Did the same cruise in Oct. 2018 when Hurricane Michael messed with our stops. Got a great casino deal so we tried it again. We had a morning flight into FLL, shuttle took us to ship arrived about noon and literally walked right on. Great timing. We had bid on upgrade and received ocean view 48 hours prior to cruising for 75.00 pp. This room had plenty of space compared to IS cabins. It was on deck 5 under the side of theatre, only noise we heard was the ship going in or out of ports, I assume the ropes etc. My few complaints were: the entertainment, now many times can you see the same comedians with the same material? So we saw two different acts and that was enough. The beds were very hard :( and need to view the tv channels for people who want to relax in the cabin. Chair hogs were in full force, my DH kept saying move their stuff. I didn't it isn't worth the trouble of an argument. Harvest Cay was much better than I expected. Very large pool, close beach and plenty of chairs and not to far from the ship. So far this the closest to Disneys Castaway Island as Ive seen. Except nothing is included in the cruise fare on the island, drinks, food and zip lines etc. Million Dollar Quartet is great! saw it on the last sailing twice. Service was GREAT! we had some of the best DR servers in the Tropicana Room. Overall I would say very good for the price and close for the cruise itself. Read Less

My daughter & I traveled with a few other families for a Senior Spring Break trip & had a great time. Attended Cirque show which was fun. Dined in Tropicana a few times which was good too & loved being able to eat whatever time we wanted w/ freestyle. We used our other SPD's at Tappenyaki & La Cucina and were pleased. Wish we could have gotten into Ocean Blue but they were full towards the end of the week. Our group enjoyed H2O Spice adult deck during the day. (be sure to get a chair early anywhere on sea days). Loved having the drink pkg and enjoyed Margaritaville drinks. The whole ship was clean and had a huge variety of things to do. Elevators worked great even though it was a full ship it didn't seem too crowded overall. Not a fan of O'Sheehan food but the Garden buffet was great for quick breakfast & lunch with lots of variety. Most team members were friendly but the bartenders were really flat. Roatan was fun as we had a full day excursion that we booked outside of Norwegian. The private island at Belize was beautiful. We got there early and had some great seats near the pool where we spent the whole day. Wish they had more variety for beer bucket (only had 8oz Heiniken cans or draft to pick from) A little pricey but glad the locals get to benefit from all the passengers. We found a great little beach club (Pez Quadro/40 Canons boutique hotel) at Costa Maya to spend the day and the port shops were plentiful and even a pool in the middle. The girls saw a mexican wrestling show which was hilarious. Not a fan of Cozumel but the girls wanted to experience the rite of passage at Senor Frogs. We also enjoyed the deck parties with themes: 80's, Glow & Farewell. I would definitely use Norwegian again! Read Less

I have cruised with Norwegian years ago and so much has changed. We were shocked with the service. In main dining, we many of times waited more than an hour to be served dinner, with no one coming back to our table to see if we needed refills etc. In Savor we asked to switch out our appetizers because we didn't like them and they did, but when we were done, the waiter basically asked for an additional tip because he swapped out our appetizers. Bold! The cabin steward was just okay. Met our needs. The buffets for lunch and dinner, served the same thing everyday. The food was just okay at best. Mostly bland. Fine dining was good. Teppanyaki and Cagney's was good. Moderno was not appetizing and the food was not great. The bartenders were good if you tipped them occasionally so they would not pretend they didn't see you. The excursions and the ports were fantastic. The rooms were just okay. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary,went to Coxen Hole,Roatan, Harvest Caye, Belize,Costa Maya Mexico, and Cozumel , Mexico, all were very nice. A lot of people complained about having to pay for drinks and food on Harvest Caye because they think it is owned by Norwegian, but it is not, do a little research before you book,we did.The ship was very clean and all the crew very friendly no complaints.Food was also good even on the buffet.Main dining rooms we only did the Tropicana very good and so was the staff. We had the three free specialty room dinning room package so we used them went to Cagneys steakhouse, Teppanyaki, and Le Bistro,all were top notch but there is a up charge on some items on the menu. At the Spice bar at the back of the ship had the best bartenders