Norwegian Getaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The Getaway is a great ship...very nice staterooms, larger bathroom than we had experienced before...good food.  We were surprised at all of the extra expenses, especially for shows.  We have never had to pay so much (and didn't) for additional shows, restaurants, etc. on board.  I would want to experience some other lines and see if they are also now charging for every little thing you might want to do.  Our day at Harvest Caye was cancelled for some reason and that was a huge disappointment.  The compensation didn't come close to making us feel better about that lost day.  We did have a great time because we were with friends.

I love cruising and will continue to do so but never again on a MEGA ship like Getaway. 

First the PROS: Loved O'Sheehans ~ good food with friendly servers and a good view of the activities below. The Waterfront was a comfortable place to sit and people watch or read a book.  The Garden Buffet ~ good food, good variety, good servers. The photography staff ~ they took plenty of great pictures using care to put you in a good pose.  The comedy performers and the dance troop of Burn the Floor. The port of Costa Maya ~ especially the Krazy Lobster.  The fish in the hall carpet swim forward to help you distinguish forward from aft. 

CONS: embarkation and debarkation were chaos at it's best.  Staff unfriendly and didn't have the same instructions.   Many places had additional charges ~ gelato, bakery, and even certain menu offerings in the complimentary dining rooms. Same tired old games.  Lacklust entertainment and poor venues to hold it in.  Many activities were held in the Atrium where noise and a poor sound system made it less than enjoyable.  Long lines for most things. Heavy smoking in the casino and guests smoking in prohibited areas with no consequences.

I could keep going with my list of disappointments but I'm sure you are tired of my gripes.  Thanks for reading.

This the cruise ship was clean, the decor attractive and the stateroom had good storage.  The food was similar to dining at my mom's retirement home only not served as hot. Staff were not very friendly or accommodating, we saw our steward only 3 times, at embarkation, when he reported breaking some eyeglasses and when we sought him out to clean up our room that had not been done. There were more than 900 children, many running unsupervised all over the ship. Extra fees and charges were everywhere. Ports were remote from sights and made it difficult to experience local culture other than on official excursions. There were very few shows in the theater and entertainment in other venues was brief and crowded.

Had a great time! Made great new friends! Clean and new boat, excellent staff. Make sure you research your excursions, it was hard to find detailed information and I might have made other choices if I had known better. No regrets though, it was a wonderful time!

The whole cruise was bad from the beginning, they messed up our beverage package (took over an hour to straighten out), buffet laid out in huge square, kids had to go thru casino to get from one end of ship to the other on 7th floor.  The photographer blocked stairs for pictures, food in main dining rooms were strange combinations (sliced veal with tuna sauce, shrimp & mashed potatoes in red sauce, etc. ????), getting off early (self carry of luggage) a joke (1 1/2 hours as opposed to 45 minutes when we used to put our luggage out the night before), we got off the elevator & was routed down the hall, thru the casino, down another hall, around the ship back thru the casino down the hall again & off the ship to another long hall round & round like cattle to customs. Very little of the staff were pleasant and smiling (exceptions were Weaver, Jenni Lynn, and one other main dining room server) or friendly.  I will stick with Celebrity & Royal Caribbean in the future. 

I loved the the whole experience.  The shows were amazing. Million dollar quartet is a must see so was burning the floor.  Game shows were awesome too.  The hosts were hilarious and really got people involved.  The art was beautiful.  They had murals on most of the elevator waiting areas so we took photos there.  They made sure there was hand sanitizer everywhere,  which I think is very important.  The staff was very friendly. The complimentary fine dining was hit and miss for my palate but that's just me.  Monderno was the only place I went to that we had to pay for,  it was really good. My group had people who ate from rare to super well done and they accommodated for that. We went to Honduras,  and got a tour for 20 per person, just go past the Norwegian offered tours and you can find them.  Belize was a disappointment only because to get off of Norwegians little private island you had to book a tour through them.  It was very pricey and not much going on. The beach was like rock salt sand... ouch.  Costa maya walk past the gates and find a taxi to the ruins 25-45 per person,  and 20 for a group of 5 for the tour. Very manageable.  The taxis wait for you. Cozumel got a taxi to sky reef for 15 and chose to do the snorkeling and all the food you can eat for 45. Amazing. Just tell them when you want to be back at Port, never a problem. Will definitely do this again,  minus Belize. 

