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

[twangster]

5 minutes ago, cft8 said:

What was the scheduled arrival time? Ours is 4:30am and I understand from a poster on the West Coast Departures board that the Ovation sailings are split with some having the 4:30am arrival and others having a 6am arrival (which was our original time; I can't remember exactly when I was notified it changed). Just wondering whether Hoopster's picture of the departure timings is a good guideline for our group or if I should wait for a post from a sailing with the 4:30am arrival. 

 

To be clear, I have no intention of getting off the ship at the crack of dawn, but others in my group are curious about the schedule.

 

We were scheduled for 6am into Seattle based on itinerary details at booking.

 

On board the posted start time for self-assist was 6:45am if I recall correctly.

Edited May 25, 2019 by twangster

[Hoopster95]

1 hour ago, cft8 said:

What was the scheduled arrival time? Ours is 4:30am and I understand from a poster on the West Coast Departures board that the Ovation sailings are split with some having the 4:30am arrival and others having a 6am arrival (which was our original time; I can't remember exactly when I was notified it changed). Just wondering whether Hoopster's picture of the departure timings is a good guideline for our group or if I should wait for a post from a sailing with the 4:30am arrival. 

 

To be clear, I have no intention of getting off the ship at the crack of dawn, but others in my group are curious about the schedule.

 

The final sea day at approx 6pm we were basically parallel to Victoria (maybe 3-4 hours out of Seattle) ... ship had already slowed to a crawl at about 3pm. Debarkation morning I woke at about 5am and were already docked. I can only guess with such a short distance from Victoria to Seattle, the same may occur to future sailings, that you will be docked long before the posted time (ie. as early as 4am), however not debarking in the wee hours of the morning.

 

I can only guess Immigration officials/port staff/luggage handlers needed will not be at work at 4am, let alone all the ship staff required to manage the debarkation process off the ship. I'm suspect the departure sheet I posted to be about right, which matches (more or less) most all other ships and itineraries in the US.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Hoopster95

[johnt83]

5 hours ago, twangster said:

Cruise Compass posted.

 

Ovation of the Seas May 13, 2019 11 Nights Cruise Compass

 

Adventure Ocean, Babies and Tots and partial Teens Cruise Compass

 

This is super helpful, thank you!!! We are considering putting our 20 month old in adventure ocean...so we'll see what info i find out 🙂

[Missusdubbya]

Wonderful review - thank you!

[Trixie21]

16 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

The final sea day at approx 6pm we were basically parallel to Victoria (maybe 3-4 hours out of Seattle) ... ship had already slowed to a crawl at about 3pm. Debarkation morning I woke at about 5am and were already docked. I can only guess with such a short distance from Victoria to Seattle, the same may occur to future sailings, that you will be docked long before the posted time (ie. as early as 4am), however not debarking in the wee hours of the morning.

 

I can only guess Immigration officials/port staff/luggage handlers needed will not be at work at 4am, let alone all the ship staff required to manage the debarkation process off the ship. I'm suspect the departure sheet I posted to be about right, which matches (more or less) most all other ships and itineraries in the US.

Our original scheduled arrival time back to Seattle was 6am (we are on the June 14th cruise) but that was updated a few weeks ago to 4.30am.

[ronpes]

Wonderful review. My thanks to all who made this such a fantastic thread to read. 

One of the best I have read in a long time.

 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I posted the bulk of this on another thread, but figured it would be good here, also.  Some people are questioning whether they should do this ship to Alaska.  Others are giving a more negative view on things like the food, etc on other threads.  Here is my summary of my impressions on this ship/itinerary:

 

We also just did the 11 night Alaska cruise on the Ovation and had a wonderful time!  I would not hesitate to sail her again.

 

Our cabin (8520 - forward large ocean view balcony) was wonderful.  Very spacious.  Our cabin steward did his job.  We were taken care of and requests called down from the number on the card he left were promptly filled.  But we only saw him briefly twice in 11 days.  We called him "The Ghost"!  