and always friendly and even knew you by name, at the pool bars not so much very slow did not spend much time there because the pool layout is just terrible so small no room everyone sitting around the pool and hard to swim.,Norwegian in my opinion needs to leave the market place off of these ships and open up that pool deck because they also save space on the upper deck for the Haven, that"s also room the could have used for open deck and had another pool. One more thing they could do is have a menu out on display at all of the bars, the drink of the day, they don"t, you have to ask.Would we sail on Norwegian again maybe, I would put them ahead of Carnival but in my opinion they are not up to Royal Caribbean or Princess standards. Read Less

Mind you I am writing this review based on this being my second NCL cruise experience. The ship was NCL’s Getaway.....the ship itself is a step down a tier from the Escape. This really being because the ship was a bit a smaller. One big upset for me being on the ship was the painters (yes you heard me right) and I’m not talking about the the artist from the art auction. Seeing the “wet paint” signs throughout the balcony’s and various parts of the ship were not attractive sights. The crew was really patching up throughout while we were on board and became obvious once we were returning to the ship from our first docking. Seeing the crew in white jump suits painting the balcony areas was interesting. Now, as for the cabin, my partner and I stayed in a stateroom with a balcony view. These rooms are pretty spacious I do have to say and are pretty much identical to their sister ship ESCAPE. The beds were comfortable, the, room was clean and cleaned regularly when asked. One small detail missed was our pool towels that were not setup in our room. We had to ask 3 times for them, and actually finally received them day 3 when I reached out to another steward. Overall we were satisfied with the room. I traveled with a party of 16 total. We had 6 dining packages included with our cruise. I will break down our dining experience per reservation: 1.) Cagneys- great wine selection, great food (lamb chops cooked to perfection), servers were very attentive. We actually did cagneys twice. 2.) Ocean Blue- now we were all very excited to try this one out as this was a new one introduced. And honestly I was more impressed with the staff and the dessert (basil sorbet), but that’s about it. With everyone in the party except 4 people, 12 of us were not so thrilled with the food. We originally set 2 reservations for this place and ended up cancelling the 2nd one and chose to dine somewhere else. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t a go-back-to-place for seafood. 3.) Teppanyaki- it’s fun!! The food was awesome (shrimp and steak) super flavorful, the service was awesome!! You seriously can’t go wrong with this one! Entertaining for both adults and kids. We did this twice!! Now on to the regular eateries: 1.) Margaritaville- my lord this was terrible. You pay out of pocket for this one. You pay to be seated and pay for your drinks regardless of the drink package... and the food.....definitely doesn’t deserve a review. For something so well known, it failed in my book. 2.) Shanghai Noodle Bar- I was looking forward to this also. Sitting at the bar gives you the feel of being at a noodle bar in Shanghai sort of. You sit right up against the glass the overlooks the cooks, each of them singing and smiling. It was nice. The food was ok. I enjoyed the Spicey seafood bowel, and the potstickers! Yum! The noodles were a bit undercooked for my taste. The rice was not so much different from the buffet, not bad but also not amazing. Overall I liked this place. It does get packed so you have to make sure you are prepared to wait if you are in a larger party. 3.)O’shehanns- this was our go to place whenever we had nothing to do and no one would make a decision. I love and hate this place in a good way. Drinks are quick, the food is typical bar food... it’s a pub in itself. And it overlooks the atrium so you can get a seat looking down at the entertainment. Entertainment wise, the shows were awesome! The steampunk circus act was really cool. The comedy show from what i heard from our traveling companions was fun y, funnier with more drinks in you. :). We did not make it to the broadway-esque performance but heard it was good. I love the Deal or No Deal days. Everyone is so involved. And the newlywed/not so newlywed shows were hilarious! I know the staff try their best to keep up with everyone. However, what fell really short for me was the repetitive songs and dancing that the crew almost forcefed you if you were in the same area as them. I wanted to shoot myself. It’s almost as if they had no other ideas, but to put everything on repeat. I had to