NCL Getaway Review 3/15 to 3/22

[DRMizzou]

My wife and I sailed on the wonderful NCL Getaway last week. My apologies in advance for being a little "wordy"; but I like a lot of information in reviews when I am preparing for a cruise so I feel obligated to "give back" when I return.

 

We flew into Fort Lauderdale on Thursday evening to ensure that winter weather would not cause any delays on our sailing date. We stayed close to the airport at the Homewood Suites. Nice hotel with a good breakfast. We rented a car so we could get around Ft. Lauderdale on Friday and it was a good thing because there is nothing within walking distance around the hotel. Had a nice day visiting the Bonnet House and walking along Las Olas Boulevard. Had dinner at 15th Street Fisheries and then returned the car to the airport. The hotel has a shuttle; so we took it from the airport back to the hotel.

 

We had booked SAS Shuttle Services (thanks to many CC recommendations) and they picked us up at the hotel around 12noon on Saturday the 15th. Cost was $15 per person-one way. Please note that SAS doesn't begin to pick up at Ft. Lauderdale hotels until 11am; so if you want to get to the ship early this may not be the transport for you. The trip from FLL to the Port of Miami takes only about 30-35 minutes. The shuttle dropped us off right in front of Terminal B where we were met by an extremely friendly (and funny) porter who explained that we should not worry any more about our checked luggage (as long as we had the preprinted color coded luggage tags attached). He assured us that we would all meet up with our bags again on the ship and that we should proceed into Terminal B for embarkation.

[misand]

Great work so far! We are from missouri also. We sail May 31! What type of cabin did you have?

[DRMizzou]

My apologies, again. I just hit the "Enter" button by mistake and submitted my initial review comments. I will pick up where I left off.

 

Embarkation was extremely smooth. As Latitudes members, we were directed into a specific line that moved along quickly. At the counter, you are asked for a credit card to set up your onboard account, get your picture taken and receive your all purpose key card. You will use this card to enter your cabin, whenever you make any purchase (drinks, onboard shopping, etc.), exit and reboard the ship, etc. We then proceeded through security and onto the ship at about 1:15pm.

 

We decided to see if our mini-suite cabin (9204) was ready and were happy to see that it was. We dropped off our carry-on bags and decided to head up to the Garden Café on Deck 15 for lunch. As we had expected, the buffet area was quite the crush of people throughout the cruise. The layout of the areas was a little confusing but it did not take long to get the hang of it all. The food, while not exceptional, was very good and there was a great deal of selection. It was always very busy; but we usually found a window seat for 2 available every time we were there.

 

After lunch, we went back to our cabin and were pleasantly surprised to see that 2 of our bags were already there. We did some quick unpacking and then proceeded to the mandatory life boat drill at 3:30pm. The drill on the Getaway was different from our past experience in that we did not have to have to bring our life jackets to the staging area. Once everyone was in place, the crew did a brief demonstration of how to put on the life jacket. Once that was done, the drill was completed. Back at the cabin, we found that our last (and largest) bag had been delivered. I will describe the mini-suite in more detail in my next installment.

 

We then headed up to Spice H2O on Deck 16, Aft for the Sail Away Party at 4pm. This was our first opportunity to meet Sinan, our CD and he lived up to all of the high praise we had read on CC. He is extremely friendly and energetic and his enthusiasm is quite contagious. Most of the special events took place at this location and the sound and effects were very impressive. Thus, our voyage began.

 

We had dinner at Savor (one of the MDRs) that evening and the food was very good. The wait staff in this DR were exceptional, knowledgeable and very friendly. All in all, a very nice first dinner experience on the Getaway. We took a leisurely stroll around the ship to acquaint ourselves to the many venues and then went into Headliners (the Comedy Club) to take in Howl at the Moon, the dueling piano show. This was one of our favorite shows during the cruise and we stopped by here several times. The entertainers are very good (and funny) and always got the crowd involved in the songs. Just remember, the performers feed off the crowd--so the more the audience is into the show, the more they get into there performance. Fun place!!

 

It had been a long day; so we turned in relatively early. I will continue with Day 2 tomorrow.

[DRMizzou]

Great work so far! We are from missouri also. We sail May 31! What type of cabin did you have?

