Beautiful ship, Poor Service

The Getaway is a beautiful ship.  They have a lot of outdoor activities that will keep you busy and entertained.  The ropes course is great for all ages young and old.  The walkway out over the ship is a real thrill I was actually scared to turn around and walk back but glad I tried it.  The slides are also a lot of fun great for all ages.  What especially made me happy was the fact that I found lots of lounge chairs after arriving in the pool area after 9 or 10'in the morning. Granted it wasn't right in front of the pool but up high on a deck that was protected from the wind with lots of sun.  I think people think its a private area since it's right by Vibe but it's open and lots of room.  Very very happy with this spot.  For me this was the best part of the cruise.  I was on vacation and I wanted to lay out relax and get some sun.  So for the 3 sea days it was the best. 

Arrival at the port and check in for the cruise went very smoothly.  The whole process took maybe 30 minutes. We arrived around 11:30.  Once on board we made reservations for the magic dinner show 20% off the first night.  Definitely worth the price,  the food and service were great and the show was fantastic.  My only complaint was that the tables are set up in a way that your constantly moving around to see the stage.  Get there when the doors open 30 minutes before the show they fill the tables front to back.  This is a must see show you will be glad you did.  

The rooms were open by 1:00 and out luggage started arriving shortly after that. We had a balcony on the 12th floor and the room was very nice.  I think it might me a little smaller than other balcony rooms I've been on and definitely the outside balcony  was the smallest ever .  My adult daughter slep on the sofa and it was hard as a rock probably because it was brand new. The king size bed we slept on was great for my husband and I. The closet is in a good place but it's hard to get around.  The bathroom set up is one of the best I've had glass door on the shower no curtain.  Hate to say this but our room steward was the worse I have ever had.  He never introduced himself didn't clean the room unless we turned the button on.  Which no one told us about how the electricity worked in the room with your room key.  I read reviews a head of time on cruise critic and figured it out myself.  There were never enough towels for 3 people in the bathroom and even though we left wash cloths on the floor in the shower they were still there after the morning cleaning. Not a big deal but the first two days we never even received a daily planner.  I had to ask our steward to get them for us.  We even had to ask to have the sofa bed made up at night the first two nights. Maybe he didn't realize there were 3 in our room.  We also never received color coded luggage tags to put our luggage out the last night of the cruise. We ended up carrying our 6 bags off ourself.  We didn't even snap that we didn't have luggage tags until we were packing the last night.  I noticed no one in our area had their bags outside.  I guess we all did carry off.  

Dining was another complaint.  I was a little anxious about freestyle dining.  I actually like eating at the same time every night and having the same waiters.  My family on the other had hated being on a tight schedule so we did the freestyle.  We will not do this again ever.  It was nice going to dinner when we were ready but Flavor and Taste horrible service  and we had to wait for a table and there were several empty tables around us.  It seems to me if you don't order drinks in the free restaurants the assistant waiter was no where to be found. I don't know we had several different waiters in one meal and no one ever came to refill water or bring tea.  I noticed matra d cleaning tables setting up tables and seating people.  It was really different from the usual great service I recieve.  We ate in the Tropicana dining room twice and the service in there was better but not great, but definitely the best service of all the free restaurants.  I always look forward to Lobster night but with no formal nights they only had Lobster in the Garden Cafe buffet style.  Really? Lobster ?  It was not very good.  To me the buffet is for breakfast lunch and a late night snack I was not impresses for seafood night .  We ate at the Irish restaurant for Prime Rib night also the worse service ever.  The food was not served like we were expecting.  We did go back to that restaurant and ordered off the menu which wasn't to bad but still awful service.  

EntertInment:  Burn the Floor a must see .  That and the illusion show were excellent. The energy Of the Burn the Floor made me want to dance.  The show lasted an hour but it went by to fast. We were on the front row so we felt like we were on the stage. Loved this show.  We has reservations to Legally Blonde but never made it. We had a problem with our reservations for the comedy show, but were finally able to see the show on Thursday night. It was pretty good I always enjoy a good laugh.  Probably would of enjoyed the comedy shows a lot more without the issues we had with the online in room reservation system. More on that later.  The shows in the Atrium were really great.  I think they are so popular they need to consider moving them to a bigger venue.  I'm over the Newely Wed game it's the same on every cruise ship on every cruise line. Even the questions. How hard can it be to change it up a little.  The dancing with the stars show was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the Perfect Couple show. Love the Deal or No Deal. These are great crowd pleasers glad to experience new shows like these.  I like the idea of entering a contest in hopes to be picked.  Unfortunalty you always have people entering 10000 times to ensue they get picked .  It's still fun doing random picking.  The cruise director was pretty good  he interacted with the crowds and got people involved.  The nightly outdoor parties are a great idea.  Open to everyone and a different theme every night.  Glow night was my favorite. Fun for everyone. 

Last thing I want to mention is the in room or advance reservation system. There is no way to see what you have reserved. You have to rely on remembering what you did. I only got it half right.  I missed a reservation I made on one night and didn't have a reservation for the night I thought I had.  Confusing I know they need a better system or reminders sent out.  

I gave this cruise 3 stars because it was a brand new ship.  There was a lot to do and lots of dining choices.  I also liked the ports visited.  Plus having a lounge chair to lay out made a huge difference to me.  I also enjoyed the casino playing the slots. I didn't make money but I really didn't loose money, but I was able to play for a long time on 100.00 for the whole cruise.  The smoke is only bad in some areas.  They need to just have smoking on one side of the casino instead of all over.  In a confined area the smoke can really get bad. My husband who plays craps and spends a lot of money in the casino will leave if the smoke is too strong. He did that a few times. I also really enjoyed the fireworks it's a nice touch .  

I will probably give Norwegian another chance but I'm a RCCL fan but I must say Norwegian is running a close second on the WOW factor.  I think the pre paid gratuity on all cruise lines is starting to show on service.