Getaway trip review 3/18/18 through 3/24/18

[BeinKc]

Just arrived home and wanted to post this review for all those who are thinking of taking a Getaway trip. A little history on us, we are a married couple in our mid 50's with several cruises under our belts. This was a somewhat last minute (booked in January 18) trip choice. This is our second Norwegian and yes when we made the arrangements I had completely forgot about spring break.

 

We arrived in Florida a day early and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express Executive Airport Ft. Lauderdale. I picked this hotel because we were not arriving until after 11 PM on the night before and it was reasonably priced. Our flight was delayed, so we ended up arriving around 3AM. The front desk personnel quickly processed us in and we were asleep by 4. The room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Breakfast the next morning was provided and adequate.

 

We had scheduled a transfer with QLS for 10:00 AM. I have used this company several times and never been disappointed. They arrived at 9:50 and we were off. We made one other stop at a hotel to pick up a family of four and then headed to the Miami Pier. We arrived around 11 and walked directly through security. There were possibly 25 people in front of us at check in, so the wait was minimal. We were issued boarding group #8. The waiting area was pretty crowded as they had not started boarding yet, but the wait wasn't long and we were on the ship and sitting at O'Sheehans by 12:30.

 

We were in a mid ship mini suite (9792). This room had the largest bathroom/shower I have ever experienced on a cruise ship and we both appreciated it. The balcony on the other hand, was the smallest we have ever experienced. We usually wake up and have a cup of coffee out on the balcony to start our day. The balcony was adequate for that as well as watching the ship sail into and away from ports. The bed was just so-so for comfort. There is a single cup coffee pot in the room. We took Starbucks VIA along as we had read that the coffee on board wasn't very good. A little more about this room, it is directly above the Waterfront and more specifically, Fat Cats. This is the lounge where they have the late night Karoke....if you like to go to bed before 1AM, avoid this room. The pounding from the music could easily be heard through the floors. Our room steward was, Marlon. He introduced himself to us the first day and was seen several times throughout the cruise. He did a great job keeping our ice bucket full and my coffee creamer resupplied.

 

Restaurants:

O'Sheehans - We ate here the first lunch and had the burger and quesadilla. Both were good. One other evening after a shore excursion we went back to eat some chicken wings and fish and chips. Both these items were "okay" and not something worth repeating. One comment on these boards we had seen was that the wait staff was less than chipper. I would have to agree with this. They were professional, quickly taking our order and getting our food out, but they never came back around for a second drink order or even to ask about the food. They were not the smiling friendly faces you are use to seeing on cruise ships, to include all the other eating venues on this ship.

 

La Cucina - We had early reservations, 5:30, and were seated at a window table for two. The wait staff was very attentive and the food was great. I had the Parmesan risotto which in review was the best bite we both had on the ship. My husband had the steak with gorgonzola. He asked for a medium rare and ended up with a medium. No we did not raise a stink and send it back, he just ate it and actually enjoyed it. Everything we ordered was delicious and if we could have (this venue was booked the whole cruise) we would have gone back another evening.

 

Cagney's- Early reservations again, 5:30. We were once again given a table by the window. We both ordered steaks. I had the petite filet and it was cooked perfectly at a medium. My husband had the New York Strip and ordered it medium rare. It arrived closer to the medium mark, but once again it was good and he enjoyed it. We both thoroughly enjoyed this meal. The staff was pleasant and attentive.

 

Ocean Blue - This was our least favorite of the speciality dinner venues. 6:30 reservations and promply sat at a table for two by the window. Great waitress (the best of the trip). The issue with this restaurant is the $16.00 (I may be off on that exact number) upcharge even if you use your dining package. I had scallops and my husband had surf and turf. The scallops were cooked perfectly and were delicious, but were served with pork belly. Yes, definitely not what I would consider a side to scallops and they actually were not very good. My husband enjoyed his meal, but I can't remember if his steak was cooked correctly or not...I was too busy questioning the pork belly. For dessert I had the lemon tart....wow, this is really good and the best dessert of the trip.

 

Savor- This is one of the main dining rooms and we ate here one night. My husband had steak and said it was cooked at a perfect medium rare. I had the lasagna. Both were good, but the wait staff was extremely slow. We ordered glasses of wine first thing and after the waiter did not bring them (were were already half way through our salads) my husband went to the bar outside the restaurant and was back with two glasses of wine before the waiter returned with our order. The waiter (a very nice man) asked us if he was too slow. We just smiled and said we were thirsty. It was obvious in this restaurant that there were more people eating and less wait staff.

 

Cirque Steam and Dreams- Our opinion is this is not worth the money. The food was actually very good and the steak was cooked perfectly. The issue here is that they are in such a rush to serve you all three courses before the show starts (we arrived at 5:00 and were seated immediately) and have all the dishes cleared away, that it was a very rushed meal. The show itself was more Circus than Cirque. Also, the floor seating that you pay extra for...incredibly uncomfortable.

