Norwegian Getaway / Breakaway Tips

[johnnyrb]

The wife and I just returned from a week on the Norwegian Getaway and we had an absolutely fantastic time. The ship was awesome, the crew was excellent, even the registration process and embarkation / debarkation process was painless. We chose this ship based upon several very thorough reviews we found here on CC and there is nothing more for me to add to those reviews. What I can offer are some useful tips that we learned to maximize your enjoyment of the Norwegian Getaway, and its sister ship the Breakaway. Knowing what to expect might make your vacation go a little more smoothly.

 

 

The cabin: We stayed in a mini suite and found it plenty spacious for 2 people. I have read much about how the Getaway / Breakaway had very limited storage space for clothes and we were concerned we wouldn’t be able to unpack. While it is true that there aren’t many drawers in the room, we were able to unpack our 3 suit cases full of clothes and store them away comfortably. The empty suitcases easily slid under the bed and completely out of the way. There is a convertible sofa with 2 large (hidden) drawers in the bottom. These drawers held a lot of clothes! There were 3 shelves approximately 12” wide and 6” deep as well as 2 irregularly shaped shelves built into the cabinetry under the TV. These were useful for storing small articles of clothing, but most of the storage was in the closet.

 

Closet: The closet in our cabin was quite generous, with 6 deep shelves on one side and a hanging section providing plenty of space for your clothes on the other side. Bring your own hangers. The hanging closet was probably 30” wide. NCL provides 20 hangers, the 2-part kind which retain the hanger part on the rod. I was concerned that we wouldn't have enough storage for our clothes so the morning before embarkation, we hit CVS and picked up 2 more packs of hangers- about 30 more so we had plenty of space to hang our clothes. I strongly suggest that you bring additional hangers to take advantage of what would have otherwise been wasted closet space.

 

The safe: On one of the closet shelves is a small safe. It’s really tiny. Too small for a laptop or camera with removable lens. We could only keep our wallets / passports and some jewelry inside.

 

Announcements: In your room you can only hear the most important PA announcements such as safety drill etc. You wont hear the general announcements about ports etc. All PA announcements are broadcast on TV channel 22. When going ashore, it’s easier to turn to ch.22 and wait in your room for those announcements than waiting in the halls or going up on deck.

 

The bathroom: Our mini suite had a beautifully- designed bathroom with plenty of space and double sink. The shower was downright luxurious with rain head and 6 forward facing body sprayers. For some reason Norwegian offers no amenities whatsoever. Just liquid soap and shampoo. In the shower body wash and shampoo were provided in wall mounted pump dispensers. Be prepared to be completely frustrated by the body wash. I doesn't lather one bit. I don’t know if there’s a reason for this or that it’s just poor quality but I hated showering with body gel that just sort of dissolved away and never made any kind of foam. The shampoo was fine, but if you need conditioner, you’re going to have to bring your own. The bathroom soap also is pumped from a dispenser. There was no face soap.

 

iConcierge App: This app rocks! Download it before you get on board, you’re going to love it. The app lets you make reservations at the specialty restaurant s has menus for all restaurants. You can use the app to make reservations and buy tickets for the on board entertainment. It includes information on ports, and lets you buy tickets for excursions as well. Same for the spa. The app also includes the daily calendar so that you can see what’s going on around the ship.

 

There is a real time review of your onboard tab so you don’t have to wait until the end of the last night to check your account. One of the best features are the messenger and phone functionality. For a small flat fee, you can communicate with your kids via text or phone call while they run around the ship. Better still, is that with this app, you can call home for just $.79 per minute from anywhere the ship goes. Even while at sea. I had planned to call home via cell while in port (about $1.50 / minute with Sprint) so being able to call the kids back home on sea days was a very nice feature. Admittedly, there is a bothersome delay (the call uses the internet) but that was outweighed by the convenience and low cost.

