Norwegian Getaway Review

4.5 / 5.0
3,272 reviews

Disappointing Experience

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Getaway
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Cfedd
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2019
Cabin: Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony
Traveled with children

Although I have been on other cruise lines, this was my first experience with Norwegian. After this experience, I will not be back. The entire cruise just seemed like an attempt to nickel and dime as much cash as possible from me. I understand the overpriced drink packages and specialty dining, but to have even an average cruise experience, you had to pay additional. Just as insulting is the NCL private island, Harvest Caye. Although part of NCL, the only free things to do on the island is to swim at the beach or in the overcrowded swimming pool. Every beverage, meal and other activity is an additional cost. Another example, we had some credits at the end of the cruise, because we did not spend all of our money onboard. Instead of just crediting my credit card on file, NCL makes you stand in line and receive a cash refund (the only option). Clearly, this is in an attempt that people won’t stand in line and NCL can just pocket the remaining money.

The ship itself is beautiful and well maintained. However, the design is just odd. Some of the best spaces are in the dining rooms and clubs; however, these sit empty all day long and activities are mostly crammed into the atrium. For example, multiple dance classes were held in the tiny atrium whereas the beautiful dance floor in the Tropicana room is unused. Then, at dinner, NCL chooses to place extra dining tables on the dance floor providing no space to actually dance during the “Dine and Dance” events. Similarly, the fine dining establishments (that you pay extra to use) are mostly spaced around the casino. Nothing says fine dining like smelling stale tobacco smoke waiting for a table or, even worse, throughout your entire meal.

“Freestyle dining” is perhaps the most disappointing. This freedom is attached to poor food and even worse service. You really only have three choices - daily menu (Tropicana, Taste and Savor), Shanghai Noodle Bar or O’Sheehan’s Pub. All offer the same tasteless, hastily prepared options. Most nights I chose not to eat my meal, because it just was not worth it. O’Sheehan’s was out of Guinness (it’s an Irish bar?!?) and offered some of the worst excuses for food. I ordered a Reuben that lacked any sauerkraut or dressing, and it was paired with unsalted, unseasoned soggy French fries. Unfortunately, the Noodle Bar was even worse. The skillet noodles are your best bet (and not a good one), because the broth noodles are all cooked in the same chicken broth from a can (apparently nobody has heard of Asian spices) and the fried rice has clearly never been cooked in a skillet (missing out on the entire “fried” part of the dish). Just another night, I chose not to eat. We tried three of the specialty dining restaurants. Cagney’s (steakhouse) was excellent. Ocean Blue was disappointing - again tasteless food that lacked any spice or seasoning. La Cucina was overall okay, just some hits and misses in terms of food. As bad as the food was, the service was atrocious. I only had one truly excellent waiter (Cagney’s), two decent ones (La Cucina and one breakfast at Taste) and the rest were biding their time. I dined with my teenage son every night and he as only offered a drink once the entire cruise. I was offered a drink only three times. The rest of the time, I had to flag down one of the waitstaff and beg for something to drink besides water. Make sure you do that, because most meals we ran out of water as well. The wait staff overall just wants to put your food order into the kitchen, throw the food on the table and get you out of the restaurant as quickly as possible.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin had a good amount of space and was well designed. Unfortunately, it was not clean upon embarkation and our cabin attendant was quite average. Bathroom drawer was full of toenail clippings and a dirty sock was still left in the closet.

Port Reviews

Harvest Caye

Just an NCL money grab. Although owned by NCL, only the beach and swimming pool are free. The dining is expensive and the service is a poor, which seems to be an NCL trademark. The lagoon is a joke - do not rent paddleboats or kayaks unless you just want to do continual laps back and forth in a small area.

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