All in all, a fun experience and I regret nothing.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We walked up, checked in, and got on board. Could not be any faster.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Drinks were great if not watered down a little, food was average. Specialty dining was great, the main dining was good, the buffet was average and crowded, and O'sheehan's was bad.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
They were fine, but we really didn't do any of them. The ship was full and crowded.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Million Dollar Quartet and it was great, even my friend who HATES plays and musicals liked it. They guy playing Buddy Holly was amazing. My wife said Burn the Floor was awesome, I declined to go. We walked into the dueling pianos show while it was in progress and it wasn’t even half full. It wasn’t very good either. They might want to re-think that one. We TRIED to go to the new Syd Norman’s bar for the band, but it was always packed. Even when it was bad karaoke it was packed. Considering that the Raw Bar and Wasabi were almost always empty, and I rarely EVER saw anyone going into or exiting the Ice Bar… They should re-think their use of space. Syd’s could be three times the size it is and still fill up.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Top F’ing notch. They apparently recruit from the same pool as Disney, as everyone we encountered was smiling and friendly.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The Getaway is a beautiful vessel. Flat out, no argument there. Five stars for that. However, the design is a little lacking when it comes to the traffic flow and dealing with crowds. For example, we had 4600 people on board, so hallways were always busy. With this in mind, why would you design a shopping area in one of those hallways? This causes people to stop to look at things and ask questions of the staff member, causing blockages in the hallway. Yes, I know. I get it. This is done intentionally as a sales tactic. However, I suggest that it’s more detrimental than they think. I found it immensely irritating. Three stars for design.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had mid-ship balcony stateroom 10860. With the ship sold out our Haven bid was not accepted, but we were quite happy with where we were. Our travel companions were next door, so we opened the partition between the two balconies whenever we were all outside (frequently) and closed it when we left the room. I hear they don’t like you doing that, so we left no evidence. All it takes is something that can fit into an approximately 1/3 of an inch square hole and turn. We found that we overpacked and still had plenty of unused storage space. Everything was clean and new feeling after the May refresh. Our only complaint would be that whichever chucklehead designed those rooms put the light switch to the bathroom OUTSIDE the room. Stupid. All in all, I’d give the room 4.5 out of 5 stars. Our steward was Arson, but I can’t remember where he was from as I rarely saw him. He was a ghost that magically made everything right. I swear we’d put the “Make up Room” light on and come back in ten minutes and it’d be done. I swear the guy had a magic wand or something. H
We caught the train to Schwerin and toured the castle. Stunning and amazing place. Then we stopped in Wismar for a beer at a really old brewpub. (As in older than the USA kinda old.)
In Russia we used Anastasia Travel for the two days. We are NOT guided tour people, so we booked the private tour for the four of us. It was OUTSTANDING. I would not hesitate to use them again or suggest them to anyone.
We self disembarked. This would have worked better if we could get an elevator that wasn't full, but half the bank on that end of the ship were turned off; presumably for helping people with mobility needs. Understandable, but still frustrating.
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