My husband and I have cruised with NCL 7 times now, but the Getaway is our least favorite ship. The ship was too crowded and had too many kids running around especially by the pool and buffet dinning room. 2 major disappointments were
1) - The atrium is absolutely NOT the place to hold Games and Trivia activities. There is already traffic from people walking by, its where the customer service and Internet desk is located. People walking by would stop and crowd the area. It was impossible to get a seat and I found it odd that parents allowed their children to watch the adult game shows. This is why on other ships these activities are held in a lounge.
2) - This was the first time we witnessed passengers who were not booked on NCL excursions being treated as 2nd class citizens. The morning we arrived in St Petersburg, they announced on the loud speakers that the boat hadn’t been cleared, so they advised people to wait in the common areas or in their cabins for an announcement to disembark. My husband and I ignored the announcement and waited by the Theater with other NCL excursion passengers even though our tour was with Alla, an independent tour company. We observed NCL crew letting the NCL Excursion passengers walk out the ship, so my husband and I joined the crowd. The following day we heard a couple had missed a portion of their independent tour because NCL did not give the announcement to disembark until all their Excursion passengers had gone through security at around 8.30am.
Our Ocean view cabin was comfortable, clean, and bigger than other NCL cruise ships.
Walked through old town and loved the architecture
Took a ferry to Suomenlinna Island - good history. Didn't have enough time to see much of Helsinki
Not impressed, just another European city, nothing stood out. The Vasa museum was ok - be sure to make this your first visit after you disembark.