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NCL Getaway or RCCI Navigator


bkirkham

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We are currently booked on the Navigator for 10/18/15 for a great cruise. I originally wanted to book the Getaway but the price was to high. We ended up booking on the Navigator for $724pp and with a $200 obc. 

Well, now NCL has made a balcony guarantee rate for $799 with a choice of either obc, free up scale dinning, or free ultimate beverage package. Needless to say I am strongly considering the move and our agent has held a cabin for us to decide.

I am just looking for some feedback if anyone has any to offer. Thanks!

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Honestly I'd stay with Navigator OTS because it's a Voyager class ship and their simply amazing. Not to mention the fact that it recently revitalized. But the choice is yours. If you wanted the Getaway from the beginning and then the price comes in range it just may be a calling. Hope you have a wonderful cruise no matter what ship.

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I'm guessing a lot of people here are going to root for the NotS given that this is a Royal Caribbean fan site. If you stick with the Navigator, you're going to get a Royal Caribbean product, which differs dramatically from what NCL offers. Even so, given the same price, I'd probably try the Getaway given that it's their biggest ship with a lot of new features and because it sails out of New York rather than New Jersey. Just realize that you're likely going to be spending significantly more money onboard and will have a smaller cabin.

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I'm guessing a lot of people here are going to root for the NotS given that this is a Royal Caribbean fan site. If you stick with the Navigator, you're going to get a Royal Caribbean product, which differs dramatically from what NCL offers. Even so, given the same price, I'd probably try the Getaway given that it's their biggest ship with a lot of new features and because it sails out of New York rather than New Jersey. Just realize that you're likely going to be spending significantly more money onboard and will have a smaller cabin.

 

The Getaway sails out of Miami. And yes the balcony and cabin might be smaller. The water slides keep pulling me, I wish RC would have made some.

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Honestly I'd stay with Navigator OTS because it's a Voyager class ship and their simply amazing. Not to mention the fact that it recently revitalized. But the choice is yours. If you wanted the Getaway from the beginning and then the price comes in range it just may be a calling. Hope you have a wonderful cruise no matter what ship.

 

Thank you

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Navigator was my favorite cruise of the last 12+ months, so I highly recommend checking her out. The refurbishment is fabulous and I love the itinerary.

 

Also as Kris mentioned, we're severely biased here :)

I couldn't agree more, although in fairness I also tend to stay with one company when I have a good experience, pricing, etc.
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I think it really comes down to whether the experience is more important or the ship. I personally favor itinerary, then company, then ship mainly because I have found the itinerary and cruise line more important than ship features, age of ship, etc. some of my best cruises have been on the oldest ships in various cruise lines' fleets: Century, Maasdam, and Monarch.

 

Ultimately, you need to decide what's most important for you especially given your initial desire to sail the NCL ship.

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  • 2 weeks later...

bkirkham,

 

I am in a similar position. I've only completed two cruises, both on smaller RCL ships (Jewel and Vision), and through the blogs podcast I really want to try the bigger ships now to compare, but I can't line it up correctly. I wanted to sail out of NYC/NJ to Bermuda, but NCL's itinerary is better than RCL's, as are the prices.

 

The NCL was cheaper than RCL, and they were giving away the drink package. Now RCL is running the BOGO, but NCL is still cheaper.

 

NCL breakaway sails to Bermuda and docks at 8:00 Wednesday, and leaves 5:00 PM, which gives you almost three full days to enjoy the island. RCL on the other hand docks at 3:00 PM, and leaves at 12:00 on the third day. Bermuda closes at 5:00 PM, so it doesn't provide much time there.

 

I have had very good experiences both time on RCL. I like the ships, the people, and most of all the food, and with their loyalty programs it seems dumb to look elsewhere.

 

Let me know what you're thinking as the promotions will probably die at month's end.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike_

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In my experience, NCL's rack rate is always cheaper. However, I've found that I've tended to spend more onboard with my two NCL cruises than on other lines, although it depends on your spending habits and priorities. Of the 21 cruises I've done, the MDR food was my least favorite, although still good. Yet I found myself desiring specialty restaurants more on NCL than on the other lines.  

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I think it really comes down to whether the experience is more important or the ship. I personally favor itinerary, then company, then ship mainly because I have found the itinerary and cruise line more important than ship features, age of ship, etc. some of my best cruises have been on the oldest ships in various cruise lines' fleets: Century, Maasdam, and Monarch.

