2nd time on Getaway with small kids

[MrsWhite831]

I won't get into a full review but I wanted to add my 2 cents and say we had an awesome trip on the Getaway last week- me (32), dh (33) and kids (7, 4.5 and 4.5). We sailed at the end of 2014 and loved the ship so much we booked it again. After booking we found out that Nick at Sea wouldn't be there (it had been my kids favorite part), then the room service fee/food to room issues and quite a few bad reviews/complaint posts on here. I was a little nervous it wouldn't feel the same or be as good...

 

I can say 1st hand the ship is still just as great as it was last time. I was expecting crazy long lines with the beverage packages but was pleasantly surprised. As long as you weren't at the pool bar at noon on a sea day, I thought the waits were reasonable. The ship was still clean & shiny, (all but 1) crew members we met were friendly and busting their butts and kids club was still phenomenal. My oldest was in tears over the loss of Nick at Sea this fall and he never once mentioned missing it on the ship. Service in the MDR was a little slow for breakfast but for dinner it was great. I don't think that I had one bad meal and we never had reservations for anything. Also (random, I know)- I noticed the main dining rooms are not as freezing cold as they used to be. We actually brought extended family along (7- 1st time cruisers) and they all bought the future cruise deposit.

 

My only complaint was that out of 5 NCL cruises this disembarkment was a mess. The captain announced the port could only open 1 "path/exit" (I don't know the technical term) so we were warned it would be slow. Staff was there trying their best to direct but it was still a bit of a cluster due to hundreds of frustrated confused people in little hallways.

 

This time we tried the family ocean view category, which with *small* kids we actually found to be very comfortable with lots of smart storage.

 

I'm not saying NCL or the Getaway are perfect but as long as you're there to have fun with a good attitude you can still have a FANTASTIC trip.

[daisyh]

Glad to here the positive review! We have booked our second getaway trip in June. We loved it in 2014 so much we are bringing our friends along.

[bambione]

I think I was on this same cruise (Jan 10-17). And I agree with everything you said. Especially about the disembarkation. It was a total mess. I can understand why they only had one gangplank open (the weather), but the process just didn't seem organized. They were directing lines to go here, and then changing them, just didn't seem to have it together. Did you see any of the Cuban refugee rescue? We were also in a family oceanview and could just look out our window and see what was going on.

[MrsWhite831]

I think I was on this same cruise (Jan 10-17). And I agree with everything you said. Especially about the disembarkation. It was a total mess. I can understand why they only had one gangplank open (the weather), but the process just didn't seem organized. They were directing lines to go here, and then changing them, just didn't seem to have it together. Did you see any of the Cuban refugee rescue? We were also in a family oceanview and could just look out our window and see what was going on.

 

We got off on the 7th floor from the fwd elevators right in the midst of the craziness. People (mostly elderly, sorry to stereotype) were FLIPPING OUT on those of us getting off the elevator. "This is NOT the line, you need to go to the back!!"... "don't just stand there, we were already in line". All I was thinking was, "hey, I don't want to go home, I'm not trying to 'cut' you, we have a 7pm flight, relax".

 

We were dead asleep when the announcement came on so we didn't even look out the window (what was I thinking?? hahah). Our kids were so exhausted, I stood on the bed with a pillow over the little speaker so the announcements didn't wake them up. Definitely a cool little memory to have.

[vanchelle]

May I ask about splash academy for the 4.5 yo's? Did they use it, like it? We're taking our nephews for the first time in April on the getaway

 

 

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[MrsWhite831]

May I ask about splash academy for the 4.5 yo's? Did they use it, like it? We're taking our nephews for the first time in April on the getaway

 

 

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Our 1st trip on the getaway the twins had just turned 3. They liked the club but needed a little encouraging to go. This time half way through dinner they were *begging* to go. They have prince/princess night, Pirate night, superhero night, jungle night and they had circus day where they perform in the big theater for the parents. If you're nervous or hesitant you can request a pager, which is actually a tiny phone thing where they will call you if the child wants to leave. On our ship there was maybe 20-25 kids in their age group (3-5) but I don't think they were ever all there at once.

[vanchelle]

Our 1st trip on the getaway the twins had just turned 3. They liked the club but needed a little encouraging to go. This time half way through dinner they were *begging* to go. They have prince/princess night, Pirate night, superhero night, jungle night and they had circus day where they perform in the big theater for the parents. If you're nervous or hesitant you can request a pager, which is actually a tiny phone thing where they will call you if the child wants to leave. On our ship there was maybe 20-25 kids in their age group (3-5) but I don't think they were ever all there at once.

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

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[Barnes11]

Do you happen to have a picture of the kids pool area now that the spongebob characters are gone?