Tomorrow I will journeying to Orlando, Florida where I will be waiting to board the Norwegian Getaway for the first time! This will be my first sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line and I am very excited to experience all the ship has to offer, as well as share my observations with all of you.
Our itinerary is a 7-night sailing departing from Orlando, Florida, sailing to Norwegian’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay, St. Thomas Virgin Islands, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Amber Cove Dominican Republic. In addition to this being my first time sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line, it will also be my first time cruising in the Caribbean! Our itinerary will take place between August 20th through August 27th.
I will be writing a live blog each day of our voyage to detail our experiences on this Norwegian Breakaway Class ship, as well as our experiences at the ports of call. We have one excursion currently booked in St. Thomas, and I will be sharing our experience from this as well.
On this trip we will be driving from the Panhandle of Florida to Orlando, Port Canaveral where we will meet up with Norwegian Getaway the morning of August 20th. We will be driving down a day early tomorrow, in order to ensure that we will arrive to the ship early, around 9am on August 20th, to experience a full day onboard for our embarkation day. Because we will be driving down the day before our sailing begins, we have arranged to stay at a hotel in Orlando the night before.
As this will be both mine and my travel companion’s first time aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, I am looking forward to seeing what our observations of the ship will be. I plan on taking detailed notes of our experiences to share with our readers!
Preparing for our trip
To help prepare for our trip, I downloaded the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) app a couple weeks ago. Through the app I was able to view our full itinerary, receive updates about our sailing, see a countdown to our trip, as well as reserve and book dining times and shore excursions. Guests can also upgrade their wifi and beverage packages through the NCL app.
Something important that I noted while using the NCL app, was that guests can reserve their desired dining times at the complimentary dining locations ahead of boarding the ship. Norwegian Cruise Line specializes in ‘free style cruising’, meaning that there are no pre-set dining times. Because of this, passengers can choose when they would like to eat and where, each night of their cruise.
I have booked us at each of the complimentary dining locations onboard, as well as one specialty dining location, Teppanyaki. Because this will be my first NCL sailing I was unsure when the best times for dining will be, so I opted for the 6:30pm available reservations most nights.
As today is the day before we leave home for our trip, I am focusing on packing. To help me pack I have added our ports of call to the weather app on my phone so that I will be aware of the weather in each location. Because of Norwegian Cruise Line’s free style cruising, I know that I do not need to pack any exceptionally fancy clothing, however I do plan on bringing some more casual sun dresses.
To help prepare for my first NCL sailing I have been watching all sorts of tips videos, as well as reading past blog posts from our authors. A couple items I plan on packing that I think will come in handy on our sailing:
- Large reusable water bottle (water bottles onboard are an additional cost, and bringing my own water bottle will help to save some money on water).
- Comfortable shoes (for walking along the beaches, or while onshore on our excursion)
- Sunscreen (sunscreen can be expensive to purchase onboard)
- Multiple swim suits (there will be plenty of opportunities to go swimming, both onboard the ship and onshore at the beaches).
Expectations
Our shore excursion in St. Thomas on August 23rd is titled “Discover St. Thomas & Magens Bay”, and is scheduled to last four hours, starting at 12:30pm. We booked the shore excursion directly through the Norwegian Cruise Line app. This excursion is described as an overview of the highlights near St. Thomas and Magens Bay. As this will be my first time in the Caribbean, I am very excited to see what this particular port of call has to offer.
Another experience I am considering trying while we are at a port of call, is renting snorkeling gear while we are at Great Stirrup Cay. According to what I have read, Norwegian’s private island offers snorkel gear rental to be used at the beaches on the island.
There appears to be many onboard activities onboard Norwegian Getaway. I am a bit of a thrill seeker, and I am intrigued by the large waterslides onboard, and plan on testing them out.
I am sure that we will frequent the many lounge and relaxation areas onboard, and I plan on taking in as much of the Caribbean ocean views as possible!
When researching the Norwegian Getaway, I was surprised to see how many bars and lounges there are onboard. Even if we visited one lounge and bar a night onboard, we would still not be able to see them all, however we plan on visiting multiple each night.
This expansive ship is not lacking in options, and I am looking forward to visiting as many of the venues as possible.
The Norwegian Getaway
The Norwegian Getaway is one of two ships in Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway Class. The ship itself measures 145,655 gross register tonnage, and at full capacity can accommodate 3,963 guests and 1,646 crew members. As this will be my first time cruising since the COVID-19 pandemic, I am interested to see just how full the ship will be on this summer sailing.
Norwegian Getaway was originally constructed in 2014, but has received a refurbishment in 2020.
We will be staying in an inside cabin, and I am looking forward to experiencing what a stay in Norwegian Cruise Line’s most affordable stateroom is like.
As this will be my first sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line, I am excited to experience the amenities and activities that I have spent so much time reading about. Such as The Waterfront, an area of the ship that features several food locations, accompanied by beautiful ocean views. As well as the award-winning entertainment onboard, I am especially looking forward to the “Burn The Floor” show, which is described as a “can’t-miss 45-minute dance extravaganza filled with breathtaking choreography.”
I plan on exploring as much of the Norwegian Getaway as possible within the next week, and to document all that I can! Readers can view more of our Norwegian Cruise Line content and articles here.
Hayley Phillips
Hayley Phillips is a military spouse currently living in Florida and loves all things travel and travel planning.