leave areas because it was killing the vibe. The nightclub Bliss was fun. The DJ’s each night did a great job catering to request. The drinks were stiff and never lacking in timeliness served. One huge concern i had overall throughout the bars was the absurd amount of teens bombarding the areas. Huge chunk of them were nowhere close to 18 years old. Security had to constantly intervene in areas to check ID’s and kick them out. I guess it can’t be helped when you stray away from your parents, but I would have certainly appreciated a bit more attention from the security aspect to ensure these kids didn’t get into any of those areas. The casino, definitely took some change from us. We had a blast gambling on board. Definitely a good down time if you have the money to spend. Cruisers beware, you can charge it all to the room!! Hahahahah. Our service on board was good and boarderline pretty good. I can say that I definitely encountered at least 2 staff members each day on this 7 day cruise that looked like they hated everyone on board. Poor things. But none the less I was pleased with everyone else!!! Now, as for the itinerary, we did the Western Caribbean which included ports: Roatan Honduras, Harvest Cay Belieze, Costa Maya, and Cozumel............ out of each stop my favorites were Honduras and Costa Maya each was cost effective and really pretty. The one draw back from these 2 were the locals in your face on the beach trying to selling you everything under the sun. But if you looked past all that, the views were amazing and the waters were gorgeous!! If you are in Roatan (West Bay Bananarama) did not miss a beat. Now, the place i was not so impressed with other than the lush vegetation was NCLs private island in Belize. Over priced is pretty much all I can say. The beaches sand was rough. Like gritty seashell, peoples and sand all in one. I was not impressed. The plus side though, the pool area looked prettt, and the zip line from the lighthouse was fun. If you don’t want to spend much, you’re better off staying on ship. The final dock was Cozumel. We ended up in Pardise Resort. This was fun for the kids and fam. They literally had a bunch of floating inflatable obstacle courses for the kids out on the ocean water. This was fun to watch as the adults were launching these kids up in the air when landing on a blown up mat. Anyone could buy an all day pass for this floating fun for i believe 35$ now for the adults that wanted to drink and eat there is an all inclusive 65$ deal. We certainly outdrank and ate here. Ha. If you paid the 65$ you also got a good discount to rent the water gear(paddle boards, snorkeling, canoes..etc) or if you wanted to keep it simple and just rent a chair it was 3$ per person. The pool was also a great place to getaway if you did not want to spend time on the beach. This is simplified..... the cruise was good. But I would not choose this itinerary again. Most of our group got a little sick from something. None of us could pinpoint where actually but we did. 2 of my party ended up in the infirmary and because of the boom booms, they were on isolation for 24 hours, resulting them to miss 1 whole day confined in their cabin. :( not to scare those away though. This was a fun cruise. It was a vacation! But I would definitely suggest doing your research before choosing. It maybe what you are looking for. Ultimately your decision. Read Less

We wanted to be on the cruise on our anniversary, so we selected this cruise. We usually go on smaller ships, such as the Pearl, but there were none available from Miami on our dates. We were pleasantly surprised by the Getaway. The staff and crew were fantastically friendly and accommodating. The ship was very upbeat, and we were able to find quiet areas, although it was spring break. Our cabin steward was the best we have ever had, and we’ve been on 25 cruises. We loved the Ice Bar, and enjoyed Fat Cat’s and the Headliner. We liked the Trivia contests, the various competitions, the Tropicana for dinner, and everything about the ship’s set up. Our only two suggestions would be to have more shows in the theater. The same shows kept repeating. Also, the shows in the Atrium were great, but seating was not available. Maybe these should have been in the theater. We did not take any shore excursions. We visited Roatan by taxi, and enjoyed the chocolate factory. The guide there was very knowledgeable. Harvest Key had something for everyone, including giant chess and checkers games and zip lines. Read Less

