Norwegian Getaway Review
Norwegian Getaway: A comparison to Royal Caribbean big ship cruises
Rating by category
Additional details
My significant other works for RCCL, and because of this we have been on at least 14 cruises on Royal and her sister cruise line Celebrity. On Royal, smallest ship was Jewel of the Seas, but we have mostly cruised on Voyager class, Freedom class and Oasis. On Celebrity, we have sailed mostly on Solstice class ships. We ended up on the Norwegian Getaway when we couldn't get any reservations, even regular full fare on Royal for spring break. Our last cruise before this one was last April 2014 on the Independence. We weren't sure what to expect never having sailed on NCL, and we were pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be helpful to breakdown and compare our experience on both lines.
Embarkation: Check in was fine but we didn't like having to wait for our group to be called which is how NCL does their embarkation. I would almost say Royal wins in this category except for the fact that NCL gave us a great guide with map that really helped and we also liked that there were several lunch options including one of the dining rooms so we didn't have to forage for food while lugging around our carry on. I also liked that they offered an introductory ship tour on Getaway, which was very helpful. Despite the dislike of the groups to board, I'd say NCL Getaway wins out here.
Cabins: We learned ahead of time that the Getaway balconies are smaller than what we are used to on Royal so we got a larger balcony room (B6). NCL wins out here also in that the bed was higher and more comfortable than what we've had on Royal. Instead of a bulky chair and oval glass coffee table like on Royal, the Getaway had an ingenious multi-purpose stool/storage cube with removable tray. Additionally, the full sized blow dryer was in a clever holster mounted under the vanity. The couch was also huge, in that I believe it serves as a twin bed, and it was armless making it really convenient to seat more people and also stay out of each other's way. Under the couch were 2 huge drawers that easier could fit at least 4 people's clothes for a week. The bathroom on the Getaway was nice with a seemingly larger shower than on Royal and a larger sink. The only negatives I could say would be there is no real enclosed cabinets,except one under the sink, in the bathroom and no enclosed spaces in the room around the vanity.
Cabin Review
Large Balcony Stateroom
Cabins: We learned ahead of time that the Getaway balconies are smaller than what we are used to on Royal so we got a larger balcony room (B6). NCL wins out here also in that the bed was higher and more comfortable than what we've had on Royal. Instead of a bulky chair and oval glass coffee table like on Royal, the Getaway had an ingenious multi-purpose stool/storage cube with removable tray. Additionally, the full sized blow dryer was in a clever holster mounted under the vanity. The couch was also huge, in that I believe it serves as a twin bed, and it was armless making it really convenient to seat more people and also stay out of each other's way. Under the couch were 2 huge drawers that easier could fit at least 4 people's clothes for a week. The bathroom on the Getaway was nice with a seemingly larger shower than on Royal and a larger sink. The only negatives I could say would be there is no real enclosed cabinets,except one under the sink, in the bathroom and no enclosed spaces in the room around the vanity.