First Time on NCL-- My Getaway Review 2/21/16

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Thursday-- Grand Cayman

 

Woke up to an announcement from the captain in our cabin at 7am-- you know that's never a good sign. Evidently they were expecting a front to come through at 2pm where winds would pick up so they had to move last tender up to 1pm (2 hours early). Good news is at least we were going to be in port-- all the other ships scheduled to call on Grand Cayman skipped the island altogether. I feel bad for the people that really wanted to do Stingray Island but wouldn't have time to make it there and back now since the vast majority of excursions were canceled.

 

We hadn't made any plans in advance, figuring we'd just go ahead and grab someone at the pier to take us around the island as neither of us had done an island tour on previous stops. We found a lady who charged $20/pp for a two hour ride. She asked us to wait a couple minutes while she rounded up some more people to fill her van. A few minutes later there were 6 of us and off we went. She took us around Georgetown for a few minutes, then headed up toward the northwest end of the island. We stopped off near the island governor's house (appointed by the Queen herself!) and then up to the dolphin encounter facility where we got to see the dolphins swim with some folks in the big pool. Next, on to the Tortuga Rum factory where we got to try a few samples and got some cool pictures along the waterfront. Our guide dropped us back off downtown and we spent the next hour and a half wandering around and picking up souvenirs. Not surprisingly, the most pricey of the port stops on this cruise but still some good values to be found. The tender long was very long by the time we got there about 10 minutes to 1:00. Oddly, NCL had cold towels to greet us in Jamaica and Cozumel, but none here while we baked for a good 15 minutes in the hot sun.

 

After we reboarded the ship, we stopped off at the Atrium bar for a couple beverages to cool down. In the atrium, they were showing the latest Mission Impossible movie which the GF hadn't seen so she got caught up in it. I got caught up in the free popcorn they had for us. I went up to O'Sheehans and learned that you could just walk up to the counter and order food-- unfortunately it still took about 20 minutes for my fish and chips to come out. Went back down with my food till the movie ended, then upstairs for a few more beverages. (It was hot that day-- we had to rehydrate somehow!) Then our now-usual routine of GF nap/get ready for dinner while I hit the casino for a few hours.

 

In hindsight, think I got my nights mixed up and this was the night we ate at Savor instead of yesterday. Also forgot to mention at dinner the Savor night they had the largest and best free prime rib I'd ever gotten on a cruise ship off the regular menu. It was a huge cut, probably 16 oz., perfectly cooked to medium. I ordered two initially before I saw it-- the waiter wisely waited till I finished before asking if I wanted the second. I passed in fear I'd explode before finishing the second. Do not skip that night-- best meal all week.

 

So I'll pretend tonight was our second Tropicana night which was actually Jamaica night for us. The GF ordered the lobster off the special menu for $20-- said it wasn't very good and not worth the money. Again, excellent service albeit in the very back row of the restaurant and away from the 2 musicians quietly playing upfront. My dinner was decent.

 

After dinner we went to Spice H2O for the best party of the week-- the Glow Party. Mentioned this in my initial comments but absolutely do not miss it. So much fun for people of all ages. Probably there for about an hour before calling it a night as the party wound down. With the ship having to leave the Caymans early, they made it up to us by planning on arriving in Cozumel by 9am instead of 11am. Our excursion through the ship was scheduled for the afternoon so we were planning on sleeping in anyway. Good thing since we didn't get to bed till almost 2am. Another great day overall in spite of the shortened port time.

 

Next, Cozumel!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[js]

Love your review.

Can't wait to read more.

[iambumbo]

Friday-- Cozumel

 

Woke up around 8:00 to find a blinking light on our telephone. Once again, that's not usually a good sign. Turns out it's the excursions desk-- our 3 stop snorkeling excursion for this afternoon had been cancelled because of high waves expected at one or more of the stops. Crap. I'm the weird person who can't swim but loves to snorkel, and I was looking forward to snorkeling in Cozumel. We walked down to the excursions desk and turns out a couple of the snorkeling trips are still a go. We signed up for the Fury catamaran which was a combination snorkeling/beach stop for only $10 than we'd paid for the original excursion. Sounds good, better than no snorkeling.

