It's been a few years, since I have cruised with NCL, and thought I would be a loyal cruiser with Royal Caribbean but my last few cruises with Royal Caribbean had been inundated with solicitations from crew members for drinks, specialty dining and even "bingo cards" and I found it very intrusive and taking away from the cruise experience. What brought me back to NCL was a great itinerary on a relatively new ship (the Getaway), and the fact that I was able to book a great airfare deal last Thanksgiving with Delta airlines for a ~$500 non-stop RT flight from JFK to Copenhagen where the cruise embarked.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the Getaway. It had a sleek and modern interior with an easy to navigate floor plan. Although it was set to hold 3900+ passengers it never really felt crowded, and I heard that the cruise was not sold out, which was hard to believe for this adventurous itinerary. I booked directly with NCL over the Thanksgiving Holiday for a great deal with an add-on bonus for the drink package, that was very nice to have for a long day after being in port, as this is a port intensive cruise.

I originally was booked in an inside cabin and about a month before the cruise offered a "bid" to upgrade and my bid was accepted for a wonderful 12th floor balcony cabin. This was such a bonus, particularly when cruising the Swedish archipelago, in an out of Stockholm, which was some of the most scenic cruise I have experienced in over 20 cruises. Read more