Let’s give it a go…sort of live-ish Getaway February 18-26, 2023–I’ll do my best!

[Deacon22]

Day one almost in the books.  
 

We stopped by the Vibe.  Had a drink.  Went in the cabana.  With the sun shining bright, it was actually warm laying on the padded lounge chair.   I started falling asleep in five minutes.  I can tell I’m gonna like it there. 
Food  - O’Sheehans for lunch. Teppanyaki for dinner.  O’Sheehan’s meh.  Will definitely try it again.  They may have been overwhelmed from the embarking.    Teppanyaki very good. All four of us 

Entertainment.  I don’t know about previous reviews but it seems they have quite a bit. Went to the theater for a comedian.   He was ok.  I didn’t find him funny but the Mrs did. Half the place laughed continuously so I guess he did his job. 
Howl at the Moon Dueling Piano bar.   One female singer was fantastic.   The other two were ok.  But it was fun. 
Also took the time to watch a duo singing at the atrium.  They were ok.  

Haven’t seen my kids since dinner.   They were on a scavenger hunt with about 100 teens. I’m guessing they are going to enjoy this week immensely. I do believe my 16 yr old daughter had soft serve ice cream.   So I think they fixed that from the last Getaway cruise. 
 

With the exception of waiting at Guest Services, the 4800 on the boat does not seem overwhelming so far.   We’ll see how it goes later in the week. I’m sure tendering to shore will be interesting. 

    Tomorrow at sea. 

[NYMama]

I am going to sneak into this live thread as well.  Currently up sipping some alka seltzer hangover.  Apparently 5 glasses of Veuve Cliquot is at least one too many.

 

Day 1 was pretty great.  Check in and security were a breeze at a little after 10am.  Boarding was ok.  The kids and I were patiently waiting for our number to be called, while the poor staff member calling boarding numbers continuously had to tell people to stop crowding the boarding area, as it was delaying things.  We boarded sometime between 12:30 & 1.  
 

As soon as we got on board, we headed to Headliners so I could switch a dinner reservation.  Easy switch.  Still plenty of reservations available from what I could overhear.  Then we high tailed it to lunch at Taste, as I was definitely hangry.  I really should have had breakfast or a snack.  We were seated immediately.  It was very busy, but service was quick.  Two bottles of Aqua Pana for the table.  I had the crustless vegetable quiche (temperature was fine, but texture was not to my liking).  I also had the hush puppies, which were ok as well.  My oldest had a Philly cheesesteak and my youngest had chicken tenders.  Both were happy with their food.

 

After lunch, rooms were ready.  We have a port side balcony almost mid ship on deck 8.  No complaints.  
 

I got into the app and booked Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet.  No issues with getting reservations.  Got called to the muster drill.  Our station was Getaway Theater.  It went smoothly  for as crowded as it was.  They started sailing away just as the drill was ending.  The boys and I rushed up the stairs to get our coats and headed to Deck 16.  It was windy, but worth it.  I love sailing away in Manhattan. After we passed the Statue of Liberty, we all agreed that we would head down to dinner.  We can wait to experience going under the Verrazano Bridge on our summer cruise.

 

I had a 5:30 reservation at Taste.  Asked hostess if there was a separate line for reservations (there was not).  The line moved quickly.  Got seated at Table 1, which was a nice window seat in the corner.  Servers were excellent.  More Aqua Pana and two glasses of Veuve.  I had the fish cake and the vegetable burrito.  Both were served at an appropriate temperature and tasted good.  My sons enjoyed their food as well.  Only minor issue was that they had no ketchup for me son.  He survived.  Dessert was meh.  My son hated his jello.  My oldest had the chocolate lava cake.  He said it was good.  I had a lemon scented caramel crème.  I am not a huge dessert person, and I didn’t really enjoy the texture or flavor.

 

The ship is definitely busy.  The kids club looks like a zoo.  Constant lines.  My kids are not interested in participating anyway, so no issues there.  My youngest has the unlimited arcade pass and has enjoyed playing in the arcade and at O’Sheehans.  Crew everywhere has been polite.  Some of the bartenders seemed overwhelmed which I completely understand.  
 

