Overall this cruise was great besides the fact the seas were kind of rough every night except the last night. Many passengers and some crew mentioned as well that the seas were a bit rough causing people to get seasick including myself but managed to still moderately enjoy the cruise. The ports and balcony cabin were definitely more of the highlights. Would recommend NCL but beware they do nickel dime you.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was my 2nd cruise and it was completely different from when I sailed with Carnival with the Faster to the Fun which gave you priority boarding before the general public. Overall it went smooth and boarded the ship an hour prior to actual boarding time which was awesome.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The buffet had generic and typical food like any other cruise line and rarely ate there. The main dining room Tropicana was pretty good but couldn’t beat the speciality restaurants which most of them were excellent. My personal favorite speciality restaurant was Teppanyaki which is a hibachi restaraunt.
Skyy Vodka Ice Bar
3 out of 5
The ice bar was definitely neat to check out but not worth $19 per person to stand in a walk in freezer made of ice although the thrown was very awesome. You get to wear a hoodie cloak designed to insulate your body heat and gloves You only get two drinks and the nonalcoholic drinks were better than the alcoholic drinks. Tip: dress warm if you want to spend more than 10 minutes in there.
Garden Café
3 out of 5
Repetitive and okay quality food. It was good the first day at sea but seemed like it was a place were leftovers from the night before from the Garden Cafe or from speciality restaraunts. Also noticed typical food found on other lines. The only decent beverages and food in the Garden Cafe was the juice dispensers and soft serve ice cream.
Le Bistro French Restaurant
3 out of 5
My husband and I sat outside of the restaurant in one of the artiums that featured the gourgous colorful chandelier. It was nice and intimate even outside of that atrium, the settings were upscale, the food was good but the flourless chocolate hazelnut cake was one of the best desserts my husband said to have had on the entire cruise especially if you are gluten sensitive.
La Cucina on the Waterfront
4 out of 5
This was one of the restaurants that catered Italian food both inside and outside of the Waterfront. My group ate on the Waterfront and it was refreshing and very pleasant. The food was good, service on par, and was worth the money.
Cagney's Steakhouse
4 out of 5
Steaks were pretty good, better than Outback. Two people in my party did not get the properly cooked steaks they had ordered; however it was their faults since they were asked before eating if they were cooked to their liking.
Teppanyaki
5 out of 5
Most flavorful and fun restaurant onboard.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Sadly I did not do much onboard the ship due to the fact I was suffering from mild seasickness the whole trip. The only pool for the general public was waaay to crowded even on some of the port days. Only one pool for a ship full of 4,000 passengers? That made no sense, so I didn’t get a chance to get in. Some of the activities onboard shut down to early compared to other lines as well.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Can’t rate since I didn’t go to any shows. A lot of them were reserved or cost too much money...which again compared to other lines was not okay. I understand it is a way to control capacity but still it limited what you could do onboard.
The Atrium
3 out of 5
This was an interesting feature onboard. This is the main atrium that has a massive screen that is used for game shows, information, and close up videos on venues like demonstrations while other times it just showed different screensaver pictures when it wasn’t being used. Had no interest in any of it but anytime I walked past it was entertaining to see what was happening using that screen such as the love and marriage show and Deal or No Deal.
Spice H2O
3 out of 5
This was mainly used for the adult deck on the top back end of the ship. It has a massive screen that features different venues when different events were being held there. This deck was also used as an alternative nightclub some nights. The only activities on this deck had deck chairs, two hot tubs, a watering hole with waterfalls that was overcrowded, and a bar. That’s it. Again other lines had more to offer.
Children's Programs
Didn’t bring kids.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff and service was on par with their roles and did everything possible to meet your needs. Our room steward was phenomenal and even when our room was cleaned, we noticed when we used any towels that they were replaced with new ones once more everyday which was a plus. I feel bad I don’t remember his name but he was very intenitive and hospitable.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The mural on the front of the ship was stunning just like any other of the NCL ships. The ship was on top of cleanliness especially when entering restaurants they made sure you sanitized your hands by having a staff member stand by and sanitize your hands with a spray bottle of hand sanitizer. The ship also has sinks and sanitizer machines nearby or in restaurants. Bathrooms were always attended to as well. Loved the Waterfront which was an exterior wrap around deck that had some bars, restaurant seating , and regular seating on it.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was our first balcony cabin which was very accommodating and comfortable. The shower was nice being curved offering more rotating and movements but there was still inadequate space where the shower head is and the soap dispensers were located because that location became a little cramped and kept hitting my elbows on the soap dispensers. The bottom of the door wasn’t sealed and let water flow out onto the floor but went into a drain behind the toilet do no big deal just mind your step. The beds were comfortable, the safe easy to utilize, the sofa nice and comfortable and the balcony was a decent size. I loved loved loved the views of the ship you got with how the ship was designed and the scenery was breathtaking.
