Got away on the Getaway - Got any questions??

[bostongal965]

We were on the Getaway February 14 - 21st - it was a great cruise! My husband and I, both 50, and my daughter and her boyfriend, 27 & 31 respectively. This was my husband and I's 6 cruise on NCL, 7th overall, and my daughter's 2nd, both NCL. It was her boyfriend's 1st cruise.

 

We were each in oceanview rooms on deck 5. We were towards the aft and each on opposite sides of the ship. We all booked when the UBP required an oceanview, and was completely free. In the year between booking and sailing, our cruise went through a number of changes. Some were good (Shanghai Noodle becoming complementary), some were not so good (room service charge, DSC - we prepaid, but my daughter didn't, no more fireworks, changes to the specialty restaurants, etc), and some were neutral (Costa Maya instead of GSC). Although I knew I was going to have a great time once I got on the ship, I was often feeling dismayed in the time between booking and sailing. Despite that, the cruise was wonderful, as I knew it would be.

 

The ship: The Getaway is a ship that I wanted to sail the minute I heard about her! Our previous NCL ships were the Sun, Sky, and Dawn. I loved some of the innovations for the Breakaway when it was announced, but I figured the chance of sailing out of New York was pretty slim (despite my name, I live in Atlanta). The Getaway had all of that plus the Miami theme (which I love). She did not disappoint! I loved the Waterfront; I loved the decor; I loved the entertainment. My only complaint (and it's been noted by others), is the cigarette smell from the casino - it permeated the 6/7/8 area by Le Bistro. The pool area was very busy and crowded on the seas days, but it seemed pretty similar to what I experienced on the Sun, Sky, and Dawn. One thing I saw that I really appreciated was that they really enforced the "adults only" pool and hot tubs on the main pool deck.

 

The room: this was our first oceanview (we've sailed aft, side, and front balconies on the Sun & Dawn as well as an inside on the Sky and RCCL). It was surprisingly nice to have that window! The decor was lovely, and the bathroom was one of the best we've had. There was plenty of storage space and outlets for us. My only complaint is that without a chair or couch, there wasn't really anywhere to sit other than the bed or places to put clothes and whatnot.

 

The shows: We saw the free shows, Burn the Floor and Legally Blonde, and really enjoyed both. We reserved Legally Blonde, but were able to walk in to Burn the Floor. Comparing the level of talent from our most recent trip on the Sun to these shows is like the difference between a high school musical and off-broadway. The talent level was much, much higher. We also saw one of the comedians (late show standby, no problem getting in), and he was funny. We also went to the Howl at the Moon show twice; it was a lot of fun. We went early, and had no trouble getting a seat, but we heard from others that it was hard to get into later on.

 

The food: My husband and I really felt like NCL stepped up their game. We only ate in the complementary venues (all of the specialty dining changes really left a bad taste in my mouth - pun not intended). We are four times in O'Sheehans: prime rib dinner, burgers for lunch, fish and chips (DH) and a Nathan's hot dog (me) for lunch, and disembarkation breakfast. It was all very good. We ate dinner in the Tropicana room three times - I had a terrific skirt steak one night and beef Wellington another that were really good. We never had a wait to be seated, even without making reservations. We had lunch in Savor twice - the grouper sandwich is AMAZING! We also ate most breakfasts and one lunch in the Flamingo Grill - I loved it. Finally, we ate one night in the Shanghai noodle Bar. While the food was good, this was our one misstep - we were given a pager and told it would be an hour. So, we went to O'Sheehan's to get a drink and some wings. No sooner had we sat down and ordered, then buzzer went off - it was ten minutes tops! The hostess was a little rude about how the hour was "just an estimate" to which I replied, "I understand, but there's a big difference between an hour and only ten minutes." It was still delicious!

