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Getaway and Relax

Paris

When we were looking for a cruise to use our two $250 soon to expire future cruise credits, we chose the Getaway September 6th cruise that would be sailing out of Lisbon, which is one of our favorite cities to visit in Europe.  Unfortunately, the cruise began with a terrible boarding process for nearly every passenger on the ship except for those who had booked cabins in the "Haven," who were given special treatment once they reached the terminal.  We entered the terminal on the left side, which ended up being a lucky choice, as we entered the terminal nearly right away, but those who were trying to enter on the right had to stand in a very, very long line that was mostly in the sun.  Some passengers we spoke with told us they were in the line for 4 hours.  Everyone was given a time to get to the terminal to board.  Our boarding time was 11:30 and we arrived at that time, as directions said we would be turned away if we arrived early.  However, no one was checking to see what time anyone arrived.  We stood in line for about an hour, winding up a long ramp until we reached the room that was being used to check in at a desk.  There was no priority line for those passengers such as ourselves who usually were given quick access due to their Latitudes status, but those passengers in the Haven, regardless of their "status" were whisked through the boarding procedures.  I realize Haven passengers pay quite a bit to book the Haven, but we were in a mini-suite, so not the cheapest cabin on board.  Nonetheless, most passengers were treated to a somewhat unhealthy and very lengthy boarding process, one that could have landed someone in the hospital due to heat stroke.  We know the local cruise port authorities have their own rules, but we also know NCL was aware of the problem, but did nothing to change the procedure prior to the sail date.  

In addition to the unacceptable boarding procedure, some of the ports that were chosen for the cruise were either very difficult to find acceptable transportation to anywhere interesting, or the ship was not in the port long enough to allow adequate time to get a nearby city that was close enough to visit and get back to the ship prior to its departure.  Two such ports in particular are Le Verdon, that is in the middle of nowhere and has zero transportation from there to anywhere and Zeebrugge, which is primarily a commercial port that also has limited local transportation opportunities other than some cabs that charged 120 euros for a round trip to Bruges.  The ship offered limited and overpriced tours to places near both of these ports, such as Bordeaux from Le Verdon, and Bruges from Zeebrugge.  Zeebrugge also was a time limited port, as the ship left at 4:30.  Le Verdon really needs to be an overnight stop, as getting into the city takes over two hours.  We once stopped there with another cruise line that made the port an overnight stop and offered a shuttle into Bordeaux for a reasonable price, which made it possible for us to spend the night at a B&B in the city and enjoy Bordeaux at its loveliest, as the entire city is alight at night.  We then also were able to book a local tour to three beautiful old wineries and that dropped us off at the ship at the end of the day. When the ship docked in Rotterdam, at noon, getting to Delft was pretty simple, but would have been better if the ship arrived earlier as we really had to run around Delft to do very much, although we did reserve a 45 minute canal cruise there.  

After seeing the shorter times in port, we really wanted to cancel our cruise, but we had asked some relatives to join us on the trip and did not want to disappoint them, as they have not traveled very extensively and were anxious to continue with the cruise plans.  We think the people involved in planning the itinerary should go back and change it to allow more time in ports, either by eliminating a port or two or lengthening the cruise from start to finish to allow passengers a decent time to tour.

Good things about the cruise were the improved dining experiences.  The main dining rooms are lovely and the food was really quite good.  Also, the specialty restaurants seemed even better than our previous experiences.  The entertainment was, however, not quite as good as we have enjoyed in the past.  We sailed on the sister ship, the Breakaway, so were familiar with the ship layout, which is not exactly the best.  

One thing on the ship that should be changed is the very, very, very noisy area near and above the atrium, as when trying to enjoy a drink or a bite above the atrium is impossible since the noise from there is nearly deafening during dinner hours.

All in all, our cruise was a bit disappointing and we hope NCL will do something to change the problems we and many other passengers experienced.

