Just Off the Getaway- very long

[arf2005]

I apologize ahead of time for misspellings, tense changes and other errors. I wrote this as notes during the course of our cruise and am posting it pretty much "as is". We normally cruise with a large group of friends and family so this was a unique experience for us to go with just the two of us. We didn't eat in the main dining rooms for the most part, because my experience has been that similar, if not the same food is served elsewhere and we could get to more activities this way. I'm not listing everything we did/saw, but trying to highlight things I've seen come up on the boards before. I apologize for the length in advance, but hope there is some info those of you who are sailing on the Getaway in the future will be able to use. Hope I don't bore you!

 

It seemed that a huge percentage of people flying in this weekend had issues. Even coming in a day early was no guarantee of making it on time! Buy insurance is the moral of the story!

 

Because there was only 2 of us this time we chose to use go Florida for a shared ride to our hotel. Never again. What a nightmare. Took over two hours and most of us had whiplash by the time we arrived. Not to mention having to get our own luggage free from being locked in the back of the van because the driver couldn't unlock it! It was actually quite comical - probably slap happy comical because we were so tired. I would not have been so amused if I had had my young grandchildren with me however.

 

If you stay at one of the hotels close to the port in downtown Miami, there's a CVS that is open 24 hours where you can pick up anything you've forgotten or get soda and water to take on board.

 

13 dollar flat rate for taxi ride to port from Hyatt - would assume its the same from all hotels in the port area. We were able to get a taxi immediately and arrived at the port within minutes of leaving the hotel.

 

Arrived around 10:10 am and there was already a line of about 30 people waiting to enter the terminal. As we entered we then had to stand and wait until 10:30 for them to begin allowing people through security.

 

Once through security we immediately filled out the health questionnaire and took our paperwork to the desk to check in. We were checked in within 5 minutes and going up the escalator with a group 1 boarding pass to get our picture taken. We then sat and waited until 11:30 to board. Haven guests and other VIPs were being taken through from about 11:00 on. The boarding area really started to get crowded around 11:30.

 

Out of boarding group 1 we were about the 5th ones on (entered on deck 7) and when we got to the desk to buy passes to vibe we were already 4th in line! I was told the individual day passes were already sold out (please - just be honest and tell us you aren't selling them) and that there was only 1 cabana left - didn't want a cabana so didn't matter. Within seconds of getting in line the line was probably 10-15 people deep, so word is getting around.

 

Rooms were ready at 12:40. Appear to be the same size as the breakaway. Lots of storage. The trick of putting a hotel room key card in your light slot to keep the lights on does indeed work! Thanks to whomever first figured this trick out! By the way, when we first boarded the ship we immediately noticed the new ship smell! Awesome!

 

I'm not a foodie person but I will say that Ncl seems to have improved their deserts since the last time I sailed with them. Before,

I thought they appeared to be store bought and pretty tasteless, but this time they had a few that were actually fairly good. The German cake on the first day was awesome, and I never thought I would say that about an Ncl desert! The queen's dessert was also very good. They've certainly improved in this area.

 

The sail away party was held in spice h2o and they allow all ages in spice after 7 pm each night - high energy, fun time. Interesting though that most people chose to skip it.

 

Vibe - very quite, not at all crowded. They come around with cold fruit and ice cold wash cloths periodically. It didn't take long to be spoiled by being in this area. Leaving it you immediately notice how crowded other areas of the deck are! I did notice that they were handing out cold washcloths in the regular deck areas as well. Nice touch. As the week went on I was less annoyed about buying the week pass v a few daily passes! We basically had our own personal bartender, and I can't stress how crowded the other deck areas felt after having been in Vibe. If you consider 20 dollars a day x the 3 sea days that's 60 dollars of your 79 dollars already. The other 19 is divided between a good portion of Saturday and any time you're on the ship during port days which for us in Nassau will be considerable. By the way, you can add cookies to the items they now come around and offer you! Also, on the first day if you go up to Vibe and ask, they will let you in to look around. I wouldn't recommend doing this prior to buying however or you might miss out.

