Notes from Getaway April 8 Western Caribbean

[CruzinMel]

DH and I were on Getaway on April 8 and I am just now putting up my review - usually I do an extensive review when we get off a cruise, in an effort to document my trip, chase away the Post Cruise Blues, and answer any questions that might come up from cruisers following after. I'm about 2 weeks behind this time, and this review is going to be shorter than usual (2 long pages rather than my usual 5 -7), but for what it's worth, here we go!

 

PRE-CRUISE - AS IN, MONTHS AND MONTHS PRE-CRUISE:

I booked this while recovering from a spinal fusion in December, and it was a bonus from DH's employer. (Many, many thanks to the Boss!!) As a result, for the first time ever, I used a travel agent to book a cruise. I'm not sure if I was in a post surgery haze, or hyped up on pain meds, but I think I spent more time planning my cruise than the TA, got myself better deals and perks than the TA, and she got paid for it. (Nothing personal, but I don't think I'll be using a TA again. The only thing she did that I couldn't have was put all our tickets and reservations together on a website, and that wasn't perk enough to justify the cost, even if I wasn't paying for it. Plus, I knew more about NCL than she did, so half the time I was telling her things that she didn't know because she primarily deals with Carnival cruises.)

 

The TA proposed balconies on deck 9, but my balcony mantra is "highest possible deck", so we changed that. I also found a cruise that had Latitudes rewards attached, which the TA knew nothing about - we ended up booking a cruise with double Latitudes points and received $250 in onboard credit. We selected the UPB and 3 meal specialty dining for our perks. Since we had just turned Silver, the double points would put us one cruise away from turning Gold. Unfortunately, that date put me too close to cruising to snag an angled balcony, so we booked a standard balcony on Deck 15, underneath the buffet. I had some qualms, but we've been under the buffet before without incident - we aren't usually in the room when folks are in the buffet, so we never really notice noise beyond the occasional scraping of chairs in the mornings. We weren't excited about cruising the Western Caribbean, but that was the itinerary that fit our time frame and got us the perks, and I figured hey, water is water and any day on a cruise is a good day, no matter where the ship is going.

 

The TA's standard Miami pre-cruise hotel is the Fairfield Inn & Suites on NW 11th St, with free breakfast and a shuttle to the port - we'd never done a shuttle to the port before, but I figured, why not? Our port transportation usually is either our car or a car service, but the shuttle was free and I like free stuff. Flights were scheduled on Delta, which was perfect, and we were to fly in the day before the cruise early enough that I rented a car and bought surprise birthday hockey tickets for DH. One new thing about this cruise was the Sunday departure - we usually choose Saturday departures because we like to get home with a day to recover before heading back to work, but we thought we'd give it a whirl.

 

For the first time ever, I did a spreadsheet of activities, excursions, etc, color coded and linked. . . usually I schedule shows and excursions and go with the flow for everything else, but this time I wanted to make sure we saw the Sexy Legs contest and heard the Floating Hotel talk. . . again, stuck at home recovering from spinal fusion, unable to drive, unable to go back to work, not allowed to lift more than 5 pounds. . . I had a lot of time on my hands and nothing to do with it except over-anticipate and over-schedule my cruise. My problem was that I couldn't find dailies to match our itinerary - the port order was reversed from the usual, so I couldn't figure out what day things would happen on - for example, was the Latin Dance party always on Thursday, or was it always on Roatan day? (The itinerary matches the day of the week and doesn't change with the port, if you're wondering. And yeah, the spreadsheet didn't make it to the cruise.)

 

I booked as much as possible and then changed my mind about dining, which led to another wrinkle - you can't cancel dining reservations online. To change a reservation pre-cruise, you have to call NCL. They are very helpful, but I hate talking on the phone - I'd rather do it online. I booked dinners at Moderno, Cagney's and Le Bistro (which I canceled and changed to Cagney's. Unfortunately, I scoobed up the day, and we boarded Getaway with reservations at Tropicana and Cagney's for the same evening - I didn't want to call again and decided to cancel Tropicana once we boarded.) For excursions, I booked Kohunlich and Dzibanche Ruins for Costa Maya day, nothing for Harvest Caye (thought about the electric boats and decided to scope out the island first), nothing for Roatan (I didn't like anything NCL offered, so I thought I'd do something with Victor Bodden), and the Mexican Cuisine and Beach Day for Cozumel.

 

BIDDING FOR AN UPGRADE:

Yes, we got the bid email. Our last cruise was with my mother, on what she called the Yolo Cruise. She insisted we stay in the Haven, and it was there that DH fell in love with the Haven Bar. I fell in love with the shower and the Haven Afternoon Snacks. Mother fell in love with her butler but couldn't convince him to run away with her, so he remains with NCL.

 

Staying in the Haven was a double-edged sword - we loved the peace and quiet and service, but we barely left the Haven and so didn't enjoy everything the ship offered. That said, if you get a chance to pay non-Haven prices for the Haven, you try it - and since we already weren't paying anything for the cruise, I thought why not? So I bid in the fair to poor range on a Haven penthouse suite, bid poorly on a garden villa and a Haven spa cabin, and bid in the good range on a mini-suite because I wanted the bigger bathroom and I thought I'd get that bid for sure. (In the Haven with Mom we stayed in a 2 bedroom garden villa, which had the most amazing bathroom EVER - it ruined me for all other cruise ship bathrooms. If I can switch out a tiny corner shower for a regular sized shower, I'm on it.)