 

We had a mini-suite on Deck 9, mid-ship (9204). I will provide more details on the cabin in my next installment.

[PACRUISINNANA]

I was on this same cruise. I found the inside cabin smaller than my other ncl inside cabins but than I'm not in my cabin that much. It was right by an elevator but never heard them during the night. This one was my best ncl cruise I had 12 other cruises with them. The ship was the best as far as entertainment,food and the staff was exceptional. I liked the cd Sinan but like Julie better.

[Medtech2]

My wife and I sailed on the wonderful NCL Getaway last week. My apologies in advance for being a little "wordy"; but I like a lot of information in reviews when I am preparing for a cruise so I feel obligated to "give back" when I return.

 

We flew into Fort Lauderdale on Thursday evening to ensure that winter weather would not cause any delays on our sailing date. We stayed close to the airport at the Homewood Suites. Nice hotel with a good breakfast. We rented a car so we could get around Ft. Lauderdale on Friday and it was a good thing because there is nothing within walking distance around the hotel. Had a nice day visiting the Bonnet House and walking along Las Olas Boulevard. Had dinner at 15th Street Fisheries and then returned the car to the airport. The hotel has a shuttle; so we took it from the airport back to the hotel.

 

We had booked SAS Shuttle Services (thanks to many CC recommendations) and they picked us up at the hotel around 12noon on Saturday the 15th. Cost was $15 per person-one way. Please note that SAS doesn't begin to pick up at Ft. Lauderdale hotels until 11am; so if you want to get to the ship early this may not be the transport for you. The trip from FLL to the Port of Miami takes only about 30-35 minutes. The shuttle dropped us off right in front of Terminal B where we were met by an extremely friendly (and funny) porter who explained that we should not worry any more about our checked luggage (as long as we had the preprinted color coded luggage tags attached). He assured us that we would all meet up with our bags again on the ship and that we should proceed into Terminal B for embarkation.

I, too, tend to write detailed reviews and I love to read them. I feel that it is very helpful to read about policies and procedures in addition to things like food and entertainment. Already from yours I have learned that FLL might be an option since it is so close and the shuttle you used is so reasonable!

[DRMizzou]

Back to the review---

 

Our cabin was a mini-suite on Deck 9 midship (9204). As you walk in, the large bathroom was to the left. It had a "trough" type sink that had plenty of room for 2 people to use at the same time. Pretty good amount of storage under the sink also. The shower was very nice. Had a shampoo dispenser and a body soap dispenser to the left of the shower heads. There was a removable "rain can" type hand shower and also 6 jets at various levels that you could adjust (2-4-6). Also had a pull out clothes line to hang swimsuits, etc. We brought along the trusty plastic shoe caddy to hang on the inside of the bathroom door to provide storage for deodorant, toothpaste, etc. (another idea from past CC forums).

 

The storage in the cabin is pretty good. The closet had a good area for hanging clothes, shelving for clothes and other storage and a safe. The sofa had two long storage drawers underneath (although one was full of additional pillows, etc. There was a table and mirror across from the sofa which also had 2 storage areas and the mini-fridge. There was also a movable square which could be pulled out and opened up for storage. We brought along a power strip to provide extra outlets. The TV was located just to the side of the mirror. The bed was nice and comfortable; but may not be for those who are taller than 6 ft. There were two nightstands with storage on either side of the bed. The lights were controlled by your key card. You put the card in the slot provided and this triggered the lights. Remove the card and the lights went off. Remember this when you want to recharge cellphones, cameras, etc. There were also buttons on the wall above the light switch to indicate "Do Not Disturb" and "Please Make Up Room".

 

The main issue with the mini-suite (and many balcony rooms) is the extremely small size of the balconies. There are 2 chairs and a small table and there is hardly any room for anything else.

 

One of the main concerns we had prior to the cruise was whether there would be noise from the Waterfront which was below us on Deck 8. This turned out to not be a concern. We hardly heard anything from below. There is a roof directly below the balconies on the back 2/3 of Deck 9 which does keep you from looking straight down--but this was not a big deal to us except when we were in port. We were directly above La Cucina so this may have played a part in the lack of noise. If you were above one of the bars, it might be a different story.

