Quick Getaway Review and Comparison of Carnival/RCCL to NCL

[Kristi Williamson]

We are just back from our 2nd NCL cruise on the Norwegian Getaway. For reference, we are Diamond on RCCL and Platinum on Carnival, so I thought I'd give a quick review for those looking at Getaway and a quick comparison for those who want it. 

 

First, the review. The Getaway is a lovely ship with an easy layout and, like most Norwegian ships, tons of places to eat. We particularly liked that O'Shehan's is open 24/7 and the spa was absolutely gorgeous. We always buy a week pass (this trip was actually 9 days) and use it almost daily. The service was good and NCL has some excellent entertainment. If you've never seen The Million Dollar Quartet, you should. Fun all around and our favorite entertainment we've ever had at sea, including some of the RCCL's big ones. For us, NCL serves the best food of the 3 lines we have cruised so far. We rarely had anything that we didn't enjoy and a few things were absolutely delicious! If you've never eaten the cornbread skillet in the main dining room, you MUST. It sounds crazy, but it is mind blowingly good. I ordered it as a fluke, because I'm Southern and I wanted to taste their cornbread. I mean.....as an entire appetizer? YES!!!! So good! Our next cruise may be Princess, so we'll see how they stack up to that. Service was good to very good. We didn't go anywhere that we didn't feel cared for and like the staff was working their hineys off. As usual, the room steward was great!  

 

We had a mini suite and it was OK. For our first NCL cruise on the Dawn, we actually had the grand suite with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, so nothing will EVER compare to that room, but the mini suite wasn't worth the upcharge. No difference from a regular balcony except the bathroom was a bit larger. I wouldn't recommend paying what they charge for this "suite". 

 

For a fair review, our dislikes include that Norwegian precharges gratuities on their "free" drink package and they do that by assuming you'll drink 15 drinks a day. It's grossly overpriced, IMO. Carnival and RCCL charge you gratuities but only AS YOU ORDER THE DRINK. In other words, if I grab a beer 3 or 4 times a day, when they swipe my card, the gratuities are charged at that time, not before I drink and with the assumption of how much I'll drink. I never, ever, ever drink 15 drinks a day. Not even close. My max is usually around 6 drinks and a few sodas, which works out great with a package that doesn't pre charge gratuities. And it's lame that their package doesn't include coffee and water. They have a separate, more expensive package for that, that is also much too high in comparison to other drink packages on other lines, IMO. We will not be ordering or accepting their "free" drink package on our next trip. The second thing they do that is not to our liking is charge a fee if you use your card on file in the casino. No other line does that and it didn't sit well with us. 

 

I know this isn't going to go over well with die hard fans of certain cruise lines, but there's barely a dimes worth of difference in the 3 lines we currently cruise. RCCL has the most beautiful ships at sea. Those are facts. But, how long can you be enthralled by a vessel? After day 3, it's just a ship. We enjoy them, but if you cover up the fancy diving board in the back and once you've walked through central park, the service, food and line itself isn't much different than NCL or Carnival.  Carnival has the best prices of any line. Also facts. You may find a hit or miss that costs less, but overall, their prices are the most fair and regardless of their reputation, it's a fun line with great service and they are very good to their past customers and there is zero nickel and diming on Carnival. The best steward we've ever had was with Carnival and their food is often better than RCCL, though not NCL. 

 

Would we cruise NCL again? Sure. We had a wonderful trip, but I don't like to be charged for things before I've received them. It's not great business and it irked me. We've slowly been trained to accept that as normal, but it's not and we should stop defending it. 

 

Happy Cruising, Everyone. 

[mjkacmom]

I think you are confused, if you have the free at sea UDP, you are charged 20% of the cost of the package, which works out to around $20 pp pd, less than 2 drinks. If you don’t have the package, you will be charged for each drink plus 20% of the cost of that drink (or is it 18%?). Anyway if you drink more than 1 cocktail a day it’s worth it.

[dachengdao]

Thank you for your review.  That's a common complaint with NCL about being nickel and dimed ad nauseam. We are sailing on the Getaway this December for the first time (usually sail on the Gem), and this is also the first time we have a beverage package. We upgraded from the free one offered and I don't see myself drinking more than one or two drinks a day, but I will get sparkling water with meals and a cappuccino from Starbucks each morning. I guess we will go for fresh-squeezed juices this time too and if we get a bottle of champagne each dinner, that might make the package worth it but I can't drink more than a glass or two. It's up to hubby to make it up in top-shelf scotch and cognac. We also got a cabana in the Vibe for the first time, so we will definitely be tipping those bar tenders extra in cash.  Glad to hear how beautiful and enjoyable the thermal spa is, as it is included with our spa balcony room. I'm excited to try their salt room.

