Gotta Getaway - Semi Live From NCL Getaway - June 16th-25th

[Spinelli1107]

 

Hey Everyone!

First time trying my hand at a live report, wish me luck! 

 

I'll start off with a brief introduction, the name's Brittany, I'm 35 (today's my birthday) and I'm getting away with my travel partner for life DH Chris. My first cruise was circa 1993/4 on the Song of America when I was a wee little girl. Since then, I've completed 20+ sailings, primarily in the Caribbean with a trip through the Panama Canal and a cool cruise to Alaska. My first (and favorite) NCL cruise was in 2014 on none other than the NCL Getaway. I've sailed with family, with friends and even 2 solo cruises. Together, Husband and I have done 5 cruises and we got engaged on the NCL Bliss during her inaugural season in 2018. We met some pretty awesome people on that sailing who are now our cruise buddies K&T. We did the Alaska sailing with them and they are joining us on this trip. Ok, now that we've got introductions out of the way, let's talk a little bit about this trip.

 

Sailing from Barcelona, Spain; stopping in Cannes, France; Livorno, Italy; Civitavecchia, Italy; Naples, Italy; Messina, Sicily; Katakolon, Greece; Santorini, Greece; Mykonos, Greece and ending in Athens, Greece.

Each day we will be in a new port and with call times ranging from 7-13 hours, I'm hoping we don't run ourselves totally ragged. 

 

One week from today, our Journey begins as we fly red-eye direct from JFK to BCN. When we land we'll spend 2 days in Barcelona before boarding the Getaway.

After 9 nights of glorious sailing through a taste of Europe and the Mediterranean, we'll spend 4 nights on the Island of Crete before flying back home on the 29th.

 

This 2 week dream turned reality is a trip of a lifetime for us that's been in the works for over a year. 

without giving too much away too soon, I'll leave it here for now so I can collect my thoughts for the next post.

Till then, Happy Sailing! 

[Spinelli1107]

 

Some of you are seasoned cruisers, and some of you may be first time cruisers or at the very least first time with NCL so I wanted to introduce you all to the brand and why I choose Norwegian!

 

With Norwegian's Free at Sea promotion, there are a lot of amazing perks included in your price of admission. 

 

Starting with the "Free Open Bar" - Passengers 1-8 in a cabin are eligible to receive this incentive. If guest number 2 is under 21, NCL will substitute for the soda package, however if Guest 3-8 are under 21, unfortunately that benefit does not apply. In my opinion this is the best part of "Free At Sea" as it's good for spirits, cocktails, wine and beer up to $15. It also includes soda and juices. Keep in mind, if you select this benefit, you are subject to a 20% service fee on what the retail value of this package would be. 

 

Another great perk is the "Free Shore Excursions". Now this may be a bit debatable as it's not actually Free excursions, instead it's a $50 credit for passenger 1 towards any NCL excursion. Personally I enjoy this perk as I prefer the ease and convenience of booking directly through NCL but can understand why others may not find its appeal. 

 

The third perk is "Free Specialty Dining". While the majority of the food on the ship is included and the included food is very good, this FAS perk gives you the ability to check out some of the For a Fee restaurants. Depending on which cabin you book determines how many specialty dining meals you receive. For this sailing, we booked a balcony cabin and therefore are entitled to 2 specialty meals for each my husband and I. This benefit also carries a 20% service fee. 

 

Another benefit through FAS is "Free Wi-Fi" incase you haven't picked up yet, the parenthesis are because, let's face it, nothing is actually free here. This perk affords you a whopping 150 minutes of basic internet access for passengers 1 and 2 in the cabin. Some people can fully disconnect when they're away, but others may like to check in with loved ones back home. So this gives you the ability to do just that.

 

Another potentially huge benefit is the "Free Airfare" with this perk, it's pay the NCL price for airfare for passenger 1 and passenger 2 flys free. You have the ability to select up to 2 days deviation pre and post cruise. NCL will do their best to guarantee no more than 2 connections for an international flight. While the value may be enticing, you do not decide when you leave or arrive and you may not receive your flight details until as close to 30 days before sailing. This can be great for those with more flexibility but may not be ideal for travelers who need to be more structured or hands on with their planning. 

