Wonderful time on the Getaway!!

[peg013]

Wondering if the bowling is free and if not how much for a game.

 

.......bowling is $5 per game.

[lacrossemitch]

I will be sailing with my family Easter week. I expect the ship will also be packed with families/kids. When you say there were long lines for the slides, how long is "long" !!

 

we'll be there with you on that cruise! Only 30 Days away!

[VanessaM]

Also, do they do a separate weigh-in for the slides? My son is right around 100 pounds and wants to do the drop slide. I know he will want to slide a lot and it will slow him down if he has to jump on the scale every time.

 

Yes. They have a scale right at the slide and if they feel you don't look over 100lbs they weigh you. We traveled with friends that had an 11 yr old. He was 97lbs and they did not let him ride. He went back multiple times during the cruise hoping he'd gain weight or get someone who was more laxed but they did not budge.

Edited April 1, 2014 by VanessaM

[Beth 2001]

Yes. They have a scale right at the slide and if they feel you don't look over 100lbs they weigh you. We traveled with friends that had an 11 yr old. He was 97lbs and they did not let him ride. He went back multiple times during the cruise hoping he'd gain weight or get someone who was more laxed but they did not budge.

 

Thanks so much for your reply! My son is right around 105 pounds so he should be fine. I'll let him know about the scale so he's prepared to jump on if asked.

 

I'm sorry your friends' son was just under the weight limit. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in 2007 when my twins were 8 and they just missed the height cutoff for the Flowrider. They were extremely disappointed so I understand how your friends felt. Hopefully their son will be able to slide as much as he wants on their next Getaway cruise!

[scrapergal]

Thanks so much for your reply! My son is right around 105 pounds so he should be fine. I'll let him know about the scale so he's prepared to jump on if asked.

 

I'm sorry your friends' son was just under the weight limit. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in 2007 when my twins were 8 and they just missed the height cutoff for the Flowrider. They were extremely disappointed so I understand how your friends felt. Hopefully their son will be able to slide as much as he wants on their next Getaway cruise!

 

from reading your post I am wondering what slides and or activities have height and/or weight restrictions.

[blackwing]

from reading your post I am wondering what slides and or activities have height and/or weight restrictions.

I believe you need to be 40 inches to ride the purple (open tube), orange and red (enclosed corkscrew) slides. No weight restriction. To ride the free fall slides you need to be 48 inches and between 100 and 300 pounds.

 

The ropes course has a minimum height requirement of 48 inches and a maximum weight of 300. There is a little "kiddie" ropes course about two feet off the ground for younger kids.

[blackwing]

Yes. They have a scale right at the slide and if they feel you don't look over 100lbs they weigh you. We traveled with friends that had an 11 yr old. He was 97lbs and they did not let him ride. He went back multiple times during the cruise hoping he'd gain weight or get someone who was more laxed but they did not budge.

Ah, so disappointing. He must not have been eating properly... between the start of the cruise and the end of the cruise I put on an amazing 12 pounds. I would have stuffed him up at the buffet and force fed him 4 appetizers and 2 entrees to get him those extra three pounds. :eek:

 

All kidding aside, I'm pretty sure the weight minimum is for safety. I saw a girl that looked like she was barely 100 doing the free fall. She had a big mass of hair at the back, and didn't use the board. The hair combined with her light weight slowed her down. I watched her drop, then go up the hill... and not make it. This resulted in her sliding backwards back down the hill head first, she then went back up the tube a little bit before coming to a stop at the opening for people who got caught. The sensation of going backwards head first, not being able to see where you are going, must have been scary.

[T2C15]

I also posted this on the cruise critic review forum tonight, but assume it will take a day or two to show up there. So, here you go! I will try to answer some questions if anyone has any.

 

 

I'm sad to say we just returned from our week on the Getaway - would love to have stayed for a few more days! We absolutely loved the ship and would recommend it to almost anyone, especially families! I will sort my review by topics:

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Both went very smooth. We arrived at the port early and were in the 2nd boarding group. I was sitting in a lounger in the sun by 11:30 as happy as could be. Getting off the ship went quickly too - less than 30 minutes, including getting luggage and customs.