 

After breakfast at the buffet, we headed off the ship to do some souvenir shopping and wandering around downtown. Fortunately, the Getaway had docked at the main pier right in the heart of downtown. The two Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships that were also in port were relegated to the further pier that I know from experience is about a 5-10 minute cab ride away. Not sure if we lucked out or if NCL always parks here. In any case, all you have to do is walk to the end of the pier and you're already in the shopping area. Pretty much any kind of souvenir you want is available within an area of a few blocks. The GF was happy about finding some cute bracelets at a jewelry store-- negotiated them down from $500 to $200 for the pair. She felt pretty proud of herself upon seeing a similar bracelet back on the ship selling for around $300 by itself. While we didn't bother stopping, plenty of places in the area have food and cervezas for those who want to grab something local.

 

After a couple hours we headed back to the port with our new goodies to meet up for the excursion. We got right onto the catamaran which was sitting alongside the two NCL ships and headed out. We sailed out past the RCL/Carnival ships and then came to the snorkeling stop. Conditions were as I remembered in Cozumel-- decent number of fish but not much for coral after a hurricane swept through several years earlier. We snorkeled for maybe a half hour and then got back on the catamaran which took us down the beach area where we stopped. Plenty of lawn chairs for everyone, open bar with beer and maragaritas, and food available if you wanted to buy a lunch. They also had a lot of play toys in the water like large slides and bounce pits which was in fairly shallow water. Just in case, they had life vests and guys floating around in kayaks to keep an eye on the kids. Bright, sunny skies and warm temps-- a perfect afternoon. We stayed for about 90 minutes before they called us back to our catamaran for the ride back to the ship. Captain had some fun with the people who'd moved to the front of the catamaran by dipping the front end down and splashing that part of the boat-- everyone had a good laugh at that. All in all, a great excursion and fine replacement for the cancelled excursion.

 

As I mentioned earlier, had a fun surprise greeting as we arrived back at the ship as they had a red carpet rolled out with a bunch of crew dancing and high-fiving us while the DJ cranked out party tunes. I've never seen that before but it was hilarious. Great idea for our last day in port. Also had little frozen orange and apple pops to suck on during your walk aboard. Tasted nasty but probably would've been better if you'd been melting in the sun. We headed up to O'Sheehans for our usual late lunch, which hit the spot. On the way back to the cabin, we looked at the dinner menu and didn't see anything that sounded too interesting so we looked into switching dinner tonight to Ocean Blue (we'd originally scheduled dinner there tomorrow). They were pretty packed but since we ate a very late lunch, we were fine having dinner at 9:30.

 

After getting cleaned up, we went down to look at some pictures since the romance package included a free 8x10. We'd stopped for some staged photos the last few nights (they have maybe 4-5 different places you can get pics any given night) but the GF had nixed virtually all of our previous efforts after looking at them. Guess we know who's the star and who's the afterthought in the pics. :rolleyes: FYI, pics for sale are all 8x10 size for $24.95. The GF wanted a smaller one but that's all they offered. NCL is probably leaving some money on the table with that approach but the bean counters presumably know what they're doing.

 

Off to Ocean Blue after a quick drink. By this time, it was probably only about half full. It was a little breezy outside so we ate inside. Here's an interesting point I noted across the board on all Getaway's specialty restaurants. While the Waterfront in theory sounds like a great place to enjoy dinner with such a beautiful backdrop, nearly everyone eats inside. Either the temperature is too hot or cold for most people, or it's too windy for the women trying to keep their hair looking good. So in practice, all those dining areas outside for the most part end up being wasted space. Not what I expected at all going in.

