Just off GETAWAY. Rumors of her demise unfounded!

[Annmeat]

You will love love love this suite .

It is so quiet, a perfect size and very convenient to all the action on 6-7-8.

 

I'll see what we can dig up.

We had breakfast on the balcony several times and it was lovely.

 

The service that comes with the Haven is just as good as in the actual Haven location.

 

Sailing away with the aft view is stunning.

 

I'm ready to go back!

When are you sailing?

[Annmeat]

That's the room I will be in :)

If your husband happens to have any pictures of the room or any of the haven areas I would love to see them.

 

 

There is a YouTube video of the suite on the other side of the 11th deck. But the suite looks nicer in person than in the video.

[lindseyn06]

We are on the 10/16 sailing.

 

Breakfast on the balcony is what I am looking forward to the most!

 

Is the YouTube video of 11908 identical to 11308?

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

Ann, thank you for your wonderful review. I not only learned a lot, but you had me laughing. Thanks again.

[NJbeachMom]

Awesome review Ann! We'll be on the Getaway on 10/9... I'm going to book the Passion island tour tonight. Thanks for sharing your experience

[Annmeat]

We are on the 10/16 sailing.

 

Breakfast on the balcony is what I am looking forward to the most!

 

Is the YouTube video of 11908 identical to 11308?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Yes It is! Rex will take great care of you. Such a gentleman! You can order anything you want for breakfast. There are suite breakfast hang tags for the door, we just added anything else that we wanted

Rex will call you when he is about to deliver so that you can toss on a robe. White tablecloth and everything.

Loved it!

Edited October 3, 2016 by Annmeat

[Annmeat]

Awesome review Ann! We'll be on the Getaway on 10/9... I'm going to book the Passion island tour tonight. Thanks for sharing your experience

 

Have fun! It's a great place to really relax - but you can use the ware trampoline if you dare!

[JB3]

Alrighty-0n the plane. I'll do a non-conventional series of musings as opposed to a traditional review.

 

This was our favorite entertainment on past cruises. We had a terrific time with this group but they three pianists just didn't have the magic camaraderie as the groups on previous cruises. We only went once this cruise but almost closed the place. A great, raucous crowd but the musicians just did not have that wow factor. They did have a guest drummer- an actual guest, a newlywed, and he was a monster on the drums. Really really great drummist. (I attempted the drums a few years ago and prefer the term"drummist" to "drummer". Drummer reminds me of the horse in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" . So drummist it is!)

 

NO CRUISE SHIP TOILET JOKES ALLOWED

and there weren't any for once!

 

The comedians were quite wonderful on this trip. Frank Townsend had been on two of our precious Getaway cruises and he was there! Scott Henry and an emcee whom I cannot name at this moment were very funny as well. We never went to the adults only shows but did attend the event in the theater where all three perform. Very good time.

 

I'm getting prepared for landing so will finish this later in the week.

Be happy to answer any non-lobster related questions!

 

 

Hi! We were on the same cruise! We're from the same town as the newlywed drummer and his lovely wife-- the night he was introduced we heard that he's from Canton Ohio, and had to meet them afterwards! His name is Nick Kopco, and he has a band in Canton. Can't wait to go see them play... they have a FB page and a website... look up Chemical Wonders. I agree with you.... he's such an excellent "drummist"! He sat in with the Howl at the Moon group again the next night and was just as good.

We loved the comedy too. Didn't get to see Frank Townsend, but Scott Henry and Jay Stevens were both hilarious! Jay is from Ohio also, so we had to meet him after the show too! We'll be going to see him in Akron or Cleveland sometime in the future! : )

Edited October 4, 2016 by JB3

[Viva_la_Vida]

I enjoyed this so much! You have a great sense of humor :)

[LrgPizza]

I love your review. I'm another that thinks NCL has improved, and I love knowing it's not just me.

 

Did Frank Townsend also sit in with the Howl players? He was on the Escape TA, and he played drums and sang nearly every night. He's great!

Edited October 4, 2016 by LrgPizza

[DGP1111]

I've really enjoyed reading your comments, as they strongly parallel my own feelings of the exact same week. I had a great time and wasn't ready for it to end (going back to work this morning was tough). Norwegian Getaway isn't my personal favorite ship in the fleet, but it definitely did offer me my best overall cruise on an earlier sailing. I made a promise to myself in advance that I'd not compare this one to the last one, or I'd possibly be disappointed. That certainly wasn't the case at all, and this one joins as one of the top faves of all cruises taken. :)

 

 

Haven/Vip lounge upstairs was a joke. Although being roped off there was a constant parade of people simply wandering in . . .

