Great time on the Getaway but prefer Royal Caribbean

[kaylie44]

Sounds like you had had more then your monies worth with 3 free kids sail free.

One thing I found outrageous about your pool experience. You said you went to an upper deck to look down on your children ages 5 , 7 & 9 in the pool. They could have drowned before you got to them. Parents should be right next to their very young children in and around water. Children drown in a heartbeat with people standing next them, please don't leave them unattended again.

 

Thank you for your concern but I am well aware of how to care for my children. Although my children are young they probably swim better then some adults. We live on an island and have a pool of our own. Our weekends consist of being on the beach, on the boat or in the pool. My eyes never left my children while they were in the pool. The day we went to the higher deck we were up there for about 20 minutes and my children were mostly in the kiddie spray area and jumped into the pool for a few minutes. We left that area because as I said in my original post it was not ideal. Every child has different abilities and can not be judged equally. There is no set age for determining a good swimmer. At age 3 my middle child was capable of diving for lobster had we allowed him too.

 

The pool layout for the children's area has a serious design flaw and safety should have been NCL biggest concern when designing this area.

Edited May 5, 2014 by kaylie44

[kaylie44]

Cruzsnooze - that's the whole problem. That was probably the BEST vantage point for watching her kids. There is a wall surrounding the kids swimming pool. There is nowhere to easily observe your children swimming. It's a common complaint.

 

Even Sitting in the wicker chairs right next to the pool did not provide a clear view of the pool. The wall/bench that is in the middle of the pool blocks you from seeing your child if they are on the other side. I could actually see them better from the upper deck.

[cruzsnooze]

Recently ( Feb 2014) a 4 & 6 year old drowned ( younger one died) on an NCL ship while being watched. Apparently every one does not recognize the signs of drowning. Being far from your child sounded dangerous to me. I have not seen the NCL pool area. Pretty scary to think a child could slip away in the blink of an eye.

 

"MORE: Child Drown on Cruise Ship Child Drowns in Cruise Ship Pool News Child Drowns in Pool Norwegian Cruise Line Child Drowns Norwegian Cruise Line Child Death Norwegian Cruise Line Child Dies Norwegian Cruise Line Child Drowns

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A 4-year-old child has died after being pulled from a swimming pool on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the North Carolina coast.

 

A 6-year-old boy also found in the pool Monday was revived and was flown to CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern with his grandmother and a nurse from the ship. The boy was then transferred to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. A spokeswoman said Tuesday that the hospital was waiting for the boy's parents to arrive to approve releasing his condition.

 

Norwegian says a medical team on the ship performed CPR, but the younger child died. A Norwegian spokeswoman line didn't immediately return messages Tuesday.

 

According to Norwegian's website, the 4,000-passenger ship is based in New York and was headed to Florida. The itinerary then had it headed to the Bahamas.

Edited May 5, 2014 by cruzsnooze

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for your review of the Getaway, now I am looking into this ship for next year! I have young teens, and I think they would really enjoy the ropes course and the slides, and I think I will too! We will be on our first NCL cruise this August, but not on a newer ship, we are on the Pearl to Alaska. But for us Alaska is more about the destination, much less about the ship. Ironically, I am looking forward to trying NCL because I had a not so wonderful experience on my last RCI cruise. I am now Platinum (I know, big deal, 5 cruises) on RCI, but the last cruise I was on with RCI, while it was for the most part fine, wasn't anything great, so while I will sail with them again in the future, September in fact, I am really excited to try some other lines. I have been on Disney, that was fun, and I actually have been on a couple of Carnival cruises that I liked. Experiences come down to so many variables, that I can't really say that the last cruise on RCI was not great because it was RCI. But I am looking forward to checking out other lines for sure. I don't think I can ever be in the "loyal to royal" camp, or probably any other line for that matter. Anyway, happy sailing!

 

Thanks for your review. I agree with live2vayk experiences come down to so many variables. I remember back in the day the checking out of towels before leaving the ship on excursions or a beach day. I was happy that came to an end. Our beach towels disappeared and fresh beach and regular towels appeared like clockwork in our cabin.