 

All in all, the midship mini-suite was very nice and comfortable. Just would have been nice to have a bigger deck.

 

More on Days 2 and 3 (sea days) in the next installment.

[DRMizzou]

Day 2 (Sea Day)

 

We went to the Garden Café for breakfast and then headed up to Spice H2O on Deck 16. This was pretty handy because the buffet in on Deck 15 aft and H2O is one deck up. Spice H2O is an adults only area during the day. While it does not have a pool, it does have 2 hot tubs and a rainfall/misting area which was great for cooling off. There is a bar and lots of deck chairs. There were also cushioned chairs with a few umbrellas. There is a large screen which was used to display travel port videos. This was also used for the theme parties during the night events (Children are allowed in the area in the evenings). We usually got there around 10am and we never had a problem finding deck chairs. However, about 11am things start to get a little crowded. This would be a nice alternative to trying to get Vibe passes (and paying for them).

 

After a couple of hours in the sun, we had lunch in the Flamingo Bar and Grill which is near H2O on Deck 16. It may have just been bad timing; but we did not find the food particularly good at this location and did not eat there again.

 

My wife wanted to attend the Champagne Art Auction in Headliners on Deck 6. The preview was at 1:30pm and the Auction started at 2pm. I have to admit that this is not "my thing" but I hung in there throughout the auction. It lasted almost 2 hours so keep this in mind before committing an afternoon.

 

After changing, we headed up to the pool area and I tried out the water slides. The main event is 2 "drop" slides. You step into a tube with a full glass door. When the door is closed, there is a "3-2-1" countdown and the floor drops out below you and you are on your way. While unnerving on the 1st try, the slides are very exhilarating. I had to repeat several times before calling it quits for the afternoon.

 

Dinner that evening was in Ocean Blue. This was probably our best experience with a specialty restaurant (definitely my wife's favorite). The food and service were excellent.

 

We stopped by the Atrium and caught part of the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed Game. This was a pretty entertaining event and everyone (including the contestants) seemed to be having a good time. CD Sinan was very entertaining as the game show host and kept things moving along.

 

We finished the evening with Burn the Floor at 10pm in the Getaway Theater. We had booked our specialty restaurants and shows on NCL's website prior to the cruise. We were slightly disappointed with this show. Even my wife (who loves dance shows) was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong; the performers were very talented. It just seemed to be a lot of the same thing over and over. Although they did pick up my interest near the end of the show with an imaginative rendition of Stairway to Heaven. I am not sure Led Zeppelin would have imagined their song this way.

 

Day 3 in the next installment.

[funat55]

I'm enjoying your review very much and the details. Thank you for taking the time to share.

[DRMizzou]

Back to the review....

 

Day 3 -- On our 2nd sea day, we had breakfast and lunch in the Garden Café. A word of advice, the food and beverage stations are repeated. So if on area is crowded (like the station for omelets), just go on down the line and you will find another station with many of the same items. The whole buffet is kind of in a square; so keep following it around.

 

Spent the morning in the sun at Spice H2O. Again, no problem finding deck chairs and not too much "chair saving" was going on. After lunch, my wife wanted to attend the "60 in 60" art auction, so I agreed to check out the preview at 1:30pm. Didn't see anything I could not live without, so I headed out to do my own thing. Basically, did a tour of the ship and took pictures.

 

My wife and I both did the ropes course later on in the afternoon. It is free they do swipe your card and ask you to sign a waiver. Not too bad of a line and the course was fun; once we got the hang of it. You can take short cuts to take less challenging routes. We decided against "walking the plank" where you essentially walk out over the side of the ship. No thanks! We did both do the zipline at the end.

 

Since it was St. Patrick's Day, we had the prime rib dinner at O'Sheehans. This sports bar and grill is located on Deck 7, midship. It was easy to get to because it was just 2 decks below our cabin. It has a U shape configuration around the open Atrium. One side is more of a restaurant layout and the other is more sports bar. There is seating all around the open Atrium and this is a good place to have a drink and watch whatever is going on in the Atrium.

