Getaway Review - 9:12-19

[HabsFan23]

I already wrote up some comments while I was on the ship but I thought I'd sum up my thoughts.

 

About us: my husband (33) and I (38) have cruised on RCI 6 times. On Freedom and Oasis class, mostly and last year we were on the Allure with our 2.5 yo son. We had a blast but RCI priced itself out of our price range. We travel on land and to Europe and RCI's prices was eating up our "cruise" vacation cash so we decided to switch it up.

 

The first thing that I liked about the ship is that we got upgraded to a bigger room. We had a huge washroom (room 5142) and we had brought a set up of hooks for a divided for the little one but the room came with a velvet room divided that was simply perfect. Also the biggest washroom I've ever seen on a boat with a full BATH!

 

The embarkation seemed hectic to me. We waited in line to check in, then another line to access the waiting room then about 45 minutes in a hot waiting room. Never experienced this on Royal.

 

As I mentioned in other posts, we rushed to the pool to find the kiddy slides roped off. Oh no. Then check the height for the bigger slides: my kid is too small. The kid area is the Sponge Bob area which has about an inch of water on the ground(enough to make it slippery) and a small 6 inch pool in the middle often filled with parents playing with kids. My kid went in there for the 1st two days then didn't want to go back calling it boring. He adores slides so it seems trying this ship in a couple of years might have been a better fit.

 

I looked for an indoor playroom and found it: the Guppys room. Hilariously (not really) it's the size of a small cabin and has 15 trucks and cars on the ground and that's it. Just a small window on the top. Not a place meant to be played in. My kid goes to daycare all year long so I was hoping to keep him with us but I had to resigned myself to put him in camp at least for the morning: he liked it. Although he told me he got locked in the washroom by accident but "someone found him". He didn't seem too stressed about it, though.

 

Now the service is where things really go downhill for me. Everyone (except in pay restaurants) look miserable! The bartenders don't say Hello they just say Yes? And that's if you stand long enough to get noticed. If you are young enough so that it's clear you only want pop, forget about it. The key for drinks is to strategize what bar you will go at, and will it be empty.

 

I play alot at the casino and didn't see waiters for the longest time. They just walk around without asking anyone if they want drinks. You have to flag them down. A few times I was given the "ill be back" finger and they never did. A couple of times they took my order and never brought it. The key is to find one and overtip, I think. I did this and after that the same guy was at my elbow every 20 minutes. Is it right? No. But it's what it is.

 

We ate at Cagneys (paid for a whole lobster but only got the tail, someone braver than us must have complained because they removed the 10$ charge after 3 days - got caught there, NCL!). The food was okay.

 

Cucina was quite good. Sushi was excellent, ate there 5 times after regular suppers (we eat at 5.30pm because of son so around 9pm I'm peckish!).

 

The bistro was also very good. The MDR we only went twice it was okay. Very small portions. The garlic shrpimp is 6 shrimps, a piece of broccolli and a small scoop of rice.

 

We saw our room attendant 2 times. He didn't do the room for the last 3 days. He said we were in the room too much (with the kid napping and such). He told us to call housekeeping when we were ready. We tried but got voicemail 2 times so gave up. One morning we left all morning and he never came so whatever there buddy.

 

We did the excursion at Maghen Beach. it was awesome! So much better than the Orien Beach. No vendors bugging you and the sand and water were simply gorgeous. The usual drunkos in the open bus back and the driver tried to get us to stop at different spots to "shop". It was obnoxious but this seems to be par for the course.

 

Re-reading this, it sounds very negative. We had an okay time. Obviously not going to re-do NCL again. Might try Disney but wait for 2 years. Maybe do an AI next year.

 

Oh and the late departure on the first day was do to a broken "azimut" (doesnt sound right) that had broken a few months ago and they just got the part that day. So sayeth my MIL who attended the Q&A with the staff.

Edited September 20, 2015 by HabsFan23

[buchman67]

I too was on this ship. It's amazing how different my experience was. It was my first time with NCL and I absolutely loved it. Everyone on staff was always saying good morning ect...

