The August Getaway sailing marks my fifth NCL sailing with the first two having been on the Sunward 2, followed by the Seaward, Epic and now the Getaway. I have also sailed on Carnival three times, Regal, Dolphin, RCCL, Commodore, Princess and others. I honestly do not understand complainers. Absolutely befuddles me those who complain about the lack of a seven story atrium, champagne greeting, having to pay for water, having to take pictures, etc. These are signs to me the traveler has not done their homework. And for some reason those who are perfectly content to eat Wendy's drive through every nigh for a week suddenly become food connoisseurs at sea. Seriously. Cease being snobs, relax and enjoy yourself. I also do no understand those who complain about the lack of food options and on board activities. When I sailed on the Sunward 2 in 1981 and again in 1982, there was one dining room. Two sittings. Limited options. There was no on deck buffet, although there was a midnight buffet. There was one show per evening at sea. One night it was a magician, the other evening a scaled down Las Vegas act of one singer and two dancers. That's was about it aside from a movie. There were a few other organized activities like Bingo, etc. And a small casino on board. And all of this was for $800 per person for a standard outside cabin for three nights. On the Epic I paid $600 for a solo cabin for seven nights with several dining options, activities and show included. There is no comparison to then and now. Now is better and cheaper.

On my most recent cruise on the Getaway, I paid $1,193 for a solo cabin, and was upgraded to a balcony mini-suite as there was a price drop. For $1,193 I received a fantastic room, great service, 7-days of transportation, 24 hour a day dining with several included venues, a Broadway-style show, an awesome dance show, (2 actually), several options to see comedians, watch movies, participate in nightly parties, fireworks, water slides, ropes course, etc. All for $170 a day. WOW! I did a little experiment a priced the same trip using only air to each destination visited, hotel stays, a $75 per diem for food, $200 for entertainment, (which is very low), and it came out to $3,626. Air alone was $2,901. So cruising on the Getaway is a terrific bargain!

Now, to my experience... Read more