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

[tangigue23]

I will be taking a 6 night cruise on the Ovation from Tianjin and now know what to expect in terms of passengers, which is what I expected. One confusion I have relates to Wonderland. You stated it was turned into an upscale Chinese restaurant. Is the normal Wonderland experience not available on the China sailings? I only ask because it is offered to be pre-booked on the RCCL website, but I do not want to book it in advance only to see it is a normal Chinese meal and not the normal Wonderland experience.

[kev_des]

Hi great info, booked on the 9th April to phuket I never realised u had to pay for ripcord, how much were these attractions. Also do drink prices go up for the Asian market

[woodyren]

Hi great info, booked on the 9th April to phuket I never realised u had to pay for ripcord, how much were these attractions. Also do drink prices go up for the Asian market

You won't need to pay on the April 9th cruise. The charge for these activities doesn't begin until Ovation starts its home port in Tianjin. Drink prices remain the same.

 

 

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[kev_des]

That's perfect thank u

[hills of hasland]

Your trip report has been so informative, thank you.

We have just booked a 12 night cruise from Beijing to Singapore leaving 7th October 2018 and whilst we realised as Brits we will well and truly be in the minority we were expecting it to still feel like a RCL cruise so I am slightly nervous if the entertainment and food options will be limited towards Asian cultures. We of course have chosen this destination to experience a different culture but not be completely immersed. I know a smile and patience goes a long way and I will try not to let the British perpensity to queue get the better of me. We are so looking forward to seeing and experiencing another part of the world and having only ever cruised Celebrity and Disney Cruise Lines previously, RCL have a lot to live up to!

[woodyren]

We are also booked on the Oct 7th cruise. The repositioning cruises will be more in the style of a regular cruise and not catered directly for the local market.

 

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[shaunap999]

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.

 

 

 

Your info is amazing, thanks!! One question about the train... is the bullet train from PEK airport or downtown Beijing? I see that Yujiapu is almost at the crusie port, is that right? (I booked the Holiday Inn there close by)... thanks

[woodyren]

Your info is amazing, thanks!! One question about the train... is the bullet train from PEK airport or downtown Beijing? I see that Yujiapu is almost at the crusie port, is that right? (I booked the Holiday Inn there close by)... thanks

 

The Bullet train to Tianjin leaves from Beijing South station. There is no bullet train from the airport. You can catch the airport express metro that links in with the Beijing Metro that in turn links at Beijing South station to the Bullet trains.

 

Yujiapu is close enough to the port to just get a cab there on the morning. I have never stayed in the area so cant offer much advice. Sorry

[Kaks99]

Thanks for an amazing and extremely useful review. I am on Quantum from Shanghai in June 2018 and was interested when you said excursions were often cancelled. Did you happen to notice if alternatives were offered or was it a case of once on board, ‘tough, here’s a refund’! Thanks in advance

 

 

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[woodyren]

Thanks for an amazing and extremely useful review. I am on Quantum from Shanghai in June 2018 and was interested when you said excursions were often cancelled. Did you happen to notice if alternatives were offered or was it a case of once on board, ‘tough, here’s a refund’! Thanks in advance

 

 

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The people who told me about the cancellations didn't mention about alternatives so I am assuming they were just given refunds. Not even sure if this is a regular occurrence or just happened on the cruise we were on.

[shaunap999]

The Bullet train to Tianjin leaves from Beijing South station. There is no bullet train from the airport. You can catch the airport express metro that links in with the Beijing Metro that in turn links at Beijing South station to the Bullet trains.

 

 

 

Yujiapu is close enough to the port to just get a cab there on the morning. I have never stayed in the area so cant offer much advice. Sorry

 

 

 

Thanks much appreciated!

[larka]

Is Michael Rassmusan the Hotel Director?

[ladyevelyn13]

Fascinating. I enjoyed your review! I've thought about cruising from other countries to see the differences and I think you're very right about needing a little tolerance with this group lol. Mainlanders can be very trying, a lot of times..

[woodyren]

Is Michael Rassmusan the Hotel Director?

 

Michael was the HD in June but was taking leave soon after. Not sure of his whereabouts now.

