The ship has no charm compared to the NCL Gem class or other comparable ships. There is really no atrium that is breathtaking, as it looks like a regular cramped hotel lobby.

The cruise itinerary had a stop in Helsinki after the St. Petersburg stop, but the cruise announcements stated the winds were too strong to leave the St. Petersburg port. After all-aboard in St. Petersburg, a PA announcement was made canceling all excursions in Helsinki and that the ship would not leave until 7 AM the next day to proceed to Stockholm. When we boarded the ship in St. Petersburg, we had to step down, one person at a time, from the dock onto the ship. It seemed the ship was weighed down. Since the winds were only 29 knots during the PA announcement, we thought the crew had already planned to skip Helsinki even if the winds dissipated. Those winds are typical for the Baltic, but the overloaded Getaway couldn't leave port when other normal sized ships (Aida) could leave. The bad part was nobody could get off the ship nor was there anything open on the ship (no shopping, no casino, etc.). There was nothing to do on the ship for almost 12 hours. Terrible policy to close up shop while stuck in port.

The lead concierge was the worst we ever encountered. Definitely needs to be replaced. Read more