GETAWAY Picture Review (Great Stirrup Cay, Cozumel, Grand Cayman & Jamaica)

[Kmix78]

Great review. I'm super interested to read about your experience in the ports!!

 

 

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[kelkel2]

Thank you for all your wonderfully detailed photos and the awesome review. The balcony picture is quite enlightening. I am actually wondering now how much it would cost to move to deck 8. Those look much larger and wonderful. We are cruising on the Getaway in January and it's our first NCL cruise!

[alexmom]

Thanks!!! Someday, after we put the kids through braces and college, I will splurge and get a great, big, magnificent suite with an aft balcony. Until then, I will have to be content with low end cabins.

 

Yes, I did walk by the main pool early in the morning, and you should have no trouble swimming laps (albeit short laps). I love exploring and walking around the ships early in the morning before the masses take over. I will go ahead a post my pics on the main pool next.

 

I wish I could just whip out this review in a single setting; however, it takes a lot of time, and it will definitely be a week before I can complete it (or sadly, maybe 2 weeks).

 

Thanks for the pool pictures, I'm ok with short laps since I don't swim that fast !

 

Take your time with your review, especially the photos ! They are really getting me pumped for my cruise ! I agree with the other posters about your refugee photos-they were as amazing as they were heartbreaking. How sad that they were shipped back to Cuba where they will likely be punished and imprisoned !

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios, Jamaica:

 

I got up early to make sure I could catch the sunrise over Jamaica... and it was breathtaking! (But wait until you see the sunset picture I took later that evening.)

 

 

 

 

One of the main reasons for booking this cruise was to see Jamaica. I know, I have read way too many posts on Cruise Critic of members warning folks to not get off the ship, it’s dirty, you’ll hate it, the people are pushy, there’s crime everywhere, etc. We are an adventurous family, but not careless. I did plenty of research beforehand and determined Marvyn’s Paradise Tours was the perfect match. I booked a private excursion just for us four. I have learned in the past that big organized group tours may get you a better deal, but you are limited on time by what the group wants. I like a private tour, as we can decide how long to stay at each stop and can even change the itinerary.

 

We booked the private Irie Blue Hole tour with Marvyn Paradise Tours which included a beach stop (tbd) and lunch stop (Scotchies). Marvyn emailed us numerous times before our cruise to provide us with meeting place directions and updates. Great communicator! We were one of the first off the ship and headed right over to the private tour guide meeting place directly outside of the port. The port staffer directed us to Marvyn’s tour, and we immediately got in a large shuttle with others and took the 5 minute drive to Marvyn’s office. Marvyn came and personally introduced himself and then introduced us to our driver <I cannot believe I have forgotten his name… it has been 2 months>.

 

Off we went in an AC van through Ocho Rios and up the mountain to Irie Blue Hole. If you do this tour, be sure to bring water shoes. But if you forget, there are a couple of places to stop on the way to purchase or rent.

 

 

Our guide takes care of the park entrance fee and hands us off to a young park/excursion guide. The guide was to stay with our group the whole time we are at the park. They will also hold your camera and take photos, which is wonderful. I could ditch my waterproof bag and not have to worry about taking photos. My only regret is that my camera was not quite on the right settings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2016 by mpcaruth

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

 

 

 

There is a little hike along the water to get to the top jumping hole. There are ropes along the way to help keep your balance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are the second group to arrive at the top today.

 

 

 

The first of many jumping opportunities:

 

 

And away I go...

 

Edited March 23, 2016 by mpcaruth

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

Life jackets are available for those not comfortable with swimming.

 

 

Its starting to get a little crowded. Check out the guys face as he hits the water in the lower right. Hilarious!

 

 

We move on down to the next hole.

 

 

 

 

 

And another:

 

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

The last hole has a super high jump (Sorry, we were all too chicken, but you can search Youtube for some great videos of this). This hole also had a swing rope and a bar for drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

I had to extract the following two photos from a video our guide took:

 

 

 

 

And that's all for Irie Blue Hole! It really is a true gem of Jamaica and I highly recommend a trip here. You don't have to be a dare devil to enjoy it, as there are all levels of jumps and swims.

Edited March 23, 2016 by mpcaruth

[cruisingbajan]

Nice review and pics. Thanks for sharing.

[DiamondGirl83]

I was on this cruise too when they rescued the refugees, when they announced it i didn't go and watch, I was enjoying the UBP and Howl at the Moon too much! Regret that now though, great pictures

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We leave the park and head back down the mountain. There are lots of entertainment along the drive. I think the second most talked about thing from the cruise for my kids (1st being the refugees) and second being BROWNIES. We saw three different guys along the road selling special brownies.

 

"Hey Mon! Brownies make ya feel good".

