Norwegian Getaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was just the best experience ever for the 2 of us, new ship with great service & the dining was excellent along with the entertainment!

Very Happy the whole 7 days :)

the Getaway is a  Beautiful ship, and even with all the people on board you can still find free space where you have room.

Two things I would not do again are the art auction and the comedy show

I don't rember the name of the second comic on stage that night but he was unfunny and offenseve  

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Norwegian Getaway.  There were very few complaints.  The entertainment and food were great and we really appreciated the courtesy provided by the crew.  Very little pressure to buy drinks, photographs or anything else.  Getting on the ship was tedious as we went from line to line.  The breakfast on the final day was less than satisfactory.  But overall, the ship is beautiful, there was plenty to do and the price/value for our suite with a balcony was terrific.

We have decided that the mega ships are not for us.  The Getaway had excellent food in both the specialty and complimentary restaurants, the cafe was just to busy because of the number of people trying to eat there.  We ate dinner at the Tropicana most nights because we enjoyed the service and the live music.  We like to dance and that was the only place that played our type of music (Latin and ballroom).

I was very disappointed in the ship's design, specifically: They crammed almost 4,000 people on a ship that should probably have had only 3,500 people. The ship was, and felt, crowded. The pool area was tiny compared to other ships, and I mean tiny. The children's pool area was small as well, and the typical "adults only" area in the back of the ship didn't even have a pool! It had like an adult wading pool! Wow. All of the seating in the bar/lounge areas were uncomfortable, and crowded. We had a balcony cabin and the balcony was TINY. Barely could fit two regular chairs, small table, and two adults. When sitting in the chair facing the ocean my knees almost touched the rail. I have never been on a cruise ship with balcony's this tiny. Needless to say we didn't spend a lot of time on our balcony; what a shame.

I don't like the reservation process to see the free shows. We didn't get into any of the adult comedy shows because they were "sold out" and they scan your cards and close the doors so you can't sneak in. We didn't get to see Burn the Floor, or the Grammy show. We went to see Legally Blonde, the Broadway play (horrible, we left) and there were many, many empty seats although the venue was "sold out". The illuminarium was a complete disappointment. The show was geared for a much younger crowd as it was borderline childish, and the tricks were very old-school. Plus they pack you in the tables like sardines to where we could barely move your arms to cut and eat the food, and getting up was a challenge to say the least.

I know that I must seem like I'm an old, overweight, fuddy-dud, but I can assure you that I'm not. I'm an average, middle age, professional women who loves cruising.

With all this said, the food was, by far, the best food I've ever had on a cruise ship. Every meal was a work of art. How they can have that level of quality with so many passengers is an amazing feat to me.

I doubt that we will ever sail on this ship again although NCL is our very favorite cruise line. I'll stick to the Epic.

Overall a very nice experience.  Just a few suggestions.  One of the bars by the pool closed at a very busy time.  Then, the other bar was bombarded with boarding passengers looking for a drink.  The staff of the bar that was opened was overwhelmed.  They did their best but it was not fair to the staff or the passengers. 

The size of the pool seems like a bad design.  It should be larger.  That's a central gathering area and at times it was a tight squeeze.

We had an awesome time!  2 complaints: 1) we had the ultimate beverage package, bottled water and mini bar not included, the amount of paper we had to sign to receive a beverage. Why can't Norwegian swipe our room key card with no signature & paperwork required. annoying!   3) on disembarkment it was utter kaos, we had easy off, everyone was on the stairs cramming each other, no direction. 

 The ship is amazing there's a lot to do the entire time you were at sea or on shore they keep you very busy beautiful ship awesome staff great food great entertainment and amazing Havens if you stay in the suites.  This was truly the best vacation we've ever had. Jenifer Thomas was our travel agent and went above and beyond to help us we have already booked another cruise through her with 4 cabins. Thanks Jenifer. 

THE SERVICE, FOOD, & INTINERARY WERE GREAT. THE SHIP ITSELF LACKS A SECONDARY ADULT POOL AREA. THE POOL IS VERY SMALL & ALWAYS CROWDED. THE SHIP ALSO LACKS SECONDARY LOUNGES & SMALLER QUIET AREAS AROUND THE SHIP. THE MUSIC BY THE POOL WAS VERY LOUD & NON-STOP. WITH HARD POUNDING DANCE RYTHYMS ALL DAY.

