opmet

There should be a pool lift on the star's main pool. The pool lift is removable. ( I saw some engineers working/ testing/ installing the pool lift in Feb/Mar 2017)

I guess you can ask the crew if you need it to get into the pool.

Not sure about other ncl ship though...

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personal opinion, thoughts and randomness coming up next...

below are some cruise compass from last year

( I did not get all the copy in English so...here are some in English)

I will upload the rest and talk about the changes comparing to 2016 may be tomorrow..

Thanks everyone for following again!

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Bed and sofa bed were very comfortable, we had no problem with it or anything about the room. It would be better if the brightness of the TV was adjustable. ( I like to fall asleep with the TV on, watching the navigational channel feels better in the open sea but no problem with the TV off while sleeping)

just in case someone is wondering how the sofa bed set up is like...

The nightlight in the bathroom is a genius, thoughtful idea, the nightlight is bright enough for me to do everything in the bathroom.

Kettle was clean, we used the kettle a lot. It always feels good to have a cup of hot tea on a chilly day, enjoying the balcony and ( watch the world go by?)

picture below is cabin on Deck 9 room 604 starboard side, bed by the balcony set up

view looking forward and the aft of the ship

( lifeboats and the design of the hull blocked the view from looking down to the ocean, the cabin was very comfortable nonetheless)

Tips and tricks that I learned from this board...The table in the cabin is movable.

I will only book a balcony cabin on this class of ship if there is a chance of another cruise on her...I really love the design( color, decor) and the lay out of balcony cabin. No complaint at all.

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On the first 2 night of the cruise, our balcony divider was making noises because of strong wind from north east ( northeast monsoon). Thanks to a review on Anthem from this board( they experienced the same issue and used something to fix it) and below was the solution that I learned from the Anthem post.( I don't remember which one...sorry)

I also learned that some members talk about hanging hammock in the balcony and I wanted to try it so bad...so bad that I brought a hammock online for this cruise.

Enough amount of space for the hammock...

But I was afraid to put a rope around here because I thought the balcony divider will be broken because of the pressure from the rope...so plan aborted...may be next time.

Picture below is my favorite spot to sit with half of my legs outside the balcony especially on a windy day.

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It has been a while since the last update....

Anyway...The following is about our cabin

Our cabin was on deck 12, room 156, port side

I was worry about the noise from the adventure ocean and the elevator lobby, stairwell because...( picture below was taken from the stairwell)

Turns out it was very quiet, they have done a good job on noise separation. Easy access to the elevator and the stairwell were a huge plus!

12156 is a balcony by the sofa set up

the view looking down from the balcony

(no life boat obstructing the view to the ocean)

the view looking forward from our balcony

A regular size balcony on the ship, very spacious though. Chairs are reclinable.

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What a gorgeous sunset! It must be very nice to enjoy the Sailaway in the Concierge Lounge.

I don't know they serve roast beef sandwich at 270, looks delicious... I have to try it may be next time. I enjoy reading your review too, it lighten up my day at work. (in a way):)

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Continuing Day 7

relaxing on the roof top garden....

interesting warning sign...

At 11:00,not as crowded as before...

We were hanging around on the roof top garden. Until 11:30, we decided to wait in line for the shuttle back to Kwun Tong.

As we were waiting in line, a staff came and told us that the next shuttle should be there in an hour, she ( the staff) suggested that we can take the bus to Kwun Tong (route 5R) alternatively...

I thought that we were not allow to carry our big, heavy luggage onto the bus.(most of the bus/ double decker not allow passenger to carry luggage except buses go to the airport)

The staff said a lot of passenger were carrying luggage when she was on the bus(5R) to the pier so we should be ok if we want to take the bus.

At 12:00 we boarded the bus to Kwun Tong, took the MTR back home.

Cabin, random comparisons and thoughts will be up next....

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Still following along, opmet!

 

How cool that there was a welcoming ceremony in Taichung. Was that the mayor and the Captain? We were on an early excursion so must have missed it, though we did see the stage and figured something important was planned!

 

 

 

I really enjoyed the welcome dancing in Hualien and Keelung.

 

 

 

It feels much longer than 10 days since we were on the ship!

Days wear on like years without an adventure, I miss my day at sea, keep writing the review helps...

I believe it was the head of Taichung Tourism and Travel Bureau( Chen Sheng Shan) , The CEO of the chartered travel agent (Leung Kong Lan) and the Captain(Henrik Loy) ( from left to right)

There was not much to be missed...just some plaque exchange. We missed the welcome dancing in all of the port because the ship docked at starboard side:(...(and we were still in bed probably)

Not sure if there was a firework show in Hualien before leaving the dock, I saw some after firework smokes/clouds in the air and regret not watching it..

just a random note...

According to a press release from the tourism bureau of Taichung, there were 34 cruise ship visited Taichung in 2015, 5 in 2016, 2 in 2017. The government is doing everything to attract more international cruise ships visiting Taichung but it is very hard to boost that number for other reasons..... no international cruise ship will be visiting Taichung so far according to cruisetimetables ...

Would it be possible for you to help check if the Ultimate Dining Package covers it?

