BrytEydBelle

Thank you for sharing! Makes me even more excited to see Belfast next year!

Parking at the port is just too quick easy for me to resist! I splurged last time and I can't see myself ever going back.

Embarkation:

Check in at Miami was easy and fast. We had a 10:30 port arrival time. We then went through to the sitting area and it was quite crowded and kept getting even worse as more people checked in but no one was boarded. After a while they made an announcement that there was a delay due to a random full inspection by the coast guard. We had been there a while when they started to disembark the prior passengers. Not NCLs fault but definitely a later start to the cruise then we'd hoped for.

Last port: Cozumel

This is my favorite in the Western Caribbean. Upon getting back to the US I actually looked into Cozumel real estate as I would love to move there or even just get a small condo. We took a cab to Paradise Beach as we have found it to be the perfect beach day every time.

This time was no exception. It is very clean, the water was great and food and drinks were good and reasonably priced. We spent much of the port time here then reluctantly headed back to do some shopping before we had to be back onboard. I found the prices at the Margaritaville to be better here than any other I have been to. I buy souvenir items on cruises, nothing fancy.

Third port: Costa Maya

The original plan was to take a cab to Tropicante. However we got a pretty late start and everyone wanted to shop first. We hit the port shops and then discovered the pool so just made a day of it. The pool was fine, but I do regret not getting to the beach.

Port 2: Belize

This was the port I was least looking forward to I hate to say. Originally this was to be Harvest Caye, but as the port is not complete, it was changed to Belize city. We booked a ship excursion to the Altun Ha Ruins. A note about the excursions for the tender ports that I hadn't realized - get to the meeting time early! We got there about 2 minutes early and they were already filing out and we had to ask people in line what excursion it was for.

I hate to say this, but my main impression of Belize was of intense heat. I have never been so hot in my life. I lived in Florida without air conditioning in the summer and that was nothing compared to this. I really couldn't appreciate the coolness of the ruins because I was so uncomfortable. My dad climbed the ruins and totally showed up my sister and I...we are fairly young, athletic and hit the gym religiously but we both slipped trying to climb and decided not to risk it. Rather not break an ankle midway through our cruise. We did a little shopping at the port but mostly wanted to get back to the air conditioned ship.

Ok, just lost a long post so I will break up the rest of this : )

Ports:

Roatan - 1st time in Roatan. We originally looked at booking the Maya Key excursion with the ship, but did not want to get locked into a beach day if the weather was bad. Luckily it was a beautiful clear day and we caught a cab with Victor Bodden to go to West Bay Beach - they took us to the Henry Morgan Resort. $15 pp for cab fare and we picked a $15 pp package with the resort which included using the bathrooms, beach chairs and pool. It was a huge saltwater pool that was pretty much empty (nice after how crowded the ships pool was). The beach was gorgeous. I would love to return here! The ride was through narrow, twisting roads that made my sister a little nauseous but I thought it gave great views of how green and lush the land was.

Just got back yesterday from a fabulous cruise on the Getaway...wish I was still on it : ) I was apprehensive about this cruise and had strongly considered canceling and am so glad I did not. Lots of changes were made after my booking (eliminating Legally Blonde show after I had made my reservations, increase in gratuity - twice, and the no carry out rule). However, the changes really didn't make a different in my trip other than I would have really loved to see Legally Blonde as that was one of the deciding factors in picking the ship.

A little about my group: I traveled with my family - me (33), baby sister (26) and my parents. My husband and my sister's boyfriend did not come, so just family. We mostly wanted to relax this cruise...very stressful year thus far and we didn't want to overplan and do too much like I tend to do.

Stateroom: We all stayed in a mini suite with expanded balcony. I was very nervous about the space since we are all adults and have always gotten two rooms in the past, but my parents are very hard to keep track of when in separate staterooms and we spend a lot of time just trying to find each other. This room was awesome...for any former campers out there, we found it larger and more comfortable than the KOA Kabins (where we spent every summer). The bathroom and shower were very spacious and the balcony was huge. Would definitely book this arrangement again, loved it!!! We all loved the balcony, it cut down on the need to try to find a lounger on the pool deck and I like the privacy.

Entertainment: We saw the Burn the Floor show which was fantastic! We also saw two comedy shows and enjoyed them both, particularly Flip Schultz. The live music we saw was very good too - cannot remember their names, but the band that did the Bob Marley tribute was my favorite. Personally, I thought Howl at the Moon was just ok, but others in my group really liked it. We also saw the Captain America Winter Soldier movie at Spice H2O. There was a lot we never even made it to because we were swimming, laying out, etc.

We did a Caribbean line dance class followed by dancing at Spice H2O. So much fun! Very high intensity and the music was great. Honestly, probably the most fun I've had in years.

Pools/hot tubs/etc

Pool was always swamped but I was prepared and we did a lot of swimming at port. It did annoy me how so many people just sit at the edge, not swimming...seems kind of random and makes me feel like I'm on display. On the first day my sister and I swam in the pool with maybe four others in there, but the entire pool was surrounded by sitters. Oh well, at least we got to swim.

Hot tubs were usually ok to get into, no issues there. We liked the spice H20 water misters on the first sea day since it was quite hot. The second sea day was much cooler so we did not attempt. We did the purple slide which looked to be the tamest. I wish I would have tried before the last day of the cruise! I last did a water slid about 20 years ago and remember the plastic material as much rougher - I would always get scraped and cut up so I was afraid to try these. However, technology has improved a lot in water slide construction and this was very smooth.

