Quick review of Getaway Feb 18-26

[Mlake09]

Getaway February 18-26

 

I didn’t have great internet on this cruise so I’m posting everything now!

 

We booked this cruise over the summer for a great price with triple points! We knew ahead of time that there would be MANY kids, as I’m on the school schedule and a good chunk of New England schools were on vacation this week. Early on I heard there were 4,853 people on board, which is well over double capacity. Prior to the cruise we also heard there would be an itinerary change, dropping Bermuda and adding Miami instead. That was fine with us; in January when we sailed to Bermuda on the Gem, we had terrible weather and waves, and our two days in Bermuda was changed to about six hours. We did not want a repeat of that and hoped for the change to have more time in the warmer weather!

 

It was a super smooth embarkation and we were through the terminal and seated for lunch within 30 minutes. We are Platinum but are bumping to Sapphire after this trip, and definitely appreciate the priority embarkation in NYC.  After lunch we went and signed up for the platinum behind the scenes tour as well as the wine tasting, changed some of our dining reservations, and shortly after that, our rooms were ready! We had a balcony cabin on the 11th floor and even though the balconies are comically small on the Breakaway class ships, we really enjoyed having the fresh air and views.  I did wonder when they would announce the itinerary change (thanks to whoever posted it from the CrewCenter page ahead of time), but they did not announce it until Tuesday. 

 

Pros of this trip: the crew were all super friendly and hard working. Staff in Taste and Savor were very attentive even when it was clear they were swamped. The latitudes reward staff were also great, and we were psyched to do our first behind the scenes tour (I recommend it!) along with our second wines around the world. We also appreciated the clear communication about priority tendering to GSC, and loved our extended day there (7:30am-6pm). We also enjoyed the day spent in Miami and did not mind the itinerary change (you can find my review of the stormy January 11th cruise on the Gem out of NYC to know why we weren’t anxious to repay that experience!). The specialty dining meals were all fantastic. We ate in Ocean Blue twice, and once at La Cucina, Moderno, and Le Bistro (the filet has the $10 fee even without the foie gras). We used our two platinum vouchers (can be used anywhere now) along with our two FAS meals, and for the fifth meal we applied the $200 on board credit we received for the itinerary change. We ended up with a small balance at the end of the trip but felt it was worth it for the better meals. We also liked hiding, and then also finding some ducks. There was a big variety of ducks on the trip; someone hid duck earrings and duck Croc charms, and others hid tiny bead-size ducks. People were definitely creative! We hid 15 over the first few days of the cruise and hope they made some people excited to find them.

 

Cons of this trip: traveling during school vacation weeks can be a little challenging. There were a lot of kids and teenagers, and we had a large group of teens that were hanging out near our room for the last few days and causing some disruptions in the hallways and by the elevators/stairs (blocking stairs and door ways, blasting music, and dropping f-bombs every other word). I know that kids this age need a space to hang out, but I do wish that they wouldn’t block the stairs and not realize the negative impact they are having on everyone else around them. We also had a couple in the next room that smoked SO MUCH POT on the balcony. I don’t mind if people want to use marijuana but I think it’s important to be considerate of neighbors, and perhaps consider bringing edibles instead. We were in the warm weather for days but often had to close our balcony and move inside due to the smoke. The only other negative was that at GSC, I was stung by multiple jelly fish larvae (Google thimble jellyfish or “sea lice”) and will likely have my current itchy spots for another few weeks. This also happened to me when we cruised in February a few years ago and it took a month for all the spots to disappear! Luckily we were able to buy some hydrocortisone cream on board and that held to take the edge off. Many people are not impacted by these tiny stings, but for people who are allergic like I am, the rash can be awful- it is so itchy! To be clear, I would absolutely get right back in the water for another epic day of snorkeling, even knowing this could happen again!  I saw a squad of squid, multiple rays/skates, a queen Angel fish and some Caribbean lobster among other fish. 

 

Overall this was a great school vacation trip. We walked a ton, had some wonderful meals, had incredible snorkeling on GSC, and enjoyed the sunny weather in Florida and GSC. The two sea days back were relaxing and we had no problem being patient with wait times, etc. It was also nice to see that the exhaust/smoke issue on the Getaway has been somewhat remedied from last year when we travelled. Cruising is what you make it, and this week was a great vacation for us! 

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Mlake09
Found someone I had to fix

[sailorusvi]

30 minutes ago, Mlake09 said:

 

 

Cons of this trip: traveling during school vacation weeks can be a little challenging. There were a lot of kids and teenagers, and we had a large group of teens that were hanging out near our room for the last few days and causing some disruptions in the hallways and by the elevators/stairs (blocking stairs and door ways, blasting music, and dropping f-bombs every other word). I know that kids this age need a space to hang out, but I do wish that they wouldn’t block the stairs and not realize the negative impact they are having on everyone else around them.

 

At one point we couldn't walk up to deck 16 (forward) to get up to the Haven because they were blocking the entire staircase.  So we decided to just go through the Haven door on 15 and walk up from there (are cabin was on 15 anyway).   They had that mostly blocked too.   Later on they had a cookie fight both inside and outside of the Deck 15 Haven door.  Cookies everywhere. Even in the door frame.  

 

In the Haven they were running all over the upper deck that was suppose to be adults only. The concierge told us they changed the rules and they were allowed up there. What the hell????  They completely took over the hot tubs, with snorkel gear no less.   Even the Haven staff were overwhelmed by the shear amount of kids.  Needless to say we will not cruise during a school break ever again.

Edited February 26, 2023 by sailorusvi

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

Security should have been called to clear these feral urchins from the stairs immediately. 

 

Security should also have been called re: your pot smoking neighbors. I'm all for legal pot, but whether or it's cigs or weed you have no right to blow smoke onto your neighbor's balconies. 

[ebheart]

Thanks for your review! I’ll be sailing this itinerary with my family in 2 weeks.

 

This will be my first time cruising with Norwegian since I was 19, and I’m curious about the ducks. I read about ducks on another trip report… can you fill me in?

[Mlake09]

9 minutes ago, ebheart said:

Thanks for your review! I’ll be sailing this itinerary with my family in 2 weeks.

 

This will be my first time cruising with Norwegian since I was 19, and I’m curious about the ducks. I read about ducks on another trip report… can you fill me in?

A bunch of people will bring small rubber ducks with tags to hide around the ship. We bought our ducks and tags on Amazon. It’s fun to find them but we also really enjoyed hiding them! It was our first time buying them to hide. I don’t know how it started but many people hide (and then post) the ducks they find!