Norwegian Cruise Line Getaway Review

It’s a ship with a perfect name for what I wanted. A friend and I were looking for an easy getaway without having to plan much, so we chose a Norwegian Cruise Line Getaway cruise to Bermuda from New York.

It was a memorable sailing, with excellent dining and entertainment options — and only a few minor quirks.

I had a future cruise credit earned from a fare reduction after final payment on a previous Norwegian Cruise Line trip. It had an expiration date and many restrictions.

I wasn’t willing to spend much more than my $1,215 credit, so I was looking for a cruise of at least six nights priced as close to that as possible. I found a seven-night cruise on the NCL Getaway leaving New York, with two days at sea, two overnights in Bermuda, another day at sea and then back to New York.

I compared fares and perks using a travel agent and by calling NCL directly. Neither offered any deals.

Then I logged into my AmEx Travel account and reviewed the benefits. I was pleasantly surprised.

With the card I had, booking a balcony cabin through AmEx would get me up to $300 in onboard credit and a unique amenity: a dinner for two at the French restaurant on board. AmEx Travel was able to apply my future cruise credit, and I paid the difference with my card.

After booking, my friend and I began looking at activities and dinner reservations on the NCL website.

Thanks to the perks from AmEx, my Latitudes Platinum status with NCL and the More at Sea package, we had six specialty dinners to plan. NCL’s More at Sea package includes a few perks, like Wi-Fi, unlimited open bar and, for this cruise, three nights at a specialty dining restaurant.

I logged into my NCL account, looked at the restaurants and booked some reservations. My friend booked a shore excursion.

Check-in begins 21 days before departure (and ends three days before), and an email arrived right on time, directing me to log in to my NCL account.

Once online, I selected a boarding time and entered my passport information and a credit card for onboard spending.

A day after both of our check-in profiles were completed, I received an email saying I could print my documents, which included my boarding pass.

We arrived at Pier 88 at Manhattan Cruise Terminal a bit after our planned arrival time of 12:30 p.m. I don’t feel the need to be the first one on the ship, since the cabins aren’t usually ready until at least 1 p.m. Boarding early usually just means dragging your carry-on luggage around while finding a place to eat.

At the pier, we were able to use the priority check-in line because of my Latitudes status. I wasn’t able to complete the online check-in because it wouldn’t accept my photo, which seems to be a problem others have had as well.

That meant I had to take a photo at the pier, which wasn’t a big deal.

About 40 minutes after we arrived at the pier, we made our way on board.

The first thing we did was stop by our muster station to have our cards scanned. It’s nice not to have to line up in life jackets near the lifeboats for muster drills like we used to.

Cabins weren’t quite ready, so we went to one of the main dining rooms to eat lunch and wait. The main dining rooms open for lunch, which takes some of the pressure off the buffet.

The announcement that cabins were ready came at about 2 p.m.

We settled into our cabin and then grabbed a sailaway drink to sip as we sailed by the Statue of Liberty on our way to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Norwegian Getaway, a sister ship of the Breakaway in NCL’s Breakaway Class, was built in 2014 and refurbished in 2024.

The Getaway can hold 3,903 passengers and 1,646 crew members and is 1,068 feet long and 170 feet wide.

There are 14 passenger decks, some with mostly cabins and others having public amenities.

The main atrium areas are called 678 Ocean Place because they are on decks 6, 7 and 8.

On the lowest level on deck 6 is the Headliners Comedy Club, a couple of the specialty restaurants, a bar and an art gallery leading to another area with the shore excursion desk, the internet cafe and the Atrium Bar, which is next to a Starbucks.

The casino surrounds an open area on deck 7, which features a large color-changing chandelier and pretty staircases. Even though there is no smoking in the main part of the casino, the smoke from the enclosed smoking area seemed to permeate it.

The Tradewinds shops and photo gallery are on deck 8 and constantly enticed us with shiny Effy jewelry and other items, like the Maui Jim sunglasses that came home with me.

The ship’s Wi-Fi was pretty good, but I did have some speed issues during sea days when everyone was online.

I upgraded to the full-voyage package for $110 because I knew I would use more than the 150 minutes that were part of the More at Sea package and I didn’t want to worry about logging on and off. I did not need the higher-priced streaming package, which was $280.

My friend was fine with her 150-minute plan.

