Baltic Cruise aboard NCL Getaway

Item: Norwegian Getaway
Rating: 2
Author: SailorStew

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

SailorStew

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 11

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

9 Night Baltic Capitals (Copenhagen Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 12, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13722

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Food in buffet areas normally cold. Dishes were dirty on numerous (found 8 - 10 daily) occasions in all restaurants. Plan to eat early or expect long waits. People with 6:30 pm reservations at Taste or Savor were normally sat between 7:30 and 8. Longer waits as the meals progress.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Good sized cabin. Balcony very small with 2 small chairs and very small (big enough for a couple of glasses only) table. Balcony was too small to sit on and enjoy. Cabin steward kept the room very clean and always had a towel animal for us to enjoy each night.

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

3 out of 5

Spent an overnight here before the cruise and stayed at Scandic Front. Perfect location for personal sightseeing, walking around Nygard and other tourist locations.

Thumbs Up 2

Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany

1 out of 5

Must stop for the ship as it was a secondary embark/disembark port along with a stores stop. Couldn't get in on scheduled day so sailed in circles for 30 hours. Only had a 5 hour stop so missed out on excursion to Berlin.

Thumbs Up 0

Tallinn, Estonia

1 out of 5

Didn't stop here due to delay getting into Warnemunde as indicated above.

Thumbs Up 1

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

3 out of 5

Helsinki, Finland

2 out of 5

Nynashamn (Stockholm), Sweden

1 out of 5

Be ready for a lengthy trip into Stockholm. Train station is about a 15 - 20 minute walk from where you tie up, then you have a 1 hour 10 minute trip to town. Central Station is really centrally located and it is an easy walk to Old Town for sight seeing.

Thumbs Up 2

12 Comments

SailorStew 7 years ago

There are other people with reviews on this site for the same trip, and they agree that this trip was sub-par. I have no doubt that NCL is a good company, The majority of the staff that we saw were fantastic and they all seem to love working for the company. The problem is that the Getaway is far to large a vessel for the Baltic cruise or ports. We sailed in company with Oceanic Marina and they were able to get into all the ports as well as right downtown in Helsinki and Stockholm. We will cruise again in the future, and may even sail with NCL, but not onboard a large ship. 100k+ ton ship and 4000+ guests seemed to be more than they could handle, at least on this cruise. All our other cruises were on ships with less than 2500 guests and we had a great time. I am not trying to put NCL down and do realize this may have just been a bad experience. I have since learned this is the first time (2nd departure, I believe) for this sized ship sailing the Baltic trips. Maybe why they had such a difficult time with it.

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penzay 7 years ago

very well daid grandmarnurse. i have done the RC Oasis twice and my 1st time was great but the 2nd time was a nightmare had it not been for the people i was with to make it bearable i would have been ready to jump off. yes it was tht bad. food was the exact same as it was two years prior the service was lacking the buffet served the same stuff every day and yes some dirty plates and forks. but we made the best of a bad thng and kept it moving. we will sail again with Royal for sure

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frankg70 7 years ago

Well said grandmarnurse

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

SailorStew--You have no cruises listed in your profile, so that is why everyone believes you have no cruising background. I am sorry you believe NCL doesn't come close to what your expectations were, because I've sailed that very ship, along with many, many other reviewers on this site, and we know differently. I know a person's experience is subjective, so I want newbies to NCL to not take much stock in your review, since millions have fallen in love with not only NCL, but the Getaway specifically.

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SailorStew 7 years ago

After 4 cruises in and around Europe with various lines I would consider myself a cruiser. 36 years in the Navy can't hurt much either. I know what is possible and NCL didn't come close this time.

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penzay 7 years ago

you definitely aren't a cruiser

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frankg70 7 years ago

I was on the getaway in February with 24 friends. Never a line for the buffet and the restaurant were always on time. You might like to stick with all inclusives

Thumbs Up 2

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jbbinder 7 years ago

You weren't happy with anything. Was your iced tea too cold also? Sheesh. Flexibility and a positive attitude ensure a great cruise every time. Maybe cruising isnt for you.

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

And it looks like you weren't too happy about other aspects of your cruise, as I just read ALL your negative reviews (port stops). Perhaps cruising is just not for you.

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

SailorStew--it looks like this may have been your first cruise? At least no other cruises are in your profile. Do you think you may have gone into cruise with too high expectations? A seasoned cruiser pretty much rolls with the punches--tolerates a few hiccups in the cruise, because any day cruising is better than any day not! You have to remember that these ships are feeding large amounts of people, so there could be some delays.

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grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

I never had one single issue with the Getaway food. We LOVED their buffet, and every dish that was supposed to be hot, was. As for reservations at Taste or Savor, we never had reservations, and was always seated right away. No wait. Now for my next cruise there will be more of us together in our party, so we will need to make reservations. Hoping no issues, but I'm keeping a positive outlook on the whole matter. Oh, and NEVER had a dirty dish!

Thumbs Up 3

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penzay 7 years ago

we did not have any of these problems on our cruise at all

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