As loyal Lattitude members we were awarded a less then pleasant experience on the getaway. It was our second time on this ship and the first time we were able to stay in the Haven after we upgraded from our mini suite. This time the Haven was booked and we thought how much different can it be if we've booked a mini suite it's the next best level. Oh how wrong we were!!! The difference in service was the most striking. We had been on the Escape last year and again upgraded to the Haven as loyal Norwegian cruisers we thought we would be OK. Mid ship with 4000 of our closest friends and a staff that treated us like we were at a summer beach resort that was overbooked. Areas that missed the mark for us; Food was extremely disappointing in the specialty restaurants not to mention getting a reservation. Ocean Blue had empty tables all week and hostess claimed that they had reservations for every 15mins. Wasabi was a casual option to consider and the staff was friendly. La Cucinna was not good at all and Cagney's was fine. Taste & Savor for breakfast were fine. Excursions: Cosat Maya catamaran. The pier was filthy and rundown and the catamaran was a crew in costumes. We saw about 5 fish total. We've snorkeled with Norwegian in the Eastern caribbean this was a huge let down and the area where we got the ferry felt very unsafe. Leaving the pier the smell was so awful we were all sick to our stomachs. Cozumel ; We chose the dolphin encounter it was fine and the people did the best they could with massive crowds and pools that needed to be cleaned. Harvest Caye was nice and the fish tacos at Landshark were great. Pool area is great clam rental is a waste they only provide them for the last row of lounges far from the shoreline and you can't see the pool from there. Staff there worked very hard to answer any questions we had about things we could do Rm;10192 everything felt dated on the ship and the rooms especially. We have stayed in other mini suites this felt like a regular balcony room, no distinction. Pool towels need to be replaced it seemed everytime we got new towels in our room they had stains on them. Towel station towels also stained. The pool area was very crowded but that was expected. Spice H20 was fine. We tried to arrange passes for The Vibe but they were sold out before we arrived along with the reservations to Ocean Blue. Smoking in the casino is gross, OK people do it. The Bliss Lounge for the 10-12yr olds in Splash Academy could only be accessed through the casino. If you didn't get to the kids club by 7 you HAD to walk through the casino and wait until they let the kids in which could be 15 mins. I understand the limitations for restricting smoking however the common sense for children and second hand smoke should trump that concern. It was a Spring Break cruise and we have been on cruises during this time with crowds. This crew and this crowd was especially unpleasant and I'm not sure I want to spend the money for the Haven again. This experience changed my perspective on cruising and we've never come away from the Easter Caribbean feeling this way. The locals on the islands we docked in had better customer service attention then the crew we had. So very disappointing Read Less

Cruisers were...my wife and I and another couple...all 40’s/50’s. After several sailings on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, our friends chose this cruise for us to tryout Norwegian...as the 3 For Free promotion seemed too good to pass up. Right up front, I’ll finish the Review Title: ...and Norwegian Failed. That’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy ourselves...after all, we were on a beautiful cruise ship in a warm climate...and we realised that for better or worse, our friends had chosen a time frame at the end of traditional Spring Break. However, assessing the pluses and the minuses; the minuses were the clear “winner”, placing Norwegian in third place, well behind the other two lines we have cruised with. Rather than a lengthy “story”....I’ve chosen more of a Bullet format (not really) for this Review. Embarkation: Was a breeze and we quickly found ourselves enjoying our first cocktail in O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill...which became our defacto meet-up place for the week. However...don’t think of O’Sheehan’s as a less crowded embarkation option. Ship: Beautiful...but not without what we deemed “major flaws” which severely impacted our overall experience. Ship felt crowded compared to experiences on similar size ships. Ship kept Very clean (with the exception of the pool area). 1) Too many add-on charges (Excludes Haven-related)...16 separate venues, restaurants, shows (Yes...SHOWS) not included in cruise price. Felt like we were nickle’d & dime’d. 2) Difficulty in getting an unambiguous answer regarding “what specific liquors would incur an up charge to the Ultimate Beverage Package”. Finally got clear answer on Day 4 (?) 