 

Although probably not all, a big part of that problem was due to some confusion by multiple employees in the non-Haven waiting areas. Because of the odd positioning of the ship, there was only one gangway leading onboard instead of the normal two. Several of the shoreside team invited numerous passengers the option to wait in the "other area", then someone else would realize the error and block it off once again. Those working Terminal B seemed in mental limbo at times, but it still all worked out.

 

 

 

Margaritaville opened on our sailing. It is wretched.Period. The drinks were good, the service tremendous and the food appallingly bad . . .

The place was deserted most days.

 

Ann speaks the gospel on that one.

My description would not have been as kind.

Definitely great bar service.

 

 

I must say that although the staff kept saying that there were 4300 guests aboard there is no way that this ship was full. There were 17 chair hogs ( to use the vernacular ) on any given day, including seas days. No lines, no crowds and seats available at even the "sold out" shows. Such a pleasant change from our usual summer cruises.

 

Final sea day at 11:00 am there were still loungers available immediately poolside, and some still stacked up due to not being needed. Very cool, and unusual indeed.

There was a unique housing situation onboard that meant not all occupants were passengers hunting for daily real estate on the pool desk, in line at the buffet, and embarking/debarking. I wish it was always that way. ;)

 

 

 

Our first night a gentlemen fell out of bed and his elderly wife, who was so sweet but very confused, was locked out of the room and wandering the hall in a state of undress .

 

Thanks for sharing the 'back story', as I'm almost 100% certain that was the same lady being seen to by security after she made it to Deck 11 just outside my stateroom, not knowing her cabin # and seemingly her own name. She was frantic to find her husband but had no clue where he was at the time. It got a bit loud at moments.

 

 

The GREAT LOBSTER ISSUE

 

I did no research. Lobster was available nightly for an upcharge in the MDR.

 

No lobster in LeBistro.

 

Ditto on none in Cagney's.

 

It was a bit humorous that when you viewed the Dining page on your info TV, the picture for Cagney's was actually a photo of the physical La Cucina menu. The picture they normally had on the screen was of the old Surf & Turf plate . . . so they simply deleted it. Ta-Da!

 

The ocean blue lobster rolls are as full of meat and tasty as they have been for the past two years and still priced at $9.95.

 

Uh huh!!! Deeeelicious!!

 

 

WHERE THERE IS SMOKE

There is winning!

 

First day on the ship the casino was overwhelmingly smoky. Smoke doesn't usually bother me, but this was nuts! Even the Non- smoking side was nasty.

This only lasted that one night. I don't know if the filters were changed or if the scrubbers were not working, but after the first night neither of us, and hubs is asthmatic, had a problem.

 

Glad your situation was short-lived. I knew immediately at Day 1 embarkation that it was going to be more smoky than previous sailing, and I dealt with that on numerous evenings . . . but a great part of that was MY fault, so all fingers point to me. Two particular slot machine types, and one table game are only available on 'the smoking side', so I chose to experience that side.

I put those clothes in a plastic bag immediately after getting to my cabin, and then had them laundered later. Any inconvenience to me was also very easily offset by the nice three grand 'present' one of those fave slot machines offered during the week. :D

 

.

 

Again, Ann, glad to read that you, too, had a really enjoyable week at sea on Getaway. I'd repeat that week in a heartbeat, and be smiling just as much as I did this time. Fun Fun Fun, yet with the relaxation I wanted, and received.

 

Sincere apologies for hijacking your thread, but I knew I wouldn't be taking the time to do a full recap.

 

3 things:

I tried the Dover Sole in Le Bistro was my first time ever, and it was Superb!! I also had the same server both evenings there, and he was one of the best of all time.

 

Silas Cook is simply one of the best prepared cruise directors in the industry. Yes, a lot of it is scripted 'shtick', but he makes it work, and he has one particular verbal skill that is not at all common these days. I hope he continues with NCL for a long time.