This was our second cruise, we had previously sailed on the 4 month old Escape back in Feb 2016. The Getaway is year older but very similar - that was a plus for us - we already knew the lay of the land. The only major thing missing on the Getaway vs. the Escape is The District Brewhouse. The brewhouse was sorely missed for us as the beer selection on the Getaway is limited if you like IPAs, something unique, and craft beer - they offer regular selections such as Heineken, Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra, Newcastle brown, Sam Adams - which are featured in every bar. The Getaway is headed for a two week drydock in May for some tweaks - perhaps they will add a newer pub or brew Haus type venue. (Although I have been a major Jimmy Buffett fan for like 30 years) Margaritaville was the biggest disappointment on the ship - except for maybe the conch fritters as a snack. It was "free" for lunch the first day - so we grabbed the chance - found it way overrated, noisy, and crowded. This was the only place where I felt the servers were not as good as the main dining rooms. The margaritas, made with Buffett's cheap tequila, were overly sweet (mix) and watery. (I doubt Jimmy drinks this tequila...) If you have the Unlimited drink package - you can get a better margarita anywhere on the ship - say with Patron Silver, which is in the $15 limit for drinks in this package. Overall the restaurant is not worth the premium (for food) over any of the main dining rooms, or the drink you can custom order at any of the bars. The specialty restaurants were incredible and matched our experience on the Escape - we had great meals at Moderno, La Cucina, and Le Bistro. All excellent for food, service, and atmosphere. Another restaurant highlight is the Shanghai's Noodle Bar - you can see the food made in front of you - great BBQ pork soup, dumplings, and fried rice - fresh vegetables and greens in the fried rice (more of a "healthy" fried rice). The spring rolls are previously prepared (frozen) - just sayin' - but this place is great - except for maybe a bit of smoke fumes from the nearby casino. We had a snack/light meal in O'Sheehan's - handy since its always open. Got a couple of orders of fried chicken wings - the buffalo and Jamaican jerk. It is what it is - but the wings were soggy vs. fried crisp, and the jerk sauce does not taste at all like a real jerk sauce at all. I know I sound fussy here - but we really enjoy well executed chicken wings in general - if you have modest expectations you will be fine here. The Burn the Floor show was excellent - I mean really good - and a great choice for a Miami-themed ship. The ship was clean and well-maintained - I was concerned a bit since our only other experience was on the 4 month old Escape, but the Getaway did not disappoint, if anything, it felt more comfortable - more of a well-oiled machine with the crew and operations. Some of this perception maybe due to it being our second cruise and we already knew some of our preferences for food and drink. It's a great ship with a great crew. We did get an upgrade to The Haven - which honestly was incredible all around - food, bar, private concierge, private pool, hot tub, sunning chairs on deck. The Haven restaurant is the equal or better than the specialty dining restaurants - small and very cozy/intimate - with top notch food and service. The servers (Emanuel, Pretty, Mayan) and hosts (Nicola, Samuel) there are all excellent. Jelyrose and Tyler do an excellent job at The Haven bar - can't say enough about these folks. On both Getaway and Escape - we loved the Prime Meridian bar - really nice, quiet, dark. The bartenders will make anything you want - they will work with you. Stopping at this bar before dinner, or whenever, makes you feel like you are in a special place. We also got the spa package ($200 each) and really enjoyed it. We also got a couples massage - that was a wonderful treat - both Antuniya and Surina were excellent. Deck 8 is always our favorite place for a walk. It is called The Waterfront on this ship - lots of great things to see - including the outside restaurant seating and bars, views of the water. Read Less

We got down to Miami Beach the night prior to the cruise. Took Uber to the Port of Miami for about $28. We arrived at the cruise port about 11:30 AM and embarkation was quite fast. We are bronze latitude members so that may have helped slightly but there really weren't any long lines. We were on the ship by 12:20 PM. Cabins were ready at 1:30 PM. We had a spa balcony room on deck 14 and there was enough space for our belongings even though I like to bring a lot of clothes. Had lunch in the Garden Café on embarkation day; it was a bit of a mob scene. I think Savor or Taste may have been open; should have checked. But the weather was perfect, so most people want to be on the top decks. We had dinner the first night in the Tropicana Room which was decent. We didn't make it to the Intro Show Sunday night. Monday we spent most of the At Sea day lounging outside and then spent some time in the thermal spa which is included with the cost of our balcony spa