"Royal" Couple Takes a Getaway on The Getaway (3/1/20-3/8/20)

[MrsKC08]

On 3/26/2020 at 6:39 PM, luvcruzing said:

Why?  What was the hold up?

 

And Happy Birthday!!!  🎉🍾🥂

Well, they took us to a different part of the ship to get off, not to the stairs that we used when we got on. So, they filtered people off from the top (we were on the bottom) and with people who had mobility issues...it cause quite a snag. Not quite sure why they put us off at the other spot as opposed to the double stairs they use when we got on. There wasn't a tender at the stairs. 

 

And thanks for the birthday wishes.

 

On 3/27/2020 at 2:28 PM, jaxw17 said:

I am following and loving it some of the place that you have been were some of the ones that we should have been going to. I had to cancel because of a bust foot. The cruise went ahead but only did a week and not stopping anywhere then came home. Was not meant to be. Loving looking at some of those places  

So sorry that you had to cancel, but you probably wouldn't have been able to truly enjoy yourself with the foot. At least I know I wouldn't have. I did see some people with boots on their feet during our cruise and I couldn't help but wonder if they were really enjoying themselves. But, at the end of the day a cruise is much better than sitting at home or at the office.

 

On 3/27/2020 at 11:05 PM, IRMO12HD said:

Thanks for doing the review!  We are (most probably) not going to be able to experience the Norwegian Bliss (April 19 Panama Canal sailing NYC-Seattle), which would have been our first NCL experience, so I'm really enjoying your descriptions.  

Hi there. Sorry that there was a delay in my review. As you can imagine...the world is crazy right now and I've been dealing with work and home life issues. BUT...I'm back to finish! Thanks for coming by.

[MrsKC08]

I'm back guys, and I hope you forgive me for having such a delay in this review. Covid-19 has taken over everything around the world it seems, and life has been crazy in our little world. But...I'm back and hope to get the last two days wrapped up today and tomorrow.

 

Day 6 happened to be my favorite stop of the cruise. Costa Maya!

 

Our plans for today was to spend the morning/early afternoon at Tropicante. We contacted Steve through email to request two loungers in shade to be reserved for us and quickly got a response back from him. It took us a little bit to find the "exit" from the port area to get a yellow taxi, but it was a quick ride to Tropicante. I was impressed when they knew who we were upon our arrival. Of course, my hubby said they must have overheard me call my husband's name when we got out of the taxi. Either way, it was a nice touch to be addressed by name.

 

They took us to our loungers and gave us the WiFi password. I will say though, the WiFi didn't work at our loungers, and I had to go closer to the "restaurant" to get a decent signal. But that was ok. We were happy with our location...

 

 

 

There was plenty of shade and a nice breeze blowing. Since we were the only ship in port at the time we got there, it was not crowded at all! Nice and quiet and a great place to relax. The only negative about the whole thing was the constant locals coming around trying to sell different things from sun glasses, to jewelry, to hats and more! It seemed to be every 5 minutes or more. We kindly said "no thank you" and they moved on...but it was a repetitive thing and became a nuisance for sure.

 

The drinks were good, and the fish tacos were delicious!

 

 

After lunch, we requested a taxi to take us back to the port. I wanted to do some shopping and look around before we had to be back onboard...which was an early 1:30pm all aboard time! 😞 

[Miffy2003]

Loving this review! We sailed out of NOLA on the Getaway Feb 2nd so I have loved every minute of your trip report so far. 

[MrsKC08]

I was thoroughly impressed with just the port area of Costa Maya. Had I known what there was available right there when you get off the ship, I wouldn't have booked Tropicante. I would have reserved a lounger there by the pool/bar/restaurant area and stayed right there. I'm not sure the cost, but there was a dolphin experience right in the port area. We enjoyed just watching the dolphins do tricks and play. 

 

 

 

I kept seeing these suspended bridges above us, and I really wanted to find out how to get up there. I could tell that my husband was getting a little frustrated following me around like we were in a maze as I kept looking above me. But...boy, was is really worth the effort to find it. There is a beautiful aviary floating above all the buildings and shops. It was $12 per person and they give you a little cup of seed so you can feed the birds. It was truly the highlight of our entire day, and probably the entire cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toward the end of walking through the aviary, someone comes and snaps several photos. We had several digital photos emailed to us for $20! Best souvenir of the cruise, I think....oh, maybe the coffee in Honduras is a close second?!

 

 

[MrsKC08]

After our fun time with the birds, we ran into a few more as we walked the shops...

 

I mean seriously...who couldn't spend the day just hanging around this port area?

 

 

 

It really stinks that we had such a short visit at this port. So short in fact, that there were 8 people who were left at Costa Maya because they missed the "all aboard" time. 

 

Once back on the ship, we grabbed a quick lunch in the Garden Cafe and then made our way to the cabin to relax a bit before it was time for dinner and some evening fun. Dinner tonight was in Taste or Savor. To be honest, I don't quite remember. But this was the night of the Glow party in Spice H20 as well.

 

After dinner we spent some time in the Atrium watching the Perfect Couple Game Show. This is quite fun, but again...another event that should be held in the theater and not the atrium...in my opinion. Shows like this always draw a crowd and it would be so much better if it wasn't right in the middle of the atrium.