3) Noticed (enough times to label it a “regular occurrence”) that drinks were made with “off brand” liquor instead of the specific liquor I requested. More nickel and dime’ ing !! 4)Adult Pool (not enforced...too many 13-17 yr. old kids)...Extremely limited number of lounge chairs with sun access (most chairs located in shade under the deck above). 2 of 4 hot tubs in Adult Pool area allowed kids w/parents ???....but this too was not enforced. Pool Depth at 6 ft. 8 in. was too deep to stand/socialize in. What’s Wrong With This Picture: 60-80 (or more) people sitting/standing around edge of pool (doing “adult things”) 4-5 people actually IN POOL ! Pool depth seems to be Norwegians “safety measure” against “jumping/diving” injuries. NEWS FLASH: Make Norwegian Adult Pools a depth that folks can STAND in and there won’t be any room for jumpers...Problem Solved ! Drink service at Adult Pool area a distant 3rd compared to Carnival/Royal. Note: Servers who worked pool area were great; just not nearly enough of them. We have NEVER had to stand in a long queue to get drinks at the pool before ! 5) Comedy Club venue way too small. We managed to Reserve spots for only a single Comedy show. Very disappointing as Comedy shows are our favourite non-pool activity. Cabin: Balcony Cabin (on the bump)...Adequate space for 2. Good storage. Bathroom roomy. Balcony...nice surprise. Dining: Main Dining...One visit. Won’t rate based on a single meal...but we ate (most). Market Place Buffet: Good selection. Overall good food/service. Noodle Bar...Very good service/food. Recommend. O’Sheehan’s....Very good service/food. Recommend. Specialty: Moderno,....Very good service/food. Recommend. Cagney’s....Best meal of the cruise ! Excellent service ! Highly Recommend La Cucina...OK food...So-So service. Neutral Entertainment: Overall opinion...Limited options (unless you pay extra) Burn the Floor...Very enjoyable, high energy show. Talented performers. Million Dollar Quartet...Very enjoyable. Talented performers. Comedy....Very enjoyable. Seriously disappointed to only attend one show. At Adult Pool....Blah...Nothing memorable. Service: Cabin Steward....we’ve had much, much better.... Ports/Shore Excursions: Overall...Did not like Norwegian’s docking locations Roatan...Repeat visit to Tabyana Beach...Very enjoyable...Recommend. Belize...R U kidding me ?? Harvest Cay is Belize like I live in the city; 30 minutes away ! Harvest Cay is without a doubt, the biggest ripofff of this cruise ! EVERYTHING on Alcatraz (that’s what the Belizeans call Harvest Cay !) COSTS EXTRA ! Food...Extra. Drinks...Extra. (Ultimate Beverage Package doesn’t work here !). Want to ACTUALLY GO TO BELIZE...Extra $25 per person for the ferry...and that gets you to the town of Placencia. If you were expecting Belize City...you’re not getting there...it’s another 3 hours up the coast ! Costa Maya....Rented a golf cart and drove to Mahawahl. Fun time. Cozumel....Rented a Jeep and hit some beach bars. Good food. Would we go again....Yes...but definitely not with Norwegian...Sorry. Read Less

We boarded the ship with ease, in about 30 minutes we on with hardly any waiting. No lines through security or to receive our ship cards. We then waited in a room with others for our boarding zone to be called, which was called very quickly. Throughout the week our staff was very friendly, from housekeeping to waitstaff to ship officers, mostly everyone would greet you when they saw you or walked past. The buffet had a vast variety of dining options. There was literally something for everyone. Carving station, Asian, Pizza, Pasta, too much to name! I also liked the way that the pool towels were distributed. Each night several pool towels were left in your room for the next day. You simply left the used towels in your room and they would be replaced regularly. Having the shore excursion tickets in hand made out excursions easy and worry free. Getting on and off of the ship was very easy for the most part. Upon disembarkment, we were off of the ship in 15 minutes and walked through customs with no wait and no issue. Some things I did not like about the ship... There was not enough pool space for the amount of passengers on the ship. It was nearly impossible to get to the pool on a sea day. The chairs around the pool were few and difficult to obtain unless you wanted to wake up very early. There were enough chairs on other decks though you felt very distanced from the pool. The freestyle dining was convenient, however very rushed. We waited on average 30min each night to be seated. Once we got in, the staff rushed to get you in and out so they could accommodate all of the guests. I didn’t feel a focus of the waitstaff to make us feel special. Once you finished your first drink, it was tough to get a refill. Food was average. Changing the clocks almost every night, forward or back, made life more difficult and confusing as our cell phone clocks didn’t change unless you had the WiFi. The stress of always making sure it was what time it was, was always there. Keeping “ship time” would have made it more simple. The gym on the ship was very small and busy, especially on the morning the clocks changed and half the ship was up at 6am. A secluded adults only area would have been a nice separation as about half of the ship was children. Read Less