room. My wife and I both did the family waterslide and I did the whip slides. I skipped the free fall slides (can't quite get the confidence or interest to do that one). The thermal spa is nice. There was only one water massager in the pool (I think the EPIC had two). The hot tub is nice in the thermal spa because its hotter than the hot tubs outside and you can find a spot. Monday night we ate in Taste which was fine but unmemorable. We saw Burn the Floor which I enjoyed. I think I had seen it on Breakaway and this production was a bit more interesting as there was some dialogue. Tuesday we were in Roatan Honduras. We did the Maya Cay excursion. This was a nice way to spend the day. It is about a 5 minute ride by boat to the island. There are animals, beach chairs, a pool and some replica Mayan ruins. We both snorkeled off the dock which cost $30 each for the cost of the snorkel, mask, fins and lifejacket. A guide takes you out to where the coral ends and the depth of the ocean drops hundreds of feet. The snorkeling was probably the highlight of the afternoon. A buffet lunch was provided and drinks were available for purchase. I think they were about $7 each which is a decent value considering the cost of alcohol on the ship. Tuesday night we ate at Ocean Blue. We had the 3 specialty dining credits however this is where I feel NCL is nickel and diming its customers. There is a $10 per person additional fee when dining at Ocean Blue on top of the specialty dining plan which we prepaid. Then once there they charge an additional $5 for a Shrimp Cocktail Trio. Yes Trio, that's three shrimp. I mean at least have four shrimp cause most people are dining as a couple. I guess you are supposed to cut the third shrimp in half. Then, I got the 1.5 pound lobster as my main course which is another $10 charge. Oh and then they charge 20% gratuity on all charges on the ship. So after our specialty dining package was applied, we paid $35 to eat here plus 20%. Wednesday we were in Harvest Caye, Belize. This is NCL private island. It is a nice place but feels somewhat like Typhoon Lagoon in Disney World absent the waterslides. There is a huge pool which was fun. The beach is alright but the sand isn't that nice to walk on. I walked into the ocean but kept stepping on some jagged rocks so it is advisable to wear water shoes here. I was able to rent a locker for $5 using the ship card. I believe anything else requires cash or credit card on the island. We bought a couple of margaritas for $5 each during happy hour (around 3 PM). We didn't wind up eating on the island; we went back on the ship and then came back out after lunch. It is about a 15 minute walk from the ship to the island. They have carts for people with impairments. We went kayaking in the lagoon for our shore excursion. The lagoon is pretty long actually, so this was a decent activity for $29 each. It seems that the highlight in Harvest Caye is the ziplining which looked cool but between the breeze and my fear of heights along with the wife being totally uninterested in it, I didn't do it. Wednesday night we saw the Steampunk Circus Show which was excellent. However, the steak was not prepared to my liking. It was too hard to understand the waiter and my steak was medium rare. Edible but not the way I like it. I observed another family that refused to eat steak or the shrimp and demanded chicken. After about five times of refusing the steak & shrimp they were finally served chicken. Again, we used a specialty dining credit but there is still a $22.50 charge per person for the dinner show + 20% gratuity. Thursday we were in Costa Maya, Mexico. Costa Maya is just the name of the port. You are really in Quintana Roo. We did the Salsa & Salsa excursion. We took a short bus ride from the port to get to the restaurant. The chef was entertaining and it was fun making guacamole and two kinds of salsa. You also get margaritas. Afterwards, we had about an hour on the beach right outside the restaurant. The beach is not very wide so there are a lot of people in what feels like a bit of a tight area. We also had to move initially because we were under some Mexican's canopy that we had to buy at least $25 each in drinks from if we wanted to stay there. There are a ton of people trying to sell you all sorts of things here, so if you want to relax bring your headphones. Back on the ship, we ate at La Cucina. This was a nice meal and we ate outside. I paid for this meal and didn't use a dining credit. Afterward, Norwegian had the Awesome 80's Party in Spice H20. This is the highlight of the dance music on the ship for me every cruise. They play the videos on the screen with the music. We danced for over two hours. Friday we were in Cozumel, Mexico. We did the Tulum and Xelha combo tour. This leaves from Playa Del Carmen, so you have