Review. Ovation of the Seas. Tianjin - Japan. June 14th 4 nights June 23rd 5 nights

We have just returned from the second of two short cruises on Ovation of the Seas from Tianjin (port for Beijing) to Japan. I thought it may be helpful to share our personal observations so others can make an informed decision on whether this is a cruise for them.

Firstly most of the passengers are locals who have booked the cruise with a group from a travel agent. TA's provide them with a total package that includes tours at each port. I even observed a few groups behind the infamous tour flag getting a tour of the ship. Many will also try to dine, attend shows etc with the members of their group. I met a few people from the USA and Europe who all told me that the excursions they had booked through the cruise line were cancelled due to insufficient numbers.

This wasn't a problem for us as we generally do our own thing in each port. The three ports we visited, Fukuoka, Kumamoto ( its not actually Kumamoto itself but a nice local port town. Kumamoto is an hour or so away) and Kitakyushu were all accessible by free shuttle or local bus and had a variety of castles, temples, shopping and particularly food to pass the day with minimal cost or hassle.

Secondly local manners are somewhat different than our established ones. Elevators can be a bit of a scrum and as a result I spent a little bit of time performing charades showing how to let people out first before getting in. Most locals were great and nodded appreciation and understanding of the concept.

Thirdly the Windjammer is a battle zone but I must say most people tried to line up at each station. I have spent a lot of time in China and so I knew what to expect. Plates are piled high with general food, fruit and desert all mixed together. People tend to like to pick specific pieces of fruit, food etc. from the serving dishes. Tables were left in a very messy state and the staff have to work very hard to keep on top of things. The food is generally ,and rightly so, catered to local tastes. We even had a giant wok of Chicken Feet one night. Fruit was very good. Dragon fruit (white and red flesh), passionfruit, rambutan, lychees, small mangoes a plenty.

The menus in the MDR's are a little different as well but more in line with cruises in other parts of the world. Big lines at the MDR's start about 30 mins before early seating. A semi form of Dynamic Dining is in place in China. Each restaurant has a different menu from each other which does not change throughout the cruise. There are also three different entrees added each night (the same three in each restaurant). Food was reasonable but nowhere near as good as the local food you can eat in almost very restaurant in China.

There is a specialty hot pot restaurant in the Solarium bistro and Wonderland is an upscale Chinese style restaurant.

The production shows on board were very good as were the specialty entertainers in the theatre. Funny Bones an Aussie based comedy duo went down exceptionally well with the locals. Pixels in 270 lounge is a great show. Theatre fills up early again with big lines prior to the doors opening.

They have trivia etc but not as much and as there are very few "western" guests the two I went to were empty. There were a few on offer which were probably catered to all passengers (flags of the world & cities) but I did not attend as I was doing other things.

Ripcord and North Star are a pay activity in China but are complimentary elsewhere. Flow rider is still complimentary. At the start of the cruise there are very short lines. Day one I was alone for about an hour till a few locals found their way there. By the last day the lines are long as they want to get the photo on there. I was surprised at how many had a go including quite a few people who appeared around 70 years old. The fashions on the flowrider were a show in them selves. I witness one guy who wanted to ride with his socks on lol.

For anyone who is D or above in Crown & Anchor the big plus is that you get treated like royalty. There were very D or above members on board and you are looked after so well by the 4 "Golden Concierges". The best service I have ever experienced. Lovely local ladies who escort you to venues, organise your dinners, escort you around the lines at ports etc. Cant speak highly enough of this service. The Concierge lounge is called the Golden Room and is also for suite guests. Very quiet but a wonderful relaxing venue with great views from the stern. You also get to attend the welcome back party which is combined with the suite cocktail part. Attended by most of the high ranking officers and the captain. Great drinks served and a top notch selection of food.

Bars are always almost empty so getting a drink will not be a problem lol.

Staff were great under very trying conditions.

Overall I loved the experience and if you are a little (maybe a lot) tolerant it is an experience unlike no other cruise. If you expect the same as a local or USA cruise and like things orderly, planned and quiet then unless you want to want to dine every night in a specialty restaurant and hide away in the Golden Room it might not be a wise choice.

One last thing. Tianjin Cruise terminal is quite a distance from anywhere. It is a modern terminal and is best accessed by transfer or taxi. For the more adventurous catch a bullet train from Beijing to either Tianjin main station (run every 15 minutes and take 35 minutes for the 150 klm trip) or even better to either Binhai or Yujiapu which are closer to the port and probably about a 60-70 YUAN taxi ride from port. If catching a bullet train to Tianjin main station then transfer to metro line 9 and catch metro to Donghai Road metro station (last stop. 9 yuan takes about and hour for the 60klm trip) then a half hour cab ride @ 60 yuan to port.

Feel free to ask any specific questions.

Good review. Did you have a great or very great time.

The local crowd is always a challenge for others including the overseas Chinese.

The ship must be pack as Ovation would only do China midyear now and in Australia year end.

It must be that Ovation get a lot of revenue from the casino in China and in Australia from the bars and drink packages.

