Live from the Getaway. London - Copenhagen 8-18 May 2022

[argyll1881]

So following on from YVRteacher's brilliant Live from the Jewel thread I thought I'd see if anyone is interested in the Getaway heading to Copenhagen. 

 

 

This is only my second cruise so my comments will be more as a newcomer to the cruising world and might be less of an interest to seasoned cruisers. I'm also treating the trip as a relaxing break from work and don't have any excursions planned; just using the ship itself as the destination. 

 

If people find my comments too mundane then I might not continue but we'll see how it goes and hopefully this is of some help, particularly for first time cruisers. 

 

So, here goes:

 

Essentially the boarding process was a complete fiasco. My boarding time was 9 in the morning and being the enthusiastic creature that I am, with perhaps a little bit of my ex military background still existing in me, I turned up at 10 to 9. Somebody in a yellow jacket told my taxi driver to take me to the far end of the terminal and drop me off at a painted rhino which was sitting on the pavement. I stood there for about 15 minutes and realised that nobody else was coming to join me so I wandered down to the terminal when I was told to go into the terminal boarding and, Street dither 19-15 minutes stood aimlessly, I asked dinnertime with a lanyard who died thatluggage wouldn’t start being taken until 10 and check-in wouldn’t start until 10:30. 

 

I stood around for a while and chatted to other people who equally didn’t know what was going on and finally somebody said that luggage was to be dropped outside the terminal building. A few people I was standing with moved out there and found a line had already started.  Finally we got to check our bags in and then weren’t told where to go but somebody saw a line further down the pavement and we joined it with the blind optimism that it wasn't a bunch of oenetratiin who had just got off ! We were finally allowed into the terminal building at 9:50 but then check-in itself didn’t start until about 10:10. Once it opened it was fairly smooth sailing and we moved through the check-in line where they checked our vaccination status as well as our lateral flow test which had to be within 72 hours but if you had both of those there was no need to take a quayside test.

 

I was placed in boarding group one but they seemed to have missed the fact that I was priority boarding until a member of staff walked past me and said to somebody sitting on the seat next to me whether they were priority. They said no but I spoke up and said that I was and was told I could board .

 

I don’t believe any of this was particularly NCL's fault but more to do with the Southampton dock staff although NCL shouldn’t allow people to have a check-in time of 9 o’clock unless they know that the check-in is going to be open then. 

 

Anyway, that’s enough of that.  I ended up being the fourth person on the ship and from that moment on everything has been very professional. I think I’ve walked about 5 miles exploring various decks and getting myself lost on a couple of occasions. The atrium bar by guest services was a popular spot and I ended up sitting with a couple of American ladies and having a good chat as one tends to do when on vacation.  They were very seamed travelers and offered some advice about things that were worth doing on the ship. 

 

The state rooms weren’t ready yet so I checked out various venues on the ship, visited the Box Office to book for the shows that are on this week and also bought a vibe pass. I went up to the vibe deck and was literally the only person there so I expect that I probably didn’t need to spend the money.  Guest Services told me that we are sailing with between 1500 and 1600 passengers which is obviously far down from the ship's capacity.

 

My bags arrived to the cabin quite late which was absolutely fine and the cabin itself I think is excellent. I had originally booked an inside cabin and then about a month ago booked myself a balcony for Ann extra fee. At the last minute I put an upgrade bid for a club balcony room which I won with a minimum bid of £60. The room is very well sized and there is tons of storage. The only issue I have is that there are only plugs by the desk area and nothing by the bed itself. As I use a CPAP machine, I will have to have a cable running across the room at night time. I also discovered that my converter plug and then my USB plug into it are too heavy for the socket and I’ve had to prop them up with some of the water that I bought and a hand sanitiser bottle. In the future I would bring a massive extension cord so that I could run it around the walls of the cabin to the bed. 

 

I had read somewhere that they weren’t enough hangers in the rooms but I thought they were more than enough with probably about 20 in my cabin.

