Ovation of the Seas - Inaugural B2B cruise review (with lot's of photo's!!)

[jdshomer]

Thanks for this review Dave - it's fantastic. We are on board from Dubai on 26 May and it looks wonderful! I am especially glad to see the Music Hall there! There had been speculation that it wasn't on Ovation.

 

Is that Belle on the Morning Show with Joff? She was on Legend with us last year. Do you remember the names of any other cruise director crew?

 

Thanks so much,

Sharon

[jammer1000]

The ship does not look crowded at all, was it sailing near capacity?

thanks for the review.

 

Great review Dave, lovely pictures, we were on the 3 nighter too. Guest services told us they had 4200 passengers on board out of a possible 4900.

We loved the ship.

[QE2_Fan]

Hahaha....glad they're worth it! Strange they aren't showing through the app though :confused:

 

 

 

Yeah I know..still not for me..but happily jumping out and following allowing in Safari now..really enjoying your pictorial review [emoji1]

 

I saw someone posted all looked good via the cruise critic app, and can confirm that'sthe case...maybe Tapatalk and Flickr aren't talking the best right now?!

 

I also had a question for you, but as I've gone to post this have completely forgotten it lol! I'll have to get back to you on that [emoji37]!!

Edited April 24, 2016 by QE2_Fan

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks for all your comments guys......

 

@NikkiandMom - I wasn't sure about whether the ship was near capacity, however 'jammer1000' says there was 4,200 passengers on the 3-nighter out of a possible 4,900 (source of info: Guest Services). I'm not sure about the 5-nighter.

 

 

@jdshomer - Yes, that was Belle and she'll be staying on the ship all the way to Australia & Asia after Joff leaves to join Indy.

 

 

 

 

So, we had booked 'Spectra's Cabaret' online prior to the cruise for the last night of the 3-nighter. We eagerly made our way to 270 at the aft of the ship for the performance. All those who had pre-booked were recommended arriving 15 minutes early, as they would be opening up the rest of the seating for those who hadn't booked 10 minutes before the performance...

 

The show was amazing.....A real treat for your eyes!

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

As well as 'Spectra's Cabaret' in 270 they also decided to go ahead with two performances of Dream' in the main theatre. They originally weren't going to put on this show for the 3-nighter (we'd already made reservations for it on the last night of the 5-nighter), but they obviously felt they were ready. It was made clear, however, that it was being treated as dress/technical rehearsal open to the passengers to watch - a bit of an added bonus for those passengers on the 3-nighter who otherwise wouldn't have seen it at all....

 

After the 'Spectra's Cabaret', Jen was feeling tired and went to our room to read her book and chill. I decided to stay up for a while longer to check out one of the bands 'Wild Boys' in the Music Hall. They were really good and I saw them a couple of times over our 8 nights onboard.

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1669/25973278703_4c2b85c56e_b.jpg' alt='25973278703_4c2b85c56e_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

Now it was my turn to retire to our stateroom. I was looking forward to tomorrow as it would be our first B2B turnaround day experience......the day turned out to be really great, seamless and enjoyable!!

 

 

Stay tuned.... :)

Edited April 24, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Dave

What a brilliant review, easily the best I've read on here and I've read hundreds over the years. The ship looks incredible.

My family are booked on Voyager of the Seas from Sydney to Singapore in April 2017 but after reading your review we are very tempted to cancel the Voyager and book the Ovation Sydney to Singapore in February 2017.

I would be interested to know your opinion. After cruising on the Ovation do you think it is worth paying double the cost to that of a cruise on the Voyager for the same itinerary and number of nights?

 

Glad you're enjoying the review...

 

Hard to say whether you should change from Voyager to Ovation. Jen and I really liked our holiday on Ovation, but (and I'll go into this further in my summing up at the end), it didn't have quite the same feel as other RCI ships we've sailed on - although we knew this would be the case ahead of the cruise.

 

You'd have a fantastic time on either ship......although I wouldn't say Ovation is worth double the price, in all honesty. This is just my opinion though.

Edited April 24, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[Fangfarrier]

Nice review Dave.

 

I will be interested to hear your final thoughts especially as you hint that it was different to other RCI cruises.

