Getaway plans - 2 questions

[dixielandings]

Hey all -

 

It's been a while for us - haven't been cruising in a couple of years! We are seriously considering booking the May 24 sailing of the Getaway and have some questions:

 

1. We can fly Delta to Miami thru ATL OR we can fly SWA to Ft. Lauderdale and drive to Miami (we're FF with both). Should we do FLL and take the NCL shuttle or look into a cab or car service? Or is this more trouble than it's worth?

 

2. I want to book a balcony room; DH wants a mini-spa suite (Mr. Moneybags!) - any words of wisdom here would be great. We've done mostly balcony rooms in the past and always loved it.

 

Thanks and hope to see the E. Caribbean in May!

 

Shelley

Tennessee

[Chigirlcruzin]

I fly into FLL frequently and use SAS Transportation to get to Miami. It's $15 a person. Cost of a cab to/from MIA to POM is $24. I much prefer the FLL airport. I'd go with whichever flight is cheaper.

 

I can't help with the room question. I'm a "just get me on the ship" person.

[happy cruzin]

Hey all -

 

It's been a while for us - haven't been cruising in a couple of years! We are seriously considering booking the May 24 sailing of the Getaway and have some questions:

 

1. We can fly Delta to Miami thru ATL OR we can fly SWA to Ft. Lauderdale and drive to Miami (we're FF with both). Should we do FLL and take the NCL shuttle or look into a cab or car service? Or is this more trouble than it's worth?

 

2. I want to book a balcony room; DH wants a mini-spa suite (Mr. Moneybags!) - any words of wisdom here would be great. We've done mostly balcony rooms in the past and always loved it.

 

Thanks and hope to see the E. Caribbean in May!

 

Shelley

Tennessee

 

Transportation between FLL and Miami is easy. We too have used SAS - they are great. I'd choose which ever is least expensive - or have the best time options and not be too concerned about which airport.

 

My only comment about the balcony rooms is there are lots of threads about how small the balcony space is on the Breakaway. I assume it would be the same on the Getaway - so you may want to investigate that it the balcony space is a deal breaker. Maybe the spa balconies are larger??

[cruisecrazy82]

Either book a BX CAT cabin #'s 8110, 8112, 8710, or 8712, or a CAT MX only cabins 8114 or 8714 or book a CAT B6 Balcony or an M6 Minisuite. All off these have larger balconies than other CATS :) If you need to be more mid-ship at the very least try to book one of the balconies on the angle so you have a bit more space. The aft rooms have larger balconies too :D Hope this helps!

[Spaniel Lover]

I like the way your husband is thinking about the spa suite, and I'll tell you why.

 

Actually, a picture is worth a thousand words... so I want to make sure you've seen this illustration of what they call the "Spa Thermal Suite" on the Getaway.

 

 

You should also take a look at

, of the same area on the Getaway's sister ship, the Breakaway. Skip ahead to :39 seconds in to the video.

 

If you get the spa cabin, as your husband suggested, you'll have full access to all of the spa facilities... including this beautiful Jacuzzi and pool area. Now I know there are other jacuzzis and pools on the ship... but they're open to ALL passengers... and there will be thousands of passengers on that ship. The spa facilities are open only to those who are booked in a spa cabin or who have purchased the limited number of available spa passes.

 

The bottom line is that this jacuzzi/pool area will be much less crowded and a whole lot more peaceful than the others on the ship. It looks like paradise to me.

[dixielandings]

Thank you for your responses. Most helpful. Spaniel Lover, I think you're advice is gonna cost us about $400 more than the standard balcony but looks like it'll be worth it! ;)

 

What is SAS - is it connected with NCL, the airport, or is it separate? Do they take you to the port or to Miami Int'l?

 

Thanks!

[punkincc]

Thank you for your responses. Most helpful. Spaniel Lover, I think you're advice is gonna cost us about $400 more than the standard balcony but looks like it'll be worth it! ;)

 

What is SAS - is it connected with NCL, the airport, or is it separate? Do they take you to the port or to Miami Int'l?

 

Thanks!

 

SAS is an independent shuttle company. They will either pick you up at the Ft Lauderdale airport or FLL hotel and take you to the Miami Port or Miami hotel. I don't believe they service Miami airport at all, but check their website. Just google SAS and you will easily find them. If you do fly onto Miami, all you need is a taxi. I don't recommend NCL's shuttle. The others are less expensive and will get you there faster.

 

As far as your cabin, there are spa balconies and spa mini suites. If the main draw for the spa cabin is the spa amenities and not so much the extra space of a mini, you could just go with a spa balcony and save some money.

 

Also, you might want to price out a non spa balcony or mini, and the price of just buying a spa pass for the both of you, which is believe is about $199 per person,

For comparison sake. Every time I have done that, there was no savings by buying the spa cabin, in fact it seemed to be cheaper to get the cabin you want and the spa passes separately, but that could differ by cruise. You should not have any problem getting spa passes if you go to the spa soon after embarcation to purchase them.