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CRUISE REVIEW
NORWEGIAN GETAWAY New York to Bermuda and the Caribbean Winter 2024 By Richard H. Wagner |
Norwegian Getaway
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This was a 10-night voyage out of New York to Bermuda and the Caribbean (St. Maarten; Tortola, BVI; and San Juan, Puerto Rico). Puerto Platta in the Dominican Republic was also on the itinerary but the call was cancelled due to adverse weather.
Bermuda is a popular cruise destination. However, few cruise ships venture there during the winter months. This is largely due to two factors. First, the Atlantic can be stormy in the winter and surrounding Bermuda is a reef that can be tricky to navigate. Indeed, the first settlers of the island arrived there because their ship foundered on the reef during a storm. (William Shakespeare was inspired to write his play “The Tempest” based upon reports of this incident). Consequently, cruise ships have favored other destinations in the winter. Second, Bermuda is located on its own in the North Atlantic. It is about parallel with the Carolinas in the United States. As a result, the winter weather in Bermuda is more Spring-like than summery like in the islands further south in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Since the objective of many winter-time cruise passengers is to find summer in the midst of winter, the cruise lines have favored the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Norwegian Cruise Line challenged this thinking this winter with a series of cruises from New York that included Bermuda in the itinerary. On my cruise, Getaway had no problem navigating the channel that takes cruise ships to and from the cruise port at the Royal Naval Dockyard. Although Getaway is a big ship, she is quite maneuverable and passed easily by the outcroppings of rock that one can see from the open decks. During our day in Bermuda, the weather was clear and fine. It was warm enough for passengers to take to the beach and go in the water. Other passengers just enjoyed the island's natural beauty, relaxed atmosphere and historic sites. Furthermore, because it was outside the tourist season, the island was uncrowded. Following Bermuda, we proceeded south into the Caribbean. Once again, the weather was fine during our calls in St. Maarten, Tortola and San Juan. However, the captain became concerned that if the ship made its scheduled call in Puerto Platta, the ship would become tangled in a severe storm when she was sailing north back to New York. Therefore, the call in the Dominican Republic was cancelled in favor of an additional sea day. The weather during the passage north was good. Inasmuch as the ship arrived in New York early, the disembarkation was very smooth. Getaway was the second ship built in Norwegian's Breakaway class. She was originally envisioned as NCL's Miami ship, which explains the Florida-themed décor and murals. However, following a change in management, the line dropped the idea of basing certain ships permanently in certain ports. As a result, Getaway has sailed out of a number of ports during her career including New York. Entering service in 2014, Getaway is now into its second decade. The ship appeared to be in good condition with no visible rust – a tribute to her crew who are constantly painting and maintaining the exterior. However, there were some signs of wear in the interior and passenger reports of minor problems with thermostats, toilets and safes were not uncommon. The crew seemed to respond to such complaints quickly. Cruisers who have cruised on Getaway before noted that there have been cutbacks in the service. For example, the cabin stewards only service the cabins once a day instead of twice a day as they did when the ship was new. Since each steward has a large number of cabins to care for, it can take until well into the afternoon for a cabin to be serviced. However, the cabins and the public areas maintained a clean feel. While frequent cruisers may have noticed cutbacks, those who were sailing on Getaway for the first time seemed quite enthusiastic about the experience. As a result of the Free-at-Sea promotion, nearly everyone had a drinks package. While giving passengers essentially unlimited access to alcohol might seem risky, we did not see any incidents of abuse or rowdy behavior. The promotion also included two complimentary dinners in the ship's specialty restaurants. We enjoyed our meals in the specialty restaurants, particularly La Cucina, the Italain-themed venue. The menu at Ocean Blue is not as diverse as when the ship entered service. However, the cooking and the service were significantly better than our experience with this restaurant on our last voyage on Getaway in 2023. We also found the food in the main dining rooms to be consistently enjoyable this year. With regard to the internet service, we traded in the minutes included in the promotion and the discount allowed by the Latitudes loyalty program for a reduced price on the unlimited internet package. While this service kept us connected throughout the voyage, it was unable to connect through to the doorbell camera at home or to such sites as Amazon Music. This was not entirely a surprise as the premium internet package that Norwegian also offers was the one advertised as capable of streaming. Along the same lines, a sign on the internet service manager's desk warned that packages do not include complimentary texting. An add-on service that allows texting to other passengers aboard the ship requires that both the sender and the recipients purchase the service. |
Above: Anthem in San Juan.
Above: A balcony cabin.
Below: A dinner in Le Bistro specialty restaurant. 
Above: Getaway in Bermuda.
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Cruise ship review - - Norwegian Cruise Line - Norwegian Getaway - Bermuda and the Caribbean 2024