Getaway Review March 28 - April 4

[paulanddarnell]

Well, I have been back for over a week so it is time to start my review. We loved, loved the ship and trip. I will include some critical details only to help others. I am not complaining - give me a cruise over a day on land any day! I wanted to start with a few helpful tips I thought I should pass on. I read and read reviews and garnered so much info, I wanted to pay it forward.

 

1st - the dreaded 13th floor - we really liked this location; however, I do think a few cautions might be necessary. I did feel motion. I am very sensitive, and it took me a couple days to get used to the motion even with a nighttime Bonine. We also found the room a little creaky. I sleep with earplugs always so the first night was fine for me. My husband however had to move things to get them to stop banging (like the sodas I took our of the fridge) and had a bad first night. After that, he used earplugs and we were fine.

 

On the night of fireworks, I could hear the people on their balconies on the 14th floor say they could not see them because of the overhang - we had a great view.

 

Mini-suite - shower heaven! We liked the extra square feet in this room and the shower was amazing! I have a beautiful sani-jet tub we installed at home about three years ago. I am now no longer impressed with any tub at a hotel, but that shower, oh that was something else. It had six jets and a beautiful adjustable shower head. For us, it was worth every penny to upgrade. We had to plan extra time to get ready because one cannot take a quick shower with that luxury. Now, that extra penny, for us, it was $60, yes only 60. I originally booked a mid ship balcony on January 25th. On February 19th, the price dropped so I upgraded.

 

Excursions - booked our own in St. Martin and then did ship tours for the other two. My reasons for that mostly were because it was Spring Break and there were many ships in dock for St. Thomas.

 

We loved Atlantis. It was our first time there. We originally booked the Aqua Adventure, but after NCL changed the arrival time until 12:30, we changed to the Discover Atlantis and Beach Break. This worked out great although I realize now we did not need the Beach Break. We wandered around and saw all the aquariums and different lagoons with wildlife. At times, we were the only people in many locations. I could not believe it was Spring Break! For us, this as great! It was a very relaxed day. We do live in Southern California and had spent the previous two days snorkeling so we were okay skipping the beach, but I understand that may be important for those who have not seen the sun for awhile.

 

UDP - wow! We booked under the choose one promotion and we picked UDP. I fretted over this was the right economical decision, but really, we do not drink that much. I would have maybe a drink or two at dinner, and my husband an occasional drink here and there so the UBP would not have worked out better. We did eat at a specialty restaurant every night and one night appetizers at one and dinner much later at another. It was fabulous. We have found in the past that Princess had the best food, but this cruise by far had the best food of any cruise! Great service and food.

 

I will go into all this more as I post my review. I am going for a long one because I want to write this to keep for myself also. Hope you enjoy and that there is good info. Do feel free to ask me any questions.

[Mistizoom]

Looking forward to the rest of your review! I'm booked in a deck 14 mid-ship mini-suite and you have me a bit worried...wondering if I should stick to a lower deck. Was your cabin midship?

[paulanddarnell]

Yes, mine was very much mid-ship. My husband said it was not bad at all, but for me, I could feel it. I never actually got sick, just felt a little queasy a couple times. When that happened, we went and ate, and I was better. I did like the 13th floor and I am sure the 14th because there were not many people. I am very sensitive though. I even got a little sea sick snorkeling because I spun around a bit to much.

 

You reminded me of something else. The other thing I did notice though was you could usually hear the thump from the music from the upper deck. My husband said mostly with the sliding door open, but I could hear it other times at night. I was thinking that this might be annoying on the 14th floor. We are late night people so it was not really a big deal, but I do remember thinking I was glad I was not on the 14th floor.

[paulanddarnell]

We stayed at the Hampton Suites, Blue Lagoon. It was very pricey because this was a day during Spring Break, but we liked the hotel. I called from the airport about a pick up, and the front desk person explained in detail what to look for in the van. The van came in about 20 minutes and with the description, I was able to spot it easily from far away. After what seemed like a 15 minute ride, we were at the hotel. We wanted to get some dinner since we were still awake as we were still on West Coast time. There was a Wendy’s, McDonalds, and Burger King close, but unfortunately, the dining rooms were all closed, and we did not have a car. There was a Subway open until midnight so we got some sandwiches, and then went to Walgreens to get soda, coconut water, and some water for the trip. Walgreens is right across the street and CVS is kitty corner. Such a great location. Soon we were off to sleep. In the morning, there was a decent breakfast buffet that way busy but good (of course, nothing like on the cruise ship. They had waffles, eggs, and bacon. The location was very convenient for getting what we needed and we were very happy.