Need more food choices in the garden café and the restaurants servers were over whelmed with orders need more free give a ways perks for the families on board lil ones need more to do and time so parents can enjoy also less crying

Poor service from a rude and inattentive staff, specialty restaurants weren't all that special and a poor value for what you got. Not enough selection on the buffet. 

This has been by far the best cruise I have been on. The staff was amazing and very friendly and did everything they can to make my vacation unforgettable, the food was amazing, and the ship was just beautiful. There are so many activities onboard for all ages and my family and I enjoyed it. The only thing that I had an issue with was the fact that people were coming into the dining rooms in shorts and flip flops, etc.  It was a very great experience and I would recommend going on the Norwegian Getaway.

Norwegian Gateaway is a new cruise (2014) so the everything is very well designed, especially the rommy cabin & its toilet. Food is above average but not excellent. Entertainment is just OK. 

We experienced a bad "headache" due to the mistake from the bartender and the billing computer system. Here is the story: After ordering a beer at a bar, I mistakenly gave the bartender my friend's card instead of my card (my friend - a woman whose cloth doesn't have pocket to hold the card, so she asks me to hold it for her, thus there are two card in my pocket). After entering the system, the bartender found out that the card I (a male) gave him belongs to a woman, not a man. I told him that I gave him a wrong card, he then voided the transaction and charded the drink to my card. The evening of the last day on the cruise, my friend came to the Customer Service desk to make sure all the billings are done and clear; she was told that she had an outstanding balance due to "the beer I drank was still on her account", she explained and after checking carefully, the Service desk told her that the bartender did not void that transaction correctly, so the Service desk cleared the transaction, then gave my friend a cioy of the bill with ZERO balance. The next day, during disembarking my friend was stopped and taken to see an officer who rudely shutted my friend off by saying "This is not a problem with the bill", even my friend did show her the zero-balance bill from the Service desk. After "investigating" she told my friend that my friend had an outstanding balance (of the drink). Afraid that she might be late for the plane, my friend went ahead and pay for the balance so she can get out of the ship on-time for the airport. We are not complaining for a few bugs, we just want to point out that there are many issues with Norwegian Gateaway: The bartender doesn't know how to void a transaction correctly, or he did void it correctly but the computer system doesn't update it corrrectly (?). After the Customer Service Desk gave customer zero-balance bill, it doesn't update its computer billing system that's why on the disembark day the computer still shows that "there is an outstanding balance". Norwegian MUST clear this mess. I stayed in cabin 5818 on Gateaway cruise date: 9/12 to 9/19/2015, please contact me if you need more explanation. 

This ship may be the biggest but it's also the most crowded.  On day one I was ready to lounge poolside while my little ones did the water slides but I couldn't find a single free lounge chair in any shade.  And as for the pools, there were only 2 tiny pools for thousands of passengers.  Just plain silly.  I put my swimsuit away, sadly.  The water slides look cool but the lines to ride them were long, like Disneyland.  The food was fabulous, aside from the fact that breakfast was the same routine every day--routine of food offerings AND crowds bumping shoulders trying to get some.  So many things cost additional money once I was on board, like darts or skeetball.  Everything seemed like a sales pitch for more spending.  The onboard shopping was poor, with only $1,000+ jewelry available or junk.  The main dining room was beautiful and food excellent.  The service throughout the ship was VERY good when the employees were happy.  I think the crowds in the buffet Garden Cafe were daunting to the employees cuz they weren't always cheerful--neither was I.  

Dear comment readers,

As we were traveling in a group of seven, of varying ages, sexes, and life experience, I think that you should pay attention to my full review, below, under Cabin Review.

The entire group agree with my opinion.  I am afraid that it is not going to be to your liking, but if you do listen, and act upon them, you may find your future reviews more smiling. 

I was also privy to past reviews, by previous cruisers, that were even less generous to you than mine.  I am only sorry that I read then after my cruise, not before.  It may have saved me from the experience I had, and all seven of us in the group had.

Your ship is already built, but when you design your future ships, I would have the benefit of the passengers first, not last.  You will understand what what I am saying after reading my comment below under Cabin Review.