 

In any case, the Ocean Blue meal and service were excellent. Pricing is all a la carte now. I had a filet and I think the GF had surf and turf. Food presentation cracked me up here. Two waiters would come out so both of you would be served at the same time, and then the lead waiter would tell you what it was you were about to eat. I'd hope I'd remembered what I ordered but thanks for the reminder. :D They offered champagne which was a step above what they offered in the regular bars but still just under $15 to fall within the drink package. I think we were both too stuffed for dessert. Which reminds me of another point-- I don't eat many desserts but I don't think I saw cheesecake anywhere on the ship for dinner all week, even in the specialty restaurants. I usually end dinner with a chaser of the sherbet of the day, but a cheesecake once or twice would've made a nice change of pace. As we were leaving Ocean Blue, our waiter apologetically chased us down as we'd walked off with the special wine glasses they used in that restaurant. We hadn't noticed but they sure wanted them back!

 

After another long day in the sun, we were both ready to crash after that big, late dinner. We had originally booked Legally Blonde tix but were happy with our Ocean Blue experience instead. I think this may have been the full moon night-- pictures didn't capture it but, wow, was so cool to see from our balcony. Nighty night time.

 

Tomorrow-- Last day at sea!

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Saturday-- Day at Sea

 

The plan was for a repeat of the first sea day-- grab a couple deck chairs on the sun deck around the main pool and chill there all day long. We didn't get out of the cabin though until around 9:30 and by that time, basically every chair around the pool area and the sun deck had stuff on it. Guess the people who slept in the first day learned their lesson. We put our stuff down in the sun deck by the waterslides and went to the buffet for breakfast. When we got back, most chairs were still taken above the main pool but a few were just bent over with nothing on them so we snagged them. It was pretty cool out though (upper 60's), plus breezy and overcast, so I figured I'd do the ropes course again. Had a huge line though so went back to the chairs, by which time the GF decided this probably wasn't the best idea because it felt pretty chilly there. Ha, joke's on you, chair hogs!

 

We decided to wander down to the Waterfront to see if it felt a little more comfortable there. Most of the benches were taken but we found a comfy one and the GF took a nice nap resting on me for about an hour. She said the pillows were sooooo comfy. Fortunately her snoring scared enough people away that we had plenty of space to ourselves. :p This was actually the best use of the Waterfront-- great place to relax and get away from it all without the stiff breeze of the upper decks. Those bars are also usually not that busy but always staffed so good place to get a quick drink if you're on the move somewhere.

 

For lunch the GF wanted O'Sheehans again but I was sick of it so we decided I'd get food from the buffet and eat it down at Flamingos because she loved their food too. The Flamingo bar wasn't usually that busy except for the first day and had a big counter, so nice play to eat and get your drinks replenished quickly. Which was good because I had some beef and broccoli which was delicious but very spicy so I needed several glasses of water to get it down. I've mentioned previously I'm not a real big fan of exotic foods but the GF raved about the Cuban food at Flamingos, especially the stuffed mashed potato.

 

After that the sun had come back out and it had warmed up a bit so we hung out on the sun deck (which was now largely wide open) for about an hour and listened to dB Love sing some party tunes while the more buzzed crowd danced around the stage. You could tell which people had gone to the Thriller dance class earlier in the week. :eek: Then down to the photo area where we found a pic that the GF was satisfied with to get with our romance package, and she decided she liked another one enough to buy it too. After that figured I'd use the late afternoon down time to get my suitcases packed so I didn't have to mess around with them before dinner. The GF napped for a bit and I enjoyed a beer on the balcony. On a side note, most of you probably know that the cabin steward will empty the minibar for you if you ask, which we did the first day, which was nice if I wanted to bring a drink back to the room to enjoy later. So most of the time I had an extra beer in the fridge if I wanted one for the balcony. FYI, the bar right outside Taste/Savor was good for picking up a beer right after dinner, and they'd give it to you sealed so it wouldn't be flat if you wanted to drink it later. After I packed up, the GF woke up and I headed down to the casino for a few hours while she got ready and packed. Left our suitcases outside the room before heading to dinner and they were already gone by the time we got back.