 

The rest of the crew was welcoming and friendly.  We cannot complain about any of them.  However, none really stood out as spectacular to us.  The CD Chris grew on me as the cruise went on, but he was not the best we have had, or the worse.  I think that for all the crew the change from a mostly Asian market to Australian to US based in just a few short months was a daunting task when it came to figuring out what appealed to each market.  But they were always trying to make things better and I think they succeeded as the few things that concerned us in the beginning got better as the days went on.

 

The public areas were beautiful, spacious and welcoming.  A lovely ship.

 

Food is subjective and we are not foodies, but we never left a food venue hungry.  I enjoyed all of my meals.  We had the BOGO package, so we ate the first night in Jamie's and the second in Wonderland.  One lunch in Chops, which was very good.  One night in the Solarium Bistro, which has a Mediterranean theme at dinner.  I love the Greek style food, so it was good for me. I don't think it was good for everyone in our party of 8, though.  We only had one dinner in Windjammer and it was ok.  Nothing amazing for me that night.  But, I didn't leave hungry.  We had dinner the other nights in MTD.  It was always good.   A couple of nights when we arrived they told us that we would have to wait for a table of 5, but they somehow managed to always seat us within 5 minutes.  

 

Lunches were usually light.  We had Sorrentos's pizza (I liked the artichoke salad along with a slice or two of pizza).  Twice we just had a hot dog.  We were disappointed at first that they didn't offer the Tutti Salad in the MDR.  It had never before been offered on this ship as it is not popular in Asia.  However, they did figure it out after many requests and offered it the last three days of our sailing and told us that it would be standard on sea days from then on.  I think from the lines that it was a hit!

 

Our cabin was forward so we usually went to the Solarium Bistro for the small buffet there.  It had an egg station where I could get a fresh omelet.  Never crowded.  We discovered the Two70 Cafe for a light breakfast late in the cruise and wish we had found it earlier.  On early port days we usually like the Continental Breakfast room service.  My oatmeal usually arrived cold ,so that was disappointing.  But, the other offerings did the trick and got us off on our excursions with full bellies.

 

The ship felt quite crowded on the first day, but then everyone found their spots and it seldom felt crowded after that.  The biggest negatives are the slow elevators.  That never improved.  If you can take the stairs a few flights you are better off, and my DH did that quite a bit.  But my arthritis won't allow it, so I had to wait.  

 

I can't comment on the bars as we don't drink much.  The Diamond Lounge evening cocktail was good for me.  One glass of wine or a rum punch was all I can do and my DH will only have an occasional glass of wine.  Service was slow and my DH had to go get our beverage from the bar most nights himself, but there were a lot of us in there getting free drinks!   I like the atmosphere of the Schooner Bar on most ships and this one was no exception.  It is very relaxing to me to enjoy the piano player at night, although we had so much to do we didn't make it there most nights!  Paul O'Shea is a very talented and popular piano player with excellent rapport with the guests.  If he is playing, make sure you spend some time there to enjoy his talents!

 

The ports on our 11 night itinerary were amazing.  4 ports and 2 glacier days.  On our glacier days we would usually begin them on our balcony as they were early, breakfast in the Solarium to have coffee with a view, then go up to the Sports Deck and finally end up in Two70 for the amazing views from there.  Make sure you make it out to the wings from Two70 on glacier days!  It is the perfect ship for viewing Alaska when the scenery is available to view.  

 

The biggest disappointment is that this ship is just too large to go through the BC Inside Passage, so our 4 days at sea were truly at sea.  No beautiful scenery floating by.  For that reason alone I would choose my next cruise to Alaska on another ship.  For our 11 night itinerary it was great.  For 7 nights, if seeing Alaska is your priority, I would not recommend the itinerary.  Only two ports and 1 glacier day without the Inside Passage I think you are missing too much.  The exception would be for those who have already seen Alaska and want to experience this class of ship close to home and in a beautiful setting.  This ship, with it's multiple enclosed viewing areas, would be perfect for routine round trip Seattle longer cruises like the one we had with an obligatory port stop in Victoria.  I think if it were offered later in the season it would sell well.  Princess does r/t to Hawaii 15 nights on a regular basis.  RCI could find a niche in Alaska with this wonderful ship!

 

Enjoying the glacier views from Two70.