One of the first things we noticed on our way to our cabin was the carpet in the hallway, featuring the famous NCL fish. On most NCL ships, the fish swim forward, so it’s easy to know which way you are heading from your cabin.

I noticed during a cruise on a recently updated NCL ship, the Jewel, the fish were gone and I was disappointed.

The Getaway has six types of cabins: The Haven, club balcony suites, balcony, oceanview, inside and studio.

The Haven guests get large suites and have their own set of amenities, like a butler and a private sundeck. The largest is the deluxe owner’s suite with a large balcony. That suite is 932 square feet with a 204-square-foot balcony.

Access to this area is restricted to Haven passengers only.

The solo studios are the smallest cabins and are for solo travelers. They are 97 to 99 square feet with no windows to the outside or balcony. Travelers in these cabins have access to a Studio Lounge, where they can meet other solo passengers.

My friend and I booked a balcony cabin on deck 10, which is toward the aft of the ship. Balcony cabins range in size from 204 to 366 square feet, with a balcony size of 32 to 133 square feet.

The location turned out to be perfect, with easy access to the aft elevators and stairs.

Our cabin was set up with the two beds near the balcony door and the sofa and desk nearer the entry door. Other cabins were set up opposite, with the sofa near the balcony door.

The water we had ordered was waiting on the desk. Like Starbucks, water is not part of the More at Sea drink package, so I paid $24 for 12 large cans of water. I got one free with my Latitudes status, so I had a total of 13 for the cruise. It was funny to me that it arrived with a card saying it was a gift, even though I had paid for it.

In the cabin, the dark wood tones and blue accents were calming. One thing I quickly noticed was the USB ports in each sconce above each bed. This is great for charging phones, but if you need a plug for a CPAP machine or something else, you’re out of luck.

Each bed had a small nightstand next to it with some deep storage, so deep that I almost forgot to pack something I had put in there. A storage cubby was above the bed for thin things.

Two cabinets were under the desk and the television. A third housed the mini fridge. Four plugs were above the desk, two American and two European.

The television is interactive, so you can check your account balance and view shipboard amenities and activities. Just set aside some time when you first want to look at something on the TV. Before you can do anything, you have to watch a safety video, which was the longest one I have ever seen.

The closet was half shelves and the other half hanging space. The safe was on one shelf and was not big enough for my laptop, which is a pet peeve of mine.

The bathroom was near the entry door and had plenty of storage space. It was big enough to move around in, but not for two people at the same time.

Outside, the balcony was not deep at all, just big enough for two chairs and a tiny table. It was a bit difficult to find a comfortable place for your legs, but we ended up spending a lot of time relaxing and reading on the balcony.

The Getaway offers many places to go and things to do. You can see the options listed in the Freestyle Daily, a daily newsletter delivered to cabins every evening. But instead of an hourly schedule, activities are organized by category, with some listed separately. If it’s 2 p.m. and you want to see what is happening around the ship, you have to look in all the categories, and you might miss something.

Food is an important part of every cruise, and there are many places to eat all around the Getaway, including several specialty restaurants, three main dining rooms and a buffet.

First, there are the free eateries included in the basic cruise fare.

The main dining rooms are Savor, Taste (both on deck 6) and The Manhattan Room (deck 7).

The menu changes each night, so you won’t see the same things every day. There are always some standard items you can get.

O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill is an Irish pub on deck 7, open 24 hours, making it perfect for a late-night snack.

There is a breakfast menu that transitions to a more comfort-food menu later.

My favorite thing here is the Reuben sandwich.

American Diner is on deck 16 and lives up to its name, serving 1950s-style American diner food, some of which is similar to O’Sheehan’s.

No doubt, most cruise passengers eat at least a few meals at the buffet. On the Getaway, it’s called the Garden Cafe and is on deck 15.

Most of it is inside, but there is a small outside area.

The Garden Cafe is open for all three meals, and the offerings change for lunch and dinner. Breakfast remains the same, with the highlights for me being the frosted cinnamon rolls and corned beef hash.

Guests in The Haven have their own complimentary restaurant on deck 16.

Room service is also available all day, but there might be a surcharge, depending on your cabin type.

On our seven-night cruise, we ate six nights in a specialty dining restaurant. The other night, we had some late-night fare at O’Sheehan’s.