 

I visited O'Sheehab's at one point for lunch and the food came out quick, hot and tasty and latterly I have visited the buffet which seems to be very good with options to suit all palates. There are two sides to the buffet but only one is open; I don’t know if that is just because it’s sailing day or if it’s because of the reduced capacity and it will never open.

 

Other than that it’s been an excellent first day. We have just departed at about 6 o’clock which is two hours later than scheduled  but once on board of course nothing really matters that much. 

 

Some of us in the line at the terminal joked that they were intentionally trying to make us are stressed as possible so that when we go on board and relaxed it would seem that the relaxation of the ship was even greater than it might be. I suspect that might be a little bit more planning that is the case in reality !

[argyll1881]

[kjunea]

I look forward to reading more of your review!  We will board her on 5 June!

[The Shrike]

Yep, keep 'em coming.  We'll be on the Getaway for the first time in January.

[4 cruisers]

So nice of you to post!  We are on Pride of America in July (Covid shut down our cruise on April 23rd, so I appreciate vicariously !  Your room looks great!  I hope everything is awesome!

 

[geleisen]

I am on the Getaway in June, so definitely keen to follow your posts! 

[Happycrafter123]

Thank you!  I will be on this ship out of Copenhagen in early June so very curious on all items.

 

good tip about the plug ins and thank you for the number of hangers that is always something I need to know about.

 

if you are able to update us on the facilities — is there still mini golf or did they take it away?  Are there still bowling lanes in the pub or not?

 

 

are you a wine or beer drinker?  I would love to hear about what wines you come across that are good (red!) and also my hubby wants to know if they have Any european beers (Carlsberg etc) or just standard American beer.  Best bar to get a good old fashioned etc…..

 

interested to hear about the shows and the food and pretty much anything else you want to share 🙂

 

wishing you an awesome week of relaxation and rejuvenation !!!

 

[argyll1881]

5 hours ago, Happycrafter123 said:

Thank you!  I will be on this ship out of Copenhagen in early June so very curious on all items.

 

good tip about the plug ins and thank you for the number of hangers that is always something I need to know about.

 

if you are able to update us on the facilities — is there still mini golf or did they take it away?  Are there still bowling lanes in the pub or not?

 

 

are you a wine or beer drinker?  I would love to hear about what wines you come across that are good (red!) and also my hubby wants to know if they have Any european beers (Carlsberg etc) or just standard American beer.  Best bar to get a good old fashioned etc…..

 

interested to hear about the shows and the food and pretty much anything else you want to share 🙂

 

wishing you an awesome week of relaxation and rejuvenation !!!

 

Had a wander this morning to answer some of your questions. Bowling alley is there but minigolf is not; I suspect it's been replaced with either the basketball court or the aerial walkway. 

 

As for drinks I will post the bar menu which I am told is the same at every bar with the exception of the mojito bar. So definately some European beta for your husband and some red wines but, as a white wine drinker, I'll leave it up to you to decide if they are any good. 

 

Let me know if you have more questions. 

[KeithJenner]

Mini golf was directly under the ropes course on the starboard side. It is easy to miss unless you go up there.

 

[argyll1881]

Looks like it's the American diner now - or else it's really well hidden. I have got lost a few times !

13 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Mini golf was directly under the ropes course on the starboard side. It is easy to miss unless you go up there.

 

 

[insidecabin]

30% capacity makes for a spacious cruise.

Will be following your posts as we are joining the ship end of your trip.

Be refreshing to get a perspective from a less seasoned cruiser.

 

We were on in Nov be interesting what changed as lots of restrictions at that time.

 

No idea why they said 9am

Southampton baggage drop tends to start 10am.

Terminal 10:30.

 

Boarding tends to be closer to 12:00 sometimes early if the disembarkation goes well.

 

Enjoy hope the weather stays good.

[KeithJenner]

37 minutes ago, argyll1881 said:

Looks like it's the American diner now - or else it's really well hidden. I have got lost a few times !

 

It was above American Diner.

 

Go up the stairs to where they put the harnesses on people for the ropes course and turn left. It was on the space where it now says “Ropes Course” on the deck plan. If you are standing on the deck directly below the plank then you would be where the mini golf is/was.