 

Thus began the weekly question from DH: "Did we get the Haven?" To which I responded each week, "No, I haven't heard on the bid, but I didn't put Haven-level money on it and it probably won't happen, so forget about that bar. Your best bet is a mini suite with a little bit bigger balcony." Periodically I did dummy bookings, just to see how many cabins were still empty, and this cruise was filling up. I began to worry about my mini suite.

 

This continued up until the week before the cruise, when out of nowhere I got an email saying our bid was accepted, congratulations, and we were now booked in Haven cabin 15106. They charged my credit card automatically, even before they sent the email. It felt like I'd gotten smacked on the head by the Upgrade Fairy's little wand, complete with stardust and glitter. DH was delighted. I was looking forward to that shower and my afternoon canapes.

 

So, word to the wise - if you bid on an upgrade, they have until 2 days before the cruise to award it. Just because you bid in the poor range doesn't mean you won't get the upgrade. You won't get a warning before they charge your card - it's on auto pilot. If you change your mind, forget, or whatnot, better be ready to cancel your bid before they award it. (I have no idea whether you could call and grovel back into your original cabin, but somehow, I doubt it.)

 

SOUTH TO MIAMI!:

After months of planning and weeks of dreaming, Departure Day arrived. I never booked anything for Roatan, because I checked the weather 2 weeks out and it was supposed to rain. If we'd arrived to a clear day, I wasn't worried - we've cruised enough to know that you can usually stagger off the ship and find one of the tour companies that will squeeze you into one of their previously booked tours (found this out on St. Thomas 2 years ago - our scheduled local tour company had a disaster and tried to call us, but DH always leaves his phone in the cabin safe so we didn't know. Another tour company saw us wandering around and scooped us up.) Everything else was set.

 

Our Delta flight was due to land in Miami around 1:30 on Saturday afternoon, so I reserved a rental car and decided to eat at Versailles for real Cuban food (or so YouTube promised.) I had tix for the Miami Panthers hockey gave at 7, and given the distance from our hotel to the BB&T Center in Sunrise, it made more sense to rent a car than use Uber.

 

If you rent a car at the Miami airport, be prepared to WALK. All the rental car companies are gathered in their own area at the airport, which is very convenient. Unfortunately, the rental car center is a long way away from baggage claim. MIA Intn'l has tried to make it easy - they have installed multiple people movers (those escalators that go straight ahead rather than up) to make the trip easier, and the signage is decent once you FIND it - but it took us about 20 minutes to walk/escalate to the rental car center, dragging our luggage all the way. We only had 2 suitcases and my carry on, but I cannot imagine what it would have been like with more luggage, small children, elderly parents, an disability, or any combination of those.

 

Once we reached the center, we located our car company (Enterprise), accessed our reservation with a very helpful clerk, and then had to figure out how to get to the car, which was a little bit difficult. The car pickup area is a giant parking garage with all the companies' cars in it - we found escalators behind the car rental counter, located the level our company was on, and made our way there. Getting the car was the quickest thing ever - instead of waiting for printouts on paper, everything was done with an ipad. We laughed at the exit - there's a giant, tire-deflating barrier that only lowers when you prove to a clerk that yes, you have rented the vehicle.

 

I can't tell you what the Fairfield Inn was like, because we changed hotels. The Fairfield did not have very good reviews, and since we used some of our bonus money to pay for the Haven upgrade, we didn't want to use it to pay for a not-very-well-reviewed hotel. We canceled the Fairfield (TA booked it, but it was held with our credit card) and used DH's points to stay at the Hampton Miami Blue Lagoon for "free." This hotel was very close to the airport - usually, I book a hotel near the port to watch the ships come in, but given the need to return the rental car to the airport I chose to stay closer to the airport, and planned to Uber from the airport to the port on Sunday. Parking, wifi and breakfast are free, but they have no port shuttle - the hotel is geared toward airport traffic.

 

I have to say, checking in to the room was the easiest, fastest, simplest check-in ever - we walked in, showed them DH's driver's license, let them swipe the credit card we held the reservation with, picked up a room key and poof - took less than 5 minutes. I liked the lobby - the air was scented and cool - and the elevators have a very simple security feature that made me happy: you can't access any of the floors without your room card to activate the elevator. You can hop on and push 7th floor until the cows come home, but without your card swipe, that elevator does not move and it won't stop at the 7th floor even if someone on the 5th floor gets it going.

 

The room itself was basic - king bed, 4 pillows, desk, sitting area, basic walk in shower. I didn't even think about it before hand, but there was no fridge in the room - not good if you had a baby and formula, meds needing refrigeration, etc. The bed? That bed was the most comfortable hotel bed I have ever slept in. Breakfast was a crowded zoo, and very basic - scrambled eggs with ham chunks, bacon, fruit, pastries, bagels, toast, complimentary mimosas, juices and coffee. (I am spoiled by the breakfast offered with the concierge level at the Marriott Biscayne Bay - THAT is breakfast. This was basically serve-your-own-continental.) The pool looked nice, and parking is in a deck attached to the hotel - your key card activates the gate. This Hampton is in a busy urban area - accessing it is tricky because if you are coming from the airport you have to make a U-turn at a red light half a block down - the street in front of the hotel has a concrete divider down it. The traffic is beyond heavy in the daytime. There is fast food close by, and a Walgreen's and gas stations. DH is a light sleeper, and the traffic outside during the night woke him up several times. I slept like a log.