Ultimately, you need to decide what's most important for you especially given your initial desire to sail the NCL ship.

Sage advice - I too favor itinerary, cruise, & ship decision theory. Set those in place & then watch for bargin price out of Normal / Good / Bargin price knowledge. That means doing your own research & not relying on TA, even if you use TA to book.

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DocLC,

 

     Can you explain about the spending more and smaller cabin?

 

     In reviewing other reviews on NCL and Breakaway, I see some complaints about spending and being nickle and dimed to death.  My only reference is RCCL which seemed to me very simple; I only paid for booze and specialty restaurants, and both I feel were reasonable.

 

     Also, what about the smaller staterooms?  Are they that much smaller?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike_

 

 

I'm guessing a lot of people here are going to root for the NotS given that this is a Royal Caribbean fan site. If you stick with the Navigator, you're going to get a Royal Caribbean product, which differs dramatically from what NCL offers. Even so, given the same price, I'd probably try the Getaway given that it's their biggest ship with a lot of new features and because it sails out of New York rather than New Jersey. Just realize that you're likely going to be spending significantly more money onboard and will have a smaller cabin.

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Don,

 

Going with itinerary first has never led me wrong.  While I've ended up on cruise lines I wouldn't have ordinarily cruised on again, I had enjoyable experiences overall and given us experiences we wouldn't have otherwise had.

 

Mike,

 

The staterooms on NCL are noticeably smaller, about 20 to 30 square feet if memory serves.  The cabins tend to be the smallest of the major cruise lines although acceptable for two.  I'm not sure I want to cruise with my son in one of the cabins.  Although to be honest, we had a penthouse on our last NCL cruise, so space wasn't an issue.  Regarding nickel and dining, after cruising Disney, every cruise line seems to do this to some degree.  Holland American and Celebrity the least, Royal and Princess, then Carnival, and finally NCL in my opinion.  This is based on what's included, costs of drinks, cost of specialty restaurants, etc.  Again, my opinion.  While I found the food more than acceptable on NCL, there were dishes that you won't find in abundance in the MDR such as lobster, although many due comment on the poor quality of the lobster served on other lines.  For better quality meals, you will need to go to the specialty restaurants; however, I found them to be more moderately priced than on the other lines.

 

You will not be compelled to spend more money on NCL; you will just find more opportunities to do so.  In addition, I think you may find the drink prices to be more expensive overall, but perhaps not a problem if you have a drink package.

 

NCL still can't be beat if you're traveling in a suite, however.

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DocLC,

 

    Thank you.   For the last few days I had been thinking about canceling the NCL cruise due to all the negative comments.   It appeared like you had to pay for special seating for shows, and then it was suggested to grab the dining package as you would need to book so many special restaurants.   On our last cruise on Vision I like the MDR so much I only ate at one special restaurant, Chops.  And yes, I did get the booze package on this cruise as a coupon or advertisement.

 

    Thanks for the information.

 

Mike_

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I sailed on Norwegian Getaway last September and found it to be a very pleasant cruise. We did buy the Ultimate Dining Package because we wanted to try the experience of having a specialty restaurant for dinner each night. I will say that the cabin did feel smaller than that to which we've become accustomed on most Royal Caribbean ships, but it was definitely acceptable.

 

We're taking advantage of the current promotion to sail on Norwegian Escape next year. We chose the Ultimate Beverage Package because we felt that we did the UDP and we're perfectly happy to go with much more of the complimentary dining options this time.

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time on Breakaway! 

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There are haters out there and most seem to be focused on NCL and MSC on most of the boards. However, I think if you go in with the right expectations, you'll have a great experience.

 

In 21 cruises, I've never had a bad one. I've had great cruises, good cruises, and okay cruises, but never a bad cruise. And before dynamic dining, NCL was my wife's favorite cruise line because of the freestyle experience. Now, she states Disney is her absolute favorite cruise line if price were no object even though she's no a Disney fan. However, she'll also readily admit that Disney is over priced and has limited itineraries.

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Marc and DocLC,

 

Thanks, based on your comments I'll stay the corse.

 

Do I need to prebook restaurants and shows on big ships like Breakaway? I am the type of person that looks at the cruise compas and decide that day when to eat. ee.g. Before or after the evening show, etc.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike_

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I think that making your reservations in advance definitely helps. We only encountered one problem in that we couldn't reserve (while we were onboard) the specialty restaurant we wanted for the last night because it was full for the whole evening. We had to go with our second choice. If we could have made that reservation in advance, that wouldn't have been an issue, but there was a timing conflict with an excursion that day, so we waited until we were onboard to try and resolve it.

