First time NCL'er just off 10/2/16 Getaway

[PRgymnast]

Totally agree on the polarizing part. I was expecting a great show based on the reviews. Reviews of Burn the Floor were spectacular, as well. I agree that Burn the Floor was fantastic.

 

I didn't like Illusionarium bc the tricks were very very obvious and predictable. I wasn't even in the very front. I was in the middle of the "floor seats". In actuality, they're ALL floor seats, though the booths are further to the back. You can see everything that's on the ceiling on the tv screens. In fact, they look better on the screen bc it's not washed out like it is on the ceiling. Couldn't wait for that show to end. Maybe if this was a free show, I wouldn't have been as upset but since it cost me $35 pp, I was not happy. But that's just a tiny scratch, in an otherwise FANTASTIC cruise.

[PhillyTravelBug]

The more negative reviews I read and heard about illusionsrium, I'm g,ad we skipped it.

[a1betpr]

Hey we were on the same cruise! Our 2nd trip on the Getaway.

 

Just to clarify - Margaritaville does have a small selection of breakfast buffet style offerings (pre made omelettes, breads, etc.). We picked up our breakfast selections at the main buffet and then headed upstairs a couple of mornings to enjoy the air and quiet surroundings. But yes, it doesn't sit well with me that the Flamingo Grill is gone!

Are you sure about breakfast in Margaritaville? We asked the person working there at lunch if they served breakfast because we heard they might and the answer was no. And the couple of times we walked by there in the morning (granted it was late morning) there was no food being served. I also saw where someone said there was breakfast served at Cagney's but that doesn't seem right either. On every one of the daily planners we got the only places listed as having breakfast were Taste, Savor, O'Sheehans and the buffet.

[a1betpr]

Just learned an important lesson about posting here...always save what you've written. I wrote a very eloquent, witty, and beautifully descriptive post about the entertainment on the Getaway :p and when I hit submit I got an error message and it was gone. Harrumph.

 

As a synopsis, I loved Burn the Floor and liked Million Dollar Quartet, and overall thought the entertainment on the Getaway was the best of any ship I've ever been on. The dancers in Burn the Floor (I want to call it BTF but that seems somehow wrong) were amazing and worked incredibly hard, while making everything look effortless. That they incorporated Stairway to Heaven and Sunshine of Your Love into a mostly Latin-themed show was impressive. We sat in the front row and recommend it. MDQ (that's better) was good but the 50's music and hokey story weren't really my cup of tea. The musicians are exceptionally talented but there weren't many songs that I really cared for. Maybe I Walk the Line was my favorite. But that's just me, most everyone else ate it up. Anyway, both shows are definitely worth seeing and both are longer than typical cruise shows - BTF (!) was about an hour and MDQ was over 90 minutes. After both shows, cast members raced to the back and you could take pictures with them and chat them up. I thought that was nice.

 

We also saw The Force Awakens in 3D in the main theater. That was fun. Free popcorn! One thing I would be remiss not to mention - the seats in the Getaway theater are crazy uncomfortable. I found myself fidgeting and adjusting my position constantly, and my wife and in laws concurred that the seats were bad. But you can order pre show drinks from your seat, so there's that.

 

That was really all we did for ship entertainment. I am the only one in our group into standup comedy so we didn't make it to Headliners. All of us disdain the wacky pool games and newlywed stuff so we missed all that too. No Illusionarium or Wine lovers show for us either. We did go to the arcade a few times with our 10yr old and ended up winning a nice deck of Minion playing cards after dropping $35 on games. The prize (aka, crap) machines were very temperamental so we were lucky a staff member was there to help grab a prize out of the machine for us. We all did the ropes course (and the plank!) and the water slides and mini golf and all of that was super fun. Everything was crazy crowded on sea days but more bearable on port days. The Getaway is a big ship with a lot of passengers and it often felt it.

 

I plan on doing one last post summarizing what we liked and didn't like about the Getaway. But suffice to say we really had a great time and as first time NCLers we were impressed and will likely be back on NCL in the future. Thanks for reading!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Bella O]

Really helpful review - thanks!

[Miamichile77]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post a review.

[PhillyTravelBug]

For such a fairly new ship, you would think those seats came from some abandoned theater.

[ejnsb]

For such a fairly new ship, you would think those seats came from some abandoned theater.

 

 

yeah, inside the upholstery at the lower back there is a solid bar. Very uncomfortable seats but great shows.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Seminole1975]

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As a synopsis, I loved Burn the Floor and liked Million Dollar Quartet, and overall thought the entertainment on the Getaway was the best of any ship I've ever been on. The dancers in Burn the Floor (I want to call it BTF but that seems somehow wrong) were amazing and worked incredibly hard, while making everything look effortless. That they incorporated Stairway to Heaven and Sunshine of Your Love into a mostly Latin-themed show was impressive. We sat in the front row and recommend it. MDQ (that's better) was good but the 50's music and hokey story weren't really my cup of tea. The musicians are exceptionally talented but there weren't many songs that I really cared for. Maybe I Walk the Line was my favorite. But that's just me, most everyone else ate it up. Anyway, both shows are definitely worth seeing and both are longer than typical cruise shows - BTF (!) was about an hour and MDQ was over 90 minutes. After both shows, cast members raced to the back and you could take pictures with them and chat them up. I thought that was nice.

 

I am so glad that you enjoyed MDQ. As far as the "hokey story", the entire play is based on true stories. All the issues that are addressed in the show happened. For example, Elvis did really steal "Blue Suede Shoes" from Carl Perkins in a sense.

 

CMT cable network is coming out with a new series called "Million Dollar Quartet". It will have eight episodes and air in February 2017. It was filmed in Memphis. There is also a book called, you guessed it, MDQ that came out about 2 years ago. There is a chapter in the book on the development of the Broadway show.

 

Last year we visited Tuscumbia, AL (home of Helen Keller). We also stopped at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. There is an entire wing dedicated to Sam Phillips. Sam developed a new rock and roll sound. He also had an ear for talent and discovered the four artists in the show and more.

 

I also have been to Memphis and visited Sun Records. It is still a recording studio as well as a museum. It was amazing to go into the studio where MDQ took place! There are actual recordings from that night on CD you can listen to.

 

I have obviously learned a lot since my son has been in the show for the past 3 years. He has played Carl Perkins and Elvis. I just thought that if you all had a little more background of the show, you might enjoy it more. These artists are a little ahead of my time too, but I for one am glad that the show is keeping these stories and the music alive!

Edited October 14, 2016 by Seminole1975