Live from the Getaway 9/12/22-9/22/22

[Seas2mountains]

We are at about the halfway point of the cruise but it has been amazing so far! We are in a 2 bedroom Haven suite for this cruise.  We are somehow surviving with no hashbrowns as occurred with the sailing before ours and also on the Joy. 

We arrived a day early and stayed at the Hilton Midway in NYC and enjoyed a great lunch at PizzArte which was about a two block walk and is highly recommended! There were plenty of other restaurants in the area and convenience stores. Due to rain, we stayed at the hotel lounge/bar for dinner. When we asked for the check, the waiter told us a woman in the restaurant paid for our dinner (which was not cheap!) as she liked how my husband and I sat close together on the same side of the table at dinner. That was so unexpected and kind. We did meet her and thanked her. She asked us to give the waiter a generous tip as she had stayed at the hotel for several days. We did of course do what she requested and tipped very well.

 

The next day, we left for the cruise port at 10:00am and arrived shortly after. The processing through the Haven line was very quick. While we were told that boarding may begin at 12 Noon, we were surprised when it was announced shortly after that we could board. We were on the ship and in the Haven just after 10:45am. I think this was the fastest time ever from the hotel to the ship! 

 

After enjoying some time in the hot tub and Haven lounge, we were allowed to go to our rooms.  The two bedroom suite is quite amazing and we love the windows in the bathroom. We do miss the windows that we would normally have in a club balcony that we could view the ocean while in bed.  We were encouraged to eat lunch in the American Dinner. We did enjoy the lobster and shrimp rolls as appetizers but they could be their own meal.  I had the spinach salad with grilled shrimp and my husband really loved the Mahi Mahi Rueben. We shared an amazing carrot cake for dessert. 

 

We realized our room steward was the same room steward we had on the Encore on February 2000 before everything shut down due to Covid.  We also were excited to learn that Prelude Duo - a very talented music du this shio was on this ship. We enjoyed listening to them in the Sugarcane lounge.

 

Will add more photos and the dailies.

 

We have been told there are 1029 passengers on this sailing and the next one leaving on Sept. 22nd will have 4000 or more guests.  While we can see that the ship is definitely not full, we have been surprised that the atrium and other venues have been full as the passengers have been getting out to enjoy the music options. We have not gone to any theater events but hear there are plenty of seats and there is no need to use the Haven concierge to get premium seating.

 

 

 

 

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

On Day 2, we enjoyed a much needed day to relax and had a wonderful breakfast in the Haven. The almond croissants are delicious but we do like and missed those little round hashbrowns known on NCL ships. Lunch and dinner did also not disappoint as service in the Haven restaurant and bar is top notch as other reviewers have reported. 
 

The thermal spa was quite busy on that first day and the chair hogs were abundant with us noticing that many of those heated lounge chairs were reserved as we watched that many were loaded with towels and personal items but not used the entire time we were there.  I guess these people don’t read the signs asking them limit use to 30 minutes and to avoid reserving them if not using them. We watched one guy reserve two of those heated lounge chairs with his personal items while he didn’t use it. Fortunately, two opened up when we wanted to use them. 
 

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

On Day 3, we decided to take advantage of Tepanyaki being open for lunch as we didn’t want to miss dinners in the Haven when using the specialty dining package. We arrived at Teppanyaki at 1pm and were seated to find that we were the only ones in the whole restaurant.  The staff insisted on serving us when we felt bad that they were there just for us. 
 

We asked the chef to skip the show part of cooking as we have seen plenty of their cooking stunts, skills and humor in many past cruises. The chef and waitress made this a wonderful experience. As usual, it was too much food for us to think about any dessert. 

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

As mentioned, we love listening to Prelude Duo. We are also big fans of the other lounge/bar entertainment such as Antonio and  the band Zennhitt. 

