This girl’s Getaway review April 2018

[stacystacy]

INTRO - Couple in our mid-30’s. We have been on multiple cruises before with various lines, including Norwegian. All of this stuff is obviously subjective, but this is my personal experience on our cruise.

 

SHIP

I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it either. It felt really boxy. I guess we are used to more open-concept layouts. This was especially prevalent on the pool deck. I like being able to look down over the pool from multiple decks and that’s not possible on this ship. That whole deck is sectioned off into separate spaces and doesn’t flow very nicely. That pool deck area is insanely crowded. I agree with others about the main pool size being ridiculously small for the amount of passengers on board. The hot tubs are luke-warm. The slides were fun! The orange and red covered slides were surprisingly fast!! We loved them! I’m a chicken and didn’t try the drop slides. We also didn’t try the ropes course or rock-climbing.

 

I missed seeing an open ATRIUM with the fun stairs and elevator. The atrium on this ship is really just 2 levels and the location of it is awful. They held gameshows and contests on the tiny “stage” in the atrium right beside guest services and below O’Sheehan’s. The loud shows, when you’re trying to talk to someone at guest services, are incredibly annoying. You have to scream at the employees to converse. You also have to listen to the loud shows while eating at O’Sheehan’s. Sometimes it can be nice to have that entertainment while you’re eating. But if you don’t want to hear the loud shows, too bad. You have to scream at each other to talk while having your meal at O’Sheehan’s. The atrium is also very small with little seating. People are standing everywhere and it’s not even a raised stage so why they have shows and contests in that space is beyond me. They don’t use the theatre, comedy lounge or fat cats lounge for these shows? I don’t get it. There must be a better option.

 

The CASINO. Okay, I read the reviews before our cruise and saw people complaining about the smoke smell and fog. I’m a non-smoker and quite honestly, I thought the reviews were exaggerating and that it wouldn’t be that bad. It is. That bad. It’s awful. It’s bad enough to deter me from being there. That layout is awful. The whole casino stinks and I’ve never experienced anything like it on previous lines or Norwegian ships, for that matter.

 

I enjoyed Spice H20 for quiet time on Sea days. It’s very nice and has a cute little waterfall/cool down area with benches. It’s too bad that they don’t have 2 separate areas for the outside dancing and the movies under the stars. I enjoy doing both – but they can’t both be operating at the same time. We participated in the dancing at night at Spice H20 on Deck 16 a few times and really enjoyed it. The DJ played a good mix of music and it was fun to be outside with the wind in your hair.

 

The GYM was way too small. I had to wait to use the cardio machines on multiple occasions. I believe there were 16 or 18 treadmills. It also gets insanely hot in there when it’s full. Yes, obviously it gets hot in there when people workout, but I mean it gets really hot. My forearms were sweating. I’m also disappointed that they don’t have a locker room with showers in the gym/spa area. On previous ships, I’ve enjoyed using the bigger showers in the gym/spa after my workouts.

 

Our BALCONY STATEROOM was fine. The shower was spacious. The balcony was tiny. The bed was hard. I liked having a coffee maker in the room. I hated that the closet was 10 inches from my side of the bed. However, for the 2 of us, there was plenty of storage space. The blow-dryer, full size, was great. The lemongrass soaps smelled nice. The shampoo wasn’t good though. If you have long hair, you’ll need about 64 pumps of it to get a semi-lather of bubbles. Bring your own shampoo and conditioner if you have longer or thicker hair.

 

I like FOOD. The BUFFET was okay. Personally, I HATED the layout of it. The food is positioned on the outer square of the kitchen (opposed to in rows right beside each other) and you pretty much have to walk around the entire buffet before covering all the food options. This annoys me because I like eating my food hot. You pick up something you like and then have to walk for 4 minutes, through big crowds, to get to the other side to grab the other thing you want on your plate. It’s not the end of the world, but it did bug me at the time. The breakfast is the same stuff every day (obviously). I really enjoyed the muesli and cut up fresh fruit every morning. Nice to have someone else do all that chopping. I love eggs benedict, but the “hollandaise sauce” they put on them is the consistency of water and tastes terrible. I enjoyed the pasta station at dinner and lunch. The attendant had more food and veggie options to put in your pasta than what was visible when walking by. The lunches were okay. The food wasn’t amazing on the buffet but it wasn’t bad either. There was always something we liked but I don’t recall going up for seconds on anything. The pizza, also highly subjective, is thin and has cardboard-like crust. Princess and Carnival do a much better job on theirs. I loved the ice cream in the self-serve machines. They had a candy/cupcake/ice cream section set up in the buffet every night and I enjoyed it.

