Getaway review 2/25-3/4/18

[kblac708]

Only in the Haven. We tipped our bartenders VERY well ($2-3 for every drink) so one of the bartenders was able to get her hands on a couple of 6 packs throughout the cruise and DH got 2 out of those...

 

 

 

I was on this cruise as well. I know in H20 they had the languita IPAs and I think on Thursday they started serving goose island.

 

 

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[Big E Dawg]

On the Escape, the Tobacco Road bar had Lagunitas Sumpin’ Sumpin’. I think certain bars will have IPAs like that and Goose Island. Hopeful anyway.

[fandssullivan]

I was on this cruise as well. I know in H20 they had the languita IPAs and I think on Thursday they started serving goose island.

 

 

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This is the STRANGEST mystery to me because we went to both of the theme parties at H2O and DH asked if they had an IPA and was told no and served Coors! I am so confused as to how one gets this mystery beer :eek::confused:

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments!

[gaiamother]

This is the STRANGEST mystery to me because we went to both of the theme parties at H2O and DH asked if they had an IPA and was told no and served Coors! I am so confused as to how one gets this mystery beer :eek::confused:

 

 

At the bar outside of the Vibe on deck 16 I saw people drinking the Lagunita's Little Sumpin'.

[cleanandsober88]

Hey ForSSullivan,

Thank you so much for the review. In Roatan you said the snorkeling wasn't the greatest. Were you at West Bay? Was the water clarity good? I've heard wonderful things about the snorkeling in West Bay on CC.

Thks,

[fandssullivan]

Hey ForSSullivan,

Thank you so much for the review. In Roatan you said the snorkeling wasn't the greatest. Were you at West Bay? Was the water clarity good? I've heard wonderful things about the snorkeling in West Bay on CC.

Thks,

 

We were out at the reef by Little French Keys on a guided tour. The water was clear enough yes but just not much marine life. We saw about 8 fish all the same, 1 lobster and 2 conch. Lots and lots of grass. We still loved just being in the water but I guess my expectations were just a lot higher than that :)

[krazykohns]

We are the same age bracket as well (38 and 39). Will be on the Getaway 9/23-9/30. Just came off the ship Sunday and loved it!! Doing the same cruise in September.

 

 

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ecasswell79- How awesome.. Are you on the roll call yet? We're 38 and 35.

[kevnick0814]

Hi FandS,

Thanks for the review. :)

 

Question: our last 2 cruises were on the big Royal ships (Allure & Oasis) and we found the quiet sundeck all the way up front on deck 14. No bar, music, etc but peaceful when we were in the 'reading/sleeping' mode. We loved it.

Does a sun deck area like this truly exist on the Getaway?

[fandssullivan]

Hi FandS,

Thanks for the review. :)

 

Question: our last 2 cruises were on the big Royal ships (Allure & Oasis) and we found the quiet sundeck all the way up front on deck 14. No bar, music, etc but peaceful when we were in the 'reading/sleeping' mode. We loved it.

Does a sun deck area like this truly exist on the Getaway?

 

Yes! You have options. So... The "Sundeck" on I believe 17 or 18 forward is just a sun area and NOTHING else. There are loungers always available there. The only music is music you would hear from the pool a couple of decks down and a bit more forward. Then 1 deck down there is an area outside of the Vibe Beach club where you have loungers and in no way a party atmosphere but there is the use of a bar (the other half of the vibe bar). Then you could try to purchase Vibe passes, but that doesn't necessarily sound like it is what you are looking for. That is a private adults only area which you have to purchase passes for and has a bar and a couple of jacuzzis and plenty of loungers etc... in the far forward corner of that there is absolute tranquility! We bought ourselves cabana passes for the vibe and therefore got a private cabana way in front and could use that anytime we wanted our own space to read, nap etc :)

[xxdance8chikxx]

We paid $50 for 2 drinks each there .

 

What?!?! thats insane

[kevnick0814]

Yes! You have options. So... The "Sundeck" on I believe 17 or 18 forward is just a sun area and NOTHING else. There are loungers always available there. The only music is music you would hear from the pool a couple of decks down and a bit more forward. Then 1 deck down there is an area outside of the Vibe Beach club where you have loungers and in no way a party atmosphere but there is the use of a bar (the other half of the vibe bar). Then you could try to purchase Vibe passes, but that doesn't necessarily sound like it is what you are looking for. That is a private adults only area which you have to purchase passes for and has a bar and a couple of jacuzzis and plenty of loungers etc... in the far forward corner of that there is absolute tranquility! We bought ourselves cabana passes for the vibe and therefore got a private cabana way in front and could use that anytime we wanted our own space to read, nap etc :)

 

Beauty! Deck 18 looked like what we would be looking for and you confirmed. Down 1 flight to 17 and the other half of the Vibe bar works when a bev is needed.

Thanks again!

[footballbabe3]

Can anyone tell me why the water is murky? We have rented one of the cabanas in August but If they are having a problem with the water I’m not spending that money to sit on the beach.

[kathy884]

Thank you for your review. We will be sailing on the Getaway next January, and from what you are saying I think we will really enjoy it. We did the Escape last March and found a lot of things you mentioned on the Getaway similar on the Escape (we did the deck 9 large balconies on that ship too).

