Carnival cruiser contemplating NCL Getaway...Advice

[thegoodlife247]

A little background. I have primarily cruised Carnival, but have also sailed RC, MSC and NCL once each. I would certainly book Carnival again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary and ship with amenities we prefer that sails that particular week.

 

It will be myself, my fiance and our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill-seeking daughter traveling. The Getaway seems to have all the adventure activities our DD would enjoy. The itinerary is also nice.

 

As I said, I sailed NCL once about 12 years ago when freestyle cruising was first being introduced. I didn't care for it much at the time and we were on an older boat. I know NCL has made many upgrades to their freestyle cruising. We will not take advantage of any specialty dining, Haven area or "posh" pass. We will be choosing the bar package as our "promotion" of choice. We are trying to keep the expenses reasonable as we are also planning our wedding. We will book an inside cabin for 3. Will that be too tight? I know NCL rooms are smaller than Carnival.

 

I am looking for advice from anyone who has sailed multiple lines of how it compares. Specifically how freestyle is these days. It seems like work to plan, schedule and make reservations. I do like more freedom and ability to dress how we wish (within reason of course). Also, any advice on the getaway for adults and a thrill seeking 12 year old would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance. Happy Cruising :)

[Two Wheels Only]

Since you aren't doing any specialty restaurants, you can just show up and eat whenever you want.

 

You don't need a reservation.

[thegoodlife247]

What about shows? Which ones do you need to make reservations for?

 

 

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[erocrobro]

We had previously sailed on Disney and Carnival before we tried the Getaway. I would not hesitate to sail on this ship again, nor would my kids. They aren't really into the clubs so I always worry about whether or not they will find fun things to do, but I never once heard the words "I'm bored!" We loved it!

[arlodog]

We have sailed Getaway twice and are going again in November. The shows you need to pre-book are Million Dollar Quartet and Burn the Floor. We made our reservations for the comedians on-board. Howl at the moon is a come and go venue, but your daughter may like it before 10 or 11pm when it is "adult" only. If you want to do one of the dinner shows you will need to pre-book those also.

 

We have also sailed many different lines and have been sailing NCL for the last couple of years. With the promos you can't beat the price. I agree that your 12 year old will have a lot of choices on the Getaway. We also don't do the specialty dining, and extras but find the NCL experience is a good choice for us.

[oncruisecontrol]

We sailed on the Getaway last September, and we loved it. I am Platinum on Carnival and have also sailed on Princess and Royal Caribbean, but Norwegian is now my new favorite. The food, dining options, and the entertainment were much better than what I've gotten on Carnival recently.

Regarding the Getaway cabin, we were three women (all in our mid-forties) in one inside cabin. The cabin was nicely appointed but smaller than a Carnival inside cabin, but it had decent storage and the bathroom was really nice. We are all very neat with our belongings so the size of the cabin was not a problem for us. So I would think that two adults and a child would fare pretty well in an inside.

Our next cruise is on Norwegian Escape, and for this trip we booked a balcony because we got a great deal. We will enjoy the extra space, but would not hesitate booking an inside cabin again in the future if we come across an outstanding deal like we got last year for the Getaway.

[oncruisecontrol]

The pool decks on Getaway are crowded just like on Carnival, but the multiple water slides on the Getaway look to me like something an adventurous 12-year-old would have a blast on. I also like the layout of the Getaway. We also enjoyed hanging out in the Atrium before dinner, as they had really enjoyable entertainment there. I highly recommend this ship.

[Cruisermom2nick]

A little background. I have primarily cruised Carnival, but have also sailed RC, MSC and NCL once each. I would certainly book Carnival again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary and ship with amenities we prefer that sails that particular week.

 

It will be myself, my fiance and our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill-seeking daughter traveling. The Getaway seems to have all the adventure activities our DD would enjoy. The itinerary is also nice.

 

As I said, I sailed NCL once about 12 years ago when freestyle cruising was first being introduced. I didn't care for it much at the time and we were on an older boat. I know NCL has made many upgrades to their freestyle cruising. We will not take advantage of any specialty dining, Haven area or "posh" pass. We will be choosing the bar package as our "promotion" of choice. We are trying to keep the expenses reasonable as we are also planning our wedding. We will book an inside cabin for 3. Will that be too tight? I know NCL rooms are smaller than Carnival.