 

We ate in the MAIN DINING ROOM twice for dinner and the service is definitely slow. We know to expect slower service when eating in the main dining room, and feel that it is part of the experience, but sometimes you don’t want to be there for 2 hours when it’s just the two of you ordering a starter, main and dessert. The food we ordered (prime rib) was good though. My husband got the gnocchi one night and didn’t care for it but otherwise everything was tasty. He loved the crab cakes.

 

O’SHEEHAN’s – we went here once for lunch and once for breakfast. The lunch day service was extremely slow – it was busy, but we did have to wait 30 minutes for our food to arrive. Not ideal. On the breakfast day, it arrived in 5 minutes. Service was quick and food was fresh and delicious. It was nice to sit and order fried eggs how you like them. Also nice to get away from the crazy busy breakfast buffet – that place is definitely nuts, every day. Especially sea days.

 

ICE BAR – I’m not sure what the price of this is, but it’s a very tiny room with one ice chair and they give you a super tiny drink and you just stand there. I think the concept is wonderful but the actual experience is a bit underwhelming. They give you a pretty coat and mitts before you go in, but once in, you’ll probably feel a bit disappointed.

 

SPECIALTY DINING – we had the package that included 3 specialty dining meals and we did the Cirque dinner & show and Cagney’s steakhouse twice. We reserved Cagney’s and Cirque before getting on the ship and planned to decide on a 3rd choice once we were on board. Cagney’s was so delicious that we found ourselves back there the following night. I ordered the lobster bisque, surf&turf (jumbo shrimp, filet mignon) and it came with truffle mashed potatoes and broccoli and all of it was phenomenal. The mashed potatoes were the best I’d ever had and the steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly. My husband got the ribeye and thoroughly enjoyed it. I got the raspberry crème brulet for dessert and it was excellent. Husband got some pear torte/cake and it was also very good. Hubby had also mentioned wanting to try the sea bass so our wonderful waiter, George, brought him a piece of sea bass on the side of his steak meal. Great service. We had good service the following night as well and service was just as good. The dinner at the CIRQUE show was also surf&turf. It was good. I would eat the meal again. It’s definitely very rushed though. They make you eat and finish your dinner before the show starts.

 

The SHOWS - The THEATRE seating was good. Lots of leg room and cup holders on every chair. The Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet shows were both excellent. Probably the best entertainment I’ve seen on a cruise ship. The Burn the Floor dancers also perform in the Tropicana dining room at dinner once or twice on the cruise which is a fun addition to your meal. They’re truly talented. The COMEDIANS were okay. Steve Smith repeated his material 3 separate times. I was shocked that he did not have more. We saw him twice in the club and then once more at the goodbye show and he did the same jokes every time! Really???? Buddy, you need new material. The other comic, with the adopted baby girl, was funny, but not amazing. He had different material the 2 times we saw him though, so at least there’s that. We never saw dueling pianos – meant to, but forgot to attend one night. The dancing with the stars-type show in the atrium was funny. The commentary between dancing/elimination was done well. We laughed quite a bit.

 

The STAFF were very friendly. Everyone we walked by smiled or said hello for the most part. We had one unpleasant experience at the guest services desk after NCL made an error and would not correct it but it was eventually resolved. The CRUISE DIRECTOR, Paquito (spelling?), was good. He was at all of the major events and was full of NCL spirit. He danced it up big at the Glow Party and 80’s night. He must be exhausted after being so “on” all of the time.

 

For the ports, we booked privately for our EXCURSIONS.

Costa Maya – is there any other choice other than MAYA CHAN beach? If you don’t know, it’s a small family-like all-inclusive beach resort day that includes your never-ending alcoholic drinks, beach chairs and beds, umbrellas, free wifi, homemade salsas and tortillas and a phenomenal taco lunch. They only take a small number of people per day and it fills fast so I’d recommend booking ASAP. Amazing day there. Service is also impeccable.

