OVATION May 13-24 *LIVE* in ALASKA w/lots of photos

[shoreline6726]

Hoopster.....Congrats on the Raptors going up 3-2 in the Raps vs Bucks series.

27 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

 

 

[AlanF65]

29 minutes ago, Coralc said:

That's great Alan! You managed to get in and get photos of Fish& Ships. Good job! 

I stuck my phone in the two 4" peek holes 😎

 

The finish on the table smelled fresh. They may open day 2.

[Hoopster95]

12 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Must have just missed me.  I was outside one last time.  The fog shrouded Olympics look stunning tonight.

 

Ah... you were in there too? 

Whats your opinion of the WJ?

 

yep, beautiful scenery tonight when the clouds/fog lifted a bit. You got one of your awesome photos to share? 

[AlanF65]

6 minutes ago, shoreline6726 said:

Hoopster.....Congrats on the Raptors going up 3-2 in the Raps vs Bucks series.

 

Wish it had been on ship TV. 

[Hoopster95]

9 minutes ago, shoreline6726 said:

Hoopster.....Congrats on the Raptors going up 3-2 in the Raps vs Bucks series.

 

 

Holy $*#+!

Kahwi 35-7-9.

Thanks for posting this😁👍

 

GO RAPS!!! 🏀🏀🏀🏀

[drusierdmd]

We got company.

 

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[johnt83]

21 hours ago, twangster said:

Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier Time Lapse.

 

Nine hours in 3 mins and 42 seconds, 5am arrival, 2 pm return to the Inside Passage.

 

 

It took 2 1/2 times longer than the actual cruising time to upload this over Voom, heavily compressed and reduced in file size.   

 

That's a lot of sailing to get to a glacier where they only spent a few minutes it seems like... how long were you guys at that glacier? The ship did one spin and it left? lol

[johnt83]

21 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Yep, per Twangster... no guarantees.

This is the official word:

Royal IQ has a chat function however you’re supposed to by a package

 

 

 

Is the package $8 for the whole week? I thought I saw someone post about that earlier in the thread... we are sailing in August as well and won't be getting Voom since we like to disconnect on cruises...but definitely want to stay in touch with our group via texting on the Royal iQ app... we have Apple phones as well so it'll be interesting to see what iMessage can/cannot do.

[Hoopster95]

18 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

 

Is the package $8 for the whole week? 

 

 

[johnt83]

1 minute ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

 

 

Perfect, thank you! Totally worth it...hopefully it works better than VOOM lol

 

I hope you guys are enjoying your last night on the cruise... I know it's sad..but as they be happy that it happened and not sad that it's over... thanks again for the wonderful review and information, it definitely helped a lot of folks including myself. I am still 3 months away from Ovation but hope to tour it in July! Safe travels home all, I hope you enjoy your stay in my hometown city of Seattle... it was beautiful today, back to 60s/cloudy tomorrow/Friday though... shoot!

[Hoopster95]

29 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

 

That's a lot of sailing to get to a glacier where they only spent a few minutes it seems like... how long were you guys at that glacier? The ship did one spin and it left? lol

 

Lots of big ice flow in the fjord, 1st time for large Ovation and for the pilot... they slowed right down and noticeably zig-zagged in some parts to dodge

some of the ice. We were able to see the Glacier approx 1:15 from 1st peak as we turned To corner to when we left. The transit in and out of the channel is Part of the beauty of Endicott Arm 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

6 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

Safe travels home all,

 

Thx for the well wishes and following along 😁

[twangster]

2 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

Ah... you were in there too? 

Whats your opinion of the WJ?

 

WJ has been solid for me.  Never saw the MDR, assume it's just like Anthem.  

[twangster]

44 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

 

That's a lot of sailing to get to a glacier where they only spent a few minutes it seems like... how long were you guys at that glacier? The ship did one spin and it left? lol

 

Any ship's visit depends on ice conditions.  Early season and the pilots have little to go on.  Not the first time a bridge crew was cautious and for good reason. 

 

Every week is different, that's Alaska.  

