Ellaleah

I am just off the Ovation and couldn’t have been more disappointed in the complimentary dining options food quality. One night I order braised chicken in black bean sauce and ended up with a plate of bones. Getting a coffee refill was like pulling teeth. The Windjammer was a mob scene, unappealing, offered poor selection, insufficient seating, and the food was tasteless. On my first morning in the dining room I was told that eggs take an extra 20-30 minutes. The servers and all employees knock themselves out to help you, so maybe it’s poor management or insufficient number of employees. This was my second RCL cruse. It was supposedly geared to the Asian market, but that was not evident from the menu choices nor was it evident that formal night was special as they put nothing special on the menu. The specialty restaurants were head and shoulders above in service and quality, but doesn’t it make you mad that you need to pay for specialty restaurants to get descent food?

I was on 1 Carnival Cruise 2 and a half years ago and their dining room was so much better in service and especially quality.

We are on the Ovation in 10 days and they do not offer MTD on our cruise. I was surprised as I know they have offered it on several other Ovation cruises.

Ty very much. At least now I know that there is a reason to bring mine.

Does the Ovation have magnifying make up mirrors in the rooms?

I will be on the Ovation in cabin 7650. Are there make-up, magnifying mirrors? Just want to know if I need to bring one. Thank you.

We leave on the Ovation 5/16/18. Are they selling drink cards on your cruise?

we will be traveling to Hong Kong and a few cities in Japan. Is it best to pay with the foreign currencies or use credit cards with no foreign currency fees? When one purchases foreign currency in the country, can one use a visa credit card?

Thank you again for all your useful information. We are planning on Hong Kong Island and Stanley, but hadn’t really considered Ocean Park until your suggestion. I guess I need to relook at that. We talked about mainland China, but it looked like we would need to leave at the crack of dawn. Is that true?

Thank you very much for the great answer. We will be staying in Hong Kong for 5 days before our cruise at the YMCA Salisbury.

we will be in Hong Kong next month and will probably buy a 2 day pass for the “Big Bus.” It’s just a small amount more for the Night Tour, but youncan’t get off the bus as you proceed. We do want to see the night markets, but would like to see the markets off the bus. Is it worth it to add the night tour just to see all the markets first?

There is NO excuse for this! I can’t get over that they do not fear losing business from this when people find it so difficult to book. How is it that CC’s website operates so much better, not to mention most other websites. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that when I last called C & A a few days ago, they don’t seem to acknowledge the problem.

Is the BOGO dining offer put on the cruise planner on an individual cruise basis? I don’t see it on my Ovation Cruise.

The old link worked for me.

You can book just 2 people. I don't believe that they would randomly add you to other people. I have booked one for a city on I our upcoming May cruise. You must do it ahead of time online, not when you get off the ship.

Thanks so much for the info. Has anyone done the night tour on the bus. It says that you go to all the night markets, but it does not stop. Is it worth going if you can't get off?

Great helpful post! Thank u! Am I to understand that one would need one purchase for an iPhone and a second purchase for an iPad?

Is one of the Ho Ho bus lines better than another? Also, if you buy a 2 day pass, do you have to use the pass for 2 consecutive days? Thank you.

Is there a duty free shop in The Kai Tak port where you can purchase wine befor a Cruise?

3 of us are booked in new solo inside cabins in the Adventure 2/19. My friend phoned RCL to change our date 1 week later. She was told that we had booked non refundable deposits. That was not true. I phoned and asked to speak with a supervisor. She seemed knowledgeable and said that the other person must have misread the screen. She changed our date without a charge. I think that the RCL website is pretty bad and not at user friendly. The people at Crown and Anchor seem to me to be a bit more customer service oriented.

I have only booked RCL and Carnival in the past couple of years. I could kind of say all these things about both of them. Both would do well to try and raise their bar to that of Cruise Critic. They can’t really expect people to book online with these websites and isn’t that what they want?

My impression is that the people you call are low wage workers with little training. Whether or not that is true, that’s how they make me feel. All of these billing changes do not inspire confidence. I think it’s really inexcusable and they need to fork over some $ for a better Web Designer or IT department!

Sl840t

I have found a tour for Kumamoto. We can add 4 people. Email me at jmmiller212@gmail.com if you might be interested in joining us.

Any pictures of the newly added solo inside cabins?

I am still working on it. I would suggest that you email shorex@rccl.com. This is RCL’s Shore Excursion desk, who wrote me back to say that they are attempting to see if they can get the shire excursion to add more space. There is some question as to whether they are capable of it.

Thank you very much for the clarification. Any ideas as to what we might do in that area now that I realize that we are pretty far from Kumamoto?

We will be on Ovations of the Sea on 5/21/18.

I'm really interested in any ideas people can offer for our day in Kumamoto. I now understand that the castle is pretty far from the port and in need of repairs. Anyone have any experience with other sights in Kumamoto?