 

Buffets: The Garden Café is the buffet at the aft of the ship on deck 15 where most will come for breakfast and lunch. This is huge buffet with multiple lines and stations. What you will notice right away is that the assortment of dishes is laid out in a repetitive manner, so it would seem that a quick trip through any of the sections should suffice. Not so fast, there are many small differences between each of the various sections. For example, one grill section will have waffle fries and an other will have shoe string fries. We found differences all over the buffet such as in the salad bar offerings, sandwich meats, types of pizza and more. At either ends of the buffet there were often items found nowhere else on the buffet. So you might want to look around a bit if you would like olives for your salad, or a grilled cheese sandwich for the kids.

 

There are times when the Garden Café is slammed. Show up at noon on a sea day, or for late breakfast on a port day and the place is jammed. You can just head upstairs to the Flamingo Grill for a quick alternative. This small buffet usually features Latin inspired items, but also has many of the same dishes offered at the Café. The lines at the Flamingo are usually pretty quick and you always have a good shot at getting a shaded table outdoors. Oh and it has its own bar right there as well.

 

Ultimate Beverage Package: We received the UBP as part of our cruise price, however we heard conflicting information from NCL agents we spoke with. So here is the skinny. The UBP includes all bar drinks, glasses of wine and sodas which cost $10 or less. Digging around on the internet I saw a listing what NCL considered well drinks, premium liquors and ultra premium etc. This didn’t matter at all for the purposes of the UBP. As long as the price was $10 or less it was included. As a side note, other than a few specialty wines we encountered no drinks which were priced too high to be included, with the average price being around $7 and frozen drinks are $10. We were expecting the package to include house brands and low quality spirits, and were happy to see that wasn’t the case.

 

A few small things to note, we bought drinks while at the dock in Miami and were charged sales tax. This appeared on our statement as a bar charge. We were a little confused by the tiny bar charge at first, but quickly figured it out. In the Garden Café there are wine vending machines. You place your glass under it, swipe your card and select a wine which is pumped right from the bottle into your glass. These machines are not included in the UBP, neither is coffee from lobby café.

 

Smoking Policy: Norwegian LOVES smokers it would seem. There are smoking locations all over the boat. A boon for people who like to light up and a real bother for everyone else. Outside by the pool, there are 2 bars adjacent to each other. One is designated as a smoking bar, the other is not. Guests are allowed to smoke while near the bar and how far this smoking zone extended seemed to be determined by pool staff individually. On several occasions we found smokers far from the bar who didn’t get a second look from the staff, on one occasion I witnessed a pool attendant turn a smoker back towards the bar. On deck 8, the specialty restaurants have outside seating called “The Waterfront “. There is a smoking-allowed bar there just a few steps away from a gelato stand. This would be a beautiful space to have an evening drink at if it weren’t for the smoking policy. Why NCL would allow smoking so close to diners and a kid-friendly gelato shop is baffling. This is the only bar of its kind, open late, protected from the weather and on a quite side of the vessel and it’s a shame that at any given time a handful of smokers had the entire space to themselves. There are other dedicated smoking areas on the ship as well and these are somewhat out of the way, and not a bother. In my mind the big problem is the casino. The casino loves smokers and apparently smokers love to gamble. The casino is located on deck 7 amidships at the atrium. Because of its central location, guests will pass through this area several times each day. When the casino was busy, we had to hold our breath when walking between the slot machines. The smoke was just so thick. While NCL claims they have enhanced ventilation in the casino, the place is still very smoky. People with sensitive noses like us will even smell the smoke on deck 8 at the atrium.

 

Fireworks: The fireworks are launched over the port side of the vessel, so if you would like to view them from the comfort of your balcony book a room on the port side.

[Kruizin'Kath]

Thanks for the great tips! Is the app (i concierge) only for suite guests?

[mamagib]

Great review! Thanks!