After our first try with NCl 2 years ago, we figured we would give it another shot. Poor food, poor service, ZERO entertainment after 7 pm. I will continue with carnival and royal Caribbean. 

I have to confess, NCL has been my cruise line of choice for several years and I have sailed on many of your competitors.  But if this had been my first NCL experience, it would have been my last.  The crew was the least friendly of any NCL cruise ship, I had problems with getting security in a very serious emergency situation, I felt demeened by the medical staff, and we found the entertainment on other NCL ships to be much more to our liking.  Although we paid more for this mini-suite than we have paid previously for standard balcony cabins, this room was no larger, except for the bathroom. And who needs a double sink on a cruise ship?

We loved the cruise overall. I think NCL nickels and dimes you with some charges. We did not go to the specialty restaurants at all. The food was great in the other restaurants and the buffet. The Belize stop was a nice beach but really charging for the food and drink on your own island!!

Pretty typical with lounge chair hogs and hot tub hogs. Not sure how to rectify that.

Staff was excellent, our stateroom steward was the best!!!

Shows for the most part great. For the extra fee the magic show was not a good deal and not worth it.

Will I cruise on NCL again, YES!   

This was mostly an excellent cruise.  As for improvements, I would move the smoking section outside the Sunset bar further from the entrance.  The smoke wafts into the ship and essentially makes the entire section unsuitable for non-smoking cruisers.

The favorite part of the trip was the dining. We also enjoyed the entertainment but was annoyed by the fact that we had to book most of them.

We found that the service was not up to par with the other 5 cruises on Norwegian. Example: Food was brought at random frequently instead together.

The emphasis was too much on drinking and we are non drinkers..

miami is a very congested port.  The ship lacked music venues- more geared to silly games than sophisticated music. Was lucky we we warned to book restaurants and shows in advance.  The last sea day the pool was booked as people left their towels on chairs for the day. I have to say the food in the restuarants was very good and Tropicana is a hidden gem with music or dance show nightly. The specialty are probably not worth the extra unless you get bored with eating at the 6 or so available for free. Glad we had the drink package or it adds up.  The steward was horrible and even realized when we woke up the first morning we had dirty sheets.  no apologies from anyone- but we insisted the room get scrubbed. Also the lack of dress code is disturbing cruising used to be such a fun experience

We were very disappointed with our cruise. The food was ok. We had dinner at 3 restaurants that were not on the plan.  They were good. The entertainment was ok not good..  We took one excursion which was well worth it. What bothered me the most was all the added costs. I felt like we were buying a used car. We were quoted $799.00pp. By the time we got back to Miami, the cost had risen to 3K for both of us.To be fair, that included our excursion which was approximately 80.00 total.That included $199.oo for trip insurance. I tried calling the IHG representative twice with no call back on her part. Finally the night before the cruise, I waiting for 20 plus minutes to speak to a man who identified himself as Cupid. Honest! He was able to answer our questions and was very polite. After returning to MIami, the debarkation was a real junk show. It took 2.5 hours to get off the ship. There was no organization whatsoever.  People were yelling at NCL crew as they stood by waving goodbye and telling is to have a nice day. It was a mess we will never repeat. For the cost of this cruise, we could have flown just about any all inclusive. We will do that from now on.

The entertainment was great, the weather was beautiful, everything was perfect!

