Getaway 2/14 - 2/21 Sailing - Western Caribbean

[garnet115]

Thrilled to read your review. We are booked in 11308 for our April 17 cruise on the Getaway and can not wait to see that suite. Did you happen to take any photos of it and, if so, can you post them?

 

Did you find the walk from the aft PH to the Haven to be long? What was the best route for you? I am thinking going up to 16 and across the upper sun deck may be easier than going forward all the way on deck 11.

 

Anxious to read the rest of your review. I am sure your daughter absolutely loved the suite and her own private bathroom!

 

Thanks,

Bobbie

 

Managed to upload a few pictures of suite 11308. Not the best quality, but will hopefully give you some idea:

 

Entrance:

 

Living Room:

 

Bedroom:

 

Master Bathroom:

 

Balcony:

[garnet115]

Day 3 – Tuesday, February 16th – Ocho Rios

Given our early excursion meeting time, we decided to once again have breakfast in the suite. Once again, breakfast was delivered hot and on time. I had french toast and dd went with eggs and bacon again. All was delicious.

 

I stood on the balcony as we pulled into port. I thought the lush, hilly greenery of Ocho Rios was very pretty, and was the most picturesque of the ports that we pulled into (although the pier itself is pretty ugly from the ship).

 

Our scheduled meeting place for our Dunns River Falls excursion was in the theater. It was fairly organized, although we sat around a bit waiting as other excursions were called. The combined tours were called before ours. once we were called, we walked down to the gangway and exited the ship. Inside the port area, we found the excursion meeting area, where we were given bracelets for our tour, and loaded into a mini bus.

 

NCL Excursion – Dunns River Falls

Our driver took us to the falls and gave us a bit of a tour along the way, pointing out various other sites to be seen. Once we got to the falls, we were given entrance wristbands, and instructed where to go to meet up with a guide. Then it was another line to rent a locker ($8, 3 of which was returned when the key was returned). More waiting with our guide until all of our group was back. Next was a long walk down to the bottom of the falls. We all stood and held hands and started the climb up to the first terrace. Rocks were slippery and I was getting more and more nervous. Once at the first “terrace” of the falls, I looked up and saw how steep and high the next stretch of the climb was. I got more and more nervous as we stood there - I have a long history of issues with heights, so I don’t know what made me think this would be a good match for me. I guess I just loved the idea of climbing a waterfall. So yes, I became THAT person - the one who became shaky and nearly hysterical at the thought of the next portion of the climb. Ultimately, one of the guides assisted dd and me in climbing back down to the beginning level so that we could head back up the stairs. If any of the kind people who offered to accompany my dd up the rest of the climb (which she declined to do) are reading this review, thanks so much for your patience and understanding. At that point, bowing my head in shame, dd and headed out to the beach area, which was lovely, and the water was very warm. After a quick dip, we began our ascent up the stairs along the side of the falls. We stopped a few times so that dd could go back in on some of the terraces and take pictures to prove she was there. Once at the top, we headed back through the park area towards the buses. In order to exit the park, you have to wind through an area of aggressive vendors trying to peddle their wares. We politely declined whenever we were stopped, and eventually found the exit, and hopped on the next tour bus back to the port.

 

Once back at the port, dd wanted to do some shopping to buy gifts for family back at home. She got a kick out of bargaining with the vendors, who would lower their prices every time she hesitated over a purchase.

 

Back on the ship, we hit the buffet for lunch. From some reason dd was craving pasta, and was happy with what she found. While there was plenty of selection at the buffet, I found little that interested me. After lunch we spent some downtime in the room, and watched sailaway from our balcony.

Le Bistro

We had a 7:30 reservation at Le Bistro. I have always heard how incredible Le Bistro is, and I was excited to finally have an opportunity to dine there with my UDP. Dd wasn’t too keen on french food and ordered off the kids menu. I had the onion soup to start, which was ok, but VERY salty. I ordered the fillet. Again, I ordered it medium. It arrived so rare, that much of it was inedible to me. I ate around the edges, and also ate the vegetables and potatoes that came with it, which were ok. Then came dessert, which is what I was REALLY excited for. I wanted that chocolate fondue, and was gleeful when it arrived at the table. I speared a banana on my fondue fork and dipped it in the chocolate. Boy was I disappointed. The quality and taste of the chocolate was not the thick creamy chocolate that I had been dreaming of. It was kind of thin and runny, and not particularly flavorful. Oh well. It was still chocolate. All in all, I left Le Bistro very unimpressed. While the ambiance is nice, you have to walk through the Ocean Place area, which is permeated with the smell of stale cigarette smoke. I knew to expect this after my Breakaway cruises, but something about walking through that and into the restaurant had a negative effect on my appetite. Dd held her nose every time we walked through that area throughout the cruise.