 

 

Glacier Views From the Sports Deck

[LeftcoastBC]

 

43 minutes ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

The biggest disappointment is that this ship is just too large to go through the BC Inside Passage, so our 4 days at sea were truly at sea.  No beautiful scenery floating by.  For that reason alone I would choose my next cruise to Alaska on another ship.  For our 11 night itinerary it was great.  For 7 nights, if seeing Alaska is your priority, I would not recommend the itinerary.  Only two ports and 1 glacier day without the Inside Passage I think you are missing too much.  The exception would be for those who have already seen Alaska and want to experience this class of ship close to home and in a beautiful setting.  This ship, with it's multiple enclosed viewing areas, would be perfect for routine round trip Seattle longer cruises like the one we had with an obligatory port stop in Victoria.  I think if it were offered later in the season it would sell well.  Princess does r/t to Hawaii 15 nights on a regular basis.  RCI could find a niche in Alaska with this wonderful ship!

 

Great overall post but I really wanted to point this out as the best tip on over all cruises to AK.  Thank you.  I agree completely.  I'm a bit of a homer of course but glad to see others feel the same.  All Ships leaving from Vancouver do a lot more of the inside passage if persons just want a seven day voyage.  But the Ovation is doing a full day stop in Victoria and it has lots to do there from Wonderful garden tours to Whale watching is case you struck out in the north to great restaurants.

I'm aboard the Ovation in July.  It's not about AK this trip but family and kids and I'm very grateful to you and all the others that took the time they have on this thread to inform us about this new ship.  

[LeftcoastBC]

On 5/24/2019 at 8:24 AM, Hoopster95 said:

I wish to thank Twangster, Drusierdmd, Alan, eel.... and Biker who was not on this sailing, he was on the Hawaii repo... for all your contributions and photos/videos to this thread. Sounds like the CC family out there enjoyed this as much as we did 😁👍

 

We Did and

to you and all the others you name I wish to add my thanks.  Best thread ever on CC for info and entertainment.

 

PS.  Maple Ridge is really only "Haney" 

[BAKAT]

On 5/24/2019 at 9:44 PM, Sunny AZ Girl said:

We are currently on the post cruise tour from hell. ...

 

First of all, thanks to EVERYONE for their great posts, pics etc - truly great way of getting ready for my August cruise 

 

Thank you also to Sunny AZ Girl in particular for this review of the post cruise tour of Seattle. I already pre-booked the same tour (now desperately hoping to get onto the other bus ). Could you perhaps add some info on how things worked with check out? At what time did you have to meet (I already saw on one of the earlier posts that you had a separate meeting point for disembarkation), how was luggage processed? So far I thought it was a great option to kill the day without worrying about luggage until my early evening flight, but now I am getting hesitant ... Thanks for any update!

[Hoopster95]

3 hours ago, LeftcoastBC said:

 

PS.  Maple Ridge is really only "Haney" 

 

Lol!! 😀 Sooooo true.

Great people and now a thriving business brought me here, so I'm grateful. 👍

[Hoopster95]

4 hours ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

I posted the bulk of this on another thread, but figured it would be good here,

 

Absolutely.... thank you Ginny.

I truly hope your debarkation day ended on a positive note with safe travels home.

Would love to hear how your communication with RC goes regarding that excursion.

[Hoopster95]

In between a couple of long days of work, I've been able to download all my photos & videos when time permitted the last couple of days. As mentioned, there's a few things I wish to add to this review as the VOOM internet issue certainly put a damper into the timing of information during the sailing. So if you wish to follow along with a few more photos, videos and tips/info.... here we go.

 

I wished to point out my cabin once again. I was able to pin-point my cabin while walking outside around Canada Place pre-boarding, and actually took a photo of it. I think this could really help those of you considering a deck 7 "obstructed" view cabin in comparison to the many view shots I took from that cabin while in Alaska. You can also clearly see which cabins would have the davits smack dab in the middle of your balcony taking over the entire view. regarding deck 7, I really don't think the view will be much different than the view from deck 8 for example at only 8 feet higher more or less. Ovation, like Radiance Class, will always have the life boats below you, even if you're up at the top deck 14 balconies. And like Radiance Class, the forward and rear balconies are not "indented" in to the structure of the ship, and thus look straight down to the water.