[dexddd]

Even Sitting in the wicker chairs right next to the pool did not provide a clear view of the pool. The wall/bench that is in the middle of the pool blocks you from seeing your child if they are on the other side. I could actually see them better from the upper deck.

 

Having seen the kids pool area on the BA and the pics of the GA which is almost identical, I agree that the design is not good. You have those glass walls on the sides of the pool which limits access to the pool from the sides. Then both of the ends have narrow passages by them.

[cruzsnooze]

Even Sitting in the wicker chairs right next to the pool did not provide a clear view of the pool. The wall/bench that is in the middle of the pool blocks you from seeing your child if they are on the other side. I could actually see them better from the upper deck.

It sounds like NCL need to rethink the kids pool area especially after the tragedy that recently occurred.

[LrgPizza]

It sounds like NCL need to rethink the kids pool area especially after the tragedy that recently occurred.

 

It's my understanding that this WAS the response to the drowning. Prior to that, the main pools were open to everyone. I might have the timing wrong, but that's what I think is the case.

Edited May 5, 2014 by LrgPizza

[silvercrikhix]

Thank you, OP, for posting your experiences.

Also thank you for teaching your children to swim early on, it is a very important skill that more parents should practice.

Our ever nannying state is now considering making swim lessons mandatory for children.

It would be nice if all parents would all do their duties without the gov't having to butt into everyone's lives, but Alas.....

 

I do wish you would have called out the crew who bypassed you, that is not right, or excusable in any way shape or form!

Reporting your stewards refusal to adhere to NCL pool towel policy would have been helpful too.

I know most people do not like to complain, or spend Vaca time on it, but that is the only way problems can get addressed and corrected.

 

Happy Sailing in the future!

[weltek]

I was told by a cabin steward that it would be awhile before our beach towels could be replaced, so if I needed it replaced that afternoon/evening, to take them up to the pool deck for exchange.

 

I don't know if there is a shortage of towels or what. He otherwise was a very kind and accommodating steward, so I figure it was just some oddity about how things work.

[kaylie44]

Thank you, OP, for posting your experiences.

Also thank you for teaching your children to swim early on, it is a very important skill that more parents should practice.

Our ever nannying state is now considering making swim lessons mandatory for children.

It would be nice if all parents would all do their duties without the gov't having to butt into everyone's lives, but Alas.....

 

I do wish you would have called out the crew who bypassed you, that is not right, or excusable in any way shape or form!

Reporting your stewards refusal to adhere to NCL pool towel policy would have been helpful too.

I know most people do not like to complain, or spend Vaca time on it, but that is the only way problems can get addressed and corrected.

 

Happy Sailing in the future!

 

 

You are correct I should have said something. I didn't want to take the time to complain but agree that is the only way to get it corrected.

[kaylie44]

Thanks for your review of the Getaway, now I am looking into this ship for next year! I have young teens, and I think they would really enjoy the ropes course and the slides, and I think I will too! We will be on our first NCL cruise this August, but not on a newer ship, we are on the Pearl to Alaska. But for us Alaska is more about the destination, much less about the ship. Ironically, I am looking forward to trying NCL because I had a not so wonderful experience on my last RCI cruise. I am now Platinum (I know, big deal, 5 cruises) on RCI, but the last cruise I was on with RCI, while it was for the most part fine, wasn't anything great, so while I will sail with them again in the future, September in fact, I am really excited to try some other lines. I have been on Disney, that was fun, and I actually have been on a couple of Carnival cruises that I liked. Experiences come down to so many variables, that I can't really say that the last cruise on RCI was not great because it was RCI. But I am looking forward to checking out other lines for sure. I don't think I can ever be in the "loyal to royal" camp, or probably any other line for that matter. Anyway, happy sailing!

