Getaway Pre Innagural review

[mydreamvacation]

NCL Getaway Pre Inaugural review- 1/27/14 – 1/29/14

 

Let me start this review out by saying I LOVE this ship! Two days was not nearly enough time to scratch the surface and I was disappointed/frustrated that I couldn’t possibly see everything that there was to see. However lucky for me my birthday is in December and since this year’s birthday didn’t go so well (ending up with a broken arm and shoulder that I will still need another ten weeks of PT to fix) I am thrilled that I will be sailing her for a full week in ten months. My gift to myself-a week in a gorgeous Haven Penthouse suite!

 

The ship is to sail from Miami so obviously some of the attractions were not really feasible to enjoy from the NYC preview. The pools were open but I didn’t see anyone willing to try them out in the 14 degree weather. In December I will write a much more comprehensive review including all the things that I missed.

 

I am going to break this down into categories to make it easier to follow and include links to my photos on Flickr. Between my husband and myself we took hundreds of pictures but I have only had time to upload about 100 of them.

 

The Getaway is a large vessel, who has something for everyone. I will start with one of my favorite subjects- the food. There are many complementary dining venues on the ship that I saw not including room service. I will admit I am a bit of a foodie and have never dined in a non specialty restaurant or buffet before on any cruise ship except on one other occasion. We had lunch both days in the complementary restaurants (Taste one day and Savor the other) and I was very impressed. The menu offerings were extensive and the food wonderful. It was artfully presented and nicely seasoned. One definitely will not go hungry on this ship, nor do you need to pay for specialty dining if you don’t wish to. The complementary choices I personally saw are the Tropicana Room (where one can dance while dining and/or watch professional dancers perform), Flamingo Bar and grill, Savor, Taste, O’ Sheehan’s bar and grill along with the Garden café. We had visited the pub restaurant on the Epic in the past and I was glad to see that it was on this ship as well. It is a great place to get some late night munchies like chicken wings or mozzarella sticks and other “healthy foods” and do some people watching. It perfectly captures the pub atmosphere with pool tables, video games, multiple sports screens etc.

 

The specialty dining was plentiful and very difficult for me to choose what to visit as we have sailed many times with NCL and loved them all. As such I opted out of Teppanyaki, Monderno, La Cucina, La Bistro, Shanghai’s the Sushi bar etc. My first priority was to secure reservations for the Illusionarium which I will discuss more under entertainment so that left me only one other option for the other evening. Ideally I would have chosen the Chef’s Table, an eight course menu with wine pairings, but that was not being offered or Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakerian, however that was already filled up (we will see you in December my fine fresh fish friends). I have always been a huge fan of Cagney’s Steak House so I picked that as our other meal and it did not disappoint. Our waiter was wonderful and I was really impressed with the first thing he asked us when we were seated. “Do you have a show to get to this evening?” My husband and I had just spent two nights in NYC and the restaurants would ask us the same thing to make certain we got out in time to make it to our show. I found that quite thoughtful that someone else would be keeping an eye on the clock for me. I did tell him that we were to see Legally Blonde at 7pm and he assured me that he would have us out of there in plenty of time. While seated by the window I could look out at the Cagney’s seating on the Waterfront. I wish that it was warm enough as I ADORE the idea of alfresco dining and plan on doing that as much as possible in December. As always, my steak was cooked to perfection and the house red wine was excellent. In the morning my husband would visit the buffet each day. He said the offerings were plentiful. I stayed in bed nursing my sore arm and he would bring me down a bagel and make me a cup of tea in our cabin from the in room machine.

 

I did walk by the buffet and really liked the modern updated look of it. Clean lines, bleached wood, lots of light from floor to ceiling windows. It was much more like a restaurant than the cafeteria style look of most buffets. As I mentioned before we love the specialty restaurants and were excited to hear that one can now buy a fine dining package that allows you a discounted deal to try several of them out during your trip. There is one other specialty restaurant that is reserved for Haven guests. That I will report on as well in December.