 

Note the deck 14 & 12 cabins which are indented, fully covered by the top deck overhang and those structural beams. I would consider those more more obstructive than my balcony on deck 7, yet they would be an "upgrade" for example if you opted for Royals upgrade program. This is one ship you should not opt for the upgrade, as you truly don't know where you'll end up, and there's plenty of pitfalls with locations of balconies on Quantum Class, more so than any other ship.

 

I'll say this now while I'm on topic of cabins.... in my humble and personal opinion, this class of ship (like Radiance class) is rather important to be close to the central elevators if at all possible for ease of going back and forth to your room whenever you feel like it. Those central elevators are the key (like the Centrum elevators on Radiance class)

 

My cabin is circled in red, and here you can relate to those photos I took from in side and on the balcony during the live portion of the review

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

There's always a ton of talk on CC with regard who (or isn't) allowed in the Dl and CL, age restrictions, happy Hour time, etc.

Here is the definitive answer from this sailing... will it stay the same for all subsequent Alaskan sailings?

Maybe... RCI = Really Consistently Inconsistent

 

To highlight some points that are bolded:

• DL = 4:30pm - 8pm
• No food or drink allowed out of the Music Hall
• Guests 18 yrs must be accompanied by an adult guardian

 

 

 

As Twangster already pointed out earlier in this review, no mention of the Drink Package discount.

Also no mention of the internet Discount for D or D+... you see it when you login to VOOm for the first time when selecting the package you wish to purchase.

 

 

Only Suite and PNs allowed in the CL on this cruise

I would love to hear from those on the current cruise and over the next few weeks whether D+ arellowed back in as we had a very high number of PNS on this sailing (84)

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[uncw89]

Hoopster95, what was your cabin number? We will be in 7246, hope the view is good

[Hoopster95]

28 minutes ago, uncw89 said:

Hoopster95, what was your cabin number? We will be in 7246, hope the view is good

 

I was in 7606. 7246 is on the hump. Did you check the deck plan when you booked?

There's a youtube video of this cabin (google). Circled in red below, however on other side of ship...

Primo location imho.

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Sunny AZ Girl]

3 hours ago, BAKAT said:

First of all, thanks to EVERYONE for their great posts, pics etc - truly great way of getting ready for my August cruise 

 

Thank you also to Sunny AZ Girl in particular for this review of the post cruise tour of Seattle. I already pre-booked the same tour (now desperately hoping to get onto the other bus ). Could you perhaps add some info on how things worked with check out? At what time did you have to meet (I already saw on one of the earlier posts that you had a separate meeting point for disembarkation), how was luggage processed? So far I thought it was a great option to kill the day without worrying about luggage until my early evening flight, but now I am getting hesitant ... Thanks for any update!

We met in the Music Hall at 7:45 as instructed.  We didn't get on the bus until 9:00. We could have lingered over breakfast a little longer. We took advantage of the COMPLIMENTARY Seattle Luggage Valet service. Amazing! We didn't have to deal with our luggage until we arrived in Phoenix. It all arrived as promised.  Those who had luggage picked it up in the designated area in the terminal and it was stored in the bottom of the bus. They had to drag it to the bus and then into the airport after the tour. Leaving the ship was extremely easy. One of our best disembarkments ever. Just don't get on the bus if the name "Kevin" is on the window! 

42 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

Absolutely.... thank you Ginny.

I truly hope your debarkation day ended on a positive note with safe travels home.

Would love to hear how your communication with RC goes regarding that excursion.

Home safely and without incident. I called and also emailed RCI about the tour. The guy I talked to at RCI was shocked at my story and seemed quite surprised that there wasn't both a driver and a separate tour guide. But he cut the conversation off when I mentioned a refund. Someone is supposed to get back to me within 72 hours, so I will let you know how it all works out.  I also expressed our displeasure in the Post Cruise Survey. 

