Live … Ovation of the Seas …Alaska … May 13 - May 20, 2022

[Bethipoo]

On 5/15/2022 at 2:15 PM, waykaylincruz said:

Our travel group of 13 (aged 20-89) will be on the Ovation for the June 3rd sailing. We are so excited!!

 

However I do have a few questions:

 

1:)  Since this is our first Alaska cruise, we are wondering how calm the water is or if we should expect a lot of motion. We do have a couple that 

 

2:)  Does the ship provide any binoculars for guests to use while out on deck?

 

3:)  Does RCCL have naturalists and speakers onboard giving talks about Alaska and things to look for in terms of wildlife, etc.

 

 

I purchased Bonine and took it each day.  The day 6 at sea was pretty rough and I took 2 bonine that day.  Also, went whale watching and took an additional before we set out.  Did pretty good.

 

We brought our own binoculars

 

I was not made aware of any wildlife/naturalists speaking during the cruise.

[Bethipoo]

On 5/15/2022 at 5:53 PM, Ocean Boy said:

Someone on another thread wants to know who the CD is Ovation.

Guy named Chris - We saw him at a couple of shows...and once we were disembarking...

Edited May 23, 2022 by Bethipoo

[Bethipoo]

On 5/15/2022 at 6:48 PM, T-2 said:

Loved the snow capped mountains outside the indoor pool windows, and I konw you had a picture of the empty flowrider that first day.  Any chance you have seen it running at all on the cruise?  This will be our grandsons 4th Alaska cruise, 2 were Disney, now he just loves Royal, we bought him a wetsuit but i won't bring it if they are not running the flowrider- he loves that thing.  Thanks in advance if you happen to pass it anytime you're on deck loving the scenery, really enjoying your pictures and info!

It was running.

[Bethipoo]

On 5/16/2022 at 1:17 PM, reefgeek83 said:

We've never sailed with RC before, and I've been hearing some posts about free casino money. Does RC give every guest $8 in casino credit? How do you see this on your account once on ship?

 

Thanks for your live review, we board in September for my wife's 40th birthday. First time going to Alaska and very excited.

There was a note in the compass that there was "up to $100" in free casino money.  But we were told it was most likely going to be $2.. Hubby and I went down and we each got $2 - you have to go at a certain time, the casino help desk person gave us a card to walk through how to get the free play money.  

[Ozark_Kid]

3 minutes ago, Bethipoo said:

We did the Seattle 3 hour tour through Get Your Guide - if you download the app you get a 10% discount.  We had hotel pickup as well.  

 

On the Public Market Fish throwing - someone has to buy a fish for the fish to be thrown.  We always seemed to miss the throwing...but it was interesting.  We should have bought a fish and donated it or something. 

 

I have to highly recommend the following for food in that area:  The Kells (Irish Pub) - I had the Irish Chowder and my husband had the Irish Stew, Piroshky Piroshky (I had the puff pastry (just dusted with powdered sugar) and my husband had the Apple Cinnamon Roll (delicious) - we got these to eat for breakfast the next morning at hotel, and we had lunch at Michou Deli - great 1/2 sandwiches/paninis (reasonably priced).

We pretty much did it on are on.  I believe every place we visited and the monorail gave a senior discount. 

The last night there we found a small pizza place about two blocks from the hotel.   I make my own pizza so I rarely consider restaurant pizza great.  This place had really good thin pizza! Two very large pieces for $11.  

 

[Bethipoo]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:38 PM, taznremmy said:

😱YIKES!! 😱 

Question....are they still having masks available, or should I pack my own?  Secondly, your fabulous photos have convinced me to get a new phone.  Why carry my heavy Canon around with this kind of photo quality.  Thanks!

 

We had 2 masks and a bottle of hand sanitizer in our room when we got on board.  We brought our own though.

[Bethipoo]

On 5/19/2022 at 2:38 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

Which is why a few years ago I ditched MDR and opted for WJ or specialty dining.

I do not always get the descriptions they have on menus and then disappointed with amounts of veggies too.

We did mostly MDR at 6:45 and didn't have long times for our meal to be delivered..

[Ozark_Kid]

A few zoom pics from the wheel.

 

 

 

 

[Bethipoo]

On 5/19/2022 at 9:22 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

Our last at sea day started in 270.


Then we went to the bummer cars.


Then we tried Fish and Ships. 

 

Before the cruise I was looking forward to Fish and Ships.   It wasn't bad just not special.  I ate the Halibut and chips just for the Halibut.   It may not of seemed so special because I eating it at Skagway. 

We tried to eat at Fish and Ships on day 6 and they were out of chicken fingers and shrimp  - I was like you have like 7 menu items - how could you run out?

[Ozark_Kid]

As we headed back to the monorail we walked up one more big hill.

 

[Bethipoo]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:31 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

As we were disembarking I saw a long line in front of us.  As we got there we found the long line was for those who need an elevator.   If an escalator is fine, stay left  

 

Or if you are ok with it - there is a set of stairs between the escalator and elevator - we just took the stairs down.

[Ozark_Kid]

2 minutes ago, Bethipoo said:

We tried to eat at Fish and Ships on day 6 and they were out of chicken fingers and shrimp  - I was like you have like 7 menu items - how could you run out?