I am making the most of the Premium Plus beverage package.  Day 1: 4 bottles of Aqua Pana, 2 Flow waters, 5 glasses of Veuve and a Starbucks drink.

 

Hopefully I can go back to sleep now and wake up to another great day.

Edited February 19, 2023 by NYMama

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Have a great voyage.

[sailorusvi]

Day 1

We were the first ones to the O'sheehans bar. Bar tender was polite, but very green.  Said we had to go the restaurant side to eat because the computers were not up. So we went over and sat down.  We split the "spinach and artichoke" dip. In quotes because there may have been one spinach leaf and never did find the artichoke.  The chef needs to rethink this recipe.    DH had the hot dog, me the cheeseburger. Both were ok, but took a long time to recieved, especially since we were one of first tables to sit.  Drinks took even longer.

 

Dinner was at Ocean Blue using the FAS credit. Service was excellent.  It helped that our server (Tracy) was our head muster crew member.  DH talked to her about food as she scanned cards and we waited. She knew our names when we sat.  The wine stewart was good too.  He saw in in the Haven this morning and greeted us by name. I guess me made an impression. We both enjoyed our meals. They were very clear on 1-1-1-1.  We opted out the dessert (too much food for us).

 

We love the Haven bar.  They are awesome bar tenders and quick.   I went to the bar across from Ocean Blue (didn't notice the name), while DH gambled before dinner. Waited forever to even be acknowledged.  They had one bar tender and 2 bar backs. Lack of staff was clearly the issue.  She was working her tail off. Felt bad for her.

 

I have a feeling we will be getting most of our drinks from the Haven or Vibe.

 

Serivce at breakfast in the Haven was disappointing.   I think she forgot to ring up or fire our order.  Larger tables that ordered after us got their food before us.  DH got the Benedict and me an omelet. No modifiers, so not sure why it took 25 mins. to get. Only 4 tables were sat when we arrived and some had food already.  The food itself was good.

 

Have a great day!

[mking8288]

Good morning to all those onboard, sounded like things mostly went well and smooth ... mostly with a few hiccups with the ship near lifeboat / maximum permitted capacity during school break.  

 

Wondering if some of the orders not getting thru might be attributed to the new & less than experienced crews working on the ship, i.e. our room steward wasn't in her 20's but we learned she just returned from a break (in December) after her first contract with NCL - and we continued to see crew members rotation, reporting for duty.  

 

There's another live Report onboard the GA by another CC'er - it mentioned that (frozen) lobster tail is back - as a choice in Teppanyaki, wow - that's not bad vs. "jumbo" shrimps (would've much preferred black tiger jumbo shripm/prawn ... I know, greedy)   This must be something new, or temporary - as we had shrimps not lobster tail, as one of the option and/or in the combo mix.   Haven dining, we know, usually has a choice for lobster tail(s). 

 

Ship's livecam showing calm seas & fair weather, sun & clouds - should be a good day/afternoon on the sun decks.  Thank you again for all the incremental updates & "supplemental" posts contributed by others.  Have a great cruise !   

[Deacon22]

I’m assuming rather than have seven live Getaway posts we can all post on this one. If that’s not the case, someone please let me know. 
 

Woke up at 10. 😳.   These beds are awesome.  My daughter knocking on my cabin woke me out of my sleep. Wife and daughter already worked out and walked around the ship since 8.   My son Is still asleep.  Was out all night. These kids love this cruise.   Took her down to the buffet.  That’s what she wanted.  She loved it.  They pretty much have everything.  I just grabbed a bagel.  Was able to get a seat.   Not sure how it is at 8am but 1030 it was crowded but manageable.  We then went to Starbucks.   Wait was about 15 mins but no big deal.  Two giant frappacinos all included in the free plus package. Now off to the vibe for a bit to check it out.  We are somewhere in Virginia right now.  It’s not too cold out.  We have La Cucina scheduled for dinner and either Broadway Unplugged or Burn the Floor.  Not sure which one we are going to do.  
 

 

[Deacon22]

4 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Good morning to all those onboard, sounded like things mostly went well and smooth ... mostly with a few hiccups with the ship near lifeboat / maximum permitted capacity during school break.  