 

 

Your teens will absolutely love the slides and ropes course on the getaway. My 7 year old walked the plank 15 times! I do agree with you that each experience is different no matter what the cruise line is. I have been on Carnival and Norwegian once each and on Royal Twice and just prefer Royal but it doesn't mean I wouldn't go on norwegian again. I am eyeing Disney Fantasy for our next cruise:)

[blackwing]

Thanks for your review. I too am fairly recently back from Getaway and I have a 5 yr old and a 7 yr old. For our next cruise we are considering doing Getaway again or trying out Oasis/Allure. I'm wondering from the perspective of a parent with similarly aged children, which do you think is better for your kids? The selfish adult in me wants to try Oasis/Allure for the spectacle and grandeur, but I would do anything for my kids, and I seem to think there are more kid activities on Getaway that mine enjoy. They spent as much time as they could on the waterslides, ropes course, and mini golf. It's my understanding that none of the RCCL mini golf courses have obstacles like the ones on Getaway, and the kids loved the obstacles. A simple green and hole won't interest them.

 

Sorry you had issues with being served. My kids can be unruly too, but I don't think I ever noticed being passed up because of them.

 

Our cabin steward volunteered to exchange the towels for us, he said he would always bring us new ones if we didn't want to do upstairs, so I'm not sure what was wrong with yours.

 

I do agree with you about the poor pool setup. When my kids were in the kids pool, I sat on that wooden bench up against the glass partition dividing it from the Sponge Bob splash area. Alternatively, I just stood or sat at the narrow end. I was surprised at how many unattended children there seemed to be in the pool, or at least I didn't notice many other hovering parents like me.

 

I thought the drowning on the Breakaway pool happened in what is now the "adults only" pool, and that the children weren't attended at all? Not sure where the grandmother was, perhaps she was by the pool and just didn't realise what was going on. Me, I watch my kids like a hawk. I agree that it's hard to tell when a kid is drowning versus just playing and splashing around. Very sad story.

[dalgirl]

Always left an towels on the floor and they were replaced, no matter what type of towel - that was one lazy steward who took advantage of you. Glad that you had a good time, even if NCL is not a fit for your family. RCL is a great cruiseline also.

[kaylie44]

Thanks for your review. I too am fairly recently back from Getaway and I have a 5 yr old and a 7 yr old. For our next cruise we are considering doing Getaway again or trying out Oasis/Allure. I'm wondering from the perspective of a parent with similarly aged children, which do you think is better for your kids? The selfish adult in me wants to try Oasis/Allure for the spectacle and grandeur, but I would do anything for my kids, and I seem to think there are more kid activities on Getaway that mine enjoy. They spent as much time as they could on the waterslides, ropes course, and mini golf. It's my understanding that none of the RCCL mini golf courses have obstacles like the ones on Getaway, and the kids loved the obstacles. A simple green and hole won't interest them.

 

Sorry you had issues with being served. My kids can be unruly too, but I don't think I ever noticed being passed up because of them.

 

Our cabin steward volunteered to exchange the towels for us, he said he would always bring us new ones if we didn't want to do upstairs, so I'm not sure what was wrong with yours.

 

I do agree with you about the poor pool setup. When my kids were in the kids pool, I sat on that wooden bench up against the glass partition dividing it from the Sponge Bob splash area. Alternatively, I just stood or sat at the narrow end. I was surprised at how many unattended children there seemed to be in the pool, or at least I didn't notice many other hovering parents like me.

 

I thought the drowning on the Breakaway pool happened in what is now the "adults only" pool, and that the children weren't attended at all? Not sure where the grandmother was, perhaps she was by the pool and just didn't realise what was going on. Me, I watch my kids like a hawk. I agree that it's hard to tell when a kid is drowning versus just playing and splashing around. Very sad story.