 

I don't know how they handle their standby lines for the shows. I would imagine it's like RCI's big ships, and as long as you're willing to head down early enough to get in line, you should be fine. We had reservations for the shows, so we didn't have any issues getting in.

 

I'd suggest finding some "Freestyle Daily" uploads for Breakaway before your cruise so you can do some preplanning.

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Marc and DocLC,

 

Thanks, based on your comments I'll stay the corse.

 

Do I need to prebook restaurants and shows on big ships like Breakaway? I am the type of person that looks at the cruise compas and decide that day when to eat. ee.g. Before or after the evening show, etc.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike_

 

First I have to say how impressed I am with the honest and friendly posts about a cruise other than RCCI. It goes to show the amount of class the loyal Royal cruisers have.

As for prebooking shows and dining times can be done on board as long as you are flexible with that time and which day you do them

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I think it really comes down to whether the experience is more important or the ship. I personally favor itinerary, then company, then ship mainly because I have found the itinerary and cruise line more important than ship features, age of ship, etc. some of my best cruises have been on the oldest ships in various cruise lines' fleets: Century, Maasdam, and Monarch.

 

Ultimately, you need to decide what's most important for you especially given your initial desire to sail the NCL ship.

 

I don't know if I am in the minority, or if I am a different type of cruiser, but the ship itself is the MAIN destination for me. I am still new to cruising and love exploring the ships and enjoying the amenities that are offered on board.

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You're not alone. I primarily cruise for the ship, too. I've been to most of the Caribbean ports enough that they generally don't have a strong draw for me. (Labadee is a notable exception; I love going there.)

 

I really enjoy just being in this moving resort as it takes me from one destination to another.

 

Each lines has its own niche to offer from bumper cars to water slides to make the ship more of a destination on its own

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After cruising th flag ships of Disney and Carnival, we said we'd never go smaller. Then, a couple of months later, we found an incredible rate on a California coastal cruise on Celebrity's oldest ship. While she didn't have the amenities that the newer ships had, we realized then that the itinerary was the most important to us. Hence, we ended up on the Jewel out of San Juan and have also sailed on one of Holland America's older ships from Montreal to Boston. And while we could have cruised Allure this summer in Europe, we realized that we wouldn't be able to enjoy the ship, plus we liked the Brilliance's itinerary better.

 

We are sailing the Liberty in January and that cruise is all about the ship.

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Then, a couple of months later, we found an incredible rate on a California coastal cruise on Celebrity's oldest ship.

Which ship was that?

 

I ask because Celebrity Century is Celebrity's oldest ship right now and that was our first cruise back in 1998. Although the ship can't compare to today's marvels, she's still special for being our first, and I give a lot of credit for our current love of cruising to the experience we had onboard her.

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Marc,

 

It was the Century just before they announced it was leaving the fleet as speculated before the announcement.

 

It was a great cruise. However, it was very port intensive--not a single sea day--so the features of the ship were less important overall.

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Don,

 

Going with itinerary first has never led me wrong.  While I've ended up on cruise lines I wouldn't have ordinarily cruised on again, I had enjoyable experiences overall and given us experiences we wouldn't have otherwise had.

 

Mike,

 

The staterooms on NCL are noticeably smaller, about 20 to 30 square feet if memory serves.  The cabins tend to be the smallest of the major cruise lines although acceptable for two.  I'm not sure I want to cruise with my son in one of the cabins.  Although to be honest, we had a penthouse on our last NCL cruise, so space wasn't an issue.  Regarding nickel and dining, after cruising Disney, every cruise line seems to do this to some degree.  Holland American and Celebrity the least, Royal and Princess, then Carnival, and finally NCL in my opinion.  This is based on what's included, costs of drinks, cost of specialty restaurants, etc.  Again, my opinion.  While I found the food more than acceptable on NCL, there were dishes that you won't find in abundance in the MDR such as lobster, although many due comment on the poor quality of the lobster served on other lines.  For better quality meals, you will need to go to the specialty restaurants; however, I found them to be more moderately priced than on the other lines.

 

You will not be compelled to spend more money on NCL; you will just find more opportunities to do so.  In addition, I think you may find the drink prices to be more expensive overall, but perhaps not a problem if you have a drink package.

 

NCL still can't be beat if you're traveling in a suite, however.

