Honest Review - Getaway March 21-28

[floridagurrl123]

Hi Everyone,

 

I know this review will seem "fishy" as it's my first post. However, I've posted in the past (Epic two years ago, RCCL EOS several years ago). I know some people will be skeptical; however, I wanted to provide those who are willing to listen to an honest, and at times, not so glowing review.

 

Firstly, we were a party of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids - 2 inside cabins). We did not stay in Haven nor in a Suite. So if that's the review you're looking for, please go ahead and abort mission now. I have to say, I felt like I was a third class passenger due to this distinction. As a teacher, it's all I could afford, but such is life. Even just the name "Haven" is such a turn-off, I guess it's a haven from the rest of us "riff-raff".

 

I'll start with my biggest issue: The food. We live in Miami, so getting to the port and onto the ship went smoothly with no hiccups. Once on the ship we ate in Tropicana. Let's talk about the food overall. Due to the UDP, we could never get a reservation for a specialty restaurant. We ate in Tropicana every night. Here goes, the food is not good. I'm just being honest. Coming from Miami with a multi-cultural and diverse opportunity to consume many different foods, I would say I have an advanced palate and being quite a good cook myself, I was disappointed. Either every thing is overly salted or not quiet what it is described as. For example, gnocchi with short ribs was what appeared to be two pressed together slices of "beef"...think Spam. The french onion soup was probably the worst I've ever had. I had one sip and sent it back. The cheese is stuck to the bread and floating in the broth. Some nights it took 45 minutes just to get drinks. We spoke with the head waiter several nights with no improvement. Some of the servers could not speak English well enough for us to communicate. There was one night we ordered two orders of an appetizer and only one came out and it was cold. Actually, I don't think I ate one warm/hot meal for dinner on the whole cruise. I definitely think they are understaffed. I understand the dinner in the buffet was really good, however, we were dressed nicely and didn't want to "buffet" it.

 

The entertainment is very good, Burn the Floor was enjoyed by all. The slides were great and the kids loved the rope course. This is where NCL shines.

 

The kids pool was closed due to a child vomiting in it and therefore, the adult pool became the kids pool. No bueno. The very next day it reopened. The following day the Sponge Bob area was closed due to a leaking diaper. Lovely.

 

Cabin - as I said this is not a Haven review. We had two inside connecting. Three nights straight our cabin was not cleaned until after 7:00 PM. Yes, PM! We had towel animals twice.

 

There is a gratuity added to the bill for each drink and 18% is added to the specialty restaurants. I saw that in the Dailies.

 

Service - the service is mediocre, at best. The gratuity is built in and there is nothing for them to work for. I noticed a huge difference between now and the Epic. No one knew my name or cared to know it.

 

O'Sheehans - service is atrocious!!! Wings came out quickly. Sat with two empty beers waiting on the burger and dessert for 30 minutes. We got in the habit of ordering dessert with dinner because of the service. When we got up to leave he was finally bringing the burger. We told him to have it. I don't blame the server, I think this ship is understaffed for the amount of people.

 

Splash Academy was like kiddie-crack. They loved it. It's free until 10:30 and then $6.00 an hour until 1:30.

 

Pool / Chairs - The pool is the teeniest, tiniest thing I've ever seen. The adult pool was monitored on two days, but for the rest of the cruise it was a free for all with all ages and sizes. Get up early to get a chair, because they are few and far between. Good Luck.

 

The cruise director... Where is waldo should be his name. I saw him on the last sea day only. I could barely understand his French/Italian. It was that bad.

 

What I walked away with... there are two ships on this ship. The Haven and the "rest of us". It was evident. Felt much like the class distinction of the Titanic, without the sinking.

 

Oh, speaking of sinking. For those of you who want to know if this "ship moves". Oh baby does it!! We were rocking and rolling. Be prepared to take whatever it is you need to stand still. During the Glow Party people were falling over due to the motion (not UBP) of the ship. This was felt all over the ship during the entire cruise.

 

Well, I know I didn't load pictures, but I wanted to get this quickly out. I know some of you will call "BS" because this is my first post but this is an honest review. I will not go back on this particular ship. I actually thought NCL - Sky had much better food. I will sail NCL again, just not this ship. I think it has server / staff issues that need to be worked out. And they need to hire about 500 more people.

 

That's all folks.

Edited March 30, 2015 by floridagurrl123

[nickgraz95]

The ship moves? Remarkable, I figured they would be able to engineer a boat that can stay perfectly still in a constantly moving/rocking ocean. Definitely their fault

[Shawnino]

Thanks for an even-handed review.

Hope you're wearing a flame-retardant suit.

[david_sobe]

No need to apologize for writing a review. Gosh I hope this place has not gotten that bad. Your review is not a hit job and your perspective comes through. Its great to read all reviews. You should not have to preface your review with the word "honest."

I was just on Getaway one month prior to you. We usually eat at specialty restaurants every night. But this time we went back to the MDR and thought the food was fine. I had the onion soup at Taste and it was not too bad. It was far from the best I ever had but definitely an above average cup of soup.

Just shows how everyone has a different experience.

We could have been lucky but we had great service almost everywhere. O'Sheehans is always slow no matter what ship you are on. I did not eat at the Tropacana room but so many negative reviews there about the service. The place is packed so we stayed away.

 

Welcome home and thanks for the review.

[Arizona Packer Backer]

Thanks for your review! And I agree, you shouldn't have to apologize or defend your opinions.

 

I also hear you about the difference for suite guests. We've cruised twice in a suite now on NCL, and it's basically the suite perks that make it worth it to us. So, I understand what you're saying. There's a disparity, and yes, we do pay a lot more to be in a suite, but that doesn't mean someone in an inside cabin shouldn't have a nice vacation, too!