 

After listening to some music in the Atrium area, we checking out the shops and the Photo Gallery. The Getaway has a pretty good system here. When pictures are taken around the ship (and at embarkation), you are asked for your cabin number or they swipe your card. Don't worry, you are not being charged--it is for cabin ID information. All of your pictures are then put into a folder with a number on it that corresponds with a number on your key card. You just find your numbered folder and check out your photos. You can also swipe your card at one of several monitors around the Gallery and your pictures will show up for review. Some of the activity photos (zipline, water slide, etc.) cannot be readily identified to a specific cabin. But if you know when you took part in the activity, you can look up all photos taken during that time period and find yours. Pretty good system!

 

Day 4 - St. Maarten

 

We had decided to book Bernard's Tours (Tour II) at St. Maarten due to so many positive CC and TripAdvisor reviews. We met the tour group at the Information Center just off the dock area. People had said to ask for the Mailman as the tour guide. We did not get around to asking; but were pleasantly surprised to have our guide introduce himself as the Mailman (because he says that no one pronounces his given name correctly anyway). The air-condition van tour takes you on a tour of both the Dutch and French sides of the island. The Mailman was very funny and informative. We learned a lot about the 2 sides of the island. The Iquana Farm (which is supposed to be one of the first stops) was closed for renovation, so we moved on to the French side pretty quickly. After a brief photo-op spot, we stopped at Orient Beach where we had about 90 minutes to do whatever at the beach. We rented 2 chairs and an umbrella for $20 and relaxed. It is a beautiful beach and you have your choice of where to go. While there was not a great deal of nudity where we were, there were a few topless ladies going by. Outside showers and restrooms are available.

 

After our 90 minutes, we met back at the van and were on our way. As part of the tour, you can avail yourself of water, soda, cold Caribe beer or the rum punch (which the Mailman said was an old home recipe). I think it was about 90% rum. He did warn everyone that it was "sipping" rum punch. Down it fast at your own risk!

 

We stopped next in Marigot, the French capitol for about 30-40 minutes. We had a sandwich and some great pastries at Sarafina's. We then continued on to Maho Beach. This if the famed "airport beach". We had about an hour or so here. We were left off at the Sunset Bar & Grill where the arrival and departure times are listed on a surfboard. We had just missed the big KLM; but several planes did come in--including the large Air France plane. This is something that is difficult to describe; but must be experienced. I did get a great video of the Air France plane coming in right over the top of us. The place is packed. When one of the big planes revved up its engine to take off, the folks right at the chain link fence were holding on for dear life. Several folks on the beach were blown over into the sand. I had to chase down my cap!! Great experience.

 

Back on the van and we headed back to Phillipsburg. You could be dropped off in town if you wanted to shop; but you had to find your own way back to the ship. We opted to go back to the dock. There are a number of nice shopping venues at the Pier and we wandered through many of them before heading back to the ship.

 

I must point out that the crew of the Getaway make it a point to welcome everyone back on the ship at every port. In several instances, it was quite a party atmosphere. You were greeted with cool towels, cool drinks, dance music and friendly faces welcoming you back on board. I kind of felt sorry for those returning to the other ships. They all seemed to be looking longingly at our ship and the welcome we were receiving.

 

We dined in Taste (one of the other MDRs) that night and while the food was good, the service was very slow and disorganized. This was the only time this happened; but we did not go to this MDR again during the cruise.

 

There was an Invicta Watch promotion going on in the Shops that evening and we browsed for awhile. The big draw was that if you purchased the Jason Taylor (former Miami Dolphin) Signature watch, you would get a chance to meet him onboard the ship on Friday night. I did not buy that particular watch; but did wind up buying a different one. More on this later!

 

This was the night of the Big 80's party at Spice H2O and we enjoyed ourselves for awhile. This was also the night for the fireworks display. We had seen on CC that the fireworks could be viewed from the portside balconies; so we decided to go back to our cabin and watch from our own balcony. This was a very special "extra" for the cruise. Pretty good fireworks display and seeing it against the backdrop of the moon-lit ocean was very nice!

 

Since I had a snorkeling excursion lined up for early the next morning, it was time to turn it. More in my next installment.

[rochelle_s]

Really enjoying the great details in your review. Looking forward to reading the next installment. Sounds like you had a great cruise!