 

Now onto the bars- well you won’t go thirsty either lol. Again NCL has some all-inclusive drink packages which may be a good investment depending on your level of enjoyment. I am looking forward to the Wine Lovers Musical which will be a comedy musical with lunch and a tasting of six wines. There is the infamous Ice Bar (still haven’t made it in there yet on three separate sailings-maybe the idea of purposely sitting somewhere cold when I live in the frozen north is what has stopped me but more likely I just run out of time) the Atrium bar is great and you must see Ray the bar tender. Ask him for a Rossini. It was hilarious no one had ever heard of them before. With my being Italian Rossini’s (basically Bellini’s but with Strawberry puree instead of peach) was something my family would drink often for celebrations and I asked him to create one for me. One person asked me what I was drinking and they caught on like wildfire. Every time I would walk by the Atrium bar there would be Ray teaching his coworkers how to make them and people walking around with pink champagne glasses. NCL should put it on the menu and pay me residuals lol. Anyhow there are bars everywhere from the Grammy Experience where you can listen to live performances of real Grammy winners and nominees, to the Mojito bar, Spice H2O, the Vibe bar etc. I believe I counted 12 bars excluding the private bars reserved for the Haven guests and the private lounge for the Studio patrons, and then of course there is always room service.

Entertainment- This ship has it ALL! Again two days limited my ability to experience everything I wish I could. But I will share with you what I did see firsthand.

 

First the Illusionarium. This is very cool. When my son turned 18 I took him to Las Vegas to see Chris Angel that was his one wish to see the show. Well from some connections and string pulling Mike actually got to meet Chris and talk to him and ever since then the whole family has been big fans of magic especially when it makes you wonder “how the heck can they do that I know it is not real”. The Illusionarium has that same aura walking in as Chris’s theater did, lots of neat props and things to keep you occupied. There is a set meal (very good surf and turf) and you watch wonders in front of you. This replaces the Cirque Dreams on the Epic which many people know I was not a fan of but this show was excellent. Legally Blonde- I do hope they keep this on board for a long time. Apparently I am one of the few people in the world that never saw the movie or Broadway show but as the mom of a son starting law school in August I loved the show. This was a top of the line performance of Broadway caliber, excellent voices and costumes! I REALLY wanted to see the two hour headliners comedy show but as I mentioned before times just could not line up. Levity represents some of the biggest comedians in the industry. I will definitely be there multiple times on the December cruise. For dance enthusiasts there are “burn the floor” performances with the chance to jump in yourself and learn or perform. Sports. Dueling pianos etc. are all about. This is one ship you won’t be bored on!

 

Spa- for the first time in my life I did not visit a spa on a ship. Usually I am a spa junkie, I have been known to spend over $1500 in a week in the spa but my injury prohibits that so I can’t tell you firsthand about the spa but if it is like any of the other one’s I have visited on NCL it will be amazing. Same with the gym but I have my “doctors note” and can only work out in the limited ways he is allowing did stretch my arm a lot with the Rossini’s though.

Medical Center- We ended up visiting it (always seems to happen) my husband had a sinus infection. The new center is state of the art with the plastic just being taken off the exam tables. The doctor and nurse were both very nice and sent him on his way quickly with an antibiotic only taking a short amount of time out of my review process. It was after hours so there was a surcharge for that but we were seen immediately which was great.

 

Kids- Now NCL has always been great with kids clubs but they have now pumped that up a notch with the “guppies” program. This is an exclusive area for tots six months to three years old that focuses on sensory play using plant based products so no worries of them eating the paint. There are story sessions, play sessions etc. to help you and your little one bond together on this great adventure. For older children look out Nickelodeon is in full force on board. Sponge Bob, Patrick, Dora and Diego are all there to interact with your children. There is even a SpongeBob breakfast and game show, a great water park is on board with all your Nick friends. For older kids there are lots of programs right up to teens which is nice to keep them entertained but not feel like they are stuck with little kids.

Sports- there is a three deck sports complex with everything you can imagine- the ropes course (which includes a zip line and a walk the plank eight feet off the edge of the ship) enthralled me. A fantastic pirate themed mini golf which reminded me of Pirate’s Cove at Cape Cod is under the ropes course but the biggest attraction is the FIVE water slides including one that has the fastest free fall on any ship at sea.