 

I cannot remember what else we did that night, but we didn’t have any show reservations, so nothing particularly exciting.

[Cruise-mom]

That balcony looks fab :)

[Rpeter]

Garnet,

Thanks for posting those pictures. We enjoyed them very much. Can't wait to see the suite in person.

[garnet115]

Sorry for the hiatus - life got in the way, but I am determined to finish this review!

 

Day 4 – Wednesday, February 17th – Grand Cayman

We once again started the day with breakfast in the suite. Although I had enquired about priority tendering as a Haven guest, the concierge advised that we should still meet in the theater with our scheduled tour group. Once our group was called we were taken down to the tenders and brought across to the island. There was Carnival ship anchored right next to the Getaway so there were a lot of people being shuttled ashore that morning.

 

NCL Excursion – Tiki Beach All Inclusive Beach Getaway

I was looking forward to this excursion. Although I had read some not so great reviews, I figured how bad could a beach be? Especially if it was located on Seven Mile Beach? Since we had excursion credit as part of our package, I decided to just get the all-inclusive option so that we wouldn’t have to worry about food and drinks.

 

I have to say, from the moment we stepped off the ship, this was one of the worst excursions I’ve ever been on, and not at all worth the money spent, even with my promo discount. The port area was complete chaos as people tried to find their excursions. Between the Getaway and the Carnival ship, there must have been a few hundred people just for Tiki Beach. We had to stand on line in the sun while we waited to be given wristbands, and then wait some more until we were finally taken over to shuttle buses. It was a quick ride to the beach, and my first impression of the Tiki Beach Club was a good one. I thought the facilities - bar area, restroom/changing facilities looked very nice. We were told to go pick which section of the beach we wanted to spend our time on. We found a two chairs under a tree, overlooking the beach and settled in. It was a bit of a rocky drop off down to the water, but I was at least able to watch dd from where I was sitting. As an all-inclusive guest, I did not find the service to be good at all. Drinks were not readily available, and I probably would have gotten better service and value as a beach-only customer. When they announced that the BBQ lunch was ready, hordes of people decended on the food area. We thought we would wait it out, but by the time we walked over to the area, at all looked throroughly unappetizing and they were clearly not looking to replenish what was out. Even though it was early, we decided that we would prefer to just head back to the ship. We had been told to meet in front of the club at 12:30 for our bus ride back to the tender pier. We got out there a little before noon, and were told that there were no shuttles available until 12:30. We would have gladly taken a taxi, but the beach club was out of the way and taxis were nowhere to be seen. So we waited and waited until we were eventually piled onto the bus and taken back to the pier.

 

We did a little shopping in the little booths outside the pier, where dd picked out some small souvenirs. Since it was early, we had no trouble getting back on the tender to the ship. Once on board, we headed to the Haven restaurant for lunch. We just ate burgers - nothing fancy - but they were good. We got drinks at the Haven bar, and eventually decided to go up to the Haven sundeck for sailaway. We were able to get two of those circular beach beds overlooking the water, and really enjoyed our time up there. It was then that I started to really wish that we were staying in the Haven rather than at the aft of the ship. We simply didn’t make use of the all the beautiful facilities that were available to us.

 

Teppanyaki

We had a 7pm reservation at Teppanyaki. We arrived on time and were seated promptly. Our orders were taken and we were given edamame, soup and salad. I ordered the chicken and steak combo and dd wanted the chicken yaki soba. We really enjoyed the “show” that the hibachi chef put on. It was pretty much the same as the one on the Breakaway 2 years ago, but was still fun. And the food was GOOD. This may have been my favorite dinner on board. Everything was cooked perfectly and absolutely delicious. We had the “fruit sashimi” for dessert, which was, well, it was fruit. There’s not much else to say, but the presentation was cute.