 

Wondering if some of the orders not getting thru might be attributed to the new & less than experienced crews working on the ship, i.e. our room steward wasn't in her 20's but we learned she just returned from a break (in December) after her first contract with NCL - and we continued to see crew members rotation, reporting for duty.  

 

There's another live Report onboard the GA by another CC'er - it mentioned that (frozen) lobster tail is back - as a choice in Teppanyaki, wow - that's not bad vs. "jumbo" shrimps (would've much preferred black tiger jumbo shripm/prawn ... I know, greedy)   This must be something new, or temporary - as we had shrimps not lobster tail, as one of the option and/or in the combo mix.   Haven dining, we know, usually has a choice for lobster tail(s). 

 

Ship's livecam showing calm seas & fair weather, sun & clouds - should be a good day/afternoon on the sun decks.  Thank you again for all the incremental updates & "supplemental" posts contributed by others.  Have a great cruise !   

My son had the lobster last night at Teppanyaki.  He said it was great.  My wife also ordered it but the chef screwed up the order and made her salmon. He seemed a little nervous when he realized   No big deal.  My wife is very easygoing.  She took the salmon instead.  She also said that was excellent. 

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, Deacon22 said:

I’m assuming rather than have seven live Getaway posts we can all post on this one. If that’s not the case, someone please let me know. 

 

 

Actually it's poor etiquette to hijack someone else's review.   Start your own if you want to share your experiences which I'm sure people would appreciate.

[Deacon22]

14 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Actually it's poor etiquette to hijack someone else's review.   Start your own if you want to share your experiences which I'm sure people would appreciate.

Thank you Cole.   I’m out 

[purpleally]

53 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Actually it's poor etiquette to hijack someone else's review.   Start your own if you want to share your experiences which I'm sure people would appreciate.

Wouldn’t that be up to the person who began the review?  Many don’t mind

[Hogladyrider]

54 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Actually it's poor etiquette to hijack someone else's review.   Start your own if you want to share your experiences which I'm sure people would appreciate.

Respectfully disagree!

[Denversail]

5 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

Respectfully disagree!

This is getting awkward. 🫣

[ColeThornton]

5 minutes ago, purpleally said:

Wouldn’t that be up to the person who began the review?  Many don’t mind

 

 

Sure, if the OP is cool with it then that's fine.  I wouldn't just assume it's okay though.  

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, purpleally said:

Wouldn’t that be up to the person who began the review?  Many don’t mind

 

This many don't mind ... different folks, different take on these reporting.  CC'er #2 could view it as "complimentary" or sharing and cooperating for diversity, and, CC'er #3 could view #2 as a hijacker against CC'er #1 as the OP ...  Rest of us - might be confusing or just fine, and, maybe not.  

 

OP didn't upgrade to unlimited where as the other poster did (staying in a different area of the ship) ... that isn't necessary so bad to get continuous updates and reports.   Keep in mind, they are being generous taking time out of their vacation to write, upload & post pictures and share their cruise with rest of us - I would just say, thank you and let them "chat" with each other, including please back off or maybe, "hey, gee, didn't know about things happening on the other end and/or ship decks, etc. "

 

For those sailing next week, "all" of the latest info posted here are useful - IMHO.  Besides, there is so much going on during a given cruise, that it's practically impossible to cover many of the happenings, let alone "most" events & activities.  

 

Off-topic, looking around to see if anyone that disembarked yesterday on their 12 nights to the Caribbean has done any post-cruise summary, review, comments & shared the good, bad and oh dear stories.  

[Dorhead1230]

Hi, everyone! I am finally using some of my minutes to post a few things. Thanks to those of you who posted some of your first-day experiences in my absence. It was a little slow getting my thread to load right now so hopefully it’ll all post ok. We’re having a mostly lazy day so far. I’m going to post what I’ve been journaling in my notes and make an attempt at a few photos:

2/18 evening:

The muster drill was in-person and uneventful. Our muster station was Tropicana, and DM and LM were in the Atrium due to the room mixup. That gave me a little agita, but DM said that he was a very good boy. We told him in advance that it was like school and he needed to do his good listening. In Tropicana, we did start a little late as usual because people saunter in after the scheduled start time. DM said it was the same in the Atrium.