 

Flamingo grill - wonderful food. Loved the spicy ketchup! The pulled pork and fried pork fat is wonderful too. They have a cilantro sauce that I would love to have the recipe for. They really need longer hours for this venue. It's open 8am - 11am and then noon to 5 pm. If you like sausage and egg biscuits you can find them here in the morning.

 

Lobster night along with a lot of other seafoods was held on Sunday in the grille Buffet. They did not serve it in the main dining rooms that I know of. I wonder if they haven't found that its easier to produce the lobster in large quantities and throw it on the buffet rather than deal with the individual servings in the dining room.

 

There were no robes in our room (unusual, we've always had them before - balcony room) so we had to call down and ask for them.

 

Burn the floor - enjoyed it - about an hour long show - cant understand why so many in the audience of these shows are so eager to leave quickly before the show has actually ended. It's rude to the performers and to the rest of the audience who can't see through you and really, where are you in such a hurry to go for heavens sake - you're on a ship in the middle of the ocean! Don't think you're going far!

 

Sunday evening there was music and entertainment everywhere you turned on the ship. From the Night Out party in Spice H2O to the Grammy Experience with sammy figueroa and several musicians in the public areas the ship provided a multitude of choices for those looking to party or just sit back, relax and listen to some music. So far I'm very impressed.

 

The buffet opens for breakfast at 6:00 with pastries apparently. I seem to recall the breakaway not opening until 7:00 but perhaps I'm wrong. Much prefer the earlier time.

 

I don't think I've ever been on a cruise where so many of the guests were so appreciative of the warm weather! It was quite windy, but where many might normally complain not after this winter!

 

Monday evening was prime rib night in osheehans. Not impressed. We ordered ours medium rare and it came to us almost raw. The baked potato was cold and the rest of the food was only lukewarm. I had ordered an appetizer and they brought it after the main course. Not a good night for this restaurant. I must say the hamburgers we had here the day before were great (and we also ran into the dancers from burn the floor after their last show celebrating one of the dancers birthdays).

 

Be careful with the salt and pepper shakers - they are very free flowing!

 

There are kiosks on the ship where you can download a picture for free to your Facebook account.

 

Good deals - martini flights, mojihto flights, etc - where you can taste about 3 ounces of each flavor drink for only $15.

 

May have already said this, but spice is one level on this ship, whereas on the Epic it's two - I can't remember what it was on the Breakaway. No pool there but there is a waterfall feature at the back on the opposite side from the bar.

 

70's night was a lot of fun Monday night with a great turn out. So much fun to see the different generations out dancing together. People from their 80's down to little ones all went disco! I must say if you are, like myself, a product of the 70's then you will question parts of what they have here. Some of the graphics are more 60's (flower children) and the music is heavy on the disco era which is only a part of the 70's but again, a great time. Began at 10pm.

 

Our room was on the 13th floor aft and while I could hear the parties at spice from my balcony I couldn't hear them In the room when I closed the door. Also, those with aft rooms, when coming off the elevator, there is a large mural ( ours was of waves on the beach). If you orient your self to which side of the picture you should turn for your hallway on the first day, you'll never have to think about it again. For example, I knew to turn towards the waves. Other areas of the ship may also have murals - I didn't check. Also, if you use the elevators on the right hand side (as you face the front of the ship) the go up to 16. The ones on the left hand side only go to 15.

 

Did feel the ship moving some on Monday evening. The wind must have picked up.

 

Tuesday - st Maarten - leave ship about 8am and back on about 5:30. As we approached i saw two ships that were going in the same direction. They were initially way ahead of us, but by morning we had passed them by. Some of the few we have seen this cruise. Besides us lots of others in port today...disneys Fantasy, RC's adventure of the seas, an older one called costa mediterranea and thomson dream (we later found out it sailed out of Barbados) as well as a later one that tendered out a ways. We make them all seem small in comparison to the Getaway!Usually we see many more passing on the horizon. We had been here before (went to Orient Beach by cab and then shopping - para sailed at the beach) so I wasn't sure what I wanted to do other than my one must see was the airplanes coming in over the beach at Maho. We decided to go with a private company (Bernard's) for a combination shopping, sightseeing, beach tour that would include Beach time as well as a stop for the airplanes. The cost was $35 per person with a pickup at 9am and drop off at 2:30 pm t either the ship or the town for more shopping. When we arrived the price had jumped to $45 per person and I had printed the wrong document so had no choice but to pay the difference and take it up with the company at a later date.