Saturday morning, we took our time and decided to skip the shuttles as they seemed busy, and we decided to get a few more things. We had a cab called and after some time, we had them call again. At about 12:30, we were on our way to the ship.

The line was pretty big when we got there. It was slow moving to get through security. We gave our luggage and soda to the porters but decided to walk the coconut water on in hopes of getting it through. My husband told me to take it as they were more likely to be nice to me. Well, he was right. The security guy looked in the bag, looked at me, and let us go. I think it might have been good to be there when busy. Once we got into the cruise check in part, it was pretty much chaos. We were standing near the back when they opened up the last section but told us we could not go through. All these people come filing past us including one woman and her family who had pushed her way through security. We were slightly annoyed, but then the guy trying to direct us elsewhere told us to get in that section also. That was quite a bit shorter of a line for us so we were happy. As we were standing in the back of the line, we realized what that line was for. We talked to Casino Mike (what he called himself) and his wife who were extremely nice. They told us this was supposed to be the Casino at Sea line, but because the check in was taking so long, some people had been funneled in. We offered to let them go in front of us, but they just laughed. They were nice and patient with the situation.

Soon, we were heading up the escalators (at this point I saw some who had been with us going through security still far back in line and realized we got lucky. A quick picture, and we headed to our room.

We were in room 13196 which was a mini suite balcony. We were able to go right to our room and met Nicoleth our room steward pretty quickly.

[Sand and Seas]

 

The other thing I did notice though was you could usually hear the thump from the music from the upper deck. My husband said mostly with the sliding door open, but I could hear it other times at night. I was thinking that this might be annoying on the 14th floor. We are late night people so it was not really a big deal, but I do remember thinking I was glad I was not on the 14th floor.

 

We are on the Getaway in 3 weeks in our first Mini-Suite so really happy to read your review. We will also be on Deck 13, but will be somewhat Aft. We were on the Getaway a year ago in a regular balcony so I'm looking forward to trying out the Mini-Suite. Loved the ship then and can't wait to sail on her again. Thanks for sharing with us:D

[nimiq]

I will be reading this as we were on the same cruise as you and can't wait to see how you lived your xperience on the Getaway compare to us.

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

[MandyMommyof2]

Loving what I have read so far! We are sailing on the Getaway in July. I have us booked in a midship mini suite on deck 14. Did you see Burn the Floor or Legally Blonde? I have our reservations for this. I am so excited for Legally Blonde, as I LOVE the movie :cool: I also have our pre-cruise rooms booked at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon. Glad you also gave a short review of it too!! We do plan on using the shuttle service from the airport too! And also the shuttle to the pier. Can't wait to hear the rest!!

[nimiq]

Loving what I have read so far! We are sailing on the Getaway in July. I have us booked in a midship mini suite on deck 14. Did you see Burn the Floor or Legally Blonde? I have our reservations for this. I am so excited for Legally Blonde, as I LOVE the movie :cool: I also have our pre-cruise rooms booked at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon. Glad you also gave a short review of it too!! We do plan on using the shuttle service from the airport too! And also the shuttle to the pier. Can't wait to hear the rest!!

 

 

We saw both shows Burn The Floor was absolutely amazing done by professional dancers as for Legally Blonde was not a fan of the movie or this show experience. I think for Legally Blonde it's not for all. Still happy I saw it.

 

I would actually preferred seeing twice Burn The Floor.

 

Sea ya

Eric

[MandyMommyof2]

:) Thanks Eric!!

[starfish the second]

cant wait for your review will be on getaway in sept

[paulanddarnell]

I like that you are reading and contributing Eric. I will be great to compare our trips. I did see Burn the Floor, and like Eric, we loved it! It was really fun. We did really think about seeing it twice because it was so enjoyable. We had booked to see Legally Blonde but never did see it. The reviews were mixed so we skipped it. We did see "The Illusionarium" and liked that also. I will try to get that review written tonight as I think I have at least one good tip about that.

[paulanddarnell]

Settling in on Day 1

After we dropped our bags off, we headed up to the Garden Café Buffet for something to eat. We followed everyone’s advice and headed to the very back, and there was room to sit and move around in the buffet. We walked around a little on deck and peeked into the Flamingo Grill. We did not ever eat in there even though I know it was supposed to be good. I think with the UDP, we just always had eating to do!

The mandatory life boat drill was pretty easy and painless. I am usually the get there early person, but we decided to come at exactly the time it started. That was much better. We quickly found our section by Guest Services, scanned our card, and listened. They kept telling people to be quiet and listen, but this was a loud crowd. Also, the man that was giving us directions seemed to always wait to talk until someone was talking on the loudspeaker. That seemed really silly, but we just patiently waited and listened. They do block of the inner entrance to the elevators so we stood near the edge near the Shore Excursion Desk so when they were finished we went quickly around the back of the elevators and were on the first set going back up.