 

Once that was over, we made our way to the Glow Party up on deck in Spice H20. Lots of fun, lots of people in attendance, unlike our November cruise on Harmony for the White Out party. This was definitely fun for all.

 

 

But then it was bed time. One more day...a sea day and then it was back to reality.

 

Our last day was very relaxing, and sad...as they always are. Not much to report for that, other than we met some amazing people on this cruise who we feel will be friends for a very long time.

 

 

 

 

 

Daily_Day6.pdf

 

Daily_Day7.pdf

[notladjr]

Thank you for the great review. Like you we mostly cruise Royal Caribbean although we have enjoyed HAL, Celebrity, and have a 2021 cruise booked on the new Carnival Mardi Gras. We have one prior experience cruising with NCL. It was 12 years ago and while nothing terrible happened on the cruise (Hawaii to CA) it just didn't click with us and we have never cruised with them again - until now. Having read some good things about their newer / bigger ships (other than Epic which is an epic failure in design) and tempted by all of the free at seas offers I just booked us a 14 night transatlantic crossing on Getaway for April 2022 to replace the land trip to England we were supposed to do this August 2020 for our 40th wedding anniversary. We also are supposed to be on Harmony of the Seas before the Getaway cruise as we are booked on Harmony for Dec 6, 2020 but I will be surprised if that really happens. We also are from the Nashville area, we live in Murfreesboro! Glad that you enjoyed your cruise on Getaway as after  I booked I then checked Cruise Critic passenger reviews and was shocked how bad they are. Of particular concern is seeing many complaints about waiting for hours to get off the ship at ports of call. Depending on the price I may have to splurge for that priorty access you had. We normally also book inside cabins because we like that you can sleep late or take a nap during the day in total darkness AND the cost savings is usually enormous. Our Getaway cruise is for our 40th so I am splurging for a mini suite. Hopefully going back to an inside cabin afterwards won't be too traumatic! LOL

[MrsKC08]

12 hours ago, notladjr said:

Thank you for the great review. Like you we mostly cruise Royal Caribbean although we have enjoyed HAL, Celebrity, and have a 2021 cruise booked on the new Carnival Mardi Gras. We have one prior experience cruising with NCL. It was 12 years ago and while nothing terrible happened on the cruise (Hawaii to CA) it just didn't click with us and we have never cruised with them again - until now. Having read some good things about their newer / bigger ships (other than Epic which is an epic failure in design) and tempted by all of the free at seas offers I just booked us a 14 night transatlantic crossing on Getaway for April 2022 to replace the land trip to England we were supposed to do this August 2020 for our 40th wedding anniversary. We also are supposed to be on Harmony of the Seas before the Getaway cruise as we are booked on Harmony for Dec 6, 2020 but I will be surprised if that really happens. We also are from the Nashville area, we live in Murfreesboro! Glad that you enjoyed your cruise on Getaway as after  I booked I then checked Cruise Critic passenger reviews and was shocked how bad they are. Of particular concern is seeing many complaints about waiting for hours to get off the ship at ports of call. Depending on the price I may have to splurge for that priorty access you had. We normally also book inside cabins because we like that you can sleep late or take a nap during the day in total darkness AND the cost savings is usually enormous. Our Getaway cruise is for our 40th so I am splurging for a mini suite. Hopefully going back to an inside cabin afterwards won't be too traumatic! LOL

Aww, thanks for the nice comment. We also have the Mardi Gras booked for next year, early (February)...hoping there isn't more of a delay on the delivery, but so far it seems ok. I check often with our TA and Carnival boards. We love Harmony and have actually been eyeing a sailing on her the week after Thanksgiving this year (our favorite week to cruise). Of course, we've also looked at another NCL cruise out of Nola that week too... I'm definitely ready to get on board a ship soon but at this point, who knows when that will actually occur.

I think you will love the Getaway. We went in with an open mind, because of all the somewhat negative reviews we saw...but it was easily in our top 5 cruises. The food blew RCCL out of the water for sure. I would probably do the priority access again, especially with any port that has a tender.

[Sand and Seas]

4 hours ago, MrsKC08 said:

Aww, thanks for the nice comment. We also have the Mardi Gras booked for next year, early (February)...hoping there isn't more of a delay on the delivery, but so far it seems ok. I check often with our TA and Carnival boards. We love Harmony and have actually been eyeing a sailing on her the week after Thanksgiving this year (our favorite week to cruise). Of course, we've also looked at another NCL cruise out of Nola that week too... I'm definitely ready to get on board a ship soon but at this point, who knows when that will actually occur.

I think you will love the Getaway. We went in with an open mind, because of all the somewhat negative reviews we saw...but it was easily in our top 5 cruises. The food blew RCCL out of the water for sure. I would probably do the priority access again, especially with any port that has a tender.

The Getaway has always been a favorite with us too! 

Thanks for your detailed and informative review.  Great Pics!

[Von & John]

Thanks for your Review...

When I first opened it, I thought you had completed it just recently 🙂 

Then I saw the date & realized why I had missed it the first time around...

Happy someone else posted on it in the past 24 hours & I had a chance to review now!

Great Review - Truly Enjoyed

Cheers  --  Von

Edited July 2, 2020 by Von & John