I did Ovation in March this year in Singapore and going to HK in Oct.to go on her.

Next year Ovation would only do 1 cruise from Singapore and I have book for this already.

Since you are from Sydney you have plenty of time to go on the Ovation this year end.

We really enjoyed ourselves. We didn't plan for these two cruises but saw a great price and we just happened to be in China at the time. Looking for another last minute bargain on either Ovation or Quantum before we return back to Sydney at the end of July.

We also plan to be on the Ovation Sydney to Tianjin reposition next March April.

Excellent report, we don't hear about China based cruises very often.

Thank you for your review.

Thank you for your review.

Keith

We did 1 leg of the 52 days Global Odyssey in May and 1 trip in China in October last year and doing another in October next year to Singapore.

Is was truly an "experience" cruising with the China Chinese, the smoking in their balcony, pushing, cutting queue etc etc. We heard from the staff that most Mainland Chinese usually cruise on short cruises and hopefully our cruise next year won't have much of them around.

Cruising from China and not wanting many Chinese around......I find that concept very strange indeed.

A semi form of Dynamic Dining is in place in China. Each restaurant has a different menu from each other which does not change throughout the cruise. There are also three different entrees added each night (the same three in each restaurant).

Did you hear anyone refer to this as "Cosmopolitan"?

Did you hear anyone refer to this as "Cosmopolitan"?

No. I really never actually heard it be referred to as anything. Its just the regular dining on these Chinese based cruises I guess.

Silk was always the most crowded as it is Asian based but each restaurant had some Asian style dishes and the three added menu items each day which were the same in each restaurant were all Asian style.

Hi, we did the June 2nd Ovation cruise. Just a little 4 nighter in between

a Great Wall tour prior and the Terracotta Warriors after.

I agree with your whole review. Yes, the port is way out of the way. I

think we drove past some of those Ghost Cities that are happening in China.

It was sort of spooky driving there as we felt like we were the only ones on

the planet..... apartment and work buildings, empty roads, street lights going but

no one there. No signs of life. It was very weird.

Yes, the Golden Concierges are amazing. I can only imagine that our experience with them

was close to what having a Genie would be like. They tried their best to escort us through

all the masses both getting on and off the ship. They kept tabs on us at all times. We ate most

of our meals in Coastal Kitchen and they would even call up there to see if we had eaten or not. lol

The girls are very professional but as you get to know them they are really crazy. haha. We

became great friends with Bing, Jo, and Cai. In fact, we would go back just to see them again.

Since we were staying in China for a few more days, after the cruise the girls were still keeping

in contact with me to make sure we were ok. We felt very looked after.

Yes, the Windjammer is a madhouse but we were able to grab our food from there and eat in

the Coastal Kitchen . (we are Pinnacle) I actually ate better on this cruise than on any other cruise.

I'm a big fan of stir fry, beef stroganoff, and any other dish that you can put over rice so I had that

for every meal. And it was the nice sticky rice too. Yum!

I totally understand your elevator story. When we would think that the elevator is full, 10

more people are going to pile in. And then when the door opens up on a floor, no one moves

to let the people out. This is just one example of how the culture is different. So if you go there

with an open mind you will be fine.

So if you are brave enough to do an Asian itinerary where you are probably one of a handful of

English speaking cruisers, you will be treated very well. The crew will all stop and talk to you because they are starved

to speak English. The crew are not Chinese, it's normal RCCL crew members that are trying to make do

by learning a few Chinese words and using sign language to communicate. The restaurants may have

pictures on the menus so they can point to what they want to order. It's really remarkable.

I love traveling to places where it pushes my comfort level and get my outside of my box to make me a

more rounded person. This type of cruise will do that.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your post... just putting my 2 cents in.

 

I love traveling to places where it pushes my comfort level and get my outside of my box to make me a

more rounded person. This type of cruise will do that.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your post... just putting my 2 cents in.

Great post and pretty much sums up my attitude too.

I started this thread to try and give others a perspective of whether this type of cruise is for them. I received some great advice from you after your cruise and thought I should reciprocate for others.

As you guessed Michael the Hotel Director tracked me down and we had a few great chats.

The area around the port is being developed as a beach resort area. There is already a large hotel with a semi Marina Bay Sands knock off design there but I don't know if it's open yet. Having spent a fair amount of time in China this project may or may not ever be finished and a successful venture. Even if it ever reaches fruition I'm not sure I would fancy a swim there though being so close to a major port and industrial area.

Very good review, thank you. We were supposed to cruise out of Tianjin last yr. but it was canceled by Royal. We are scheduled to be on her in Dec. out of Sydney. That should be a far different passenger experience.

Thank you for starting this thread on Ovation, much appreciated. This coming April my wife Marie and I will be doing B2B (5 day/12 day) on Ovation and we love hearing about the ship. Can't wait to spend three weeks in Asia. :D

Thank you for starting this thread on Ovation, much appreciated. This coming April my wife Marie and I will be doing B2B (5 day/12 day) on Ovation and we love hearing about the ship. Can't wait to spend three weeks in Asia. :D

We will be joining you on both those cruises.

