NCL Getaway 2/18-2/26 Thoughts and Recent Changes

[cpqq]

Didn't want to hijack another live thread that most were watching, so here are our thoughts on the 2/18 - 2/26 Getaway sailing. 

 

Our last cruise was right after COVID, so we were at half capacity and won a haven upgrade. Despite vastly higher bids this time, we didn't win, so we had an M9, Club Balcony Spa Suite, the same of the year, or month. 

 

Choose the Priority Access upgrade which was mostly a bust. NYC knew nothing about it. From a previous cruiser I knew to listen for after Platinum and Sapphire, but they went straight to Group 1 with a very whiny announcer about people gathering at doors. When we asked and showed someone Priority Access printout, the said we should have been called way earlier. At the Spa, there was confusion, and the jist of it is you can use say - your Gold 20% off status on port days (or) the $50 off. Didn't feel great about that. 

 

Seeing we were on a full ship, we decided to not only use the thermal suite, but got two Vibe Beach passes through the app, cabanas were less than $100 more, but with 5 of them, they sell quick. Despite this, the Vibe was probably the best decision we could have made on the boat. 

 

Internet (Premium upgrade of $220) was unusable due to poor satellite internet conditions meaning latency was beyond what most applications could tolerate, and duplicate packets meant the data coming back was also unusable. Work paid for the $219 upgrade, but I had to hop on T-Mobile to fix a spotty load balancer, not looking forward to that bill. 

 

Hearing some horror stories of MDR, we stayed almost exclusively to specialty restaurants. Teppanyaki, La Cucina, and Cagney's mostly. Cagney's was my favorite, followed by Teppanyaki and finally La Cucina. Here's my thoughts on them: 

 

Teppanyaki was good, but of course no more filet, the NY strip was perfectly fine and was cooked well medium rare. The chef's are hit or miss when it comes to a show or properly flavored fried rice. One night it was brilliant with garlic butter and soy sauce and the next. night a bit bland (we went 3 to Teppanyaki) 

 

Cagney's was just brilliant. We both got the filet and saved our speciality dining packages we purchased (4 total) for there. La Cucina was cheaper so we paid a la carte there. One night it was $180, and the other $188 saved, one dessert. The filet's were cooked perfectly, first time I felt safe ordering medium rare, and you're allowed two sides with the dining package. Whoever said choose Cagney's twice if you're on a 1 week was spot on. (we went twice to Cagneys)

 

Finally La Cucina, which my fiancé loved, and I thought was fine. Actually found the room service steak to be nicer than the filet there. The second time we got the Margherita pizza and it was good, but also noticed one or two things just gone from the menu, sadly didn't take a picture from last year's menu of the differences. 

 

Casino slots were tighter than I've ever seen. We played the penny slots and got out alive. Kind of depressing just seeing people feed them with nothing coming out. No large wins, at least that I heard. 

 

They have *changed companies* that do the on-board Duty Free shopping, and not for the better. No sales after we leave the final port. My fiancé and I stopped there on accident after leaving Bermuda on the Breakaway last time and got $100+ Immortelle by L'Occitane for $25 bucks or so. Was told that now that they've switched to Dufry there will be no sales. Also their items were as expensive as they were on-land. Wait for a $20 L'Occitane coupon and it'll be cheaper with free shipping. Didn't buy a darn thng due to this completely weird pricing and lack of sales. Why pay to carry extra luggage? Duty Free has been killed IMO with Dufry.

 

Room Service did get the Priority Thing right, so we didn't pay for $4.95 when we ordered it, but the entire Priority upgrade isn't worth it in unorganized places like NYC, or when you already have Gold and priority disembarkation.

 

The best part? Kevin Remy at the Vibe Beach club. Remembered our name, found us at the Casino and even Bliss later to serve us drinks. A $20 per day might have helped, but I never got that great service, even at the Haven. He was the only person we put in for a Vacation Star / special thank you. Most other people were doing their best, but nothing special. A lot of the people on deck 14 around us had very inconsistent offerings from the room stewards. Some got towels made up without asking, some had canapes nightly despite being the same class, some had a bottle of wine or bubbly, we got the bog standard Gold Member bottle Merlot we left, and despite tipping our room steward a few times during the week in addition to prepaid tips, no care really given to the rooms beyond a general made bed and renewed towels. We even arranged the garbage and they're doing their best - but come on. Didn't bother making a fuss. They still service rooms twice a day. Will get some photos uploaded ASAP once I get some sleep.

