Just back from the Getaway Hopefully I'm not too long-winded

[jomaker23]

First and foremost, I had a great time, the staff was amazing! Background i'm 51 and hubby is 60. This is our 7th cruise. We've cruised on Carnival, Princess, RCCL and now Norwegian. Our last cruise was last year on the Allure of the Seas, so, I was excited to see how this new ship would compare. This is only my opinion and found that a lot of people I talked to on the ship agreed. Getting on the ship was a breeze, we didn't have to wait long at all. Took a flight into FLL and took a shuttle (a company that did a great job for only $15 pp, I can post the company if you need a recommendation) got to the port around 10:30 and was on ship within the hour. Room was ready promptly at 1:30. We had a balcony mini suite 11800. Room was about average but the bathroom was bigger. Didn't like the part where you had to use your room key to turn the light on along with the plugs too. So, if you have a phone or iPad/kindle you couldn't leave it in the room to charge or you couldn't get back in since you card is in the room. Went to dinner in the Tropicana room. Service was great, food was just so-so. We only ate in the no-charge places. All the food we ate was just "OK" too me. There wasn't one thing I could say that I wish I had more of. Sometimes the buffet reminded me of the "Las Vegas vacation buffet" you need a sign in front to know what the heck you were eating. Shows were good. Legally Blonde was Very good! I feel the theater could have been bigger, not sure if everyone would be able to see the show if you didn't make reservations. The seats in the theater were terrible, almost like they were 10years old. There were spaces in the back of the seats so they didn't connect to the back when you fold them down to sit on them. If you are a fluffy person like me, your butt will barely fit. They had about 6 seat stools in the back of the theater where I chose to sit. At least my butt would be comfortable in those and there was a table top you can keep your drink. The areas for the kids were great. The slides, the obstacle course w/zipline, mini golf, spongebob pool were really nice for the kids, don't know too much about the kids program though. The adult pool on the other hand was very small, everyone was just sitting around the edges. Room too walk around was very crowded. The area on the top deck Spice H2O has a big screen with a couple hot tubs. They had party's in that area, firework night which was on Tuesday (amazing & beautiful) and Glow Party on Thursday. Those were fun! Great area up there. I spent most of my time in the casino, (we actually got the cruise from our local casino) the way they had this laid out was strange. The casino was on the same floor as the theater on one end and the tropicana on the other. O'Sheehan's Bar & grill was in the middle along with the casino, so you had to walk through the casino to get to either side. Needless to say, there were a lot of kids (who really don't belong in an adult area). Also, there was Bliss lounge inside the casino area. Teenagers were going in and out of there. There was no true middle of the ship, there were 2 actually. One with the chandelier and the other in the middle of O'Sheehan's where you can sit around and watch the big screen on the wall and they had a band there in the evenings. They had activities during the day here too. The shopping area was small too. Restaurants scattered around. To me, like I said just my opinion, for a big ship, it felt small. It just felt poorly laid out. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty ship. The staff was amazing, especially in the casino. They knew my name after a day. I was able to get my drinks for free from the casino. Saved a lot of $. IMO there is no comparison to the Allure of the seas. I just didn't get that WOW factor with the Getaway with the interior or the food. The things I loved about the Getaway were Firework night, Glow Party and Washy, washy and everywhere you have the opportunity to keep your hands clean, the artwork on the outside of the ship too. With everything said, I had a wonderful time, met a lot of nice people, swam with the dolphins, sun, blue waters what more can you ask for? Until next year. Our casino will probably give another NCL cruise. Not sure what ship i'll be trying next. Sorry for such a long review.

[barbaraanne]

Thanks for the review. I am also thinking of going on NCL Breakaway for a 12 day cruise in February. We have been on Carnival and Princess numerous times, all balcony cabins. For this cruise, in order to afford the length, as well as maybe a spa pass and and ultimate dining pass, we had to book an inside cabin. I am getting nervous as to how I could possibly survive without even a window for 12 days. Any insight? Thanks!

[SissasMomE]

Thanks for the review. I agree - the public areas are very narrow, for the size of the ship. Still, she's a beautiful ship!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report! Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[JasonV1]

Unless something has changed, you don't need to use your room key to keep the power on, any card that fits will do. Your steward may remove it when they clean the room, but you can just put it back in.