 

I am looking for advice from anyone who has sailed multiple lines of how it compares. Specifically how freestyle is these days. It seems like work to plan, schedule and make reservations. I do like more freedom and ability to dress how we wish (within reason of course). Also, any advice on the getaway for adults and a thrill seeking 12 year old would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance. Happy Cruising :)

 

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[Cruisermom2nick]

A little background. I have primarily cruised Carnival, but have also sailed RC, MSC and NCL once each. I would certainly book Carnival again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary and ship with amenities we prefer that sails that particular week. It will be myself, my fiance and our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill-seeking daughter traveling. The Getaway seems to have all the adventure activities our DD would enjoy. The itinerary is also nice. As I said, I sailed NCL once about 12 years ago when freestyle cruising was first being introduced. I didn't care for it much at the time and we were on an older boat. I know NCL has made many upgrades to their freestyle cruising. We will not take advantage of any specialty dining, Haven area or "posh" pass. We will be choosing the bar package as our "promotion" of choice. We are trying to keep the expenses reasonable as we are also planning our wedding. We will book an inside cabin for 3. Will that be too tight? I know NCL rooms are smaller than Carnival. I am looking for advice from anyone who has sailed multiple lines of how it compares. Specifically how freestyle is these days. It seems like work to plan, schedule and make reservations. I do like more freedom and ability to dress how we wish (within reason of course). Also, any advice on the getaway for adults and a thrill seeking 12 year old would be helpful. Thanks in advance. Happy Cruising :)

 

 

We loved the Getaway so much that we have been on it twice and have another trip planned on it for 2018! :) I blogged about NCL vs Carnival here- http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/2016/05/comparing-norwegian-and-carnival-cruise.html

 

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[divrdwn41]

I had been a Carnival cruiser until I sailed on NCL. The Getaway is now my favorite ship. Three times since Oct 2016. There is no comparison with entertainment. The Burn the Floor show is outstanding. I go to both presentations, as well as the dinner show they entertain at. The Escape is newer, but I still prefer the Getaway because of the entertainment and the itinerary.

[bltrn]

With four of you in the same cabin, you should consider an aft balcony. The balconies are MUCH bigger than the sides.

[Two Wheels Only]

With four of you in the same cabin, you should consider an aft balcony. The balconies are MUCH bigger than the sides.

Other than the H6, none of the aft-facing balconies on BA/GA sleep 4.

[Knighton]

You'll need to make reservations for the 2 production shows, which I think still are Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet. There are multiple presentations of each, but definitely go online and reserve your tickets-there's a standby line that forms just before the shows start, but I wouldn't count on getting seats together. Since you're not juggling specialty restaurant reservations along with the shows, you'll have an easy time of it. That was tough-we had a 4 specialty restaurant package and I started reserving stuff as soon as it was open and I still had a hard time getting all the times to work out so we could see both shows and still go to restaurants.

[Stinkybaby]

I'm not sure why everyone says you "need" to make a reservation to the shows. We have been on the Getaway twice and never made a reservation for any show (Comedy, burn the floor, million dollar quartet, or legally blonde). Usually walked up 5 minutes bedore it was to start and sat down.

[Knighton]

I've been to shows on the breakaway and getaway and maybe it was when we went, but the showroom looked packed to me. If I know for sure I want to do something and there's a way to reserve in advance, better safe than sorry.

[BostonGal35]

i always reserve the shows on the large NCL ships. the standby line will get very long.

 

i much prefer NCL to Carnival. but the Getaway is my least favorite ship. we are trying her again next year, but from the Haven perspective.

[TeresaJ]

We were strictly Carnival cruisers until this year. We tried out the Epic and loved the ship. The big difference is having to make a reservation ahead of time to get into the shows. We missed those because we didn't get a reservation. We liked the freestyle dining and loved the casual atmosphere. The unlimited beverage package was an added bonus. No big bar bill at the end of the cruise. ;)We really enjoyed Epic as did our kids (16 and 12) that we just booked Escape for next spring break.

You will have a great time. The inside cabins on the Epic were small but we had two. Not sure how they compare on the rest of the ships.

Enjoy!

[drvmywifecrzy]

Go for it

[havanadaydreaming]

my wife has sailed all the cruise lines for 4 decades. I just started 7 years ago, we do a cruise a year. I've cruised:

 

Carnival

Carnival

Carnival

Norwegian Escape

MSC

Norwegian Sky

 

and have Epic booked for 11 day in Nov.

 

 

I've liked every cruise go for it! good luck!

 

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