We returned from a 7-day Western Caribbean Cruise on the Norwegian Getaway on January 18th, 2016. This was my 27th cruise. I normally write a review as soon as I return home, but I chose to calm down before I started writing. Cruise Critic claims that 68% of passengers loved the Norwegian Getaway. 68%... that is a D in my book, not failing but certainly not shining. As you read this, please remember that it took a whole month to almost calm down about it before I started writing.

I hated that ship. So there, I have said it. I can’t put into words how much I hated that ship. First and foremost, I hated our cabin; a cabin so small there was no room to have a chair. I hated the ship’s public areas’ layout. I hated its size: big, very big, no free space anywhere, no matter how hard you look. I hated the crowds that are constantly milling about on every deck like a WalMart on Black Friday. I hated waiting in line to get into the Tropicana, Savor and Taste and having no lounge in which to sit and sip away the wait. I hated the topmost deck, with its water slides, its Walk The Plank apparatus, the children’s water park and everything else jam-packed on there, making the one and only adult pool look like an afterthought. And most of all, I hated the way the ship is furnished: bar stools as far as the eye can see. Is NCL trying to break the Guinness world record for most bar stools per square foot on a vessel at sea?

This is one cruise I will remember for a long time, and not for good reasons. I have cruised 26 times before with Royal Caribbean, Princess, NCL, Carnival and Holland America. I can’t remember how many cruises I took with NCL to date, but I have reached the platinum member level. Read more