Disappointing aspects of our cruise on NCL Getaway

I almost never write reviews and I'm afraid this one is going to be long, but I feel I must say something. I have been on 8 cruises on 5 different lines and my wife, growing up in Long Beach, lost count but is over 50 cruises. This cruise has broken us from EVER going on NCL and almost from ANY cruise line ever again. From pre-boarding to disembarking almost every aspect was a zero. While I take blame in some issues for not doing my due diligence, almost all of the people we met or overheard was having the same issues. NCL could have remedied or at least helped the situation, they did nothing. This was a 9 day, Northern Europe cruise from Lisbon to London. We wanted to spend some time in Lisbon before the ship sailed so we arrived 9 hours early and got in the short line to drop off our luggage. Sailing time was listed as 6pm and we signed up for the 330-4 slot to get us on board 2 hours before, allowing us to get to our cabin, change, eat and watch the ship leave port. Upon arrival at the dock we knew we were in trouble. The line outside the terminal went the entire length of the pier and halfway back. After being in line for almost an hour and now being somewhat in the center of the outside line, we noticed the NCL staff pulling people out of line with luggage, and taking them to bag check line then into the front of the line going in the terminal. This continued until we were almost the last people in line. We had talked to some and they had all different time slots. The only thing in common was they had bags. If NCL wanted to get the bags checked in, I understand, take the bags not the people. We were punished for being early. We didn't leave port until almost 8. 

The food was 6th grade public school quality in the cafeteria. And not much better in the free dining rooms. Any quality had to be bought. 

Entertainment - 9 days, two shows...no comedian. Games and shows that were popular were held in the atrium and were standing room only and should have been in the theater which wasn't being used at the time. The TV had two movie and one TV channel that had a set number of older shows. Any of the new movies are an extra charge. Playing cards are $5. Everything seemed to nickel and dime us. 

Ports - BE AWARE you will not go to the cities advertised! Do not book tours, visits, anything, without knowing where you will be. Advertised: Bilbao Spain, actual: Getxo Spain a $120 roundtrip taxi ride. 

Bordeaux, ship says Le Verdon, actual Soulac sur Mar. 2.5 hours from Bordeaux. Which was a great town (shuttle was $20 per person to Soulac) unless you booked things in Bordeaux. 

Brussels, actual: Zeebrugge. Brugge is $120 round trip and Brussels is $320 one way!

Paris, actual: Le Havre. Paris is a 3 hour, $60 train ticket each way. 

London, actual: Southampton 2 hours away $20 train one-way. 

The room had a foul smell. The housekeeper tried to help and sprayed the room but it only helped for a short time. 

Almost every staff member seamed upset and annoyed all the time with exception of our room attendant and a server in O'Shehans. 

They disembarked in Le Havre without announcing and we sat in our cabin waiting until 30 minutes after they started. 

Almost every port was a ride to the nearest town, and while NCL bragged about acquiring shuttles for us, they always charged for the ride. 

After the amount we paid, you'd think a deck of cards would be free.

Last cruise with NCL

Here are the good and bad about this particular trip via Norwegian Getaway.   Boarding was a disaster.  No consideration for your selected boarding time.  Spent well over 2 hours in line outside to get on ship.   Room was a balcony and was good except for outlets.  There were no USB outlets and two plugs.  Hair dryer is close to balcony and not in bathroom.  Small regfrigerator filled with water and wine which we took out so you can place your own items in it.  Of course the water and wine in the refrigerator is not free....which we knew.  Your Pins that are given per your level were not in room.  You had to go to cruise consultant desk to get.  Customer service counter was undermanned.  Lines were 20-30 people and well over 40 minute waits at time.  The customer service agents were polite most of the time but many could not answer simple questions and often provided wrong informaton.  On first day of cruise we found out that our accounts were not combine so I requested to join myself with my wife's account.  We were told it was done.  However each time we went back (5 times) we were told that our accounts were not combined.  The last time we went it was the last day of cruise and still they were not combined.  Every transaction done had to be indiviually done by either my wife or me but I couldn't touch her account and she could not touch my account....it became very frustrating.    Food in general was good especailly at specialty restaurants.  Dining room was OK and Buffet was terrible.  Every day the buffet had nearly the same food with some exceptions but most of the time the food was cold or warm and best....including chicken.  Scrambled eggs were cold every day.  On next to last day of cruise, the buffet had a sign that said, opens at 6am.  We thought it was 5:30 so we were there early.  The food was out for nearly 40 minutes before they opened the line.....and of course everything was cold and even after several complaints no staff did anything.  Many people were upset but no supervisor around even when asked to speak to one.  Each port we visited were nice and no problems with getting off the ship....however at one port, poor planning on cruiseline had everyone coming back at same time.  Took nearly and hour in line to get back on ship....not sure what they would have done if weather was bad.

