I am ecstatic to be writing this blog post from aboard the Norwegian Getaway! As I write this live blog, I am currently sitting in our surprisingly spacious indoor cabin, reflecting on all of the events and experiences of the past 14 hours.
Our morning began at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott at the Orlando International Airport, where we awoke and made our way down to the complimentary breakfast. After enjoying a light breakfast consisting of fruit, pastries, eggs, and coffee, we hopped in the car and began the drive to Port Canaveral.
Port Canaveral is a large cruise port in Florida, which many cruise lines use to launch their ships to the Caribbean, Bahamas, and beyond. This is also where we met up with the Norwegian Getaway.
After doing some quick internet searching, we determined that Norwegian Cruise Line is currently using Cruise Terminal 10 at Port Canaveral to dock the Norwegian Getaway. Parking can be a convenient travel option, but it is important to take into account the associated costs, for example, parking at the cruise terminals in Port Canaveral currently costs $17 a day.
After parking we made our way to check-in, where we were initially asked for our COVID-19 vaccination records, and negative COVID-19 tests, which we took about 36 hours before embarking. It is likely that in the near future, most sailings will not require proof of a negative COVID test, however, for our sailing this requirement was still being enforced.
We then proceeded through security where we were asked to put our bags through a x-ray scanner, and walk through a metal detector. Unlike security at most airports, we were not asked to remove our shoes.
After exiting security we entered the main area of the Norwegian Cruise Line Terminal, this room was very large, and filled with people. Although very busy, the check-in process felt relatively organized, and we progressed quickly to the front desk.
Because we were able to complete much of the check-in process online through the NCL app ahead of time, all we were asked to show at the front desk were our COVID credentials once again, and our passports. The entire process took about 15 minutes.
We were handed our stateroom keycards, and were told we could proceed with boarding the ship! Walking the gangway was a quick and easy process that felt well organized, as at the time we were some of the only people getting on the ship at that time.
Once onboard we were greeted by many helpful crew members telling us where to go for the safety demonstration at our muster stations. We were able to quickly locate our muster station where we were greeted by more friendly NCL crew members, who demonstrated how to put on the standard life jacket, and informed us that in the unlikely event of an emergency we were to report to that location. The entire encounter lasted maybe 5 minutes, if not less.
Our first impressions of the ship is that it is clean and modern.
Immediately we noticed that most of our fellow passengers had chosen to check their bags before arriving onboard. Because we were amongst the first group of guests to go through check-in and board the ship, our stateroom was not yet ready when we arrived onboard.
We quickly figured out that the smartest move is to check your luggage if you plan on getting to the ship early, this will ensure that you don’t have to cart your bags around the ship during the afternoon like we did. The passengers who chose to check their luggage at the cruise terminal had their bags waiting for them outside their cabins when the staterooms were finished being cleaned and prepared.
After looking at a map of the ship, and figuring out the general layout of everything, we decided to go to The Garden Cafe, the main buffet onboard, for some lunch. There was a large selection of food choices at this location, including international options such as Asian and Mexican, Mediterranean, many desserts including an ice cream case, and a beverage station. I was surprised to discover that beverages such as juice, coffee, and tea were complimentary at The Garden Cafe.
The Garden Cafe consists of different buffet stations in a square formation, with each side mirroring each other. This ensures that even if the buffet is busy, it still feels as though you have plenty of space to peruse all of the food on option.
There is also an abundance of seating at this venue, and we were easily able to locate a table with beautiful views of the port, away from the crowd.
After lunch we decided to look more into how we go about booking our complimentary tickets to the entertainment shows, such as Burn The Floor. You can arrange desired times to view certain complimentary shows through the NCL app, however for our embarkation day, the NCL app was showing that all times were sold out, and therefore we could not view times for the other days on our sailing.
After checking the ship map on the NCL app, we stopped by the Box Office to see if we could arrange times for later in our voyage.
After speaking to a crew member, we were able to book a show time for every complimentary stage show onboard for various days of our sailing. I am looking forward to the shows, and to sharing my experience. We opted to save the stage shows for our days at sea.
During the interaction with the crew member at the Box Office, we were additionally asked if we would like to arrange our tender time for our disembarkation onto Great Stirrup Cay the next day. This was something we did not realize we needed to seek out once we made it onboard, and were grateful to the crew member for letting us know, as we were able to secure an early morning group.
Much later in the day, an announcement was made over the loud speakers about the need to reserve a tender time, but it appeared that many of the morning slots were full.
At about 3:00pm a crew member made an announcement over the loud speakers that all guests could now have access to their cabins, prior to this the only guests who could enter their staterooms early, were guests staying in The Haven, the luxury suites onboard.
We immediately made our way to Deck 9 where our stateroom is located. As we arrived, a very helpful Norwegian Cruise Line crew member stepped out of the stateroom next to ours, and introduced themselves as the individual who would be taking care of, and managing our cabin, during our stay. The crew member was friendly, and helped point our all of the amenities of our indoor stateroom.
We had very positive first impressions of our stateroom.