Thank you so much for this fair and detailed review of the Ovation. We are interested in an Asian sailing but haven't been able to get much information here.

There is a specialty hot pot restaurant in the Solarium bistro and Wonderland is an upscale Chinese style restaurant.

Assuming the hot pot is considered specialty ($) dining? Do you have the costs for either, and did you see many people trying them?

The production shows on board were very good as were the specialty entertainers in the theatre. Funny Bones an Aussie based comedy duo went down exceptionally well with the locals. Pixels in 270 lounge is a great show. Theatre fills up early again with big lines prior to the doors opening.

Were reservations available? We are D+ -- was there reserved seating?

For anyone who is D or above in Crown & Anchor the big plus is that you get treated like royalty. There were very D or above members on board and you are looked after so well by the 4 "Golden Concierges". The best service I have ever experienced. Lovely local ladies who escort you to venues, organise your dinners, escort you around the lines at ports etc. Cant speak highly enough of this service. The Concierge lounge is called the Golden Room and is also for suite guests. Very quiet but a wonderful relaxing venue with great views from the stern. You also get to attend the welcome back party which is combined with the suite cocktail part. Attended by most of the high ranking officers and the captain. Great drinks served and a top notch selection of food.

This is great to hear. I've read in other places that the Diamond Lounge is moved to a portion of the Music Hall, which would be a little more convenient than the Concierge Lounge if just grabbing a cappuccino. Was this true on your sailing?

Again, thank you!

Thank you so much for this fair and detailed review of the Ovation. We are interested in an Asian sailing but haven't been able to get much information here.

 

Assuming the hot pot is considered specialty ($) dining? Do you have the costs for either, and did you see many people trying them?

 

Were reservations available? We are D+ -- was there reserved seating?

 

This is great to hear. I've read in other places that the Diamond Lounge is moved to a portion of the Music Hall, which would be a little more convenient than the Concierge Lounge if just grabbing a cappuccino. Was this true on your sailing?

 

Again, thank you!

The hotpot is specialty dinning but I am not sure of the price. Having eaten many hot pots in China I would be looking to eat this type of food off the ship.

The pub next to the pizza place is also converted to a restaurant which serves Chinese meals. Fish and veggies broiled in a baking dish. Wonderland also has a local based menu and is called Dodong or similar. We didn't try any specialty restaurants.

There is reserved seating upstairs in both the theatre and 270 for shows. You are D+ as we were and the wonderful concierges will organise everything for you. Just ask and you will receive.

Once Ovation (and I believe Quantum) hits China there is no diamond lounge period. The D lounge next to the music hall is a high rollers room. Music hall is used for dancing, karaoke (Mandarin) and the bands. The concierge lounge which in China is used for suites and all D or above is the only venue for a coffee and happy hour. It is uncrowded and very relaxed.

We also quite often used our three drinks in Boleros as the bar staff were great and it was uncrowded (often almost empty).

Thanks woodyren! Great info - I may come back with more questions .. so appreciative of you sharing your experience onboard.

We ate most of our meals in Coastal Kitchen and they would even call up there to see if we had eaten or not. lol

Thank you CAT GIRL. Were the menus in the Coastal Kitchen the same as in US-based sailings or was it more Asian influenced?

HI

Did you need a full Chinese Visa or were you able to do the 72 hour visa free transit?

Our travel agency says that the full visa is not needed.

Thanks

I had a multi entry visa at the time. These Ovation cruises were unplanned and we only decided to take them as we were in China at the time and the last minute prices were too hard to ignore. I have read so many conflicting posts on here and on a few other forums about the application of the 72 hour visa free visits. They were originally issued for people in transit at specific airports. Whether they now apply to cruise passengers remains to be seen.

I haven't read any posts about people actually using the visa free rule on a cruise.

It is also very hard to get an answer out of the Chinese consulate.

Sent from my HTC 2PST1 using Forums mobile app

Thank you CAT GIRL. Were the menus in the Coastal Kitchen the same as in US-based sailings or was it more Asian influenced?

Sorry, just saw this. My husband usually found some sort of Chinese offering ( noodle soup sort of thing) and I

always found steak or something. You can always pop out to the Windjammer and bring your food in there too.

You just exit the back door and you're in the Windjammer. I did that too.

We got the ten year Visa. You just never know when something might come up and you'll want to go back.

From now on, I will always apply for the maximum term when applying for any Visa.

We got the ten year Visa. You just never know when something might come up and you'll want to go back.

From now on, I will always apply for the maximum term when applying for any Visa.

We're hoping this happens before the end of the year. It would be nice to not have to get a Visa.

http://shanghaiist.com/2017/07/28/6-days-visa-free-beijing-tianjin-hebei.php

Sorry, just saw this. My husband usually found some sort of Chinese offering ( noodle soup sort of thing) and I

always found steak or something. You can always pop out to the Windjammer and bring your food in there too.

You just exit the back door and you're in the Windjammer. I did that too.

Sorry, just saw this too! Thanks CAT GIRL - didn't think of the Windjammer option.