 

Margaritaville - We have eaten at several of these, so we are familiar with the menu. We decided to eat lunch here our last sea day. It was definitely worth the $14.95 charge. The food was good and plentyful. The venue was not crowded and with the drink package, the margaritas were plentyful.

 

Buffet - We had breakfast here each day and a couple of lunches. The food we ate was good. The place was typically crowded.

 

A few more things about the ship. The first sea day I had no trouble finding a deck chair to sun in. Yes there were alot of towels holding chairs, but not a problem for me and I was out and about around 10 am. Thankfully, there were no college age spring breakers. Lots of family with kids, but nothing I found to be an issue. We never had any trouble getting a drink at any of the bars. Entertainment for us was not very entertaining...Howl at the Moon was incredibly loud and while we were only there for 30 minutes, the performers asked about 5 times for TIPS if you wanted your song request immediately. There was one entertainer who was often at the Sugercane bar and he was good, but the bar seating is very limited and standing around for 2 hours to listen to the music wasn't worth it for us. Million Dollar Quartet was thoroughly enjoyed. We had the early reservations and the show was not close to being full.

 

I will follow up in a new post on Shore Excursions. If anyone has questions, just ask.

[fsa1155]

Thanks for the review. We are going to be on the Getaway in September. It will be our first Norwegian Cruise. I'm trying to take in all the info I can find. :D

 

Glad you had a great trip,

Karen

[wizdiz]

Great review. Thanks, I enjoyed it!

[stacystacy]

Great review! Sailing in a couple of weeks on the Getaway so it’s fun to read!

 

 

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[FarreyFamCruzin]

Margaritaville - We have eaten at several of these, so we are familiar with the menu. We decided to eat lunch here our last sea day. It was definitely worth the $14.95 charge. The food was good and plentyful. The venue was not crowded and with the drink package, the margaritas were plentyful.

 

 

So does this mean that they have converted Margaritaville on the Getaway to a fixed up charge per person and away from ala carte pricing? If so, that is disappointing...

 

 

 

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[BeinKc]

So does this mean that they have converted Margaritaville on the Getaway to a fixed up charge per person and away from ala carte pricing? If so, that is disappointing...

 

 

 

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Yes, it was a fixed price that includes one appetizer, one entree and one dessert per person.

[BeinKc]

Excursions.....I want to note here that we never once had an issue with crowds getting off the ship. But then, we always waited for about an hour after docking before we would then walk off.

 

Roatan, Honduras: We took a Norwegian tour titled "Ultimate Big French Key Beach Experience w/Lunch". My husband wanted to snorkel and this was offered on this tour. We were met at the pier and taken to a bus, packed us in pretty tight but the air conditioning worked, so not a problem. The trip to the beach took about a half hour due to road construction. Upon arrival we all climbed onto a boat that took us to the island. The island had plenty of chairs for sunning and there were several areas of shade also. The beach was really rocky, so water shoes would have been a plus here. The water wasn't too deep and they had wooden tables out in the middle of the water that you could walk to with your cocktail. The snorkelers were taken by boat out to the reef. My husband felt this was a good snorkel with lots to see, it lasted about 40 minutes. I sat in the sun reading my book while he was out. Once he got back, we went over to the big covered area which was the bar and tables for lunch. They had a buffet set up which included beans and rice, chicken, fish. The food was good, but the best part was the Key Lime Pie that one of the waitresses sold as an extra ($5.00 a piece). It was really good. Also included in this was two drink tickets per person. What they didn't say is that the only drinks availale with this ticket were sodas or beer. The bar sold other drinks, margaritas and such, but they were $10.00 per drink.

 

Harvest Caye, Belize: This is the island that Norwegian built. It was lovely. I sort of thought of it as another sea day. The difference here is that there were plenty of loungers either on the beach or by the pool. With our ship being the only ship there, it wasn't over crowded. We rented a clam for $38.00 which was charged on our ship card. We had a great spot in front of the restaurant/bar on the beach side. We ordered a couple drinks through out the day which you had to pay for with a credit card. The drinks were good. We ate lunch at the Landshark restaurant. I had the fish tacos and my husband had a burger, both were enjoyed. If you didn't want to pay for lunch, you could have walked back to the ship for lunch and then returned to the beach/pool.

