Norwegian Getaway Review
Norwegian Getaway Complete Review - January 24 Sailing
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My husband and I went on the Norwegian Getaway on a 7 night cruise on 1/24. This was our 12th cruise. The only other time that we had traveled on Norwegian was on a Hawaiian cruise on the Pride of Aloha in February of 2007. We were less than impressed with Norwegian, but agreed to give them a second chance. The main reason for our decision was the exceptional promotion that they were running at the time of our booking, which was your choice of the Ultimae Beverage package, the Ultimate Dining package, or a $200 onboard credit. My hubby and I enjoy our cocktails, so we of course went with the Ultimate Beverage Package. Just let me say: WOW. WHAT A DEAL!! If you enjoy drinking or cocktails by the pool, by all means, go with this package. We couldn't have gone wrong with this, and to be honest, it completely made our trip. We never worried about keeping track of what our onboard account balance was, or worried about the cost of our drinks, or ordering that extra glass of wine with dinner.
EMBARKATION: We arrived at the port of Miami around 12:00 on the day of departure. This was by far the smoothest embarkation process that I have ever experienced. The lines moved quickly and smoothly, the customer service representatives were knowledgable and friendly. Once on board, we easily found our room and dropped our small bags off and headed up to the deck to check out the boat and grab some quick lunch at the buffet. (A helpful tip for finding your way around the ship the first few days: The little fish on the carpeting are always swimming towards the front of the ship.)
FOOD: The buffet is horrible. Point blank, without a question of a doubt, no excuses, the food there is horrible. We tried it a couple of times during the week, especially at sea days, just to grab something quick without going back to the room and changing and then headed to the dining room. It never got any better, and it was definitely worth our time to go back and change and head to Taste or Savor, O' Sheehan's or the Tropicana Room for lunch. Now, on the other hand: ALL OF THE OTHER FOOD ON THE SHIP WAS AMAZING!! We ate dinner in both of the dining rooms: Taste and Savor. The food was great temperature, wonderful flavor and presentation, and of course, as any other cruise ship, you can order as much as you would like. We also at at some of the specialty Restaurants, which we felt were worth the value for the money. (Note: We had the option of purchasing the Ultimate Dining package at a cost of $119 for our entire trip. We figured the numbers in our head, and this really doesn't make sense to do, unless you plan on eating at Cagney's more than 4 times during the trip.....We ate wherever we wanted, specialty or not, and only spend about $150 for specialty dining, so a much better value than purchasing the package.)
Cabin Review
Family Balcony Stateroom
Our room was great. We had a balcony room, while the balcony was rather small, we weren't planning on using it to sunbathe or anything like that. There was an unobstructed view. There was just two patio chairs and a small table. Of course, with the ship being new, the room had great and nice furnishings. The only complaint that I had about the room was that the couch was only about six inches from the sliding closet door, and it was extremely difficult to get clothes hung up in the closet. There was plenty of storage in the room, we put our suitcases in the drawers under the couch, and there was a lot of room underneath the bed, too. Bathroom was spacious. Note: The only toiletries that they provide to the room is body wash and shampoo. There is no conditioner, and they do not provide the little basket of toiletries that Carnival does with toothpaste, etc. So I would recommend bringing all of the toiletries that you would like with you.