I had made all reservations before I left and for night one, I booked Moderno at 6 p.m. The timing seemed perfect because we had started moving, and honestly, I was getting a little seasick. I think going down to Deck 8 helped at bit, but I was still really feeling it. I am a little wimpy! When we got to Moderno, it was really pretty empty. I think there were just two other larger families seated. We were seated pretty near the entrance but at a nice window seat. This was a great introduction to cruise eating with a beautiful view. The salad bar (which to me seems more like a low carb appetizer bar) was very nice, but I had to really limit myself as I knew I wanted to be able to eat the meat that was coming.

Here are my little goodies from the salad bar:

 

 

They soon brought out the goodies that go with the meat – some beans, plantains, some potatoes, sauces, and a few other things. These were all pretty good. I liked the plantains and chimichurri sauce. The rest I just tasted because I was still trying to save some room. All the meat was really good. My favorites were the lamb chops and the chorizo sausage. The lamb chops were amazing. I had them three times. I did notice that the first two times the servers came from the back with the skewers (is that the right word) full and probably right out of the fire. The lamb those two times was so tender. The last time, it looked like it was actually still the skewer from the second time I had lamb. It was much further up and just a few left. It was not as good. Not a big deal because I was already full, but I figured I would mention it in case someone gets a favorite and it does not live up to expectations. Might be best to wait for a fresh skewer on some meats. The chorizo sausage was good no matter how long it had been on the skewer. I would include a picture, but I forgot to take one until we finished. The photo I did take is of the lamb bones. Kind of gross!

[paulanddarnell]

Since we had the UDP, the show was included for free the first night. I booked the 8:45 show some time in February. We planned on going and not eating, but hey, not eating and cruising do not go together. We showed up about 30 minutes early and were sat in the very back. The seating is kind of like a horse shoe. The first semi circles are I believe smaller tables, then a set of large tables, and finally semi-circle booths in the back. We were put in one of the booths with a family of four. Unfortunately, this was not very comfortable for my husband who had lower back surgery long ago, and honestly, I do not think I would have been able to see around him all that well.

I asked a server if we could move to two open seats at one of the large tables, and she had me talk to the hostess. They were very nice and told me it would be a $5 upcharge. No biggie! So we moved. Let me tell you, that row was so much easier to see from. I know people complain about seeing, but even from the second to back row, it was good. So I do suggest upgrading. They did mention that it was often too busy to do that so I think next time I would just make sure to ask at the box office before the show to pay the difference.

The next day, there was a charge for I believe either 21 or 24 dollars each for the show. I went down and talked to Guest Services telling them it should be $5 each, but she told me it would be totally removed the next day, and it was. So the upgrade turned out to be fabulous.

The food was really good too! There were people who put there napkin and silverware right in from of them which signaled no food, but we did not. The prosciutto was very good. There was actually so much ham. I ate most of the tomatoes and cheese but left a good amount of ham. Next came the shrimp and tenderloin. I thought they were both good. The dessert was okay, but I am not much of a sweet person.

The show was really cool! I do not want to give anything away so I will just say the illusions were great! I was questioning everything trying to figure out just how in the heck they did what they did. On an interesting note, a couple of days after the show I saw Casino Mike and his wife. She asked if they did a certain act, and I said no. She explained that she was pulled up on the stage for that act, participated in illusions that wowed the audience, and being part of the show she knew what they were doing was not staged. She explained this in detail, but again, I do not want to ruin anything in case that act comes back. It sure was interesting since I still was questioning just how they do what they do.

[Sandman799]

Since we had the UDP, the show was included for free the first night.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a lengthy review! I've been reading them all in anticipation of our trip on Sep 5th. I've been wavering back and forth on whether to get the UDP or not though. I had read that the illusionarium was free for those with the UDP on embarkation night, and it seems it was free for you as well. I've seen others say it's no longer free, but you get 25% off, and there's no longer any mention of illusionarium being free on embarkation night in the UDP terms. Would you happen to have heard anything about them phasing out the freebie while you were on board? Whether I get the UDP really hinges a good deal on whether the Illusionarium is free or not with it, since that really does make it a good deal.

[Mistizoom]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a lengthy review! I've been reading them all in anticipation of our trip on Sep 5th. I've been wavering back and forth on whether to get the UDP or not though. I had read that the illusionarium was free for those with the UDP on embarkation night, and it seems it was free for you as well. I've seen others say it's no longer free, but you get 25% off, and there's no longer any mention of illusionarium being free on embarkation night in the UDP terms. Would you happen to have heard anything about them phasing out the freebie while you were on board? Whether I get the UDP really hinges a good deal on whether the Illusionarium is free or not with it, since that really does make it a good deal.