 

The onboard Cruise Consultants are supposed to possess more expertise than this trio did. Two of them were not fans of the third, and that unfortunately showed. This morning I'm realizing they've also made a post-cruise error on my account. My final statement (including the CruiseNext certificates I purchased earlier) showed a zero balance. Now my card is charged a second full set, and the secondary e-mail I received today indicates twice as many actual certificate serial numbers than I purchased. I'm sure it'll be easy to work out with a phone call or two tomorrow, but if they still gave you the printed info onboard I'd have caught that error before leaving. They've discontinued giving you anything onboard to show for your purchase, and that's apparently not always a good thing. :(

 

.

[Annmeat]

We were deck mates! That poor woman- we found her the very first night and hoped that she would be in better hands after that. She was naked when we found her..so terribly sad

 

I KNEW that I should have tried the Dover sole! After the ad nauseum lobster talk on this forum , I had to try it at Ocean Blue.

 

The lobster rolls made up for any disappointing whole lobster.

 

We didn't do much that involved the CD, but now that you remind me, Silas was at the gangways and very engaged with the aren't hijacking anything!

This is a forum and I love your comments!

 

Glad that you had a good time as well. 😀😀😀😀

[Annmeat]

I love your review. I'm another that thinks NCL has improved, and I love knowing it's not just me.

 

Did Frank Townsend also sit in with the Howl players? He was on the Escape TA, and he played drums and sang nearly every night. He's great!

 

Its true- the improvement in the NCL product in just one year since we sailed Getaway last is remarkable. To those considering a cruise- please don't let the naysayers who are preemtively pi$$$ed off dissuade you from cruising NCL. The staff, the food, the entertainment is top notch. The ship was also SPOTLESS!

 

Frank didn't sit in when we attended, but he was at the bar in headliners. Had a great chat with my husband and I believe that there was a round of Tequila shots involved. We also ran in to him in Belize. Such a nice guy. Would have loved to hear him sing!

[Evangaline]

Its true- the improvement in the NCL product in just one year since we sailed Getaway last is remarkable. To those considering a cruise- please don't let the naysayers who are preemtively pi$$$ed off dissuade you from cruising NCL. The staff, the food, the entertainment is top notch. The ship was also SPOTLESS!

 

Frank didn't sit in when we attended, but he was at the bar in headliners. Had a great chat with my husband and I believe that there was a round of Tequila shots involved. We also ran in to him in Belize. Such a nice guy. Would have loved to hear him sing!

 

You had Tequila shots with Frank Del Rio? Maybe I'm not understanding right.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Again, Ann, glad to read that you, too, had a really enjoyable week at sea on Getaway. I'd repeat that week in a heartbeat, and be smiling just as much as I did this time. Fun Fun Fun, yet with the relaxation I wanted, and received.

 

3 things:

I tried the Dover Sole in Le Bistro was my first time ever, and it was Superb!! I also had the same server both evenings there, and he was one of the best of all time.

 

Silas Cook is simply one of the best prepared cruise directors in the industry. Yes, a lot of it is scripted 'shtick', but he makes it work, and he has one particular verbal skill that is not at all common these days. I hope he continues with NCL for a long time.

 

I sailed a couple weeks before you guys, and it was my first NCL cruise in a year. I had two HAL and one Princess cruises in between. And after a year of reading all the complaints about the onslaught of too-many-too-soon changes, I had some trepidation about my GA cruise. All of my fears were allayed. I had an awesome time and NCL was everything I remembered it to be. I agree very much with your two observations, above. Silas Cook is a treasure, and he was super friendly and accessible. And he bought me a drink! :cool: And yes, the Dover Sole was superb!

 

Edited October 4, 2016 by Cruiser Bruiser

[ShannonSC2]

I paid special attention to al the alleged nickel and Diming as well as pushy sales attempts that occurs on board the evil NCL craft these day.

 

We were asked once if we wanted our picture taken. We had not a single expense that we didn't want or for which we were not prepared with the exception of the trip to Doctor Dreamy...

 

I did hear one gent complaining that there was sales tax on our drinks in Miami and he claimed that it was the bartenders just "stickin' it" to the guests. If looks could vaporize this gent would be no more, as the bartender was not pleased. NEither was I so I just HAD to educate the man but another guest beat me to it.

 

We didn't play Bingo, Deal or No Deal no hubster bought only one pack of the lucky winner strips ( woo-Ho! 4 dollars on a 20$ investment!) but none of that should be included anyway.