Ship tip
The fish on the carpets in the hallways of the cabins face forward of the ship! Also, you can use a card of any sorts to stick into the slot of the power source like a rewards card or similar, just remember to turn off the power when not in the room to conserve power for other usage on the ship. Also if you get a balcony and never been in one before, be careful when opening the front door of your cabin if you have the balcony door open. It will slam shut and they are metal.
My first visit to Miami and it was awesome. The port was very different from Port Canaveral. It was much busier since it is one of the most active cruise ship ports. Very professional staff.
This port was pretty nice. We did the Mayan Ruins tour with a private luncheon at one of the locals houses and had an authentic Mexican lunch all made from scratch. Also we were informed by our local tour guide that the water is safe to wash your hands with just not to drink the water that comes from any tap. It is still recommended to consume bottled water.
We had purchased one of the private cabanas and it is unbelievablely amazing. You have a shuttle that takes you to and from the enterance to the cabana, free WIFI, four cushioned lounge chairs on the deck of the cabana, one hammock, four cushioned lounge chairs on the private beach, AC, comfortable couches, mini fridge, Bluetooth speaker, full bathroom, and cabana servers. Food and drinks are not included in any package deals though. The shops and wild life experience was okay.
Wow this port is really interesting. From what our tour guide told us on our way to our excursion of wildlife experience was that the traffic doesn’t have any speed limits or hardly any traffic rules. The bus driver has to dodge really nasty potholes and crazy drivers but made it more exhilarating. When we got to our excursion, we got to see really huge Igunas, held Macaws and monkeys. Don’t worry, the animals are not kept in captivity. It was totally worth it if you like animals.
This port was pretty neat. We did an all inclusive dolphins excursion were you got to pet and learn tricks and ride a dolphin. Very friendly creatures and friendly staff. Drinks and food included as well as being able to do other water activities that were included like snorkeling and paddle boarding. The water you wade in with the dolphins is really cold and very deep which is roughly 30 feet deep but you are required to wear a life jacket.
It took a while to get off the ship but it gave us time to eat breakfast and finalize packing if you didn’t do it the night before lol...which we did so we didn’t have to worry about that. Again with priority boarding and disembarkation on Carnival it was different since were one of the first groups to leave but went smoothly and so was getting through customs.
Yea CSJM... I was on the Liberty and Valor (same class ships) during two different hurricanes, and they handled 15-25ft seas WAY better than the Getaway did.. just something in the ship design I guess...
martinmanorsurplus, that is a very good point and it makes a lot of sense. Yeah the previous ship I sailed on which was the Carnival Liberty, did not have any issues with ride quality and that ship is 13 years old!
CSJM... It feels rougher at night because they go faster at night to mert their schedule. All cruiselines do that. But... like I said above, I found the Getaway to not handle rough seas as well as other ships Ive been on. Not sure why, but it does like to buck n chuck n shudder
RMoscon, it might be different from your trip with how the seas are. The weather was pretty decent while on the ship, but for some reason the sea always got a bit rought at night. The crew we had talked to said that our sailing was one of the worst as far as the sea conditions were. This was the sailing of February 11th-18th. I took seasick pills that you can get from guest services. They worked pretty good. Really the only symptoms I had were moderate nausea, imbalance issues, and beltching. The aft of the ship was the most rough area. A crew member said that green apples help with seasickness.
Oh gosh! I hate that you were seasick. When was your cruise? We are set to sail this Sunday and I'm super worried about us getting seasick. Did you take any meds?
Good review... I found the Getaway didnt ride the seas very well. I did the 14 day transatlantic out of Copenhagen to Miami... the ship seemed to buck and chuck and shudder alot vs ride and sway in the waves... kind of like a horse at a trot vs canter. Ive been at sea on a LOT of rough oceans, and so far, the Getaway was the worst riding ship...
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