a honey moon getaway it was not. there was 22 in my party, the ship was nice but people would leave the drink glasses all over, toilet in our room didn't work part of the time shower wouldn't drain, service wasn't the best cold food couldn't get drink refilled etc. A/C in room didn't work the 1st 2 nights out. bug bite from the room. not enough to do for that long of a cruises. One restaurant Cagney's was great, food and service was the best part of our trip would not give a high rating. entertainment and activities was a repeat buffet area needed a good cleaning. could get a hot cup of coffee. room service took over an hour. cabin needed to be wipe down they need new bedding need a new plans on how to get off the ship when back in port took over hour to get off and what a mess. Read Less

The rude cruise, over crowded boat apparently leads to very rude and over worked staff. Can you blame them? I noticed supervisors walking about and not helping the staff, they were eager to yell at others when a complaint came in, but didnt help when they could have. Your team is only as good as your leaders, just tip from simeone who knows. I was hoping for a great family vacation, the chance to see new places, and an opportunity to relax and unwind. What we experienced was the opposite. We found ourselves looked down upon by other guests and treated rudly by many staff in resturants when they learned I had allergies. The resolution to my allergies was to tell me, "that is not for you ma'am, have fruit." I was told no buffetts but there were no breakfast options in most places. No accommodations were made. I skipped most meals and settled on dinner which was usually terrible. At cagneys after over an hour I finally asked if we could have drinks and our waitress seemed annoyed. The food was cold and our order was wrong when it came out. Yes we had reservations and no it didn't make any difference. The spa was a joke. 200 per person and we went once. The reason? When we went we went at 8pm (open until 10). We were made to feel like an inconvienence. They came to check on us every 15 minutes and loudly complained that my husband and I were still there so we left. The place was littered with dirty cups, wet robes and towels and there wasn't a lounger that was free to use even though we were the only 2 people in there. My boys were not able to be together in the kids program they told us they would do an age bump because my youngest was a month away from the 10 year old cut off then they denied it. He has PTSD and when I asked if their staff could handle it if he had a panic attack they said yes they were trained then they asked what he couldn't eat. My other son has dwarfism and they were forcing him to be in a group with kids he didn't feel comfortable participating with. They were not ready to accommodate children or anyone with special needs. Needless to say, we didn't participate in the kids camp. Most of the pool deck loungers were taken up by towels but no people so you never had a place to go. The main pool is tiny, and there wasn't much forthekids to do. My husband ended up with food poisining from something he ate at maderno salad bar, dinner took so long at most places we couldnt book shows. My son's swim suit went missing from our room, I can only assume it was scooped up with towles but no one could help us look, or point us in the right direction. Our cabin steward was great, the photo guy made us laugh and we had a really great server at maderno so we filled out 3 hero cards for them, but over all, were it not for amazing excursions to 3 sites for mayan ruins and snorkeling and kayaking, I don't think I'd ever do it again. Read Less

My wife, 21 year old son and I took the Western Caribbean Cruise March 25-April 1. Here are the highlights, with the two negative aspects first. Haven: Paid a lot more for this. Staff was great, but the cruise line has to make a decision if this is going to be a "tranquility" space as advertised (and is stated in the onboard app) or whether they are going to let young children run amok. The kids took over the pools and hot tubs, making lots of noise, and the staff did nothing and probably could do nothing about it. This really distracted from the rest of the Haven experience. Another disappointment -- no service on the upper decks. We went up there to get away from the noise, and no one ever came up to serve drinks. Again, the Haven restaurant and staff are great, and the