Out of all the cruises that my wife and I have been on,
one of our greatest experiences was on the Norwegian Getaway.
I'm going to show you some pictures that illustrate what was so great about it,
but before I do, I want to explain that these are not MY pictures.
These pictures come from a guy named Andreas Depping.
He runs a website out of Germany... Cruiseship-Gallery.de
I wrote to Andreas, and he gave me permission to use his pictures in this video.
This is the type of cabin that we stayed in
and it's a very special type of cabin called a Haven Spa Suite.
One of the things that's special about this type of cabin
is that thing in the corner you can barely see in this picture.
Here's a little closer look.
That's a Jacuzzi tub right in the room.
Not in the bathroom, but in the main part of the cabin, next to the bed.
It has its own little window looking out over the balcony and out to sea.
Here's a closer look at that Jacuzzi tub...
and notice the cool blue lighting on the front side of it.
There's room enough for two in that Jacuzzi...
making this cabin a perfect choice for a romantic couple.
Probably not a good choice if you're going on a cruise with your sister!
Looking back in the other direction in the cabin...
See the beautiful, neutral, soft earth tone colors of the cabin.
I come from the Carnival cruise world... having done 26 Carnival cruises, and...
orange is their favorite cabin color.
but this Norwegian Getaway decorating scheme is SO much nicer with the tasteful earth tones.
Now here's a look at the desk area and the big screen TV.
That TV's a LOT bigger than you normally get in a cruise ship cabin.
Also, that thing that looks a little bit like a laser printer over at the right side of the desk...
That's a coffee and tea machine.
Another interesting thing about this cabin is that little daybed on the left there.
That's a very comfy spot to stretch out and read a magazine or a book or a Kindle
with the light coming in from the window behind it. A nice little spot to relax.
Out of view of this photo, there's a balcony where you can sit outside and relax and enjoy the view.
Now here's a look at the bathroom, which is...
...one of the nicest bathrooms we've had out of all of our cruises
In fact, even nicer than the bathroom we have in our house back home.
You can see the sink is extra wide... but also, look at the size of that shower!
These Haven spa suites are so perfect for a romantic couple.
Two can definitely share that shower quite comfortably.
Now this cabin is a Haven cabin...
which means you have access to the exclusive V.I.P. section of the ship, known as "The Haven".
Norwegian Getaway has about 4,000 passengers
but only about 250 of them have access to the Haven.
Let me show you what the Haven is all about...
starting with the fact that all the Haven Suites come with the services of both a concierge and a butler.
The concierge can arrange things for you.
Say you want to reserve good seats at a show... the concierge will do that for you.
Now the truth is that any passenger can reserve seats at a show, using the interactive system on the cabin TV.
But the Haven concierge has special powers.
If you previously made a reservation, and then you realize you need to change it...
that can't be done from the interactive TV system
but the Haven concierge can do it for you in seconds.
Also, if a show or a shore excursion is sold out,
the Haven concierge can probably pull some strings for you.
The butler will bring things to you.
Would you like dinner from one of the ships specialty restaurants but served in your room?
The butler will make all the arrangements and bring it to you.
Also, what's your special craving? Peanut M&Ms, or chocolate chip cookies?
Let the butler know, and he'll make sure that every night there'll be some in your cabin waiting for you.
Now here's your first look within The Haven itself.
This is the indoor social area of the Haven, where you can sit and have a drink
and chat up your fellow Haven guests.
Here's the Haven bar that's a focal point of that area.
It's an all-inclusive experience, so have a drink anytime you want.
Don't worry about the money. It's all included.
Here's the exclusive Haven restaurant, just for the guests of The Haven.
and open for breakfast lunch and dinner.
Remember, there's 4,000 passengers on this mega cruise ship, so...
The regular restaurants can get a bit crowded.
The Haven restaurant caters exclusively to the 250 or so guests staying within The Haven.
It's a relaxing, un-crowded experience...
and the wait staff really takes good care of you.
They're eager to please, they pick up on what you like, and they make sure you have it.
For example, one morning at breakfast, I asked if they might be able to get a warmed up croissant for me
rather than serving one at room temperature.
They were happy to do so, and remembered my little preference at every breakfast for the rest of the cruise.
Now, here's the real centerpiece of The Haven: it's known as The Haven courtyard...
and it's an outdoor area with its own swimming pool, Jacuzzis, loungers, and daybeds.
It's a fantastic place to spend some time relaxing.
If you've ever been on a big cruise ship, you know how loud and crowded it can be by the main pool.
Within The Haven courtyard, it's just the complete opposite of that.
So quiet and relaxing...
Totally unlike the normal atmosphere on a big crowded cruise ship.
Here's a close-up of the swimming pool within the Haven courtyard.
Obviously, it's not a real big pool, but...