 

Harvest Caye, Belize (NCL’s island) – Meh. There’s nothing Belize-like about it. No culture. Just a cookie-cutter island. That being said, the island is absolutely beautiful in appearance. The pool is huge and has a swim up bar. Bring cash and credit because NCL cards are not accepted. Landshark drinks and food will cost you a fortune. Beach sand is super coarse – bring water shoes.

 

Roatan, Honduras – We went scuba diving with Coconut Tree Divers and had an amazing time with them. We will go back there next time we are in Roatan.

 

Cozumel – We went with CruiseExcursions.net and did some snorkeling and scuba diving. It was a good experience. The company seems a bit overwhelmed as they offer so many types of excursions, but their prices were good and they tried to ensure the customer was satisfied. We had a mix up but many factors were involved and it wasn’t their fault. Confusion ensued but they rectified it at the end and we had a really fun day going out on the boat for a snorkel and then doing a dive with Alex.

 

 

So… OVERALL… you can see, if you read all the way down here, that there were some likes and dislikes. No loves and hates though. Nothing was absolutely awful but nothing was phenomenal either. With so many other options, I would not get on the Getaway again. I didn’t love the feel of the ship. With respect to NCL – there were definitely quite a few corners cut, and the prices keep rising, so I think we will likely try another line next time. That being said, we will probably be on another Norwegian cruise in the future.

 

I’d give this cruise a 7/10.

[wizdiz]

Great review

[ejnsb]

It’s funny that I pretty much agree with everything you said but came away with a much more positive feeling about the Getaway. In fact we returned to the ship six months later (different itinerary). A couple big pluses for us:

 

The Waterfront- we loved the outdoor drinking, dining and strolling option.

 

Aft Balcony- we booked the same aft balcony 9920- on both cruises. Huuuuge balcony (thanks to cruise critic for the tip)

 

Howl at the Moon was a lot of fun- we are fans from way back. And I agree that the entertainment was the best we have ever seen on a ship.

 

Thanks for your review- hope you don’t mind me throwing my two cents in.

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

The balcony was tiny. The bed was hard. I liked having a coffee maker in the room. I hated that the closet was 10 inches from my side of the bed.

For a standard or aft-facing balcony, the bed can be either by the closet or by the balcony. Also, the aft-facing balconies (they vary in size) are several times larger than the standard side balconies....

 

[stacystacy]

For a standard or aft-facing balcony, the bed can be either by the closet or by the balcony. Also, the aft-facing balconies (they vary in size) are several times larger than the standard side balconies....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course I don’t mind! Thanks for the input. The aft balconies have a different price point though, right?

 

Funny that you agree with most ... I don’t come away from the cruise upset or anything, I just didn’t like it as much as our last few. Our most recent was on Regal Princess.

 

Cheers

[ejnsb]

Of course I don’t mind! Thanks for the input. The aft balconies have a different price point though, right?

 

Funny that you agree with most ... I don’t come away from the cruise upset or anything, I just didn’t like it as much as our last few. Our most recent was on Regal Princess.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

yes, the afts are higher priced

 

 

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[Id rather be diving]

For a standard or aft-facing balcony, the bed can be either by the closet or by the balcony. Also, the aft-facing balconies (they vary in size) are several times larger than the standard side balconies....

 

Do any of the aft balconies have sun other than a direct link ne from behind?

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments!

[Two Wheels Only]

Do any of the aft balconies have sun other than a direct link ne from behind?

There is a "exposed/covered" ratio for all of them. If getting sun is more important than size, I recommend another deck. It depends on what is more important. All have some sun if the sun is directly overhead and obviously, all get blasted by the sun if the ship is facing away from the sun.

 

 

This might help (it's Breakaway but the same as Getaway)

[Id rather be diving]

Thanks!! Depending on itinerary would probably be my deciding factor. Little sun on a chillier route would have me choose a regular balcony.

[Traj]

We we also underwhelmed by the ship this April. The MDRs service was horrible. With the exception of one, our kids didn’t spend as much time at the splash academy this time around, so that does affect my experience [emoji846]

 

 

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