to take the ferry to the mainland. The ferry really isn't that bad, but I don't get seasick. It was good to see Tulum but I would have liked to have a bit more time to explore on my own here without the tour guide. We had an issue leaving Tulum as our tour guide lost everyone from the excursion for about twenty minutes until we finally all found each other eventually at the tour van. We only had about 2 hours at Xelha which allowed me time to do the lighthouse waterslide which is really fun. We had lunch there which is included with your admission. The food options are much better than standard American theme park items. After lunch, we floated around on a tube in the huge lake for about 15 minutes and then we had to meet the guide at the exit to leave. I wish I had a bit more time here and if I was going to do this again, I think I'd have to do it as part of a week in Mexico. Friday night we ate at Shanghai's which was really good and it is complimentary. I'm not sure people realize that. This was the most surprising meal of the week with regards to how good it was. We saw Million Dollar Quartet which was a good production. Saturday we hung out on the pool deck and went to the thermal spa. We ate dinner in Cagney's and used our remaining specialty dining credit. Cagney's is very good but there was a large family there next to us who was quite obnoxious being very loud and I noticed a few people were bothered by them. So overall, it was an above average cruise. Here are my criticisms: The breakfast items in the Garden Café were the same every day. We ate at O'Sheenans one morning and Savor another morning, but the items available here were the same as in the Garden Café. I didn't see waffles available anywhere. The French Toast was a bit strange. The omelet station was lacking a few items (mushrooms, onions). This was our third NCL cruise. We had been on Epic in the Western Mediterranean and Breakaway in Bermuda. I signed up for cruise next on Breakaway and used it for this cruise. We went to the cruise next slideshow presentation on this cruise. The cruise next rep was asking people who painted the hull on x NCL ship. She asked about Breakaway and I remembered it was Peter Max. So she called on me and I answered the question correctly. She said see me after the presentation; I have something for you. So after it was over, I went up to the cast member and she said she would get me a brochure and a suite offer. She asked for my cabin number which I provided. Well this took place on Monday and guess what, NCL never dropped anything off at my cabin all week. This rubbed me the wrong way, since it was the NCL cast member who mentioned the gift / reward item for answering the trivia question and I had used two cruise next certificates for this cruise and had they taken the time to look this up they would have seen that. But instead, I don't hear from them the rest of the week. So we didn't wind up doing Cruise Next this time. We may still cruise NCL again but I didn't want to be committed to it. Read Less

Our niece was getting married on the cruise ship so the cruise line was chosen for us. It was a very good choice. Talking to other passengers we learned that they had been on other cruise lines but found Norwegian to be the best they had experienced. All staff from cabins to restaurants and bars were very friendly and helpful. If I had anything negative to say it would be that water for drinking was not supplied for the cabins. It had to be purchased. Getting off and on to the ship for excursions or just to look around at he ports was a quick and positive experience. All the security and cleanliness of the ship made me feel very safe and protected. I would definitely sail with Norwegian again if the opportunity arises. I will be looking into an Alaska cruise for our next trip and maybe encourage some family members to join us. Read Less

Scheduled an NCL cruise for immediacy and wanted to try NCL. - First impression is that NCL is rather mercenary or cheap. Not even a complimentary small water in room after checking in the cabin (balcony). - Had a small blister on a toe and went to first aid-medical to ask for a band-air and a spray of neosporain. Told it would be $5.00. Really. - The spa was very nice...one of the only quiet places on the ship and relaxing. a definite 9. - Very few quiet places especially to sit and have a drink and unwind. Have to rise very early for quiet time. - The buffet was quantity vs. quality, with quantity wining out. - Specialty restaurants service was good and the quality of food much better than buffet. - Ports (Honduras, Belize, Mexico) were safe and excursions organized. Would think twice about wondering off the beaten path or leaving the group. - Should have a section for identifying the cruise for relaxing and unwinding. Read Less