Carnival cruiser gets away on the Getaway-May 30-June 6 2015

[sid_9169]

This will not be a long, drawn out, day by day review. Just my observations as a first time NCL cruiser. I have only previously been on Carnival, with my last 2 cruises on their flagship, the Breeze, so until the Vista comes out, I have no reason to go back and sail their older ships. This particular week is of significance because it was the birthday week of a longtime friend that I lost last year to breast cancer. She loved the beach and the ocean, but had only ever been to beaches in Florida and Tybee Island here off the coast of Georgia. I tried to get her to go on a cruise, but the timing never worked out, and now it's too late. However, in her honor, I have a necklace with some of her ashes in it that I wear, and so far have taken her to 12 different islands in 8 different countries. All aboard cruise ships.

I flew in from Atlanta on the morning of the cruise, and with a short trip in a taxi, I was at the port around 12:45 pm. The line was pretty long, but moved quickly, and I was on the ship around 1:20. The Getaway is a beautiful ship. Far more elegant to what I'm accustomed to on Carnival. I quickly went and found my cabin ( 13810 a starboard side midship balcony ) dropped off my suitcase, and my vacation had officially begun!

I had studied the deck plans online beforehand, so I pretty much knew my way around upon boarding. I had also booked under the included Ultimate Beverage Package promotion, so I proceeded directly to the nearest bar to put it to the test. Pretty much everything was included. I had a hard time finding anything over $11. including Patron repasado, Johnnie Walker Platinum label, all the top shelf mixed drinks. I only encountered a few drinks over the limit, such as Don Julio 1942 ($130 per bottle) priced at $11.50 per shot. Lets just say that I put away over $700 worth of drinks in the next 7 days...

Muster drill was quick and painless, and soon we were sailing away... I won't bore you with my day to day activities, which mostly included eating and drinking and soaking up the Caribbean sunshine. This cruise was strictly about getting away from work and the city, and visiting new places. Tortola would be a new port for me this trip, and I looked forward to swimming in the ocean and seeing the Baths of Virgin Gorda.

 

I'm just going to give a few bullet points on the rest of my experience. I don't go to production shows, comedy, ect, so I can't comment on any of that...

FOOD- I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to dining, and everything I had was pretty good. The buffets offered a good variety of items, and the lines were never too bad. I ate most of my "sit down" meals at the Taste

restaurant, and was pleased with the selection and the daily changing menu. The maitre' D would always come by my table and make sure all was well. ( I was always dining solo, and they usually sat me by the window. I only did one

"for fee" restaurant, Moderno, and found it to be OK, not great. ( We have a couple of Brazilian places here in Atlanta that are much better ) All in all I would say the dining was on par or better than Carnival, and with much more variety...

 

SOLO PROGRAM- I missed the very first solo meeting due to a long wait at Shanghai noodle bar, but made it the second night. Jose, the solo coordinator, was great at what he did, and went out of his way to accommodate requests. We all went to dinner that evening at the Tropicana Room, and lively conversation was had after a few drinks. ( I had a good head start already ) I guess the solo thing is a hit or miss proposition depending on who is sailing that week. I'm kind of a weird dude, so lets just say that I didn't exactly click with some of the group. That was the only time that I ended up doing the "solo-group-thing"... I do commend NCL for their solo program, especially compared to Carnival, where they have a solo meet up, but no one usually shows up.

 

POOL AREA- As others have said, the pool area on the Getaway is entirely too small for 4000 passengers. The Marketplace behind the pool is a COMPLETE waste of space, and should be removed entirely. I only used the hot tubs early in the morning when they first opened, but that is the norm for me. I'm not one that enjoys being in a giant bowl of "human soup" that the pool and hot tubs become by mid-day... If you wanted to just lay out, there were always plenty of loungers to be found outside the main pool area. Spice H2O was not very crowded at any point, and the bartenders back there were good, and knew me by the second day. I did not do the waterslides, but they looked pretty awesome. I did the ropes course and walked the plank a couple of times, and it was fun. I did not pull the cord for the camera on the plank because I honestly had no intention of paying $25 for a picture of that...

 

UBP-Like I said, I totally got my moneys worth out of this, and even booked another cruise on the Getaway for December under the promotion. Service was good with the UBP, and the bartenders would even make drinks of the day with higher grade liqueur if they knew you had it. I drank pretty much all the higher end tequilas and scotches, and only went over by 50 cents on the really high end ones. I had a glass of Oberon cabernet that was $13.50 one night with dinner, so I paid $2.50 for that. With Carnivals "Cheers" program, it's a $10 limit, and if you go over you pay full price, so the UBP is the far superior plan...

