on the same ship twice. This year I am deciding between going on the Allure again or trying the Getaway. Not sure if going on the same ship will loose the 'awe factor'. Any advice...?

Ask yourself which is more important to you, going on a new ship, or cruising on the same ship you seem to have liked!

We are not overly loyal to any cruise line, so we chose the itinerary/price first with newer ships.

There are differences between NCL and RCL , again a little research can help with your decision. (#of restaurants, type of entertainment, etc.)

Our preference would be the Getaway if the price was equal for the following reasons,,,,

Port Stops, we like to get off the ship.

The Allure has 3 port stops on both its eastern and western Caribbean cruises, while the Getaway also offers 3 port stops on its eastern Caribbean cruise, but '4 stops' on its western Caribbean cruise.

We'd chose one of 2, 4 port call western Caribbean cruises the Getaway offers. (Harvest Caye NCL's new port in Belize is on one of the western Caribbean cruises the Getaway will offer, which would also be interesting to see.).

However you chose, enjoy.:)

Hello, I cruised Oasis a few years ago and try to cruise some of the new ships. Last year, my family of 4 tried Norwegian Getaway. We are a young couple and family who really enjoyed the Oasis with all that it has to offer. With that said, The Norwegian Getaway was awesome! Here are a few things I liked more than the Oasis;

The ropes course with the zipline, the zipline on the Oasis is weak compared to the leap of faith zipline on the Getaway. Very Tarzan! If you really like that adrenaline rush, try that.

The food and food options on the Getaway was better in my opinion.

Freestyle dining- Ok, this is where most people who are use to structure get lost. If you are used to being told what time to go to dinner then this will throw you off. But once you realize, that you have the freedom to walk into any MDR and be seated, whatever time, you'll appreciate it.

Since its freestyle cruising, you don't have to dress up for dinner. This was great. I didn't have to pack extra dressy clothes for dinner, nor did I feel under or overdressed at anytime. No one cares, you are on vacation.

The Illusinarium was spectacular! Totally different than anything on Royal Carribean. That's if you like magic and mentalist all in a dinner show.

If you like casinos. Well, lets just say we play the slots and my husband won three handpays. I didn't do as well but won 4-500 dollars a day and my budget was $100 a day.

The dance shows were amazing, and the service was awesome.

So, my advice is to try it. We did and loved it so much we sailed twice.

Now we are going back to RCCL and taking the Allure just to check that off our cruising list.

You might want to ask on the NCL board too.

Definitely the Allure!

If for no other reason, for Samba's Brazilian Grille!

Last year we did the Allure in November and Getaway in May. You know what? They are both totally AWESOME! To me Allure felt like a giant amusement park and Getaway felt a lot like a Las Vegas Resort Hotel. If you book Getaway, the best advice I can give you is to get a Spa Suite, if possible. If you can't do a suite, then at least get a spa cabin and if you can't do a spa cabin, then buy a spa pass on the NCL website when you book you cruise. Did I mention that the Getaway's Spa is AMAZING? Yes it is!!! Anyway, both ships are marvelous, wonderful and just a great time! You can't really go wrong with either one.

We've done the Allure twice and the Getaway 3 times. We have always been loyal to Royal (over 20 cruises on the line), but tried NCL and we did like it, but of course Royal will always be our favorite. Their are less pools on the Getaway than on the Allure. There is one main adult pool, but I will say they are very diligent about keeping it an adult pool and direct the kids back to the kids pool. Things we liked about the Getaway are Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos) the Illusionarium is dinner with a magic show. The beginning of the show is a bit hookie, but once the magicians come on, they are top notch. You can't go wrong no matter what you choose. We're going on the NCL Escape in November and we've booked the Harmony for next year. Happy cruising :)

Definitely the Allure!

 

If for no other reason, for Samba's Brazilian Grille!

As someone who is a big fan of Samba's (YUM:D) on the Allure, to be fair, the Getaway has a similar Churrascaria style restaurant called 'Moderno' that serves carved meats to your table.:)

Last December I went on the Allure and had a great time. I am trying to decide which ship to go on this year. I have been on 10 cruises and never been on the same ship twice. This year I am deciding between going on the Allure again or trying the Getaway. Not sure if going on the same ship will loose the 'awe factor'. Any advice...?

Just got off of the Breakaway- Loved it! However we stayed in the Haven and it was wonderful. The rest of the ship is so crowded- so if you enjoy time around the pool you might be very unhappy. Two very small pools and not nearly enough room for the guests. The Getaway is supposed to to a twin ship, so I would assume that the crowding is the same. The restaurants are very good as is the entertainment.

On the Allure, you do not have to be in a suite to have a great time. The average cabins are larger and the public space more generous. The restaurants are also very good as is the entertainment. Try the Oasis for a change- a twin, but the entertainment will be different. Or if you can afford it, the Getaway Haven I am sure will be excellent.

Enjoy your cruise!

Just got off of the Breakaway- Loved it! However we stayed in the Haven and it was wonderful. The rest of the ship is so crowded- so if you enjoy time around the pool you might be very unhappy. Two very small pools and not nearly enough room for the guests. The Getaway is supposed to to a twin ship, so I would assume that the crowding is the same. The restaurants are very good as is the entertainment.

 

On the Allure, you do not have to be in a suite to have a great time. The average cabins are larger and the public space more generous. The restaurants are also very good as is the entertainment. Try the Oasis for a change- a twin, but the entertainment will be different. Or if you can afford it, the Getaway Haven I am sure will be excellent.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

I think this was our problem when we sailed with NCL. (I was on the Epic, but I would say that the Epic and Getaway are very similar) The ship was CROWDED! We couldn't even swim in the pools, nor find a lounge chair (yes I am aware that this sometimes happens on RC, but I didn't have a problem on the Oasis). Public spaces were also crowded, and IMO, poorly deigned and decorated. They didn't have any sort of WOW factor. Again, this was on the Epic, but since she was the newest ship right before Breakaway class, and from what I've read, I've come to the assumption that they are very similar. For these reasons, in addition to the poor service with their "freestyle dining", I will not sail on NCL again. I believe that if I would've been in a suite, my experience may have been different. However, my "Epic" experience has put a bad taste in my mouth, and I would rather spend my suite money on RC.

So my advice, if you're planning on getting any non-suite room, I vote Royal Caribbean all the way! (I vote for Royal even for suites, but that is for a different post...)

:)

I just got off the Breakaway (same as Getaway) for the second time and will soon go on Allure for the third time. If you're just comparing the ships, Allure has the WOW factor, Breakaway really doesn't. It's a nice ship, has some fun stuff for the kids, but the pool deck is terrible and there's really nothing too exciting about the ship. But we still had a great time. And in general, the food on Norwegian seems to be better - especially in their buffet. So if you just want something different, try the Getaway, but just don't expect the amazement of the Allure