 

We live near Atlanta, so traffic and crazy drivers are common to us - Miami is another level. DH can navigate downtown Atlanta traffic like a NASCAR veteran, but Miami traffic made him homicidal. He ran 2 red lights by accident and we are still waiting to see if the camera caught him (we'll know if he gets a ticket in the mail.) We also drove on toll roads and didn't realize that until we got an extra charge on the credit card from the car rental company - the agent had told us that the car tags were set up for the toll roads and it would charge our card after the toll charges came in; last week I got a $5.95 charge from Enterprise for that. Or maybe it was gas - DH drove a quarter of a tank and refused to stop at a gas station. We didn't go to Versailles (DH wasn't a fan, so we picked another restaurant near the BB&T Center to save time) and for some reason, DH decided to return the rental car after the game (he didn't want to worry about it in the morning.) Finding the rental car center is a pain in the neck when you are driving in - we missed it the first time and exited the airport entirely, then went back in and got there. The actual return was super simple, and we took a cab back to the hotel for $27. We paid $65 or so for the rental car when all was said and done.

 

So, that's it for Pre-Cruise. Highlights:

 

 

• I can book a cruise as well as a travel agent;
  
• Delta is ready when you are;
  
• If you have to cancel pre-cruise dining reservations, you must call NCL - they cannot be canceled online;
  
• The system will allow you to reserve more than 1 dinner on any given night;
  
• Acitvities in the Dailies are geared toward the day of the week, and not the port of the day;
  
• You won't know if you have won your upgrade bid until your card is charged and you get an email, and you won't have any say in selecting the upgrade cabin;
  
• Miami Airport car rental is super easy, but a long walk and not always easy to find;
  
• Miami Airport car return is super easy but super hard to find;
  
• It takes about 40 minutes to drive from the Miami Airport to the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL;
  
• Nature Boy Ric Flair is a Miami Panthers super fan;
  
• Mixed drinks at BB&T Center are $18 each for a double;
  
• Miami traffic is nuts;
  
• Cab fare is $27 from airport to Hampton Airport South;
  
• Miami in April is pretty comfortable weather;
  
• There are still tarps on some of the roofs in Miami, left over from the bad hurricanes in 2017.
  

[IrishCowboy]

Thanks for sharing. Ready for more!

[helen haywood]

I am interested in your review as well; Getaway was my first NCL cruise. But if you don't mind, a relative of mine just had spinal fusion surgery, would you mind telling me how long your recovery was? Did you have physical therapy?

[300dtc]

Made me lol with the comment regarding your mom and the butler!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[MandyMommyof2]

I knew I'd love your review when I read your comment about your Mom and the Haven butler. lol. Can't wait to hear the rest of your report. We are going on the Getaway in July. It will be our second trip on her. We always stay there at the Blue Lagoon Hampton Inn pre cruise. I'm nervous about the Sunday- Sunday departure as we have only done Saturday- Saturday as well. Do you mind to share what time your flight left on Sunday morning and what time you were off the ship?

[CruzinMel]

And now, for the cruise itself. . . ahhh, the beautiful Getaway! I loved her the last time (2014 - her inaugural) and I loved her this time. To be honest, I didn't notice a lot of wear and tear since my first time on her 4 years ago - the ship appears very well maintained. Another interesting tidbit is that we ran into several crew members who have been on Getaway since 2014 - I think it says something that you have folks who choose to stay with one ship for multiple years.

 

EMBARKATION DAY:

We were up, dressed, repacked, breakfasted and waiting on our Uber by 9:30; the Uber driver had us at the port by 10, for another $27, and it was already a madhouse of cars and swirling crowds, leaving and arriving and fighting for space. I look forward to the new Norwegian terminal - hopefully, things will be smoother. We gave our suitcases over to the porter and took our spot in line to get into the terminal - it wasn't moving at all. Just as DH gave me that look - the one that says "I wanted to get here an hour ago but you took so long getting dressed and now I am starting to melt", and I gave him the other look - the one that says, "Hey, we are Haven, we don't want Vibe passes, and the ship isn't GOING anywhere until 4 so what is the rush?" - the line moved and we made our way in.

 

The first place that Haven status matters is the registration desk. For starters, it's closer - the first office area on the left, after you get past security. There is a banner above it that says "Haven", but I have heard that folks miss it. Ordinarily, you would go down a big wide hallway and line up at the check in counters that always remind me of the airport - but for Haven, you have a separate, smaller room with 2 clerks and a counter, and an equally large counter with snacks and beverages, across from couches and chairs and tables where you may wait in peace. The check-in is the same - show cruise docs and ID, give your credit card to be swiped, fill out the health forms, get your pic taken and get your cruise card in hand. Then you wait for a Haven escort, so you sip some OJ or eat a sandwich and then the escort will take you past the regular check in counter, straight to a special Haven waiting area, where there are more snacks and drinks.

 

As in 2016, the Haven waiting area was too small to hold all the Haven guests, so we spilled out into the surrounding area and had to really pay attention to make sure we didn't miss the Haven boarding notice. Around 11:30, we were escorted onto the ship - straight onto the ship, without a stop for the All Aboard picture, which I miss but which is apparently what you give up in order to be the first ones on the ship. We were escorted straight to an elevator and straight to the Haven on Deck 16 - and ahh, peace. Quiet. Soothing lighting, soft carpets, lush curtains, leather chairs with big cushions, the concierge desk and the bar. Miss Virginia, the Concierge, gathered the Haven guests together as servers began coming through the crowd with sliders and fries. She announced that our rooms weren't ready but if we wanted to drop anything off we were welcome to do so, and then have lunch either at the Haven restaurant or at Margaritaville, which just for today and just for Haven guests, was free (Margaritaville has just recently changed from a la carte to surcharge dining, and I had sadly marked it off my list because I wasn't going to pay $14.95 for nachos, as much as I love their Volcano Nachos.) So we did - dropped off the bags in the room, where steward Jeffrey and butler Gary were putting finishing touches on things, and headed for Margaritaville and some Volcano Nachos.

