Easter Family Getaway

We sailed with  Norwegian on the Getaway from April 4 to 11 with our 4 boys. We chose the Getaway because of the many activities for the boys and we were thrilled with everything it offered them. Multiple waterslides, mini golf, ropes course and their favorite, the basketball court, kept them busy. We did sign them up for the various kids clubs but due to the age categories they did not participate because they would be split up. Our sons are 9, 12, 14 and 17. The 12 and 14 wanted to stay together but the 12 had to go with the younger category even though he is only a month away from 13 and close with his brother. For that reason the 14 didn't want to go to the teen club alone so it didn't work out for them to enjoy that aspect of the cruise. They did make friends on the basketball court though.

We had booked 3 inside rooms and had 5702, 5704 and 5706. The rooms were small but great, it was their location that was horrible. All 3 are side by side at the very front of the ship and on the outside without a window. We were under the theatre and heard noise from midnight until 2am every night as they moved things around. It was also not a good location if you experience motion sickness as the rooms rocked a lot! Our room steward was amazing and always had a smile and hello with names of all our family to greet us each day.

The ship is great and easy to get around. We enjoyed the Garden Buffet, O'Sheehan's, and the 3 included dining rooms. We also enjoyed the entertainment on the ship. Legally Blonde was amazing and Burn the Floor was great. The theatre is small with horrible seats that have a hard wooden part on the bottom back part that is very uncomfortable to sit on. I was disappointed because the theatre was a highlight of another cruise ship I had been on before. We went to the Illusionarium and enjoyed the show and meal included.

Our cruise was booked to capacity because of the Easter holiday and because of this we missed out on some opportunities. We tried many times to find loungers by the waterslides and pool but never had any luck even though there is a policy of not leaving a chair unattended for more than an hour. We finally enjoyed some chairs on a port day when we returned to the ship early and went to the pool. Also, many excursions were unavailable (booked full) the very first day of the cruise. We would recommend snorkeling in St. Thomas and the segway tour in Nassau.

I rated 4 stars because Norwegian goes above and beyond to make guests feel like royalty but some things mentioned above were disappointing. I have learned many tricks and tips after the cruise that I will use to make our next trip enjoyable.