Had a great time!

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

MolandChris

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 53

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 28, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8758

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was our first time on Norwegian. The Getaway was a great ship--clean, new (2014), decent sized rooms (had a balcony). The food was great and the staff were super nice. We got the drink package as a free perk--it was great! I'd definitely recommend that. I enjoyed all the ports except Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The people there were pushy and aggressively trying to get us to buy stuff. Our friends took the waterfall tour and had an amazing day, while we stayed in town and got hounded. If we go back, I'll definitely do a tour instead. The other ports were fabulous, especially the private island in the Bahamas. Suggest trying all inclusive Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel--we had a blast!

Tip--download the Norwegian app on your phone. For $7/day you can text and call people on board. It was soooooo worth it when traveling with other couples!

On board, we ate at the Illusionarium, which was fun (magic show and 3 course meal). The Brazilian steakhouse was great and I'm not a big meat eater. The steakhouse was phenomenal too. Really good food at the restaurants that are extra. I wasn't super impressed with the free main dining rooms (Taste & Savor). The food was fine, but not great. We also enjoyed the dance show Burn the Floor. Mini-golf was fun but lots of kids were there.

We Usually cruise with Royal Caribbean. In comparison, the ships are comparable (depending on size), the staff are both great. If you're more casual and want to wear shorts and flip flops to dinner and don't care about shows or on board activities, go with Norwegian. Great ship for being laid back at the pool. If you're looking for upscale dining, great shows, bigger pools, and more amenities, go with Royal.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The free restaurants were pretty decent, but not amazing. The restaurants that you pay for (or are a free perk with booking) were much better.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Not a ton to do. The pool area was small & crowded. There were only a few shows. They were good but not amazing.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Get the Norwegian app for you phone if you're traveling with people. It's $7 a day but worth every penny. You can call & text people with the app while onboard. Definitely came in handy!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

1 out of 5

Go on a tour. Heard the waterfall tour was amazing. We stayed in town and were hounded by aggressive locals trying to sell us stuff. Very annoying. Our friends who took tours didn't have this problem. We went to the public beach by the ship. The bottom of the beach (in the water) wasn't sandy, it was mucky and gross. Bring water shoes if you go there!

Thumbs Up 1

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

7 mile beach is beautiful! Take a taxi from the port (like $5). However, don't stay where the busses drop you off. Walk down the beach a ways (go left). The beach is better maintained by the resort hotels. They also feed the fish there, so snorkeling is awesome!

Thumbs Up 7

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

We loved Mr. Sanchos which is an all inclusive resort on the water. It wasn't an excursion offered by the ship, so we booked online and took a $5 taxi to it. For $50 it's all you can eat (great food), all you can drink. Private pools, swim up bars, excellent beach, free kayaking, great staff.

Thumbs Up 2

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5

It's a private island, what's there not to love?!

Thumbs Up 6

4 Comments

mickeyd13 8 years ago

The app is free, to use it to text or call people it $7.95/week/phone

Thumbs Up 1

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BarcoFin 8 years ago

You mean free style with Norwegian if you want to do things your way, eat when you want and do the things you want when you want to, unlike Royal that you have to eat what they have and when they tell you too at a certain hour and port hours are shorter too. Last year when I went with a group to go cave tubing we were such in a hurry to get back because In our group there were people from Royal Ca

Thumbs Up 2

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willkc 8 years ago

What is the drink package?

Thumbs Up 0

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cathyd696 8 years ago

Hi , $7 a day for the app ? Are you sure Isn't it $7 in total for app ?

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

service is not as good with automatic quaties

Enjoyable Cruise

Great ship. Great cruise. They have to change their tipping policy.