I have a quick question about the UBP if your don't mind. I am booked on the Getaway in April and the UBP is the fantastic perk that I picked during NCL's special! I have cruised NCL before and I always purchase the UBP and I know the drill. My question is - when its part of your cruise ticket is it automatically added on to your sail card or do you still need to get a sticker added on to your card. If so - whats the skinny on how to get that done?

Thanks for any info you can give me!:D

[Sauer-kraut]

In the shower body wash and shampoo were provided in wall mounted pump dispensers. Be prepared to be completely frustrated by the body wash. I doesn't lather one bit. I don’t know if there’s a reason for this or that it’s just poor quality but I hated showering with body gel that just sort of dissolved away and never made any kind of foam.

 

There might be a reason, since all water is cleaned and recycled the soaps that we are used to at home might be too frothy or contain other things that are difficult to remove in the osmosis process.

[johnnyrb]

Thanks for the great tips! Is the app (i concierge) only for suite guests?

 

No, the app is for all cruisers. You get it from the your App store at any time, you register it once on board. Before you board it just gives you a countdown to your sail date, and once connected to the ships wifi, it gets all the features. Some of the app's functionality is available in the hallways on the touch screen monitors too.

[johnnyrb]

Great review! Thanks!

I have a quick question about the UBP if your don't mind. I am booked on the Getaway in April and the UBP is the fantastic perk that I picked during NCL's special! I have cruised NCL before and I always purchase the UBP and I know the drill. My question is - when its part of your cruise ticket is it automatically added on to your sail card or do you still need to get a sticker added on to your card. If so - whats the skinny on how to get that done?

Thanks for any info you can give me!:D

 

When you get your room key at registration, the sticker is already on it. We ordered some drinks soon after boarding the ship and they showed up on our account but were automatically removed within a few hours. After that, it was smooth sailing (so to speak).

[johnnyrb]

There might be a reason, since all water is cleaned and recycled the soaps that we are used to at home might be too frothy or contain other things that are difficult to remove in the osmosis process.

 

The sink and shower water (grey water) is dumped overboard, it is not reused. NCL might use non-foaming soap to either prevent bubbles on the surface of the sea which would quickly dissipate anyway or to prevent shipboard plumbing from getting a soapy buildup. It could also be because its simply cheap soap. Boat owners use boat wash which is non-toxic and environmentally safe yet it still foams wildly, so who knows the reason.

[johnnyrb]

I just remembered one more thing which should have been in my original post.

 

Energy Saving: TheGetaway needs a room key to activate room power when you enter the room. Without it, the light switches and power outlets dont work. This is to save power when the room is unoccupied. You should bring a spare card in case you need to keep the room powered while you are not there. For instance charging your camera or phone while your at dinner. Any credit card sized card will work.

 

There is a thermostat in your cabin which controls the air conditioning / heat in the room. You are able to select from 3 hot and 3 cold settings with no indication of temperature other than a blue LED which shows when the AC is running. If you run the air conditioner and leave your balcony door open the AC will be disengaged and the blue LED will turn off. The blower will continue to run, but no cold air will come out. If you try to turn the AC back on with the door open, the LED lights for a second or two and then goes out again.

Edited February 24, 2015 by johnnyrb

[sinclaj]

Thank you so much for all this information. It sure answers some of the questions I have about the Getaway. I appreciate the time you took to provide this.

[Lovetwocruz2009]

May I ask..did you dine in any of the specialty venues? If yes, when did you make your reservations? Prior to your cruise?

 

Thanks for the tips.

[janicemarie29]

So if we have a drink while in port we are charged local taxes even though the UDP is included? Is that in every port? Or just certain ones?

[retiredAF]

Great info, thanks so much!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[johnnyrb]

May I ask..did you dine in any of the specialty venues? If yes, when did you make your reservations? Prior to your cruise?