 

After dinner we walked across to Headliners for Howl at the Moon. Even though the show didn’t start for another 25 minutes, it was already getting crowded, but we found good seats. We ordered drinks, and dd started filling out slips with all of her song requests and putting them in the jars on stage. We loved Howl at the Moon on Breakaway, and the performers on Getaway did not disappoint. It remains one of my favorites. We probably stayed for about 2 hours before finally heading back to the suite and off to bed.

[garnet115]

I'm not sure that anyone is following at this point, but I finish what I start, sooooo....

 

Day 5 – Thursday, February 18th – Cozumel

So, I may have forgotten to mention that although my birthday was the month before sailing, NCL seemed to think I was celebrating on board the ship. On arrival the first day, there was a card in my room to redeem for a birthday cake at any restaurant during the cruise. (more on that later). A few days in, I received a certificate for $50 off in the spa as a birthday gift. Dd quickly convinced me to book a massage. OK, I really didn’t need a whole lot of convincing. The spa prices on board are usually very high, but with $50 off, I thought it was reasonable. I had the appointment at 7:30 am on Day 5. I figured since our port arrival wasn’t until later, that was a good time to go. At 7:15, I received a call reminding me of my appointment. I was a little annoyed because I had wanted to let dd sleep in while I was at the spa, and the phone woke her. But she did go back to sleep. The massage was very nice, but I forgot to notate “no sales” on my booking, and boy did I get a sales pitch after. When I looked at the slip of all the recommendations, the total cost of products was over $400! Yikes! Suffice it to say, I did not purchase anything. I guess that’s what you can expect for a $50 discount.

 

Dd was up by the time I got back, and I convinced her that we should go to the Haven restaurant for breakfast. It was busy, but we were seated fairly quickly. I ordered the pancakes (delicious!) and dd had waffles (she says they were delicious, too!). I enjoyed the French press coffee. We ordered dd some hot chocolate, but it wasn’t very good. It was kind of watery and not a whole lot of flavor. Oh well. Lots of other stuff to enjoy! Dd liked the cold buffet, and got a plate full of little croissants and such.

 

NCL Excursion – Fury Cataraman, Snorkel and Beach

Knowing there would be a 5 other ships in port and we were scheduled for a later arrival, I wanted to find an excursion that would limit crowding issues. When we were in Bermuda last August, we did a catamaran excursion that we loved, so the Fury Catamaran, Snorkel and Beach excursion seemed like the perfect solution.

 

This excursion met on the pier, so no need to head to the theater for this one. We did use the concierge for priority disembarkation in port, but it was entirely unnecessary. The time we spent waiting to be taken down to the gangway, we probably could have taken ourselves. Oh well - I guess that I was feeling a little to desperate to get my money’s worth out of the Haven experience.

 

Once on the pier, we found our meeting group, which was clearly marked with a sign. We were taken to the Catamaran. We had a fantastic time. The weather was great, and the excursion was well run and lots of fun. When we first boarded the Catamaran, they had a photographer taking group pictures. Everyone was handed a mask, snorkel, fins and a vest, and we were told to sit inside for the safety briefing, where they explained how to use the equipment and the general itinerary/rules for the day. Dd decided that she didn’t want to snorkel. Apparently she has a fish phobia. So we stayed on the catamaran while others snorkeled for approx 45 min. The snorkel group was very well organized, and other guests seemed to think that the crew did a great job looking out for everyone. Once everyone was back on board, the bar was opened, and complimentary drinks (margaritas, beer and soda) were passed around. After snorkeling, we headed out to “Fury Beach.” The beach was very nice with plenty of loungers available, and dd LOVED every minute spent on the inflatables (slides, trampolines, etc.). We did not go looking for food, which was available for purchase, as dd wanted as much time as possible in the water. Approximately 90 minutes later, we re-boarded the catamaran and were headed back to the pier. The bar once again opened, and the started a dance party up on deck. It was a really fun and festive atmosphere. The photographer had developed the photos that were taken on boarding and ours turned out pretty nice. I was happy to buy it for $12. The crew made a pitch for tips, and I was more than happy to tip on my way off the boat since that had done such a great job.