 

The spa: I did splurge for the spa pass for myself (purchased online to save $20). I rationalized that I would rather have a week's access to all that fun than a single service for the same money. The only days it was really busy were the first sea day and the Costa Maya afternoon. I did see people saving the tile loungers with towels, but I also saw three ladies request an attendant to remove them from some that had been sitting empty for quite some time, and she did. The people who "reserved" them were a little surprised to come back 20 minutes later and find their towels elsewhere. The thalassotherapy pool has a lot of different massagers - took me a couple days to figure them all out. The salt room was interesting - it was warm, not sauna warm, but not cool either. The tile bench in there was heated, too. I'm not sure what, if anything, it did, but it was a pleasant place to sit for awhile.

 

The ports: Jamaica - we got off, shopped in the port for a little while, and then went back to the ship. Originally we thought to go to Dunn's River Falls, but I watched some videos on You tube, and it didn't look like that much fun (not for me anyway). Grand Cayman - we rented a cabana at the Royal Palm. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful beach. Cozumel - we stayed on the ship, but my daughter and her boyfriend did the ship's excursion to Tulum - they really enjoyed it. Costa Maya - we took the cab into Mahahual and hung out on the beach drinking $3 Dos Equis.

 

Final thoughts: While we were in Cozumel, we tried the ropes course and the water slides. The drop water slide was awesome. The ropes course was fun, and just when I thought I had gathered up enough courage to do the plank, I relized I couldn't get over that way - they had closed that part of the course. I still got to zipline across the ship which was a lot of fun. Service was mostly excellent. We rarely waited very long for a drink, even with the UBP. Longest waits were at the Sugar Cane Mojito bar, but I think that's because all the drinks were hand-crafted and kind of time-intensive to make. We saw our room steward a few times, but we had no requests. It was our first time as gold, and we had a very short line to check in, a small box of Godiva chocolates in our room, and a special line for tendering in the Caymans. It was nice. We also went to the special cocktail party - it was in Spice H2O the night we were in Jamaica. We did not buy a Cruise Next certificate (first time since we started sailing with NCL), but we are still thinking about possibilities for our next NCL cruise.

[Mistizoom]

Thanks for the review! Glad to hear you enjoyed the included restaurants. Any chance you have pics of the new menus?

[littlelulu01]

Thank you for the review. Did you like the mega ship experience better than mid size? I booked the getaway for Europe sailing with our adult kids, first mega ship. Many aspects are appealing such as better entertainment, newer ship, more activities and spa but I've loved cruises on mid size ships.

[Cruise-mom]

Great review, thank you for sharing.

[wizdiz]

Great review. I would like to see any of the new menus if you got any pictures.

Thanks

[js]

Thank you for your review.

We will be on Getaway this time next year.

You didn't mention anything about Vibe so I guess you didn't try to get passes.

This is the only other thing I need to get for our cruise next year. We have a spa balcony.

Thanks so much!

[crusin4fun2000]

Do you remember which night the Beef wellington was served?

[bostongal965]

Thanks for the review! Glad to hear you enjoyed the included restaurants. Any chance you have pics of the new menus?

 

Sorry, no, I didn't take any pics of the new menus. There is a new O'Sheehan's floating around on the board that looks like what we had. I think I saw a main dining menu somewhere on the boards, too.

[bostongal965]

Thank you for the review. Did you like the mega ship experience better than mid size? I booked the getaway for Europe sailing with our adult kids, first mega ship. Many aspects are appealing such as better entertainment, newer ship, more activities and spa but I've loved cruises on mid size ships.

 

I was pleasantly surprised!! We love the Sun, so much we've sailed on her 3 times. The Dawn isn't much bigger (we were actually docked next to her in Costa Maya and could look down into the Garden Villa and the main pool deck from our pool deck). The Getaway never felt that big to me. Some complain that it feels compartmentalized, but I think that's why it doesn't feel overwhelming. I never felt like there were twice as many people sailing with me as there were when I was on the Sun.

