Where was the Norwegian's Freestyle Cruising?

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 74

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Getaway

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 13, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8166

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The Norwegian Getaway is a large ship - 4000 passengers.  Reservations were required for dining and shows.  We didn't get to see several shows because they were overbooked.  Unheard of in our experience with Norwegian Cruises.  This was not Freestyle Cruising of which Norwegian boasts.  The crowds were evident everywhere.  There was no "observation" bar or venue where one could enjoy low-impact music and maybe dance a little.  The cruise was definitely geared for a much younger audience.  We are in our early to mid '60s and we still felt like old fogies.  The food was good, the passengers were polite, except for a few rowdy teenagers.  All of the games (some too bawdy) and music trivia contests were geared to the last 30 years, mostly the last 20 years.  Photographers were everywhere at night interrupting traffic flow.  Since my wife and I are Latitude Members, our members only party had a line out the door of the club for almost 70 feet.  It was SRO and not enjoyable at all.  The room and our steward were top quality.  Really enjoyed the balcony and the steward went above and beyond taking care of us.  I gave him a large tip in appreciation.  We got the dining package and enjoyed those experiences, especially the Ocean Blue and Cagney's restaurants.  I had never waited for a seat in the main complimentary dining rooms ever until this cruise, and then it was pretty empty.  So why the wait?  The staff was courteous, as always, but I didn't like the larger ship.  Way too many people to be enjoyable.  We are going to stay away from the mega ships and return to the smaller "Jewel" class ships.  Embarkation was not done well.  There are two entrances in Miami for Norwegian and no one informed us of which to use.  Of course, we used the wrong one and almost got locked out of the other.  Debarkation was very easy as we don't check luggage and walk off early.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

Top notch. Loved the balcony.

Ship tip

Don't cruise the larger ships unless you have children. Very good kids programs. Otherwise, stick to the smaller class ships. 4000 passengers is too many.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

3 out of 5
Nice beach and the weather was perfect.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

5 out of 5
Fair shopping, but wait for George Town or Cozumel.

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5
Very good shopping.

Cozumel, Mexico

1 out of 5
We were one of 7 or 8 ships in port. Wall to wall people.
Was this review helpful? 40

1 Comment

lrfellers13    8 years ago

do we have to make reservations for the main "free"dinning rooms or is it just go and wait for a table?? do they not have daily nite shows in the main theater? I booked for what I saw online with the 40-50s restaurant for 1 night and legally blond and burn the floor dancing. thats all I saw besides pay places. do you know anything about photography? would it be better to buy a package b4 or just buy as we go? tx lots hope to hear soon. 1st Norwegian cruise. dlphns633@netscape,,,been on 4 carnival cruisea

Other reviews of this sailing