Cruised NCL last week with my husband a teen boys. Embarkation was easy and swift. We arrived at the port about 11:15 and were walking up the gangway by 12 noon. The NCL rep that checked us in was pleasant and efficient. The Getaway is a beautiful, clean large ship on the inside. We went against our plan of eating lunch the first day at Flamingos and decided to try the buffet. I was so surprised at how nice the venue was upon entry. The offerings looked appealing so we stayed. We like that they had a sink station along with the Washy Washy staff. We drank the ships water all week. I drink a lot of bottled water and I was satisfied with the taste of the ships water. We booked two large balcony rooms forward next to each other, one for my teens and one for the parents. The large balcony rooms are a real value in my opinion. Upon entry into the rooms, we were soon greeted by our room steward. He introduced himself and gave us a tour of the cabin and instructions on how things work, for example the lighting and the two locks on the balcony doors. Since I couldn't remember to take my sail card out of the slot, he gave us a generic card to keep in the slot and just tip it enough to turn off all the lights when we exited the cabin. We were given robes at our request. Our service was simply perfect all week long complete with fresh towels all the time and towel animals. Our cabins 9714 and 9716 provided ample storage and closet space. Each of the two balconies had a sun chaise, two chairs and a table. The bridge sticks out directly above these cabins. Others can look down on part of your balcony. The larger balcony is a nice alternative when the pool decks are just to crowded and loud during peak hours. We didn't need to purchase Vibe passes since we had our own large balcony. We experienced a good bit of motion being so far forward this cruise. But it also cut down on hall noise since it was near the end of the hallway. I must mention that you can hear some noise on occasion. A loud bang here or there. We could never tell what it was but it didn't bother us either as we expect ship noises and motion while underway. The four of us had the UDP so we ate in a specialty restaurant every night. I made reservations online prior to our trip. I liked being able to choose the time I desired. We found the food outstanding with the exception of one entrée during the entire week. We interacted with different staff every night and found them eager to please and engage in friendly conversations. We tried dining al fresco at LaCucina. Wow, what a great thing to eat outdoors on the waterfront! I was prepared to pay the 18% gratuity after each meal on the UDP. My son's tried Wasabi sushi and enjoyed it with the 25% discount from the UDP. My husband and I tried Ocean window during the sea day. The chief engineer officer was eating there as well. We ate breakfast in the MDR's a couple of times. But we found that the buffet offered an omelet chef. Most items found in the restaurants can be found at the Garden buffet with minimal waiting times.

My teens enjoyed the choices of hard scoop ice cream available at the buffet along with the soft serve. We did indulge in a cocktail everyday. The best bargain for beer were the 20 oz beers at O'sheehans. The Martini tasting was also priced well. And my favorite Caipirinha was made properly in Moderno's. We enjoyed the entertainment Burn the Floor, Howl at the Moon, the comedian and the live bands that played in the atrium. I will note however that the music in the pool area is just to loud for my liking. We went to the pool area everyday. Yes, people reserve chairs. As long as we were out by 10am we were able to locate chairs. The adult pool area is small. I did research ahead of time so I wasn't disappointed. I booked beach/water excursions in every port to make up for our loss of swim time on board. You could enjoy the adult pool the early mornings or port days. It was simply wall to wall people other afternoons. Spice H2o offers waterfalls but no pool. I was impressed by the staff that monitored the adult pool area and kept it strictly for adults. Speaking on this the staff was trying to enforce rules during the week. We witnessed a staff member ask a women to cover her bikini top as she started through the buffet line. There were tons of kid's on board during this summer cruise. The cruise demographic seemed to be young families and multi generation families traveling together. I loved the touch screens located throughout the ship as well as being able to view your account from the TV in your cabin. The My NCL website needs work in my opinion. It was difficult to navigate at times. We used the Casino a few nights. Indeed it was smoky but they do have a section of slot machines in a less smoky area. I was however disappointed with the shopping on board. No NCL branded beach towels, robes or tshirts for sale early on during the sailing. The GLOW party was an impressive production and party for the night. My family was impressed with the chilled towel service, drinks, music, shaded seating and frozen pops upon return to the ship in some ports. It was a nice touch and we appreciated it. The staff we encountered were all kind and greeted us when we spoke to them. I booked excursions through NCL this time for convenience. Each outing was to short in my opinion. We booked Meghan's Bay, The Baths in Virgin Gorda and Blue Lagoon. All were fun but just to short. Meghan's Bay was the shortest with about 75 minutes at the beach. It is supposed to be one of the best beaches but I think it was just average. Also there was an odor from the bathhouse/room that was unpleasant. We had the best time on The Bath's excursion. It is true that you should be in good physical condition. The trail is not clearly marked through the boulders and at one point my husband and some swam in deep water around some rocks. I opted to trek back and find the easier way since I don't swim well. You can take a small backpack through the trail and just leave it on the beach at Devil's bay. No one bothers them other that the stray rooster roaming. Currents are strong in devils bay but it is beautiful. I recommend taking the entire trail starting with the harder one to Devils Bay and taking the easy one back to the parking lot. We enjoyed the long path back seeing the lizards, catus, plants and trees. Blue Lagoon was a nice alternative to crowded Atlantis. The staff are fun and attentive. It is worth noting that the water is only knee deep in most of the lagoon. The beach and drinks were good though. They offer a simple lunch with the excursion.

Overall we liked the Norwegian product. We did not feel overcrowded on the ship and we experienced great service throughout our sailing.