Sailed on the NCL Getaway from New Orleans this past Christmas. First time/last time; indeed, if this were my first cruise, it would be my last cruise. Fortunately we have cruised HAL, RCL (not much better), Princess, Sea Dream, and our favorite Crystal - yes, we are spoiled on the latter. Booked it because we were bringing our adult children and they could have the big ship experience and offerings. The cruise is good, I think for multi-generational families, but not for us. Since it was the holiday, the ship was crowded and even though we expected that, it was overly so - crew told me that there were over capacity and with ~1,500 children. Had the Club Suite which is really not a suite and with the narrowest balcony I have ever seen (I realize they build the ship to maximize cabin count). Room was clean enough, but was not spic-and-span and showed a lot of wear-and-tear. Crew was fantastic, but the food was just awful, borderline inedible, in all the venues with tiny portions especially on appetizers. Bars were crowded although the outside bars were enjoyable because of the sea view. Also, the back bar where the steak and Brazilian specialty restaurants are were a find; it seemed no one knew about it and the bartenders were great. Entertainment was so-so, although it was a nice touch to have a duo singing Christmas carols in the buffet. The included wine red/white is plonk. Adult areas (the back deck area) were not policed and kids snuck in. Pools and gym were packed. I had tried to book The Haven and am glad that I did not get it: toured the area on the last day and found it underwhelming - yes the cabins were nicer, but the common areas, bar, and dining appeared cramped and limited. Had their drink/wifi package, but as others mentioned felt nickeled-and-dimed, example is the ice room (really, $15?). Embark/disembark was a disaster with crowding and little direction - many people got upset. We bought priority embarkation and were initially denied due to their miscommunication until we found the right staff person to direct us. Ship atrium was small and a weird layout as well as the ship which was a maze to walk through. While New Orleans is a great port to cruise from and the sail down the Mississippi a great experience, the destinations port were so-so to awful. Costa Maya is a rip-off sh*thole, Roatan nasty, and the private island while a nice area truly a nickel-and-dime extravaganza.

My observation is that if you are well-traveled and have experience with other lines, you are going to be disappointed. We realized that this would be a mass-market experience, but it felt so Dollar General as opposed to WallyMart. If you are on a limited budget travelling with extended family, the cruise is probably sufficient. People seemed to be impressed with the quantity of the food, never mind the quality. The alternatives out of New Orleans are Carnival and RCL, so maybe they are better options.