[Seas2mountains]

[AmbitionatBay]

2 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

We are at about the halfway point of the cruise but it has been amazing so far! We are in a 2 bedroom Haven suite for this cruise.  We are somehow surviving with no hashbrowns as occurred with the sailing before ours and also on the Joy. 

We arrived a day early and stayed at the Hilton Midway in NYC and enjoyed a great lunch at PizzArte which was about a two block walk and is highly recommended! There were plenty of other restaurants in the area and convenience stores. Due to rain, we stayed at the hotel lounge/bar for dinner. When we asked for the check, the waiter told us a woman in the restaurant paid for our dinner (which was not cheap!) as she liked how my husband and I sat close together on the same side of the table at dinner. That was so unexpected and kind. We did meet her and thanked her. She asked us to give the waiter a generous tip as she had stayed at the hotel for several days. We did of course do what she requested and tipped very well.

 

The next day, we left for the cruise port at 10:00am and arrived shortly after. The processing through the Haven line was very quick. While we were told that boarding may begin at 12 Noon, we were surprised when it was announced shortly after that we could board. We were on the ship and in the Haven just after 10:45am. I think this was the fastest time ever from the hotel to the ship! 

 

After enjoying some time in the hot tub and Haven lounge, we were allowed to go to our rooms.  The two bedroom suite is quite amazing and we love the windows in the bathroom. We do miss the windows that we would normally have in a club balcony that we could view the ocean while in bed.  We were encouraged to eat lunch in the American Dinner. We did enjoy the lobster and shrimp rolls as appetizers but they could be their own meal.  I had the spinach salad with grilled shrimp and my husband really loved the Mahi Mahi Rueben. We shared an amazing carrot cake for dessert. 

 

We realized our room steward was the same room steward we had on the Encore on February 2000 before everything shut down due to Covid.  We also were excited to learn that Prelude Duo - a very talented music du this shio was on this ship. We enjoyed listening to them in the Sugarcane lounge.

 

Will add more photos and the dailies.

 

We have been told there are 1029 passengers on this sailing and the next one leaving on Sept. 22nd will have 4000 or more guests.  While we can see that the ship is definitely not full, we have been surprised that the atrium and other venues have been full as the passengers have been getting out to enjoy the music options. We have not gone to any theater events but hear there are plenty of seats and there is no need to use the Haven concierge to get premium seating.

 

 

 

 

So we are the next cruise on the 22nd and am not thrilled to hear there will be that many passengers on board. Any chance you could check another source and let us know?  I realize they need to make money but was hoping to hear a lower number. Last cruise we took, and were very careful, we got COVID.  
 

Thanks for any info you can find out.  

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, AmbitionatBay said:

Last cruise we took, and were very careful, we got COVID.  

We were on the cruise before this one with 1,238 passengers. Several people are reporting they have COVID and at least two individuals we know did get the COVID. My husband and I are fine. I've tested every day since getting off as I've had a scratchy throat and cough, but I guess it's just a very mild cold as all tests come back negative.

We also sailed in April on the Getaway with 4,400 passengers. Again, several people on CC and Facebook reported catching COVID. We did not. It's a luck of the draw kinda thing - who you're around, how long you're in line, what really crowded ports you go to, etc...it's a cruise, so unfortunately you're exposed to a lot of people.

Wishing you, and the OP, the best on each of your cruises! I hope they are as entertaining as mine.

 

2 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

The almond croissants are delicious but we do like and missed those little round hashbrowns known on NCL ships.

Those little golden nuggets of fried potato are so wonderful, and were so missed the last 2/3's of my cruise. I'm sorry you haven't been able to delight in them at all. I guess supply chain issues impact the golden spuds too!

 

I noticed you had four shrimp in your cocktail. Did you request four or did they realize three weren't enough after my husband ordered 9, 11, and 13 last week?