 

Rochelle

[LrgPizza]

Thank you for such a thorough review. You've put a lot of time into this, and I appreciate it. Looking forward to reading more.

[misand]

Good info! Cant wait til we cruise!

[jlcd66]

Great review! Looking forward to the rest!!

[robinlbe]

Welcome home...glad you had a nice time!

We've cruised Carnival several times before, but the Getaway will be our first NCL cruise.

Did you have robes provided in your cabin?

If so, do you know if all cabins had them?

If not, did any cabin have them?

 

(we'll be in a balcony room, 9th deck.)

 

thanks..

[DRMizzou]

Welcome home...glad you had a nice time!

We've cruised Carnival several times before, but the Getaway will be our first NCL cruise.

Did you have robes provided in your cabin?

If so, do you know if all cabins had them?

If not, did any cabin have them?

 

(we'll be in a balcony room, 9th deck.)

 

thanks..

 

We were in a mini-suite on Deck 9 (9204) and had 2 robes provided. Unfortunately, I do not know whether balcony cabins will have them. You could always ask your cabin steward and he may provide some to you. Felix was our cabin steward and he was terrific.

[Jenjer]

Love it thank you.

[SissasMomE]

I, too, tend to write detailed reviews and I love to read them. I feel that it is very helpful to read about policies and procedures in addition to things like food and entertainment. Already from yours I have learned that FLL might be an option since it is so close and the shuttle you used is so reasonable!

 

We almost always stay in a beachfront resort in FLL when sailing out of Miami. I don't know about a shuttle, but we always have a car service, and it's never an issue getting to the port early.

[dollbanks]

Great detailed review!!! Thanks for taking the time to sharing!!!

[DRMizzou]

Day 5-St. Thomas

 

I love to snorkel; but my wife does not. She opted for a leisurely morning on the ship and I booked the NCL Castaway Girl catamaran snorkel excursion to Buck (Shipwreck) Island. We had to hike quite a ways but still within the docking port area. The crew of the Castaway Girl was great and really got everyone involved. It is a relatively short trip out to Buck Island and they go over all the instructions on the way out. They provide all the snorkeling equipment so you do not have to bring your own along. You are required to wear a snorkel vest; but it was not too intrusive. They split you into 2 groups and if you are an experienced or somewhat experienced snorkeler, I would suggest getting off the catamaran with the 1st group. I took my time and wound up in the 2nd group with folks who were a little unsure of themselves. The result was me treading water for quite some time waiting for all of the folks to get in. Once in the water you follow your guide around the area. Unfortunately, that day there did not seem to be very many fish. There is some coral to be seen and the "highlight" is a sunken ship (thus, Shipwreck Cove). Nothing to impressive; but kind of cool. Once back on the ship they provide rum punch for the trip back. The whole excursion takes about 3 hours. While the snorkeling was not that great (in terms of colorful fish), it may have just been a bad day and the crew really does a good job and makes you feel welcome. I would recommend this excursion if you want a short (3 hour) snorkeling trip that will allow time for other ventures.

 

I had promised my wife that I would be back on the ship so we could go into Charlotte Amalie and I was about 20 minutes late. We ate a quick lunch in the Garden Café and headed back off the ship. Warning here---the cabs that line up at the pier are bench style wagons. The cab drivers have no interest in taking just 2 people. This turned out to be a big miscalculation on my part. Since the ship was departing at 4pm, we had to be back onboard by 3:30pm. I thought we could grab a cab and still have about 2 hours in downtown St. Thomas. No such luck. I could not convince any cabbies to take just 2. They kept saying we will leave when we get more riders. We finally had to give up and just shop at the stores at the Pier. There is an upscale shopping are not too far around the dock and some smaller shops closer to the ship. We decided to take our time her rather than walking to the downtown area. We were back on right at 3:30pm.

 

Our early evening was spent listening to music by Groove International in the Atrium (I highly recommend these guys. They are smooth. They normally play out by the pool but have an even better sound in the Atrium. Very versatile.) and eating dinner in Savor (MDR) for the 2nd time. I have forgotten to mention that we had great luck getting seated at a table for 2 by the window almost every night. Don't know whether it was just luck, timing or because we were just 2; but it was nice. Food and service was very good in Savor again this evening.