 

As for the service, maybe they're cutting back staff on all ships? The Star was recently very understaffed, too.

 

Makes you wonder - just what IS Del Rio planning to do with the extra $50 he gets from each passenger? :rolleyes:

[flipper32]

I was on getaway the first week of February and feel like I was on a different ship. I have been on getaway or breakaway 3 times in last 14 months and never stayed in the Haven nor did I feel like I was a second class citizen. I did not have any problem with the food in the MDR at all. Is it as good as a fine NYC resteraunt of course not. Fine dinning doesn't serve thousands every night. But I thought the food was pretty good, although the onion soup is a joke. The ship feels like it moves more than a smaller ship because it's much higher. Obviously the higher up you are the more motion you feel.

[hypercafe]

We were on the Breakaway and it was about the same. I would never go on this class ship again.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[luvcruzing]

The ship moves? Remarkable, I figured they would be able to engineer a boat that can stay perfectly still in a constantly moving/rocking ocean. Definitely their fault

 

This snarky response was totally unnecessary.

[jkneern]

Thanks for the review!! We just did BA so understand what you are saying. We had UDP so we enjoyed dinner. Others we met said the MDR food was awful. Pools way to small, no seating etc. personally these two ships would be much better with 1500 less passangers. No more big ships for us.

[Medtech2]

I don't have an issue with your review, after all it is your opinion. I do have a question as to how you can say you were a third class passenger as opposed to the Haven if you have never been in the Haven?

 

Also you say this is your first post but that you also posted in the past about Epic and RCL? What happened to your log on? Not getting this at all...

Edited March 31, 2015 by Medtech2

[floridagurrl123]

I guess I felt the need to preface it is "Honest" because there are so many people on here who feel a bad review is dishonest. I've read many reviews where some posters have called "BS" or wanted proof in the form of receipts. There is a genuine atmosphere of disbelief until proven. But, you're right I shouldn't have to say "Honest".

 

It's my review, my experience, on that ship, during that week. Many may disagree because their experience is different, not wrong, different. I'm only providing my perspective. It doesn't mean, nor do I speak about any other week. It could very well be possible that the MDR food was better/worse the week prior or the week after. It is my attempt to let other cruisers know that they may want to play ahead, that perhaps the MDR could be hit or miss. Also, future cruisers may want to make their reservations prior to being on the ship for the specialty restaurants. I definitely should have done this, but did not know if I would feel for Italian on Monday or French on Tuesday. I waited and didn't take into account the UDP. A critical error. Just recently a thread appeared asking if the specialty restaurants were difficult to get into because of the UDP, my review answers that question with a resounding yes.

 

Regarding the confusion about this being my first post, I have posted before. I posted an Epic 2011 review and a Sky review. However, I can't remember my screen name and my email has since changed. I'm not an active user because quite frankly I don't cruise enough to feel that I am so entitled nor can I speak and answer the many questions others may ask.

 

Also, regarding my comment about the ship's movement, I remember seeing questions about the movement of the ship. I was answering that question with my review.

 

I'm happy to answer questions, however, I will not debate the authenticity of my review/stay on the Getaway.

 

Edited to add: For those who appreciated my review. Thank you. I certainly appreciated others in my preparation for this cruise. For those who could/did commiserate with me regarding the size to staff ratio - thank you.

Regarding the Haven comment, I can compare both because of the many Haven reviews/pictures that have been so generously posted on this sight.

Edited March 31, 2015 by floridagurrl123

[david_sobe]

I guess I felt the need to preface it is "Honest" because there are so many people on here who feel a bad review is dishonest. I've read many reviews where some posters have called "BS" or wanted proof in the form of receipts. There is a genuine atmosphere of disbelief until proven. But, you're right I shouldn't have to say "Honest".

 

It's my review, my experience, on that ship, during that week. Many may disagree because their experience is different, not wrong, different. I'm only providing my perspective. It doesn't mean, nor do I speak about any other week. It could very well be possible that the MDR food was better/worse the week prior or the week after. It is my attempt to let other cruisers know that they may want to play ahead, that perhaps the MDR could be hit or miss. Also, future cruisers may want to make their reservations prior to being on the ship for the specialty restaurants. I definitely should have done this, but did not know if I would feel for Italian on Monday or French on Tuesday. I waited and didn't take into account the UDP. A critical error. Just recently a thread appeared asking if the specialty restaurants were difficult to get into because of the UDP, my review answers that question with a resounding yes.

 

Regarding the confusion about this being my first post, I have posted before. I posted an Epic 2011 review and a Sky review. However, I can't remember my screen name and my email has since changed. I'm not an active user because quite frankly I don't cruise enough to feel that I am so entitled nor can I speak and answer the many questions others may ask.

 

Also, regarding my comment about the ship's movement, I remember seeing questions about the movement of the ship. I was answering that question with my review.

 

I'm happy to answer questions, however, I will not debate the authenticity of my review/stay on the Getaway.

 

Edited to add: For those who appreciated my review. Thank you. I certainly appreciated others in my preparation for this cruise. For those who could/did commiserate with me regarding the size to staff ratio - thank you.

Regarding the Haven comment, I can compare both because of the many Haven reviews/pictures that have been so generously posted on this sight.

Even those who raved about the Getaway also have noted the shortage of staff in the restaurants and bars especially. I first noticed this back in 2013 on Epic.

[rankanplan]

New cruiser here. I searched for the meaning of UDP acronym but cannot find it. What is UDP? I found MDR = Main Dining Room.

[Disneycruisers]

New cruiser here. I searched for the meaning of UDP acronym but cannot find it. What is UDP? I found MDR = Main Dining Room.

 

unlimited dining plan....basically you can dine in any and all of the up charge dining places for a set fee.