 

The rest of the day is a blur - the first day always is. We had our nachos and fish tacos and Zombies for me, Crown and Coke for DH, and then went back to the Haven bar to await the boat drill - when you've sailed on the ship before, there's less of an urge to wander the ship and see what it looks like, which is what we usually do on Embarkation Day. And when you are sailing in the Haven, you already know where your favorite bar and your preferred poolside or deckside chair is, so there's no urge to go anywhere else exploring. It's all there. A part of me misses the wandering around in the crowds and the crazy, but I have to admit, it's very, very nice and all the folks in the Haven are very, very friendly. We met some really wonderful folks on this trip.

 

THE HAVEN:

I've stayed in the Haven on Getaway and on Escape. (Side note: one theme for this trip is "Ship Confusion." I spent most of the trip thinking my last cruise was on Breakaway and not Escape - I guess if you've been on one megaship, you've seen them all?) Both Getaway and Escape have the same feel in the Haven: peace. It has been named appropriately - well done, NCL. On both ships, you enter the Haven and walk down a long hallway, pass the concierge desk (which is always staffed by helpful, efficient and soft-voiced folks), and step into the lobby - there are seating areas and couches for waiting, drinking, noshing or chatting. On the right, on both ships, there is a bar with about 8 stools, a tv, and a bar manager working with a competent - and always hustling - staff. Across from the bar will be the exit to the Haven pool, with tables and chairs, loungers, the works. As you pass through the pool area, you will find hot tubs, sauna, Haven-specific massage rooms; at the end, there will be stairs going up to another deck, where you will find a covered area with more loungers and chairs, and then if you go outside, you will reach the Haven sun deck - truly beautiful, on the front of the ship so you can see in all directions, with covered loungers and open loungers, bar service and snacks. (And smokers, which is one reason we didn't go up there - that and because it's very windy up there when the ship is moving, and because I am as white as a vampire and not a sun worshipper.) On both ships, there are 2 decks of rooms within the Haven; the difference seems to be in the placement of the restaurant. On Escape, the restaurant is upstairs; on Getaway, the restaurant is on the downstairs level, at the end of the bar. Escape has an elevator and stairs in the Haven, which I missed; on Getaway, you have to schlep up and down the stairs.

 

For DH, the highlight of the Haven is the bar - for me, it is the bar staff. The bar manager on Getaway is named Miroslav - he's from Bosnia, with a dry wit, a love of soccer (sorry, "football"), an encyclopedic, creative knowledge of mixed beverages, and a magical way of always keeping track of who is drinking what, and when they will need a refill. DH is not a creative bar patron - Crown and coke in a tall glass every time, and please keep it filled. Me? I like to play. I learned on Escape, with Mark and Branko, that the Haven has the best bar because they have mixologists, not just bartenders. A bartender will make a you a delicious drink; a mixologist will make you something new. (As a matter of fact, there is a new drink on the bar menu that was created by Mark for a contest - I had one and it was delicious.) Miroslav is no exception - he made me about 9 different concoctions during the cruise and they all were delicious. He is ably assisted by Diasha and Archie and a host of other crew members.

 

Our room: 15106, downstairs and down the hall almost all the way to the front of the ship. We didn't like the walk at first, but I think it was a plus - less traffic = less noise. The room was beautiful, as all Haven rooms are - walking in, you see the tv and console area, with a table and 2 chairs next to the balcony (our butler was apologetic about the size of the table, but it was fine.) The balcony is normally sized but comfortable, with 2 chairs and a side table; across from the dining table was a love seat that converts into a bed, then the king bed with 2 side tables. The bathroom was upscale, but not delightful. You enter the bathroom by passing between his and hers closets located on the right side of the bed; there is a heavy curtain that can be stretched in front of the closets and is necessary to block bathroom lighting from the eyes of anyone trying to sleep, since the light switch is outside the bathroom - you can't go in the bathroom and THEN turn on the light.

 

The bathroom is bigger than standard; the toilet room (inside a frosted glass enclosure on the right side) is the usual toilet, then there is a double sink with drawers in the vanity and the bathtub on the left side. It is truly a bathtub - not a walk in shower, but a standard garden tub like what you'd find at home, but with a rainshower on a cord and beautiful bronze and brown tiles. I hated it - the tub is raised a few inches above the bathroom floor, so you really have to hike your leg up to step in (I have stubby, short legs), and then when you get out, you must hold onto the handles and remember that your step down is a couple of inches longer than you might expect. I am amazed that nobody falls getting out of the tub.

 

Our butler was Gary, who was helpful, kind and friendly, and always on point with the snacks. Our steward was Jeffrey, who was friendly and kept the room in very good shape. The Haven restaurant was top notch - we ate lunch there once and dinner twice, and from service to dessert we were delighted.

 

EXCURSIONS:

Kohunlich and Dzibanche tour - Costa Maya: the itinerary for the trip was reversed from the usual, and our first stop was Costa Maya. We visited Costa Maya in 2011 and did a day tour at Maya Chan - I enjoyed Maya Chan (if not the sea grass), but the port and town themselves were undeveloped and poor. 7 years later, it's a different world entirely - the port has been built into a huge complex that is nearly indistinguishable from other ports, with shopping and dining, zoos, and zip lines.

 

Since we are not true beach people - I love the beach but hate the sun, and DH hates water unless it's in ice cubes - I decided Costa Maya would be our best change to visit Mayan ruins. Kohunlich/Dzibanche are off the beaten path, and are lesser visited ruins than some others - I hoped to get a feel for ruins without being swamped by tourists.

