The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
left their RV in a campground and went to the Port of Miami
to sail on the Norwegian Getaway Cruise Ship
with their friends, Pee Wee and Doc Griffo
November 8, 2014

Below: Other cruise ships docked at the Port of Miami - as seen from the Norwegian Getaway

Norwegian Getaway is a cruise ship of the Norwegian Cruise Line. It was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, and was delivered to its owner on January 10, 2014. At the time of its christening it was the world's ninth (9th) largest cruise ship with a passenger capacity of 3,969 and a crew of 1,640.

Amenities on board the ship on this date included restaurants by Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, an entertainment venue devoted to magic called the "Illusionarium" and another entertainment venue theme in conjunction with the Grammy Awards. The excitement and entertainment continued with Illusionarium, a surreal magical experience and seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical, Legally Blonde. The ship was based out of Miami and mostly sails seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises. It was christened in Miami on February 7, 2014, with the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders serving as godmothers. The ship departed on its maiden voyage the next day.

Norwegian Getaway is the sister vessel of Norwegian Breakaway. The name of the ship was selected in a competition, and was submitted by Dennis Hultman of Vienna, Virginia, United States. NCL expects the ship to be based out of Miami year-round. David Le Batard was commissioned by NCL to design the mural on the hull of the ship. Below are two pictures of the Norwegian Breakaway.

Below: The Norwegian Getaway Cruise Ship

Norwegian Getaway is the sister ship to Norwegian Breakaway. Physically, the two ships are much the same and have many of the same features. However, a conscious effort has been made to give the two ships different characters. Thus, experiencing one ship is not the same as experiencing the other.

The primary way NCL has made the two ships different is by giving them different themes. While Breakaway reflects her home port of New York, Getaway reflects her home port of Miami. From the vivid hull art created by Miami artists David “Lebo” La Batard to Latin-inspired bars and eateries, Getaway seeks to convey the spirit of Miami. Even the ship's godmothers are Miami icons - the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders.

The other way that NCL has made Getaway different from Breakaway is by creating new venues for Getaway. Some of these new venues were created to carry forward the ship's Miami theme. But some important ones do not have a direct connection to Miami. The Illusionarium replaced the circus style acrobatics of the Spiegel Tent with a multi-performer magic show unlike any other. Replacing the Fat Cats Jazz and Blues Club is The Grammy Experience where Grammy-nominated artists perform.
Freestyle cruising is still the order of the day. Signature restaurants such as Le Bistro, Cagney's and the Garden Cafe are all present on Getaway.

Below: The room of the two RV Gypsies on the Norwegian Getaway

Below: Lee Duquette leading the way to explore the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship.

Karen Duquette looking out at the port -
waiting for the ship to set sail.

Karen Duquette by a model
of the Norwegian Getaway

Below: One of several dining areas

Norwegian Getaway combined the most magnificent amenities NCL has to offer with The Waterfront, an innovative, industry-first open-air promenade designed to connect guests with the ocean like no other cruise line. More than a traditional outdoor promenade. The Waterfront has two bars and outdoor seating for several of the specialty restaurants. It is a pleasant place to stroll and some guests use it to get their daily walking exercise rather than go to the ship's jogging track. Guests can pause to play chess or to look through the powerful stationary binoculars or look through the clear panels in the deck at the sea passing below.

Below: The Ropes Course, said to be the largest at sea, includes some 40 elements to overcome including a balance beam, rickety bridges and a zip track funnel.

Guests can also walk the plank - a beam that extends out 8 feet from the side of the ship. It is only 180 feet above the sea. An automatic camera takes a photo to document the heroics of those who venture out.

Below: Spider Web cage and slide

Below: Bungee Trampoline

Below: A waterfall on the ship.

Below: The deck of Spice H20 where many dance parties were held throughout the cruise.

Below: Walking around the outside areas was very breezy and gave Karen Duquette a new hairdo.

Below: Two beautiful chandeliers - the long, tall one often changed colors.

Below: A circular opening on the Norwegian Getaway provided a visual connection -- and stairway access -- between the restaurants and nightspots of Decks 6, 7 and 8.

Below: A bit of the arcade area - extra fees required.

Below: One of several showers by the pool

Below: More views of the pool, hot tubs and slides plus part of a neighboring ship.

Below: There were five (5) water slides on board. The purple one was the lowest, shortest slide. Karen Duquette enjoyed them all and spent quite a bit of time on the slides. The worker at the top of the slide said he never saw anyone slide down as many times as Karen did in one day. And of course, she returned to the slides on other days too. Lee Duquette does not like water slides very much, so he relaxed by the pool.

The green and the blue slides are the same, and became Karen Duquette's favorite. She entered into a tall see-thru tube and the slide operator locked the door, and Karen heard the words, "3, 2, 1" and the floor beneath her DROPPED OPEN and she did a free-fall into the enclosed water slide.

Just before the bottom of the slide, Karen Duquette got a face full of water from a blast of water inside the slide.
No jewelry or body-piercing was allowed on the free-fall slides for obvious reasons. Plus there was a height and weight requirement. This was Karen Duquette's favorite slide and she went on it many times each day.

Below: The orange and the red slide are the same. They start at the same level as the free-fall slide, but they are NOT free-falling slides. As per Karen Duquette's count, it took 77 steps to reach the blue, green, red, and orange slides.

Below: Karen Duquette took some pictures from the top of the slides.

Below: As Karen Duquette climbed up the stairs to the water slides, she took photos of the rope walk and a neighboring ship.

Below: Neighboring ships

Below: Lee Duquette took photos of Karen Duquette in the blue free-fall water slide. Karen rode this slide about 20 times in a row each day, until she just did not want to climb up the 77 steps each time. The operator said he has never seen anyone climb the stairs so many times in a row.

Below: Karen Duquette exiting the orange waterside.

Below: Karen Duquette was not very graceful when she landed at the bottom of the slide.

Below: PeeWee and Charlie on the lower, purple slide.

Below: Lee Duquette liked the butterfly art.

Below: Karen Duquette liked the cartoon characters that were walking around the ship.

Below: Doc Griffo crossing the atrium stage just before the game show began.

Below: The Norwegian Getaway had a special computer by one of the elevators that allowed guests to take and post their photo on Facebook.