Beautiful places, disappointing extra charges

Item: Norwegian Getaway
Rating: 4.1
Author: greekmba

Norwegian Getaway Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

greekmba

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 33

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

Verified Review

9 Night Scandinavia Russia & Baltic (Copenhagen Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 16, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Getaway

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 14198

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

the itinerary was lovely the places were beautiful the two biggest issues were the extra charges not disclosed upfront and the flat rate hundred dollar five minute taxi ride .

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was smooth and efficient.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food was rather bland, but not terrible

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Rock climbing walls, ropes course, miniature golf, we’re all quite nice.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The one show that we did attend was good, but certainly not Broadway quality, which is to be expected.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Service was pleasant, but not necessarily polished and professional.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Ship was well-maintained and clean, but small details such as regular cleaning of the balcony and refreshing tissues, etc., were waning.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Suite with balcony was functional for our family of two adults and two children

Ship tip

Pick sure what all of the additional charges are prior to booking. Be aware that you may book and then they still add additional charges at a later date that we’re not part of what was agreed to upfront.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

5 out of 5

Copenhagen, Denmark, it was absolutely beautiful. Our children loved Tivoli Gardens.

Thumbs Up 6

Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany

5 out of 5

The guide was very helpful and we had such a nice time in Berlin we know we will fly back and spend for five days there.

Thumbs Up 1

Tallinn, Estonia

5 out of 5

TallinEstonia, was a nice surprise, especially a little restaurant called farm, recommended by our guide, which was a delight.

Thumbs Up 5

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

5 out of 5

St. Petersburg, Russia, was the main reason we went on the Baltic cruise, and we enjoyed the palaces and the Hermitage Museum, as well as the input from our Russian guide.

Thumbs Up 5

Helsinki, Finland

5 out of 5

Helsinki, Finland, was also lovely, and that Finnlandia caviar house is highly recommended.

Thumbs Up 2

Stockholm, Sweden

3 out of 5

Disappointing that the line of taxis waiting just outside of the port, had meters on, but they charged K1,000 flat rate, $107 for a six minute ride to the Vasa Museum. I took Uber back in the same trip was nine dollars. Definitely avoid taxis at all costs in Stockholm Sweden.

Thumbs Up 2

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Disembarkation was smooth and efficient, but the additional $60 per day that was mandatory and build based on the change they made in April 2019, was a disappointment given that we booked in January 2019, and this charge was not disclosed to us.

Traveler Photos

6 Comments

cruiserssandr 5 years ago

Sounds like the daily service charge. You definitely should have known about that. Did you read all your paperwork? That's all in there

Thumbs Up 0

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Shh813 5 years ago

Sounds like the gratuities to me which everyone knows about, even 1st timers. Even if you book yourself they are told to you by writing and in person.

Thumbs Up 1

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grandmarnnurse 5 years ago

I’ve sailed the Getaway twice, but out of Miami. I do not remember ANY additional charges, unless you made the decision yourself to go to a for-fee restaurant. On our cruise, we even had the free Ultimate Drink Package, so we never paid for drinks, either. Do your research before any cruise, on any cruise line, to know what is covered, and what is not. I go into every single cruise very educated, from cruise line descriptions, YouTube videos, and reading multiple reviews. The problem with reviews, such as yours, is that they are subjective. Every person interprets things differently, and what was bad to one person, was totally overlooked by another. We found the theater show on the Getaway, Million Dollar Quartet, to absolutely be Broadway caliber, especially compared to Carnival’s Playlist Productions. Some people love Carnival’s productions, we were not impressed. So, there is a subjective opinion. You need to research and decide for yourself. We actually returned to Carnival, even though their shows were not Broadway caliber as we saw on RCCL and NCL, but for us, they checked off all the boxes for an absolutely wonderful and fun cruise. I suggest you check out Carnival. In my honest (and subjective) opinion, Carnival does less nickel and dimeing than the other lines (especially RCCL, who is the worse) Carnival offers way more bang for the buck, and their food is OUTSTANDING!

Thumbs Up 2

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mary3859 5 years ago

Was it gratuities...

Thumbs Up 1

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mary3859 5 years ago

Please elaborate....what exactly were the extra charges for that were not disclosed? We are going on this cruise 5th Sept and would like a warning of what to look out for....

Thumbs Up 0

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anoceanlife 5 years ago

I've always found any up charges are clearly explained. Which ones confused you

Thumbs Up 1

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