 

During the muster drill, a fellow passenger struck up a conversation with DM and LM and ended up giving him the cutest little yellow mesh bag with a Viking rubber duck, a duck bracelet, and a pair of little duck earrings in it. I I didn’t meet her, but the tag on the little bag said it was from Don and Cheryl. That was so sweet of her and LM loves his little Viking duck, so thank you!

 

After the muster, we finally went to check out our own cabin, aft-facing balcony 13304. Wow, the aft-facing balconies on 13 really do suck compared to the other decks lol. If you can, definitely choose any other deck, but any aft-facing balcony is better than none at all, and I have already been enjoying my time mesmerized by the wake. The cabin itself is fine—typical Breakaway and Breakaway+ class balcony cabin. Our cabin steward is so sweet, but we are terrible and neither of us can remember her name. And I can’t remember which screen on the TV used to show your cabin steward’s name (maybe that’s not there anymore?) so I have not been able to find it there.

 

We stayed on the balcony long enough for LM to see the Statue of Liberty, but we didn’t wait until we went under the Verrazano, which I normally love, because we were so hungry we had to head to Taste and Savor ASAP. Despite it looking like a madhouse in that area, we were seated right away at Savor. We had a very nice server and while it wasn’t all 100% smooth, it wasn’t drawn out into a 2-hour affair like some people have been experiencing lately, either, thankfully! We did have to ask a couple times for bread (as did at least 3 surrounding tables). We wouldn’t have even been so persistent about that if it wasn’t that we were all starving after the O’Sheehan’s affair. I also made the mistake of assuming that, as a lot of land restaurants do, LM’s food would be delivered with the adults appetizers. However, I think going forward I need to specify that because it took a long time for his cheeseburger and fries to come since they brought it with our entrees. DM, DH, and I all ordered 2 appetizers each and we were happy they brought them all at once so it didn’t stretch out longer. All of the food was fine. Nothing super memorable, but I do enjoy the Caesar dressing they use and the sauce on the chicken piccata was very tasty. My totally non-expert opinion on people saying the MDR food doesn’t come out hot is that maybe they are plating parts of dishes and they are sitting a while until another part gets added? I say that because on both DM’s and my entrees, the chicken piccata was hot, but the rigatoni gratin on the side was cold—tasted good, but cold. DH said his tilapia entree was kind of blah but ok. I have always been largely unimpressed by NCL’s desserts. I bake a lot…a LOT…and am a little hard to impress where dessert is concerned. The lava cake has always been an exception because I absolutely love it and after 3 1/2 years it sure hit the spot. DM had the strawberry shortcake, which appeared to be made with the same poundcake they have in the buffet—NCL poundcake has always been, and remains, dry.

 

The most interesting part of dinner was when the Savor manager came to check on us, and he then mentioned our earlier experience at O’Sheehan’s. We were a little taken aback that he knew about it (I never called any management because getting LM fed took precedence). Evidently the manager from O’Sheehan’s tracked where we checked in for dinner and called the Savor manager to ask him to find us and apologize for what happened earlier. I thought it was very nice that they went out of their way to apologize. We weren’t trying to “get anything out of it,” other than emphasizing to them that the servers in O’Sheehan’s should be on top of making sure their food came out if they’re taking orders and the muster drill is approaching. Our server had taken the order and then completely disappeared after dropping off drinks. No one was aware we were never served until I managed to flag down another server and by then it was too late.

 

Much later on, after finally getting LM to bed in DM’s cabin, unpacking our stuff, and having our evening casino donation session, we went back to O’Sheehan’s around midnight. We were seated with the nicest server and thought it was interesting that, after he ordered, he said it’s a little busy now but I am going to try to expedite the order for you. We wondered if there was a way for them to see notes when you check in because we just thought it was a curious comment. Well, turns out their is because he accidentally left his little printed slip from the computer at our table and there was a note at the bottom saying “TLC food issue” and then a note to call a person who I assume is the O’Sheehan’s manager. So for a brief, shining moment, we were O’Sheehan’s VIPs 😝. I am wondering if that note will remain there for the entire cruise. At any rate, it is nice to know that at least some of the time when there is a problem, they are paying attention and trying to address it.