 

The UDP is changing in early July. For a September sailing you would get 25% off Illusionarium.

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

 

For sailings on or before July 2nd, 2015

The Ultimate Dining Package (UDP) is available via pre-sell or onboard purchase on days 1-2 of the voyage only. On 3-day sailings, the package is only for sale on day 1. No refunds are available if fewer restaurants are visited. The Ultimate Dining Package is non transferable. An 18% gratuity and specialty service charge will be added to the package price. A la carte priced restaurants and Ocean Blue are not included in the Ultimate Dining Package, but will be discounted 20% for those purchasing the package. Carlo’s Bake Shop items, Ice Cream Bar, Gelato, Pizza 24/7, Chef’s Table is not included in the Ultimate Dining Package. The UDP does not include beverages. No Kids pricing, package available for guest 13 and older. Excludes all 1- and 2-day sailings. Includes add-ons in Le Bistro such as Fruit de Mer, Lobster and Cote De Boeuf. The package does not apply to Special Occasion/Holiday menus (New Year’s, Christmas, etc.). Latitudes Platinum Guests will receive a $20 discount on the Ultimate Dining Package (as they receive 1 complimentary dinner in Le Bistro). Additional main courses in Cagney’s and Le Bistro will be charged at $10.00.

 

 

For Sailings on or after July 3rd, 2015

The Ultimate Dining Package (UDP) is available via pre-sell or onboard purchase on days 1 and 2 of the voyage only. On 3-day sailings the package is only for sale on day 1. No refunds are available if fewer restaurants are visited. The UDP is nontransferable. Reservations are not required for UDP guests, however, tables reserved onboard will be subject to availability for reservations made 24 hours in advance. We encourage you to log in to My NCL to make dining reservations in advance for specific night(s) of your cruise. An 18% gratuity and specialty service charge will be added to the package price. A 25% discount applies to all a la carte and entertainment based dining and select Specialty Restaurants (Not included in the Ultimate Dining Package). These venues include: Sushi, Raw Bar, Food Republic, Hot Rock, Tapas Bar, Noodle Bar, Ocean Blue, Ocean Blue on The Waterfront, The Cellars, The District, Murder Mystery, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, Illusionarium, Supper Club, Wine Lovers, Pajama Jam, Bayamo and Pincho by Jose Garces. The UDP does not include beverages or corresponding gratuity. No kids pricing available for UDP. Excludes all 1 and 2 day sailings. Includes add-ons in Le Bistro such as Fruit de Mer, Lobster and Cote De Boeuf. Does not apply to special occasion/holiday menus (New Year’s, Christmas, etc.). Latitudes Platinum Guests will receive a $20 discount on the UDP (as they receive 1 complimentary dinner in Le Bistro). $10 per each additional main course will be charged in Le Bistro & Cagney’s. Chef’s Table, Jazz Brunch, Carlo’s Bake Shop items, Ice Cream Bar, Pizza 24/7 and Gelato are not part of the package.

[Sandman799]

The UDP is changing in early July. For a September sailing you would get 25% off Illusionarium.

 

I know the terms and conditions state that we'd only get 25% off Illusionarium after July 3rd, but it also makes no mention of a free night for the period prior to July 3rd, yet they're offering it anyway just that one night, while all other nights are the current 20% discount. I wonder if that's just one exception they didn't bother to list, since it's just one night and all other nights just give the discount, and likewise may offer it but not list it as an exception after July 3rd. I wouldn't assume it won't be free after July 3rd just because it isn't stated as such, since they're currently offering it even though that's also stated for the period prior to July 3rd. I think in both cases they've chosen to only list the normal discount which applies all but the first night, but will be offering it for free on embarkation night in the future just as they are now.

 

I've also been hearing rumors they may take Cagneys off the list and make it a-la-carte. If they don't give free admission to illusionarium on the first night and Cagneys is no longer offered, we probably won't buy the UDP, as there's no real savings to be had. It's $119.00 for a 7 night cruise, so even if we ate at a $25 restaurant (Tepanyaki) the 6 nights we don't go to illusionarium, we'd only save $31.00. We wouldn't do that, so if you mix in a $20 or $15 restaurant here and there, it's no real savings at all without Cagneys and/or free Illusionarium.

 

I guess we'll see after July 3rd, but of course as we've seen in the past few weeks, they can change things in the middle of a cruise!