Concierges and Butlers are VERY helpful. One other perk of the Haven is unique embarkation and disembarkation lines. Same for going on shore. The Spa Nazis: My wife and I paid a lot for the standard 75 minute deep tissue massage. We were then escorted to the relaxation facilities. I had to step out for a minute to check on our son. The lady at the desk refused to let me back in and said I had to go in and pull my wife out. I refused, and she said she was going to go in and remove her, saying it was not included in the spa experience. I called the manager, who told me we were not supposed to be there, but that she would not kick out my wife. Talk about ruining what was an otherwise great experience. (The massage was great.) Another issue with the Spa/Fitness center is they spend the entire time trying to sell you stuff. The staff is under a lot of pressure to sell. Entertainment: A highlight of the cruise. We've seen Million Dollar Quartet in San Francisco and Vegas, and this performance the signing was the best of the three. We loved Burn the Floor too, and The Wine Lovers musical was fun (and got better as the wine disappeared!) We also enjoyed the comedians and dueling pianos. And we did ballroom dancing one night. Lots of options. Restaurants: Again, the Haven is great for all three meals. We also had dinner at Cagney's, Le Bistro and the Italian one, and all three were very good. Not great, but very good. Shore excursions: We did the Villa rental in Belize. Expensive, but a great experience One downside -- the food menu needs more seafood and better choices. We also did the clear kayak and snorkel in Cozumel. The guide was GREAT, and made the experience very enjoyable. The reef, however, was just ok. I have to think there are better spots in Cozumel to snorkel. Roatan -- I dove on my own. There is nothing really on shore by the ship, and the shore excursions seemed lame. If you dive, though, Tobri Divers and Sun Diving both get high marks. (I did the later.) Ship: It's HUGE. If that is ok for you, then you will like this ship. It's clean and has lots to offer. We enjoyed many aspects of it. Casino: My son loves blackjack, and the dealers were great. Friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our time there. Gym: the classes were very good. Not sure you really need the "Class Pass" we bought. It did get me into a class the first day at sea when the gym was very packed, but after that the gym was not very crowded. Adult Pool: WAY TOO MUCH SALT. My son and I jumped in and swam to the other side. We had to get out and sit for awhile before our eyes adjusted/ did not hurt. Cabin -- loved it. And it was well kept every day. Overall: this is a very good ship, the staff was great, and the itinerary went to some neat places We had fun. But I am not sure we would go again. We really had hoped the Haven would allow us to get away from the noise and hectic pace of a large cruise ship. That didn't really happen given all the loud kids. I'm not blaming the kids. The cruise line just has to make a decision whether the Haven will be "tranquil" as they say and pictures show or if it will be a louder family venue. Read Less

Decided at the last minute to try to get onto the Getaway and so glad we did! The perfect spring break vacation for two burned out parents and one burned out middle schooler! This cruise was packed although it didn't feel that way until disembarkation. The long lines moved pretty quickly and the staff was organized. We did ship excursions for three out of the four ports of call and chose to enjoy the ship while in Cozumel. Three days in a row of bus travel to and from excursion locations was enough for us. We really enjoyed Tabyana Beach Party and snorkeling trip in Roatan! So easy to walk from the water's edge into such pristine reefs! Would do it again!!! Loved our river tubing in Belize and our Chacchoben Mayan ruin visit in Costa Maya, too. I would totally do this identical cruise again but enjoy the multitude of things to do on the ship...especially my Mandara Thermal Suite pass more! Burn the Floor dance show is NOT to be missed! It is fabulous as was The Million Dollar Quartet!!!! We also did a behind the scenes excursion and found out how much goes into running this huge ship and saw how spotless the kitchen really is!!!. If you enjoy shows like Cirque Dreams, then book most of these prior to booking along with preferred restaurants as they fill up fast. They also have the Great Escape room on board, too. So much to do ...so little time and this cruise was a week long! Great cruise for multiple generations so book now and go! Read Less