 

NOTE:  Room service, with Priority past breakfast was $9.95 per order, despite being told by NCL over the phone from a few people, and chat multiple times that it was waived for members of suites. Apparently Club Balcony suites are not suites, and I think this designation is for older ships that are 'Haven-less' - I wish this was explained. BLT from Room Service is great, surprisingly good steak, but don't dare order after 12am. Instead of pizza we got two mini pizzas that looked like Mama Celeste. Even after they stopped in two FL based ports and loaded on pallets of provisions. 

 

Had a Greek captain, so naturally being Norwegian, skipped the Gold party. He gunned it the second to final night. 42.5 winds and we were still gunning it at 19.1, when the day before it was a calm 11. First day joked that if we went over it's due to the Greek captain, only to have him gun it in less than optimal conditions into next afternoon. Usually they slow it down a little mid-day!. 

 

Happy sailing and be safe everyone! Pictures to come, CC is not a fan of HEIC, which of course iPhone took all the pictures in. Happy to answer any questions about the Getaway. Did not see any mobility scooters, etc. around the halls, just a bunch of kids on vacation - but marrying a teacher, you have to be used to these things! 

 

 

 

IMG_0482.heic

[cpqq]

 

 

We both took tests before, during, after, and will take one or two more as the week progresses. I didn't feel like waiting 2-3 years before these were approved and sold for $$$ by Abbott, so used a site I used to get Masks for the real deal 4-in-1 (2 flu, RSV + COVID) anti-gen tests. The things exist, but probably with no lobbyists? With so little masking, we figured it was futile, this was the next best way. So far, so good - fingers crossed. 

 

 

Best Purchase of the ship. For a full house, $249 seems worth it, despite the lack of fruit being passed out but twice during the week. But you get 18+ only, Kevin actively bouncing 18 and under, an oasis of quiet, two-three dedicated bartenders, who honestly had a better rapport with than ones in The Haven. This could be to our age (32 and 35, so we loved Vibe) so YMMV. 

 

 

 

Current Cagney's Menu FYI

 

 

NCL Neon Party (replaced the White Party, likely due to the sub-optimal naming of the previous party) was probably the best of the ship in terms of parties. Some night the unnamed DJ's at Bliss were just terrible.

 

DJ Rave was always good. Also the final 'Prom Night' at Syd's was great. More pictures to come. 

 

 

These are 'Oxivir 1 TB' wipes which I remember purchasing in bulk during covid (minus the TB) but in 1 minute they're oxygen peroxide based and kill *everything* - Saw them and had a kid constantly coughing at our table at Teppanyaki by the final night. Part of the reason I'll be testing before going back to work non-remote. 

 

Sorry for the lack of lingo and proper cruise terms, it's been a decade or so since my last cruise despite being on 15+

 

Will add more photos and answer any questions. 

 

My first was the SS Seabreeze, and we've both seen better days. 😁

Edited February 27, 2023 by cpqq
I apparently forgot english.

[cpqq]

The only time you'll get any usable internet, 2:30 AM otherwise, duplicate packets ensue, everywhere - making the internet unusable. You can get away with poor latency but when the data comes in twice, or in the capture below, packet #268 came in *five times* it gets harder to repair or do a darn thing. NCL should be ashamed honestly and I'm angered I paid for 'streaming' when I couldn't even let Amex know all the pre-auths for CruiseNext were legit, they already knew I was traveling. 

 

 

 

 

Shrimp Appetizer at Cagneys - NOTE: As someone else mentioned, Lobster is back at Teppanyaki, we were even served different versons of the menus that night, as well as other people who had to re-order. 

 

 

We braved Savor one evening and found it perfectly acceptable. Not the fastest, but the Prosecco kept flowing and the meal was fine.

 

 

Wind speeds of almost 50mph when the Greek captain was gunning it back to NYC at 19.1 knots. 

 

 

Desert at Cagney's 

 

 

 

Multiple under 21's and non members kept following people who were leaving Vibe into the club, Kev was nice about it, but kept them out - which was the point, for quiet and peace. Vibe's a great club and care was given to keep non-members out. Honestly liked it more than the Haven Bar, but that may be due to age, and that it was outdoors. 

Edited February 27, 2023 by cpqq
Forgot to captain a pic, quite tired.