Edited May 9, 2022 by KeithJenner

[argyll1881]

Pretty sure it's a basketball court now

[KeithJenner]

The area in the background on my picture was the basketball court. I’d be very surprised if they moved it, as it would have been a major construction project, and the balls would keep on hitting the ropes course.

 

Plus the pillars from the ropes course would get in the way. 🙂

Edited May 9, 2022 by KeithJenner

[argyll1881]

LOL. I'll have another look. 

[KeithJenner]

I’m not actually bothered about the answer, by the way. We haven’t got anything booked on the Getaway, and now our son is older it isn’t as important anyway (although we did used to enjoy a quick game in the morning before it got busy).

 

Just trying to help locate the correct area.

[mecrowley]

Is Splash Academy up and running?  How about the splash pad?

 

We are planning for the transatlantic crossing in June and wondering about entertainment for the kids in particular.

Edited May 9, 2022 by mecrowley

[argyll1881]

The splash pad seems to be running and today's sheet says that the Splash academy is open for 5-12 year olds from 8 pm to 11 pm. That seems very late for young kids but what do I know ?!

[argyll1881]

58 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

I’m not actually bothered about the answer, by the way. We haven’t got anything booked on the Getaway, and now our son is older it isn’t as important anyway (although we did used to enjoy a quick game in the morning before it got busy).

 

Just trying to help locate the correct area.

It's just a dead area now

[geleisen]

So they took out minigolf to replace it with nothing? Was the cost of maintenance really so high? Seems cheap even for NCL...

[jimbri]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[argyll1881]

Just a short entry today as I'm running late and have a show tonight. 

 

Day 2 brought about the first port call of Le Havre and  almost everyone got off. I'm sure there were more staff on board than remaining passengers. 

 

This next one really is for the new travelers. I've been looking forward to this trip for ages and wanted it to be excellent so went really overboard on add ons. 

 

Free At Sea: I would always do this one I think. 2 meals and drinks makes it worth it for me. Plus the WiFi that I haven't managed to connect to yet 🙄

 

Water package: I ordered 24 bottles which is going to be far too much. Frankly it  probably was always going to be. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the tap water so is just bring a bottle and keep it in the fridge. 

 

Extra dining: I bought 2 extra meals which I will use. I've now got 4 nights of speciality plus a dinner show so half the time I'll be wearing somewhere more fancy. 

 

Vibe Club: I couldn't have been more serious to buy this. I suspect I might be the only person with a Vibe ticket. I went up there today at about 9:30 and they were only just putting the chairs out. I'm a little frustrated as I prefer a sit up chair as opposed to a sun lounger and all they have are loungers. So I doubt I will use it at all. Lesson learned for quieter cruises. 

 

Priority boarding: Didn't help me at all at boarding, there are no tender ports (and I'm not getting off anyway), the canapés were nice enough but a little underwhelming, I am not a spa guy and don't want to tie myself down to a breakfast time. Foolish of me to buy it and wouldn't again. But it may be good for people who use those things. 

 

For some reason it won't let me load any pictures tonight. I was going to show you the canapés. You can all just imagine them. 

[PharGirl79]

Hi. I just got off Bliss a couple of days ago and had upgraded to the premium plus beverage package and I was so glad I did because I really enjoy wine. But Bliss has a Cellars wine bar with an extensive wine list (glasses that would not be included in the standard beverage package). I'm considering going on getaway but I noticed they don't have a Cellars wine bar. Is there something comparable (with a larger wine list) that would make getting the PLUS package worthwhile? 

 

TIA!!

 

Hope you have a blast and get the relaxation you're looking for! Nothing beats cruising in my opinion! So many options to customize your vacation to be what you want/need.

[travelmatron]

Enjoying your perspective! Thanks for posting

[Happycrafter123]

Yes I like reading your updates and perspective, it sounds like you are enjoying a relaxing adventure.

thanks for checking on the mini golf, I m a planifier and like to manage expectations lol!

 

enjoy the fancy meals look forward to hearing about those.