Mind you I am writing this review based on this being my second NCL cruise experience. The ship was NCL’s Getaway.....the ship itself is a step down a tier from the Escape. This really being because the ship was a bit a smaller. One big upset for me being on the ship was the painters (yes you heard me right) and I’m not talking about the the artist from the art auction. Seeing the “wet paint” signs throughout the balcony’s and various parts of the ship were not attractive sights. The crew was really patching up throughout while we were on board and became obvious once we were returning to the ship from our first docking. Seeing the crew in white jump suits painting the balcony areas was interesting. Now, as for the cabin, my partner and I stayed in a stateroom with a balcony view. These rooms are pretty spacious I do have to say and are pretty much identical to their sister ship ESCAPE. The beds were comfortable, the, room was clean and cleaned regularly when asked. One small detail missed was our pool towels that were not setup in our room. We had to ask 3 times for them, and actually finally received them day 3 when I reached out to another steward. Overall we were satisfied with the room.

I traveled with a party of 16 total. We had 6 dining packages included with our cruise. I will break down our dining experience per reservation: 1.) Cagneys- great wine selection, great food (lamb chops cooked to perfection), servers were very attentive. We actually did cagneys twice. 2.) Ocean Blue- now we were all very excited to try this one out as this was a new one introduced. And honestly I was more impressed with the staff and the dessert (basil sorbet), but that’s about it. With everyone in the party except 4 people, 12 of us were not so thrilled with the food. We originally set 2 reservations for this place and ended up cancelling the 2nd one and chose to dine somewhere else. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t a go-back-to-place for seafood. 3.) Teppanyaki- it’s fun!! The food was awesome (shrimp and steak) super flavorful, the service was awesome!! You seriously can’t go wrong with this one! Entertaining for both adults and kids. We did this twice!! Now on to the regular eateries: 1.) Margaritaville- my lord this was terrible. You pay out of pocket for this one. You pay to be seated and pay for your drinks regardless of the drink package... and the food.....definitely doesn’t deserve a review. For something so well known, it failed in my book. 2.) Shanghai Noodle Bar- I was looking forward to this also. Sitting at the bar gives you the feel of being at a noodle bar in Shanghai sort of. You sit right up against the glass the overlooks the cooks, each of them singing and smiling. It was nice. The food was ok. I enjoyed the Spicey seafood bowel, and the potstickers! Yum! The noodles were a bit undercooked for my taste. The rice was not so much different from the buffet, not bad but also not amazing. Overall I liked this place. It does get packed so you have to make sure you are prepared to wait if you are in a larger party. 3.)O’shehanns- this was our go to place whenever we had nothing to do and no one would make a decision. I love and hate this place in a good way. Drinks are quick, the food is typical bar food... it’s a pub in itself. And it overlooks the atrium so you can get a seat looking down at the entertainment.

Entertainment wise, the shows were awesome! The steampunk circus act was really cool. The comedy show from what i heard from our traveling companions was fun y, funnier with more drinks in you. :). We did not make it to the broadway-esque performance but heard it was good. I love the Deal or No Deal days. Everyone is so involved. And the newlywed/not so newlywed shows were hilarious! I know the staff try their best to keep up with everyone. However, what fell really short for me was the repetitive songs and dancing that the crew almost forcefed you if you were in the same area as them. I wanted to shoot myself. It’s almost as if they had no other ideas, but to put everything on repeat. I had to leave areas because it was killing the vibe. The nightclub Bliss was fun. The DJ’s each night did a great job catering to request. The drinks were stiff and never lacking in timeliness served. One huge concern i had overall throughout the bars was the absurd amount of teens bombarding the areas. Huge chunk of them were nowhere close to 18 years old. Security had to constantly intervene in areas to check ID’s and kick them out. I guess it can’t be helped when you stray away from your parents, but I would have certainly appreciated a bit more attention from the security aspect to ensure these kids didn’t get into any of those areas. The casino, definitely took some change from us. We had a blast gambling on board. Definitely a good down time if you have the money to spend. Cruisers beware, you can charge it all to the room!! Hahahahah. Read more