 

La Cucina

Knowing that we would be leaving port late, I made a 8pm reservation at La Cucina for dinner. We were starving, so headed down a little early and we were seated promptly. I ordered the asparagus risotto appetizer and the shrimp scampi entree. Both were very good. Dd had the rigatoni and meatball entree, which she said was ok. For dessert I ordered the tiramisu, which was excellent but enormous, and I couldn’t eat half of it. Dd had the chocolate torte, which was good, but way too rich for more than a few bites.

 

After dinner we walked around a bit, checking out the shops and photos. We were tired after another day in the sun, so went back to the room for bed on the early side knowing that we had a fun day planned for Costa Maya.

[retire2cruise55]

Following. Going on the ship 5/29 so this is very helpful. Thank you.

[timetaffy89]

I'm following :) we're doing our first Western cruise in Nov. also on the haven. So I'm loving this!

[Cruise-mom]

Still following and enjoying :)

[DiamondGirl83]

I'm following! Did the Getaway in January and hanging onto my memories by reading other reviews!

[daisyh]

Can't wait to hear about Costa Maya. We can't decide what to do there in June.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[jewliana]

Great Review!!! We are doing the Haven on the Getaway in just a few weeks so I am really enjoying your thoughts on everything.

[smg873]

Thrilled to read your review. We are booked in 11308 for our April 17 cruise on the Getaway and can not wait to see that suite. Did you happen to take any photos of it and, if so, can you post them?

 

Did you find the walk from the aft PH to the Haven to be long? What was the best route for you? I am thinking going up to 16 and across the upper sun deck may be easier than going forward all the way on deck 11.

 

Anxious to read the rest of your review. I am sure your daughter absolutely loved the suite and her own private bathroom!

 

Thanks,

Bobbie

 

We'll almost be neighbors - my two daughters and I are in 11908 on the 4/17 cruise!

[garnet115]

Sorry this is taking me so long, but I'm still determined to finish my review, even if it's long overdue:

Day 6 – Friday, February 19th – Costa Maya

Since we had a fairly early port arrival and needed to meet our excursion outside of the port area by 9 am, we once again had breakfast delivered to the suite. That is never a bad decision! I was really looking forward to this port day. As I said at the beginning of my review, when we were notified of this itinerary change I did my research and decided that Maya Chan was the place for me. Limited crowds, free flowing drinks and food, private palapa . . . just about every review that I read used the word “pampered” and I was ready for some pampering!

 

When I stepped out on the balcony to get an idea of the port layout, I could not believe how LONG the pier was. I saw that there were trams running from the ship to the port area, but there were only one or two out there. Dd and I headed down around 8:30 and disembarked. There was no tram in sight, so we decided to make the long walk to the port area. As a New Yorker who has to walk many city blocks on a daily basis, the walk really shouldn’t have bothered me, but I was schlepping all of our beach gear in tote bag and it was warm out, so it felt long. Or I’m just whiny and lazy. Anyway, dd was very paranoid about mosquitos because of all the Zika virus hoopla, so she insisted that we had to stop at the port to buy bug spray. Mind you, I had already brought bug spray from home, but she wanted different bug spray. OK. We found a little drug store and bought bug spray for about $11 USD. Woah! That is a LOT of money for insect repellent. Feeling protected from the mosquitos that might descend upon us, we continued through the port area, looking for an exit that would take us to the meeting area for our excursion pick up. The port is very nice - lots of shops, a huge swimming pool, colorfully decorated. They’ve clearly put a lot of thought and money into developing in. The one thing that I had trouble finding was the exit. We wandered in circles growing more and more frustrated until we finally found our way out. Once outside, the meeting place was easy to locate.

 

Private Excursion – Maya Chan Resort

Once at the meeting spot, our host from Maya Chan was easily identifiable and very organized. She got everyone into cabs for the ride to the resort. The ride was a little bumpy and took about 20 minutes. We drove through some pretty poor looking areas, so I was glad we had our little oasis reserved. Upon pulling up to the resort we were greeted and shown to our palapa. Wow! It had a beach bed, two wooden lounge chairs, a small table and a hammock. I went straight for the beach bed, while dd promptly claimed the hammock as her own. We were given a bowl with house made chips, salsa and guacamole and were asked what we wanted to drink. The drinks were good and kept coming whenever we wanted them throughout the day.

