Overall, my husband and I had wonderful time aboard the Getaway. We were lucky to have beautiful weather the entire time. No work, no snow, no cooking and cleaning: Always a good time. We both feel that a cruise is what you make of it anyway, and we usually have a good time wherever we go. We would cruise on the Getaway again.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We were able to embark very quickly. Our plane landed at almost 1 p.m., so by the time we got to the pier, there was no line at all. We were able to check right in and board. The only downside to this is that the only place to eat at that time was the Garden Buffet, which we wanted to avoid. However, it all worked out, we got a quick bite to eat and headed to our cabin that was ready. Last year when sailing on the Gem out of NYC, we were in line for an hour to check in at the pier, so we didn't complain LOL.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
For the most part, we ate in either the main dining rooms or a specialty restaurant. Savor, Taste, and the Tropicana room all have the same menu. All of the meals we ate there were great, including breakfast and lunch. There is quite a variety for breakfast in the restaurants. You could get omelets, waffles, French toast, etc. The fruit salad in the dining room was delicious! My husband was very happy with the waffles, but not a fan of the French toast or pancakes. Otherwise everything was very, very good. We ate at Cagney's, Teppanyaki, and tried Le Bistro this time, and we were not disappointed. Also, the desserts in the restaurants are much better than in the Buffet. We found all of the food delicious! (other than above-mentioned French toast & pancakes). Everything came out in a timely manner, and at the appropriate temps. There was only one evening, when it was really busy, that it look a little longer for our food, but it was not that long. All of the wait staff were great! The work their butts off to ensure everyone has a nice meal. The only disappointment was that there was no chocolate lava cake on any of the menus. This is a favorite of mine from the past Norwegian cruises. :-(
As for the Garden Café (huge buffet), we mostly would just go there for a quick snack, and I think we did have lunch there one day. The food we did have was good. It is just a very hectic place so we usually avoid it.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There was a lot to do on board, if one wanted to participate. My husband and I both tried the waterslides, and they were really fun and very fast! We hung out on the ship during the time in Costa Maya. The pool area was a little less crowded then. My husband also did part of the ropes course. He is not a fan of heights, so he only went on for a short time. All of the kids were have a blast on it. We also found the best time to use the hot tubs on the main pool deck is later in the evening. I enjoyed the swimming pool. Of course, as usual, the pool deck was always very crowded. And, of course, there were the usual chair hogs. This was not really a problem for us because we don't sit all that long, especially if in the sun. We have been on the Dawn, Jewel, and Gem, which all seemed to have more pool deck space where the crew would set up to grill food and have a barbecue. Unfortunately, not enough room on the Getaway for this, which is weird because it is a larger ship. Overall, we had a good time with great weather!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We enjoyed Burn the Floor and Million Dollar quartet. The comedians were pretty funny. Dueling Pianos/Howl at the Moon was really, really fun! We went to see them several times. We were not a fan of the Glow party compared to past "White parties". It was a lot of very, VERY loud noise. It takes place outside on the back of the ship, which is fine, but it was just SO LOUD!! Especially with the cruise director SCREAMING into the microphone. We left after about 20 minutes. Wish I had brought ear plugs. We ended up calling it a night at that point. The other musicians were okay. Sweet beat band was very good, usually at Fat Cats. Manny the piano player was also good. We did not enjoy the musical entertainment as much on the Getaway as we did on the Gem last year. The Gem had an awesome show band and were excellent. On this ship there was no brass in any of the bands. All keyboards, drum, & guitar. Would this stop me from cruising again? No.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All of the service we received from all of the ship personnel was great. The bartenders at the pool bars and some of the other really busy bars worked their butts off. Sometimes we did have to wait for a drink at busy moments, but sometimes you just have to be patient. During busy times there were small bars set up on the pool decks. Everyone who worked on the ship was hard working and pleasant.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Compared to the Dawn, Jewel, and Gem, the Getaway, which is larger, seemed more crowded at times on the pool deck. Another thing we didn't care for was that you had to walk through the Casino to get to other areas of the ship. It is very smoky in the Casino and some other areas. Smoke really bothers both of us, and we are not gamblers, especially on a cruise ship. Other ship[s we've been on have the Casino separated by doors that close. The common areas were clean and well maintained. Sometimes we would see a stray cup or something that someone just left somewhere. All of the bathrooms were clean. There was always a crew member tidying up of the restrooms.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We ended up upgrading to a mini suite (a family mini suite actually). It was just my husband and I. We had a double sink, which was nice. The balconies on this ship are quite a bit smaller than on previous Norwegian ships. Makes no sense. Bigger ship, smaller balconies. We had room 12804. We had lots of storage. Everything was clean. Only complaint is that the hairdryer could have used replacing, and the mattress could have also used replacing.
Ship tip
Go to Margaritaville for breakfast if you don't want to go to main dining rooms and want to avoid the insanity of the Garden Cafe. There is an omlette station and quite a breakfast variety there, and it it less congested.
In Roatan, we went over to Maya Caye. It was a really beautiful day and very relaxing. The lunch was good. We enjoyed all the animals. The beach and water were nice. It never felt crowded at all. All in all, a nice day.
Harves Caye is beautiful. The water was beautiful. It was a very hot and sunny day, and really they could use some more beach umbrellas. There were many, many empty beach chairs, but they wer all in the sun. We sat for a little while under an umbrella, but then it ended up becoming too sunny and we did not want to be burned to a crisp. The pool was really, really big and quite nice. Same problem: Not enough shaded chairs for everyone. We only stayed for about 2 hours and headed back to the ship where the food & drink was already paid for.
Cozumel was beautiful. We did the all-inclusive Dophin encounter and ride. We really enjoyed this. It was pretty well organized. No issues with getting there and back. Lunch and cocktails were provided with price of this excursion. The area where we ate was really nice, overlooking the water. It was a great experience to get to be up close & personal with a dolphin.
No issues on disembarkation. Had to wait a little bit for our bus back to the airport, but really no issues. We were the last group to be called, so took our time, ate in the dining room. No issues.
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