 

I was not traveling with kids so I can't comment on those services. My room steward was fabulous and I learned quickly about making sure the "make up room" light was on whenever I left. He soon learned my habits.

 

As to the food portion in the MDR all you need to do is ask for more. They serve many courses and want to avoid wasting food but our waitress was very happy to bring more of anything.

 

I'm not trying to rebut your review, however, I just wanted to show a different view.

 

Cheers

 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[bradleyk]

We sail October 17th, so I thank you both for your reviews

[Nola26]

Sorry NCL isnt' for you. We had a wonderful time a couple of weeks prior on the Getaway.

 

The staff really stood out as pleasant and cheerful and our steward was very attentive. My nephew spent time in the room finishing up some summer work for school and our steward even bought him a couple of treats that weren't requested.

 

The kids club experience may change as the child ages. Lots of happy comments on the kids club and my nephew couldn't wait to get to the teen club daily.

 

I had good beverage service experience in the casino. I did two things that helped. As you mentioned I asked for service, didn't wait for them. If I wanted a drink and no server in sight I asked the slot attendant and they had someone there pretty quickly.

 

Hopefully you'll feel at home again on RC.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Nola26

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your review.

 

Keith

[Baz23]

Great review OP.

 

Thanks a lot, always good to see people contributing to the forums with their experiences :) it's all about sharing

[debenson0723]

I too was on this sailing (without kids) and my experience was more like Buchman67s. Room steward was not as friendly as some but as long as I used my DND and Make Up room lights, it was always cleaned when I needed (and I spent more time in my room this cruise than usual).

 

Having never eaten in the specialties before, I thought both Le Bistro and Teppanyaki were excellent (and tons of food in Teppanyaki). I always asked for extra shrimp in the the dishes that featured them and was given some, no problem. I thought the food and service in the MDR this trip was better than before...my only complaint was the breakfast service in Savor was not up to par and I let the Hotel Manager know. Stop by guest services and complete a comment card anytime; your comment will be acknowledged.

 

Not sure what time you embarked but we breezed thru security, check-in and spent about 45 minutes waiting to board...did not notice that the room was hot while we were there. Try doing a Carnival embarkation in NYC...that was one long wait :(

 

My only disappointment for the week was the Plank camera not working on the ropes course. My son did it multiple times and never got a shot 15 stories above the ocean but I did get a photo of him on it. I hope they get it fixed soon because the photo is a great souvenir of the experience.

 

Thanks for your review, HabsFan23 and I hope you find a cruise that your whole family can enjoy. I have been on Disney and RCL and cannot justify the fares that they charge any more (especially Disney...almost 3 times what I paid for 2 studios on NCL).

[JayBaby444]

I too was on this ship. It's amazing how different my experience was. It was my first time with NCL and I absolutely loved it. Everyone on staff was always saying good morning ect...

 

I was not traveling with kids so I can't comment on those services. My room steward was fabulous and I learned quickly about making sure the "make up room" light was on whenever I left. He soon learned my habits.

 

As to the food portion in the MDR all you need to do is ask for more. They serve many courses and want to avoid wasting food but our waitress was very happy to bring more of anything.

 

I'm not trying to rebut your review, however, I just wanted to show a different view.

 

Cheers

 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

I was on the same cruise and not traveling with children. My room steward always said hello to me and called me by name, he also made me towel animals. I usually ate at the buffet, and one time a server came to me and noticed that I did not have anything to drink and he brought me an iced tea. I always saw the cruise staff smiling and singing, singing all the time! This was my first cruise since 1997 and I had a wonderful relaxing time.

[daisyduck01]

I too was on this ship as solo traveller.

I can only confirm, that my stateroom was very well taken care of, the steward was very friendly and always called me by name and cleaned the room twice a day.

 

All the restaurants I tried were very good. I was very happy that the portions were not that big, wich allowed me to try different plates and several courses.

Service all over was excellent! I was impressed by the quality of the entertainment as well.

This cruise was my first NCL experience but surely not my last one.

[Kittenshadow]

This was my fifth time on the Getaway, so.... My experience was great service, great food, great fellow passengers. I REALLY enjoyed this cruise it was awesome and the best of my five trips on the GA.