 

Cabins-we were in a family balcony cabin. I was surprised and pleased with the amount of room and storage, much larger than on the Epic. Normally I stay in suites and that is where I will become December and the Haven complex shines. However I have to say I was impressed with the studio complex where solo cruisers don’t have to pay a single supplement and have their own lounge to get to know other people. The bedding was comfortable, bathrooms large, pillows plentiful- each cabin I visited showed there was a lot of thought put into the design/comfort of the guests of this ship. We visited many types of cabins, the connecting cabins are great for families especially if you don’t want to have to use the Pullman bed- they basically come out to a two bedroom two bath suite. All the bathrooms had glassed in showers with wall mounted shower gel and shampoo. Once you got up into the mini suites you had upgraded toiletries and in the Haven nice spa products. In the Haven many cabins also had the spa shower with multiple jets that looked very relaxing.

 

Here are links to my photos. I will add to them and update as the week goes on but figured if I didn’t write this soon it wouldn’t happen.

[LrgPizza]

I saw in your pictures that the ottoman lifts off for storage! That's why I love these CC reviews. There is always gonna be some tidbit that is new information to me, no matter how much I read. Thanks for sharing your review.

[Bunnynme]

Thanks for sharing your pictures!! I don't sail until December so I have to dream watching other people's pictures for now!

[Rdtbank]

Thank you for the review and pictures! They are much appreciated!

 

 

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[3DBeach]

Thanks for sharing a review and great pictures. I will make sure I do a review after we sail in April :)

[MISSV]

Thanks for your great info and pictures...........we will be on The Great Getaway....Feb 15th.......Can't wait to enjoy it all and visit Ray!!!!!!

[mydreamvacation]

I saw in your pictures that the ottoman lifts off for storage! That's why I love these CC reviews. There is always gonna be some tidbit that is new information to me, no matter how much I read. Thanks for sharing your review.

 

On top of the ottoman is the tray you can take off for breakfast in bed or snacks on the balcony. Under that is a nice cushion to sit on to do hair and make up etc. In Dec I am going to bring a trash bag with me to put inside it for our dirty clothes. Another great thing that took me a day to find was the make up the room and do not disturb buttons they are over the key card light slot. In the past there were cards or turning circles these are great as someone can't be a wise guy and change it on u from the hallway. LOVED the ship any questions ask away!

[Wildcatllamas]

Thanks for the great review. I am so looking forwarded to my cruise in May. Glad you talked me into doing the Getaway rather than Hawaii this year. Nothing like being on a brand new ship.

As usual your photos cover the things that few others think of and I will remember the trash bag for the ottoman/hamper.

[mydreamvacation]

Thanks for the great review. I am so looking forwarded to my cruise in May. Glad you talked me into doing the Getaway rather than Hawaii this year. Nothing like being on a brand new ship.

As usual your photos cover the things that few others think of and I will remember the trash bag for the ottoman/hamper.

 

Yes always be polite and line it in case someone else wants to store clean things in there at least if ur dirty clothes smell like the men in my family do especially after a day in the sun lol

[valleyvillage]

Just when I am ready to swear off CC because of long, sad rants about how bad parents or cigarette smokers or chair hogs or....you know what I'm sayin'. And then along comes mydreamvacation with a generosity of spirit and joie de vivre that just makes me all happy! Thanks so much!

[mydreamvacation]

Just when I am ready to swear off CC because of long, sad rants about how bad parents or cigarette smokers or chair hogs or....you know what I'm sayin'. And then along comes mydreamvacation with a generosity of spirit and joie de vivre that just makes me all happy! Thanks so much!

 

Well you made my evening I was just moaning to my husband how much I hate the snow and how much the darn broken arm hurts tonight. YES we all need to appreciate all the good happy and wonderful things in life. This ship is gorgeous and I can't wait to get back on her in Dec

[jdvmd]

Love it! Thanks for taking the time to post!

[VanessaM]

Thanks for the review and pictures!

 

We are excited to be sailing her on March 22. Looks like the teenaged boys in my group will have plenty to keep them busy!

[mydreamvacation]

Thanks for the review and pictures!

 

We are excited to be sailing her on March 22. Looks like the teenaged boys in my group will have plenty to keep them busy!

Those boys will be VERY busy lol