The perfect family Getaway
After years of working at Cruise and going on lots of ships I have finally got the chance to take my little boys on their very first taster cruise when we boarded the NCL Getaway for one night last week. To say that they were excited is an understatement as they have seen pictures and heard me talk about my experiences but never stepped on deck themselves.
My boys are 9 and 6 so the perfect age to enjoy a cruise and everything that it has to offer and when we pulled up at the port and the Ncl Getaway was in full view their faces were a picture and they were so impressed and excited of the huge size of it and the slides that they could see peaking from the top deck.
We got through the check-in fairly speedily and the boys felt like little VIP’s as they were given their very own lanyards to wear round their necks and keep their own little sea passes in with their name. The lady deactivated the boys cards sop they couldn’t be used which I think is good as it gives parents peace of mind that the children can’t go in the arcades and rack up huge bills on their own.
The first thing we did was to check out our cabin on deck 12. We had a four berth family cabin with two Pullman beds for the boys. I think they expected more of a hotel sized room with a big living room area but obviously the cabin was much on a much smaller scale with no settee area so was definitely cosy for the four of us which was fine but may get a bit much if you were on here for any longer especially with storage space so I would really recommend if you are a family of four always get a price to upgrade to larger cabins as you may find for the difference in price it is well worth it.
We dumped the suitcase and headed up to the Garden Cafe Buffett Restaurant on deck 15 for our lunch. We had told the boys that there would be lots of choice and they could have whatever they wanted so there eyes lit yup when then sore how much choice they had. A firm favourite was the grill with burgers, hot dogs, pizzas and relishes and salads. I really liked the Asian section and had a really tasty beef noodle dish. They had a really nice selection of desserts and the boys particularly liked the ice-cream section where they got to pick a few flavours and added chocolate sprinkles and toffee sauce.
After we had been well fed and watered we went for a good nosey round the ship to explore and I thought it would be nice for the boys to have a look around the children’s club the Splash Academy. The large room was really nicely decorated and laid out for the kids and had all the latest game consoles and toys in there. One of the staff gave the boys a glimpse of what kind of thing they could get up to on-board the Getaway by showing them one of the activities they do which is Circus training. The boys tested their juggling skills and other tricks and for families on a week sailing apparently the children go down to the theatre and do a full shown of what they have learnt to their parents.
Now even though it was mid-January and the rain was coming down at times the boys were adamant that they wanted to have a go in the pool and on the slides. Rather them then me but being young they didn’t seem to care about the cold and it wasn’t long before they were getting warmed up in the hot tubs……… a highlight of the trip for them.
There was only one slide open at the time but they went down several times and made the most of it all and I could really picture how much great fun they would have if they were out there in the Caribbean running around the water slides and jumping in the pool. Not quite the same in Southampton!!
As the evening approached we had such a huge choice of where to go for dinner and it’s really handy as all around the ship there are touch screens that you can use to check if the restaurant is busy or full. Possibilities were the main restaurant Taste or savour or the speciality restaurants like Teppanyaki, Raw Bar , Wasabi Sushi , Le Bistro to name a few. In the end we wanted something that would be fun and entertain the boys so the best option for us was the Illusionarium and what a fantastic choice it turned out to be. It was a dining experience like no other with a three course meal combined with a world class magic show. You are seated in an oval room with the stage in the middle and as you are served three courses from the set menu various acts perform which ranged from magicians, illusionts and mentalists doing tricks that left the crowd in awe and my little boy was even lucky enough to be pulled up on stage to help with one of the tricks. He thought this was fabulous and we may now have the next Paul Daniels on our hands!!
There was a cover charge of $25pp for this but it was really worth it and it really made our night as you know sometimes children can get bored at dinner so too able to enjoy nice food and have them entertained is a real bonus. I would recommend with this to get to the doors about 30 minutes before the show starts (there were two slots at 6 or 9) this way you bag yourself the best seats.
The ship itself I think is perfect especially if you are travelling with children as there are so many things to keep them occupied and interested while the adults can still have fun. After dinner we went to O’Sheehans Irish pub where we enjoyed a quite after dinner drink and the boys played on the arcade driving game and electronic darts in there.
The overall experience was fantastic and I really would not think twice about booking this for a family week away together with confidence that we would all have a really great time on a ship to suit everyone’s needs. Ncl Getaway got a big fat 10/10 from my boys and I have to agree it was great.
About Me
I have been working in the Travel Industry for 16 years and originally started out in Business travel. After doing this for a while I was given an opportunity to move into the cruising industry and haven't looked back since. I thoroughly enjoy my job and can't think of anything…
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