Norwegian-Getaway-Thoughts and recommendations?

[Luv2trav]

We are not experienced cruisers. We are thinking about booking NCL Getaway Haven Class for Med next summer. Has anyone cruised this boat before? Thoughts? I simply cannot pass up the price different for Haven Class vs just 2 standard staterooms for DCL. Our children will be 19 and 17 so we don't need the Disney part of cruising. However I want the same type of service etc. Thank you.

 

[Pigletpal40]

We went on the Getaway two years ago. Boys were 17 and 12 then. The 12 y.o and I did the ropes courses and waterslides, and we only saw the 17 y.o. at meal times. He spent the whole trip in the Teen Club.
Very nice ship, but we really missed the Royal Promenade like on the RCCL ships.

 

[Luv2trav]

We went on the Getaway two years ago. Boys were 17 and 12 then. The 12 y.o and I did the ropes courses and waterslides, and we only saw the 17 y.o. at meal times. He spent the whole trip in the Teen Club.
Very nice ship, but we really missed the Royal Promenade like on the RCCL ships.

Sorry I am new to cruising and have only been on 3.. 2 of them being Disney and other a very old RC boat 22 years ago so I was not impressed with RC. What is the Royal Promenade? I am trying to learn as much as I can about other cruise lines.

 

[acpalmer]

Sorry I am new to cruising and have only been on 3.. 2 of them being Disney and other a very old RC boat 22 years ago so I was not impressed with RC. What is the Royal Promenade? I am trying to learn as much as I can about other cruise lines.

I don't think you can compare an old RC ship from 22 years ago to anything that RCI is doing today. I would in no way eliminate them based on that experience. Their Freedom class and above ships are beautiful and have a lot going for them. We (at this point in our lives--DH and I in our mid 40s and two teen boys) much prefer Royal to our Disney or NCL experiences. We loved DCL when our kids were little, don't get me wrong, but for our family now and for the foreseeable future, Royal is definitely our choice. NCL was fine, but we definitely liked Royal quite a bit better.

The Royal Promenade is one of the neighborhoods on the Royal ships on the Oasis class (other class ships may have a Promenade, too, but the Oasis class is what I'm most familiar with) where they have the shops, some casual restaurants (pizza, coffee, snacks, etc.) and several bars. Lots of activity in that area. You can read more about it on the Royal website, but that's the gist of it.

 

[rlk]

We were on the NCL Getaway for a Baltic cruise two summers ago with our sons were 16 & 17 at the time. We all enjoyed the ship, but we chose it because more for itinerary than anything else. My sons went to the teen meet the first night and never went back; they preferred to hangout with us or each other. The specialty anytime dining is a big hit with us, especially on a port heavy cruise. Due to some cooler weather and wind, the ropes course had some intermittent closures, but we all were able to do two rounds on it, as well as the rock wall.

We were not sailing in the Haven, but spoke with some people who were and they loved their experience. I'd want it just for the ease of early embarkation at all the ports.

We had previously sailed on NCL Spirit (much smaller ship) on a Med cruise a couple of years before the Getaway. This was our first cruise and even though there were not as many 'fun' activities, my sons said they preferred that ship. It may have been the excitement of a first cruise experience, coupled with better cruise weather.

 

[samara]

We sailed the Getaway in the Haven last year and have booked the same ship again for a Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise this summer. We love the Haven. Warning - once you experience it, it’s hard to go back. The Haven concierge was fantastic and having a separate pool and sun deck is incredible. I have read some negative reviews that said the Haven pool was taken over by small children, but that was definitely not our experience. We ate in the Haven restaurant twice for dinner and for lunch on debarkation day. We experienced most of the specialty restaurants and entertainment. Our favorites were the Teppanyaki and La Cucina. The main show, Million Dollar Quartet is really entertaining, as was the Illusionarium.

 

[Luv2trav]

I don't think you can compare an old RC ship from 22 years ago to anything that RCI is doing today. I would in no way eliminate them based on that experience. Their Freedom class and above ships are beautiful and have a lot going for them. We (at this point in our lives--DH and I in our mid 40s and two teen boys) much prefer Royal to our Disney or NCL experiences. We loved DCL when our kids were little, don't get me wrong, but for our family now and for the foreseeable future, Royal is definitely our choice. NCL was fine, but we definitely liked Royal quite a bit better.

The Royal Promenade is one of the neighborhoods on the Royal ships on the Oasis class (other class ships may have a Promenade, too, but the Oasis class is what I'm most familiar with) where they have the shops, some casual restaurants (pizza, coffee, snacks, etc.) and several bars. Lots of activity in that area. You can read more about it on the Royal website, but that's the gist of it.

Thank you. This is good to know. We too have teen boys 16/18 now so we have out grown the need to Disney. Plus prices are just getting ridiculous in my opinion. This is why we are looking at other options.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We have cruised a lot and really enjoyed our Baltic cruise on the NCL Getaway. Our kids' favorite is still the Oasis of the Seas, but the whole experience on Getaway was really great, and we were no where near concierge. I think they had the best live music out of our 25+ cruises. The band in Syd Normans was outstanding, and the dueling pianos were better than I've ever seen, on land or sea. Don't expect it to be the same as Disney, because they are different. Just have fun and go for it!

 

[Luv2trav]

Thank you all for your advice. I think we are going to go for. Now to decide 10 night or 11 night. I’m so excited. Seems like such a great deal compared to Disney.

 

[Pigletpal40]

Sorry I am new to cruising and have only been on 3.. 2 of them being Disney and other a very old RC boat 22 years ago so I was not impressed with RC. What is the Royal Promenade? I am trying to learn as much as I can about other cruise lines.

The Royal Promenade are on RCCL Voyager Class and Larger. It is an open are in the center of the ship, with restaurants, stores, bars. 4 stories high. We really missed that on the Getaway. It is a very nice ship though.
We enjoy the dining on Royal a little more also.
If you're going to Belize on Norwegian, their private beach was very nice. The ropes course and water slides on the ship were good. Haven is very nice. The Standard Balconies on the Getaway were much smaller than on the RCCL Navigator, Explorer or Allure. We opted for a larger balcony, which was nice. You could find the room layout on the website.

 

[Pigletpal40]

Thank you all for your advice. I think we are going to go for. Now to decide 10 night or 11 night. I’m so excited. Seems like such a great deal compared to Disney.

Check out Youtube. There are lots of ship tours. You may even find your cabin. From a price point, you can't beat Norwegian or Royal. We've never had a bad cruise on either Cruise Line.