Not my favorite cruise. Ports were nice but didn't enjoy my time on the ship. Won't cruise with Norwegian again. Much left to be said about staff and customer service. Other thing I forgot to mention was the band playing music on deck 6 next to the customer service desk. Could not hear.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
no long lines
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
nice
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Cruise activities could have been better and more. Cruise Director not the best.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Good variety of music for all ages.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
To my surprise, found that the staff were not very friendly. Some staff members seem to be bothered when asked a question, others were short or inattentive. Our cabin steward was by far the friendliest staff member we encountered on the ship. Others were not rude (except one) but not attentive or very interested in helping. I think staff may have been on their last leg of their work cruise and may have been ready to go home. Not the first time I encounter this attitude on a mega-ship. This ship was totally sold out and super crowded. Frustrating was the word when it came to having meals especially when at sea, by the time a table was found, food was cold. Lunch at the restaurant always had a wait.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Not very big but worked ok for the amount of time we were in our cabin. Our room steward was excellent!!! Room was very clean.
Ship tip
Be prepared with lots of patience. If you don't mind the large crowds swarming all around you, you should do ok.
Very expensive. We did 3 nights pre and post cruise went one afternoon to Hard Rock for lunch and wow what a surprise, we paid $50.00 yes, US dollars for 1 nachos appetizer, 1 onion ring appetizer and 1 ginger ale. Our friend paid $80.00 US dollars for two bloody, and one nacho appetizer. That was the end of Hard Rock Café for us.
Beautiful!!! Will return but not on a cruise. Our excursion to Berlin was a total waste. There was some chemical spill on the highway and traffic was backed up. Our 2 hour drive from the ship port to Berlin turned out to be a 4 hour bus drive to Berlin with one quick hour left to do the city highlights and back on the bus to ship port for a little over 2 hours. Could have done 2 days in Berlin.
Paid for a 2 day excursion of which we only did one eight hour day. Beautiful Hermitage Palace and churches. Overall, not super impressed with this port. Just wasn't for me.
I've been on several NCL cruises and honestly LOVED them, I was hooked on NCL, until my last cruise where the service and atmosphere had changed dramatically! The "free drink package" they offered brought in a less than desirable crowd of party people, and the crew went from very friendly and attentive to completely indifferent and blasé! I was very sad to see this change.
We've been on the Getaway and loved it so
much that we're booked on her again next year. Do not miss the show in the Illusionarium, it was amazing. I know they are changing it soon, more Cirque Dreams on the Epic, so that will be great too.
@bbeaumont don't be discouraged!! Your experience does not have to be the same as others. You may find that your cruise is an awesome experience. I don't have any reason to believe you won't enjoy yourselves. In fact, I'm sure you will have a blast!!! Crusing is an amazing and fun experience!!! You and your family will love it!!!! My experience is just my experience. I have done at least 14-15 cruises on different ship lines so overtime, you tend to be a little more discriminating which is why I don't enjoy criticizing.
@Synnamn the future cruise was an error. I meant to type 2017. Contacted support to find out how to delete. I'm new on this app and don't see a edit/delete button anywhere.
My pleasure. Here's some great sites that have great hacks/tips to help you save money and just make your trip easier. Cruisefever.net,cruisecritic.com,and cruisedeckplans.net. All are very helpful in different ways.
I wasn't finish but I guess my phone thought I was, lol. Hope you understand. Just keep reading, you can find ppl on the app who will give very positive feedback regarding there experience on any cruise line and excursions. Good Luck and I hope you and your family have a great time.
In general I would agree with Synnamn. Some people do complain (in detail) about things and wouldn't be happy no matter what. I have been over 20 cruises and I would say that overall the have been memorable. In my case you really would have had to be there to understand what we experienced. I've seen some people come unglued over some of the dumbest reasons (it's quite comical/sad actually) I truly hope that your experience is different. Cruising is a great way to relax and as far as traveling a great way to see a lot and get a lot of bang for your buck. Do what you want and form your own opinions. Enjoy!
Thanks Synnamn this is our first time and most if what i have read so far has been great. We are super excited and want to make this type of vacationing an annual event. We will keep our minds open. If you have any suggestions for us we are open to all .... I will be traveling with kids so any information will be helpful so that we all have the best experience possible thanks again
you can read ppl reviews but don't let them discourage you and your family from having fun. I've notice on this app some ppl just like to complain. Nothing you do for them is good enough. If they have sailed every cruiseline and they have had the royal treatment they will still find something to complain about. If they have sailed one particular vessel they are going to find something wrong with the other one instead of going into it with an open mind.
I've been on two ships by NCL and the Getaway is one. My family and I enjoyed ourselves very much, I didn't run into any of the problems you faced. Personally I believe the ship is for a semi older crowd.
@sun1sea does that mean you're not cruising with NCL Aug 14, 2018 that's in your you coming cruises or it's that a typo.
I don't like criticizing or complaining because nothing is 100% on the best of cruise lines. I go with an open mind but this one was just too much to be silent. It was one thing on top of another. You are right, too disorganized and sadly what seem to be unhappy workers.
I cruised in April on the getaway. There's definitely a morale problem on that boat! Beautiful boat,great cabin (we had a balcony and our boys had an inside), awesome entertainment, but they have it was somewhat unorganized! Too many people doing nothin in the dining rooms...not NEAR enough people in the theater serving drinks (3 for the whole theater)! Were not cruising with them again either!
I had problems with staff and customer as well as the food on the Getaway, but it was so much better on the Escape. It felt like I was dealing with a different cruise line.
I have heard a few times of bands playing near customer service. NEVER should happen! Too much valuable information, or serious issues are discussed here.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