I just got off the Getaway yesterday and wanted to write a comprehensive review of the ship and the ports of call while it still is fresh in my mind. First off, I had cruised on the Escape so the ship it self is very much the same with some small differences. This time I was able to book a mini-suite with an oversized balcony (8130). The room was a very nice size even with 2 adults and two teenagers. Even though the cabin is a nice size, we needed to make sure that we organized our cloths and shoes so I purchased some things that I highly recommend. I went to amazon and purchased some collapsible storage cubes and placed four of them o the top shelf of the closet, one for each person. We stored underwear, socks, etc.. per box which worked out amazing. I also purchased a hanging shoe rack to place all the shoes in there and keep the cabin clear of clutter.This also worked out great! The bathroom in the mini-suite was GREAT! This iyself was worth the extra money. The shower was very large and had full body jets. It also has a double sink so that helps out with teenagers. We also placed a storage cube in the bathroom to organize the hairsprays, gels, etc.... The balcony in this room is huge! I will attach some photos showing you but the ship has like 10 cabins on each side that have these extra large balconies and its amazing! As for the beds, very comfortable and plaenty of storage. Now that bad thing about the room: the room only has two power outlets which is crazy! With all the cellphones, tablets in today's day, how the heck can you just place two outlets? make sure to either bring a power strip or a multiple usb hub to charge your phones. Here is an idea I would suggest if you go, buy some magnetic hooks so you can place on the back of the bathroom door to hand some things. That will help you to organize somemore. The ship was amzing and very clean as usual. The layout is the same as the Escape so we got around perfectly. We recieved the specality dining package which was great! We ate at the La Cucina which was so good. everyting on the menu was delicious. Then we dined at Cagney's which was also very good. And the finally we ate at Teppanyaki which the kids loved. We had a very bad experience with the assistant Maitre at this restaruant. She was so rude with me that I went to complain as soon as I was done eating. I spoke with her boss and to my surprise, they did nothing for me! I was expecting something since it ruined my experience but NCL did nothing at all. I was not to happy about it. The least you can do is send me something to my room, discount my meal, something. Besides that experience all the food in all places were amazing including the buffet. The entertainment was very good also. Went to both shows, comedy club and Houl at the moon and it was great. they had a live band that played latin music anf they were AMAZING! We went to see them everytime they played. The glow party was cool but for younger kids because it fely like we were at Ultra. It really wasnt bad just got tired of jumping up and down all night:) So for the prots we booked all our travel outside the ship, not through cruise. We traveled to Roatan first and we went to Little French Key. First, we have been to Roatan at least five time before and I wish I had found this before. This pleace was amazing!!! I suggest everyone to go. The place is amzing, clean and a ton of things to do. If you are on Facebook click this https://www.facebook.com/littlefrenchkey/. The service was amazing, food was alright but not bad. Try the pizza, delicious. We then traveled to Harvest Cay, NCL private island; SUCKED!!!! What a waste of time!!! The island is another way for NCL to get money out of you. They charge for everything, even though its their private island. NCL needs to do something about this, include food on the island and the free drinks from the ship. We got down and left back to the ship within an hour. VERY DISSAPOINTED! Next we traveled to Costa Maya where my kids went with our group, which was 35 people, to the waterpark. They loved it! They said it was great and had tons of slides, ziplines, and lazy river. Even the adults who took them loved it. My wife and I went back to Maya Chan. Love this place so much! If yo u go to Costa Maya, you have to go there. Everyone gets there private tiki hut with a hamock, bed and chairs. All you can eat fresh tacos and all you can drink. The service is amazing and I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! https://www.facebook.com/MayaChanBeach/ Lastly we went to Cozumel where we went to Paradise Beach. It was also amazing! They have inflatable obstacles in the water and we all had a great time climbing, jumping and fighting on them. The food was very good and not to expensive. As for the transportation, make sure not to pay more than 4 dollars per person each way. There were some guys trying to rip us off there but I spoke with the driver we got and he told me there are guys there trying to rip people off but not to pay more than 4 dollars for paradise beach from NCL port. In summary, it was an AMAZING week! We ate like crazy, laughed, danced and also relaxed for an entire week. I purchased the cruise next to take another cruise within 4 years on the last day so I got a great deal. Usually you put down 250 and get 100 OBC but since I did on the last day, they gave me and extra 250 for my next cruise. So i paid 250 and I'm getting 500 off my next cruise. Hope you enjoyed this review and if you have questions, ask me. Best regards and happy cruising! Read Less