[dachengdao]

PS - I'm Southern too, so I'll watch out for the cornbread skillet!

[Grandmafreddie]

Pretty sure cappuccino not included in pkg. As well as fresh orange juice

As far as vibe cabina found it to be very hot. Vibe is great reg sesting better.

[mjkacmom]

18 minutes ago, Grandmafreddie said:

Pretty sure cappuccino not included in pkg. As well as fresh orange juice

As far as vibe cabina found it to be very hot. Vibe is great reg sesting better.

That poster upgraded to premium.

[Liljo22]

I am very confused about your explanation of why you dislike the drink package.  Royal and Carnival don't offer free drink packages so you would need to spend $500-$600 for their packages while you only spent $150 for the NCL one.  If you have the package on Carnival or Royal, they don't charge you gratuity per drink, its added on as part of the package.

 

To upgrade the to the Premium Plus package, its $29pppd plus gratuity.  Once you add it to what you were charged for the regular drink package, the cost is $56.60 per day including tip.  Royal's packages are in the $80-$90 per day range after tip.  Carnival is $74.40 per day with tips.  

 

Even if you didn't get the package on Royal or Carnival, it is still a better deal with NCL.  A beer is about $10.50 with tip on those lines.  If you are drink 4-6 per day like you say, its going to cost you $40-$60 for those drinks.  With NCL, you already paid $20 for those drinks.  

 

I am an accountant by trade but even if I wasn't, I would see that you would be spending less for drinks on NCL. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Liljo22

[Liljo22]

And I agree that there isn't much difference between the three mass market lines.  Everyone has their line that they are more loyal to but if you took the name and logos off each ship and put a new cruiser on each, they probably would think they are on the same line.  

[sunkey1]

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

Royal and Carnival don't offer free drink packages so you would need to spend $500-$600 for their packages while you only spent $150 for the NCL one. 

Carnival offers the drink package free as part of a promotional booking rate (package is called Cheers). It is a much better package than NCL as it includes bottled water and specialty coffee.

 

[Destaw71835]

Having sailed all three lines I agree with you on all points.

[Liljo22]

Just now, sunkey1 said:

Carnival offers the drink package free as part of a promotional booking rate (package is called Cheers). It is a much better package than NCL as it includes bottled water and specialty coffee.

 

Carnival offers the free package to a very small percentage of VIFP members on select off season cruises.  The bulk of VIFP members only get the promotional rate with Cheers that ends up costing more than if you purchased Cheers on its own.  The average cruiser doesn't have the ability to get Cheers free.  

[Kristi Williamson]

36 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Carnival offers the free package to a very small percentage of VIFP members on select off season cruises.  The bulk of VIFP members only get the promotional rate with Cheers that ends up costing more than if you purchased Cheers on its own.  The average cruiser doesn't have the ability to get Cheers free.  

 

Not true. I've gotten it every cruise the last 4 cruises and so have many of my friends. It is legitimately included with no charge. That's what free means and a package not free of any charges should not be advertised as free when they tag on 100s of dollars to get it. 

[Kristi Williamson]

2 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

I am very confused about your explanation of why you dislike the drink package.  Royal and Carnival don't offer free drink packages so you would need to spend $500-$600 for their packages while you only spent $150 for the NCL one.  If you have the package on Carnival or Royal, they don't charge you gratuity per drink, its added on as part of the package.

 

To upgrade the to the Premium Plus package, its $29pppd plus gratuity.  Once you add it to what you were charged for the regular drink package, the cost is $56.60 per day including tip.  Royal's packages are in the $80-$90 per day range after tip.  Carnival is $74.40 per day with tips.  

 

Even if you didn't get the package on Royal or Carnival, it is still a better deal with NCL.  A beer is about $10.50 with tip on those lines.  If you are drink 4-6 per day like you say, its going to cost you $40-$60 for those drinks.  With NCL, you already paid $20 for those drinks.  

 

I am an accountant by trade but even if I wasn't, I would see that you would be spending less for drinks on NCL. 

 

They absolutely have free drink promotions and offer the free drink packages to many past guests. And it's actually free. No hidden fees and no 100s in added gratuities with the assumption you'll have 15 a day. It's free. Full stop. As I said, we liked NCL but it's not a free drink package. That's a lie and they shouldn't do it. 