3 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

The next day, we left for the cruise port at 10:00am and arrived shortly after. The processing through the Haven line was very quick. While we were told that boarding may begin at 12 Noon, we were surprised when it was announced shortly after that we could board. We were on the ship and in the Haven just after 10:45am. I think this was the fastest time ever from the hotel to the ship! 

That's amazing! You're welcome, by the way! Since we went through customs in Miami the long, sad walk from the Getaway was much quicker. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your cruise!

[AmbitionatBay]

16 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

We were on the cruise before this one with 1,238 passengers. Several people are reporting they have COVID and at least two individuals we know did get the COVID. My husband and I are fine. I've tested every day since getting off as I've had a scratchy throat and cough, but I guess it's just a very mild cold as all tests come back negative.

We also sailed in April on the Getaway with 4,400 passengers. Again, several people on CC and Facebook reported catching COVID. We did not. It's a luck of the draw kinda thing - who you're around, how long you're in line, what really crowded ports you go to, etc...it's a cruise, so unfortunately you're exposed to a lot of people.

Wishing you, and the OP, the best on each of your cruises! I hope they are as entertaining as mine.

 

Those little golden nuggets of fried potato are so wonderful, and were so missed the last 2/3's of my cruise. I'm sorry you haven't been able to delight in them at all. I guess supply chain issues impact the golden spuds too!

 

I noticed you had four shrimp in your cocktail. Did you request four or did they realize three weren't enough after my husband ordered 9, 11, and 13 last week?

That's amazing! You're welcome, by the way! Since we went through customs in Miami the long, sad walk from the Getaway was much quicker. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your cruise!

Hoping the antibodies we gained from COVID in May are still protecting us - lol. It’s obviously a chance we are willing to take because we love to cruise and Bermuda is a favorite of ours!  Pretty sure we caught it in The Cavern watching the Beatles show even though we left early - it was jam packed.

 

I think I saw you posted you might hop on the October 30 New England cruise. We are on that one too.  Seems like it is going to be a good time!!  

[Sand and Seas]

We didn't realize how lucky we were to have the golden round hash browns on the Bliss a week ago!  Now I wish I had made it to more breakfasts....

 

Enjoying reading your review.  Hope you a have a wonderful cruise😎

[Seas2mountains]

We so miss the hashbrowns at breakfast we learned to love as part of the NCL experience. 

[Seas2mountains]

9 hours ago, AmbitionatBay said:

So we are the next cruise on the 22nd and am not thrilled to hear there will be that many passengers on board. Any chance you could check another source and let us know?  I realize they need to make money but was hoping to hear a lower number. Last cruise we took, and were very careful, we got COVID.  
 

Thanks for any info you can find out.  

The numbers are accurate and consistent with other 5 day sailings that happen over a weekend.  I’m sure the crew will be sure you have an amazing cruise. 

[Seas2mountains]

9 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

 

Wishing you, and the OP, the best on each of your cruises! I hope they are as entertaining as mine.

 

 

I noticed you had four shrimp in your cocktail. Did you request four or did they realize three weren't enough after my husband ordered 9, 11, and 13 last week?

That's amazing! You're welcome, by the way! Since we went through customs in Miami the long, sad walk from the Getaway was much quicker. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your cruise!

Thank you! And thank you for your wonderful live review. 
 

We requested four shrimp but the staff was ready to give us six or more. 🙂

 

Yes, we benefited from your cruise having done customs in Miami as even though you didn’t arrive until 8am or so (correct?) they sure got us on faster than I expected. 

[Seas2mountains]

[cruiseny4life]

10 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you! And thank you for your wonderful live review. 
 

We requested four shrimp but the staff was ready to give us six or more. 🙂

 

Yes, we benefited from your cruise having done customs in Miami as even though you didn’t arrive until 8am or so (correct?) they sure got us on faster than I expected. 

Why of course! It was fun to do and I'm glad you're doing one for the sailing immediately after mine. Thank you!