When we tried it they were also out of the fried candy bars. 

[RW20]

I see Alaska is in a time zone an hour behind Pacific time. Did the ship stay on Pacific time or switch to local time?

[Ozark_Kid]

59 minutes ago, RW20 said:

I see Alaska is in a time zone an hour behind Pacific time. Did the ship stay on Pacific time or switch to local time?

They switched right before Juneau and then Switched back once we left Sitka, headed for Victoria. 

[CruiszBug]

On 5/22/2022 at 4:12 PM, crzndeb said:

Yes, the train is at the pier, but you still have to walk down a long dock to get to it. For elderly or disabled, it could be a bit more difficult. That’s why I mentioned the trams. They were being well used for the short dock ride when I was there a couple of weeks ago.

Yes, of course! I just wanted to point out that the starting location is far different than the place where you get off... It surprised me.

[Lorey2007]

6 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

As we headed back to the monorail we walked up one more big hill.

 

I want to thank you so much for your live review it was fantastic.  The pictures were all wonderful and so much useful information for our upcoming cruise in August. Happy cruising!

Edited May 23, 2022 by Lorey2007

[T-2]

I would also like to add a shout out of appreciation for all the time you gave sharing tips and pictures for those of us anxious to follow you on the Ovation this summer.  It was super fun to join along as you shared your Alaska voyage for those of us still waiting our turn, a priceless amount of information and adding to our excited anticipation- cannot thank you enough for sharing !!!   Its impossible to see Alaska in a single voyage, your thread gives am incredible glimpse into all the wonderful experiences that await.  Super appreciate every photo and insight!!  The perfect fun while we await our turn.

[ScubaCat3]

On the May 20th sailing we are having several enrichment lectures with Dr. Steven Dobbs. So far we have had separate lectures on whales of Alaska (also binocular tips), glaciers and Alaska wildlife. They were very well attended so I hope Ovation will continue offering them. 

[Ozark_Kid]

We have made it all the way home now.  Thanks you all that followed along.  It add to the enjoyment to be able to share with y'all. 
While we were about to take off from Seattle I glaced out the window and was reminded of the original plan, Hawaii.

 

There are times in life when things don't work out the way we plan. Even small things like vacations.  Although it was sad when the Hawaii cruise was canceled it turned into a true blessing and we are so thankful we were able to experience Alaska. After years of cruising, this was one of the best. So get excited, you are going to love it.

Again, thanks for following along!

[Tazzybear14]

3 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We have made it all the way home now.  Thanks you all that followed along.  It add to the enjoyment to be able to share with y'all. 
While we were about to take off from Seattle I glaced out the window and was reminded of the original plan, Hawaii.

 

There are times in life when things don't work out the way we plan. Even small things like vacations.  Although it was sad when the Hawaii cruise was canceled it turned into a true blessing and we are so thankful we were able to experience Alaska. After years of cruising, this was one of the best. So get excited, you are going to love it.

Again, thanks for following along!

We too had our 14nt Hawaii cruise cancelled.  We rebooked it for next November.  Crossing fingers that we will get to go, but for now my mind and heart are on the Alaskan for this coming Friday!!!  Woo Hoo!

[ScubaCat3]

Wonderful thread @Ozark_Kid! Thanks for all the hard work you put into it. 
 

I’m currently sitting on my balcony in Scagway watching a young humpback whale frolicking next to the ship. He says hi. 

[ReneeFLL]

17 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We're staying at the Mayflower Park in September (first time).  Chose it for the location and the older style luxury vibe.  What did you think of it?

 

We loved it and you can't beat the location. We would definitely stay there again. While we waited for the rooms to be ready we walked down to the market and bought some flowers for the room and a few other things. The day of the cruise we went again and bought a huge bunch of flowers for the cabin. We were there for 5 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

12 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

We loved it and you can't beat the location. We would definitely stay there again. While we waited for the rooms to be ready we walked down to the market and bought some flowers for the room and a few other things. The day of the cruise we went again and bought a huge bunch of flowers for the cabin. We were there for 5 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This place really looks nice. We will need to check it out if we have the opportunity to return.

Also there were some really beautiful  bouquets of flowers at the market place.   I couldn't believe how reasonably priced there were.

[ReneeFLL]

44 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

This place really looks nice. We will need to check it out if we have the opportunity to return.

Also there were some really beautiful  bouquets of flowers at the market place.   I couldn't believe how reasonably priced there were.

I really wished I would have taken a picture of the huge bunch of flowers I bought for the cruise and the prices were cheap compared to what I would pay here for them. I hand picked them to make the bouquet I wanted. The cabin attendant gave me a large white champagne bucket to put them in. It wasn’t like the typical clear one we usually get. It was extra large. 🌸🌺💐🌷🌷🌹💐💐💐💐

[bobmacliberty]

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

We loved it and you can't beat the location. We would definitely stay there again. While we waited for the rooms to be ready we walked down to the market and bought some flowers for the room and a few other things. The day of the cruise we went again and bought a huge bunch of flowers for the cabin. We were there for 5 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for this reply.  Looks like you may have even booked the same room that we did...a corner suite.  We'll be there for 3 nights and I love the idea of flowers, both for the room and the cruise.  Definitely going to steal that one.