[david_sobe]

Thanks for the review and welcome home. You forgot to mention the most important question. How (un)lucky were you in the casino :eek:

[CasinoCruzGirl]

First and foremost, I had a great time, the staff was amazing! Background i'm 51 and hubby is 60. This is our 7th cruise. We've cruised on Carnival, Princess, RCCL and now Norwegian. Our last cruise was last year on the Allure of the Seas, so, I was excited to see how this new ship would compare. This is only my opinion and found that a lot of people I talked to on the ship agreed. Getting on the ship was a breeze, we didn't have to wait long at all. Took a flight into FLL and took a shuttle (a company that did a great job for only $15 pp, I can post the company if you need a recommendation) got to the port around 10:30 and was on ship within the hour. Room was ready promptly at 1:30. We had a balcony mini suite 11800. Room was about average but the bathroom was bigger. Didn't like the part where you had to use your room key to turn the light on along with the plugs too. So, if you have a phone or iPad/kindle you couldn't leave it in the room to charge or you couldn't get back in since you card is in the room. Went to dinner in the Tropicana room. Service was great, food was just so-so. We only ate in the no-charge places. All the food we ate was just "OK" too me. There wasn't one thing I could say that I wish I had more of. Sometimes the buffet reminded me of the "Las Vegas vacation buffet" you need a sign in front to know what the heck you were eating. Shows were good. Legally Blonde was Very good! I feel the theater could have been bigger, not sure if everyone would be able to see the show if you didn't make reservations. The seats in the theater were terrible, almost like they were 10years old. There were spaces in the back of the seats so they didn't connect to the back when you fold them down to sit on them. If you are a fluffy person like me, your butt will barely fit. They had about 6 seat stools in the back of the theater where I chose to sit. At least my butt would be comfortable in those and there was a table top you can keep your drink. The areas for the kids were great. The slides, the obstacle course w/zipline, mini golf, spongebob pool were really nice for the kids, don't know too much about the kids program though. The adult pool on the other hand was very small, everyone was just sitting around the edges. Room too walk around was very crowded. The area on the top deck Spice H2O has a big screen with a couple hot tubs. They had party's in that area, firework night which was on Tuesday (amazing & beautiful) and Glow Party on Thursday. Those were fun! Great area up there. I spent most of my time in the casino, (we actually got the cruise from our local casino) the way they had this laid out was strange. The casino was on the same floor as the theater on one end and the tropicana on the other. O'Sheehan's Bar & grill was in the middle along with the casino, so you had to walk through the casino to get to either side. Needless to say, there were a lot of kids (who really don't belong in an adult area). Also, there was Bliss lounge inside the casino area. Teenagers were going in and out of there. There was no true middle of the ship, there were 2 actually. One with the chandelier and the other in the middle of O'Sheehan's where you can sit around and watch the big screen on the wall and they had a band there in the evenings. They had activities during the day here too. The shopping area was small too. Restaurants scattered around. To me, like I said just my opinion, for a big ship, it felt small. It just felt poorly laid out. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty ship. The staff was amazing, especially in the casino. They knew my name after a day. I was able to get my drinks for free from the casino. Saved a lot of $. IMO there is no comparison to the Allure of the seas. I just didn't get that WOW factor with the Getaway with the interior or the food. The things I loved about the Getaway were Firework night, Glow Party and Washy, washy and everywhere you have the opportunity to keep your hands clean, the artwork on the outside of the ship too. With everything said, I had a wonderful time, met a lot of nice people, swam with the dolphins, sun, blue waters what more can you ask for? Until next year. Our casino will probably give another NCL cruise. Not sure what ship i'll be trying next. Sorry for such a long review.

 

 

Make sure to contact CAS when booking your next cruise you will most likely be given a comp cabin. I sailed on NCL breakaway once from a free inside cabin given to me by local land casino. I going back on the Breakaway and am receiving a comp balcony plus $150 free play direct from NCL CAS.

