Ship is great; ports are a bit uninspiring

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Getaway

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 18, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8710

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The Norwegian Getaway is a pretty ship and the crew is friendly and helpful for the most part. I was upgraded to a mini suite with a large balcony, which included 2 regular chairs, 2 lounge chairs, a table, and ample room. They don't give you a map of what's on board, which is crazy given the size of the ship. The "freestyle" label is apt; you can pretty much eat whenever you want and do whatever you want (or nothing). The food was good, but there isn't much variety unless you pay extra (from $20+) for "specialty" restaurants. The free shows are fine; again, you can pay for the premium entertainment. I recommend paying the extra $99 for access to the Vibe Beach Club (open 7-7 daily), where you can always get a chair and bartenders tend to your every wish. This is an especially good alternative if you don't want to get off the ship at some/all of the ports. The ports are pretty boring and seem to exist only for the purpose of selling cheap goods to tourists (with the exception of Cozumel, where there is more to do). I recommend the Xcaret Park tour, but it takes about 2 hours to get from the ship to the park, which doesn't leave much time to explore the huge, beautiful place (because you also need to allow for about 2 hours to get back to the ship). In the end, maybe it wasn't worth the hassle. I would give this cruise 3 and a half stars (instead of 4) if that were an option.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
too much emphasis on paying extra for specialty restaurants.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
i guess i'm over things like the men's "sexy legs" contest at my age...

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
the ship is fairly new and very nice. the water slides and climbing wall looked like they'd be fun if you're into that sort of thing.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
loved my mini suite and especially my large balcony. there's an amazing amount of storage space. the linens are very comfortable. the shower is a good size and the water pressure and temperature are very good. it's clever to have the electricity only work when your room key is in the slot, but it's also a bit annoying at times.

Ship tip

the tropicana restaurant was fun-- try it. there are real table cloths and napkins and the intermittent entertainment was very good.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

3 out of 5
pretty, but not much here.

Belize City, Belize

3 out of 5
i'm sure there are parts of the city that are great, but i didn't see anything worth getting off the ship for...

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

1 out of 5
just exists to be a tourist trip.

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
lots of interesting things to do, but takes a long time to get to some (all?) of them.
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3 Comments

kinjon    8 years ago

Which ports did you visit ?

awn0710    8 years ago

Please tell me your upgrade ways. They won't upgrade me!

emielia    8 years ago

Hoe did you get an upgrade?

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