Overall, we had a good time, but as mentioned above, this cruise is aimed at a younger segment of the market. We were not fans of the Freestyle Dining, and would have preferred a consistent dining table and wait staff that learned to accommodate our preferences. But, dinner at Cagney's was one of the best meals we have ever had.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Access to the ship was delayed. they claimed it was due to the ship's internet being out for over 1 hour.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining rooms, Taste and Savor were pedestrian. The Tropicana Room was a step above. Japanese and Italian specialty restaurants were very good; Cagney's steak house was excellent. Food at the Cirque Dreams and Steam show was terrible. Steak and shrimp was loaded with pepper, and the veggie option was hardly edible. Buffet was consistently good, with a huge variety of selections available.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Cruise Director Piquito was great, but when several of his staff members ran activities, their strong accents made them very difficult to understand.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Million Dollar Quartet was outstanding! The actor who played Jerry Lee Lewis stole the show. Burn the Floor was also excellent. Cirque Dreams started out like it would be a nightmare, but was an excellent show of amazing juggling, magic "daredevil" tricks. Comedian Andrew Slater was terrific, but Dylan Mendolsohn was terrible.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Ship tip
The Norwegian Getaway caters to a younger crowd, so it was probably not the best choice for an older (70 and 69) couple like us. The pools were always overcrowded. We are not teetotalers, and we enjoyed wine and cocktails on the ship. However, the unlimited beverage package that many passengers elected made it feel like a "booze cruise" at times.
We went on the Roatan by Land and Sea excursion. Snorkeling in the clear Atlantic waters was amazing. Tour guide Jonathan added in a side trip to a monkey and sloth zoo.
Beautiful beach, but the sand was full of shell shards, so wear water shoes! Ocean was great, but the pool was crowded. Could use more umbrellas at the beach area.
Comedian on the ship referred to the disembarkation area as "fake Mexico". We took the the Chaacchoben Mayan Ruins excursion. Our tour guide Raul was excellent. However the several blocks walk from "fake Mexico" to the tour office took us through a deserted area that was discomforting.
We did the Dolphin Swim Adventure and our daughter and son-in-law did the Sea Lion Encounter, both at Chankanaab Park. Both were excellent. The optional photo packages were very pricey. Just as a note, the 4-mile taxi ride to the Park costs $3 per person, which is quite reasonable.
I was on the Getaway for the Spring 2017 transatlantic cruise. I was able to reserve dinner times on the cruise website long before embarkation. I imagine if you book the same time at the same restaurant every night, you might get the experience you prefer. We like to mix it up.
Shh813—not with NCL. They have Freestyle Cruising. You just show up at any dining room you choose whenever you want. And their 3 MDRs are set up like actual restaurants, not huge banquet hall rooms seating many people together. You go up to hostess and tell her you want a table for 2 (or whatever your party is), and she seats you. If no table available, she will give you a choice of taking a pager, or she will check computer for available seating in any of the other 2 restaurants. Never waited more than 5 minutes for a table.
I’ve sailed the Getaway twice and I am definitely not a young person. Hubby and I are in our 60s, and he, far closer to 70 than 60! Lol! We fell in love with Freestyle Cruising as we hated the set dinner times and tables of other lines. We loved choosing to eat wherever and whenever we wanted. And O’Sheehan’s Irish Pub was outstanding as a complimentary 24 hour food venue! We have 2 Carnival cruises booked and chose Any Time Dining, hope we get an experience close to the Freestyle experience we had with NCL.
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