 

2/19 daytime:

By the time everyone got up and got ready, the only option we had for breakfast was the buffet. We have no objection to the food, especially for breakfast, it’s the atmosphere reminiscent of Mad Max and Death Race that we try to avoid. It was crowded, but it was also late in terms of breakfast, so we were able to get a table right outside the aft doors that lead out onto the deck. The plentiful fresh melons and pineapple that I don’t have to hack apart myself always makes me so happy. The hash brown patties are always yummy, and for being made in big batches the eggs Benedict wasn’t half bad—the poached egg was still nice and runny. It was on a half bagel, which is fine by me but may bother English muffin purists.

 

Passed by the arcade after that, but LM only played a few games because it was naturally pretty crowded so some of the other stuff he may have played was occupied. We wandered around a little and killed some time until the little origami lesson for making a samurai hat in the Atrium. At one point before going to that, we passed by the entrance to the Illusionarium and sat on the benches there. LM was loving looking at all the decorations there, and I think it’s one of the coolest spots on the ship—that magic theming with a bit of a Steampunk vibe is awesome. Origami class was fun and we ended up with three lovely little samurai hats. Then we tried to gradually lure LM toward our cabin so he’d nap. Moving aft, we passed by Bliss where the Daily said they were doing a family bean bag toss. It was a little cornhole tournament, but it was too disorganized because the CD staff member running it was just having people raise hands to bring up 2 teams at a time, instead of having a sign-up sheet or something. That may work out fine on sailings without 4 zillion kids on board, but it wasn’t a great procedure for this sailing, so we told LM we’d play another time.

 

Headed back to the cabin to enjoy the balcony a bit, but then there was some drizzle so we finally got LM inside and sleeping. I have to sing the praises of our steward again. She is so sweet and so on top of everything. Our bathroom light was not consistently turning on and she got someone here to change it immediately. Even though I told her it was no rush for ice and it could be tonight or whenever, she had it in the cabin for us so quickly.

 

One other random note so far is that poor DH keeps getting the wrong or bad drinks made for him 🤦🏻‍♀️. During the O’Sheehan’s debacle yesterday, he asked for ginger ale and was given ginger beer. Last night at O’Sheehan’s he asked for Coke and we were pretty sure it was Diet or Zero. Today, we stopped at the casino bar and he tried to get a spiced rum and ginger ale (he was told no Captain Morgan; spiced Bacardi, which was fine), but either the ginger ale was out or they accidentally put seltzer in it because it was seltzer and rum. Poor man finally got a decent piña colada because I ran out to the little bar on deck 8 outside where the cigar bar is and got him one. None of this is a crisis, but it does get a little irritating after a while…

[Dorhead1230]

Lady Liberty during sailaway

 

buffet breakfast today

 

outside the Illusionarium…too cool!

 

The Viking duck and our samurai hat family!

 

Last night late-night O’Sheehan’s food.

[Dorhead1230]

Had to take pics from dinner last night on DH’s phone because mine had died. I’ll post them later or tomorrow, along with a review of Moderno and photos, because we’re heading there tonight. My stomach is growling because I didn’t eat anything mid-day today, but I am saving myself for Moderno in a while! 😋

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, Dorhead1230 said:

Had to take pics from dinner last night on DH’s phone because mine had died. I’ll post them later or tomorrow, along with a review of Moderno and photos, because we’re heading there tonight. My stomach is growling because I didn’t eat anything mid-day today, but I am saving myself for Moderno in a while! 😋

Loving your review and the great pics!  So sweet for someone to give your little guy that cute duck which I'm sure helped him get through the muster.

 

Good luck in the casino!  Hope you have some great wins and then let us all know which machines are hot☺️

[Dorhead1230]

3 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Loving your review and the great pics!  So sweet for someone to give your little guy that cute duck which I'm sure helped him get through the muster.

