Norwegian Getaway Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The cruise was advertised through Expedia and included 2 ports I was interested in visiting: Belize and Roatan. The price seemed a good deal for time of year and we chose a balcony cabin 13th floor aft.
We flew in to Miami and took a cab to the cruise terminal. Check-in moved quite smoothly and we were placed in a rather dingy room to await boarding. As we were early this took a while and there was only a couple vending machines and not enough seating for all the people waiting. Once on board we had to wait a while until the cabins were ready but at least we could explore the ship.
We discovered that the buffet dining was right above our cabin and offered a reasonable selection of generic foods plus and Indian section. There was always something to suit everyone's palate and other than being quite bland the food was quite good. We ended up eating almost every meal here. The ship is large and there was always something going on. But the cabin was in a quiet area and although the balcony was small, it was larger than I expected and a great place to relax.
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
Lots of room, loved the views from the balcony, a couple of TV channels for those rest times in the room. Could not have asked for or expected anything more. I chose a room on a high floor worried that the life boats may obstruct my view. It seems the ship is designed such that they do not block any views. I peeked in to a window cabin and was impressed by the view despite the much lower deck.
Port Reviews
Harvest Caye
We bought the excursion to the mainland (Mango Creek tour). The tour guide was exceptional, the poverty of southern Belize was surprising but the people were genuinely friendly. I could have stayed and explored more than the tour allowed. The private island was clean but artificial. I used it only to get on and off the ship. There did seem to be a lot of activities available. Just not in to artificial places. Same at Costa Maya.
Cozumel
Docked right in town so walked casually around and did a little shopping. Had lunch at a local restaurant. Only negative is the constant harassment of people trying to get you to stop but typical of most places in Mexico I have been. Was nice to be somewhere "real" and just free to walk around.
Miami
The wait after check in could be dramatically improved by a simple upgrade of the lounge to include a small bar or deli rather than a couple vending machines. That and the lack of available seating was a damper at the beginning of a vacation.