[johnt83]

Good to know about the WJ... we have actually enjoyed the buffet quite a bit in past cruises over MDR... it's fast, easy, more selection and good food. While I definitely enjoy the sit-down experience at the MDR, why take 2-3 hours to eat when it can be done in less than 1 hour! It looks like the WJ on Ovation is nicely organizsed... do you know if they had Indian food any of the days in the WJ? I love cruise ship Indian food... oh and Mexican too! How were those offerings if you noticed and tried the food?

[Biker19]

48 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

 

Is the package $8 for the whole week?.. we have Apple phones as well so it'll be interesting to see what iMessage can/cannot do.

Before you buy the texting option inside the app, try using iMessage while connected to the ship’s WiFi. 

[johnt83]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Before you buy the texting option inside the app, try using iMessage while connected to the ship’s WiFi. 

 

Will do! Appreciate this insight... fingers crossed that it still works lol

[Hoopster95]

9 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

Good to know about the WJ... we have actually enjoyed the buffet quite a bit in past cruises over MDR... it's fast, easy, more selection and good food. While I definitely enjoy the sit-down experience at the MDR, why take 2-3 hours to eat when it can be done in less than 1 hour! It looks like the WJ on Ovation is nicely organizsed... do you know if they had Indian food any of the days in the WJ? I love cruise ship Indian food... oh and Mexican too! How were those offerings if you noticed and tried the food?

 

Yep, butter chicken/Dahl/lamb curry yesterday. Three days ago huge Mexican Station, guac, fajitas, enchiladas.

 

Theme lunches and dinners each night. They also had Malaysian night and Thai for example. Standard fresh pasta Station each night.... and the best views with huge windows as well as the open air seating farthest aft.

[johnt83]

Just now, Hoopster95 said:

 

Yep, butter chicken/Dahl/lamb curry yesterday. Three days ago huge Mexican Station, guac, fajitas, enchiladas.

 

Theme lunches and dinners each night. They also had Malaysian night and Thai for example. Standard fresh pasta Station each night.... and the best views with huge windows as well as the open air seating farthest aft.

 

Yessss! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it 😛 Love the theme lunches/dinner idea, that'll make things interesting on a daily basis and definitely compete with the MDR... we typically swing by the MDR on a daily basis to see what their offerings are... we are vegetarian so we have to be a bit more selective in where we eat... if there isn't anything good we just hit up the WJ... never been disappointed in it. I think we may do MDR on formal night... which I think there are typically 2 on a 7-night sailing...

[Biker19]

Just now, johnt83 said:

 

Yessss! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it ... we typically swing by the MDR on a daily basis to see what their offerings are... we are vegetarian so we have to be a bit more selective in where we eat... 

You can get vegetarian Indian entrees not on the menu in the MDR. 

[Scottishmum40]

5 hours ago, AlanF65 said:

The offer sheet in the room was for the free Seattle service. There was no charge, your flight needs to depart after 12.

Contrary to last year some international flights were included.

 

Oh that’s disappointing 😢 our flight has been changed to 11.15am so I was hoping the cut off would be 11am and we would get to use it. We have the Key though so will just need to get off early and self carry.  

Edited May 24, 2019 by Scottishmum40

[A&L_Ont]

Thanks to all the live posters on this sailing. I have thoroughly enjoyed your photos and musings from the comfort of my home. Safe travels to you all as you head back home. 

[Surfguyxxx]

3 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Thanks to all the live posters on this sailing. I have thoroughly enjoyed your photos and musings from the comfort of my home. Safe travels to you all as you head back home. 

Same for me too.  It's been a blast and I've learned so much for our upcoming trip.  Thank you everyone.

[sharktums]

It's been really helpful following this, even with the poor internet (which we have prepaid for!).

 

Did any of you have Unlimited Dining and visit multiple restaurants or get multiple entrees in one night?  Was the pub included?

 

Thanks again!

[jholzhauser]

This was an AMAZING thread! I've enjoyed it so much! Can't wait to see if other people in coming cruises add on to the experience. Loved it all!