The room is very clean, organized, and offers ample storage. The room has so much storage in fact, that we decided to completely unpack our bags, as to feel even more at home in our cabin. There is even room under our beds to store our luggage.
The bathroom in our stateroom feels surprisingly large for an indoor cabin. The bathroom is very modern, with a large walk-in shower and expansive mirror. The stateroom overall feels very comfortable in size, and offers a great space to call home during our sailing!
After settling all of our belongings into our stateroom we headed out to explore everything the Norwegian Getaway has to offer. We explored each deck and it's different amenities.
This was an interesting time to explore the different spaces onboard, as there were not too many people walking around, and at times felt like we had whole areas all to ourselves to take pictures, and notice different details of the Getaway.
Walking around the ship this first day I believe will prove beneficial later on in our voyage, as we become accustomed to where different venues, restaurants, lounges, and bars are located.
While on our self-guided tour of the ship, we made notes of locations we wanted to visit, beverages we wanted to try, and shows we want to see.
(NCL The Sunset Bar)
In our cabin each day we receive a physical paper copy of the ‘Freestyle Daily’, Norwegian Cruise Line’s version of the daily itinerary. In this printout we noticed that they were hosting tours of the spa and thermal spa suite, which you normally can only enter if you pay for a pass (the passes currently cost $299). We decided to check out the tour.
The “tour” turned out to be more of a self guided exploration, as we were let into the thermal spa and told we could take a look around on our own. This turned out to be a great opportunity to take pictures and explore what the thermal spa had to offer.
While on our adventure at the Mandara Spa, we heard about a complimentary ‘Ladies Pamper Party’ where the spa is hosting complimentary services at a first-come-first-serve basis, we decided to register for this event, which will take place on our first sea day. I will report back on this activity after we have experienced it!
After our visit to explore the spa we explored the ship further, stopping at locations we will dine at later in the sailing, such as Savor and Taste, and walking along The Waterfront, an area where guests can take in the ocean views.
We stopped by Spice H2O, which is an adult-only area of the ship consisting of a large screen, lounge chairs, bar, and hot tub complex. This was a fun looking venue that we have made plans to return to later in our voyage.
By this time in our day it was nearing 6:00pm, and it was almost time for sail-away! We stopped by The Sunset Bar and ordered a drink before venturing onto the top deck to watch the Sail Away Party. From our spot on the upper deck we were also able to take in the views as we sailed away from beautiful Port Canaveral.
The Sail Away Party was lively, and many of the guests enjoying the pool deck seemed to embrace the music as they danced to “Cha-Cha Slide”, and the like.
While visiting the pool deck we were able to explore what the waterslides might be like on Norwegian Getaway.
This particular NCL ship has a Free Fall Water Slide which allows guests to stand up vertically on a door-opening, which will then fall away and allow passengers to free fall for a second or two, before continuing the sharp turns down to the bottom.
The water slides appeared to have people using them, but were not overly busy on embarkation day. We plan on making a stop at this activity location on our sea days.
After the Sail Away Party we consulted the Freestyle Daily and discovered that there is a plethora of activities onboard in the evenings, however by this time in our day it was after 7:30pm and events such as the comedy club had already started.
We decided it was time for dinner, and headed back to The Garden Cafe. We have reservations booked at all of the complimentary dining rooms, and one specialty restaurant onboard (stay tuned to find out which one!), all the other days of our sailing.
However for our embarkation day I knew we would be eager to explore and didn’t want to lock us into a certain dining time. Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Freestyle” concept was perfect for this, as NCL prides themselves on their lack of firm dining times. This enables guests to have the freedom to eat when and where they want each day.
We were pleasantly surprised to discover that there were different food options offered at The Garden Cafe in the evenings than during lunch time, and we had plenty of options to chose from.
We very much enjoyed our dinner, as the seating area was peaceful, and there were plenty of tables located at the back of the ship to take in the ocean views as we sailed away from Florida. I especially enjoyed watching the large wake that the ship gives off as it sails.
We spent quite a bit of time at dinner discussing plans for the following day and the remainder of our Norwegian Getaway journey. We took out our copy of the Freestyle Daily for the next day and highlighted different activities both onboard, and on Great Stirrup Cay that look interesting and fun. I am now sitting in our comfy stateroom finishing up this post, while simultaneously looking forward to all our trip has in store, as this is just the first afternoon and evening!
My overall first impressions of Norwegian Getaway, and Norwegian Cruise Line in general, is that the ships are vacation destinations in of themselves, in addition to taking guests to beautiful ports of call.
The ship is very clean, with modern design and aesthetics. The NCL staff is very friendly and eager to help, it seems that the crew members genuinely enjoy their jobs and most we have seen are enthusiastic about providing a memorable vacation to passengers.
We had a wonderful first day aboard Norwegian Getaway, and I can’t wait to explore even further, all of the fun and unique amenities this ship has to offer. Today was a great afternoon getting ourselves acquainted with the ship, and learning about all of our options onboard.
This trip will be my first time visiting the Caribbean, and I am very excited to bring you content from Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay tomorrow! Until then, smooth sailing!
Hayley Phillips
Hayley Phillips is a military spouse currently living in Florida and loves all things travel and travel planning.