Edited March 12, 2018 by kathy884

[Lord Reaper of Pyke]

The water was perfectly fine. It was typical western Carib cloudy water...the water at St Maarten isn't any clearer. You're probably not going to go snorkling in the beach area but there were acres of room to swim and get away from the crowds.

 

It's a nice beach and pool day, nothing more...nothing less. We were the only ship that day and there were tons of free chairs everywhere, even after rolling down there at like 10 something.

 

The sand is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be...there's crushed shells...it's a little coarse, but for someone that's NEVER barefoot I managed to not take issue with it.

 

The gift shops were crazy overpriced but the Landshark place, as much as I loathe the whole Jimmy Buffet/Landshark/Margaritaville culture was "affordable" for lunch. They also have buckets of 6 beers for $24.99 you can take down to the pool with you.

 

There was another bar about a 90 second walk past that where they had a whole selection of $10-12 drinks, including some excellent Micheladas.

 

It's not going to blow the doors off your vacation but it's better than dealing with the crowds on the ship deck. This coming from someone who was trying to maximize his UDP value.

[Love Blue]

Thank you for posting your review, very helpful. We are looking at this ship and itinerary for next Feb/March. Your comments about embarkation/disembarkation hit home -- we were on the Star out of LA on March 2 and embarkation was lengthy. We have also had the disembarkation lines in some ports on other NCL ships, surprisingly the only Princess and Carnival cruises we did had no issues getting on and off quickly. Also appreciate your comments about the specialty dining as we tried Cagney's and LeBistro for the first time and loved them both. Thanks again!

[Carnac767]

Thanks for posting your review. We sailed on her over Halloween, with the same itinerary, and had a great cruise, though if I never see Costa Maya again, that will be fine with me.

[calicakes]

HI

 

How much are the private cabana passes?

[fandssullivan]

HI

 

How much are the private cabana passes?

 

It was $329 for the cabana which includes 2 passes to the vibe, the cabana and $100 credit that you can use in the vibe for food and drink. You have to ask for a food menu (we didnt) and the drink credit can be used if you want any drinks that are more than the $15 UBP (if you have the UBP)

[Nebr.cruiser]

We went on this cruise this December and last December; repeated because of a family birthday to celebrate and this was the only time/itinerary that worked.

 

We did love most things about the cruise. The two main shows are just fantastic, especially Million Dollar Quartet--get fairly close if you can as you miss a lot of the nuance of the acting otherwise. The Jerry Lee Lewis actor is fantastic.

 

The other entertainment was not great, especially the comedy shows in the main theater; 3 of the worst I have ever experienced, especially this year. Since the main shows are shown twice, there isn't much else for choice in the theater. We did the Cirque show; loved the costumes and staging but due to the small size of the stage, the acts were pretty dull.

 

Food in the dining room was fine, as well as the buffet. This Dec. we had a dining package and enjoyed trying the different restaurants. Le Bistro was by far the best; Cagneys was pretty bad for two of us; almost inedible, although mine was fine. We don't drink, so no help there.

 

Our balcony was nice; last year we had a large balcony which had a much larger, well, balcony portion. Staff was wonderful.

 

I really don't care for Harvest Caye that much. The sand is coarse, the water murky and there is almost no sea life to see--I tried several different places. I did manage to get stung by a jellyfish though! It's mostly just a big way to remove tons of money from you, in my opinon. We bought nothing there.

 

This year we took the ferry over to the mainland; cute little village but really nothing to do unless you booked an excursion. Still better than Harvest Caye though!

 

Costa Maya; we've been there several times. This time we took a tour to the ruins which also stopped at the Blue Lagoon, which we enjoyed.

 

Roatan--been there before--we booked a catamaran sail that was on the other side of the island. Long ride to get there, but wonderful snorkeling--the best we've had for a while.

 

Cozumel--been there many time. We booked a jeep tour which was fun. Note that all tours were independent; we rarely do ship tours.

[oscardog]

It was $329 for the cabana which includes 2 passes to the vibe, the cabana and $100 credit that you can use in the vibe for food and drink. You have to ask for a food menu (we didnt) and the drink credit can be used if you want any drinks that are more than the $15 UBP (if you have the UBP)

 

Where and when did you buy the cabana passes

[fandssullivan]

Where and when did you buy the cabana passes

 

Guest services upon boarding the ship

[kdj]

Yes! You have options. So... The "Sundeck" on I believe 17 or 18 forward is just a sun area and NOTHING else. There are loungers always available there. The only music is music you would hear from the pool a couple of decks down and a bit more forward. Then 1 deck down there is an area outside of the Vibe Beach club where you have loungers and in no way a party atmosphere but there is the use of a bar (the other half of the vibe bar). Then you could try to purchase Vibe passes, but that doesn't necessarily sound like it is what you are looking for. That is a private adults only area which you have to purchase passes for and has a bar and a couple of jacuzzis and plenty of loungers etc... in the far forward corner of that there is absolute tranquility! We bought ourselves cabana passes for the vibe and therefore got a private cabana way in front and could use that anytime we wanted our own space to read, nap etc :)

 

 

 

FandSullivan, were you one of the lucky ones that had Vibe passes? If so, what approach did you use in order to get them? I hear they're hard to get even if you show up at 10am on Embarkation Day....?