[BostonGal35]

Glad to hear they are vigilant about bouncing non paying people at Vibe.  I have a pass booked my upcoming sail.  We did it ince on Breakaway and loved it.  The Getaway Vibe looks to be twice the size based in the deck plan.

[mking8288]

Thanks and welcome home from your 8 days onboard the Getaway.

 

I'm pleased to read & know that as reported above - "Did not see any mobility scooters, etc. around the halls, just a bunch of kids on vacation"  Thus, between GM super "Mario" and head of housekeeping, that the serious fire/life safety issues of egress being blocked has been addressed, as that's absolutely unacceptable and a serious violation with a background as retired Article 28 (ambulatory healthcare) facility administrator ... and just common sense to see that in the hallways & corridors.  

 

Inside Pier 88, there are large signage showing Priority Access check-in, next to Platinum and also Casino At Sea for embarking passengers ... that has been consistently "blamed" on shore-based contractors hired by cruise terminal operations and not directly managed by NCL.  I pointed out these issues less than a year ago onboard when it was brought to the attention of the GM and guest services on the Joy ... NCL at Miami were said to be aware of and working on changes, apparently not so.  It is a paid upgrade services and I would've "tell" them it is unacceptable and ... 

 

Otherwise, pretty much of what to expect these days and with a full ship.  Gunning the ship should've taken her beyond 19.1 knots but I read it was due to headwind ... otherwise, she is capable of doing 21-22 knots under ideal conditions and I know, we saw speed no faster than 21 knots on our recent 12 days.  NCL Escape and Breakaway in the similar class reach those speed often with other sailings.  Her recent speed are partially resulting in the ship running late getting to the ports.  

 

 

[cpqq]

14 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Inside Pier 88, there are large signage showing Priority Access check-in, next to Platinum and also Casino At Sea for embarking passengers ... that has been consistently "blamed" on shore-based contractors hired by cruise terminal operations and not directly managed by NCL.  I pointed out these issues less than a year ago onboard when it was brought to the attention of the GM and guest services on the Joy ... NCL at Miami were said to be aware of and working on changes, apparently not so.  It is a paid upgrade services and I would've "tell" them it is unacceptable and ... 

 

 

So they didn't allow us in the first area that said Priority at the front of the terminal and assured us there was Priority at the end of the terminal. Then at that 'Priority' check-in we were still given Group Number 6 for boarding. 

 

From a previous post, we knew to listen for us around the Sapphire, Platinum, etc. members, but the announcer never made it. Went right from the highest tiers to group 1. I asked and showed Priority Access printout to someone who said "they should have announced you already" and told us just to go with group 1. 

 

Between that and not being allowed to stack 20% gold discount with the $50 gratuity for in port days, I wouldn't purchase it again. It seems like a rushed out program that was poorly communicated to any of the people actually involved in the process. I had some illusion they would actually give some priority to people. 

 

We got $4.95 not charged on days we choose breakfast, $50 off per person after explaining how NCL's phone support let us down, and yellow luggage tags I would've gotten already. 

 

I'm more angry how piss poor the internet is on the ship. Once out of the tri-state area the satellite is worthless unless you have something like OpenVPN to smooth the duplicate packets out. Bonded Starlink can't come to these ships soon enough. 

 

 

[mking8288]

@cpqq  We've sailed out of Pier 88 four (4) times since March 2022 and it's the same group / team of shore-based contractors accountable mostly, if not entirely, to the NYC cruise terminal operator "hired" by NYC's EDC - and they are, IMHO, are the ones responsible for smooth embarkation - and doing their jobs to see that all guests with priority and special needs, granted "privileges" are directed to and given the proper care when boarding the ship.  They aren't doing their job and it has been finger pointing on NCL's part ... sorry about your experience with your paid pass, wasted.  We've watched them yelling at each other for not being on the same pace and coordinating the announcements, end result - 1/3 of the 1,000+ sitting but mostly standing in the crowded cruise terminal begin rushing toward the boarding Door C.  

 

We just assumed those with the paid Priority Access boarding, that they have the smaller # of passengers grouped in another roped off section, and lead or directed them out another door "quietly" without calling other groups - escorted them to the Door C (there are additional ways to reach the 2 gangways, I know)  Apparently, not happening ... sad.  