My family of four (2 adults, 12yo, 13yo) cruised on the Getaway Jan 15-22, 2017.  It was our first time with Norwegian and we had a blast.  The ship is HUGE and there is so much to do any time of day.  We loved the mini suite, it was perfect for four with a Queen bed for mom and dad, a pull out sofa and a bunk that pulled down from the ceiling.  There was plenty of room to walk around even when the beds were made up for the night.  The bathroom has storage and the shower was awesome with 7 heads.  The room technology was pretty cool; your key card turns on the lights and AC, there are buttons for room to be made up and do not disturb (no door hangers). 

The activities on the boat are plentiful to say the least.  There is a basketball court, rock wall, putt putt, a ropes course (that is awesome), 5 waterslides, a trampoline, bowling (that we didn't even know about until the last day), a big screen movie area, and a few pools and hot tubs.  For the adults there is a huge casino, a ton of bars (including an Ice Bar at -17 degrees F), adults only pool and lounge area, and lots of shows. 

The food was amazing!  The buffets were superior to any other ship we have cruised on before.  Breakfast was pretty much the same every day, but there are plenty of options for everyone.  The head chef is Indian, so the Indian food on the buffet was excellent!  We did not partake in any of the specialty dining, but did visit the Noodle house and O'Sheehans pub (both complimentary) and had great experiences at each. 

My only complaint is with the disembarkation process.  We chose the self-assist (to carry our luggage off the ship ourselves) which was to be from 7:45-8:30am.  Once the announcement came on to proceed, it was a free-for-all.  Hundreds of people trying to use the elevators and stairs to exit the ship at the same time.  It took us an hour and a half just to get off the ship.  It would have been nice to have some of the staff directing traffic or even dismiss the cruisers by floor.  More organization is definitely needed for that process. 

All in all, it was a fantastic cruise and I would absolutely do it all again.   

We enjoyed the excursions we took to  the various ports. We have been on 7+ cruises on NCL.and have stayed in the Haven.  We like the option of the private pool,(quite, no children screaming or splashing)  lounge chairs, and private dining along with the unique experiences it offers.  This cruise, the Haven was very very crowded.  Too many children in the pool & restaurant. Not an enjoyable experience. Many of these kids, were left on their own to run around.  Not what we wanted  to be a part of. Never meet our butler.

Loved it, only 2 complaints. 1st there needs to be a separate card that can be limited for the children's arcade play. Allowing them a certain dollar limit per day without running up a $400 arcade bill! 2nd Great Harvest Caye was horribly over priced. $19 for less than a full shot of tequila! $67 for horrible burgers for 4 people. This needs to be all inclusive like Great Stirrup Caye. It was an unexpected expense! It was not as nice either. Norwegian seems to be adding more and more to Nickel and dime us all along the trip.

could not say enough about this ship and Haven- trip of a lifetime. The staff in the Haven were perfectly perfect. Not so much the rest of the ship- encountered some rude wait staff... but wasn't enough to spoil our trip. Our cabin was a good size, lots storage, clean, beds comfy. Our butler Benny- AMAZING, so helpful, always right there for us... spoiled us... shows great, ports fun, spotlessly clean ship... getting aboard a breeze- getting off same thing. Thank you JB and NCL .... best vacation ever.

Oh my ,it was great ,there was 9 of us that went on this cruise.We had a fantastic time We did a few excursions which we really enjoyed.The food in the complimentary restaurants was excellent also the entertainment was quite enjoyable especially the illusionarium and also The Million Dollar Quartet.We loved Our accommodations .The room was also tidy and clean.We did not enjoy the buffet so much, it was always jammed packed and could not find a table some times.The pool was not enough for that many people we didn't even get to go in there,we instead hung out at H2O at least we were able to get wet occasionly.But overall we loved our cruise,we are trying to plan a fall NCL cruise.

The crew of the Getaway was friendliness itself. We loved the views from our balcony and the views of the ports as we arrived and departed. The food was excellent and available. The excursion in Routan, Honduras to the Animal Sanctuary packed us in an uncomfortable van. The only other con for us was the departure on Sunday the 15th. Winding around the ship carrying luggage was horrendous. No one liked it. It needs way better organization. It should be like our port departures. Please improve it. We would cruise with Norwegian again.