 

Have to say that it was our first RCI cruise and frankly has put us off the brand completely. We have previously sailed with P&O, Celebrity, Carnival and Princess. Our companions were seasoned RCI cruisers and felt it hugely different from their previous experiences.

 

I believe myself that the ship is SO focussed on the Chinese market that it is almost a sub division of RCI.

 

Your food looks great. Ours was appalling in two restaurants and OK only in others.

[Fangfarrier]

Thanks for this review Dave - it's fantastic. We are on board from Dubai on 26 May and it looks wonderful! I am especially glad to see the Music Hall there! There had been speculation that it wasn't on Ovation.

 

Is that Belle on the Morning Show with Joff? She was on Legend with us last year. Do you remember the names of any other cruise director crew?

 

Thanks so much,

Sharon

 

Hannah from Wales was one of the crew and Kevin from Canada.

[drummerdavebmth]

The next morning, we woke up back in Southampton with glorious April weather...

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

I'd like to take this time to give my thoughts to the cruise so far (i.e. the 3-nighter). Jen and I had never done a 3 night cruise before, and most probably wouldn't do it again (we added the 3 nights on to our original booking of the 5 night cruise).

 

I'm sure the majority of guests on the 3 nighter were either:

 

a) Seasoned cruisers of RCI, checking out this class of ship.

b) Seasoned cruisers loyal to other lines, checking out this ship and RCI in general.

c) Seasoned Cruisers, looking for a relaxing short-break on a luxurious ship.

d) First time cruisers, checking out if cruising would be for them.

 

Unfortunately, there also seemed to be quite a bit of...

 

e) People, who had never cruised before and only booked this because they got a cheap last minute deal, treating this 3-nighter as a chance to get drunk and yobbish every night (being rude to bar staff etc). A booze cruise, essentially. They were in the minority, but it was still very noticeable to us.

 

The feel on the ship was definitely more relaxed (feeling more like a normal cruise) on the 5-nighter part of our holiday, compared to the first 3 nights.

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

This became one of our favourite places to have breakfast (along with 270).

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1632/26303289060_88ba067d64_b.jpg' alt='26303289060_88ba067d64_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[rodenboy]

Looking forward to reading the rest of the review. Always been unsure when it comes to Quantum class, so this may answer a few questions I have. Thanks for the review :)

[drummerdavebmth]

Nice review Dave.

 

I will be interested to hear your final thoughts especially as you hint that it was different to other RCI cruises.

 

Have to say that it was our first RCI cruise and frankly has put us off the brand completely. We have previously sailed with P&O, Celebrity, Carnival and Princess. Our companions were seasoned RCI cruisers and felt it hugely different from their previous experiences.

 

I believe myself that the ship is SO focussed on the Chinese market that it is almost a sub division of RCI.

 

Your food looks great. Ours was appalling in two restaurants and OK only in others.

 

 

Hi there......I'm sorry to hear you've been put off RCI. We have only sailed on RCI ships (so far), but we wouldn't rush to sail on a Quantum class ship again - if the itinerary was right we'd certainly consider it though.

 

Personally, I think it would be unfair to judge RCI as a brand/company on your experience on 'Ovation of the Seas'. She is one of the Quantum class ships that were always presented as something different from RCI (with new concepts such as Dynamic Dinning etc...which is always going to divide opinion). Also, you have to consider Ovation being a brand new ship with new staff etc, so there is bound to be some teething issues to get ironed out.

 

Obviously, without having a proper conversation with you with regards to what you find enjoyable and important to you on a cruise - but I'd certainly recommend RCI Radiance class ships. We honeymooned on 'Serenade of the Seas' for 12 nights (photo review in my signature) and found it very relaxing with excellent food and service and great public areas.

 

I wouldn't judge RCI as a brand on your experience on a brand new to the market Quantum class ship.

Edited April 24, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[Fangfarrier]

Thanks Dave.

 

My Sister/brother in law travelling companions said the same.

[drummerdavebmth]

Ok...let's get back to the review.

 

After trying not to look too smug during breakfast (knowing we were staying on the ship), I decided I was going to make the most of the Solarium area whilst it was pretty much empty!!