 

While these perks all sound amazing, it's all dependent on your outlook and whether some, all or none are worthwhile to you. I've taken advantage of the drinks, dining, shore excursion credit and internet for this sailing. I couldn't relinquish control of flights so we booked our own. and it was relatively the same price for 2 that it would have been for 1 through NCL. 

 

I hope this helps some of you decide which FAS promotion you'd like to take advantage of without getting too in the weeds on each one, which is VERY easy to do! 

 

But more on perks and benefits and all the jazz later 😎

 

[PelicanBill]

Looking forward to this, love your writing style and detail.  Looks like a fantastic trip.

 

Telling all my friends (in another place) sailing on the same Nov. 17 sailing to come follow!

[Spinelli1107]

24 minutes ago, PelicanBill said:

Looking forward to this, love your writing style and detail.  Looks like a fantastic trip.

 

Telling all my friends (in another place) sailing on the same Nov. 17 sailing to come follow!

Thank you so much for following along. I hope I can do this blog and itinerary justice for your friends who are doing it in November without spoiling too much!!

[Spinelli1107]

So now that you know a little bit about me, the basic layout of my trip and some NCL perks, let's look at some of the fun facts of the Getaway.

 

Everybody's favorite....or at least mine, let's talk dining.

 

The Norwegian Getaway has over 15 eating establishments some of which are included and others that are at a premium. You very well could go on a cruise and not step foot into one of the specialty restaurants and you will have plenty of food made available to you but as I've introduced earlier, NCL's "Free at Sea" provides at least 1 complimentary specialty dining to be included in your sailing so why not take advantage of it. 

 

Furthermore, depending on your loyalty status and/or cabin booked you may be eligible for additional specialty dining packages. You can also purchase additional dinners above what is "included" Based on status and what we booked, we have a total of 6 specialty dining packages for this trip and we intend to put them to use. 

 

But first let me tell you about the restaurants on board. 

Specialties: 

Cagney's - Their Signature Steakhouse

La Cucina - A Staple Italian Restaurant 

Le Bistro - The Resident French Eatery

Moderno - NCL's Endless Brazilian Churrascaria

Ocean Blue - Refined Seafood Cuisine

The Raw Bar - Kinda Self Explanatory?

Wasabi - Sushi Selection

Teppanyaki - Japanese Knife Throwing Show (they're not too sharp!)

Inclusions: 

O'Sheehans - 24 Hour Pub

Savor, Taste and Tropicana Room - The Main Dining Rooms

Shanghais - Noodle Bar

American Diner - The Name Says it All

Garden Cafe - Traditional Buffet

 

With 9 nights aboard and 6 specialty dining packages I've laid out the following itinerary

Night 1 - Barcelona - Cagneys: Because what better way to kick of a vacation

Night 2 - Cannes - Le Bistro: Because France! 

Night 3 - Livorno - Complimentary Establishment

Night 4 - Rome - Raw Bar: Because something light in the middle feels right

Night 5 - Naples - La Cucina: Because Italy!

Night 6 - Sicily - Moderno: For no other reason than it's one of my favorites! 

Night 7 - Olympia - Ocean Blue: Because Greece = Fresh Seafood right? 

Night 8 - Santorini - Complimentary Establishment

Night 9 - Mykonos - complimentary Establishment

 

Dining was eligible for booking as early as February 12th (120-125 days pre-sailing) for this sailing and Entertainment opened for pre-booking on May 22st (21-26 days in advance) and the 26th is when Check-In was available (21 days ahead of sail away)

 

Well I think that's enough for today. I'll be back tomorrow with some more fun facts and or trip updates. 

Thanks for following along! 

 

[stellarose33]

great following along.  going on getaway next summer. 

[Spinelli1107]

20 minutes ago, stellarose33 said:

great following along.  going on getaway next summer. 

Thanks for virtually hopping on board. She's a great ship, I think you'll love her. 

[realnice46]

8 hours ago, Spinelli1107 said:

Thank you so much for following along. I hope I can do this blog and itinerary justice for your friends who are doing it in November without spoiling too much!!

We are on this cruise too. Looking forward to following your adventure.

[Spinelli1107]

9 hours ago, realnice46 said:

We are on this cruise too. Looking forward to following your adventure.

That's awesome maybe we'll run into each other!

Happy to have you following along!

[Spinelli1107]

Despite having a mere 6 and a half days before my flight, nothing crazy, wild or exciting has been going on. With the majority of my pre-cruise dealings having been taken care of already, the only thing left to do is pack. Which I've done and undone half a dozen times in my head. 

