Along with my brother and sister-in-law, my wife and I flew out of LGA to Miami, to board the NCL Getaway. (We are Platinum Lattiudes, but my in-laws have only cruised a few times, but are enjoying it immensely.) We had the NCL transfers ($30 each way pp), which worked extremely well both ways to and from the port. We checked in and received our ships cards, taking all of about 10 minutes. However, since we arrived too early to board, we joined about 500 other folks waiting in the terminal. Boarding started soon, and we boarded quickly. We headed up to the Garden Cafe on deck 15 aft to have some light snacks.

We all had gotten together well before the cruise, and decided on getting the ultimate dining package (UDP) for $119 per couple. We also made reservations for 5 specialty restaurants (Teppanyaki, Cagneys, Le Bistro, Moderno, and La Cucina), leaving one open for a best-one repeat (turned out to be Cagneys), with all four of us voting on the one. We ended up eating in the Garden Cafe for one night when they had the lobsters. I had eight. Ocean Blue was not included in the UDP package, and we felt $49 pp was a bit too much, even though it was Jeffrey Zarkarians', so we passed on it. We also booked excursions for Sts. Maartin and Thomas, but planned on staying on the ship for Nassau. We also made reservations for Burn the Floor and Legally Blonde. So, while lots of folks were frantically trying to decide what to do, we were all set before we set foot on the ship.

The ship had 3969 passengers, with 1600 crew, 300 of which were ships operation and 1300 hotel staff. Its 1,068 ft long, and 170 ft wide. It actually is smaller than the Epic. We almost never felt overwhelmed with people, as there was so much to do in many places. The only times it was really crowded was in the Atrium on deck 6, when a good game was held, like "Friendly Feud or "Dancing with the NCL Stars", or "Newly Married or Married for a Long Time". The staff then would bring out extra chairs, to accommodate the extra people. Read more