Norwegian Getaway Highs and Lows

[KarenG]

Hi all

I got some really great advice from you all after booking this so I thought I’d share our thoughts in case it helps anyone. We had previously cruised NCL but a long time ago, and more recently DCL twice.

Highs
Food was to a good standard, better than I expected with lots of options covered in our base fare
Drink - we had the unlimited beverage package - and I did initially track how much the drinks had cost but I was too embarrassed by day 2 and stopped! It covered basically anything and everything except premium spirits (but the ones included were perfectly fine!). There were so many bars!
Price - we paid $800 including the upgrade to the beverage package (which included tips) and I can honestly say it was fantastic VFM
Entertainment - not to Disney’s quality but we actually preferred it because it included things that are more our preference - eg 80s rock bands on every night, amazing show / musical about Elvis and Johnny Cash etc. The performers were all absolutely awesome.
Staff - what a group of extremely hard working and lovely people - nothing was too much trouble and we had some great chats with some of them (thank you for the tips on taking chocolates on board - that went down so well)
Stateroom - bigger than we expected and amazing storage. We had more storage than at our hotel (where the room was four times bigger!)
Ports of call - we weren’t bothered about excursions plus this was a budget trip so we just got off, wandered round, found Wi-fi and got on again. But we enjoyed it.
Sailing from New Orleans was brilliant - we wandered from our hotel down to the ship and did the same at the end. No messing around with transfers or hire cars. Also - sailing out from NOLA down the Mississippi was very fun!
Outside areas - much better than DCL particularly Deck 8 with the bars and restaurants outside - we spent most of our time here

Lows
The behaviour of some of the passengers - not all but a noticeable minority did not behave in what I consider an acceptable nor polite way to the staff. I found this a bit upsetting actually. I also didn’t like some of the conversations I overheard. I know this is just some people being people but it made me uncomfortable.
Weather - on the last day it was very stormy and the outside space was all closed down. Not the end of the world obviously but not ideal for a day at sea (and also the last day). The weather got us into NOLA three hours late and a lot of people were going to miss their flights.

Not a low but a niggle; Embarkation / disembarkation did not seem anything like as organised and seamless as DCL. This could be because the ship is a lot bigger than the DCL ones I’ve been on, but there was limited signage so it felt like you were being randomly herded from one area to another for no good reason.

So for us I just cannot see us wanting to spend the massive premium for DCL ever again. There were certainly bits DCL do better but not so much I want to spend three times as much (and have to pay for alcohol on top!)

Happy to help with any questions

[Caroian]

Thanks for posting. We're on the Getaway from New Orleans in 7 weeks, so this is very useful. Glad to see that the food and entertainment were highs!

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by Caroian

Thanks for posting. We're on the Getaway from New Orleans in 7 weeks, so this is very useful. Glad to see that the food and entertainment were highs!

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I hope you love it as much as we did! The ship is really lovely. There is a thread I started a month or two ago with loads of tips from Dibbers - worth digging out!

[Michelle]

Good to hear you had a good time Karen.. the UBP is great value isn't it?

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by Michelle

Good to hear you had a good time Karen.. the UBP is great value isn't it?

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Omg yes! My liver is still recovering 😝

[Leanne1977]

So pleased you had a great time! Shes our favourite ship so far and can't wait to be sailing on her again in October! 🥰

[welshwiz]

Glad to hear you enjoyed NCL Getaway and and made good use of the UBP

The first time we sailed on her from Miami she was one of the largest ships at that time and disembarkation seemed hectic but as we weren't flying until late we ignored our time slot and went for a last brekkie in O'Sheehan's and we've ignored time slots ever since lol

Shame that you sea day was affected by bad weather. Similar happened to us on a big NCL ship first sea day from Miami so very busy - luckily we got a spa day pass so the time was well spent there and deck 8 and Spice H20 lol

I'd love to sail out of NOLA down the Mississippi (loved all your posts about New Orleans too - def on the bucket list minus the beignets)

If you do decide to sail on NCL again maybe consider buying some of their 'cruise next' vouchers. They are now fully transferable and sometimes you can use multiple even on interior cabins. Then put a bid in to upgrade (we have got two decent upgrades this way).

Note for Leanne, the ship seems even nicer now after the recent refurb.

[SquishTheWhale]

Glad you had a great time! We've sailed on the Epic and Escape and loved them both. NCL always seen so expensive when I look nowadays though! I'll have to keep checking for bargains!

[Leanne1977]

Originally Posted by welshwiz

Glad to hear you enjoyed NCL Getaway and and made good use of the UBP

The first time we sailed on her from Miami she was one of the largest ships at that time and disembarkation seemed hectic but as we weren't flying until late we ignored our time slot and went for a last brekkie in O'Sheehan's and we've ignored time slots ever since lol

Shame that you sea day was affected by bad weather. Similar happened to us on a big NCL ship first sea day from Miami so very busy - luckily we got a spa day pass so the time was well spent there and deck 8 and Spice H20 lol

I'd love to sail out of NOLA down the Mississippi (loved all your posts about New Orleans too - def on the bucket list minus the beignets)

If you do decide to sail on NCL again maybe consider buying some of their 'cruise next' vouchers. They are now fully transferable and sometimes you can use multiple even on interior cabins. Then put a bid in to upgrade (we have got two decent upgrades this way).

Note for Leanne, the ship seems even nicer now after the recent refurb.

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Oh brill! She was fabulous before so can't wait even more now! 🥳🥳

[stecee]

We sailed on NCL Escape 2 years ago, sailing out of New York, although a different ship, I agree with what you say about the conversations and in our case behaviour of some of the passengers.
One day we was returning to our cabin and someone was walking down the corridor F this and f that at the top of his voice. There was a few large groups that made themselves heard, and a couple of occasions where people were asked to leave a bar by security due to their behaviour.
Having said that, I also completely agree with your other statements about entertainment and crew.