 

 

My husband and I went on Oasis and loved it! We chose the Getaway for our kids because of the activities. If my memory serves me right on Oasis you have to be six for the rock climbing wall and 75lbs for the zip line. There are no slides. I don't remember anything great about mini golf either. Ice skating would have been fun for them since they have never done it before. I personally want to go on Oasis/Allure again and so do my kids. But I would want at least my older 2 boys to be able to do the zip line. Neither are very close to 75lbs though:(

[LrgPizza]

My husband and I went on Oasis and loved it! We chose the Getaway for our kids because of the activities. If my memory serves me right on Oasis you have to be six for the rock climbing wall and 75lbs for the zip line. There are no slides. I don't remember anything great about mini golf either. Ice skating would have been fun for them since they have never done it before. I personally want to go on Oasis/Allure again and so do my kids. But I would want at least my older 2 boys to be able to do the zip line. Neither are very close to 75lbs though:(

 

 

Better bulk them up so they can do it. It's not a lot of fun and can be pretty scary for a kid to get stuck on a zip line and have to be rescued.

[kaylie44]

Better bulk them up so they can do it. It's not a lot of fun and can be pretty scary for a kid to get stuck on a zip line and have to be rescued.

 

My 7 year old got stuck on the getaway zip line multiple times since there is only a height restriction. They rescued him once by getting a rope and pulling him. He is my dare devil and was not scared! I think I was a little freaked out the first time because he was jumping around up there trying to move but the wind was pushing against him. The next few times he got stuck he was able to wiggle his way to the end. He weighs 46lbs and is all bones:)

[wichitastatecruiser]

Recently ( Feb 2014) a 4 & 6 year old drowned ( younger one died) on an NCL ship while being watched. Apparently every one does not recognize the signs of drowning. Being far from your child sounded dangerous to me. I have not seen the NCL pool area. Pretty scary to think a child could slip away in the blink of an eye.

 

"MORE: Child Drown on Cruise Ship Child Drowns in Cruise Ship Pool News Child Drowns in Pool Norwegian Cruise Line Child Drowns Norwegian Cruise Line Child Death Norwegian Cruise Line Child Dies Norwegian Cruise Line Child Drowns

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A 4-year-old child has died after being pulled from a swimming pool on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the North Carolina coast.

 

A 6-year-old boy also found in the pool Monday was revived and was flown to CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern with his grandmother and a nurse from the ship. The boy was then transferred to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. A spokeswoman said Tuesday that the hospital was waiting for the boy's parents to arrive to approve releasing his condition.

 

Norwegian says a medical team on the ship performed CPR, but the younger child died. A Norwegian spokeswoman line didn't immediately return messages Tuesday.

 

According to Norwegian's website, the 4,000-passenger ship is based in New York and was headed to Florida. The itinerary then had it headed to the Bahamas.

 

That happened on the Breakaway. The pool that the child drowned in is now the "Adults Only pool" which I heard has a depth of 8 feet. NCL had to options to avoid another tragedy like this in the future. (1) Hire life guards; which no other cruise line except for what I hear Disney does. (2) Make the deeper pool "Adults Only" and enforcing that policy. NCL decided to go with the second option as the Main pool was made "Adults Only" soon after this drowning.

[Rigby the Dog]

The rest of us without children are very happy with this.

Haha - so true, so true.

[anonmom]

NCL had to options to avoid another tragedy like this in the future. (1) Hire life guards; which no other cruise line except for what I hear Disney does. (2) Make the deeper pool "Adults Only" and enforcing that policy. NCL decided to go with the second option as the Main pool was made "Adults Only" soon after this drowning.

 

Not true. News reports at the time the tragedy occurred mentioned that it was unknown why the children were in the adult pool at all, especially unsupervised. Here's a review of the Breakaway from last year that mentions the adult pool, so it was designated as such well before the accident.

http://www.familiesgotravel.com/2013/10/cruise-review-the-ncl-breakaway-with-kids/

[Rigby the Dog]

Not true. News reports at the time the tragedy occurred mentioned that it was unknown why the children were in the adult pool at all, especially unsupervised. Here's a review of the Breakaway from last year that mentions the adult pool, so it was designated as such well before the accident.

http://www.familiesgotravel.com/2013/10/cruise-review-the-ncl-breakaway-with-kids/

Right - we sailed the Breakaway last year around this time - the pool was designated as an adult pool but there were always kids in there. The crew really didn't do anything unless people complained. It was quite a nuisance.

 

We are set to sail on the Getaway at the end of the month and we really hope that NCL enforces the adults only rule in the adults pool.