 

Costa Maya, Mexico: We purchased a pass to the Nacional Beach Club. The cost was $110.00 per person. This was an all inclusive package and we were instructed to walk off the ship and work our way through the port area to a cab. Once in the cab, we gave them the resort name and a few minutes later we pulled up to the club. We were greeted immediately, as the employee responded out to the cab and paid the fare (FYI it was $4.00 per person). We were then taken into the restaurant area where we sat and ate breakfast (delicious omlets). They also had this green juice that was offered. I'm not sure what is in it, but it was also delicious. After breakfast, we were escorted to the beach and our choice of beach chairs. One of the reasons we picked this club was the location. It is far enough down the beach that it is not crowded at all. The Club only allows a limited number of people off the cruise ships. We spent the day under an umbrella and playing in the ocean. The staff was very attentive and brought us Mango Margaritas, bottled water, chips and quacamole (the best of the trip). They had many other snack options, but the chips and guacamole filled us up. Around lunch time, we made our way up to the restaurant where we had our choice from the menu. We chose the lobster tails (our second reason for coming to this Club). The lobster came with rice, french fries and more margaritas. We then rolled ourselves back to the beach for a couple more hours. Once we were ready to leave, they ordered us a taxi and paid for it up front. A few short minutes later we were back at the pier. This was a fantastic day and it was well worth the money spent. The staff at Nacional Beach Club were the best.

 

Cozumel, Mexico: We have been to Cozumel many times, so after three days of lying on beaches, we decided to just go out and walk. It is an easy port to walk from. The biggest issue here is (as anyone who has been to Mexico knows) it is not a peaceful walk. You are constantly barraged with invites to go into every shop you walk past. One way we avoided this issue, was to walk on the side of the street by the ocean. Once we figured this out, we enjoyed our uninterrupted stroll.

 

The final day was a sea day and we were able to find a seat on the waterfront ( this is prime property, so get there early) where we spent most of the day reading and enjoying some Mojitos.

 

Disembarkment: Now having only sailed Norwegian once before and along time ago, we didn't know that we had to go to Customer Service area to get our luggage tags. We figured this out when they never arrived in our room. By the time we got there, the only times left were 9:15 or later. This could have been an issue if we had an early flight, but we have learned that rushing off the ship to catch a flight puts a damper on your vacation. So we always stay an extra day at the Ft. Lauderdale Beach. We had scheduled QLS to pick us up at 10:00, so 9:15 was not a problem. We took our time getting up in the morning, ate our last breakfast and before we knew it they called our color luggage tags. The walk off was fairly simple, a short line that went quickly and we were off and through customs. QLS arrived early and transported us to our hotel.

 

Westin Beach Resort and Spa, Ft. Lauderdale Beach was a great resort to spend our last day in Florida. Right across the street from the beach on A1A. The resort has a pool and a provides chairs and umbrellas on the beach. It was a short cab ride to the Ft. Lauderdale airport the next morning for our flight home.

 

In closing, this was a good trip. We spent more time lounging around on beaches than on previous trips and we loved it. We enjoyed most of the food Norwegian had to offer and on a ship of this size, rarely felt that we were crowded. Prior to our trip, I spent many hours on these boards reading up. Often mentioned was the smoke odor from the Casino. Yes, we smelled the cigarette smoke, but no it wasn't overpowering or so bad that we felt the need to leave the area. There were designated smoking areas (FYI we arn't smokers) that included, the Casino if you were playing, on the Waterfront around the Sunset Bar and a glass enclosed area on the pool deck.

 

I think that about sums it up. Hope this helps someone along the way.

[kelleyfarms]

Thanks for the great review!!! It's really nice to hear a positive review, and also nice to hear from someone who lives near to us:cool: John

[Clarea]

Excellent review, thanks!

[MandyMommyof2]

Excellent review! I am going to check out your excursion for Costa Maya. We are so undecided on what to do that day. Right now our plans were to just walk off the ship, explore the port area itself and then head back to the ship. We kinda had our fingers crossed the ship might be empty then, lol. I'm also excited to head to Margaritaville. When we last sailed on the Getaway, Flamingo grill was still there. I don't mind the cover charge, seems like a decent deal to me. Thanks for taking the time to write your review :)

[BeinKc]

Excellent review! I am going to check out your excursion for Costa Maya. We are so undecided on what to do that day. Right now our plans were to just walk off the ship, explore the port area itself and then head back to the ship. We kinda had our fingers crossed the ship might be empty then, lol. I'm also excited to head to Margaritaville. When we last sailed on the Getaway, Flamingo grill was still there. I don't mind the cover charge, seems like a decent deal to me. Thanks for taking the time to write your review :)

 

I am a planner and we thought of just walking off the ship and randomly finding a resort to use in Costa Maya, but it stresses me out to not have a plan. In hindsight, us scheduling the Nacional Beach Club was the best move for us. As we laid sunning on the beach, I saw people walking down the beach being approached by every resort (similar to how they do in the shops in Mexico) trying to get people to come to their resort.

 

Evan, the owner of Nacional Beach Club, is an Expat from Texas. He and his wife designed and run the beach club. He has been great to communicate with via email. If you go this route, you will not regret it.

[BeinKc]

Thanks for the great review!!! It's really nice to hear a positive review, and also nice to hear from someone who lives near to us:cool: John

 

 

Hello fellow Missourian!