 

Good luck in the casino!  Hope you have some great wins and then let us all know which machines are hot☺️

Hopefully tonight will be better casino-wise! So far, no go! Just got LM tucked in with DM, though, so will give it a whirl for a little while now. Hopefully will have good news to report 🤞🏽. Haven’t seen any big slot wins so far in there, although I haven’t been in there too much since we have the little dude with us.

[Dorhead1230]

Thoroughly enjoyed Moderno tonight! Service was wonderful; we had the sweetest waiter who made friends with LM. The gauchos were also fantastic. One in particular made sure to check if there was anything specific we were waiting for and she got it for us. The salad bar has a good variety of meats, cheeses, salads, 2 soups, and a few other items including some basic sushi rolls (crab, cucumber, and salmon). I tried several of the meats, but not all. I miss the lamb chops ☹️, but everything was good. LM is a bit picky, but even he really enjoyed the bacon-wrapped chicken breast and the sausage. Also, I found another NCL dessert that I actually enjoyed—the banana caramel meringue tart. Very tasty!Some items from the salad bar.The sides…rice, mushrooms, mashed potatoes. (Also a random piece of filet the gaucho accidentally dropped on the table. She gave me a new one so I stuck that one there.)Some of the meats. Both chicken items were very tasty! They also had a sliced pork belly they were coming around with.Banana tart with a view of the filling.

[Dorhead1230]

Had some CAS chocolates in the room when we went back tonight.

 

Just went and spent a little time in the casino and am a little sad that this is the most “exciting” picture I can post lol. Ended up retriggering the bonus a couple times for a total of 160 spins. 
 

When I was putting LM to bed before, the navigation channel showed we were 297nm from Port Canaveral. I went outside on the Waterfront a little after 11 during a post-casino wander and although it is windy, I can feel how much warmer it is. Looks like we’re in for some pretty spectacular weather in Florida the next two days. Heading back to the cabin so we can be ready to get off the ship and pick up the rental car right away when we are cleared tomorrow. Good night all!

[Rubybadu]

On 2/18/2023 at 10:22 PM, Deacon22 said:

Sorry you didn’t get your order.  It was crazy there.   Waited an hour.  The beeper went off.  Service took very long and food was cold. 
 

passing the Statue of Liberty as we speak

 

Not a dig but I honestly dont get why people would go to O'Sheans on embark day. Its going to be absolutely heaving as everyone naturally goes there. 

 

We grab a snack at the buffet and then just sit up top in h20 and wait for everyone to calm down. By the time rooms open its emptied out. 

[Rfemle]

I have been on a couple NCL cruises after pandemic and Osheehans has gone down hill, from lack of staff, food quality and overall speed.  I thought of going there first on last trip but wife talked me out of it and went to savor.  Almost first ones in there and fairly good food and service.  By mid cruise with the maxed out number of people sailing it was taking two hours to have meal and forget Osheehans.  When you get a pager at Osheehans, forget it, set aside two hours to be let down.  

I will say we became fairly loyal to NCL about 10 years ago, due to Osheehans.  We loved the 24/7 bar food and became Platinum.

 

[EllieinNJ]

I like the Reuben sandwich at O'Sheehans.  On the Joy in September they put on at least 3" of corned beef which made it taste like it came out of a Jewish deli.  Sadly on the Getaway two weeks ago the corned beef barely covered the rye bread.  We also asked to have the chicken wings baked twice as per other's suggestions but they still came out soggy.

[cementhands]

Love reading your reviews onboard your Getaway cruise! Now home in NewEngland with snow coming soon. Reminiscing of our cruise January 2023, just weeks ago. Try out the Matador drink best made at O Sheehan pub excellent. Blast off drink in mojitos bar and ginger mojitos. Pain killer drink with Meyers rum floater from Devon by pool bar too! Love dancing in mojitos bar with Latin duo. Spice H20 party nightly with Alvin CD are a blast. Atrium dancing to Zenhitt with Marsha outstanding, by the pool too. Try Shanghai noodles bar, free and decent. Ropes course. Not trying to hijack but to add to information if onboard.

Wishing I did ropes course a few times but too busy dancing !