 

Since we had reservations for Legally Blonde at 10:15pm, we had a drink out on the Waterfront on Deck 8. I have not mentioned that the Waterfront was a very nice concept. You could have dinner and/or drinks at many of the venues outside if you wished. It was also a nice area for an evening stroll.

 

While my wife enjoyed Legally Blonde, I was not as impressed. The cast was very talented; I just did not enjoy the music that much and already knew the story from the movie.

Probably just me. The Getaway Theater was packed for this performance. Since we got out of the show at about 11:45pm, we decided to stop by Howl at the Moon again. After 11pm, the piano players get a little raunchier. They are really funny and talented; but the material late at night may not be for everyone.

 

Be back a little later with Day 6.

[DRMizzou]

Day 6 - Sea Day

 

We did our usual thing in the morning-breakfast at Garden Café and then out to Spice H2O. After lunch, we headed down to Headliners for the Grand Finale Art Auction preview. I did a quick preview and decided to leave the auction to DW. I headed up to the pool deck to lounge for the afternoon. Different story trying to find a lounge chair around the main pool area in the afternoon. Finally found one on Deck 16 just above the adult pool and band stand. It was a hot afternoon and the wait staff were consistently spritzing folks with water bottle sprayers and handing out cool towels. Very nice. I noticed quite a few people looking out to sea and they explained that a whale had just breached the water. Did get to see the fin a few times but never saw the whale completely come out of the water. After about an hour, I moved down to Deck 15 pool area and found a lounger in the shade and people-watched. My wife soon joined me and we stayed a little longer before heading back to the cabin to get ready for the evening.

 

We had appetizers at O'Sheehan's and listened to music before heading to the Illusionarium. The show was scheduled for 8:45pm but we had been advised to arrive when the doors opened 30 minutes before the show. We did and found the place getting pretty full already. We had purchased premium seating online before the cruise and were seated at a table of 8 next to the stage. While I am not sure there is a bad seat in the house, you really do need to sit close to the stage to get the full visual effect on the ceiling above the stage. One word of caution for those with small children--near the beginning of the stage production there is some really loud sound effects and some smoke. A little girl at a table behind us was scared by the unexpected noise. She was OK; but a little unnerved.

 

While there have been a number of bad reviews about the food, I did not find it that unappealing. I did not care for the salad, necessarily; but I thought the rest of the meal was fine. It is a little distracting trying to eat and watch what is going on in the program; but not too bad. This show itself is fantastic!! Easily my favorite show of the cruise. Great special effects and an interesting premise as to what the Illusionarium is all about. The performers were excellent. Very enjoyable!

 

After the show, we went to Spice H2O for the GLOW Party. Pretty impressive sound and special effects at this event. Sinan was his usual high energy self in getting the party started. Everyone was having a great time. We stayed for awhile and then decided to see if we could get into the Comedy Show at Headliners. We had not made seat reservations (there is no cover charge) so we had to wait in the StandBy area. We were only the 3rd couple in line so we were able to get into the show pretty quickly and, boy, were we glad that we did. Mark Viera was the comedian and I have not laughed that loudly and consistently at a show for some time. Since it was the late show (and it turned out to be his last show on the Getaway), it let it all loose. Warning--this was definitely adult material and not for everyone's taste. Still, he had the place rocking. Very funny guy!!

 

That ended our evening and we headed for bed.

 

More to come.....

[LrgPizza]

Thank again. Looking forward to the rest.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[DRMizzou]

Day 7 - Nassau, Bahamas

 

Since the ship was not due into Nassau until 12noon, we had a leisurely morning on the ship. Breakfast and then went to Spice H2O. The direction we came into Nassau provided a beautiful photo op of the surf and beaches with Atlantis is the background. Once docked, you also had some great photo shots off the Aft, especially Spice H2O--but the view from the Waterfront on Deck 8 should have been pretty good also.

 

After lunch, we got off the ship and headed into Nassau. No excursions for us today; just a stroll around the main downtown shopping district. When you disembark in Nassau, you have to walk through the Information Center which is packed with people hawking their tours, taxis, etc. There are also a number of "straw market" type places inside. You just have to keep moving to get through and on into Nassau. After a couple of hours of souvenir shopping, we stopped at Sharkee's Bar and Grill (within site of the Pier and ships) and had a couple of cold Kalik beers before heading back on the ship. We were back on the ship by 5pm and the ship was scheduled to leave at 7pm.