My wife, kids, and I pick Norwegian because we cruise with them at least once a year. We got hooked on the Norwegian cruise line back in 2013 while traveling around Europe on vacation (and a cruise). As for our trip, we headed down to Miami a couple days before the cruise started to enjoy the scenery, beaches, and nightlife. Once on the ship, this is where the fun begins. Since we always book a balcony room, that usually includes the ultimate beverage and specialty dining package as the perks we pick. Even if you don't have a balcony room, those two packages are worth splurging on. From the general complaints I heard from other guests onboard, they are used to Carnival / Royal Caribbean's dining style. You are assigned a dinner time of 6 PM or 8 PM. You sit with the same group of people and always have the same waiter / waitresses. Here on the Getaway, it's different. Each specialty restaurant is like a standard off ship restaurant. You need to make reservations prior to embarking the ship (to ensure your time / date is available). The food and service at each of these restaurants were fantastic. We went to Cagney's (2 times), Ocean Blue, Le Bistro (2 times), Shanghai's Noodle Bar, and Teppanyaki. The general cabins are all about the same size. We had 4 in our party (2 adults & 2 kids). There is a pull down bed and the sofa turns into another bed to accommodate the 4 people. While there aren't lots of places to stash items, we generally bring magnetic hooks / hangers to hold all the toiletries, clothing, etc. We also don't spend much time in the cabin since all the fun is outside of the room! As for entertainment, there were so many things to do on the ship. From the Howl at the Moon, to more formal things like burn the floor, they have all sorts of things to do. My kids enjoyed the rope course, mini golf, wall climb, and most of all the water slides. From sunup and way past sundown, there were so many fun activities on the ship. The staff on the ship were fantastic. Any time I needed help, had questions, etc., they always stopped to help. More so, they weren't afraid to be themselves and have fun also. Our room steward made all sorts of towel animals for my kids to enjoy, including a frog made with green towels! They thought that was awesome. Since this was our second time through the western Caribbean, we didn't get off in Roatan or Costa Maya. Instead, we got off at Harvest Caye and Cozumel. At Harvest Caye, we did the paddle board tour. This was fun and our kids loved it - mostly because mom and dad paddled them around. They got to see lots and lots of fish and all the work they are doing to build up the marine wildlife around there. Once we finished that, we went into the ocean and swam in the pool. There was definitely a lot there to keep everyone enjoying the beautiful weather. In Cozumel, we did the Jose Cuervo tequila tasting tour. This was fun, but not something we'd do again. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and will continue to cruise with Norwegian. While we have been on a few different cruise lines, the 'freestyle' approach Norwegian has fits our lifestyles and personalities. Read Less

I really wanted to like this ship. I have sailed in the past with Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and MSC prior to giving Norwegian a try. I will start to say that I have never had to pay to enjoy a show in a cruise before and the getaway had a couple of them that were accompanied by a 3 course dinner. Almost everything has a %20 surcharge or "gratuity" even if you go to the bar an get the drink yourself. If you don't by the uber expensive dink package, a glass of soda (pepsi) half ice/half soda will fetch you $4.00+ including gratuities, A traditional small mojito will cost a bit more than $13... You can't bring your own bottle water yet they are the most expensive cruise line I have sailed in terms on bottle water prices or soda. Don't like pepsi and want to bring your own coke? look elsewhere since norwegian won't allow that...OK everything was not bad. Food was good especially on the buffet, the dining room (complimentary) food was good but variety could be better, Maybe they wanted to push you to go to the specialty restaurants. Ship was always clean everywhere, staff was friendly and the itinerary was very appealing . To me Norwegian falls in a very odd category...they want to be a fun ship like carnival, with a luxurious vibe like princess and a all rounder like royal caribbean yet they never hit the nail in the head in any of those... Read Less