Are you ready to Getaway?
If so, I highly recommend the Norwegian Getaway! This ship is amazing and impressive on so many levels. The staff is absolutely fantastic! I found them to be among some of the most engaged and caring staff members I have ever encountered. The food was outstanding! We ate at a few of the specialty dining restaurants as well as most of the complimentary ones; each of them had great food and service. While the specialty dining restaurants definitely raise the bar, the complimentary restaurants are some of the best we have experienced on cruise ships. The entertainment was first rate, and there were entertainment options for all ages. While it will be impossible to give a fully detailed review here, I will hit some of the high points of the ship for you. If you want to see some of the pictures from our Norwegian Getaway experience, check out the photo album on my Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/1s53iwl
The Norwegian Getaway takes dining over the top! There are 28 different dining experiences onboard the Getaway! I’m happy to report that I tried many of them! Among the options are 8 complimentary dining rooms (2 of which are reserved for Haven Suite guests),10 specialty dining venues with cover charges ranging from $15-$39 per person and 4 dining options just for treats such as bakery items, gelato, and pizza. It seems no matter where you turn on this ship; there is an opportunity for fabulous food! Whether you are in the mood for French, Italian, Sushi, A noodle bar, A Brazilian Churrascaria, pizza, burgers, or pub food, the Norwegian Getaway can accommodate! Room Service is available 24 hours a day, although it is a limited menu. O’Sheehan’s Pub is open 24 hours so you can get your favorite beer or pub food any time! A couple of my favorites are Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian (yes, Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian) and LeBistro. Ocean Blue is one of the specialty dining venues; it features seafood and it is outstanding! LeBistro is also a specialty dining venue with French cuisine at its finest, including the chocolate fondue for dessert!
If you want to live the suite life on your Getaway, you must stay in the Haven. The Haven is an exclusive area for the suites and is really a great experience. It is like a ship within a ship!
The Norwegian Getaway has an interesting waterfront experience. Stroll along a revolutionary, quarter-mile oceanfront walkway lined with shops, restaurants and bars. We really enjoyed this area! The Getaway also has some interesting bar and lounge experiences throughout the ship. One of the most popular is the Ice Bar. The Ice Bar is kept at 17 degrees Fahrenheit, and has ice sculptures and a life size alligator throne made completely of ice! They provide you with a hooded coat and gloves and limit you to 30 minutes. Even with the coat and gloves, we did not make it 30 minutes! Not being a fan of the cold, I was ready to leave after about 15 or 20 minutes!
Entertainment is top notch on the Norwegian Getaway. We really enjoyed a couple of the musicals they feature on board. We experienced Wine Lovers The Musical in the Illusionarium venue. If you love comedy and wine, this is a must for you! I even found a wine I liked! We also enjoyed the seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical Legally Blonde. Every sailing has fireworks at sea! Howl at the Moon is the live dueling piano bar, and it was highly entertaining and fun.
The Grammy Experience is both a Grammy museum during the day and a music experience with live Grammy jazz or R&B winners or nominees at night. The Levity Entertainment group provides the stand-up comedy in the Headliners lounge with 12 shows on a 7 night sailing. It is not to be missed if you enjoy live comedy! The Illusionarium offers a magnificent show featuring world-class magicians performing while you enjoy dinner. Burn the Floor is a 45 minute non-stop dance production based on the world renowned Broadway show. Of course I can’t forget about the Nickelodeon characters onboard the ship! There are many opportunities for meets and greets with the characters and even a Nickelodeon Pajama Jam for the younger kids. We saw Dora, Diego, SpongeBob Square Pants, and Patrick multiple times throughout the week.
Aside from the entertainment, there are certainly enough activities to occupy your time throughout the week. Do you like the water? They have an Aqua Park that has 5 multi-story water slides! There are 2 swimming pools and 4 hot tubs as well. They also have a pirate themed kid’s themed aqua park complete with SpongeBob Square Pants and friends! Do you like a little more adventure? Check out the sports complex onboard the Norwegian Getaway! You can experience the largest ropes course at sea; you can walk the plank, or climb the rock wall. There is a 9-hole miniature golf course, basketball courts, and more.
Of course my idea of activity involves the spa, and Norwegian Getaway does not disappoint! I love the thermal suite with the vitality pool, the dry sauna, and the spa salt room. They have over 50 different spa treatments to choose from, and yes, I did experience a spa treatment. The spa is also home to the Fitness Center, featuring free weights, TRX training, the latest cardio equipment and a schedule full of classes. Sadly, I had to miss out on the boot camp training this trip because my shoulder is still recovering.
It’s impossible to cover everything we did and keep this review to an article as opposed to a book! In summary, I can honestly say I would recommend this ship to almost anyone!
Please remember to check out my pictures at http://on.fb.me/1s53iwl and contact me when you are ready to plan your Norwegian Getaway!
Happy Travels!