The Getaway is a fun ship to be on geared at a younger crowd than some ships. The water slides, ropes course, and climbing wall were great fun for the adventurous at heart. There were lots of opportunities to dance which were great. The crew and officers were very friendly and a pleasure to be around. The food was very good and the service was excellent.

I was traveling with my parents and we had a medical emergency on board the ship on Thursday evening where my mother started bleeding in the shower and lost over a pint of blood. My dad called 911 and they sent a doctor and nurse to care for her. She was taken to the medical area where they stopped the bleeding and monitored her health over night. The doctor insisted that she go to the hospital the next morning when we arrived in Cozumel because they didn't have any of her blood type on board. This meant that both of my parents had to disembark the ship in Cozumel and were only allowed to bring one small suitcase between the two of them in the ambulance. This event changed the whole cruise for me. The hospital in Cozumel checked her out and released her in the morning. They cleared her to fly but not to sail so the cruise line would not let them back on the ship. I stayed with the ship and managed the remainder of their luggage. I was able to communicate with them thru the ships WiFi network and learned of her condition, but was disappointed they were not allowed to complete the cruise. They stayed in a hotel in Cozumel for 2 nights and flew to Miami on Sunday afternoon.

We enjoyed the free style dining where you didn't have a set time to eat dinner every day. The main dining rooms served great food in a nice atmosphere but the premium restaurants changed too much with everything a la carte (ie. pay full price for a steak, but salad is extra, and so is a potato, etc.). Other ships I've been on serve lobster on the formal second to last night but I didn't see that on the menu, so maybe that was only available in premium restaurants. Besides the cafeteria there are 4 free restaurants on the ship where they wait on you, and the service was great. You don't need to go to the premium restaurants to get good food in a nice atmosphere. The food in the cafeteria was also very good and you could get as much food as you wanted most of the day, but it was closed at certain times. They also get you for beverages on the ship. Only water, fruit juice, coffee, lemonade, and ice tea are free. Sodas are $3/can, wine starts around $30/bottle, and cocktails are ~$15 each. Some cruise lines invite you to bring your own sodas, but not NCL. I attempted to bring a six pack of Coke bottles on board, but it was taken away at the security check point in the terminal. Just around the corner there is a vending machine where they sell they exact thing they took away. If you like wine you may want to consider bringing your own wine and paying the corkage fees. Read more