 

 

 

The guide stopped for me to take a photo of the wooden water pipe. The pipe supplies the drinking water to Ocho Rios to be treated. Higher up the mountain there were minnie geysers leaking out of the pipe. (Yes, I am a nerd engineer who designs drinking water systems - I like this kind of stuff).

 

Edited March 23, 2016 by mpcaruth

[mpcaruth]

I was on this cruise too when they rescued the refugees, when they announced it i didn't go and watch, I was enjoying the UBP and Howl at the Moon too much! Regret that now though, great pictures

 

 

Thanks.

 

Well, I guess we needed some passengers to stay on the other side of the ship to keep it from listing ; )

 

Ironically, I never made it to Howl at the Moon. I regret that.

[DiamondGirl83]

That's a shame, always next time. I was in there everytime they played, 4 nights out of the 7. That's the thing I miss the most.

[Annmeat]

That's a shame, always next time. I was in there everytime they played, 4 nights out of the 7. That's the thing I miss the most.

 

 

We had a different ship booked for our anniversary -cancelled and booked NCL Getaway instead. Howl at the Moon is one of the best parts of the entertainment!

 

 

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[PhillyTravelBug]

Fascinating review and awesome pictures. Getting me pumped up. Looking at the balcony layouts, I'm glad we booked one on the 14th deck. Can't wait to see more.

[Seminole1975]

I am going on the Getaway on May 29! I am very much enjoying your review and pictures. Thank you!

[lauren1113]

following!

[Seminole1975]

What is Howl at the Moon? I did not see it listed in any of the entertainment on the Getaway.

[mpcaruth]

What is Howl at the Moon? I did not see it listed in any of the entertainment on the Getaway.

 

It's a dueling piano show in which the audience picks the songs. I hear it is very funny and a blast.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/getaway/whats-on-board/Entertainment#Getaway_Howl_At_The_Moon

Edited March 24, 2016 by mpcaruth

[cruisingbajan]

Enjoying the review and photos.

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

Our next stop was a beach stop. Our guide asked us if we wanted a touristy crowded beach or a nice quiet beach. I was a little concerned about this "nice quiet" beach, but he said trust me, you will like it. So, we took a gamble. The drive there went through an "interesting" area:

 

 

 

We pull up outside of the beach resort, Kaz Kreol:

 

 

Our guide helped us check in at the hotel counter for our day pass. I think it was $5 per person and $5 per beach lounger. I paid and we were guided through the small, simple, but super clean hotel. And on the other side was absolute paradise! Bingo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could use the beach (and they would carry our loungers to where ever we wanted) all the way around until the beach section across the way. THAT area was a private nude beach/resort.

 

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

Oh No! I went to pull up some of my photos of the creek inlet into the beach area, and I CANNOT find them. I seem to have lost a SD from one of my cameras. I too so many more pictures of this beach and I can't find them. Sorry.

 

Here's what I have:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

 

 

 

Now I did find the photos that I accidently ; ) took of the adjacent beach. Here's a PG snip-it of Incognito Man:

 

 

Kaz Kreol was a nice hang out for a beautiful and relaxing beach. We had a cheap snack to hold us over until Scotchies and also had a few Red Stripe beer. This beach was a pleasant surprise.

 

We packed up and our guide took us on a little tour of the town and we stopped at a look-out area with a bar/restaurant high above the cruise port.

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

 

Random photos from along the drive:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

Ocho Rios Continued:

 

We stopped at Scotchies for a late lunch for some real authentic food. I would love to show you pictures of the place and food, but... I lost the SD card. Sorry again. The only thing I do have is a photo my daughter posted.

 

 

 

Scotchies is a very simple outdoor restaurant with good authentic local Jerk food. My husband and son got the jerk pork wraps, I got the jerk pork, and my daughter got chicken. My husband loved the wrap! The meat is not especially hot, but they provide a little container of jerk sauce. I dipped a finger in it and tested first. It's pretty hot. But, my son poured it on his pork. Whoa. He gulped his soda, but said the fizz of the soda made it worse. The only thing else, was my Red Strip. It worked. We liked everything but the bread fruit. Blah, dry, fruit??? Oh well, we had to try it.

 

 

After scotchies, our guide said he had a surprise for us. He pulled the van over along a main road and we got out. Apparently for a peep show:

 

I LOVE this picture of my family peeping:

 

 

 

And what did they see? Dunn River Falls. OMG! Look how crowded this tour was. I am so glad we ventured out to the Irie Blue Falls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly, that's all the photos I have of our day in the port. We head back to the ship, extremely tired and hungry. We are blessed with beautiful sunset to enjoy from our cozy balcony.

 

[Cruzinbabe06]

Beautiful family and loving your review.

 

Thank you for sharing.:)