 

Our drinks were never charged over the 15$ limit because I don't think we ordered anything pricey.

 

We received one bottle of water I our suite and then actually ARGH!!! Purchased one on the way out to an excursion.

 

I can say with complete honesty that there was not a single expense that we felt cheated by paying or found ridiculous. We have been on other cruise lines and the same items are a charge on those vessels as well.

 

We spent plenty of money but not on hidden fees or on unscrupulous practices. No pressure to buy...and then there is the SPA

 

I have been on several NCL cruises and I have never felt like I was nickeled or dimed either. We don't spend on BINGO or Deal or no Deal. We like to watch though. We usually always buy the next cruise deal but we plan for that ahead of time. I have a certain budget for pictures or for drinks if I don't get the drink package. We normally don't eat at the Fancy restaurant because I can either eat at the buffet or the main dining room and the food is just as good.

 

If that person was upset about the sales tax in Miami I guess they haven't read any postings on Cruise Critic. Shame on them. :)

 

Love your review.

[Annmeat]

You had Tequila shots with Frank Del Rio? Maybe I'm not understanding right.

 

No, Frank Townsend, a comedian. I had no tequila, my husband ,another comedian and Frank Townsend had the Patron.

 

But images of DelRio doing tequila shots is quite amusing!

Edited October 4, 2016 by Annmeat

[Evangaline]

I recognize this thread is about singing the praises of The Getaway, so I don't want to be a buzz kill, but I'm not sure it makes good consumer sense to pretend that there have been not been so many unfortunate corporate decisions in the last while that do indeed fall into the category of "nickeling and diming". It has irked cruisers and justifiably so. If this is ignored it will just get worse.

 

I want Norwegian to remain successful because, in the past anyway, they have done many innovative things with their ships which is why I sail with Norwegian from time to time. I chose the Getaway for my upcoming trip, because I thought the ship had some exceptionally interesting features and I don't expect that part of it to be a disappointment.

 

But the fact that NCL still tried to play me with everything from room service upcharges to making me go to Ocean Blue for an upcharge on an upcharge in order to get a simple lobster dinner is not something I will not be able to ignore, not matter how hard I try.

[LrgPizza]

I recognize this thread is about singing the praises of The Getaway, so I don't want to be a buzz kill...

 

 

Yes you do.

 

I think the point the OP was making was that posts like yours from people who haven't sailed don't coincide with posts from those who have. Things overall have improved. Hopefully your pre-cruise attitude won't damper your experience. If it does, try not to blame NCL.

 

 

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[TheDougOut]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Your post in the other thread sealed the deal. Impressive!!

[Evangaline]

Yes you do.

 

I think the point the OP was making was that posts like yours from people who haven't sailed don't coincide with posts from those who have. Things overall have improved. Hopefully your pre-cruise attitude won't damper your experience. If it does, try not to blame NCL.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I must not have explained correctly. I was pointing to specific policies that have been implemented over the past two years. No one is going to board to discover that Margaritaville has not actually replaced the Flamingo or that you can actually bring soda on board or that the new upcharge for room service is not actually being implemented. And so on. Don't need to cruise on the Getaway to know these things.

 

Not sure how you got attitude out of this. I am trying to say that some of these new policies are undermining the innovative things NCL does. Trust me if you embrace upcharges with glee, you will get more.

 

Like I said before and will say again. I'm sure the cruise will be fine. I am not expecting it to be otherwise. I cruised NCL before. It is always fine. Never had a bad time with the line. Never had bad customer service etc. Food is usually good and so on.

 

On another note, Ann's review is appreciated. Good to hear there is free breakfast at the former Flamingo. The info on excursions was good. Just finalizing my last excursion choices. Would love to cruise in The Haven but unfortunately, that is outside my budget. Sounds nice though.

[ShelleyQT]

Thanks for the great review. It sounds like you are the type of traveler who's easy-going and positive!

 

I can't wait to go on our Getaway cruise in 83 days. Thanks for making me look forward to even more. :)

[PhillyTravelBug]

Love your review and humor!!!! I don't understand all the hatred for La Cucina. I've had it in two different ships and loved it each time.

[50SumthinCruisers]

Great review!!! I have to agree, Passion Isle is one of the best excursions we have ever experienced. The water is gorgeous, the sand is soft and warm and the environment is beautiful in a primitive kind of way... :)