kathiewe

So ready to book my 50th birthday cruise!

No matter what happens people will complain....

 

If the carts are complimentary, you'll read from some "....I don't/can't even use the carts, why is my fare high enough to pay for that?..."

 

If the carts are additional cost, you'll read from some"...NCL is nickel and diming us to death..."

 

Whatever thing that the track replaces, people will want that thing.

So true. We are OK with extra costs. We pay for those items that we are interested in and skip those that we aren't. Also, we find paying weeds out people and makes those items we do pay for all the better.

We love the Sky. Here are a few things we do..

1) We book the 3 night upgraded dining package. The food is much better than the MDRs.

2) We eat breakfast on the Great Outdoor Cafe...so peaceful.

3) We go to Great Stirrup Cay early before it gets crazy busy.

4) We go to Pineapples for music and sushi

We enjoy the Moscato. Its light and crisp. Perfect for a sunny day at sea in the Caribbean.

Happy birthday to me.... know where I'll be celebrating my 50th!

Following... Glad you are having fun! We will be on the Getaway in 33 days. We love the Getaway!

Just wanted to say Congratulations on your adoption! We adopted our 10 year old son from foster care when he was a baby. While adoption is not the easiest way to become parents, it is more than rewarding. We think we love our son more because he is adopted and everything we went through to become his parents.

Enjoy his 1st birthday celebration!

HI!

We love the Sky and have been doing a getaway weekend on her at least once a year for the last few years. Your tripreport is very much in keeping with our experiences. The only difference for us is, as foodies, we prefer to upgrade to Le Bistro, Cagney's, and Il Adagio for our dinners.

Thanks for the report!

Non-crowded beach at Great Stirrup Cay? Not sure that is likely, though we found getting there early and staying until lunch seemed to provide a couple of hours that didn't have too many crowds.

That said we love GSC (much better than Harvest Cay). Great snorkeling, good beach food, and beautiful.

Enjoy!

We are self described Disney addicts... WDW passholders for 14 years, DVC timeshare owners, and Disney regulars. However we love NCL. Our son loves Splash Academy. Loves the water slides, ropes course, rock climbing wall, and ice cream. Disney is great but just cannot justify the price for a cruise.

Oh and Daddy like the casino, which Disney does not have.

Note: This is the same post that I just wrote on the other Getaway excursion post. Sorry for the duplicate post but seems redundant to write the same information twice....

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We sailed on the Getaway last March and will be returning again this year. We loved our excursions last year and are expecting to love this year's just as much. We are doing the same one in Costa Maya because we are traveling with different family members and just know my inlaw's will absolutely love it and we liked it so much we know we will have fun a second time.

1. Roatan,Honduras

Last year -- Radical Adventures Sailing/Snorkeling/Lunch. It was awesome and I hope we are not making a mistake not going again this year, but DS really wants to see the sunken shipwreck. Its a small catamaran with only about 20 people. You have a nice relaxing sail for about 45 minutes out to snorkeling spot during which you are treated to muffins, fruit, and drinks. The snorkeling was OK...but lots of coral bleaching was sad to see. Then lunch was AMAZING!!!! Highly recommend!

This year -- Roatan Shipwreck Snorkeling & Beach Lunch. As mentioned my 10 year old really wants to snorkel on a shipwreck so that what we are going to do. Hoping its as great as Radical Adventures was last year.

2. Harvest Cay, Belize

Beach break. Its OK, but we live close to the beach in Venice, FL so its not a big deal for us. We'll likely get off, walk around the shops, relax, and then head back for lunch and chill time on the ship while it is less busy.

3. Costa Maya, Mexico

Mayan Experience tour from Native Choice. Really amazing! A tour of Mayan ruins and then visit to a local village where you are treated to a home cooked meal. It was recommended to us by my Dad and now we recommend it everyone else. If you love history and living culture this is a must do!

4. Cozumel, Mexico

Last year -- Self tour of the city, shopping, and lunch at the Thirsty Cougar. The highlight of this day was absolutely lunch--OMG such fresh ceviche, yummy ginger margaritta and other flavors, and authentic fish tacos. I love Mexican food and this was some of the best I have ever had.

This year -- Cozumel food tour. We have done a couple of food tours and they have always been great. We are looking forward to seeing what this one has for us.

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No matter what you do, you will have a great time. The Getaway is a great ship!

Cheers!

We sailed on the Getaway last March and will be returning again this year. We loved our excursions last year and are expecting to love this year's just as much. We are doing the same one in Costa Maya because we are traveling with different family members and just know my inlaw's will absolutely love it and we liked it so much we know we will have fun a second time.

1. Roatan,Honduras

Last year -- Radical Adventures Sailing/Snorkeling/Lunch. It was awesome and I hope we are not making a mistake not going again this year, but DS really wants to see the sunken shipwreck. Its a small catamaran with only about 20 people. You have a nice relaxing sail for about 45 minutes out to snorkeling spot during which you are treated to muffins, fruit, and drinks. The snorkeling was OK...but lots of coral bleaching was sad to see. Then lunch was AMAZING!!!! Highly recommend!

This year -- Roatan Shipwreck Snorkeling & Beach Lunch. As mentioned my 10 year old really wants to snorkel on a shipwreck so that what we are going to do. Hoping its as great as Radical Adventures was last year.