 

We did dock at 8 AM. I'm not sure why we came in so late as we kind of hung out off the coast of North Carolina for at least half a day...could have come into NYC a bit earlier, unless there was some sort of traffic on the river.

[dcipjr]

9 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

We were on the cruise before this one with 1,238 passengers. Several people are reporting they have COVID and at least two individuals we know did get the COVID. My husband and I are fine. I've tested every day since getting off as I've had a scratchy throat and cough, but I guess it's just a very mild cold as all tests come back negative.

We were on that cruise as well…we all wound up getting sore throats the day of disembarkation, and my wife and daughter had coughing and sneezing, but we all tested negative for COVID and our symptoms have all abated by now. So we didn’t get it! 🥳

 

We all had it in May after a Bermuda cruise, so I’m guessing antibodies are still going strong — or we just got lucky.

 

It’s funny: for the Bermuda cruise, I took so many precautions, like masking in crowded spaces and avoiding elevators, etc., and I still got it. For this one, we took no precautions (once onboard) and didn’t get it. 
 

We’re on the October 30th Breakaway cruise too, and plan to get our boosters two weeks before. Not that we’re counting on that preventing us from getting it, but might as well have our immune systems primed.

 

12 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

On Day 2, we enjoyed a much needed day to relax and had a wonderful breakfast in the Haven. The almond croissants are delicious but we do like and missed those little round hashbrowns known on NCL ships.

I was wondering about the hash browns! We got ones that seemed to be homemade, and was curious whether they changed the recipe again. Guess it’s just the supply chain having fun with us again.

 

Enjoy your cruise and thanks for the review! We also were in a Haven 2BR and had a lovely time. 
 

Sounds like the Labor Day Lull is ending after your cruise. We only had around 1200 onboard and it was terrific.

[Seas2mountains]

This is our fourth cruise since the Covid restart. We had a great time on the Encore (Aug. 2021), Bliss (March 2022), and Jewel (June 2022). We did not get sick or have any Covid symptoms after any of these cruises but did hear of others who tested positive after the cruise ended.  Fingers crossed we will dodge Covid again. We both work in career fields where we have been around people since Covid started so our immune systems may be boosted from contact with others.  
 

We have been enjoying a fairly empty thermal spa with the port stops in Port Canaveral, Nassau, and today at Great Stirrup Cay. As we have cruises frequently before Covid, we’ve enjoying these ports but also really like being on the ship when many guests get off. 
 

Yesterday, there was an officer Q and A session. One guest commented on how wonderful the staff have been on the ship. We have encountered amazing staff members on this cruise and on previous cruises which is why we remain loyal to NCL as we did not feel the same about a few other cruise lines we tried. One officer did mention that they do use Cruise Critic for feedback. 
 

We can attest to several situations where the staff went over and above our expectations such as getting a certain wine we asked about but they didn’t have at the bar where we were listening to entertainment and this morning in the Haven for breakfast when my husband asked for salsa for his eggs and they went somewhere on the ship to get it for him. In both situations, we would have been fine with hearing the items were not available and feel bad they went though so much trouble for us. We do believe in tipping and filling out the vacation hero forms so we are sure to thank them for being so kind. 
 

We listened to a great performance by Antonio last night. He and other musicians who play In the lounges are very talented. 

[Seas2mountains]

I keep forgetting to take food photos but here are a few. We shared a steak last night as after an appetizer and salad, and being able to add lobster tail, we aren’t able to finish our entree. 
 

The egg white frittata is really good! All of these are from the Haven restaurant which we love more than we expected. It is neat to see how the Haven staff work as a team and all help guests whether they are assigned to the table or not. 

[Mira28]

Hi, I am also on this cruise. It has been wonderful! The crew is amazing. 
One show I especially enjoyed was the comic/magician Anthony Salazar (?) in the theater on Thursday 9/15. If he is doing a show on a future cruise, I wouldn’t miss it. 
Syd Norman’s Pour House is also really fun (and packed). So many memorable times on this cruise!