[MarcPoelmans]

Thank you for this very informative post, to all who contributed! We are also booked on the Oct 7, 2018 cruise leaving from China, it would be nice to meet the others on this forum (I guess we will stand out ;) ). We're first visiting Beijing for a few days, and will be on the ship until Singapore. I realized early on that this was going to be a different kind of cruise! During our trip to Hong-Kong we got introduced to the Chinese way of life already. We avoid Windjammer so it looks like we will avoid the scrum for food in there :halo:. One interesting fact I read here is that a lot of the bars are empty a lot of the time. Is everyone else in the Casino then?? Is it true that a lot of Chinese travellers only take the short cruise option? Does the population change somewhere mid-cruise then? Can't wait for October!

[woodyren]

Marc. The cruise from Tianjin to Singapore will be much closer on style to a regular cruise elsewhere as the ship is transitioning to Australia.

 

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[Matt.]

Great review many thanks for this, do you know if Coastal Kitchen was still operating?

 

I cant seem to find much information about that.

 

Thanks

[woodyren]

Great review many thanks for this, do you know if Coastal Kitchen was still operating?

 

I cant seem to find much information about that.

 

Thanks

 

It was when we cruised last year and we had dinner there a few times.

[Matt.]

It was when we cruised last year and we had dinner there a few times.

 

Awesome I am a bland eater so between the concierge clubs snacks and CK that will give me some options, looking forward to this cruise

 

Matt

[woodyren]

Awesome I am a bland eater so between the concierge clubs snacks and CK that will give me some options, looking forward to this cruise

 

Matt

 

Going from our experience you will be looked after superbly by the four Golden Concierges. Coastal Kitchen menu was very similar to what it is normally on Western cruises as well if my memory is correct.

[MichellePerth]

Thank you for the great review. I'm going next month and the cruise terminates in Tianjin. I was wondering whether Chinese immigration come on board and process incoming passengers on the last sea day, like Australian immigration often does when a ship come back from Singapore. We're D + allowed to dine in coastal kitchen even if in a normal balcony? Thank you!

[woodyren]

Thank you for the great review. I'm going next month and the cruise terminates in Tianjin. I was wondering whether Chinese immigration come on board and process incoming passengers on the last sea day, like Australian immigration often does when a ship come back from Singapore. We're D + allowed to dine in coastal kitchen even if in a normal balcony? Thank you!

 

No they process immigration in the terminal. I have disembarked in Tianjin 3 times now and it has been reasonably smooth. You mentioned you are D+ so the Golden Concierges will organise you to get around the long lines that can form on the ship at certain times when people are disembarking. This also applies at each port.

 

As far as Coastal Kitchen goes it will probably be a no but they may get you in for one dinner dependent on how crowded it is. Never hurts to ask.

[MichellePerth]

No they process immigration in the terminal. I have disembarked in Tianjin 3 times now and it has been reasonably smooth. You mentioned you are D+ so the Golden Concierges will organise you to get around the long lines that can form on the ship at certain times when people are disembarking. This also applies at each port.

 

As far as Coastal Kitchen goes it will probably be a no but they may get you in for one dinner dependent on how crowded it is. Never hurts to ask.

 

 

Thank you for the quick response. Good to hear about help with the immigration queue. The answer CK was as expected. Thanks 💐

[WaveSplasher]

Thank you for this very informative post, to all who contributed! We are also booked on the Oct 7, 2018 cruise leaving from China, it would be nice to meet the others on this forum (I guess we will stand out ;) ). We're first visiting Beijing for a few days, and will be on the ship until Singapore. I realized early on that this was going to be a different kind of cruise! During our trip to Hong-Kong we got introduced to the Chinese way of life already. We avoid Windjammer so it looks like we will avoid the scrum for food in there :halo:. One interesting fact I read here is that a lot of the bars are empty a lot of the time. Is everyone else in the Casino then?? Is it true that a lot of Chinese travellers only take the short cruise option? Does the population change somewhere mid-cruise then? Can't wait for October!

 

The cruise you are going ( Tianjin to Singapore) is classified as a re-positioning cruise hence the OP posts does not apply to you. Based on the majority of people onboard Rccl will cater to that market. On our Voyager HK-SIN, the majority were from Australia hence entertainment is catered towards them to list an example.

 

Chinese travelers will most likely go for the short cruise option mainly because of their career and them not wanting to take too much leave from work. I doubt the casino is big enough for majority of the guests on but it will be packed. Bars will be mostly empty because they don't fancy drinking.

 

Doubt you will see people disembarking mid cruise.

Edited May 26, 2018 by WaveSplasher