 

It's a long day, and I would never, ever do this tour without booking it through the ship - we left at 8:30 am and got back to the ship after the all aboard time. (After all-aboard, the port is a ghost town.) We boarded a comfortable bus just outside the gates of the port and met our very knowledgeable guide, Ricardo, who gave us some background on the Mayan culture as we drove. And we drove a lot - 2 1/2 hours to Dzibanche. I took a nap. Dzibanche was quiet, and huge - Ricardo moved us more quickly than I'd have liked through different temples, but we didn't have the time to do everything or see everything and still make it back to the ship. That said, there were only a few tour groups going through, so there were no crowds, and you are allowed to climb anywhere you would like on the temples, and see everything that you can. I have since read that in the better known ruins, you aren't allowed that kind of access. After Dzibanche, we drove about 30 minutes to Kohunlich, which is in a completely different style from Dzibanche and even bigger - the size of the complexes amazed me the most, even as I realized that they aren't fully excavated. We had about an hour and a half at each site, with Ricardo walking us from spot to spot and giving us interesting information and answering questions - he was a great guide. It was another 2 1/2 hours back to port after Kohunlich.

 

If you take this tour, eat breakfast and take bug spray and sunscreen. They give you water (2 1/2 bottles) and snacks and lunch - a very tiny ham and cheese sandwich, which you eat on the bus between Dzibanche and Kohunlich. I got bitten by a mosquito before I put on my bug spray. You can shoot video or use a Go Pro but only if you pay a $4 charge at the entry gates, and you may take as many pictures as you like. If you want to see excavated and well-maintained ruins without hordes of people in your way, this is the tour - at one point, I wandered a little bit away from the group and was by myself in a forest of palm trees and ruins.

 

This is not the tour for folks with mobility issues, bad knees, or big guts - the bus was comfortable but a tight squeeze for a bigger person, and after 6-odd hours driving through Mexico (also fascinating to see, especially since you pass through several towns and over many speed bumps) followed by 3 hours of climbing tons of stairs, DH nearly threw his back out.

 

Harvest Caye: We got up that next morning and ate breakfast in the buffet (we don't like to wait for table service for breakfast - we're hungry!) We could see Harvest Caye and it looked really nice. And hot. And that walk down the pier looked long. We looked at each other and said, "I don't want to get off the boat." So we didn't - we skipped Harvest Caye entirely, and spent the day lazing around in the Haven, talking to folks and learning about soccer - sorry, "football." I can't tell you diddly about Harvest Caye, but I can tell you that I like a Kir Royale.

 

Roatan: I made a reservation for Little French Key, which looked like a nice day if it didn't rain, and since they didn't make me put down a deposit, it was perfect. Thanks to the awesome dock-pulverizing skills of the MSC Armonia the day before, the port in Roatan was closed the day we were due to arrive, and we went to Belize City instead.

 

Belize: Kudos to NCL for being able to organize excursions on the fly - they had about 12 hours to put some together before we arrived in Belize City. Or rather, we arrived outside Belize City - we had to tender into the port, which was a first for me and showed me why cruise lines don't like to tender passengers. Thanks to the spinal fusion in December, DH and I are leery of things that might joggle me around, which means he wouldn't let me book the really fun things like zip lines or rafting - so for Belize, I booked a beach day and we spent several hours at a (man-made?) island called Starfish Island. It's a little hair-raising, getting on to a tender: the tender boat pulls up next to the ship, the ship sticks a walkway off the side, and you time your step/jump off the ship and onto the tender so that you don't end up in the water getting squished. There are nice sailors on either side of you as you do this, and they're paying really careful attention to everything, which gives you a hint that in tendering, sometimes there are surprises.

 

That said, we lived. Our tender took us on about a 40 minute ride into the Belizean waters, which were just beautiful. Starfish Island doesn't have a beach proper - it looks to be in a channel between different mangrove forests, with white, hard-packed sand that looks like finely pulverized shells. There are beach areas where you can walk into the water, but the bottom feels more like a lake bottom than a beach bottom - it gives a bit, and it's a bit squishy. I recommend water shoes.

 

Because we were not a scheduled stop, Starfish Island was empty when we arrived - we were the first, so for about 3 hours there were maybe 30 of us on the island. It was a quiet, peaceful, warm, sunny morning spent on loungers under palm trees, reading and listening to water rushing between us and the mangroves across the channel. They have bar service (drinks were unexceptional after a couple of days with Miroslav - I only had 1, as a courtesy), gift shop, and food (we skipped lunch although it sounded tasty - DH works in food service in the States, and is leery of anybody's "home cooking".) Starfish Island is named because they have a protected area with, yep, starfish and you can walk in it, touch them, and pick them up for a short period. There were also conch in the pond, and those suckers are heavy (and ugly when they come out of the shell. I cannot fathom how desperate the first person was who ate a conch fritter.) We left Starfish Island around 2, just as a huge catamaran was pulling up from another ship, and the timing was perfect. It was an enjoyable day.

 

Cozumel: DH thought I was nuts when I told him I booked us a cooking excursion - "why do you want to cook on vacation and you hate cooking at home?" Any mom could have told him - because they will feed me margaritas and clean up for me afterwards, duh. And also because after we eat, we get the afternoon at the beach with free drinks, duh. Anyway, we hopped on a bus and went to Playa Mia beach club, which I will DEFINITELY be visiting again. We spent the afternoon cooking with Chef Luis, who was a hoot and a half and needs his own TV show here in the States. DH learned how to decorate with chocolate and sear a mean grouper, and this was my favorite excursion of the whole cruise. After the cooking, there is the eating, and then you have the rest of the time to explore and use the amenities of Playa Mia - DH didn't want to go to the beach because SOMEBODY didn't wear sunscreen on Starfish Island and had the Mother of All Sunburns (not me), so we spent the rest of our time sitting in the shade chatting with fellow cruisers - still a very good day. DH was also delighted to find Crown Royal in the port shops for a very good price, and was able to get a real Coke after too many days of Pepsi, so Cozumel was a win all around.