 

SHIP IN GENERAL-The Getaway is an absolutely beautiful ship, and immaculately clean. In the buffet area they would clear away plates pretty much as soon as you got up from the table. I love the addition of the sink stations outside of the buffet, as I don't use that alcohol hand sanitizer stuff. The ship is easy to navigate and there are so many things to see and do. Far and away nicer than any Carnival ship. If you wanted to in on the action, the main pool area was the place to be. If you wanted quiet relaxation, then you could go up to deck 17 port side and find solitude and a lounger. I believe the "Vibe" club is HIGHLY over-rated. Every time I looked over into that area it

was pretty much barren. You could find just as much peace and quiet elsewhere.

 

PORTS- St Thomas- I had an early morning excursion planned with Fury Charters to take a sailboat to Buck Island to snorkel with the green sea turtles. I was a bit nervous about making the agreed upon meeting time of 8:15 am at the Fat Turtle bar around the way from the Havensight dock, but ended up making it ashore in plenty of time. After paying the $75 in cash and signing the waiver, we were soon off. About 15 others were on the small sailboat, and we soon arrived at the snorkeling area. About 3 other catamarans were already in the general area, with large groups of people in the water around each vessel. Ours was a much smaller group, and we did indeed get up close and personal with some sea turtles and some even saw a stingray. After a while we were headed back to the dock. Beers and rum punch were served, but I did not partake because my main excursion of the day was to soon follow.

I went back on board and had lunch at the buffet, then showered off and changed for my jet ski tour with 340 Watersports. I took a safari bus(cab) to the Bolongo Beach resort about 10 minute drive from the pier. I found the little hut on the beach and filled out the necessary forms, and we were off on an unbelievable jet ski journey. One other family joined as well as the tour leader and I. We headed out Westbound around the Southern perimeter of the island. Eventually coming right up to the Havensight area, where we skied right up next to the NCL Getaway. Next we were off to the other pier to ride up alongside of the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship. We then went off to a small secluded beach on a smaller island for a bit of swimming, before continuing our awesome jet ski adventure. These were no worn out old hunks of junk either, but brand new 1150cc Yamahas, and they were FAST. I got mine up to about 47 mph at one point. It was a truly excellent tour with some great scenery on some extremely powerful machines.

 

TORTOLA- I had considered going out on my own catching the ferry over to Virgin Gorda, but chose instead on the NCL excursion. We met in the theater at 7:45 am and were soon off to the ferry, incidentally operated by Speedys, one of the two ferry companies in Tortola. About a 35 minute ride later we arrived at Spanish Town. From there we boarded a group of safari buses and were off to the top of the Baths. From there, you had a choice of paths to take. Either the short easy path directly to the Baths, or the longer, more difficult path to Devils Bay. 95% of the people chose the easy way, so I chose the latter.

I was pretty much alone on the winding path down to Devils Bay. At the end, you come to the large rock formations and caves at the waters edge. I began making my way through the caves toward the Baths beach, but was encumbered by masses of people coming from the opposite direction. Soon enough I arrived at Baths Beach where I rented a locker for my stuff and proceeded into the water for some snorkeling. I had brought my own mask, but they had a place down by the beach to rent gear as well as buy snacks and drinks. The water here is very clear, and there is some decent coral and fish about. It was getting hotter and more crowded down there and I headed back up the other path to the top of the Baths to a small bar, the Mad Dog, and had a couple of local beers before it was time to head back to the ferry.

I was pretty satisfied with the NCL excursion, and felt it provided enough time to visit this one of a kind destination. It was plenty enough time to explore the caves, and arrived before the growing masses that arrived throughout the day.

 

NASSAU- I only got off the ship here in order to go over to the the other pier and take some photos of the Getaway. We were in port with one other ship, the Carnival Sensation, and honestly I felt sorry for those on the older Carnival ship. They leered across the way at the magnificent NCL Getaway in awe of its size and beauty. Back on board, I enjoyed a full afternoon of a nearly empty ship.

 

DEBARKATION AND FINAL THOUGHTS- I chose easy walk off debarkation, where you must carry all of your belongings off the ship on you own. I am a light packer, who never checks baggage with the airlines, so this was right up my alley. I had my final breakfast at the buffet, and around 8:15 walked directly off the ship in about 2 minutes. 5 minutes later, I was in a cab to the airport where I would store my luggage and head out on Miamis "airport flyer" bus directly to Miami beach for the day. I purchased a day pass for $5.65, and was able to see Miami beach, South Beach, Bal Harbour, South Point park, and back to the airport for my 7:00 pm flight back to Atlanta.

I absolutely loved the Getaway, and can't wait until my next journey upon her in December. So much to do. So many dining options. Such a great crew, I cannot stress enough how awesome this ship is. Goodbye Carnival, hello NCL!!!...

[jimbo5544]

Happy cruising. You might want to post it on the NCL board as opposed to here.