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

We ate at 2 specialty restaurants, Cagneys (steak) and the Illusionarium. We made our reservation for Cagney's a few weeks before the sailing and the reservation for the Illusionarium the night before. In general the restaurants did not appear to ever be booked solid. With the exception of Teppanyaki we always saw tables available in the restaurants. Because we didnt go into Teppanyaki we couldn't see the tables very well. My suggestion would be to reserve the restaurants which you MUST visit and play the rest by ear. We chose to see the magic show one night when we didnt have anything else to do and weren't excited by the menu in the MDR.

[johnnyrb]

So if we have a drink while in port we are charged local taxes even though the UDP is included? Is that in every port? Or just certain ones?

 

I dont think it is in every port, Im pretty sure we had drinks while in the other ports and never received a tax bill. We did see a notice about being charged tax when booking an excursion while in certain ports. That is how we figured out we paid sales tax in Miami. Even though we paid sales tax, a $.70 charge on a couple of drinks is still a great bargain. Keep in mind the UBP even includes the tip for the waiter.

[janicemarie29]

I dont think it is in every port, Im pretty sure we had drinks while in the other ports and never received a tax bill. We did see a notice about being charged tax when booking an excursion while in certain ports. That is how we figured out we paid sales tax in Miami. Even though we paid sales tax, a $.70 charge on a couple of drinks is still a great bargain. Keep in mind the UBP even includes the tip for the waiter.

OK thanks! Yes I agree it isn't a big deal. I was just curious.

[MrBrando]

Great review, thanks! Where did you spend most of your time on the ship? Did you do the VIBE? Can you comment on Spice H20 during the day? The last thing my wife and I are trying to decide is whether or not to book VIBE, but it looks like H20 would be good enough as its adults only and we dont mind crowds, so peace and quiet and an "exclusive" area to relax in doesn't seem worth it to us.

[johnnyrb]

Great review, thanks! Where did you spend most of your time on the ship? Did you do the VIBE? Can you comment on Spice H20 during the day? The last thing my wife and I are trying to decide is whether or not to book VIBE, but it looks like H20 would be good enough as its adults only and we dont mind crowds, so peace and quiet and an "exclusive" area to relax in doesn't seem worth it to us.

 

After the first day or two we finally found Spice H20. While we weren't actively searching it out, we just couldn't find the entrance. Maybe the UBP was to blame. After we finally did find it, it became the location we lounged in for the duration of the cruise. While it could get crowded in the afternoon, we never had a problem getting a seat in the morning. One thing to be aware of, there is very little shade at Spice H20. By the second day we were baking and I was really looking for a little shade to cool off, but aside from a few umbrellas, there is no place to get out of the sun.

 

If you are looking at Vibe to get away from kids, you shouldnt be too bothered at the main pool or Spice as kids are not allowed in the pool so they werent usually running around the area. If you want to be sure to get a chair each day, then Vibe is a good idea.

[MrBrando]

Thanks for the info...appreciate it!!

[mking8288]

... iConcierge App: This app rocks! Download it before you get on board, you’re going to love it. The app lets you make reservations at the specialty restaurant s has menus for all restaurants. You can use the app to make reservations and buy tickets for the on board entertainment. It includes information on ports, and lets you buy tickets for excursions as well. Same for the spa. The app also includes the daily calendar so that you can see what’s going on around the ship.

 

There is a real time review of your onboard tab so you don’t have to wait until the end of the last night to check your account. One of the best features are the messenger and phone functionality. For a small flat fee, you can communicate with your kids via text or phone call while they run around the ship. Better still, is that with this app, you can call home for just $.79 per minute from anywhere the ship goes. Even while at sea. I had planned to call home via cell while in port (about $1.50 / minute with Sprint) so being able to call the kids back home on sea days was a very nice feature. Admittedly, there is a bothersome delay (the call uses the internet) but that was outweighed by the convenience and low cost ...

Great "job" on reviewing with the useful info & tips. We sailed the BA and used the iConcierge and agreed that we found it very good and there's regular update, on the smartphone & tablet, ready to go when we sail BA again next month.