 

Eighteen of us on a bus with Milanius as our driver/tour conductor. Said his nickname was the mailman. Had to wait for area to clear out so we could move through. Off to the iguana farm which I think is part of most tours they offer. They are in the process of moving this from the French side to the Dutch side so a bit torn up but some rather interesting facts about some of the vegetation from the area as well as the animals that are there.

 

We stopped several times along the way for "photo opportunities" which I think most of us appreciated. Throughout the tour we were given an interesting history of the island by a very knowledgeable "mailman" as well as unlimited drinks, both alcoholic and non.

 

We spent over an hour and 1/2 at orient beach, which was fairly crowded but wow, what people watching you can do, followed by 30 minutes at the straw market. Then it was off to my favorite stop, Maho beach, where the airplanes fly directly over your head to land at the airport! We were luckily enough to catch both a 747 taking off and landing, and all I can say is its just amazing! I couldn't believe how far the 747 taking off blew things (including people) as it left the runway. For those planning this as a stop, go between 11:45 and 2:30. The last large jet lands at 2:30 pm according to the locals.

 

Maybe I'm just getting tired of over eating, but I was not impressed with the food on Tuesday, but I'm also the first to say that I'm not a foodie person. It's nice to have a lot of choices when it comes down to the food, but I wouldn't chose a cruise line based on their food.

 

80's party at spice - skipped it - wasn't impressed with the eighties when I lived through them! Went to howl at the moon - loved it! The place was packed. Left there to go watch the fire works. The best seats in the house are on the sun deck on deck 17 - directly above/next to vibe. Not only did we get to see our own fireworks but apparently the Disney fantasy that left st Maarten shortly after we did was doing fireworks as well so the ships co-ordinated with each other and Disney did theirs first followed immediately by NCls. Unfortunately not everyone realized Disney was also shooting off the fireworks so many missed that part. We were up high enough to see it all.

 

Arrived in st. Thomas about 6 am. The Disney fantasy was already at the dock. Announced we could go ashore at 8. I had first booked the champagne catamaran but because I had done that on a previous trip I decided to change and booked with sonny Liston. Picked us up at 9 am and spent about an hour and 1/2 shopping downtown. Then drove up to a high point of the island stopping several times for photo opportunities and pointing out of landmarks. Ended up at mountain top overlooking at johns and Magen's bay. Bought a banana daiquiri! Left there for several hours at the beach of our choice. We chose Magen's bay. Entrance fee is $4 a person. Was told coki is clearer but wanted to see what all he hype was about Magen's. to be honest, I wasn't that impressed - think I've seen prettier - but had to see for myself. There were two weddings going on while we were here. By the way, if you use sonny, sit on the left side of the vehicle for the best picture opportunities. On our way back to the ship we picked up some people from coki bay and they raved about it. Think it will have to be my next beach stop in st Thomas!

 

St. Maarten was my favorite tour but st. Thomas is, in my opinion, the more beautiful island. Interesting that we were told on st Thomas that st. Croix ( which you could see in the far distance) was only 40 miles away. Remember, it's just off the coast of st Maarten, so when I looked out and thought we were almost at a standstill during the night wasn't far off the truth!

 

Went to legally blonde Wednesday evening. Was concerned after reading several negative reviews. I thought it was rather cute. The songs were awful, but it's a show that, in my opinion, should never have been made into a musical. As just a show though, it's ok. It certainly sends an important message to young girls.

 

Followed the theatre with Motown hits - very good - in the atrium and then what is probably one of my favorite Ncl shows - dancing with the stars! Didn't go to the theme party this night - Latin. One thing you should never be on an NCL cruise is bored - unless you just chose to be!