[Utas2]

Sounds like you had had more then your monies worth with 3 free kids sail free.

One thing I found outrageous about your pool experience. You said you went to an upper deck to look down on your children ages 5 , 7 & 9 in the pool. They could have drowned before you got to them. Parents should be right next to their very young children in and around water. Children drown in a heartbeat with people standing next them, please don't leave them unattended again.

 

Unless they learned to swim.....those pools are not that deep.

 

Utas2

[Utas2]

Just off the Getaway today and had a great time! We did have several issues though and will probably stick with Royal Caribbean for future cruises.

 

We chose the Getaway because of the ropes course and slides for our 3 children ages 5, 7 and 9. They had a blast! Our cruise had around 200 kids on it. We were able to go on the ropes course over and over again without ever waiting in line. The same for the slides they had very short lines at the most maybe 5 to 8 people would be ahead of us. Spider mountain never had a line but has very limited hours. The longest we had to wait for anything was the trampoline but never more then 2-3 people ahead of us. My 5 year old loved the rock climbing wall and the man helping her made her day by giving her a little extra boost to reach the bell. My 5 year old also enjoyed the little ropes course. They let her go back and forth as many times as she wanted. The activities staff and kids club were the nicest staff we encountered onboard. By the second day they knew all my kids by name.

 

I will say multiple times we felt ignored by staff on this ship. I told my husband maybe it was because we had 3 kids and they accommodated older or non children people before us. I don't really know but I can overlook it once but it happened at least 5 times to us. He even agreed that at first he thought it was a coincidence but after the 3rd time we agreed it had to be because we had kids with us. At the Ocean Blue window we ordered 2 lobster rolls and about 5 minutes later 2 older women then ordered lobster rolls and sat down at the table next to us. They were served their 2 rolls about 5 minutes before we got ours. In teppenyaki we had reservations and were told we had to wait to be seated. Two families then came up and were seated immediately and about 5 minutes later she finally sat us at the exact same table! I was in line at Taste for dinner and the hostess literally looked past me and helped the the next two older people in line before I finally spoke up and said excuse me why are you not helping me I am next in line. Our cabin steward was just so so he did give us conflicting info though which was annoying. There is a paper in the cabin which states to leave your pool towels on the bathroom floor and they will be replaced with new ones. After day 1 he stopped us and told us we had to exchange them on the pool deck. So most days we would have wet towels in our room until the next morning when we went back to the pool. Also on disembarkation day the daily clearly states to be out of your cabin by 9am. So around 8:20 we were heading to breakfast and planned to leave bags in our cabin until we finished breakfast. He was outside our cabin as we were leaving and told us we had to be out by 8:30. So we then had to bring all our bags to breakfast.

 

The kids pool area was a lot of fun but whoever designed it must not have children of their own. I never knew where to sit to watch my kids. We sat in the wicker chairs by the pool or the edge of the pool but neither option was comfortable. One day I went up to deck 16 to sit in a lounger and look down on the kids swimming but that was not ideal. The purple slide comes out on deck 15 and the orange and red comes out on deck 16. So it was a lot of confusion trying to keep track of all 3 kids. My husband and I did go on the slides with the kids but let's face I can go a few times in a row but not a hundred!

 

Two jacuzzis by the adult only pool are also adult only. So we used the other 2 child friendly jacuzzis to watch the band and some of the games around the pool.

 

We had a great experience in the Tropicana dining room very friendly servers:)

 

Food was just so so for the most part. Our favorite was Teppanyaki. We liked La Cucina but agree it was similar to Olive Garden. The Garden Cafe was ok. Flamingo grill was also just ok but I am Cuban and know what it should taste like:)

 

I loved Legally Blonde. The comedy show was entertaining as well as the dueling pianos.

 

My kids said they saw some characters in splash academy. We went to the meet and greets and saw Cosmo and Wanda on sea day 1, Dora and Diego on sea day 2, Sponge Bob and Patrick on sea day 3. Dora's dance party is for the little ones. She sings Mary had a little Lamb, the wheels on the bus, etc... The pirate dance party on sea day 3 was really fun. All six characters come out and dance and take pictures. It was a lot of fun. They also sell an autograph book for $10 to use at the meet and greets on sea days at 9 or 9:30.

