We decided to try Norwegian for for 7th cruise, particularly since the Getaway was a brand new ship. We have previously sailed on Carnival, Disney, and Royal Caribbean. The embarkation disembarkation process was the easiest and smoothest of any of the other cruises we we were on. I am not certain if this was due to the Port of Miami or Norwegian, since this is the first time we sailed out of Miami.

The Getaway is a beautiful ship and the staff is quite accommodating and friendly, but not to the level of Disney and Royal Caribbean. The cabin steward was very good and gave us great service even bringing us lounge chairs for our large balcony. The wait staff in the restaurants were good, but you did not get the extraordinary service that you see on Disney and Royal Caribbean. I think that the reason for this is that on Disney and Royal Caribbean you have the same wait staff every night. They get to know you, what you like and don't like, and their tip (which you give them on the last night of the cruiser) is dew pendant on their service. This is not the case on Norwegian as you may never see the same wait staff two nights in a row. Since you prepay the service charges and they will generally not get any extra from you. Overall they were quite pleasant and friendly, but that "extra" was definitely not there.

While the food was good, it was not even close too being at the same level and quality as Disney and Royal Caribbean or even Carnival, for that matter. The menus in the main dining rooms www repetitive and not very creative. For example, in every main dining room, there was Salmon Tartare as an appetizer choice in every dining room, every night. By the 4th night you began to question its freshness. Also there was not much variation between the menus at Savor, Taste, and the Tropicana Room. While all ships have a few restaurants that have upcharges, that choices on the Getaway were numerous. However, I don't feel that the additional charges were, worth it. We ate at La Cucina, which was good and no better than there main dining room. As a matter of fact, I had chicken parmagina, which was on the menu the next night at the Tropicana room and was on the buffet at lunch the next day. Having been in the food industry, I can tell you that it appered that all food for all restaurants (speciality and main) were probably made in the same kitchens. Read more