 

So with that said, I figured I'd talk a little bit about the Getaway and why I fell in lover with her and NCL 10 years ago. 

 

The Getaway is the second ship in the breakaway class and she boasts 18 decks housing the previously mentioned nearly 20 restaurants and eateries and over a dozen bars. Aside from food and beverage this ship has plenty of other entertainment and things to do. 

 

The theater host many Broadway style shows such as Million Dollar Quartet and various variety acts. Syd Norman's has an array of nightly entertainment starring the Pour House Band Members. Headliners is where you can catch a comedy show or Howl at the Moon's Dueling Pianos. The Ice Bar is always a cool place to chill and grab a drink or two or perhaps you'd like to try your hands and feet at the ropes course or rock climbing wall. 

 

Deck 5 is where you will find the medical center, otherwise this is the lowest deck for guests to book a cabin. Crew quarters and accommodations start n deck 5 and go down from there. 

 

Decks 6,7,8 make up the majority of the public spaces including the Waterfront. Here you will find a surplus of bars and restaurants mentioned above as well as the Bliss nightclub, Starbucks, the main atrium and the "photo stairs" and chandelier. Other than the Pool and Sports deck up top, this is likely where we will be spending the majority of our time on board.

 

Decks 9-14 are the remaining cabins decks along with the studio lounge and kids clubs. Other than deck 9 where our cabin is, we won't be seeing much of these decks.

 

Decks 15-18 is where you will find the spa, gym and majority of the outdoor spaces. This is also where the buffet along with multiple pools are. Deck 16 is where you'll find Spice H2O. During the day it is adults only, at night Spice H2O hosts the nightly theme deck parties. (Weather permitting)

 

Without taking you all for a full deck by deck tour, this should give you a pretty decent idea of all this ship has to offer. This 9 night cruise is likely not long enough to see and do it all since there's also the casino, a basketball court, a jogging track, several water slides, mini golf and believe it or not, so much more!

 

Hope you enjoyed this Getaway informational and now you might just see why I love this ship so much because there's literally something for everyone!

 

Until next time....

Edited June 7 by Spinelli1107

[Laszlo]

Fantastic Start!!

[Deb and Jack]

Following along, my daughter and I will be on her Sept 1st.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, Spinelli1107 said:

Without taking you all for a full deck by deck tour, this should give you a pretty decent idea of all this ship has to offer. This 9 night cruise is likely not long enough to see and do it all since there's also the casino, a basketball court, a jogging track, several water slides, mini golf and believe it or not, so much more!

Just in case you were looking forward to it (I was), mini golf was removed a couple years ago. Unless it was put back in the dry dock last week. Which I don't think it was. Same with the rock wall. 

[Spinelli1107]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Fantastic Start!!

Thank you so much!

[Spinelli1107]

17 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

mini golf was removed a couple years ago...Same with the rock wall. 

Aw shucks, that is disappointing. Luckily for us, with a port intensive itinerary we may not even know it's missing but that is a bummer none the less. 

Thanks so much for the update!

 

[Spinelli1107]

51 minutes ago, Deb and Jack said:

Following along, my daughter and I will be on her Sept 1st.

Thanks for joining!

[Spinelli1107]

Friday night I started packing. I'm trying to pack light(er than I usually do) as I made platinum status on my last sailing and will be eligible for a complimentary bag of laundry.

Despite that, with toiletries I will still have to check my luggage and with the weight of the toiletries, I will end up needing 2 bags. I guess for 17 days, that's not terrible?

 

I'll plan on wearing 2 outfits per day as this is a very active cruise and the current temps range from high 80's to low 100's (Fahrenheit) It'll be a sweaty one and I cant imagine staying in the same clothes all day and night so I planned for a daytime outfit (romper) and a nighttime outfit (jumpsuit) each day. With that said, I've packed 9 rompers and 7 jumpsuits. I haven't tackled shoes yet but thinking wedges and flat sandals should work quite nicely with each outfit and I'll be wearing sneakers on the plane so will have that obligatory "closed toe shoe" for any excursion or activity that requires it.