Several of the specialty restaurants have outdoor seating along the Waterfront, the walkway that goes around about two-thirds of deck 8. When the weather was nice, it was lovely to dine outside.

Most NCL ships have many of the same restaurants, so people who have sailed with the company before have their favorites and beloved dishes.

My favoritesn are the escargot at Le Bistro and the lasagna at La Cucina.

Cagney’s is the steakhouse where the red wine glasses are as big as your head! I like the lamb chops and steaks here. Make sure to save room for dessert.

Right next to Cagney’s is the Brazilian steakhouse Moderno Churrascaria, which has a large salad bar and Passadores bringing around various cuts of meat. Get ready to use the green or red sign to signal when you want the servers to bring more meat.

Le Bistro has indoor and “outdoor” seating, with the outdoor area inside an atrium, the casino above, and people constantly passing by. It seemed like it would be noisy, so we asked to eat inside and it was lovely.

Le Bistro serves French food, like the escargot. My friend and I agreed it was our favorite meal of the trip. We each loved our appetizers, mains and desserts.

Ocean Blue is for seafood lovers, with a variety of fish that can be cooked with several sauces, as well as other specialties from the sea or land.

There’s also a raw bar inside Ocean Blue, with a separate menu and cover charge.

We ate outside on the Waterfront and loved our entire meal.

As the name suggests, La Cucina is an Italian restaurant and a specialty restaurant. The lasagna is delicious, and so is the tiramisu. La Cucina also has some outdoor seating on the Waterfront.

For those who desire Asian flavors, there’s Wasabi sushi, Shanghai’s Noodle Bar and Teppanyaki.

During my cruise, there was a charge at Shanghai’s Noodle Bar. However, NCL’s website now lists it as a complimentary option on the Getaway, and an NCL spokesperson confirmed that the Asian restaurant is complimentary on some ships but not all.

Teppanyaki is always fun, with the chefs putting on a show as they cook. We had an enjoyable meal there, but to me, everything tastes the same.

Near the entrance to the Waterfront on deck 8, there’s Dolce Gelato and The Bake Shop. I often saw people eating the gelato, but I never tried it. The free soft serve and other ice cream in the Garden Cafe were perfect for me.

Cruise ships tend to have plenty of bars and lounges, and the Getaway is no exception. We found many places to use our More at Sea drink package.

It includes any beverage up to $15, and you pay the difference if you want something more expensive.

The Atrium Bar was usually the most crowded since it was in the center of everything, near a large screen, stage, the guest relations desk and other service amenities.

Another busy bar was Mixx, which was right between two of the main dining rooms on deck 6. It was a great place to grab a cocktail while waiting for dinner.

It was much the same for Prime Meridian, right between Cagney’s Steakhouse and Moderno Churrascaria on deck 8. You could keep an eye on the line to check in for dinner reservations while sipping on a drink.

There were many more bars on board: Bar 21 on deck 7, Spice H2O on deck 16 near hot tubs and a large movie screen, and the Sugarcane Mojito Bar and the Sunset Bar, both on deck 8. These two had both indoor and outdoor seating on the Waterfront.

Haven guests had their own bar, as did members of the Vibe Beach Club.

The Skyy Vodka Ice Bar on deck 8, which charged $18 for entry, was 17 degrees inside, and the seating and glasses were made of ice. I was a bit surprised this wasn’t advertised more as an entertainment option since it is a novelty and had an additional charge.

I wouldn’t have known it was there if I hadn’t looked online for entertainment options before getting on board.

For me, the most disappointing part of the Getaway was the entertainment and activities. I didn’t think there were enough things to do during sea days that didn’t involve trying to sell me something or cost extra.

I went to the main theater on deck 7 to see “Bring Back the ’90s,” a fun show that took me back to my college days. There were two performances on day two, and it repeated on the last night.

There were also a few game shows like “Deal or No Deal” and “Wheel of Fortune” in the main theater.

My friend and I liked “Syd Norman’s Pour House” with its live sing-along shows from a four-member cast and a live band.

The venue is small with limited seating, so a line forms long before the doors open. We had to stand for the entire show both times we went and were the last ones in before they stopped allowing people inside.

A comedy venue, Headliners, also became a dueling piano bar.

There were also some theme parties scheduled in the evenings in the outdoor aft deck area, but it was windy a few of the nights so I didn’t go.