Prices in shops were high as usual so it wasn't unexpected.  We suggest people price perfumes, jewelry, watches ahead of time to compare prices.  We noticed one perfume was 100% more than at airport which was about 15% more than your local store (Macy, Belk,etc).  The casino was OK except for smoke.  The poker table is non-smoking but it is OK to smoke within 2 feet of table.  Does not make sense.  Need more slot area for non-smokers or at least equal area for both but separated.   Entertainment was good...two main shows that were great.   The cruise lines need to streamline their procedures and uniformly use them across the board.  Most bad things could be fixed without costs (other than better training).  They are often so disorganized that confusion occurs and people get upset.  When you pay $5K for a cruise for two you expect better organization.  We've been on 30 cruises with different cruise lines and we find some of the same problems across the board....but also find some ships/crews handle it better than others but no pattern to say that one ship/cruiseline is better than the other.  We will try a cruiseline we haven't been on to see how they do.

Getaway Review

Saint-Tropez

I’m not gonna lie, but the staff on the cruise was great. Did we miss a port because of of winds, yes. Did the casino kick my butt, yes. But you can’t blame the crew and the staff for that. We were first time cruises , getting our feet wet. But overall, my wife and I enjoyed it. The staff did their best to help those who came first. My best respect came from the bar staff, I was not a typical ethnic but I am an American who served my country…but they did their best to serve who was first in line. So I gave them respect for that.  I was more upset with the other passengers who were  from a lighter background, but after talking with them about my background and hearing their backgrounds we became really cool. Your cruise is what you make of it, please respect the staff and crew because they were cool. Please treat other people of all races with respect and leave your egos at the door and stop trying to one each other (respect to the staff again for moderating the queue). I’m not going to lie, don’t come here with your prejudice and hate (we’re all here to have a good good time and meet new people). I met some great people here crew and guest. Go to the shore excursion because not everything is updated on the app. We had to learn the Livorno disembarkation to try to put a group together because we could not get a taxi ride to the city to the trains. But back to the cruise it was great even tough some places were short (so plan efficiently). But staff was great so trip them a few bucks and there (I realized the ship, the hard way does not break euros but US dollars a little more easily). But overall I appreciate the great staff on Ncl, I only had problems with a few guest who I had to deescalate the situation with. In general, great cruise and I’m bringing my in-laws and family next time.

Great Cruise

I chose this cruise because of its itinerary; in particular, Italy and Spain ports. I was very satisfied with booking process and the help I re wives from NCL agents .  NCL had good pricing and promotions like drink package, on board credit, 150 min of free WIFI, and specialty dining. We were happy with our stateroom(10th floor, window) and our steward. Overall, the NCL staff was friendly, attentive and seemed to enjoy their jobs.  Freestyle dining was convenient.. Food was good; good daily entree options. Lots of good options for  on board activities and entertainment; there was always something happening.  Spa services were amazing! We had spa treatments and acupuncture. 

On shore excursions were ok; a bit pricey. 

Embarkation and disembarkation processes were orderly and timely. Had a great overall experience.

I will definitely cruise with NCL again. I will recommend it to my friends. Great cruise without breaking the bank.

Mediterranean crusin

St. John's (Newfoundland)

We chose this cruise for the price and the ports. Our cruise included a good drink package and $50 off of each excursion for one of us as well as two specialty dinners.  The staff was very friendly and efficient.  We did not like having to pass through the smoky casino to get to restaurants, and that the smoke infiltrated the atrium areas.  Time for a new air exchange system or don't the smokers pollute the ship. We would have liked more opportunities for both trivia games and karaoke. It was disappointing that the hot tubs and pool in the adult area closed at 8.  The adults would have liked to have quiet time after dinner and after excursions.  The other hot tubs were always full of teenagers and drunks.  The restaurant meals were good and the food in the cafe was adequate.  The massive crowds in the cafe were anxiety inducing.  Trying to find a table, weaving your way through the crowd, too many people in the space with no manners.

Good but Improvements could be made

I am writing because I have cruised before with Norwegian, and I thought food and service was great.

Not this time! We booked this as a very important ovation, party of seventeen through diferente parts of Europe… captains devotions ( because weather wasn’t bad) prohibited us to desembarco in Two destinations… 

Instead of having a 9 day cruise just with one sea day we turned out having 3 sea days and not going to Bordeaux in France neither to brugee in Belgium.

