Very good but not the best.

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Getaway

9 Night Baltic Capitals (Copenhagen Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 21, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 5738

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

We were on the NCL Getaway, a 3-year new large ship in excellent condition. The choice of ports was excellent but I wish we could have substituted Helsinki, Finland for one of the at sea days. The food and service were generally very good but not particularly memorable except for having a better than usual selection of Asian and vegetarian options at the buffet. The standard dining options without extra fees were too similar and not varied enough.

 

Shore excursions were mostly overpriced, especially to Berlin and St. Petersberg, and I felt that they were too short and rushed to be enjoyed well. I would recommend looking at third party excursions in these two cities for better and cheaper excursions, e.g. SPB tours! SPB also takes care of Russian visa issues for you too. If you are young and willing to walk some, Talinn can be done by yourself with a guidebook easily. If the ship docks at Stadgarden pier (confirm with excursion desk) in Stockholm, you can also easily do a self-guided walking tour with the help of the HopOn/Off boats.

 

Onboard entertainment options were very good but not the best. Golf course, water slides and play areas were not nearly as well-designed as on the Carnival Vista.

 

Rooms were clean with excellent service attendants, and boarding and leaving the ship were much more efficient and easier than on most other cruises.

 

As for the Copenhagen port experience, using taxis are a must and are more ample than NCL would like you to believe. Fare to or from airport is about USD$70-80. If you have a bigger party, try the very excellent Adina Apartment Hotel fairly nearby for reasonable rates when staying before or after your cruise.

 

Overall, this was a very enjoyable cruise experience at a very reasonable price-thanks to the help of our always amazing and fantastic  agent, Leanne O.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
We were upgraded for free to one of the handicapped rooms large enough for four people. This made a huge positive difference, and was more than twice the size of a regular room.

Ship tip

The food in the fee-free dining rooms, Taste, Savor and Tropicana were identical. In general seating at Tropicana was easier. The buffet was very good and often had better quality food. O'Sheehans was good for snacks and especially their fish and chips. Shanghai was only above average.

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

3 out of 5

Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany

1 out of 5

Gdynia (Gdansk), Poland

5 out of 5

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

3 out of 5

Tallinn, Estonia

5 out of 5

Stockholm, Sweden

5 out of 5
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3 Comments

afahey    7 years ago

We used SPB in both Berlin and St Petersburg and both tours were amazing!! I highly, highly recommend. You will not be disappointed. The groups are also much smaller than what you would get from a ship tour. We did the 2 day Russian experience and our group was only 16 people with the same guide and driver for both days. Was worth every penny!!!

falconx44    7 years ago

I agree the NCL shore excursions are expensive at Berlin and St. Petersburg. We got the 12 hour Berlin excursion by AC Bus for half price thru viator ( train ride thru NCL with no AC). We took the 2 half day tour at st Petersburg for $165 pp at shore excursion. We are glad we only took half day tours at St. Petersburg as whole day tour will be too exhausting. We stayed 2 days at St. Petersburg. I called several times at NCL to figure out where in Stockholm the ship will dock and I keep getting different answer, so I did the excursion thru NCL instead at Stockholm as I don't want to risk 3rd party excursion

GIL155    7 years ago

Nice review with a varied mixture of positives and negatives. Hopefully people heed your excursion advice. Thanks for sharing.

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