Random Thoughts on Norwegian Getaway - 17 April Sailing

[boatseller]

Beer Selection – The beer selection at most bars is quite, well, meh… You’d find a better selection at 7-11. Teppanyaki did have Sapporo so ask around.

 

Vibe Clamshell – The Vibe crew may politely ask you to show the right band if you’re in the clamshell. They have no way to know which shell is yours but it’s something. However, on my next sailing, I will not get the clamshell. It’s nice but feels really isolated and I only used it twice.

 

Vibe – Definitely worth it. It’s calm, luxury loungers, over staffed really. There were always nice, interesting people there. I arrived at the pier at 0930 and was maybe the 10th person in line. No problems.

 

Smoke – The smoke from the Casino is definitely noticeable at the outside Bistro tables.

 

Drink Menus – These were a bit disappointing, compared to Royal Caribbean. Some bars did have a few specialties but compared to Anthem of the Seas where every venue has a quite impressive list, Getaway was a bit underwhelming.

 

The Ruben – The grilled Ruben at O’Sheehan’s is stunningly good. I had it like 5 times.

 

MDR Food – The food and service in the dining rooms was consistently great. I had at least 2 of each service, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

 

The Flamingo – The Flamingo buffet is the best self-serve. Be aware, the seats may be wet.

 

Stateroom Service – It was fine. I had a Studio. The weirdest thing was the random collection of hangers presumable left by different guests. I brought my own, thanks…

 

The Bistro – The food and service were excellent and the dishes expectedly haute (read small ;)) but the plating seemed rushed.

 

Dining Package – If you have the UDP and are in a group, book early. As a solo diner, I really had no problems getting seated around my res time. Probably didn’t really need one. However, the specialty restaurants felt like a real anchor on my schedule and be prepared for a 90 minute commitment.

 

Stateroom Power – Get a second card, or any other card for the power. Everything goes off, including the outlets so if you need to charge things, like who doesn’t, you need to keep the lights on.

 

Going Solo – While I was on board with 9 friends, the drama of coordinating 10 agendas is more than I wanted to deal with on vacation so I just did it my way. No one cared. It wasn’t weird or strange. The crew did miss a beat. There were always people to chat with, or not. Without a res, I never waited for a table in the dining room. I walked in to every show, no problem.

 

Standby for Excursions – I didn’t pre-reserve any excursions, waiting to see what the group wanted to do. Yeah, that didn’t work out and what I wanted to do showed booked both days. That was no problem. I just went to the pier and asked if there was space. Realistically, the operator is not going to turn down a fare. The NCL rep wrote me up on off I went. If you have or are trying to catch a tour, you do get priority tender.

 

Great Stirrup Cay – We missed it due to seas. Third time this has happened to me. In the talk, Captain said they’re running only 66% at GSC.

 

The Illusionarium – This is the best show I’ve seen on a ship by far. Just see it. Being solo, I got bumped to the front row with The Haven guests.

 

Stateroom TV – It’s horrible, why bother. Literally 2 entertainment channels but 6 news channels. I don’t care that much about what’s going on.

 

Wine – On the menu, there is no French wine by the glass at The Bistro but there is French wine by the glass at Ocean Blue…ok…

 

Ocean Blue – I sailed on Getaway February 2015 and was really disappointed by Ocean Blue. But, thankfully, the menu is totally new and spectacular, much, much better. Get the Broccoli.

 

UBC – FYI, the UBC credit is $15. You’ll pay any difference for the super premiums.

 

Long Islands – Some bars have premixed Long Island and Mojito. Yuk.

 

O’Sheehan’s – That O’Sheehan’s is (almost) 24hrs is awesome. I think there’s a 30min break at like 0430 when the switch to the breakfast menu. On my last two Royal sailing, the bars close after food service…ok…

 

Stateroom Apps - The apps on the stateroom display are pretty much unusable. They’re slow and unresponsive and the daily schedule was just wrong.

 

Tax in Port – If you have the UBP, you will still get charged tax in some ports, like Miami. So, you’ll see bar charges of $.50 and such.

 

The Crew – The crew was just wonderful. I really don’t see how anyone could complain. In fact, the comic made a point of calling out guests or who seem to try to be [jerks]. If you have an issue or special request, just ask. If it’s reasonable, they will accommodate you. No need to be [fussy] about it.

Edited April 30, 2016 by boatseller@hotmail.com

[FranknBeans]

Good info thanks.

[coolcruiser86]

Thanks for the insight! This will be our second time on the Getaway and we are excited to try some of the areas we missed last time (Read Ocean Blue ;) ).

 

Looking forward to comparing our experiences to yours!

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. It sounds like you had a nice time. I'm sailing solo more and more, and the best thing about doing so is not having to wait for anyone else. I totally get why you cut loose the other members of your party.

 

The other thing I have to say, is I've eaten in Le Bistro a lot. And you are the first person I can remember who has mentioned that the service there was rushed. Usually it's somewhat slow, which is fine with me. Dinner becomes my anchor when I'm sailing alone.

[boatseller]

Ah, let me clarify. The service at Le Bistro was quite leisurely, no rush at all. I was there maybe 2 hours.

 

When I say the plating, I mean the actual presentation, on the plate. It wasn't as...neat as I expected. Compared to Ocean Blue where things were placed with mm precision.

[Rob32]

Great synopsis, thanks. Will logo back at this again closer to sail time.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Shawnino]

OP: How did you find staffing levels (outside the Vibe, which we also thought was very well staffed)? We would agree that the crew were great on our Feb. trip, but found that there weren't nearly enough crew members and the ones that were on duty were run off their feet. Did not seem to be nearly enough workers in restaurants or bars. Not that they weren't trying--it just felt that two people, especially wait staff, were tasked with a job for five everywhere we looked.

[Manbo]

Loved your easy to read "thoughts".

[Clarea]

Excellent report, thank-you.

[coach jim]

Well done. Concise, thoughtful and well balanced.

 

Thanks

[travlin]

I travel solo as well, but this is my first time without formal seating assignments. How does it work for a solo? Do they seat you with large groups or alone?

[Shawnino]

I travel solo as well, but this is my first time without formal seating assignments. How does it work for a solo? Do they seat you with large groups or alone?

 

Table for one.