NCL's Getaway

Okay... I truly loved the Getaway, even though I loved Epic a bit more... but that may be because we stayed in a 2 bedroom family suite in the Haven for a 12 day trip on a transatlantic to Barcelona, vs staying in a balcony for a week on Getaway. And it's much bigger than Getaway... only RCCL's Oasis and Allure are currently bigger than Epic.

The Entertainment... it's amazing on the Epic and just 'okay' on the Getaway. We were not impressed with "Legally Blonde" at all (could have lived my whole life without seeing that one), but "Burn the Floor" was a high energy dance performance which was overall good (which you get a taste of in the sample/ variety show early on in the cruise). On the Epic, they had two of our all time favorite cruise ship performances... the "Blue Man Group" and "Legends in Concert", which both were high energy and over the top! On Getaway we checked out Howl at the Moon (two piano players/ singers that take turns singing the songs you write on pieces of paper and will more likely sing them if they get a cash tip or shots), but they were fun. The comedians are pretty good too (not for kids). Epic also had "Cirqué of Dreams" that we thought was pretty good & my DH was pulled into the show, which was hilarious, but the food was just 'okay'. Where as Getaway had the "Illusionarium", and it was fantastic... the food was the best we had on the ship the whole time we were aboard (even better than Moderno's endless meat extravaganza and Tapanyakki's entertaining hibachi table). We attended the Latin Dance party briefly, which was pretty deserted, so we only danced a couple of songs and left. They also have just one modern adults night club, which is by the Casino and is tiny, but don't worry about size, not many people were there either. There was a neon/ hot white party that we did not attend as well... our scheduled showtime conflicted with the party time.

Outdoor Activities... The plank/ rope course with the short zip-line was a thrill! Don't forget to pull the rope at the end of the 'walk the plank', so it will take your pic... and pose/ smile for the other pic when you go across the zip-line. *Remember to bring sneakers and socks... also need to have on either pants or shorts to do this and the rock climbing wall. The tiny pools were over crowded and all the irresponsible parents let their children over-run even the hot tubs by themselves... I can imagine it was nothing more than a big warm toilet... gross! But on the bright side there were slides, and plenty of them! They were all great but the death drop as I nicknamed it, was awesome! You can not wear ANY jewelry and you have to be more than 99 lbs., but less than 250? or 300? something like that (and they do have a scale). But what's so cool about it, is you step into what looks like a coffin standing up and the employee closes the clear coffin door and the computer starts to count down... 3...2...1, then the bottom disappears from under your feet and you have somehow made it through a couple hundred feet of slide and your almost instantly at the bottom gurgling the water at the bottom as it flies in your face. Definitely a thrilling slide! 

Kids Programs... We went on Getaway during Florida's spring break and there were hundreds of children on board (including a total of 3 in our party). The Nickelodeon Pajama Jam was pretty good... the kids had fun even though it just felt like an assembly line 1/2 of the time for buffet style food and taking pics with the characters. We only let the kids (7, 8 & 9) play in the kids club a couple of times, as it was too crowded for our likings. It's no Disney Fantasy or Dream, that's for sure. The characters would pop up for meet and greets at scheduled times throughout the cruise. The kids water park/ splash n' play area was much smaller than expected after being on Epic. The kids complained that it was too small and there was no swimming area for them. 

The Restaurants... if you are planning to eat at either Cagney's or Moderno's (the space is split in two) find out the time the sun sets on the night you cruise and book a bit before, as they are located on the back of the ship and it makes for a romantic view. (On Epic, Moderno's is the full width of the back of the ship). We didn't go to Cagney's on Epic, so I don't know where it's located... I think we ate at all the other ones minus the sushi bar on Epic, including the Haven's restaurant many times, which was awesome. The paid restaurants on Getaway are pretty good overall, but so is the complimentary restaurants. The Tropicana Room Being a favorite, with its live Latin music that you can get up on the dance floor and dance to (they do have a stiffer dress code at this one vs. the other complimentary restaurants). Taste is a more intimate setting than Tropicana and it has an almost twin restaurant across from it that has a different color scheme, but they have the same menu. O' Sheehan's Irish Pub is a great place for snacks... at any hour. The Garden Café is as it should be... a buffet. Overall the food on NCL has some of the best cruise cuisine on the open seas. 

Casino... I believe this is the first cruise that I've been on that has a casino, that I did not play. Which is a good thing, I guess. So I can't tell you how loose the slots are on this on... but I can attest that we lost about $3k in Epic's casino. Oh well. Although for a new ship, whenever we got near the casino, it smelled horribly of cigarette smoke. They need better air cleaners. Epic had a ton of them at every turn, which made the air a little better... but it all still smelled like an ashtray. 

Excursions... We did Magen's Bay & Shopping in St. Thomas, which is listed as one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world. Pretty, but this was a horrible place to snorkel and I don't know how it got a top 10 spot? The lifeguard won't let you go far and there is NO coral or colorful fish to be seen. On St.Maarten we did the Golden Eagle Sail Away & Swim, which was GREAT! Make sure to get a spot in the net when you get onboard if you enjoy the sun. On Nassau we did the Blue Lagoon Island Beach Getaway. The water was so cold and the current so strong that it's hard to enjoy yourself. Also a complete loss cause for snorkeling... no coral... only a few clear boring fish to see that were busy fighting the current. So to sum it up... only the excursion in St.Thomas will we repeat. 

All-in-all... it was a really nice cruise and we'll be sailing on it again this September with even more family :)