There are some information about the Ultimate dining package online but I am not sure if it applies to sailing out of an Asia port.

I saw the package on the cruise planner page but I did not go through all the details...

With limited information, I am afraid to answer your question...Raina's post is doing a live coverage on the Ovation, I wanted to suggest you ask about it on Raina's post but I noticed you already asked....lol

Happy cruising:)

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I like to walk around the open deck before getting off the ship/ after getting on the ship, a tradition? ( a way of saying goodbye to the ship lol)

random shots at last

Princess ahead....chaos begins

We wanted to get off the ship as late as possible to avoid the morning rush hour of traffic so we got off at 9:30, picked up our luggages, through custom.

line for taxi?

At 10:00 we were looking for the shuttle back to Kwun Tong.

We found that the pick up zone of the shuttle was different from where it dropped us off a few days ago. From ground floor moved to first floor...

below was the queue for shuttle to Diamond hill or Kwun Tong

Instead of waiting in line for (hours?may be?), we decided to relax on the roof top garden. We were not in hurry for anything, not much plan for the rest of the day so everything was in slow motion.....

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Day 7, Hong Kong

waking up at 6:00 to this...a gloomy day

Star Pisces( 1 night cruise to nowhere from Hong Kong daily)

another floating casino...

Breakfast in the buffet

( First crepe on this cruise and regret not getting it in the past few days)

One last walk around the deck after breakfast.

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Just for interest, do you have any idea if the Dining Packages covers meals in the new Dadong Wonderland since the prices is much higher that the usual Wonderland charge that was included?

I am not sure about this but I guess it depends on which dining package you had?....

We each purchased a dining package that includes three meals (Solarium bistro hotpot, Jamie's Italian, Chops Grill and Izumi. Other restaurants were not included) The package was $104/per person( service charge included)

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washy washy happy happy is very true.....

( I feel sorry for those affected by noro on Anthem...)

We had fun watching the game show : guess what we sing in the music hall...great atmosphere, I can feel everyone was enjoying the show.

After the show, we were very sleepy and sleep like a baby...

cruise compass of day 6

random pic of the day

Time to sleep. I will continue Day 7 and the rest of the review( cabin, thoughts and some random comparison?)

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failed panorama attempt

a fun and not awkward way to bump into strangers....3-4 mins pleasure would set you free from trouble/ things that bothering you.

something was missing....a perfect sunset

Dinner at the buffet

We were not hungry because of the food we had at lunch.( still digesting and thinking about the fillet mignon) My jaw was very tired that I can barely chew anything hard( pork/ chicken etc.) so I ended up having the below...

Very delicious...( never had these before and loved the guacamole with totopos ( tortilla chip?) and churros with chocolate sauce)

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Continuing.......

Dessert

New York cheesecake

Apple pie

Ice cream ( picture was taken from another phone and out of focus...sorry)

and some random shots

We were very full and I was rubbing my belly constantly.... life is good

after some walking on the open deck, my mom and dad were very sleepy so we back to our room. I think I was updating this post while they were sleeping/ napping...

Some hours later? My dad was still in bed..My mom and I were ready for some action - bumper car

$7.95 for one car on the price list...

Promotion: buy one get one free = $7.95 for two car ( good job Royal Caribbean!)

Less than 15 people were waiting in line for the bumper car and we waited for a few minutes in line.

picture below was the ticket for the bumper car

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Lunch at Chops Grille

We have never been to a fancy steak house like this and It is a whole new experience to us....

Best bread so far....too late for pic, can't stop eating it. Crisps outside, soft inside, something so special about the aroma....

Mushroom soup

our server recommended the crab cake for my mom and dad...I had the bacon( we shared what we had on the table, my mom and dad only ate a few bites of the crab cake and I ate the rest of the crab cake... (feels bad about wasting food) anyway....The bacon was amazing! melt in your mouth right away( my mom had the most of it)

We thought the crab cake was over-seasoned

Fillet Mignon

I heard about how good fillet mignon was from a friend that I met on another cruise and I wanted to try it for a long long time....Every bite was a step closer to heaven.....the smell, the tenderness...I would have no regret if it was my last meal.

some side dish...

asparagus( half way gone), mushroom, fries

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After some relaxing time in the jacuzzi, we go back to our room get ready for breakfast...

The TV shows that we are going back to limbo.....

We saw a line of people waiting for breakfast in the solarium bistro so we headed to windjammer instead.

random fruit cup that I had

picture below was edited for privacy reason...

A special breakfast in Windjammer...

The gentleman with a microphone in hand should be our windjammer manager and he was inviting everybody out to play...( The manager was saying it is their pleasure to have us here...it was like a farewell breakfast....clapping hands, cheering for the hard working, friendly crew.....which usually happen during dinner time?)

The charge of rock climbing stuck in my head so I ended up talking to the staff in the seaplex and had a little conversation with the staff that helped me with the rock climbing....(details in previous reply) I choose to laugh it off, walked out with a silly face and get excited for lunch.......:D

random pics I took while I was contemplating about stupid things..

