Norwegian Getaway Review

The ABC's of the Getaway

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Getaway
User Avatar
Bradley Wilson
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: May 2015
Cabin: Aft-Facing Balcony Stateroom

Let me begin by saying this was my first cruise so I have no point of reference. These are merely my observations as a first-time cruiser of what worked and didn’t work for me on this ship. Take it for what it is. We have no children. I am a retired professional and my spouse works for a large bank.

My spouse and I were originally booked to go to Hawaii for this week for a one-week beach vacation. We decided after having booked our Hawaii vacation that perhaps it wasn’t the right time, and decided we wanted to try something different. We had always talked about going on a cruise, but had never made the commitment, primarily because I suffer from sea sickness and was afraid to spend a significant amount of money to be ill. We live near a port (Vancouver, BC), so an Alaskan cruise would have been a no-brainer. However, because we live in this part of the world, we wanted to see something different. I had been to the Caribbean once previously, to Aruba for a beach holiday many years ago. After some research on cruise lines and ships, I settled on the Norwegian Getaway after reading reviews on Cruise Critic and watching some great videos on YouTube.

Embarkation

Cabin Review

Aft-Facing Balcony Stateroom

Cabin B1

We had Aft Balcony Cabin 14278 (B1). There were pros and cons to this as well. I will try and list as many as I can. Pros – its location works both for it and against it. You’re at the back of the ship so if you want anything at the front of the ship, it’s a walk. However, the view off the stern is amazing. We didn’t notice any noise from propellers or thrusters or anything, even on port days. Deck 14 is the top deck at the back for the aft balcony cabins. As such, it is located directly below the Garden Cafe buffet which was great. In the mornings, I would go upstairs and get a couple of coffees and some sweets and bring them back to our cabin where we would sit outside on our lounge chairs (this cabin came with two chaise lounges and a small table) and have our morning coffee. When we were ready, it was about a two-minute walk up one flight of stairs and we were right in the buffet. We didn’t notice any noise per se coming from the buffet in our cabin at any time. The balcony of this cabin is probably one of the smallest of the aft balconies. We could tell as we looked over the side it was the width of two panes of glass, whereas the balcony adjacent to ours was two and a half panes of glass wide. The other thing about the balcony is unlike an aft balcony on one of the lower decks, the walls of the balcony go straight up which makes it even more private. Our cabin steward was Sudesh, an amazing young man who really made our cruise. He was so helpful and responsive.

The cons to the cabin was primarily the noise coming down from Spice H2O on party nights which was just about every night of the cruise. One other person mentioned this but I really feel it merits mentioning again. If you are sensitive to noise, you will absolutely need ear plugs. It wasn’t so much the music we heard, but the pounding of the bass beat that came all the way down through the walls. I didn’t hear it on the first night because I was so exhausted, but by night two, it was starting to become a problem. However, once I had the earplugs in, I couldn’t hear it at all. The other thing I found useful from other reviewers was to make sure to bring some sort of extension plug or an outlet extender that has more than one socket in it because there is only one plug in the room (2 sockets) and if you’re charging tablets or phones or a camera and you need to charge multiple devices at the same time, you will definitely need one of these. Your cruise card needs to be inserted in the slot immediately inside your stateroom on the wall to turn on your power (the mini bar is independent from this – we stored bottled water in here).

Port Reviews

St. Thomas

We did take the mini boat excursion in St. Thomas. It was fun but you really need to pay attention if you have any kind of back or neck issue. Those boats go very fast and if there are any kind of waves on the bay, it can be quite a ride. Shopping in St. Thomas was ok. Found the vendors at Emancipation Garden to be more interesting than all the high-end retail and name brand shops where everything seemed to cost in the thousands of dollars.

Tortola

Tortola is an amazing little port. They have a new pier and it was nice to get off the boat and walk around. There is a lot of construction going on at the port and once it's done, it will look similar to (I'm guessing) the Havensight Mall in St. Thomas. I had suffered a back injury the day before on a mini boat adventure so we just hoofed it around Road Town. Found a craft market. Everybody was chill and kind. No pressure sales. Wild chickens and roosters (and baby chicks) everywhere. Made our way over to the Botanical Gardens - about a 20 minute walk from the shops. It's small but there were some very interesting plants there. It was also quiet and nice to get away from so many people.

Nassau

Didn't like Nassau at all. Found the shopkeepers to be completely rude and unhelpful, almost as if it were an imposition to answer any of our questions. No desire to go back.

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.