*

That 79 cents calling rate with the mobile APP while connected to ship's WiFi is great - is that with an assigned number and does incoming call to that special number worked; or, just for making outgoing calls?

Looking for my pile of Dailies from last year, I thought I remembered NCL dropping the calling rates from stateroom to home/landline also - to stay competitive with cellular carrier's roaming rates at sea ?? Old brain doesn't function at well with memory recalls with aging, but does $2.00 or $2.50 per minute outgoing call ring up a bell at all, if not - disregard & don't worry, not that we plan to 'yelp" away during the week but mom being 91 & @home with her attendant, so having another options to the satellite tower out in the ocean are always good.

Thanks & regards.

[meatball_nyc]

Last July it was $4.99 a minute to call from our stateroom. The calls never went through but we were still charged a minute each.

Not sure what the rate is at present.

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[tntornadox]

That 79 cents calling rate with the mobile APP while connected to ship's WiFi is great - is that with an assigned number and does incoming call to that special number worked; or, just for making outgoing calls?

 

According to NCL, you are assigned a certain number and it groups your 'contacts' together with others in your stateroom at the top of the list but you can add others as well. Before making a call shoreside, it will warn you of the charges and they are added to your onboard account. Also, landlines can call you using an 800 number, and once again, it will warn you of charges before you accept the call (so no accidents). They must select your ship and stateroom number or direct extension, so you'd wanna give the folks back home that info before you sail.

 

See this PDF for more information:

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/iCONCIERGE_062714.pdf

[mking8288]

Last July it was $4.99 a minute to call from our stateroom. The calls never went through but we were still charged a minute each ... ~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Thanks, Robin I knew it was less than the "old, old" rates of $7.50 min. - you aren't watching the ShipCam yet, I know :D ... still too many days away. Started mine already along with the weather, looks like we will need our NorthFace fleece/parka again for sailaway, urghh !! :cool: But, 70 degree is GOOD.

 

According to NCL ...See this PDF for more information:

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/iCONCIERGE_062714.pdf

Thanks, this iConcierge guide is newer than the one distributed to us at the pier check-in. Going to past the info & the links onward to our Roll Call, as some WANTED to be in touch for reasons ... Edited February 26, 2015 by mking8288

[johnnyrb]

Great "job" on reviewing with the useful info & tips. We sailed the BA and used the iConcierge and agreed that we found it very good and there's regular update, on the smartphone & tablet, ready to go when we sail BA again next month.

*

That 79 cents calling rate with the mobile APP while connected to ship's WiFi is great - is that with an assigned number and does incoming call to that special number worked; or, just for making outgoing calls?

Looking for my pile of Dailies from last year, I thought I remembered NCL dropping the calling rates from stateroom to home/landline also - to stay competitive with cellular carrier's roaming rates at sea ?? Old brain doesn't function at well with memory recalls with aging, but does $2.00 or $2.50 per minute outgoing call ring up a bell at all, if not - disregard & don't worry, not that we plan to 'yelp" away during the week but mom being 91 & @home with her attendant, so having another options to the satellite tower out in the ocean are always good.

Thanks & regards.

 

The .79 rate what outgoing using the app. I didnt receive any calls on the assigned app phone number, but I presume it would be the same cost. Since there is no cell service while at sea, the ships services are the only choice. The app uses the internet for the call and the delay is definitely annoying. I believe you could make a proper satellite call for quite a bit more, maybe $2.50 / minute. Since my calls werent urgent and were only to check on the kids the app was perfect.

[shamrock58]

Been looking for the cost of internet on here for days now. Does anyone have any idea???

[johnnyrb]

Been looking for the cost of internet on here for days now. Does anyone have any idea???

 

I believe it is .79 / min pay as you go. You could buy a package of minutes for $55 and up. I tried logging on once to get email and had a problem connecting. I was connected for 5 minutes or so, and I didnt get any data transfer. I of course was billed for the time anyway, so I decided at that point that it would be an internet free vacation.