 

For dinner tonight we figured we'd go back to our favorite spot this week, Taste. Again, good food and great service. Had a nice chat with our waiter from South Africa who was about 6 weeks in on his contract and finally getting into his groove. Said now he only sleeps 4 hours at a time and feels worse if he gets a full 7 hours, haha. This was another reminder that the ship really had a more international mix of crew than other ships-- never seen a waiter from South Africa before. Seems like everyone gets along well too.

 

I don't remember if we grabbed a drink at the bar outside Taste or if we headed up to Spice H20 for one last party but whatever we did, it didn't last long and we were off to bed fairly shortly thereafter. While the GF fell asleep right away, I sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the ocean one last time. Nice bookend to a great cruise.

 

Tomorrow-- Get your butts off the ship, oops, I mean disembarkation day.

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Sunday-- Disembarkation/Post-Cruise Wrapup

 

One nice thing NCL does is they don't just automatically assign you a time to leave the ship-- you go down to the guest services area and pick the color tag that coincides with when you want to leave. We weren't flying home until the next day so no real rush to get off the ship early. We picked salmon, which was the color coinciding with the second to last departure at 9:45.

 

You have your cabin until 9:00am. At 9:01 the storm troopers come in and throw you overboard. We showered and got everything ready to go, then left it in the room to hit the buffet for breakfast a little after 8. We got back to the room with about 15 minutes to spare and left the room right at 9. At that time they were already announcing our color so we headed down to leave the ship. A bit of a hike to where our luggage was stored but no problem finding it. Customs was for the most part a breeze-- we were outside the terminal probably within 15 minutes of walking the gangplank off the ship. No complaints about NCL's disembarkation process.

 

For those interested in post-cruise, we hopped an Uber from the pier up to Fort Lauderdale. (One more plug for Uber-- the GF said last time a shuttle up to Lauderdale cost almost $100, with our discount code, we paid less than $20 and were picked up within 5 minutes of ordering the ride.) We were staying at the Marriott Harbor Beach resort, which the GF says is her favorite place on planet Earth, and I can see why. Very laid back atmosphere, lots of amenities, huge room, and great service. Whereas Fountainbleu was more of a party/Vegas type atmosphere, Marriott Harbor had more of a chill out/enjoy the beach feel. We enjoyed our stay there till our flight home just before 6pm on Monday evening. Smooth flights although the drive home from O'Hare to Madison sucked thanks to a snowstorm. Didn't Mother Nature get the memo that was supposed to hit the day after we left, not the day we come home?

 

Anyways, thanks for following and hope this has been helpful info for those heading to Getaway soon. Safe travels to you all and happy to answer any more questions you guys might have!

[wizdiz]

Thanks I really enjoyed you review. Made me look forward to my trip on her next week even more!

[TowerOrchard]

Thanks for a great review! Your perspective is a wonderful reminder of how much attitude plays a role in what kind of cruise you have. I can GUARANTEE that if some people on these boards had the exact same experience as you, they would come back and post "worst cruise ever!" Noises from party in my room, excursion cancelled, didn't get the romance package stuff when it was supposed to be delivered! NCL sucks!

 

It's really refreshing to hear from someone who understands that some things just aren't a big deal.

[Mirrasi]

Loved the review and details!!

[jethrojam]

Thanks for a good review!

[CruisinHarvey]

On Embarkation day, did they use one or two terminals? Escape uses two(B &C)

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They only used one. Pretty sure it was B. It was the easternmost terminal, we were the first ship to leave.

[CruisinHarvey]

They only used one. Pretty sure it was B. It was the easternmost terminal, we were the first ship to leave.

 

Thanks! That helps a lot.

[Samstress]

Great review! To the point, chock full of info & a side order of humour:) Loved it...

[Viva_la_Vida]

Nicely written review! It was great to read the perspective of a newcomer to NCL as I am as well. Thank you for taking the time to inform and entertain :)