Norwegian Getaway Review

4.5 / 5.0
3,272 reviews

Many Disappointments, Few standout positive experiences

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Getaway
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BMoo
2-5 Cruises • Age 30s

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Value for Money
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Entertainment
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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2019
Cabin: Inside Stateroom

This was a 5-day Western Caribbean cruise out of Miami. We flew into Ft Lauderdale the day of and immediately took a shuttle to the port (we planned to spend a day in Miami when we returned). The experience immediately started off on the wrong foot when the man taking our bags demanded tips from us. He didn't tell us tips were welcome - he took our bags from us and said "Ok, now you have to tip me, pull out your wallets" Our group would have tipped him otherwise, but this now made us unwilling to do so. However, since our bags were at his mercy we felt as though he had no choice. We had two separate staterooms and he demanded money from both groups. He also threw the trash from the luggage tags straight onto the group and littered into the wind. Not a good first impression.

Our greatest disappointment came from the terrible quality of the dining experiences. We ate dinner in one of the main dining rooms for 6 of the nights on our cruise. We ate early and never had to wait for a table but the service was consistently slow. I think there is only a single night where our meal took less than two hours. Even one day when we warned that we had a show reservation and that we needed to be out in an hour and a half, we had to leave before all of our food even made it to the table. We reminded the waiter twice that we had a time constraint and he assured us we would make it, and ultimately we left early and just got a snack at the buffet later. The menu options were completely uninspiring - nowhere near as exciting as the menus that were posted online. Every member of our group had meals that were so bad they had to be sent back - and we are adventurous eaters and foodies. It takes a lot for us to not like something. Some of these dishes include: pacific hake that was overcooked and tasteless, a steak that was ordered medium but came well done with the flavor and texture of leather, "taco cups" that were the saddest excuse for Mexican food I've ever seen. This dish was literally just three Dorito chips with toppings sloppily thrown on. The meat platter served meats where most of them were available upstairs at the buffet, and the sausages were just as disgusting up there. We also ate at Shanghai's one night, where the service was outstanding but the food was average at best. The buffet was hit or miss for us. Sometimes we got great items (funny that the buffet had higher food quality than the main dining rooms). The Asian food options seemed to be standout selections there. We also had disappointing items, but would just go get new plates. After the terrible quality of food elsewhere, we were unwilling to pay more money for a premium dinner that would likely also disappoint.

The entertainment quality was great, but the quantity was not. On other cruises, you may only have one option each night, but you can at least see something different each night. The Getaway advertised great shows but then there are only two options since they run multiple nights (without getting nickel/dimed into paying extra for a third show, that is). The comedy was good but the opening act did the exact same show for every set. Each comic had two sets and a theater set, which added up to three shows. But that still left two nights where there was no formal entertainment.

Cabin Review

Inside Stateroom

Cabin IC

The cabin was as expected for an inside stateroom. The steward, Patrick, did an outstanding job. He always recognized us, knew which room was ours, and kept it clean and tidy constantly.

Port Reviews

Miami

We traveled around South Beach afterwards and had a relaxing last day and had some outstanding Cuban food.

Harvest Caye

We planned to do a beach day and we were lucky we did because there was very little to do on this island. Also despite being Norwegian's private island, the food is not complimentary.

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