The staff was very impractical, they didn’t respond or resolve your questions, internet is tricky so they can charge more. They even charge the water they so kindly put in your stateroom and if you don’t read well enough charge you for them ( they put 8 so you think they are free and charge like 7 dlls each)

I just think very bad habdiling situations..

They swapped my face with my daughters in the check in without noticing, went 3 times to guest services and made lines for more than an hour each time they said the problem was solved and it wasn’t.

So very BAD rating won’t return here even if free.

Worst service and worst captains devotions regarding climate 

One of the main reasons for a cruise is the food. In the past you could get a very good meal without going to a specialty restaurant, that does not look to be the case anymore. This is our 4th cruise and this was the worst food by far, we did not have a good meal in the complimentary restaurants. The complimentary restaurants were subpar with no flavor and low quality. The exception was O'Sheehan's which is more fast food and met the lower expectations. 

     The entertainment was also very limited with two shows for a 9 day cruise. We missed two ports so I think they should have some form of a backup regarding entertainment. They also have a comedy venue called Hardliners but the only thing funny about that is that they had no comedian on the ship! We did enjoy the dueling piano's and went twice but would have really enjoyed a comedian or two.

Not impressed with food quality

We sailed on NCL Getaway in July and August 2023 on a cruise from Lisbon, Portugal to Southampton, England.  My wife and I are in our 60s and have cruised over 30 times with 9 of those on NCL.  Overall we enjoyed this cruise although there were some irritating aspects.

EMBARK:  Embarkation in Lisbon was very smooth.  We arrived at 1130am and were onboard the ship within 15 minutes (by 2pm we noticed long lines in the terminal).  We went to O’Sheehans Bar & Grill for lunch, it was fairly empty so we stayed there until rooms were available about 1:30 pm.  Lifeboat drill consisted of watching a short video and having your ship card swiped at the lifeboat station, no mass drill.  Our luggage was slow to arrive, I think the first bags dropped off are the last ones delivered on the ship.

SHIP/CREW:  Getaway is a fairly new ship and in very good condition.  The crew were very friendly and helpful at all times, although you felt they were overworked (esp the cabin stewards). We liked the layout with the restaurants on Decks 6-8. We never used the main pool although it and the children’s pool looked to be very usable, not too crowded.  Our major complaint with the layout was the atrium on Deck 6.  It’s the main social hub of the ship - all game shows, trivia, and some musicians used the atrium which means it’s very crowded.  Guest services, onboard credit desk, shore excursions, and cruise next are there as well so it’s a total logjam at times.  Plus the noise from the entertainment made it difficult to talk to the service desks.

CABIN:  We booked a Spa Club Balcony Suite (aka mini suite or junior suite) for the extra size plus the included thermal suite access (more on that later). The cabin was nice, fairly large with a large bathroom and shower.  Plenty of storage space.  Only drawback, which is fairly standard, was lack of electrical outlets near the nightstands. I have a CPAP device so had to ask the cabin steward for an extension cord to get power next to my side of the bed. Cabin steward was very efficient and accommodating although they only do one service per day.  We opted for morning service which was normally done when we were onshore. No towel animals or turndown service anymore. Main complaint was noise – I violated my rule on never getting a cabin under the pool deck so we could get the thermal suite access.  Unfortunately we heard deck chairs from 6am and folks walking or running overhead until 11pm. I should have booked the Spa Balcony cabins as they were forward under the spa/gym.  I recommend if you book a cabin on Deck 14 that you insure you aren’t under the pool area.

ITINERARY: This was a 9 night cruise with 7 scheduled stops.  The first four were in small towns in Spain and France – Vigo, La Coruna, Bilbao, and Bordeaux. Unfortunately we skipped Bordeaux due to high winds and rain. The first three towns were nice, pleasant European towns along the coast.  We took NCL excursions at all stops since they offered $50 off each one plus a Latitudes discount. After a sea day the remaining three stops were Rotterdam, Bruges, and Le Havre. We had to skip Bruges due to extremely high winds due to a freak summer storm. Rotterdam included going to Amsterdam which was good. Le Havre was the stop to see the Normandy battlefields from Operation Overlord, a very stirring experience.

