"no one does dining like Norwegian" doesn't mean they do it WELL.

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 74

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Getaway

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 16, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9720

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Ship was lovely; service was nice but not exemplary although very friendly.  Shows were good; excursions and ports were Excellent.  FAVORITE part was the refreshing wet cloth they handed you returning to the ship.  Small thing; felt huge.  If you like to PARTY; you can always find one.

 The "included" food was ok.  Not particularly memorable, but Better in the big dining rooms.  the "SPECIALTY" restaurants, where you pay EXTRA, the food was Excellent.  Therefore, they *can* MAKE Excellent food; but *choose* to give you just OK food with the price of your cruise; Excellent Food costs EXTRA.  It felt tacky; makes us think that Norwegian won't be in our cruising future, in spite of all the other "good/excellent" stuff. No "Lobster" night or "escargot" night like you can expect on other cruise lines, because you can ALWAYS get lobster IF you're willing to pay an extra $25 (for a TAIL!), or go to the French specialty restaurant for the snails (again, $). We LIKE getting to know a waiter over the cruise so we can reward good service; and we're willing to make reservations and eat at a certain time to get that-- but they don't Allow reservations unless you're a larger party; so it was potluck every night.  Nice people, all of them--  but hard to develop any real appreciation for an individual. Didn't even MEET our steward until the 4th day; but then our tips were included so no special attention was 'needed'. :-|

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
see above. Their "Freestyle Dining" didn't make us happy-- other people might like it.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Very much a PARTY ship; looked like they were very fun but not my idea of a vacation.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
BEST shows, again, cost Extra. But even included shows were pretty good.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5
didn't use.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
very nice. Nothing exceptional.

Ship tip

If FOOD is your drug of choice, the Specialty Restaurant package is probably a good option for you.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

5 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 74

5 Comments

robyncasey    8 years ago

capeman

That's fair enough-- but it still felt like bait and switch.

capeman    8 years ago

The thing is with Norwegian is you can find great prices to get on the ship and then up grade the heck out of it.  You still save money over the other lines.  Trust me I price watch like the stock market.  You have make your cruise fit your need not someone else's.  We don't need French food, so no need to go there, we like the spa, so that ones a must.  

 

I have found no attitudes from passengers or crew, like I have in other lines.  I am Diamond on RCI, and have switched over taking only NCL cruises out of Miami this year on the two new sister ships.  I wish NCL would place a ship in Fort Lauderdale.  Fort Lauderdale has better parking choices and a somewhat cleaner port, and I use the term somewhat rather loosely.   Anyway don't focus on any negative, or you're in for a terrible 7 days.  Have fun on your next cruise choice, and NO I don't work for NCL, but I'll see you on there someday.  

boldpro    8 years ago

First let me start off by saying you get what you pay for whether it be land-based restaurants or on board ships you have a choice if you want a steak you can go to Outback Steakhouse and get it for maybe $20 or you could go to Ruth's Chris and get it for $50 You couldn't possibly believe that the steaks would be of the same quality if you are paying less than $1,000 for the 7 day cruise you can't believe that you would get the best of the best food hence specialty restaurants and up charges reservations for the dining room are available for any size party as far as the room Steward goes we had free gratuities and had excellent service all the time if you really want the best of the best then you should have booked the Haven you get it all that the best food the best service and the best drinks

mcpuza1881    8 years ago

Made reservations at the 90 day Mark for 2 of us. 6pm every night of the week, MDR and specialty dining too.

Canadianmo89033    8 years ago

We made reservations every night as a party of 4.

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