2. Harvest Cay, Belize

Beach break. Its OK, but we live close to the beach in Venice, FL so its not a big deal for us. We'll likely get off, walk around the shops, relax, and then head back for lunch and chill time on the ship while it is less busy.

3. Costa Maya, Mexico

Mayan Experience tour from Native Choice. Really amazing! A tour of Mayan ruins and then visit to a local village where you are treated to a home cooked meal. It was recommended to us by my Dad and now we recommend it everyone else. If you love history and living culture this is a must do!

4. Cozumel, Mexico

Last year -- Self tour of the city, shopping, and lunch at the Thirsty Cougar. The highlight of this day was absolutely lunch--OMG such fresh ceviche, yummy ginger margaritta and other flavors, and authentic fish tacos. I love Mexican food and this was some of the best I have ever had.

This year -- Cozumel food tour. We have done a couple of food tours and they have always been great. We are looking forward to seeing what this one has for us.

---

No matter what you do, you will have a great time. The Getaway is a great ship!

Cheers!

How was the food? I'm on for my 30th in February and from the reviews I expect Sky to be a little older but still well maintained (I'm kind of hyped for the hilariously 90s decor TBH) and my boyfriend and I are generally very happy so long as we have a drink in hand and each other but the food does concern me because I've heard it was pretty hit or miss. I was going to save my money for a big fancy dinner in Miami when we got back and skip the specialty dining if the MDR is passable.

 

Also, what were your favorite drinks? Is the beer selection still as bleak as I've seen?

The first two times we sailed on the Sky we got the updated dining package and loved every meal we had (particularly Le Bistro and Il Adagio). This past October we decided to try the MDRs, BIG MISTAKE. First, we are foodies who love nothing more than relax at the end of the day we an amazing meal. Next, my husband has been in management in the the food service business for some 25 years. Finally, maybe we had spoiled ourselves on previous trips and, as a result, had higher expectations of what to expect from our dinners on the Sky. However, there is no question that we will never do the MDRs for dinner on the Sky again. One night, DH had Carbonara, which was tasteless and unappealing. I had a dish to start that I cannot remember but do know it was sent back. The replacement was Chicken Cordon Blue because your can't mess that up right. Wrong. It too was tasteless and overcooked. We were so disappointed and hungry we ended up eating again later.

So, IMHO, the food in the Le Bistro, Cagney's, Wasabi, and Il Adagio are great! Each restaurant has a great ambiance, service, and food. The food at the MDRs is OK. The service is great but after that no thanks. We learned that on future trips to just build in the price of the upgraded dining so that we can enjoy our mini vacation and not leave wanting a better experience.

So glad you had fun! We love the Sky... its a great mini vacay!

We will be sailing on the Getaway 2 weeks after DH's 45th in March. Since we will be busy with life ahead of our cruise, would like to plan a few birthday surprises while we are on vacation. Any suggestions of what we could do are welcomed. We have excursions already booked, so looking for ship based ideas.

Thanks!

There is no question about it. The floor seating is absolutely the way to go.. IMHO, if you go with banquet you'd be wasting your money because its nit worth going.

Here's my question.... last year we got there 30 minutes ahead and were in the 2nd row on the floor. What time do you need to get there to get in the 1st row. An hour?

Thanks for the trip report. We will back on the Getaway in March and so looking forward to it!

The 3/4 days on NCL, Carnival, and RCL are all older ships. The newer ships are 7+ nights. But really on 3/4 night cruise you are not on the ship very much as you are in port. On the 3 night cruise NCL and RCL both go to the Nassau/Grand Bahama Island on one day and their private island on the second. Carnival tends to go the Nassau and then a day at sea. NCL and Carnival both have 3/4 night sailings out of Cape Carnival so if you want, a day/or two at WDW is absolutely doable.

As for cabins, we love our balconies. We really love the aft balcony but will accept any balcony if the price is too high for aft.

Have a great trip!.

We are self proclaimed Disney addicts. We have been passholders for 12 years, own DVC timeshare, and visit about 4-5 times a year. That said, we will not pay Disney prices for the cruiseline. Rather we are Norwegian Cruise loyalists. Our son has great fun on the Sky, even though it has a reputation for being a drunk cruise because the cost includes alcohol. On a short cruise you are in ports all day and at night the Splash Academy is the place to be for kids. Sometimes NCL's bigger ships that have more toys offer short cruises and NCL just moved The Sun to Cape Canaveral for 3 and 4 day cruises. No matter what you choose... RCL, NCL, or Carnival... you will have a great time and not pay Disney prices.

So excited! Just booked for Dec 29, 2018... Ringing in 2019 on the Bliss!

We are annual pass holders and love it. Our 9 year old son is a science geek and cannot get enough. Not sure what to recommend specifically as I have never been a cruise tour, but if you have a chance to go to KSC, GO!

Waiting for the July 2019 sailings to be announced. It will be my 50th birthday and I am ready to celebrate!!!

I'm all for destinations in the Southern Caribbean from Florida ports. That would be amazing!

Love to see a change in current itinerary.... go to Cuba, Key West, or even Freeport on the way back from Cozumel, rather than Nassau. Nassau is hands down our least favorite port. But that is wishful thinking.... The positive is most others will go ashore leaving the Seaside to those of us who know better.

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Such a great way to start your vacation! Congrats!

Spoke to MSC today about Summer '19. He said they are booking through March but to watch for the rest of '19 in the coming months.