Before I begin my review, let me make the point that planning ahead will make for a much more pleasant experience on this huge ship. I strongly suggest that you make dining and entertainment reservations online ("My NCL") before your cruise. Otherwise, you may find yourself waiting for an hour to be seated for dinner or having to rush the theater to search for seats after passengers with reservations have been accommodated.

The Getaway is a beautiful ship with everything in the way of outdoor entertainment that you could imagine, especially for children and teens. However, we found the service onboard to be inconsistent. It was generally much better in O'Shehan's and Tropicana Restaurants than in Savor and Taste. As for our room steward, he seemed to be annoyed by even a simple request like an extra bar of soap. (We chalked that up to stress and overwork when we discovered at the end of the cruise that he was servicing 48 passengers by himself.)

The entertainment was a departure from that on most ships. Rather than a different (generally mediocre) show every night, this cruise had two high quality productions that repeated throughout the week to accommodate the large number of passengers onboard. The ship-sponsored excursions we took were good, but we saved a lot of money by booking our own tours ahead of time at several of the ports. I would urge you to take the ship's evening Hermitage tour in St. Petersburg. Open only for cruise ship passengers, it allowed us to enjoy the museum without fighting the crowds. Read more