 

Although I want to take advantage of the pools and/or hot tubs, with how port intensive this itinerary is, we'll see if that happens. We have a couple of beach opportunities though so bathing suits are still a must and I plan on packing 4 swim outfits. With pajamas and plane outfit rounding out the clothing needs all of that will fit in a small carry on along with the allowed liquids for a carry on to offset the weight of my checked luggage. 

 

With that complete, I'm almost fully ready for this trip. I still have 4 more work days to ensure all loose ends are tied up and my four legged baby boy will be boarded on Wednesday through a recommended board and train facility that my cousins have used. Other than pre-travel appointments like mani/pedi etc., The rest of my check list is green.

 

Now all I have to do is countdown the days (4.5) or hours (106) until take off! But who's counting....

 

[realnice46]

I thought I was packed until in the middle of the night I realized the lightweight cotton sundresses I was going to wear while in port won’t work with money belt. Have to rethink wardrobe. I will have 1 checked bag a good sized carry on.

 

[Spinelli1107]

I have a crossbody shoulder bag that's RFID protected and purportedly slash resistance. I have not personally tested this though so don't know how true those claims are. But it's similar to this in a light gray to go with just about anything. My favorite feature is it has Zippers that lock.

 

[AKR2011]

Great start to your review! Safe travels, and I look forward to following along with you ❤️⚓️

[Spinelli1107]

1 hour ago, AKR2011 said:

Great start to your review! Safe travels, and I look forward to following along with you ❤️⚓️

Thank you! Thanks for coming on board great to have you following along! 

[Spinelli1107]

With a shortened work week, I've been scrambling to ensure everything is set to go in my absence while simultaneously trying to not get distracted with this trip. But let's be honest, who could ignore such travel thoughts. Surely, not I!

 

So I keep going through my packing list as these are the thoughts that keep me up at night and realized I almost didn't have my European converter Queue me waking my husband up in the middle of the night to locate it. Only to find out, it only has B ports so I bought a new one anyways with A and C ports.

 

As my job is entirely remote, I plan on staying on top of my emails so as to not come back to over 2 weeks of backlogged work. With that said, we upgraded to the Free At Sea Premium Plus package. This entitles us to unlimited internet each on one device. Which will not only allow me to check in on work but also stay connected to the boarding facility where my precious pup will be while we're away.

 

We take him tomorrow morning which will be a very hard moment for me. Working from home has allowed the pup and I to be attached 24/7 so this will be as much a struggle for us as it will be for him.

 

With that, I've also been going through my check list:

 

Dog Boarding ✔️

Pre-Cruise Appointments ✔️

Packed ✔️

Transportation to Airport ✔️

Flights to BCN ✔️

Transportation to Hotel - Uber or Public Transport day of task

Pre Cruise Accommodations ✔️

Transfer to Cruise Terminal - Uber or Public Transport day of task

Cruise E-Docs ✔️

Passports ✔️

 Dining Reservations ✔️

Show Reserved ✔️

Excursions ✔️

Transportation to ATH ✔️

Post cruise Flights to Crete ✔️

Crete Transportation ✔️

Crete Accommodations ✔️

Flights Crete to Athens ✔️

Flights Home ✔️

Transportation Home ✔️

 

So why do I feel like I'm forgetting something....

 

[PelicanBill]

16 hours ago, Spinelli1107 said:

 

So why do I feel like I'm forgetting something....

 

Luggage tags?

[Spinelli1107]

6 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

Luggage tags?

Not on my check list, but printed and in holders ready to go! 

[Spinelli1107]

Well here it is, travel day is officially upon us! 

Our flights out of JFK are not for another 12 hours, but the car is packed, we're all checked in to the flights and now just have to get through the final 8 hour work day before we take the arduous drive to the airport in pure rush hour traffic. Oh what joy! Hopefully that will be the worst and most stressful part of the trip. I mean it can only go up from there, right? 

Between the both of us, we have 2 standard suitcases which we'll be checking, 1 carry on and 2 personal items. Not bad for 17 days. Weight wise, we could've fit everything into 2 bags but space wise, and not to mention all the souvenirs we'll be sure to get, the third bag was necessary. 

I downloaded several shows and movies to my phone as I've learned the hard way one too many times, that in flight entertainment isn't always great and on occasion the screens don't work. I also have several books downloaded through audible which will help pass the flight time. In the essence of space and weight, I only packed one book, a birthday gift from my sister in law, The Song of Achilles. How fitting for a Greek setting. 

Here's to hoping the day goes by quickly!