Norwegian Getaway Review

First cruise; had a great time!

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Getaway
User Avatar
bosco8381
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: May 2015
Cabin: Large Balcony Stateroom

A little about us... This was the first cruise and the first time leaving the US for my wife and I. We were celebrating our 10th anniversary so we left the kids with their grandparents (We probably would have been happy with almost any cruise just because we didn't have to watch preschoolers all day). Since we live in Central Florida, it was an easy morning drive to get there on Embarkation day and did not have to fly in or stay in a hotel the night before. I did extensive research before hand so we'd at least have some idea of what to expect. We specifically chose May so that most kids would still be in school and there would be fewer children on board. There were 4700 passengers on board and my guess is that there were less than 200 kids. Thanks to all who post tips and info on this website; it was a huge help in picking the right cruise at the right time!

We are generally pretty easy to please people, but I will note any potential negatives that might bother others during my review. Also, I'm a very detailed person, so you can stop reading now if you don't like details.

Embarkation was easy after finding the parking garage. I read very mixed reviews on using off-site parking so I decided it wasn't worth the time or the risk just to save $50-70. The "C" garage was a 3 minute walk from the ship and cost $140 for the week ($20/day). It took probably 20 minutes to get through the line to get our Ship ID cards and then probably another 20 minutes of waiting in the lobby before our boarding group was called. Once you're on the boat, (like other reviews have mentioned) they kind of herd you towards the buffet for lunch, but we ducked down to level 6 and had lunch in the Taste main dining room, which was almost completely empty. After lunch we checked out our room, which was open even though our luggage hadn't arrived (we got it around 2:00 that afternoon).

Cabin Review

Large Balcony Stateroom

We had a large balcony room on the 9th floor at the front of the ship. It was only slightly more money than the regular balcony rooms and you get more than double the balcony size than you do in standard rooms. The number of large balcony (B6) rooms are limited (maybe 40ish), and we got one of the last 3 available, booking 3 months in advance. We greatly enjoyed the extra balcony space and the ability to have lounge chairs on the balcony in addition to the regular chairs and table. From what we saw, all large balcony rooms (and the large balcony mini-suites below us) had both sets of chairs).

The room itself was adequate for 2 people and we had plenty of drawer/storage space. Just make sure you utilize all the space that's available (Under bed, under sofa, & ottoman aren't readily noticeable spaces, but they were very handy). The only minor complaint I have about the storage is that the drawers under the sofa were a little hard to open since they compete with the carpet and the handle is in an awkward location under the lip of the sofa. They were huge drawers though so they were a must to use. I also highly recommend bringing a power strip as they only have 2 US-Style outlets in each room. They had a decent number (20ish) of hangers, but we brought extras as well, just in case.

The TV is really limited: 4 news channels, 2 unusable sports channels (unless you are a tennis fanatic since that's all I saw all week), 1 Nickelodeon channel for the kids, and 3 general channels that showed random rerun TV shows and movies. The movie channel actually had a few decent movies play throughout the week, so it wasn't a complete waste, but definitely don't plan on having much in terms of options. There also isn't a DVD player, but you could probably bring a portable one if you wanted to.

The bed was firmer than we're used to, but still pretty comfortable with plenty of pillows and blankets (We found extras in one of the drawers).

Bathroom was perfectly fine for 2 people even though the water pressure probably isn't going to be what you're used to at home (still functional though). I definitely wouldn't pay more for a mini-suite just to get a bigger bathroom unless you're trying to cram 4 people into the room and still get ready in a decent amount of time.

I never used the mini-fridge, but I wish we would have brought more water/soda from home. Getting a drink of any kind is a 10 minute excursion to either a bar or the buffet on deck 15. Other reviews said you could have your room steward clear out your fridge of the mini bar items so you could use it for your own stuff (I'll do that next time). Room Service is now an $8 charge for the "service", so just a heads up since the menus says the food is "free".

Our room steward (Michael) was great. He was friendly and always said hello when we saw him in the hall, but we never once found him in the room. He was like a cleaning ninja, where you'd leave for 20 minutes and come back and the room was spotless (which was great since I'd rather not have to uncomfortably watch someone clean my room while I sit there like a lazy bum). We got the usual towel animals on 3 or 4 nights of the cruise.

The only other potential negatives about our room category are: (1) the rooms sell out months in advance so there's not really an opportunity to price watch and get room credit if the prices drop. (2)The rooms above you can see the front half of your balcony so it's not completely private. Neither of these were an issue for us as I never saw the price drop for regular balcony rooms more than $50 after we booked and I couldn't care less if someone wanted to creepily watch me read a book on my balcony (which never happened to my knowledge). You may want to avoid doing anything you'd prefer others not have the chance to see though (remember, you do have a room).

(3) Also, many other reviews complained of the "hike" to get to the elevators from the front of the ship. While it was probably 75-100 yards, I can't say that it was noticeably inconvenient. Personally, I'm 60 pounds overweight and I'm all about sitting on my butt; however, I wouldn't pay more for a mid-ship room just to save myself some steps to the elevator. I even took the stairs (gasp) if it was only a couple of floors to where I wanted to go. On the plus side with the location is that you get almost no foot traffic by your door. I can count on one hand the number of times I heard a door slam the entire week and all of those times were before 10pm. Also, with this location, you are not directly above or below any entertainment venues so you never hear music thumping or drunk people screaming/singing. Also, since you're at the front of the ship and all of the outside entertainment is either middle or aft, you can't even hear music from your balcony. I sat on my balcony several nights during the evening "party" on deck 16 and never heard a sound.

Port Reviews

St. Thomas

Shopping was good and double the duty-free exemption ($1600 pp instead of $800 pp) made shopping worthwhile. There were clearly-posted regulations preventing aggressive sales tactics, but they were somewhat unenforced as shop owners repeatedly tried to lure you into their establishments. Nowhere near as bad as Nassau though. We also did the Skyride, which provided great views of the island. $20 was pushing it for such a short ride, but it's definitely something to do at least once. We waited until the afternoon to go, so it was far less crowded.

Nassau

There has to be better options out there, but I know many cruise ships consider this their home port so they are obligated to use it. The city could do a lot to make it a more pleasant experience though, especially with the "welcome" center. We were able to find some trinket stores that didn't shove merchandise in your face and allowed us to shop in peace.

2 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a Norwegian Getaway Cruise from $329

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.