 

The Last Sea Day - Behind the Scenes Ship Tour: I'd been wanting to take this tour and finally did - it was fascinating. You don't get to see the bridge or engine room (for safety and security reasons), but we got a history of NCL (they really are the standard bearers for the current cruise industry!) and then we went pretty much everywhere else - backstage into dressing rooms for the shows, through the galley mid-breakfast with a complimentary picture, into the ship's stores and freezer (10 degrees is cold!! - who needs the Ice Bar?), down the crew hallway (they call it I-95 and it's just that straight and just that busy), through Environmental (trash!) and the Laundry (I need that sheet folding machine.) It was a little pricey for what you get, and a lot of walking - not for people who can't do a lot of stairs or balance on wet/greasy floors (no, not unusual - you go into a busy commercial kitchen whose floors don't give you the willies, and I'll bet you it's closed.) I don't need to do it again, but I'm glad I did it the once.

 

I'm going to stop here and post restaurants/summing up/disembarkation for one last page.

Edited April 29, 2018 by CruzinMel

[CruzinMel]

I am interested in your review as well; Getaway was my first NCL cruise. But if you don't mind, a relative of mine just had spinal fusion surgery, would you mind telling me how long your recovery was? Did you have physical therapy?

 

Hi Helen - I don't mind sharing - I had a fusion of C5 and C6 in early December, and my ortho doc is happy with my recovery so far - but he won't start me on PT because he wants me to continue to fuse. I'm young-ish (47) and healthy, so I'm a little frustrated with not starting PT yet - I have a (hopefully unrelated) shoulder issue to work on and I'm having to wait.

 

 

The only real thing I'd like to work on in PT, as far as the fusion, is regaining some flexibility in my neck - it is stiff and I don't have a good range of motion for looking over my shoulder, etc (driving is good, but a pain in the butt because I'm turning my body more than my neck - safety first!)

 

I will say that I am thankful every day that I had the fusion - the pain was incredible, and it is gone. I hope your relative has a speedy and full recovery! Is there anything else you'd like to know?

[CruzinMel]

Made me lol with the comment regarding your mom and the butler!

 

 

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She LOVED him. He catered to her as if she were a queen, and I think he'd have done it even if she hadn't given him a tip the day they met and the day they parted. She swore she'd never marry again after my dad passed, but that butler was tempting.

[CruzinMel]

I knew I'd love your review when I read your comment about your Mom and the Haven butler. lol. Can't wait to hear the rest of your report. We are going on the Getaway in July. It will be our second trip on her. We always stay there at the Blue Lagoon Hampton Inn pre cruise. I'm nervous about the Sunday- Sunday departure as we have only done Saturday- Saturday as well. Do you mind to share what time your flight left on Sunday morning and what time you were off the ship?

 

Our flight out was booked for 12:40 and I was a little nervous, but we did self-walkoff at 8:30, and we were at the airport with bags checked before 9:30 - it helped that while I was digging around to get my phone for the Uber, DH was approached by a van headed to the airport that had exactly 2 empty spots left - we didn't wait any time at all for a ride to the airport.

 

I think the worst part is that I didn't get to the grocery store or catch up on the laundry until the next weekend.

[CruzinMel]

RESTAURANTS:

There are reviews and YouTube videos that can tell/show you about the restaurants a lot better than I can, so I'm not spending much time here. Everywhere we ate was delicious, including the buffet. My chief complaint on my Escape cruise was that I never had one meal, start to finish, that was good - there would be a great app but lackluster main, or great main and blah dessert. On Getaway, I loved everything I ate. We never ate in any of the MDRs or O'Sheehan's, although we did see the menus for all of them and pics of what the plates should look like when we did the galley tour. . . The funny part was that while we had no quibbles with the food, some of our fellow diners were less than enjoyable.

 

Moderno: Pork loin and filet mignon and picanha, oh my! That roasted pineapple itself makes the trip worthwhile and I'm glad I ate it because I was too full for dessert. Meat lover's paradise - 'Nuff said. Some folks have complained that it was too salty, but I had no issues with seasoning or temperature. (Quibble #1: it was loud. There was a table of about 15 next to us, and the more they drank, the louder they got - to the point that we quit trying to talk to each other and just ate. I was glad they were having fun. Quibble #2: we sat in the window with a view down to Tropicana below, and I was hoping for dancing. Instead, I got 3 little kids wrestling for 45 minutes. Folks, if your kids can't get through dinner without having a wrestling match on a dance floor in front of a couple hundred people. . . I can't help you, but please don't have any more, because clearly you don't know what to do with the ones you've already birthed.)