 

We had 2 cabins, Sapphire & Platinum and the other couple also CAS guests - didn't matter, they're given Group 10, I think and we arrived together & breeze thru security quickly enough - we got Group 6 ... which we shouldn't need at all.  Lucky enough to squeeze into the lounge before it filled up by 10:20 or 10:25 am and they're at zero count already - but still early & Haven didn't start boarding until close to 11 am in small, escorted groups.  We had no idea once we walked outside onto the pier's walkway how they're handling CAS and others - from your descriptions, sounded like it remain chaotic and disorganized, poorly run.  Part of the problem, aside from the Haven team - I seldom see the ship's junior leadership inside the terminal walking around to quickly evaluate and see how things are flowing - if only they sometimes see it personally. 

 

To put in perspectives, Los Angeles port with the Joy lately - worst than New York ... and, good things being, we made it and back - and lucky to be able to criticize as armchair experts.  Go with the flow and sense of humor.  

 

Just about everyone aren't being happy with ship's satellite WiFi - until they bring Starlink online, it will remain status quo - must be our lucky 12 nights to find it usable b/c our expectation were adjusted and we didn't bother with streaming or paying extra, extra for it.  

[PATRLR]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:39 PM, cpqq said:

My first was the SS Seabreeze, and we've both seen better days. 😁

The Seabreeze was a great ship, we were on her a couple times.  Absolutely loved it, great staff, great food.  Also was on the Oceanbreeze a couple times.  Ahhh.. long for those days.

It's been gone a long time now, so, you must have been just kids when you were on it?

 

[JGmf]

On 2/27/2023 at 12:00 AM, cpqq said:

Vibe's a great club and care was given to keep non-members out. Honestly liked it more than the Haven Bar, but that may be due to age, and that it was outdoors. 

 

Thanks for the report and observations.  We bought our first Vibe passes for our upcoming April cruise.  We're looking forward to it, but I'm kind of concerned that the Vibe is too quiet, like a library or study hall.  Is there any low or moderately volume music?

 

(Wife is happy not to fight for loungers, so she could care less about music...)

[cpqq]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

It's been gone a long time now, so, you must have been just kids when you were on it?

 

 

Loved it. Introduced me to room service, I felt like Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, but with free sandwiches.

 

I was around 12, with family. It was in it's golden days, when it was in painted blue and did Canada and New England from NYC before Premier found themselves under water in debt. Amazing cruise and it's surreal seeing pictures of myself in SS Seabreeze gear, or dressed formally in their dining room.

 

 

[cpqq]

52 minutes ago, JGmf said:

Thanks for the report and observations.  We bought our first Vibe passes for our upcoming April cruise.  We're looking forward to it, but I'm kind of concerned that the Vibe is too quiet, like a library or study hall.  Is there any low or moderately volume music?

 

 

You may hear music depending how loud it is from the main pool area faintly, but no music inside.

 

We found while the Vibe was quiet, no fight for chairs, there was often banter between people enough to not keep things silent.

 

When we got back on from port one day, the entire bar looked to be filled with people there all having a great time. No worry about it being a silent library feeling, unless it's the first day of a February cruise...

 

We're honestly worried on our honeymoon cruise that The Haven (indoor bar) will be too quiet and is actually more like a library than Vibe, which is more like a small VIP part of the ship with people who like to drink. The Haven is where you meet people for pre-dinner cocktails and it was a stuffy 40-50+ crowd. At 31 and 34 we were the youngest couple when it came time for the party to meet the captain. 

 

I would definitely suggest Vibe now we're back to full capacity cruising, and if I can ever pay off our next Haven Cruise, I'll be adding Vibe as soon as I can. 

 

The Vibe on Getaway is MUCH larger than I've seen online, the videos often show just one side of it. If you look at my picture above it's often the not shown side with a lot more seating. It's more like a 75% complete circle (25% is Haven / off limits) behind doors. 

 

When we went to the front of the ship of the Vibe, far away from the bar, it was just us, and quiet. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by cpqq

[BostonGal35]

We love the Haven Bar.  Never found it stuffy.

[BostonGal35]

We love the Haven Bar.  Never found it stuffy.

[sailorusvi]

21 minutes ago, BostonGal35 said:

We love the Haven Bar.  Never found it stuffy.

 

We did too, but maybe we were the stuff 50+ year old crowd??

[cpqq]

It is indoors vs. outside on Sunny Florida days, maybe it was the sun. Always seemed more formal than Vibe, YMMV.