kernow

I keep telling myself I can watch a couple of films, read a book, try to sleep for a few hours and it won't be too bad. Just hope I'm right.🤞

Thanks, I enjoyed your Ovation review earlier in the year.

Thanks for following.

Great to have you following along.

The cases are down and the packing has begun. In this post covid era there seems to be so much paperwork to be printed off for a trip like this. I keep checking and double checking that I haven't forgotten anything. Can you tell already that I'm the planner, Mark just throws some clothes in a case and is ready to go😁 Our cat Lily is already wondering where we are off to now.

This trip seems to have been a long time in the planning. Apart from Singapore all these places are new to us, we've always said that we'd do a trip like this when we retire but during the first lock down we decided life is short why wait a few more years. We originally booked a repositioning cruise from Sydney to Singapore on Serenade for Feb 22 in the summer of 2020. Fast forward nearly a year and it looked like that was going to be cancelled. Our TA was advertising some b2b packages for Radiance in Nov/Dec22 at great prices so I called and switched to a South Pacific cruise followed by a Queensland one. Earlier this year Radiance got pulled from Sydney and these Ovation cruises seemed like the best thing to switch to so here we are finally about to start our adventure.....

Don't see many reviews from this part of the world on here so thought I'd try one. Not sure how good the internet will be plus we never buy a package, just use our 4 free 24 hours and whatever we can find in port, hence the 'semi' live bit😀. We (myself Julie and DH Mark) leave home on Friday to start our journey. We'll overnight in Bristol to catch up with family and then onto Heathrow where we fly out to Sydney on Saturday night. We have a direct flight with one brief stop in Singapore and should arrive in Sydney Monday morning local time. Mark loves flying but I'm definitely not looking forward to 22 hours in Economy😲. I'm sure it will be worth it once we've arrived. We'll board Ovation on Wed 16th for 2 cruises, 21 nights in total then stop off for 3 nights in Singapore on our way home. Wow, writing it down it sounds a lot but I'm sure it will fly by. Our itinerary

Thanks for the review, I've enjoyed following along.

I love the entrance to the Schooner Bar on the Radiance class ships.

I'm also having problems, can't log in at all on the .co.uk site but able to on the .com site, however my profile pic has disappeared. Will it right itself or do I need to email? @CC Help Michell

Try the D concierge instead of guest services, that usually gets better results.

Glad that you managed to escape your cabin! We've done Chef's Table a few times, I don't think it's as special nowadays as it used to be, still fun though.

Hope you are feeling better tomorrow.

We are also from the UK, coming to Australia in a couple of weeks time. We were able to get the eVisitor subclass 651, very easy and free of charge. I was very impressed that unlike most countries Australia doesn't charge us😀. For New Zealand we've got the NZeTA (which we had to pay for).

We've always taken the train into Bruges so don't know exactly where the bus park is but think it may be close to the station. If so there are regular public buses that you can catch for a quick, cheap ride into the centre. We did it a few years ago with my mum who also couldn't walk far. I don't think MSC offer a shuttle to Blankenburg station, you will have to use the coastal tram. The tram is great and offers lots of good options for anyone not wanting to go into Bruges, from Ostend in the south to Knokke in the North. Been to Bruges many times and Knokke is now our town of choice to visit at this stop. Nice beachfront, bars, restaurants and good shopping but a bit quieter than Blankenburg. If you are looking for a cheaper option for a shuttle into Bruges, there is a private one that picks up at the customs terminal. Not sure of the company but if you Google you will probably find it, lots of people use it.

Love WWRY, when we were on a cruise from Southampton last year we went to the theatre talk and they said there are several changes they make when the ship sails from the US compared to the UK. Can't remember them all but it was things like language. The one I really remember was the pants being a Union Jack in UK and US flag in the States. Just wondered which version they do on the TA where there is presumably a mix of nationalities?

That duck has been my favourite meal on RCL for years, it makes me smile when people say the food has gone downhill because I've been eating that almost every cruise since 2006 (can't remember if it was on our first RCL cruise in 2003) and it's always served the same and tastes good. Also love a Brandy Alexander as a nightcap. Really enjoying this review, not doing a TA this year but feels like we're sailing along with you.😀

Don't forget the YC balcony cabins themselves are noticeably bigger than regular balconies, more like junior suite size with much nicer bathrooms too. Even if you lose a bit of balcony space you'll get a much nicer cabin. YC is about so much more than all the individual components which seems to be what a lot of people who have never tried it find hard to understand. It's the whole experience which you have to try for yourself.

I don't think being in YC has any bearing on the diamond gift, you get the same gift as every other diamond on the ship. We did first diamond sailing in 2017 and have never had anything as nice as those caps, this year we got a lanyard. The wine in YC that is included is the same wine that is available on the premium package anywhere else on the ship, more expensive wines are available for a cost. I think the food is nicer than MDR but it's not gourmet food that you would get in a Michelin starred restaurant. We enjoy it though. To me, YC is good value for what you get but you've got to try it for yourself to decide if you think it's worth it.

Same thing happened on our 2018 TA on Jewel, we ended up having lovely warm weather for the crossing which suited me😁.

I'll be following along too, nice to see another live, looks like a nice itinerary. Have fun.

Following along, we did Jewel TA in 2018, love the ship.

We're on Ovation 16th and 26th Nov. I'm in the UK and check in for both cruises opened on the day stated around 3pm our time. I was able to get the earliest slots for both cruises (although won't need it for the second cruise). I think it was sometime in the middle of the night for Australians as many in our FB group were posting that they stayed awake.

Thank you for the cabin pics, I really like the look of that one. Last year on Anthem we had one of the JS with a separate bathroom and toilet, I much prefer your layout especially that big balcony. On our upcoming Ovation cruises we have just a regular balcony, have put in a bid with Royal Up but don't hold out much hope.

Very excited to see this review as we are on Ovation from 16th Nov for a South Pacific cruise and then the next cruise to NZ, same one as @BecAus.First time for us to this part of the world. I've been tracking Ovation on Cruisemapper everyday so know exactly where you are😄. How is the internet onboard? I was thinking of doing a semi live myself when the time comes.