In regards to your above post where you mention NCL can't be beat if you're traveling in suite - just wondering if this applies to the Mini Suites as well?  It caught my attention as a mini suite w/ balcony on the Escape is up for consideration for me in place of the Freedom that we have booked currently.  The mini suite on Escape doesn't look that much larger, but certainly looks nice.  Perhaps you can tell me about your thoughts on the mini suite being great on NCL.  Would love to hear.  Currently booked in a large oceanview on Freedom - new room on 12th deck, pie-shaped.  

 

Thanks for your insight.  Jennifer

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Mini-suite is the most overused and meaningless term used in the cruise industry. Outside of double cruise points on RCI and Holland American, there's not a single cruise line that I know of that offers suite perks for a mini-suite; this, I wish they'd just drop "suite" from the name. While the cabins are larger, you won't receive any suite perks.

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Mini-suite is the most overused and meaningless term used in the cruise industry. Outside of double cruise points on RCI and Holland American, there's not a single cruise line that I know of that offers suite perks for a mini-suite; this, I wish they'd just drop "suite" from the name. While the cabins are larger, you won't receive any suite perks.

It's all marketing.  Mini suite sounds a lot more enticing than "really large balcony"

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  • 7 months later...

Hello All,

 

   Just back from NCL Breakaway and the cruise turned out to be very good.  Not to the level of RCCL, but still very nice.  

 

   The stateroom may have been smaller, but I didn't notice.  The balcony was smaller, but the showers were bigger than I was used to on RCCL.  Instead of an enclosed circle, it was more rectangle; however the water leaked out the bottom of the door where a gap was( we had some heavy seas to Bermuda which I thought was really cool, but caused water to slosh around the bathroom sometimes).  The food in the MDR was very good, as was the buffet.  We ate at one specialty restaurant, the Italian one, and it was not up to MDR.  I loved leaving out of NYC, as it was a train ride vs plane; I live near Philly.  And, we had the unlimited drink package, which was offered free of charge, and this was nice.  I don't think I could ever beat the ship at per drink vs ubp.  I tried!  I did like that the dress code was a lot more relaxed on NCL than RCCL.  Dress up night was only one night, and they said if you don't feel like it, don't.

 

    We lucked out and beat the hurricanes.   Weather was perfect until the last day, which was too windy to go topside.  However, we had the ubp, so that was okay.   Bermuda was great.  Rented scooters, my wife took a spill, so next time I would rent a double and put her on back.  We also bought a day pass for CoCo Reef, which included lunch, beach chairs, umbrellas, pool, etc. for $65pp.  

 

    Thanks for all the advice offered above, I am glad that I continued with the cruise.

 

Mike_

 

P.S.  I got off this cruise and swore I was done with cruising for a long time.  Then I got home, uploaded my photos and said, "I can't wait for the next one!"  Five months. ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Matt,

 

    I am not sure I like these big ships yet, I will hold my judgement until we do Allure in February.   My first two cruises were on smaller ships, Jewel and Vision, and I really like their sizes...  I think.  Very charming, lots to do, but the layout seems right to me.  However, I have my eyes on that Freedom of the Seas...  there are a lot of "love" comments on your Podcast about that one, I might have to give it a spin.  :)

 

Mike_

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Matt,

 

    I am not sure I like these big ships yet, I will hold my judgement until we do Allure in February.   My first two cruises were on smaller ships, Jewel and Vision, and I really like their sizes...  I think.  Very charming, lots to do, but the layout seems right to me.  However, I have my eyes on that Freedom of the Seas...  there are a lot of "love" comments on your Podcast about that one, I might have to give it a spin.   :)

 

Mike_

Ship size isn't as impactful as you might think.  These ships are designed to maximize their space so well  and each class has its own uniqueness to them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ship size isn't as impactful as you might think.  These ships are designed to maximize their space so well  and each class has its own uniqueness to them.

Matt,

 

My initial feeling is that the smaller ships it feels like the center of the ships are where everything happens, and the elevators are located there. However, on these big ones the elevators are severely forward or aft, which always makes for a long walk. And, they appear less intimate. Just a feeling.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike_

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Matt,

 

My initial feeling is that the smaller ships it feels like the center of the ships are where everything happens, and the elevators are located there. However, on these big ones the elevators are severely forward or aft, which always makes for a long walk. And, they appear less intimate. Just a feeling.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike_

I can see where you're coming from with that opinion.  They definitely are different but I don't think it is as big a deal as some people think it might be in terms of sheer ship size.

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