 

Room: We had a mid ship mini suite (10230). Since we had 4 of us in the room, 3 adults and one 11 year old boy - we appreciated the slightly larger room and bathroom area. We had plenty of storage for our belongings. The room was a decent size and the balcony, while small, could fit 3 people easily if standing. The shower was a little tricky to figure out with all the different jets, but nice water pressure. The king size bed was comfortable and my son loved his bunk bed that came out of the ceiling. The only minor issue we had is the drawers under the couch were a bit tricky to open/close if the couch was open as a bed.

 

Food: Overall we thought the food was good and liked the various decors of the dining rooms and specialty restaurants. We had been on the Jewell last year and I thought the food on the Getaway was definitely much better. My only food disappointment that week was the molten lava chocolate cake... it tasted fine, but was served cold, so just wasn't what I wanted or expected. My husband and I ate at Cagney's one night and loved it, and the four of us ate at Teppanyaki one night. This is a great option with kids - my son absolutely loved the demonstration while cooking and the chefs do a great job including the kids in their routine. We ate in all three of the main dining rooms (Taste, Savor and Tropicana) and O'Sheehans for dinners, in addition to the specialty restaurants. For breakfast and lunch we always ate in the Garden Café or Flamingos (just once). And, who can forget the soft serve ice cream! My son (and maybe dad and mom) had several cones a day! They also had scoop ice cream available most of the time too during prime time dining! I also love the chocolate croissants at breakfast... you don't want to know how many of those I ate each day.

 

Service: We did not encounter any unfriendly staff members during out trip. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. A few of things that I really loved is that during the day they would periodically bring around cold washcloths and/or spray bottle misters to the sunbathers to help cool you off - that was a very nice and unexpected treat! They also brought fruit smoothie samples around one day - a great way to sell them and it worked with my son! Finally two different nights the brought a small plate of chocolates/chocolate covered strawberries to our room (with a card from the hotel director). I was not sure if that was because I am a measly bronze latitude member or attended the cruise critic meet and greet - but again, we loved it! Little extras like this are what would bring me back to this cruise line again.

 

Entertainment: We went to Illusionarium and absolutely loved it! Definitely don't miss this. We paid for premium seating, which I thought was worthwhile. I thought the food was good too, except I did not care for the desserts. My sister and I went to the Wine Lovers lunch too.... I thought it was ok. It seemed to get a bit long and they made you only tastes the wines at certain points in the show and it seemed like the last 3 got rushed into about 10-15 minutes. It was fun trying the wines and they provide a good pour.... I do wish the lunch was a little lighter though vs. a big dinner like meal. We also went to Howl at the Moon one night and loved that too! The rest of the night life was usually too late for us early to bed, early to rise folks!

 

Sports/Kids stuff: My son loved, loved, loved the ropes course, water slides, mini golf, ping pong, bowling, skeetball and basketball (the last three in "O'Sheehans). This ship is definitely geared towards families - which worked perfectly for us. Yes, it was spring break and the lines were often long for the slides and ropes course, but he still had fun. We also found port days a good time to take advantage of some of those activities when open.

 

Bars: We loved the outdoor seating at Sugar Cane and the Sunset bar. Great place to go for a pre-dinner beverage and relaxation. I did try the mojito flight at Sugarcane our last night there - pretty good, but not exactly what I expected. Fun to try though! Bar service staff at the pool/sun decks were also great. I was really impressed that several of them remembered our names (maybe that was a bad sign????) and even favorite drinks by the end of the cruise.

 

If you have kids/grandkids - especially tweeners to young teens, this cruise is a great option to consider!

 

 

 

If you rated the cruise on activities/options for tweens/teens only - do you feel this or the Disney cruise was a better fit for your 11 year old? And why? thanks! Great review!

[Beth 2001]

Was there a Getaway mermaid tote bag waiting for you in your cabin? We are sailing on the Getaway in 9 days in two aft balconies and I'm hoping we will get at least two ( one for each adult)! Thanks!

[Cruisegirl2004]

Great review and thank you for all of the useful info as well.

 

We want to do the Wine Lovers the Musical lunch too. It looks like the Kids club is not open during the show time. Do you know if children are allowed in the show (served lunch, but no wine of course :))? Or is there too much adult humor and is it not appropriate for children? My son is 10.