[SMSACE6]

Sid_9169. Thanks for the review. I almost made it to NCL Epic a couple of years ago but had to cancel due to an ill family member. It broke my heart to cancel that cruise, and NCL remains on my bucket list. I travel solo now all the time, and those little solo cabins do appeal to me. I am not much into the solo get together thing, and dont mind dining alone.

 

Im looking at the Escape, and they have some good deals for next fall.

 

Thanks again for the review, and your review should be posted here on the Carnival board because you are a Carnival cruiser who has tried something different and liked it! Nothing wrong with posting that here on the Carnival board.

[sid_9169]

Sid_9169. Thanks for the review. I almost made it to NCL Epic a couple of years ago but had to cancel due to an ill family member. It broke my heart to cancel that cruise, and NCL remains on my bucket list. I travel solo now all the time, and those little solo cabins do appeal to me. I am not much into the solo get together thing, and dont mind dining alone.

 

Im looking at the Escape, and they have some good deals for next fall.

 

Thanks again for the review, and your review should be posted here on the Carnival board because you are a Carnival cruiser who has tried something different and liked it! Nothing wrong with posting that here on the Carnival board.

 

Thank you, SMSACE6... I did post on NCL also.

[SMSACE6]

Thank you, SMSACE6... I did post on NCL also.

 

I meant to say also that I am sorry about your friend.

[sparks1093]

Thank you for the balanced review.

[SMSACE6]

Sid_9169! Check out my signature!

 

I went back to check out the NCL cruises that I was interested in for next year, and I chose Getaway. It will be time for me to get back to the Western Caribbean next year. The price, the itinerary, the fare rules all worked for me, and I called up and booked.

 

I was already headed in this direction, but your review helped seal my choice:)

 

Thanks again for posting your review here, as I probably would not have seen it on the other board.

[katiel53]

Thanks for the review. Did you notice if there were senior solos? I would love to try NCL as a single as my husband and I sailed NCL a few times and loved it, but I am not sure how it would be for older cruisers.

[sid_9169]

Sid_9169! Check out my signature!

 

I went back to check out the NCL cruises that I was interested in for next year, and I chose Getaway. It will be time for me to get back to the Western Caribbean next year. The price, the itinerary, the fare rules all worked for me, and I called up and booked.

 

I was already headed in this direction, but your review helped seal my choice:)

 

Thanks again for posting your review here, as I probably would not have seen it on the other board.

 

You will love the Getaway. Don't get me wrong, I love Carnival. But the Getaway is on a whole other level. You will have an awesome time.

[sid_9169]

Thanks for the review. Did you notice if there were senior solos? I would love to try NCL as a single as my husband and I sailed NCL a few times and loved it, but I am not sure how it would be for older cruisers.

 

Yes, the solos ranged from 20's to 60's... There is plenty to do for all ages.

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for the review. Did you notice if there were senior solos? I would love to try NCL as a single as my husband and I sailed NCL a few times and loved it, but I am not sure how it would be for older cruisers.

 

Not the OP, but;

 

I have been cruising solo on Carnival since 2000, on and off, and by the time my NCL cruise rolls around, over a year away, I will be 60:) I am not worried about it though, and for me, even though I cruise solo, I am comfortable with my own company. I enjoy meeting people, but I dont have to. This just me though.

Even if you get one of those little solo cabins, you are welcome to, but dont have to join the solo meet up for dinner groups, unless you want to. What I like about NCL ships with these solo cabins/meet up for dinner things, is that you have a choice. You can if you want, and dont have to, if you prefer to do your own thing.

[SMSACE6]

Yes, the solos ranged from 20's to 60's... There is plenty to do for all ages.

 

Thanks for this too. I will be 60, by the time my Getaway cruise rolls around. Even being in the outer ranges of age in solo travellers, I will be fine with it. I enjoy people of all ages, and sometimes being the older one in the crowd has it's advantages:)

[jerseyjjs]

Happy cruising. You might want to post it on the NCL board as opposed to here.

 

 

 

 

Yes, because God forbid someone on the Carnival board might be considering another cruise line out there. :rolleyes:

[cruzfitter]

Yes, because God forbid someone on the Carnival board might be considering another cruise line out there. :rolleyes:

 

Exactly!! I'm sure he knows how to look up if this was also posted on NCL's board. If this review was about a Carnival cruise his post would have been "Nice post or well said". And he wonders why people think he's a Carnival cheerleader.

[RuthlessBoss]

Thanks for the review. Did you notice if there were senior solos? I would love to try NCL as a single as my husband and I sailed NCL a few times and loved it, but I am not sure how it would be for older cruisers.

 

I was solo in November, but being a "senior" I chickened out of the meetings for that exact reason.