 

The facilities at Maya Chan are quite nice - locker area, changing rooms, rest rooms, bar area, plenty of inflatable chairs to take into the water, as well as kayaks. While there was clearly sea grass, it had been raked on the beach, leaving most of the area clean and pleasant. If you ask dd, she will say that her favorite day of the trip was the catamaran/beach in Cozumel, but mine was Costa Maya. It was such a relaxing environment and service was great. They kept our glasses full, and the food was good and plentiful. Lunch was served buffet style and was various meats, tortillas and rice and beans. It was delicious. It was a perfect day and we were sad to leave.

 

Once back at the port, dd did some quick souvenier shopping for family back home, and we headed back to the ship.

 

This was the one night of the trip that I did not schedule dinner. Instead headed to one of the smaller MDRs for dinner, and dd insisted that I hand over that certificate for a free birthday cake. Dinner was ok. Service was extremely slow. I had a rissotto appetizer that was similar to the one I had at La Cucina and was good, but I was underwhelmed by the beef wellington that I had as the main entree. Much to dds delight, the waitstaff arrived with a cake and lots of singing after the dishes were cleared. Comically, they mixed up my name when singing happy birthday (the two waitresses each sang a different name), which made everyone in the immediate vicinity laugh. The cake was ok, but seemed a little stale. Perhaps it would have been better to cash in the coupon earlier in the week.

 

Legally Blonde

7:30 pm show.

I had heard mixed things about this show, but having seen both the movie and the Broadway production, I was pretty sure I knew what I was getting into. The show was cute. Definitely a cut above usual cruise ship fare, but I didn’t think it was as well produced as Rock of Ages on the Breakaway. We enjoyed it and it had some bright moments. Dd enjoyed taking photos with some of the performers after the show.

[retire2cruise55]

Still following. Thank you!

[Cruise-mom]

Thanks for the update.

 

Did you request the birthday cake certificate? It's my daughter's birthday in the middle of our cruise and I would love a little fuss like this made over her. They have her date of birth so is it something they automatically do, give a birthday coupon?

[garnet115]

Thanks for the update.

 

 

 

Did you request the birthday cake certificate? It's my daughter's birthday in the middle of our cruise and I would love a little fuss like this made over her. They have her date of birth so is it something they automatically do, give a birthday coupon?

 

 

I don't recall telling them, but I think when you make the reservation you can indicate that you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary. Either call NCL to have them note it on your account, or ask your TA to do it for you.

[Cruise-mom]

I don't recall telling them, but I think when you make the reservation you can indicate that you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary. Either call NCL to have them note it on your account, or ask your TA to do it for you.

 

Thank you :)

[garnet115]

Day 7 – Saturday, February 20th – at Sea

Our last day on board - we were starting to feel sad that the trip was almost over. Rather than stay in the room, we went to the Haven for breakfast - delicious with the usual great service. DD decided that she wanted to head back to the outdoor activities, and headed over the ropes course. Due to wind, part of the course was closed - including the plank - but she still had a good time. Then she got on line for the bungee trampoline. A long, slow moving line. Even though it was only 11:30 and the trampoline was open until 12, she was one of the last kids that they let on the line because they needed to close promptly at 12. Apparently the people staffing the trampoline were the same people who staff the rock wall, and as a result both activities were not open at the same time. I have to say, the trampoline had very limited hours, just a few hours in the morning and late afternoon/evening (who is going to the bungee trampoline at 6pm? Most people are getting ready for or at dinner at that time). Very poor planning on NCL’s part, and one of the few times that I felt cost cutting got in the way of the customer experience.

 

We decided to have lunch at O’Sheehan’s. Service was slow, but friendly. The burgers were good. After lunch, dd went back to the suite to relax. I went up to the Haven to listen to the concierge’s talk about suite disembarkation procedures. We didn’t want to self-assist with our luggage, but had an early flight (12:30) the next day, so I wanted to get off the ship early. John suggested that we be in the Haven around 8:30 am for escorted disembarkation. After that, dd and I headed down to the atrium to do online check-in and print boarding passes for our flight the next day. I also took that opportunity to head over to the cruise consultant’s desk and purchase two CruiseNext certificates. I was very happy that they had ship pins in stock as well, as dd collects pins. I had inquired at guest services earlier in the week and they had none. I had also asked the concierge, who promised that he would try to get one for dd, but somehow that never materialized. I had pretty much given up, but was glad to snag them at the last minute. So if you are looking for ship pins, which apparently don’t get left in cabins anymore, head over the cruise consultant’s desk.