 

Cagney's: I had somehow reserved Cagney's twice, but cancelled and switched one of them to La Cucina when we boarded. DH and I had surf and turf which was cooked to perfection - really a very, very nice filet. My app was the pork belly and oh, my porky heaven. It was almost too much, actually - I was glad the app was small because if I'd have had much more I'd have been overwhelmed. The garnish is a honey-soy drizzle that was perfection. We were too full for dessert, but the server offered to HAVE IT SENT TO OUR ROOM! This wasn't just a Haven thing, either - I had overheard her offering it to other people. So, about an hour later, a semi-warm raspberry creme brulee was delivered to the room, and I ate it with a spoon. It was delicious. (Quibble: kids, again. I was going to offer to hold the screaming baby across the room, but I got distracted by the 4 year old making laps around his family's table in the middle. Fortunately, his mother corralled him, handed him a cell phone and threw a blanket over his head - he quieted down as if he were a parrot and we didn't hear another squawk out of him. The wrestlers from before were back at Tropicana, but got run off the dance floor by 2 mothers with toddlers, who at least were dancing with their own kids.)

 

La Cucina: We ate at La Cucina on Harvest Caye day. As a result, it's a gentle, fuzzy memory of excellent company, good food and chatting with 2 ship's officers who walked past our table and greeted us - it turns out they were bar and restaurant management, and we know this because they had snacks sent to our room with their card the next day. Hopefully they liked whatever we told them. I believe I had osso bucco, but only because it's what I always order at La Cucina, and it's always good. (Quibble: not a dang thing.)

 

The Garden Buffet: I like buffets, when they are done well. I like the choices, the variety, the ability to show up at any time, get exactly what I want and not have to wait for someone to bring it to me. I like trying new things, and not feeling bad if I don't like them (I'm talking to you, Salmon Mousse with capers.) I like surprises, like having a perfect prime rib at a buffet - who does that?? I could cut it with my spoon!. And I like things I can rely on, such as muesli (ah, my beloved muesli, which I have tried to duplicate and cannot because clearly NCL puts crack in it on the ship and I don't have any crack at home.) I enjoyed the buffet each time, and I was pleased with the selection, taste and service. (Quibble #1: I did not, however, enjoy the pre-teen boys at the buffet who were chasing each other barefooted around the large table in front of DH and myself and one solo lady with a book, early one afternoon (I think it was after we got back from Starfish Island). One young man was holding a mustard-covered flip flop, chasing another one; the Book Lady got exasperated with them and said something, which prompted me to go all Southern Mama on their cheeky behinds ("But what should I do about this mustard?" "Clean it up and roll on, young man, because this is not the appropriate place to be waving it around." "Should I eat it?" "No, you should LEAVE.") Another time, we got treated to a sparkling chorus of F Bombs from a different group of marauding preteens - what do their parents do with them, I wonder? Is it like The Lord of the Flies, but on a ship? Quibble #2: there was no cream of cauliflower soup. Where did the cream of cauliflower soup go??)

 

Dolce Gelato: I love Gelato. I even love it when I am standing aft and it melts and runs down my shirt. Gelato is love. Gelato is life. If I had gelato and museli every day, the world would be a better place.

 

Haven Restaurant: covered on the prior page, but . . . oh, my. Scallops: divine. Lamb Chops: made me want to gnaw on the bones, but I was embarrassed and couldn't figure out how to sneak them to my room. Butternut squash soup: want now. Sea bass - DH hates most fish; he recommends the sea bass. Shrimp: DH had 3 apps of shrimp in 1 meal, followed by surf and turf. Bouillabaise. . . um, no, but I'm glad I tried it.

 

SHOWS:

Unfortunately, we missed Burn the Floor, because I booked it at 10 but we thought it was at 9, it was Dzibanche and Kohunlich day, and we were tired. Dangit. We saw it in 2014 and it was awesome. We did see the costumes, and boy, those dancers are tiny!

 

Million Dollar Quartet was the only show we made, and it was fantastic - the crowd took some time to warm up, but Jerry Lee stole the show and got everybody dancing. I did not realize until later that the lady in the show is wearing a really good wig - we saw that on the BTS tour too.

 

I had meant to see both Wine Lovers: The Musical and Cirque Dreams and Steam on the last sea day, but the BTS tour overlapped with Wine Lovers (plus, DH doesn't like wine that much) and I forgot about Cirque until after we sat down in the Haven restaurant with some of the folks we'd met at the bar. Oh, darn. I will have to take another cruise on Getaway. Darn. That's just awful. . . but I am prepared for the sacrifice.

 

Nightlife: I'll be honest, we were bums. We had plans to be out and about and partying, but either we fell asleep early or the places we went weren't hopping. (To wit - we went to Bliss on the night of the Glow party, and it was dead. So we went to bed.) We aren't party animals, I guess. We never saw a comedy show or Howl at the Moon. . . so I guess, when we have to cruise on Getaway to make up for missing all those shows, we'll do nightlife too.

 

Casino: DH likes to play craps, and I like to drink while he plays craps, plus I enjoy this silly machine they have where you buy tokens and feed them into the machine until they pile up and push other tokens or prizes out a slot at the bottom. DH had no luck in the casino - the tables and games were all tight as far as we could tell - and I fed the silly machine $25 and won a quarter that somebody had put in it by accident. Really, we aren't gamblers, if you can't tell.

 

Randomness: we almost bought some jewelry for Mom, who was at home recovering from a hospital stay, but never fell in love enough to seal the deal. DH found a better price on his booze in Cozumel, so we didn't make our usual ship purchase. We got snockered the first day and signed up for weeklong spa passes we didn't really want; concierge Virginia helped us cancel them on the first sea day, but NCL would not refund 1 day of passes because well, we might have used them. We are since resolved never to go in the spa if we are tipsy, because we basically donated $120 to NCL. It took 4 days for the rest of the spa charges to come off, so you have to pay attention to your bill. I also somehow got charged for a $28 glass of champagne I didn't drink or order on Harvest Caye day - we got that taken off, too. If I have a $28 glass of champagne, by golly, I want to know it going in and remember it afterwards. We were invited to 2 cocktail parties with the Captain (1 for Haven guests, 1 for Latitudes) and didn't make either; I'd have liked to meet the Captain, but we just forgot.