I hope you will pardon me, I just didn't want to repeat the same words twice.

EDITED TO ADD "CABIN REVIEW":

First you have to know that we cruise a lot. We cruised with Azamara, Carnival, Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Viking, and more. We cruised the Caribbean, both North and South Atlantic, Mediterranean, and river cruising.

I must commend your crew, from the room attendant to the food service people, to any of the personnel that we have encountered. Each meant well, and projected a nice, good, and welcoming feeling. In particular, I must praise Garnet King and Moises Lequerico in their respective restaurants. They really went above and beyond.

We only cruise when we are able to enjoy a balcony. When we saw the Gateway’s “balcony”, our heart sank. Seeing the chairs positioned sideways to the water, because it is impossible to sit facing the water, because it wastes too many inches, made us understand who and what we are dealing with. Needless to say, seeing the “table” on the “balcony”, eating on the balcony, which I enjoy, was out of the question. Even sitting out to relax and read, was unthinkable. When I have to bend so that I can see to top of my hair in the bathroom mirror, the very same thought came to mind. Wanting to wash off the soap in the shower, my head, shoulders, or knees, had to touch the plumbing or the wall behind it be able to accomplish that. I understand that water pressure may wastes some water, but your solution was insulting. The tissues in our cabin ran out the day we sailed, and there was not a spare box. I understand that using one size plate in the Garden Café creates saving, but I recommend that you use smaller plates, too. More convenient for us, may be even saving to you, in the long run.

The noise level on the ship was disturbing to us. In the clubs, in entertainment venues, in the restaurants, at the pool and the Jacuzzis, you can talk, but not listen. It is due not only to the source of the music, but also to the materials used in construction and decorations that allows the sound to reverberate. Yelling was the only way to share experiences, with family or strangers, which was how we have made lifelong friends in the cruise lines mentioned above. We had to exit the Dueling Pianos performance, which we enjoyed, in the middle, since the volume level hurt our ears.

Even the food tasted better when we identified a quiet corner to eat in the restaurant.

The entertainment, compared to what we are used to, left us very lacking. We have also never heard of being charged to see an entertainer on a ship.

There was little to do in our free time. In other cruises we became tired from running between interesting, enjoyable, lectures. On the Gateway I am sorry to say, the highlight of my day was sitting in the Jacuzzi and sleeping. Yes, many people enjoy Bingo and the Casino, but pampering the intellect is important to some people. I even know people who book cruises because of a lecturer or an entertainer that they follow. Try to provide it. You may be pleasantly surprised. Trying to save this way may prove short sighted to you in the long run.

I prefer to issue gratitues to whom that give me excellent service. Always I have had the gratitues removed from my account on the ship.This time I was told I would have to fill out a form and send it to the company. This for me turned a nice cruise into a bad one. I probably will never cruise Norwegian again.They are turning tips into a mandatory thing.

The cruise ship is beautiful, the food was excellent.

My major problem was the pool!! It was the smallest pool I've ever seen on a cruise ship and the absolute worst design ever. Every cruise ship MUST have an excellent pool area. It's the focus of the sailing at sea days and after the return of ports. I was very disappointed.

Amazing family fun recommend to everyone there is something for one of you want to do for kids family Casino the slide the food everything was hands down the best

cruise overall nice delay in departure was unfortunate and could have been avoided or pre announced. pool area was always full and difficult to find seat and always wet and slippery,.

veg. choices for food were very limited or same everyday .

formal or captains dinner should be included may be different days or restaurant.

My friend and I went on the NCL Getaway in Sept for her birthday. The ship was amazing! Everyone person that worked on the ship were friendly and greeted you at all times. The ship was clean, rooms seems bigger then other ships I have been on (we had a window view). The only down fall about the room was there were only two outlets, with two females that is not enough.

I want to give an extra shout out to "daddy" that works the outside bar (16th level), the mojito bar, and the casino bar. He was awesome!!! Always friendly willing to make any drink and even make up his own. Very attentive and remembered us every time!

The ship had enough to do for any age group and the dance parties were a blast. The only thing I do wish is that the pool was bigger. Its the smallest pool I've seen on a cruise and on the hot days it was way too packed.

Overall, I loved it and would definitely go back on this ship!