[Hoopster95]

I wished to post a couple of shots of Seaplex area and around the ship on the first sea day when time permitted, however the VOOM issues made that a real chore. Those of you who know the Q Class ships, they all have an animal mascot(s) hanging around Seaplex on the starboard side right beside the rock wall. Here's Ovation's

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We were in 8520 forward of the lifeboats. We loved the location. The forward elevators are less busy and we were close to the Solarium and the Diamond Lounge. No view obstruction. 

[uncw89]

1 minute ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

I was in 7606. 7246 is on the hump. Did you check the deck plan when you booked?

There a youtube video of this cabin (google). Circled in red below... Primo location imho.

 

 

 

Thanks!! I did pick the cabin and thought it seemed like a good location, but then I saw you talk about the "obstruction" on deck 7 and was second guessing myself!! I got an email from Royal Up and a,trying to decide whether to bid or not. My options are a Jr Suite (which we were in one on the Allure and liked it) or a Grand Suite (which we've never been in one before, so I think that would be really nice)....but the bids seem a little high to me, but Alaska cruises tend to be pricey...

 

[Hoopster95]

Many were questioning Royal IQ prior to boarding, how it worked, what to do... etc.

It is extremely easy to use and I used it often daily. Very easy to look at the current real time view of the Compass at any time wherever you are on the ship, cancel and re-book events, change dining or events... etc

 

This app only works on board when on Royal wifi. There is also a chat/call function you can purchase for $8 per day. Here you can see when I opened the compass, bumper cars were scheduled.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

11 minutes ago, uncw89 said:

I got an email from Royal Up and a,trying to decide whether to bid or not. My options are a Jr Suite (which we were in one on the Allure and liked it)

 

As mentioned many times on this review and many other threads, this Royal ship is no where close to the same as any other Royal ship in the fleet, and that includes cabin designation and placements. The absolute pro on this topic would be merion_mom if she's still reading this thread... note the same photo below, this time with black circles around various Junior Suites. These cabins would be an upgrade from your current cabin!! 😣 Doh!... and really keep in mind that when you opt for the Royal Up program, you get a new cabin, you cannot change to another cabin or go back to your original cabin... you are 100% stuck with what they give you.

 

In my very humble opinion, stay where you are and spend that saved money on incredible life long memory excursions rather than "walking around port" and pretending you're visiting Alaska... get out there! 😊

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

One of the few disappointments on this ship was the aft deck right above the WJ (just behind the Florider)... on Quantum, they had wonderful furniture lined up along the back railing, with superb views and the ability to have lunch/read/star gaze/etc. here on Ovation this deck was bare. A real shame imo.

 

 

 

 

And here is what I believe to be a very rare photo for two reasons... from NorthStar:

 

1. I believe Ovation will only be in Vancouver 3 more times, once more this coming Sept and then 2  more times in 2020. In 2021, her transpacific is from Tokyo (instead of Sydney) to Seattle, and thus no need to stop in Vancouver as a foreign port to allow for the PVSA (Jones Act).
2. Note the funnels retracted, in full view from Northstar. You don't see this often if at all (or ever?) from Anthem or Quantum either.

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

I mentioned often that I'm a real fan of Seaplex on Quantum Class... waaaaay better use for cruisers at all times of the day compared to StudioB on Voyager/freedom/Oasis Classes... plus views everywhere no matter what you are doing here. This is a kids dream... table tennis, air hockey, Foosball, XBox stations, etc... add bumper cars, trapeze/circus school/bumper cars/volleyball tourneys, pickleball tourneys for the adults... you get the picture. A useful space at all times of the day for almost everyone.

 

Note the floor to ceiling windows on both levels... I reported on our final sea day when the captain announced whales on the port side, many of us rollerblading stopped on the edge of the floor to look at at the whales in full view

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

I didn't post any good photos of the indoor pool at all, so I hope these two photos from two angles can perhaps answer any questions anyone may have about what the indoor pool looks like, hot tubs, loungers/tables/seating/etc etc.

 

Note that the roof does slide/retract so in warm climates this area can become an "outdoor" pool as well.

Like almost everywhere else on the ship, pay specific attention to the view of Vancouver out all windows in most all directions. This is a superlative ship for indoor views looking outside.

 

(What was Royal thinking when they brought Explorer here for Alaska????)

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Hoopster95