 

Time change again going forward into Thursday. These time changes confuse the heck out of me. Almost wish they would establish a ship time and stick with it the whole cruise...

 

The cruise director Julie is very good, very visible throughout the cruise, and her staff does a nice job. Her assistant is especially talented, and is seen all over the ship in many roles. A few of their junior staff members stand out as well and will be rising stars with the company if they stick with it. Overall, the entire staff of the ship was one of the friendliest I've run across - they actually seem to enjoy their jobs - and we all know for the long hours manly of them work in the restaurants and bars, cleaning, etc. their jobs can't be terribly fun all the time. The flip side would be (I'm guessing here) that perhaps guests are complaining less this season (I don't think I heard many at all) because they are just happy to be away from the awful winter back home!

 

Thursday morning at breakfast I overheard several groups checking on the weather conditions for next week back home! Almost time to check back into reality! The thing that helps me is knowing that my next cruise is only 2 months away! Leaving at the end of this week won't be quite as hard as the ending of most cruises!

 

On the Thursday sea day we did the rope obstacle course zipline and walked the plank. You have to have closed toe shoes and shorts/pants to do this. This was the night for the glow party - what use to be the white hot party. I wasn't there for much of it, but what little I did see it appeared a lot of people still wore white. They had glow sticks and the glow necklaces for participants.

 

Woke up on Friday to rain and cooler weather. Was glad we had not booked an excursion in Nassau. We just walked around the city for awhile. It rained off and on but did warm up. Found out we were headed home to perhaps the worse storm of the season. Oh yeah! Played in the casino and saw a man win 80,000 dollars on a slot machine! Unbelievable!

 

The beds are quite comfortable, but how on earth anyone over 6 feet would be comfortable in them is beyond me - they are just too short...I'm (even after shrinking over the last decade) about 5'7" tall and my toes came to the end of the bed.

 

So now here we sit at the airport waiting for a 6pm flight - wasn't thinking when I booked that was I!

 

I must say we met some of the nicest people - many from the Midwest, several from Texas and Oklahoma - thoroughly enjoyed their company for the short time we had together. Hope everyone made it safely home and that winter passes you by as quickly as this past week went!

[DDD06]

Thanks for the review

 

 

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[meatball_nyc]

Welcome home and thanks for your quick review!

Enjoyed reading it and how wonderful it must have been to be in such WARM climates :)

 

Glad to hear you had a good cruise on Getaway!!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[LrgPizza]

What a great review! As with all reviews, I learned things I hadn't previously read anywhere - such as closed toed shoes on the ropes course, or downloading a picture for free to your Facebook account! Thanks for sharing so many details.

 

Have a good flight home. To where are you flying?

[cmdchiefthom]

Great review that answered several questions for me. Makes me anxious to try the Getaway next year. Glad you enjoyed your cruise and took the time to share:)

[cruisebie]

Thank you for a great review. I'm booked for October and am drinking in all the knowledge I can! The theme parties sound like a lot of fun, I'll have to check them out.

 

 

 

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[thephillykid]

Great review...we are 4 weeks out from sailing on her.

 

Just a couple of questions please.

 

How smokey was the casino and 678?

 

How about the chair hogs...were there enough deck chairs by the pool?

 

Thanks,

Howard

[ksimpso3]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing May 3 and are trying to find out all we can about the Getaway. Glad you had a good time.

[Journey11]

Thanks for taking the time to post your very interesting and informative review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[funat55]

I would also like to thank you for your review. Like some of the others, I have learned new things about the ship and boosted my excitement.

[arf2005]

What a great review! As with all reviews, I learned things I hadn't previously read anywhere - such as closed toed shoes on the ropes course, or downloading a picture for free to your Facebook account! Thanks for sharing so many details.

 

Have a good flight home. To where are you flying?

 

The Midwest!

[arf2005]

Great review...we are 4 weeks out from sailing on her.

 

Just a couple of questions please.

 

How smokey was the casino and 678?