 

We went down to Guest Services on Deck 6 (midship) to pick up our luggage tags for the bags we wanted the porters to carry off for us. The tags were color coded to the time you wished to disembark from the ship on Saturday morning. Went to the cabin to do some preliminary packing and rest a little out on the balcony.

 

Dinner this evening was in Cagney's and it was exceptional. Managed to get a window table again and the wait staff was excellent. If anything, I overdid with the food this night. I had the Filet Mignon while my wife had the crablegs. There is actually 4 courses offered in Cagney's as opposed to the normal 3 in the other restaurants. By the time I finished the raspberry crème brulee, I thought I might have to be carried out.

 

We wandered through the shop area and one of the staff came up to my DW (makes me wonder how much shopping had gone on) and asked if we would like to meet and get our picture taken with Jason Taylor (the former Miami Dolphin football player). I mentioned in a previous installment that he was going to be onboard as part of an Invicta watch promotion. Those who purchased the Jason Taylor Signature watch would get an opportunity to meet him. Apparently, he decided to stay a while longer to sign autographs and take pictures because, while I purchased an Invicta watch, I had not purchased that particular time piece. Nevertheless, we were quickly ushered into one of shops, taken up to the front and introduced to him. He autographed an Invicta watch card and posed for pictures with us. Nice guy!! Probably, a lot of people were afforded this opportunity and the ship did sell us another $20 photo; but it was still kind of a cool thing.

 

We stopped back by the cabin and finished packing our bags that we were going to set outside the door. Guest services told us to have the bags outside by 10pm but Felix, our cabin steward said that if they were out before 11pm, it would be fine. I think we put ours out around 10:15pm.

 

Another tip here--if you are interested in purchasing any photos; don't wait for the last evening. It was crazy in the Photo Gallery. It seemed like everyone on the ship was trying to purchase their photos. We were told that the Jason Taylor photo would be out at around 11pm; so we decided to stop into Howl at the Moon one more time. At a little after 11pm, we stopped back by the Photo Center and it was still packed. We did find our photo and were able to purchase it without waiting too long in line.

 

By the time we got back to the cabin, our bags were gone.

 

Embarkation

 

Since we had a late flight out of Fort Lauderdale (4:40pm), we opted to disembark at 9:15am; which was the 2nd to last time. We said goodbye to Felix, our cabin steward, on our way to breakfast in the Garden Café. We had absolutely beautiful weather every day of the cruise; but it was pouring rain that morning. The rain moved off pretty quickly, however. You are asked to leave your cabin by 9am and we left right at that time and headed down to Deck 7 for disembarkation. They call out the color code over the PA system and you are asked not to jam up the hallways until your color is called. Once in line, you essentially circle O'Sheehan's on Deck 7 on your way out. You are asked to swipe your key card one last time as you get off the ship.

 

Once off the ship you make your way through the Terminal to where you pick up your bags. If you have a shuttle transfer, they advise you to exit out of Terminal B because that is closest to where the shuttles now do their pickups. Of course, we were told our bags could be found in Terminal C. We found our bags pretty quickly and were told that we could take them back over to Terminal B to go through customs.

 

The line through Customs moved pretty quickly and once finished there, I called the SAS Shuttle telephone number. They told us where to meet them and soon we were on our way to FLL.

 

Well, so ends my review of our wonderful cruise onboard the NCL Getaway. She is a beautiful ship and we cannot say enough about the service and friendliness of the staff and crew. I can honestly say that I have never felt as welcome on a cruise ship. The Getaway is a "mega" ship in every sense of the word; but with the size comes many places to literally "get away". Except for the buffet, we never felt crowded. There are so many activities of which to take advantage.

 

I hope that this review has provided some good information and may have answered some questions you might have had. If I have missed something, just ask and I will try to answer.

 

Thanks!

[cruiseinfoseeker]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and helpful review.:)

[jlcd66]

Thank you for the review. We have a similar flight out of Ft Lauderdale. Wondering if you were able to check your bags early when you got to the airport?