 

I was worried about dinner and reservations and what-not, and we had no trouble. The pool deck was busy on the sea days, but that's been true of every ship I've been on, no matter the size. I went to the Flamingo Grill instead of the buffet, so I can't say how busy that may have been at breakfast.

 

The entertainment was wonderful!

[bostongal965]

Thank you for your review.

We will be on Getaway this time next year.

You didn't mention anything about Vibe so I guess you didn't try to get passes.

This is the only other thing I need to get for our cruise next year. We have a spa balcony.

Thanks so much!

 

I had a spa pass, and so I wasn't going to get a Vibe pass. I thought my husband might want one, since that's his thing, but he was perfectly happy in Spice H2O. We did hang out on the deck just outside of Vibe - the Vibe bar connects to a small bar up there - and it was nice, but very windy. We were in group 1, so we probably could've got a pass if we wanted one.

[js]

I had a spa pass, and so I wasn't going to get a Vibe pass. I thought my husband might want one, since that's his thing, but he was perfectly happy in Spice H2O. We did hang out on the deck just outside of Vibe - the Vibe bar connects to a small bar up there - and it was nice, but very windy. We were in group 1, so we probably could've got a pass if we wanted one.

 

Thank you.

What time did you get to the port to be Group 1. Was Spice crowded? I don't want to have to deal with the crowds. Thanks.

[bostongal965]

Do you remember which night the Beef wellington was served?

 

I think it was served Friday night (Costa Maya night for us - I think it's a sea day for people on the regular itinerary). It was so tender I could cut it with my fork. Yummy. it may have been Thursday. Definitely wasn't Saturday because we didn't eat in the dining room that night.

[bostongal965]

Thank you.

What time did you get to the port to be Group 1. Was Spice crowded? I don't want to have to deal with the crowds. Thanks.

 

We signed up to check in at 10, and we got there somewhere around that time (we had rented a car and were shuttled from the rental office, so I'm not quite sure). We were in the waiting room just before 11:00.

 

I only went to Spice a couple times, and it never seemed that crowded to me. My husband isn't fond of crowds and he really liked it up there. Our last day was really windy and a little cool, so it wasn't busy at all, but the main pool was still pretty busy. We had a lot of kids on our cruise (school vacation in parts of MA, NY, and GA) so that may have made a difference (parents hanging with their kids around the kiddie pool instead of Spice).

[bostongal965]

Thank you.

What time did you get to the port to be Group 1. Was Spice crowded? I don't want to have to deal with the crowds. Thanks.

 

I will say there is minimal shade in Spice H2O - there is a a bar, a nice water feature to cool off, and a couple hot tubs, but very little shade - that may make a difference for you, as well.

[Cruz4life15]

Wait there is beef Wellington?!?? I want to make sure not to miss it...first time NCL cruiser...also were they offering day passes for the spa? Would love to do one day but can't afford to buy two, week passes..and I have udp did u see how it works with a la carte ? Some people are saying u can have multiple apps /dessert some are just saying one of each? Thanks!

Edited March 1, 2016 by Cruz4life15

[bostongal965]

Wait there is beef Wellington?!?? I want to make sure not to miss it...first time NCL cruiser...also were they offering day passes for the spa? Would love to do one day but can't afford to buy two, week passes..and I have udp did u see how it works with a la carte ? Some people are saying u can have multiple apps /dessert some are just saying one of each? Thanks!

 

We had beef Wellington in the main dining room (the Tropicana) either Thursday night or Friday (pretty sure it was Friday, but you know how the days start to blend :D).

 

Pretty sure they were offering day passes, as I saw them tour a couple groups while I was in there on Monday, the first sea day. I bought the week pass online, so I can't say definitely. Ours seemed to hae a lot of families and kids, so maybe there wasn't as much demand for the adult only areas like the spa and Vibe.

 

I had the beverage package, not the dining package, so I can't help you much with that - sorry!