 

How about the chair hogs...were there enough deck chairs by the pool?

 

Thanks,

Howard

 

Thanks everyone...I'm always afraid I'm just going to bore people with mundane details no one cares about!

 

I personally thought the casino area was pretty smoky, but then I really dislike cigarette smoke so I may have a bias here. I know when I spent any time at all in there my clothes smelled of smoke. As for the chair hogs, I really can't say since we used vibe so we weren't concerned with getting out early to get a chair. I do know that on sea days the decks were jam pack full - wall to wall people. If I didn't mention above, the pools on this ship are the largest I've seen on a cruise ship.

[arf2005]

Thank you for a great review. I'm booked for October and am drinking in all the knowledge I can! The theme parties sound like a lot of fun, I'll have to check them out.

 

 

 

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Definitely do! I don't think you will be sorry. I think they might be better attended if they were held at a different time, but I understand why they've chosen the later time slot.

[Kdiamond55]

Nice review, thanks! $80k on a slot, that's quite insane.

 

Glad you had fun!

[SissasMomE]

Thanks for the review! Was the bed a regular square bed, or was it round? It's rounded on the Epic. We had to pull it out from the headboard so my husband could fit on it. He's almost 6'6!

[mtns2sea]

Thanks for the review.

 

 

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[LrgPizza]

Two more questions... I've been looking at doing the Bernard's tour you mentioned at St. Maarten. What time did you get to Maho, and how long did you stay? They do a tour that's just Maho, but I'd rather do the full one as long as I still get decent time there.

 

Also, did you have to wear a wristband all week for Vibe or do they use your key card for verification?

 

Thank you!

 

 

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[Silverman]

We had the Mailman on our Bernards Tour too. He was great! He was so knowledgeable. Loved everything about it. He even dropped me off so I could hit the Hard Rock on the way back to the ship. Im just the opposite of you. I liked St Martin better than St Thomas. I want to retire St Martin. I can dream! Thanks for the review! Been thinking about booking the Getaway. Maybe next year.

[lacrossemitch]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post!

[arf2005]

Thanks for the review! Was the bed a regular square bed, or was it round? It's rounded on the Epic. We had to pull it out from the headboard so my husband could fit on it. He's almost 6'6!

 

It was square. I can't imagine your husband being comfortable in one of those beds!

[arf2005]

Two more questions... I've been looking at doing the Bernard's tour you mentioned at St. Maarten. What time did you get to Maho, and how long did you stay? They do a tour that's just Maho, but I'd rather do the full one as long as I still get decent time there.

 

Also, did you have to wear a wristband all week for Vibe or do they use your key card for verification?

 

Thank you!

 

 

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I think we got to maho about 1:30 which was about 15 minutes later than scheduled because several in our group showed up late at the previous stop (I was getting a little antsy, but the mailman seemed to know what he was doing and I think had built a little extra time into the schedule). We left there after the last large plane landed which was between 2:30 and 2:45. He said repeatedly that most of the big planes land between 12 - 2:30.

 

As for vibe, your room card is keyed and you swipe it to get into the beach club. You are also given a bracelet to wear that us removeable for evening.

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for your review. We just booked the Getaway for May and can't wait. Now I have some things to look up that you mentioned. :)

 

I can't wait to get back to Maho and St Martin.

 

How much did it cost you for the driver in St Martin?

[jakeT]

Thank you for the review.

[BritChickBN1]

Great review. I'm jealous of your warm weather!

 

 

-Ginger

 

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[PA sun seeker]

Thanks for your great review! My husband & I sail this Saturday and have never been to any of the ports. We have booked Godfrey for St Martin but are not sure what to do for St Thomas. Deciding between some type of sailing snorkel excursion and seeing the island/ beach time. It seems independent tour's allow shopping at the beginning, sightseeing then beach time and don't return you until 4. That's when the ship leaves so not sure it's an option?? Would like to go to mountaintop and snorkel with lots of sealife. What did you do there or recommend we do? Oh and we are one of five ships in port ( sounds crowded)