Another indoor venue is the video arcade on deck 16, which offers a wide variety of games and an inclusive pricing package.

Clubs for teens, kids, and little ones were also available.

Bliss on deck 7 is the place for late-night dancing.

There was also a card room and a library.

There were a variety of activities like bingo, wine tastings and painting classes, but there was a charge for them. A few culinary demonstrations were free, but they were too early in the morning for me.

The wellness area on the Getaway is very large. It’s in the front of the ship on deck 15.

The Pulse Fitness Center is nearby and has separate areas for weights and cardio, with the cardio machines offering views of the water. I didn’t partake in the fitness classes.

At the Mandara Spa & Salon, I enjoyed my hot stone massage I had during a sea day.

There’s also a thermal suite in the spa that features heated benches, a salt room, saunas, steam rooms, thalassotherapy pools and more. To get in, you need to buy a voyage-long pass, with the price varying by the length of the cruise.

The beauty salon is in the same area, along with a medi spa with acupuncture and IV treatments.

It’s hard to miss the outdoor venues on the Getaway since they’re colorful and prominent.

The easiest to spot is the Aqua Park on deck 15. There are five brightly colored waterslides (which start two decks above on deck 17).

There’s also a large pool with a few hot tubs. Loungers surround the pool on two decks, but are often difficult to snag because people put towels on them to “reserve” them for the entire day, making it almost impossible to find a place to sit. Don’t get me started on chair hogs!

There’s a separate kids’ water area with fun, large sculptures and water activities.

The private Vibe Beach Club is next to The Haven’s private area on deck 17. For other passengers, the aft area on deck 16 has a small pool and a couple of hot tubs.

The other hard-to-miss outdoor space is the sports complex on deck 17 with its ropes course and multi-use courts.

The ropes course has more than 40 challenges, and it was fun to watch kids and adults navigate it.

After two days at sea exploring the ship, it was time to get on dry land on the island of Bermuda. We docked at the Royal Navy Dockyard, which was at one end of the horseshoe-shaped island.

There were several shore excursions available, like snorkeling, boat rides, fishing, shopping, beach visits and more.

My friend chose to go snorkeling. She was a bit disappointed when she found out she would not receive the $50 shore excursion credit included in the More at Sea package. It was because she was not listed as the “primary guest” on the reservation, and the credit is good for only one guest.

Even though I was not taking an excursion, the shore excursion desk could not make the credit apply to her. Had we realized this, we would have listed her as the primary.

While she was snorkeling, I hopped on the free ferry to St. George’s, a town on the other side of the island that was about an hour away by ferry.

Honestly, I was surprised to see a free ferry just for NCL passengers. I had been on previous cruises where a five-minute bus ride into town cost $10 to $20, payable to our onboard account.

The ride was beautiful, offering scenic views of the NCL Getaway and the island.

Since we were docked for two overnight stays, we could come and go from the ship as we pleased during that time.

Locals were onshore to help guide passengers from our ship and the Celebrity Solstice, which was docked next to us.

We went to a street festival in Hamilton the first evening and to several notable places, like Horseshoe Bay Beach and Glass Beach, the next day.

I heard other passengers talking favorably about their other excursions around the island.

After our time in Bermuda, we started a windy and chilly trip back to New York. After a day at sea, we docked in Manhattan before 5 a.m., which was when I peeked out of the curtain to see if we were sailing by the Statue of Liberty, only to see we were already docked.

Disembarkation was a breeze.

Each passenger had selected colored luggage tags indicating a time for disembarkation before putting suitcases outside their door overnight.

We had to be out of our cabins by 8 a.m. on disembarkation day, and breakfast was available until 9:30 a.m. in a few locations, including the buffet.

The cruise director began announcing color groups about 7:15 a.m., and my friend and I were off the ship just before 9 a.m. It was easy to find our luggage, and immigration was all by face recognition, so it went quickly.

Overall, my friend and I had a great cruise from New York to Bermuda on the Norwegian Getaway.

The ship was a good size and was pleasantly decorated. While I would have liked a few more activities on sea days, I would have had plenty to do if I wanted to sit by the pool, ride waterslides or enjoy game shows.

The specialty restaurants were good, with a few being exceptional.

The time in Bermuda was relaxing and enjoyable, and it was nice to come and go as we wanted with no time constraints.

I would definitely return.