 

On the way the Solarium Bistro, I realised I hadn't yet taken a photo of the indoor swimming pool...so, here it is..

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

Whilst I was chilling out in one of my favourite places on Ovation....Jen was taking advantage of a nearly empty ship, now that disembarkation had completed. She had taken her GoPro camera on a tour (yes, she'll be editing all the footage to put up on YouTube...I'll keep you posted on that) and had filmed all the staff getting ready for the next guests.

 

As the next cruise was to be the official Inaugural cruise (Joff Eaton repeatedly referred to the 3-nighter as the pre-inaugural), the staff were putting balloons up again and Champagne was being poured.

 

Jen kindly brought me up a glass......I didn't even have to leave my sun bed!!

 

 

This is the life!

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1607/26315686760_fbd99c5a5f_b.jpg' alt='26315686760_fbd99c5a5f_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 24, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[MaiseyM]

Enjoying the review. Thanks.

[drummerdavebmth]

After a good two hours of reviling in a nearly empty Solarium, we decided to get back to our stateroom (yes, B2B cruisers are allowed to come and go as they please to their staterooms before 1pm).

 

A lot of the other staterooms were already made up, ready for their guests. I took this photo of one of the inside staterooms with the virtual balcony.

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit further, you say?

Ok then!

 

 

 

How cool!!!

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[countess5]

Thanks for the review!

We were on Anthem last June for 14 days and Joff was our CD and he was great.

We love the Quantam class of ships.

 

270 is something to experience, I liked the Schooner bar better on this class than I do other class ships. Well positioned.

 

Almost booked Ovation for this May but ended up on Celebrity another great class of ships.

 

Glad you had a great trip.

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks for the review!

We were on Anthem last June for 14 days and Joff was our CD and he was great.

We love the Quantam class of ships.

 

270 is something to experience, I liked the Schooner bar better on this class than I do other class ships. Well positioned.

 

Almost booked Ovation for this May but ended up on Celebrity another great class of ships.

 

Glad you had a great trip.

 

You're welcome...glad you're enjoying the review.

 

Yes, that 270 is an awesome space with amazing panoramic views....we enjoyed sitting there with a Starbucks coffee and some pastries relaxing.

[UkDancers]

thanks for the information and photos we're on the ship on 10th may is there tea making facilities in the cabin? we have been on about 16 cruises which include NCL P&O MSC Costa Discovery and thompsons my favourites by a long way are RCI and NCL

[drummerdavebmth]

thanks for the information and photos we're on the ship on 10th may is there tea making facilities in the cabin? we have been on about 16 cruises which include NCL P&O MSC Costa Discovery and thompsons my favourites by a long way are RCI and NCL

 

 

Hi, yes there were tea making facilities in the staterooms (something I think RCI always provide their ships sailing from the UK).

 

Unfortunately there was no coffee, however. Jen and I aren't tea drinkers....

[drummerdavebmth]

After the mandatory muster drill (yes, B2B cruisers are still obliged to do the muster drill at the start of the new cruise - it's the law!), we decided to find a place in the Solarium for sail-away...

 

 

Ahhhhh.......just the spot. Right near the front (over looking the bridge, port side) in a big comfy chair for two. We kicked off our shoes took a swig from our beers and enjoyed the official Inaugural sail away!

 

Bye, bye Southampton (....again!)

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1512/26549982736_4580454f9b_b.jpg' alt='26549982736_4580454f9b_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 24, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[cruisingbajan]

Great review and pics so far. Keep it coming.:)

[drummerdavebmth]

As you can sea from our reflection, we were nice and relaxed by this point, as we made our way slowly down the river Solent...

 

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1575/26303304400_1f40e78d5b_b.jpg' alt='26303304400_1f40e78d5b_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 24, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Oh look.....there's Portsmouth and the Spinnaker Tower!

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1551/26483792502_ff3abe3e2e_b.jpg' alt='26483792502_ff3abe3e2e_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[FirstCruise2331]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review and all the photos. We board her in Dubai on May 26th for a 14 night cruise and your review has me even more looking forward to it than I already was.

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review and all the photos. We board her in Dubai on May 26th for a 14 night cruise and your review has me even more looking forward to it than I already was.

 

 

Jealous!!!! :eek::p