Our first cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line was the Getaway
in May of 2015. We embarked again in May of 2016- http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/2016/06/norwegian-getaway-review.html -and will be on her a third time next June for our twenty fifth wedding
anniversary. As the Getaway is such a big ship with so much to do we have found
the last two cruises to be both fun and different! Our cruise next year will be
in a Spa Balcony and we plan to attend the new dinner show and eat at Ocean
Blue which are two things we have not done yet. As our son will be 18 he will
be of age to enjoy the spa amenities too. :)
I must say the Getaway is still my favorite ship! Maybe because our first cruise with NCL was on this amazing
vessel, or perhaps it was the unlimited beverage package! Here is a breakdown
of our first NCL Getaway cruise:
Our balcony
room was forward (12730) and was very modern and new. There were plenty of
closet shelves to store clothing and our steward kept the cabin immaculate. The
balcony was a wee bit smaller than our previous balconies on Carnival Cruise
Lines, but we made due! I spotted the huge balconies on deck
8 from our balcony- which is why we got one of those large balconies on our
second Getaway voyage. We got 3 towel animals from our steward throughout the
week, a dog, an elephant and a really cute gerbil in a glass.
Joel
“Jersey Boy” was the MOST AMAZING CD ever! He had high energy, humor, charisma
and you could tell he was giving 200% to his job every day. The shows, Legally
Blonde and Burn the Floor were broadway caliber, and the additional
performances of the Burn the Floor troop in the Tropicana dining room was such
a treat! There were multiple shows offered throughout the week at various
times, and you could pre-reserve your spot if you wanted to a specific show, or via the easy touchscreens throughout the ship. You could also get
an app for your I Phone to schedule show and dinner reservations. The comedians
performed many times in a smaller theater, but there was also a family comedy
show in the large Getaway theater with all new material from the comedians
which was wonderful! In addition to these shows there were nightly performances
by a Grammy winning artist in The Grammy Experience (now Fat Cats Jazz Club), dueling piano bars/performances and a plethora of shows at the Atrium stage,
including the fabulous Celebrity Dance off. The “Dance Off” was better than
Dancing with the Stars and so funny!!!! There were parties every night for
families to enjoy, fireworks ( 2015 was the last year they did them), the usual fun pool
contests, line dance classes, ballroom lessons with the Burn the Floor troop,
live music in the Tropicana dining room, daily activities like origami and
scrapbooking, cupcake decorating ($), a family party with face painters, pizza
making and treats the last night, as well as an art gallery show/auction. My son did
the Teen Club, coined Entourage, which he liked a lot. They offered games,
dancing, karaoke, scavenger hunts and fun activities throughout the week. The
amount of activities and things to do, in addition to the ship amenities, such as
the pools, rock climbing wall, etc.- as well as the port stops- made it
impossible to do everything you wanted to do in a week! :)
We did not do the specialty restaurants other than Moderno on our first Getaway
voyage- so we made sure to try a few of them on our second trip. The food
offered in all the dining venues was amazing, however, and we really enjoyed
the delicious offerings day and night! The
dining rooms Taste, Savor and the Tropicana all have the same menu, which
changes nightly. People usually choose which dining room they prefer
or which one fits their time frame best. We loved the live entertainment in the
Tropicana so we went there 3 times! Savor and Taste are also open for breakfast
and lunch on sea and embarkation days. They have a unique menu that has special
items daily. My son really liked their Heuvos Rancheros for breakfast one day
and the “English” breakfast another day. O’Sheehans is open 24/7 and offers
typical pub fare, along with some great corned beef hash for breakfast
(according to my hubby). The burgers, fries, wings, etc. were good and reminded
me of a TGI Fridays or Applebees fare. The Garden Café is the buffet which is
really great! I was surprised that the food choices were so varied, especially
for lunch. The had ice cream machines and hard scoop ice cream, yogurt and
sherbet as well. There is a bar to get drinks (alcoholic and sodas) in the
buffet also. My son and hubby liked the Indian selection of food, as well as
the Asian options. The buffet times were changed to be open to meet the needs of guests
based on port times, etc. I found there was always a time to go there- even for
their late night snack buffet from 9:30-11:30!! Hot dogs, salads, cookies, etc
are all available for your late night cravings! The Flamingo Grill was another
complimentary option for breakfast and lunch (this is now a paid venue-Margaritaville) which had yummy Latin
themed cuisine. Shanghai’s was yet
another complimentary dining spot- and the food was excellent! We ordered at
least one of everything throughout the cruise and every single dish was delicious!
The drink package was a seriously awesome perk on our first Getaway cruise- and it has been a major factor when booking our additional cruises with Norwegian. We love the idea of enjoying both favorite and new cocktails without the worry of a big bill! The "Chocolate Cowboy", who I am told is on the Escape now was a fantastic bartender at the Sugarcane Mojito Bar. He was entertaining and made fabulous mojitos!
Our first trip on the Getaway definitely was the catalyst to our loyalty to Norwegian Cruise lines. I am looking forward to our third cruise on her next year! :)