 

Cagney’s

We had a 7:30 reservation at Cagney’s, but I moved it to 7pm without a problem. We arrived a few minutes early and we were seated promptly. I finally convinced dd to eat real, adult food rather than order off the kids menu. I had the crab cake appetizer, the petite fillet, zucchini and potatoes au gratin. Dd didn’t want an appetizer. She just had the petite fillet and plain french fries (no truffle). We were pretty full, but still found room for dessert. I had the raspberry creme brulee, which was light and delicious. Dd ordered the seven layer cake, and received a piece of cake as big as her head. It was rich and delicious.

 

We decided to spend our last evening at our favorite on ship entertainment: Howl at the Moon. We got there fairly early and grabbed seats up front. Dd happily filled out several slips of paper with her song requests. The show was fun, and we headed back to our final night in the suite around 11 pm.

Post Cruise - Sunday February 21st and Monday, February 22nd

 

So….here is where things got interesting. Around 4 am I woke up feeling very nauseated. At first, I thought it was sea sickness because there was a lot of movement on the ship. However, as time wore on, I felt worse and worse, and by 6 am was violently ill. Let me tell you, I was very grateful that we had two bathrooms so that I could do what I needed without disturbing dd and without being in her way. However, as it got closer to breakfast/disembarkation time, I was getting very concerned - I was still very sick and I didn’t know how I was going to drag myself off the ship, let alone onto a plane for several hours. The butler showed up with our ordered room service breakfast, but I had him take mine back and just leave food for dd.

 

Decision time - still ill, I called the airline to switch my flight to Monday. That meant I would miss another day of work and dd would miss a day of school, but I didn’t see any way around it. Suffice it to say, between change fees and paying for the fare difference, it cost me a small fortune. Then there was the issue of a last minute hotel. I didn’t want to wait for a 3pm check in. I called the Hotels.com 800 number and got some of the best customer service ever. After explaining my situation, the CSR took pity on me and called around until she found an airport hotel (the Crowne Plaza Miami Airport) that would guarantee me not just early, but immediate check in. Then it was just a matter of getting off the ship and to the hotel. Luckily, I managed to get to the Haven and off the ship. Thankfully, our suitcase was easily located near the terminal exit, and we were able to get out fairly quickly. We got a cab without any problem and checked into our hotel around 10:15 am. The hotel wasn’t glamorous, but it served our needs for the day: beds, bathroom, and room service. I crawled into bed and let dd order room service for lunch and dinner. I survived on ginger ale and toast until Monday morning. I felt MUCH better the next morning. I am left wondering if it was food poisoning rather than some kind of stomach bug, since it hit so quickly and horribly, but cured within 24+ hours. We went down to the breakfast buffet Monday morning, which was nothing special and a bit of a rip off - especially since I was afraid to eat much. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport. Again, no issue with security, and before we knew it we were on our way. Between the plane and traffic from JFK to manhattan, we didn’t get home until around 6pm. I’ve never been so happy to get home after a vacation.

 

So all in all, we had a lovely time on the Getaway, but it was not our best vacation ever (for reasons having nothing to do with NCL or the ship). Now I just need to plan when/where to use those CruiseNext certificates that I purchased... :D

 

Thanks for bearing with me. Sorry it’s taken me so long to finish up. I’m happy to answer any questions.

[Cruise-mom]

Sorry to hear you were unwell, that's awful and then having to re-arrange flights & hotels. Lucky your dd was fine. Thanks for finishing, I enjoyed following your review.

[tampadee]

Sorry for your illness at the end of the cruise. I really enjoyed your review. Thanks!

[garnet115]

Sorry to hear you were unwell, that's awful and then having to re-arrange flights & hotels. Lucky your dd was fine. Thanks for finishing, I enjoyed following your review.

 

Sorry for your illness at the end of the cruise. I really enjoyed your review. Thanks!

 

 

Thanks, yes, I was quite relieved that dd didn't get sick. It's part of why i think possible food poisoning - that she didn't get sick when we were in such close quarters suggests to me that it wasn't viral.

[tinkr2]

Wow t seems like you had a horrible time. I hope I have a much better time .