On a Caribbean cruise when it's 90 degrees and humid outside it's a pretty nice place to relax.
Here's a close-up look at one of the Jacuzzis in The Haven courtyard.
You can see it's got a big umbrella overhead to provide shade
so that you don't get yourself sunburned sitting in the Jacuzzi when the sun is out.
Also, the Haven actually has its own little sauna just for Haven guests. That's a nice little perk.
Here are some of the smaller day beds that are part of The Haven, and...
Also up on the second floor, more loungers and comfortable chairs.
And there's also larger daybeds there on the second floor of The Haven outdoor area.
Here is a night time view of The Haven courtyard area.
And a night shot from the indoor social area of The Haven.
You might actually run into a celebrity in The Haven!
Someone famous wouldn't typically do a regular cruise...
There's not enough privacy for someone like that, but...
The exclusive VIP experience of The Haven was the only place we ever saw a celebrity on one of our cruises.
Now I mentioned that we were in a "Haven Spa Suite"...
So, in addition to having access to The Haven, we also had access to the spa.
And here are some pictures that show what's special about the spa on Norwegian Getaway.
This is the best part right here. It's known as "The Thermal Suite".
There's an indoor Jacuzzi... and behind the Jacuzzi, there's a big swimming pool.
And the water in it is as warm as a Jacuzzi.
And all this is indoors so it's never windy, or too hot, or too cold.
Of course, like all cruise ship spas, you'll find a steam room and sauna.
But an unusual feature is that they have a salt room.
They say the salty air in the salt room is really good for your skin.
I tried it, but I can't honestly say that I noticed any effect to my skin at all.
Now, a look at some of the outdoor areas that are not part of The Haven or the spa.
In other words, what I'm about to show you, all 4,000 passengers have access to.
Starting with the waterslides...
Carnival used to be the cruise line to go on if you were looking for good water slides, but...
Norwegian has really surpassed them in this area now.
The Norwegian Getaway has two side-by-side vertical-drop water slides...
and that's the most thrilling kind of water slide you'll find on any cruise ship.
Thrilling... and for a few seconds at the very beginning... a bit terrifying!
(SCREAMING!)
The blue and green slides are the vertical-drop slides and then there are two conventional water slides.
You can see the red one on the right side of the picture...
And if you look really carefully in the lower right you can barely see a purple one.
Now here's a really interesting feature on the Norwegian Getaway called "The Waterfront".
Maybe you're familiar with something a lot of cruise ships have called a Promenade Deck.
That's a deck where you can do a little promenade around the entire length and width of the ship.
Norwegian took that concept one step further, with the addition of a bunch of restaurants and bars with outdoor seating.
So, not only can you walk around the entire length of this deck, but...
You can eat meals out here, or stop and have a drink.
On a beautiful day in the Caribbean, it's so much nicer to eat and drink outside than inside.
At the very back of the ship there's a giant video screen, and a big open deck for parties.
On a Carnival or a Princess cruise ship, the big TV would be by the midship swimming pool, but...
On Norwegian Getaway, it's at the far back of the ship.
There are also some Jacuzzis back here and at night, this is where the outdoor deck parties happen.
This is a Norwegian Getaway feature I've never seen on any other cruise ship... and its really great!
It's known as "The Illusionarium"
It's where they perform a very extravagant magic show...
unlike any traditional magic show you may have seen on other cruise ships.
Normally a cruise ship would have a magic show in their main auditorium and you'd be sitting in a normal theater seat.
But in "The Illusionarium", it's a dinner show...
so, there's tables where they serve you a nice dinner and then the show unfolds on the stage.
It's a great show... one of the highlights of our cruise on Norwegian Getaway.
And one benefit of being a guest in The Haven area of the ship...
is that Haven guests get first dibs on the best seats in The Illusionarium.
We took seats right there by the stage and had a really great view of the show.
Here's a focal point of the ship...
A central atrium area with a huge chandelier which changes color over time.
And not too far from there is another big focal point...
another atrium, this one with a giant video screen
which is used very effectively to enhance some little entertainment events that are hosted here.
And check this out! Do you see what that is?!?
That's a two-lane bowling alley. How often do you see that on a cruise ship?!?
Now, before I wrap this up... one last amazing photo from Andreas Depping.
This was the Norwegian Getaway as she was sailing out of the shipyard after construction had finally been completed.
The ship was built at a shipyard in Germany...
and as you can see from the address of Andreas's web site, which ends in D-E...
that's a German web site, so I'm presuming that Andreas lives somewhere close to the shipyard...
and that must be how he was able to get access to the ship to take all these great photos.
I really appreciate that he gave me permission to use them in this slideshow.
I'm Jim Zim, and that's my wife, Kellyn, with me in the picture.
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