[KarimaJ]

I just booked the Getaway Western Caribbean out of Miami. How quick was the disembarkment? Trying to figure out flight times now.

[bostongal965]

I just booked the Getaway Western Caribbean out of Miami. How quick was the disembarkment? Trying to figure out flight times now.

 

We did the easy walk off and were off by 8:30 at the latest. They started at about 7:45, we were in line around 8:00 - 8:15. It was surprisingly fast for such a big ship.

[bostongal965]

https://goo.gl/photos/dFa5dswngVz2WQ4j6

 

I tried adding a link to a shared album on Google - we'll see if it works! I was trying to embed pictures individually, but it wasn't working :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, there is a pic of some of the art outside the Sunset Bar - Hemingway themed - very cool!

 

A couple of shots of the Getaway from the tender on our way to Grand Cayman.

 

A shot of the plank from either the dock or deck 8 (can't remember - look how tiny it is!!). Disappointed that I didn't get a chance to try it, but I did gt to zipline across the ship.

 

A couple of shots of the ship model - I love those.

 

A couple of shots of the hull art (I know opinions vary, but I love the NCL art).

 

The Dawn next to the Getaway in Costa Maya.

 

A shot of the bed & bedding in our oceanview room - I wish the picture showed better how really pretty it was :)

Edited March 3, 2016 by bostongal965
Pictures didn't work

[bostongal965]

One final thing I remembered - there is no true promenade deck, though I did see people walking (for exercise) around the waterfront in the morning (I think they just cut through to the other side. I did miss that from other ships (seeing the Dawn made me think of that). Anyway, there is a "jogging track" on deck 16 - it is narrow, and is like an obstacle course as it winds by the Flamingo Grill and the climbing wall. I felt like a car entering traffic on the freeway a couple times as I tried to get from the Flamingo Grill to the elevators. Can't be much fun for a serious jogger, either.

[lg12575]

My husband and I are sailing on the Getaway in April. We have been on 6 or 7 NCL cruises and I'm wondering if the dining room menu has changed. For example, the first night was always lobster tail and steak...no matter which ship we sailed on. We haven't cruised in over a year, and were wondering if the menus are still the same.

[Mistizoom]

My husband and I are sailing on the Getaway in April. We have been on 6 or 7 NCL cruises and I'm wondering if the dining room menu has changed. For example, the first night was always lobster tail and steak...no matter which ship we sailed on. We haven't cruised in over a year, and were wondering if the menus are still the same.

 

New menus just rolled out on the Getaway a couple weeks ago. Surf & turf is now an upcharge in the MDR. This thread has some of the new menus posted: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2323624

[js]

Hi. Thank you for taking thr time to answer my previous questions. I appreciate it.

 

I am not sailing until February 2017 but did the online check in. Final payment has not been made. When can I choose a port arrival time? I really want Group One.

 

Thank you so much!

[alexmom]

I had a spa pass, and so I wasn't going to get a Vibe pass. I thought my husband might want one, since that's his thing, but he was perfectly happy in Spice H2O. We did hang out on the deck just outside of Vibe - the Vibe bar connects to a small bar up there - and it was nice, but very windy. We were in group 1, so we probably could've got a pass if we wanted one.

 

I've been trying to find out about the locker room showers for the Thermal Suites on Getaway !!!

 

I just got off the Caribbean Princess in December and the locker room shower doors were GLASS, not even frosted glass. There was no privacy. I always just went back to my cabin and showered. I'm in a solo on the Getaway with a tiny shower for my next cruise, so I'm not crazy about having to go back to my room to shower in private.

 

What can you tell me about this ? Can you also tell me about the swimming pools on Getaway ? I like to swim laps at the buttcrack of dawn so I can (usually) have the pool to myself. Is there a lap pool or even just a 'longish' pool that will work for this ? Photos and deck plans really don't tell the story.

 

Thanks for any information or tips you can offer !

[perditax]

Flamingo Grill still included in fare?