krzi

GREAT Review!!! I'm counting down the days until I get to experience all the stuff you talked about. I can't wait!

 

thanks so much for sharing!

You would love the getaway. The Vibe Beach club is also worth it if you like some privacy. Make sure you check out the water slides at least once it is very worth it! Just do not grab around when the floor drops :D

Thanks for sharing! I love reading reviews in preparation of our first cruise.

:)

You will love the getaway! It was amazing, also if it is your first time at St Maarten, make sure you take the cab to Maho Beach and enjoy some time at Sunset Bar and look for the KLM 747 time! Don't miss it!

Thanks for the review, looking forward to our trip on Getaway this coming weekend!

Have a great cruise! It is amazing, make sure you go to the plank!

Just back from the Breakaway. My husband could not drink enough. The best water I ever had. No need to bring water unless you just want water bottle to carry. Even the cubes are purified. No after taste at all. Every where I went I asked for water w/lemon. Perfect temp too. Never had water that was so good. Hope this helps. Oh, yes, you can bring sealed water on ship.:D

I like the cruise ship water, but I think the NYC water is much better.

Hi Vincent,

 

Thanks for the great review. Did you find that as a result of udp you had to book reservations for specialty restaurants in advance?

I did not have to book any reservations. I noticed that the dining rooms were more full tho (75% occupancy approximately) and I never made any reservations and went to each specialty dining restaurant w/ no wait.

I had a great time on board the Norwegian Getaway last week and wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences. Feel free to ask questions if you have any I can always give additional insights.

Check out my review here: http://vincentwong.info/main/norwegian-getaway-may-29-2014-april-5-2014/

I would like to say something to NCL. I knew when I booked the cruise what the rules were. I understood, that after final payment NCL does not do anything for you.

But my March Breakaway cruise rate went down $1,000 after final payment. And NCL did very little for me. $450 OBC. That it, and that was like pulling teeth. "They went out of there way to do that. "

It just hurts when anyone, can book that cruise today at the lower rate.

I also know this is a patten on the Breakaway. Every cruise after the summer they did this. Even CHRISTMAS Week. Lowered the rate like $700 after final.

This is not the way to treat loyal customers. We are Platinum, guest that does not matter.

Just be wear.. And book after final payment, and you will be treated like platinum

Do you use a travel agent? Any travel agent will tell you that prices for off season generally go down. I know my travel agent would have gotten me an upgrade of equal value to the cruise rate now and they have gotten me a minisuite for inside prices with additional OBC.

NCL has not done anything wrong. If you noticed a pattern you should have waited. You took a gamble and bet against the odds. Just because you are a platinum member in a casino, it doesnt mean the casino have to let you win each time you play.

I always keep control of my reservations. If I see a cabin I want to switch to or a better price or an upgrade i want or any other offers I can call princess myself and accomplish my goal. TA's have limited hours and days and don't have as great an interest in your vacation then you have for yourself.

Cruzsnooze,

it seems you have had some bad experiences with TA's. Most TA's these days are 24/7 via email or phone. They might not answer you at that exact second, but once they get your message or email they will get to you. Calling 1 person who built a file on you is better than calling a call center where they really do not care.

Most TA's will also know the better rooms, better places to stay, better prices (discounts etc), while building the cruise based on your expectations and even offer additional OBC / Gifts.

In my opinion a TA is more interested in your cruise vacation than you would be because a happy client would mean a return client for them and that is what makes a TA money.

I used to be a casino dealer. My superstition is people with superstitions never win :)

Medium rare all the way. If its a high end restaurant then rare depending on the cut.

Medium rare in a non chain steak house. Rare in a chain steak house.

I found out over time that rare in chain steak houses (ruth's chris, outback, etc) is basically medium rare in a non chain steak house. If the steak doesnt have a warm pink center, you are giving up a lot of flavor.

I just wanted to clear up some things on here because there seems to be a misconception of the actual role of the casino employees.

1: Casino employees are not there to take your money. They want you to win (surprising I know, stop believing everything you see in movies)

2: Casino employees cannot modify a machine to have less payouts because you have a group

3: Casino employees (dealers, slot technicians, floor persons, pit bosses, casino manager, etc) do not need to cheat as the odds of every game is already against you and the house is guaranteed to make a profit.

I will now go into more details for those who want to read more.

1. Casino Employees especially dealers make lower than minimum wage. If you are on a land based casino the dealers make tipped salary (usually rounding to $4-$6 per hour) and rely on your tips for the remainder of their salary. On a cruise ship dealers make an average of $10-$15 per day and the tips collected throughout the line are usually divided up and equates to $1-2000 per month before taxes.

3. Every game in the house has a casino edge (aka house edge). Table games have a 40% or lower chance for the player to win. This means that every hand you play, the house has a 60% chance or more to win. This is simply how the game is setup and is simple mathematics. Slot machines are pre-programmed to collect and disburse an amount over a period of x amount of months. Example: casino 1 is programmed to have roughly an 80% return rate over the course of 1 year. that means within 1 year if the casino made 100,000 they had to give back 80,000 in winnings to players. The casino is guaranteed a net of 20% or in thise case $20,000 from that machine (these numbers are lower for sake of simple math)

So in the end, don't go in the casino expecting the casino employees to cheat you or steal from you, go in expecting to lose but have a great time. The casino needs to make money to keep the house lights on. The dealers just work for the establishment and hope you have a great time. Don't forget to tip your dealers! you tip your servers when they give you great service!

Source: I worked in 3 major land casinos and as well as know many people who went from land casinos to work in sea casinos for the travel and experience.