Cruise compass of Day 5

random pics of the day

Day 6 At sea

I cannot stop thinking about things happened yesterday, peace of mind is much needed so I start off the day in the jacuzzi

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Hi opmet, thanks so much for this review! We were also on this cruise. I will be posting my thoughts as well but always nice to see another person’s perspective on the same itinerary!

 

If you still feel like you were wronged, suggest you put in the post-cruise survey, which I think has a deadline of Tuesday morning. Even if it was innocent, you can help prevent another passenger from getting angry.

 

 

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I would love to know how people from the other side of the world think about cruising out of an Asian port so I am already following your post:)

Awesome review. The rock climbing charges "joke" sucked big time.

I submitted the survey a few days ago....yes it sucked big time but I never thought of mentioning it in the survey...I believe in face-to-face conversation(which I did and laugh it off) rather than reporting it in the survey....

( I don't want to make a big deal out of it and I guess they learned their lesson)

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience with us. ( I love how well-organized, the lay out of your review, straight-forward, detailed)

I am glad that you had a complete blast onboard the Ovation:)

Looking forward to your adventure in Taiwan!

"The Next Cruise specialist said that our ship was mostly chartered by a large HK travel agency. "

The next cruise specialist is right. As far as I know, This cruise can only be book with a travel agency in Hong Kong until about 2-3months before departure date, another 2-3 competitor travel agency join in selling this cruise.

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Continuing Day 5....

some fireworks in distance

It was around 18:00, I saw some people were doing the rock climbing and I wanted to try it so bad....(never done this on land/sea before)

long story short

A lady(staff A) scanned my seapass card, had my signature on the ipad and I am good to go...

I reached the top, came down and sit on the bench for some rest (soar arm..felt good about that)( The fun part was coming down from the top)

I want to do it again but I was told by a gentleman(staff B) that the first time of rock climbing is free, the second time is $8 and three(third,X3) time is $16.

I thought about it for a few seconds and said OK

I did not get to the top this time but had a lot of fun though(really sore arm...good pain)

I was very happy that I finally did this until I realized something wrong.....

At first, I thought may be they had my seapass card scanned at the time I was signing up the the rock climbing so they don't need to do it again.( automatically charge to my account)

but then I thought:

-I never heard of a charge for the rock climbing.

-Staff A/B did not scan my seapass card for the second time played ( They should have scanned my seapass card if there was a charge)

-no receipt for the $8 charge

some hours later, (watched the sailaway, dinner at the buffet, it was uneventful)

I asked a lady(Staff C) from the guest service to see if there were any charges for the rock climbing.

She showed me a copy of the cruise planner and she thought there shouldn't be any charge for the rock climbing.

My mom lost her seapass card somehow and we went to guest service for help...I asked another lady(Staff D) the same question and she made a phone call and confirmed that the rock climbing is free of charge since the ship was in service.

I was in anger and very upset about it (conspiracies were coming in all direction from my head)...fell asleep in a few seconds though....

until the next day (11:00?) in seaplex( last day at sea) I found the lady that helped me with the rock climbing last night and I asked her about the charge of the rock climbing. She and other staff replied, it is just a joke that they always talk about( charging everything per min from roller skating to rock climbing etc.)

I was stupid enough to fall for that joke and it kind of ruined some part of the day....however, I am happy to know the truth and walked away with a smile and waved goodbye to the activity staff....

(It would be way better if they told me it was a joke last night)

( I hate someone lied to me and laughed it off was the only thing I can/want to do after knowing the truth.)

(the time line kind of messed up...(already in day 6....)

cruise compass of Day 5

failed to upload any pic at the moment, I will try again tomorrow.....

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Can you post photos of your cabin?

The view looking down from our balcony

(the balcony on deck 6 sticks out a little)

our cabin was located on deck 12 port side 156

I guess I will write a full review of the cabin after Day 7( before the end of the review)...

I am very sleepy again...

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opps wrong photo...

picture below was the shopping area at the pier

I will continue the rest of the day later...

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It was time to back to Caowu Square for some last minute exploring...

interesting vending machine:

ballon factory?

umbrella rental/sharing umbrella? wow

It was 15:20, about a hundred of passengers and crew members were waiting in line for the shuttle back to the pier. There should be a shuttle depart at 15:15 but no visual of the shuttle.

At 15:30?(not sure), There should be another shuttle come to pick up passenger but no visual of the shuttle, no staff, no sign.

Panic kicks in as the time ticking( traffic was bad, I heard that it was very hard to get a taxi in this area)

I started to walk around and spotted the shuttle that was supposed to depart at 15:15 was waiting for us on the other side....and the shuttle was 80% full..

anyway we boarded the shuttle and back to the ship on time( We stuck in traffic for about 15 mins. It was Sunday so everybody was out on the road so the traffic was really bad)

situation illustrated

At 17:00 - Home

Last minute shopping at the pier, I brought a soap made of silvery wormwood?(a plant)

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Then we stumbled upon a fried Chinese dumpling place for lunch....love the warming/fun service of people in Taiwan..

a walk to nowhere continues

Interesting places nearby

Xiangshang Market

An authentic place where the locals come here for their daily needs/necessities/foods, lot of local food selection to fill your tummy if you are hungry.

below is just a random food example