 

DISEMBARKATION DAY:

That sad day arrived. . . sigh. The TA had arranged with NCL for a ship transfer to the airport, and Gary delivered our red luggage tags mid-cruise. We read the instructions, and realized that the transfer means you put your luggage out the night before, retrieve it from a porter, schlep it to a bus yourself, and get driven to the airport. Well, we are fairly independent - why am I going to give my luggage to a porter when I can push it myself? So we ditched that part and did self-walkoff. That also gave us more time to play on the last sea day, and let us put as much in the suitcases as we could. (We ended up having to take some things OUT of the suitcases when we got to the airport, because DH put too much in his suitcase and it was overweight. I just squeaked by.) Then, when DH heard the word "bus", he rebelled utterly and refused to consider one more bus. So, we ditched the transfer, too.

 

Embarkation morning was simple: we dressed, packed, and breakfasted in the buffet (sadly, the options were rather curtailed; I had enjoyed muesli and eggs benedict and ham every day, but on embarkation day they only have scrambled eggs. Oh, the agony.) We took our time in the buffet, until we heard the call for self-walkoff passengers - then we went back to the cabin, did a final check, and rolled the suitcases to the Haven lobby. Immediately, a member of the concierge staff escorted us to an elevator, down to Concierge Virginia at the gangway, swiped our cards and poof - we were off the ship. No lines - Haven makes it easy.

 

A note about tips: In the Haven, we leave cash tips for our butler, steward, concierge - anybody who helps you out. For us, that means bar, but I was foolish and didn't give it to them the night before like I should have, and DH didn't think about it. We left it with Concierge Virginia in an envelope, which didn't feel right but I guess it worked. So we could have done that better.

 

Customs was very zippy; in times past, we had to fill out the little green slips of paper, but the rules have changed and we didn't have to. We were off early enough that there was no line; the customs agent scrutinized our passports very closely, and then we were through.

 

We were off the ship by about 8:30 am; we were just looking for the Uber pickup place, standing at the dropoff while vans full of tour groups were loading up while I dug for my phone, when one of those van drivers approached DH and the next thing I knew we were the last 2 passengers in a van headed to the airport. We were at the Delta curbside check in before I blinked, and I had my boarding pass for my 12:40 flight before 9:30 - and then had 3 hours to kill at the airport. Thank God I had a book.

 

(Side note - we were spoiled - we were looking for an open bar at 10 am, when we realized we weren't on the ship anymore, Toto.)

 

The flight home was slightly turbulent but otherwise uneventful, and Atlanta was COLD.. . . and the next day, we went back to work.

 

I am dreaming of my next cruise already. . . :p

[richstowe]

Great review . Looking forward to my way too far in the future Getaway cruise .

A question on the upgrade bidding process . You wrote "I bid in the fair to poor range on a Haven penthouse suite, bid poorly on a garden villa and a Haven spa cabin, and bid in the good range on a mini-suite" . So you can make bids for different cabin classes ? Are these all done with separate bids ?

Thanks for clarifying .

[CruzinMel]

Great review . Looking forward to my way too far in the future Getaway cruise .

A question on the upgrade bidding process . You wrote "I bid in the fair to poor range on a Haven penthouse suite, bid poorly on a garden villa and a Haven spa cabin, and bid in the good range on a mini-suite" . So you can make bids for different cabin classes ? Are these all done with separate bids ?

Thanks for clarifying .

 

I was able to submit separate bids on different cabin categories on the one page - it looks like they start you out at the cabin category above yours and go up. So, when I signed into the website, it showed me the different categories I was able to bid on and I submitted something for each category except the Deluxe Owner's Suite, because. . . well, even an optimist knows when something is impossible. (Does that make more sense? I'd put up a snip, but the site is no longer active for me.)

[spielbank]

Thanks for the great review! I appreciate the info regarding the dailies. We want to book dinners but not conflict with the shows and this helps:)

[ljrfrm]

Ah, I've been waiting for this!!! You know I am jealous of your Haven!!!!!

 

The big question is..........Did you do the dropslide?? :)

[Just Jo]

What a great read! We're on Getaway this October. Thanks for taking the time to share.

[CruzinMel]

Ah, I've been waiting for this!!! You know I am jealous of your Haven!!!!!

 

The big question is..........Did you do the dropslide?? :)

No slides, sadly - and I even had the proper suit for it!! I mentioned it to DH and he looked at me like I was nuts, brushed his fingers gently across the scar on my neck, and quietly informed me I had lost my mind. Sigh...overprotective husbands, what can you do?

 

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[BostonGal35]

this is great, thanks! Getaway is currently our least fave ship in the fleet. We are trying her again in september from the Haven. while we've sailed in suites a few times, this is going to be our first mega ship Haven and we cant wait for that bar and dedicated restaurant!

[fsa1155]

Love your review. We are going to be on the Getaway in September. We're booked into a Haven Spa Suite. First time on NCL for us. Thanks for all the info. :-)

[ljrfrm]

No slides, sadly - and I even had the proper suit for it!! I mentioned it to DH and he looked at me like I was nuts, brushed his fingers gently across the scar on my neck, and quietly informed me I had lost my mind. Sigh...overprotective husbands, what can you do?

 

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Hahaha!! I'm bound and determined to someday make it down in my tankini! :)

 

I asked the question before I read about your surgery.....yes - it is good that this time you skipped the slide.

[jdvmd]

Thanks!