 

The glow party was a lot of fun. I had read on here you can make glow shirts during the arts and crafts but on the ship was told they stopped doing it. Instead they had sponge bob shirts for the kids to color on the same day as the glow party. In the daily it just said arts and crafts but when I asked about the glow shirts they told be about the sponge bob shirts.

 

My kids had a great time in splash academy and asked to go or stay longer when we picked them up.

 

Overall we had a great time but the issues we did have would make me think twice before going on Norwegian again.

 

Oh I almost forgot we had the Family oceanview that sleeps 5 on deck 5. I will say while it did work out fine it was TIGHT! We only booked that room to take advantage of the kids sail free promo. Next time we will definitely book 2 cabins no matter what the promo is! Let me know if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them:)

 

Thanks for your review - we were on the same cruise with you and I must say we never experienced such nuisances that you mention. We also have 3 kids (teens) and I understand that the kitchen staff makes an effort to bring the order to the table for all at the same time - that is why if you are only two you get your order sometimes earlier.... and I never counted the minutes comapring tables..... We never felt overlooked by staff, instead, they always greeted us with a smile. And those remarkable embarkation parties....none of the other ships had them either.

 

What I recognised is that the NCL staff really makes an effort to provide you with a great experience, and they work very hard with tight schedules.

We have cruised with Royal, and if I find a good price/route we would cruise them again, but to be honest, we prefer the more freestyle experience that NCL offers.

 

Happy cruising,

 

Utas2

[kaylie44]

Thanks for your review - we were on the same cruise with you and I must say we never experienced such nuisances that you mention. We also have 3 kids (teens) and I understand that the kitchen staff makes an effort to bring the order to the table for all at the same time - that is why if you are only two you get your order sometimes earlier.... and I never counted the minutes comapring tables..... We never felt overlooked by staff, instead, they always greeted us with a smile. And those remarkable embarkation parties....none of the other ships had them either.

 

What I recognised is that the NCL staff really makes an effort to provide you with a great experience, and they work very hard with tight schedules.

We have cruised with Royal, and if I find a good price/route we would cruise them again, but to be honest, we prefer the more freestyle experience that NCL offers.

 

Happy cruising,

 

Utas2

 

The day we ordered lobster rolls and the table next to us got served first even though they ordered after us our kids were not eating there they had already eaten at the buffet. So there was not an issue of waiting to have our entire order first before we were served because we only ordered 2 lobster rolls. Also at every restaurant we went to our children were served at least 5-10 minutes before we got our meal. I appreciated that so that the kids could start eating first and not get too antsy.

 

I don't know why we were overlooked multiple times but what I do know is it absolutely happened at least 5 times throughout the course of the cruise. Maybe it was our young children maybe it was because we look young. I don't know but it happened more then it should have.

[kimala]

I honestly don't remember the cabin steward ever replacing the pool towels. We always exchanged them at the pool on all of our NCL cruises.

 

...Just off the Getaway this morning. I specifically asked my room Stewart how the beach towel thing worked since when we checked into our cabin the first afternoon I happily saw two blue beach towels folded up in the room. He said yes, I'm to just leave the used ones on the floor and he would leave two new ones the next day...Worked like a charm!!!

 

PS: We were a couple in an inside cabin.

[HokiePoq]

I believe Royal Caribbean has or is in the process of eliminating the stupid towel check out/in process. They will be available without checking them out/in and as many as you want just like they used to be years ago. So strike one up for Royal Caribbean! Celebrity, Holland America, Disney, and the higher end lines also have an unlimited pool towel policy that requires no checking in or out. They are always just available by the pool. I wish NCL would adopt the same policy. I hate having to worry about towels when I'm relaxing around the pool deck.

 

We noticed in December that you now check out towels on HAL just the same way as NCL and RCCL. I imagine they lost too many towels in ports with people not being held accountable for bringing them back.