FOOD: The Getaway has many restaurants. We had breakfasts and lunches in the Garden Café buffet which was crowded most times but always had tables as there were overflow areas in front and back of the buffet. We found the food to be fine although the carving station choices were not as good as previous cruises. One of our favorite complimentary restaurants was O’Sheehans which had a sports bar vibe.  Good appetizers and entrees and not too crowded.  They also had a breakfast menu which I used as there were no crowds. The three complimentary dining rooms were Taste, Savor, and The Tropicana Club.  We ate several dinners in Taste and Savor, none in Tropicana. Taste and Savor had reservations at 5:30pm which we took as dinners take 1 – 1 ½ hrs and this gave us the evenings free for entertainment. Later in the evening we noticed short lines at the dining rooms but no lengthy waits. Surprisingly to me, the food in the main dining rooms was very good. We also ate in four of the specialty restaurants – Cagneys, La Cucina, Teppanyaki, and Ocean Blue. These were free as we had 2 free meals as part of their “Free at Sea” promotion and the other 2 as Latitude Platinum members. The food was very good in all of these except Teppanyaki – the Japanese steakhouse.  It’s usually one of our favorites but the chicken was tough and they eliminated filet in favor of strip steak which was also tough. Those who ordered shrimp or scallops said they were very good.

ENTERTAINMENT: The Getaway featured music and games throughout the evening. We attended two main shows – Burn the Floor which was music & fast-paced dance show, and The Million Dollar Quartet which was amazing, very, very good!

SPA/GYM: We booked the Spa Club Balcony Suite specifically to have access to the Thermal Suite at a reduced cost (otherwise it was $320 per person for this cruise). We really enjoy the NCL thermal suites on their larger ships as they are very quiet and relaxing. I also used the gym about every day.  It is fairly large and well equipped with weights and aerobic machines. They offer gym classes but we did not partake.

DEBARK: The Getaway did English immigration clearance on our sea day 4 days before docking at Southampton. We were given times to be at a meeting room with our passports and went thru a line with English agents, very fast and easy. So departing the ship in Southampton was very smooth, no immigration lines. We left the ship when our bag tag color was called and picked up our bags and left the terminal. We had booked a transfer with NCL to Heathrow Airport and arrived at our terminal by 10am.

REFUND OF SHIP CHARGES: Due to our pre-paying the service charges (tips), two refunded excursions, and credit for missing two stops, we had a credit on our account of over $300. This was a first! Normally when you owe the ship, they charge it to your credit card so you do not have to deal with Guest Services. Unfortunately, with a credit, NCL only pays out in cash, not a credit card reimbursement. So I had to get in a long line the night before debarking to receive my cash payment. Although a credit is nice, they really need to credit it to your credit card rather than make you stand in a long line.

Satisfactory Cruise

We booked this cruise 1 1/2 years ago when it was supposed to be the new ship, Viva.  It wasn't finished due to supply chain issues and the Getaway went in it's place.  There were well over 4K people on this ship AND 1500 children. Way too many people.  I thought the food at Savor, Tropicana, and Taste were really good. We would upgrade and get the Cagney Steak for $15 upcharge. There were so many sick people on the ship we stayed away from the buffet and just ate at the sit down restaurants.  With so many kids, the buffet was packed and tables were hard to find.  The NCL employees were so nice, everyone. We updated our drink package and for some reason my card didn't work the 1st 3 days so I stood in Guest Services line NINE times, once for over an hour.  Room was clean and ship was clean.  The itinerary was the sole reason we went on this cruise and only 1 sea day. They cancelled TWO ports, the ones we were looking forward to going to, Bordeaux, France & Bruges, Belgium.  I firmly believe they never planned to go to these ports and just said they were so people booked the cruise.  They said it was too windy to get in port, but it wasn't windy. Needless to say, we cruised at a very slow pace for THREE days. We traveled with 16 others, 1/2 of us got Covid. I believe with the consecutive sea days with nothing to do, it created a super spreader environment.  Also, my advice...book your own airfare. Our flight was cancelled going and they had us on three separate flights from Philadelphia to Lisbon. We were able to switch our flight to a direct flight on another airline; however, because we didn't fly the original airline, they cancelled our flights from London to Philadelphia.  They pick the cheapest flights with up to three layovers, if even one flight is late you won't make it on time.

Never Use NCL Again

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