[jomaker23]

Thanks for the review and welcome home. You forgot to mention the most important question. How (un)lucky were you in the casino :eek:

I actually came out a WINNER! Hit on the lucky ladies at the blackjack table, plus quite a few of the machines gave me big hits. If my local casino doesn't give me a cruise next year, I will contact CAS. This year our local casino gave us a balcony, total cost out of pocket including trip insurance was $660 for the 2 of us. We couldn't pass up the opportunity!

[brookie848]

Thanks for the review. Can I ask -- is your local casino The Rivers or The Meadows or another? My parents gamble at both, but I don't think they've received offers from either. They do get offers from Total Rewards.

[ShortyYo]

Thanks for your review. I'm also a newbie and will be on the Getaway in August. We've been concerned about the main deck pool area since that's likely where we'll spend most of our time while we are at sea. I've read some reviews where people felt like there was ample space and chairs and others that mention how crowded it is. Guess we'll see.. :-)

Welcome home!

[Daghis]

Thanks for the review. Can I ask -- is your local casino The Rivers or The Meadows or another? My parents gamble at both, but I don't think they've received offers from either. They do get offers from Total Rewards.

 

 

I can tell you that the Rivers has been giving out cruises and they're even giving them out to "Preferred" (middle tier) members. The Meadows doesn't give out cruises, I'm sorry to say.

[Sauer-kraut]

Unless something has changed, you don't need to use your room key to keep the power on, any card that fits will do. Your steward may remove it when they clean the room, but you can just put it back in.

 

Library card...business card....card swiped from pre-cruise hotel....piece of Daily cut to size....casino card.... They all work :D

[Hendricks Clan]

Thanks for the review, and my experience was the exact opposite. I didn't get the "WOW," on my Allure cruise, it was one the worst cruises I have been on. However my Getaway cruise was simply amazing!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review, glad you had a nice cruise.

[SissasMomE]

Thanks for the review, and my experience was the exact opposite. I didn't get the "WOW," on my Allure cruise, it was one the worst cruises I have been on. However my Getaway cruise was simply amazing!

 

Wow, really? I haven't sailed on the Allure yet, but you are one of the few I have heard say that!

[didugger]

I actually came out a WINNER! Hit on the lucky ladies at the blackjack table, plus quite a few of the machines gave me big hits. If my local casino doesn't give me a cruise next year, I will contact CAS. This year our local casino gave us a balcony, total cost out of pocket including trip insurance was $660 for the 2 of us. We couldn't pass up the opportunity!

 

Thanks for the great review. Can anyone give me info on casino comps. We live in Indiana. We are total rewards members and receive great land comps but we have never heard anything about NCL comps. We will be on the Getaway for our first NCL cruise. What can I do to get us on a "comp sailing" list. Thanks in advance.

[brookie848]

I can tell you that the Rivers has been giving out cruises and they're even giving them out to "Preferred" (middle tier) members. The Meadows doesn't give out cruises, I'm sorry to say.

 

 

That's what I figured. They spend more at The Meadows since my brother lives right across the street and they are there weekly to babysit.

 

It is a great mystery how the casinos determine who gets a free cruise. A few years ago I received a free cruise from my local casino (Saratoga) and I had only gambled there twice in the past year -- and both times I took $100 to spend. I must have had a heck of a lot of coin-in.

 

My parents are Diamond level for Total Rewards and they occasionally get free cruises. They only gamble at Harrah's properties every 4-6 weeks when they fly out to Atlantic City.

 

My husband and I started to talk about doing our next cruise. I'm ready and we will consider the Getaway.

[ColinIllinois]

That was one hell of a paragraph. :D

 

Good read. Thanks.

[Hikini]

Thanks for the review. Got a kick out of the mental picture of the fluffy butt trying to fit into the theater seat. :D

[lexxo23]

Just curious in regards to the comped drinks in the Casino. When we sailed the Gem we received free drinks while we played regardless of what card we had (Lucky, Hot, Golden, VIP) and actually I don't recall even showing them a card. I was just looking at the NCL site again as we are sailing on the getaway in a few weeks and it shows that the free drinks are for Hot card holders and above. I do not remember what status my brother was but I am sure I am still Lucky. Did anyone experience not getting the free drinks based on your card status?