Food:

My mother is in the process of getting dentures and having her teeth pulled to do so...that makes eating a huge challenge, she lost about 20 pounds in a month since she had such a hard time eating. She was supposed to have the dentures in by the cruise, but there were complications, so she only had her front teeth. We ate at the buffet almost every meal since it is easier for her to keep going back for tiny portions.

Garden Café - really good! I loved the breakfasts and lunches and could always find something tasty for dinner.

Flamingo grill - Everything we had from there was good...particularly liked the guava pastries.

Tropicana Room - We had dinner here once, the night they served turkey. We were seated right away and everything was hot, etc. Only challenge was getting the drinks, they didn't come until we were through the appetizers. Not a big deal. My dinner was shrimp wrapped in Pancetta which was decent and the coconut soufflé for dessert - very tasty.

Drink package - We had the UBP for my sister and I and the soda package for our parents. We had booked as a promo so we were able to do the two package types. It was nice not having to pay for drinks but we don't drink that much so would never pay out of pocket. Most days we had 1 drink with a few days of 2-3 drinks so we definitely would not get money's worth. I did use for soda but I carried a 12 pack of diet sprite onboard since I like diet soda with dinner but can't do the caffine after 6.

Staff - The staff members we encountered were great. Our room steward was fantastic - towel animals nightly, room always spotless. We gave him a big extra tip as I know it was tough to clean up after four people : ) Drink staff very good, we tipped and tended to frequent the same spots. I tried some different drinks, but really preferred my old standard the pina colada.

Will post on embarkation/debarkation and ports a little later.

I was in line for about an hour and a half yesterday...tons of international cruisers and it took so long for them to get processed. This was my seventh cruise and perhaps I've just been lucky before but it was crazy. The non US passengers seemed to take 5-10 minutes to get through whereas my group was waved through in under a minute. Glad we weren't flying out yesterday!

In addition Getaway was hit with a full customs inspection last Sunday so many passengers were very late in leaving... I felt so bad for them as I'm sure some missed flights.

I would actually be excited if this happens by my 5/7 sail date. Sorry I just love Margaritaville and want to visit all of them.

I really regret booking my May 1st cruise at this point and it sucks because I am past the cancellation penalty. Now the show that I really wanted to see is gone, the port I most wanted to visit is cancelled and there have been countless (mostly negative) changes to Dsc and dining since I booked.

I would not have booked this trip had I known they would change so much. I know I'm not the most experienced cruiser but I've been on six previous cruises (3 Royal, 2 Carnival, 1 Disney) and have never seen a company mess with the product so much. If it weren't for the people traveling with me I would take the penalty and cancel.

I just got the cancellation email as well for my May 1st cruise. I am hoping it is just a system issue and that they are not just doing away with entertainment. It was my understanding that shows typically have a few year contract (3 comes to mind). Really not pleased with all the changes since booking.

Yum! Not a big fan of the MDR menus so I will be eating here many nights.

I love the Konk cooler...best drink I have ever had on a cruise! I don't believe it is on the ship menu (it is kind of the signature drink on Castaway Cay) but the bartenders can make it. Now I'm sad that I won't be on another Disney cruise until 2017!

I have to laugh at the idea of Thomas Kincaid as art, it's paint by numbers, done in China.

Lol I just bought a Thomas Kincaid on a Disney cruise- not as an investment but because it is a really pretty Little Mermaid print I had been eyeing for years that goes perfectly in our home. It is not fine art but it works for us. It was the same price as it is where we live, but with the high tax rate in our county we came out a little ahead.

I am strongly considering canceling my 2016 Getaway booking and looking at booking Carnival. This was to be my first NCL cruise but with all the changes I am just no longer comfortable planning this trip for my family.

It is not any one change but the fact that there are so many with seemingly no regard for customer service. The room service charge I could live with but the new rule about taking food elsewhere is just too controlling for me. Sometimes I like to take a slice of pizza to a lower deck away from the crowds.

Are the teens big Disney fans? If not, I feel like RCCL might make more sense. I would recommend she go online and take a look at the cruise Navigators to compare activities for both lines. I had canceled a Disney cruise five years ago for my sister and I to book RCCL for the nightlife activities. Five years later, we are older and more tired, so the lack of late night fun is not much of a concern anymore : )

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I would never book the same day as departure just because you never know. Last week we had a freak fog system that resulted in my flight being canceled and not being able to rebook until the next day. Fog had not been predicted at all and took people by surprise. Luckily it wasn't for a cruise but it reinforced to me the importance of a safety buffer.

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Great review! I am going on my first DCL cruise on the Dream in May so I really enjoyed your perspective.

Odd question for you - was the Diet Sprite available everywhere such as dinner? I have recently developed a sensitivity to caffeine and I only drink diet, so it would be great to have the option with my meals.

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Loving your review! The pictures are great! I had been thinking FOS is really as big of a ship as I need to go, but now I'm going to go look up Oasis sailings :D

I mentioned this on another thread, but there is a tendency for people to not like anything that's even remotely "foreign"- Ugly American syndrome.It's not xenophobia-it's just years and years of eating crappy food like hot dogs and hamburgers whilst cruising has conditioned people like that to not try anything new.

I don't know if that is it so much as the fact that there is a lot of Indian food, but a lack of representation of other ethnic foods. I personally am not a fan of Indian food, but I love Greek, French, and Middle Eastern dishes and would rather see those on the menu. BTW, I hate hotdogs/hamburgers and ketchup more than curry :D