[mjkacmom]

23 minutes ago, Kristi Williamson said:

 

They absolutely have free drink promotions and offer the free drink packages to many past guests. And it's actually free. No hidden fees and no 100s in added gratuities with the assumption you'll have 15 a day. It's free. Full stop. As I said, we liked NCL but it's not a free drink package. That's a lie and they shouldn't do it. 

I no idea why you keep bringing up 15 drinks? Drinks are $10+ each, you can drink 100+ a day on NCL, the daily gratuity for those 100 drinks will be around $20, regardless of how many you drink. There is NO limit, you can order 2 at a time, there is no time limit in between drinks. Why bring up 15 of anything?

[dachengdao]

41 minutes ago, Kristi Williamson said:

 

 It's free. Full stop. As I said, we liked NCL but it's not a free drink package. That's a lie and they shouldn't do it. 

Another thing relating to this point is the offer for "free shore excursions." Turns out it is only $50 off for one person.  I got the upgrade which also gave the $50 off for my husband. "Free" means free and not "discount" so they should change that too.  Still love cruising with NCL the best, but wrong is wrong. 

 

BTW - I just noticed that you're from the Palmetto State too (though I've been in NYC almost 40 years already).

[Kristi Williamson]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

I no idea why you keep bringing up 15 drinks? Drinks are $10+ each, you can drink 100+ a day on NCL, the daily gratuity for those 100 drinks will be around $20, regardless of how many you drink. There is NO limit, you can order 2 at a time, there is no time limit in between drinks. Why bring up 15 of anything?

Because that is the limit on most lines. It's actually responsible but you're correct, NCL doesn't limit you. However, they do charge you gratuities assuming your limited, which appears to be 15. 

[WexIrl]

I always find the drink package debate amusing and diverse on the forum, each to their own and everyone will have an opinion and rightly so.

I find the NCL drink package excellent value, and so have those from my part of the parish that I have recommended it to also when they enquired about a vacation/holiday/cruise.

I can qualify my excellent value statement by inviting you to any Irish family or otherwise event  to compare receipts 🍻 😄


 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by WexIrl

[dachengdao]

2 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

I can qualify my excellent value statement by inviting you to any Irish family or otherwise event  to compare receipts 🍻 😄


 

 

LOL!  I'm Irish too but can't drink more than one or two a day. Perhaps the Irish genes became diluted over the last 400 years we've been in America. 

[bkrickles1]

21 minutes ago, Kristi Williamson said:

Because that is the limit on most lines. It's actually responsible but you're correct, NCL doesn't limit you. However, they do charge you gratuities assuming your limited, which appears to be 15. 

You're wrong and you make zero sense. 

[craig01020]

11 minutes ago, WexIrl said:

I always find the drink package debate amusing

Me too, especially when folks complain about the gratuities they knew about before sailing.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Kristi Williamson said:

However, they do charge you gratuities assuming your limited, which appears to be 15. 

 

No, the service charge is based on the cost of the package. You pay 20% on the cost of the package which is $109per person per day. It has nothing to do with how many drinks that you have per day.

 

Once you take the promo and pay the $21.80pppd, you are not charged 20% on each drink.

 

8 hours ago, Kristi Williamson said:

We will not be ordering or accepting their "free" drink package on our next trip.

 

That is an option but be aware that not only will you be charged for the drink, you will also be charged 20% for each drink. If that works out better for you, that's an option for you to consider.

[AKR2011]

27 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

No, the service charge is based on the cost of the package. You pay 20% on the cost of the package which is $109per person per day. It has nothing to do with how many drinks that you have per day.

 

Once you take the promo and pay the $21.80pppd, you are not charged 20% on each drink.

I'm piggybacking off this to go back to OP's 15 drink limit. Even if you paid outright for your drinks and they added up to $109 prior to gratuity, that would probably only be 10 or 11 drinks. So the value is MUCH higher than Carnival's 15 drink limit, and I might feel obligated to tip as well. Only my opinion, but I am happy to pay those grats ahead of time. I do drink more than 10 or 11 drinks/day when I'm on vacation and I'm glad that the bartenders are compensated.

[mjkacmom]

15 hours ago, Kristi Williamson said:

Because that is the limit on most lines. It's actually responsible but you're correct, NCL doesn't limit you. However, they do charge you gratuities assuming your limited, which appears to be 15. 

No, incorrect, the gratuity is on the price if one purchases the package, not on a drink limit.