Ovation boarding

just checked in for upcoming cruise with Ovation, there doesn't seem to be any advantage in being a Diamond. Our boarding time is 2.30, we arrive in Sydney at 9 so could be a long day. Is this the new "norm" or just Ovation? Thanks for any help.

I have found the strict boarding times are only for Ovation of the seas but they are quite strict on it.

It’s a giant ship with literally thousands of people boarding it. They need to organise it somehow, I guess. It’s a definite downside to mega cruising.

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Oh well, guess we will just have to buy lunch;p;p

Haven't been on Ovation, but have always had priority boarding since we became Diamond (and even on lower tiers), so you should be good to go anytime from when boarding commences [11:30am??]

Priority doesn’t happen on Ovation.

You get a time slot and the only priority is within that time frame and good luck finding ground staff that know what Diamond or Diamond Plus priority means!

But I have heard that getting there very early you might get on with no problems, depends on how busy it is.

Priority doesn’t happen on Ovation.

You get a time slot and the only priority is within that time frame and good luck finding ground staff that know what Diamond or Diamond Plus priority means!

But I have heard that getting there very early you might get on with no problems, depends on how busy it is.

You are correct Megsie, I am Emerald and my friends are Diamond, we have been on Ovation twice and status means nothing when boarding they only care what your boarding time says on your seapass

Potentially the only way around this would be if you are in Sky or Star Class and contacted the Suite Concierge by email, perhaps they would agree to meet you out the front and escort you in earlier.

Priority doesn’t happen on Ovation.

You get a time slot and the only priority is within that time frame and good luck finding ground staff that know what Diamond or Diamond Plus priority means!

But I have heard that getting there very early you might get on with no problems, depends on how busy it is.

You are correct Megsie, I am Emerald and my friends are Diamond, we have been on Ovation twice and status means nothing when boarding they only care what your boarding time says on your seapass.

Thanks for that - learn something new every day. So no special treatment for the 'spethial' people - we will have to take this up with gbenjo :D

Thanks for that - learn something new every day. So no special treatment for the 'spethial' people - we will have to take this up with gbenjo :D

It was orginally envisaged that the new check in system ( next gen) that is used on Ovation would be fast enough to not need a priority system but like a lot of new systems it has not quite got there yet. Not sure if it is correct to say that there is no priority check in for C&A members ... I know for sure there are signs in the check is area for Diamond and Diamond plus Pinnacle and Suites.. but to be honest I have never been in the terminal for an Ovation check in as I am always on the ship at security scanning ( A Pass) a As far as I know if there are no " excessive" queues no one is sent away if possible.

It was orginally envisaged that the new check in system ( next gen) that is used on Ovation would be fast enough to not need a priority system but like a lot of new systems it has not quite got there yet. Not sure if it is correct to say that there is no priority check in for C&A members ... I know for sure there are signs in the check is area for Diamond and Diamond plus Pinnacle and Suites.. but to be honest I have never been in the terminal for an Ovation check in as I am always on the ship at security scanning ( A Pass) a As far as I know if there are no " excessive" queues no one is sent away if possible.

Thanks for that, perhaps we will try when we arrive and just see how we go. No real drama if we can't board until 2.30.

It was orginally envisaged that the new check in system ( next gen) that is used on Ovation would be fast enough to not need a priority system but like a lot of new systems it has not quite got there yet. Not sure if it is correct to say that there is no priority check in for C&A members ... I know for sure there are signs in the check is area for Diamond and Diamond plus Pinnacle and Suites.. but to be honest I have never been in the terminal for an Ovation check in as I am always on the ship at security scanning ( A Pass) a As far as I know if there are no " excessive" queues no one is sent away if possible.

In my experience, there was no priority to actually get into the building but once inside our priority status helped us get through to the relevant lines..

I’ve walked past OPT several times whilst Ovation has been in port, and the later it has been, the more it looks like a cluster you-know-what on the outside.

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We boarded Ovation for the NY cruise Ex Sydney. We were Sky Class, they had a seperate entrance for suite passengers and were holding up a sign and directing Suite passengers to this entrance. On board in ten minutes.

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We boarded Ovation for the NY cruise Ex Sydney. We were Sky Class, they had a seperate entrance for suite passengers and were holding up a sign and directing Suite passengers to this entrance. On board in ten minutes.

 

 

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We are Platinum and would have been on in 10 minutes if there had not been a problem with the IPads on the gangway.

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We are Platinum and would have been on in 10 minutes if there had not been a problem with the IPads on the gangway.

 

 

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Did you stick to designated time

When we went on the Ovation we stuck to our allotted embarkation time. We did put our luggage in early at the baggage section and then enjoyed Sydney Circular Quay. Found a nice table opposite the ship took some photos and enjoyed a nice coffee and snacks.

When we went on the Ovation we stuck to our allotted embarkation time. We did put our luggage in early at the baggage section and then enjoyed Sydney Circular Quay. Found a nice table opposite the ship took some photos and enjoyed a nice coffee and snacks.

Sounds like a good idea!

Thanks Ned49. Our cruise starts from the time we leave home. We allow heaps of time to allow for any delays and usually arrive early for boarding the ship. I know a lot of people try to get on board as early as possible but we relax and enjoy the surroundings, having said that we have never cruised from White bay Sydney where we have read there is not much to do so that would probably be a different scenario. Circular Quay Sydney is such a great harbour and no matter how many times we have been there we find somewhere to sit and take it all in. A great start to our cruise.

I received an email from Royal Caribbean regarding boarding times on our Ovation cruise and it included the following:

"We invite our Suite, Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, Diamond, Emerald and Platinum guests to arriveat any time between 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. "

So it seems Platinum and above can board whenever they like.

 

So it seems Platinum and above can board whenever they like.

That’s certainly an improvement. Our reminder letter for our cruise in Feb stated in bold font to arrive strictly in our time slot with no mention of priority.

There were only just over 30 D+ and around 200 D’s on our cruise. So it wouldn’t have been a huge effort to prioritise out of 4000 passengers.

Third time then we might see some improvement.

I received an email from Royal Caribbean regarding boarding times on our Ovation cruise and it included the following:

"We invite our Suite, Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, Diamond, Emerald and Platinum guests to arriveat any time between 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. "

 

So it seems Platinum and above can board whenever they like.

Good news, as I said before it was fine once you were inside the building but no priority until then.

We picked up the paperwork from our travel agent yesterday and it said we can board from 12 onwards. We arrive in Sydney at 9 so we will just get the train to Circula Quay and play it by ear. It's good just to get rid of the luggage. There is a lot of people to get on board. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

We picked up the paperwork from our travel agent yesterday and it said we can board from 12 onwards. We arrive in Sydney at 9 so we will just get the train to Circula Quay and play it by ear. It's good just to get rid of the luggage. There is a lot of people to get on board. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Bag Drop Off area should be close to 10am perhaps they will be open earlier. A walk into the rocks or to the Botanical gardens is a nice way to kill an hour or two.

I received an email from Royal Caribbean regarding boarding times on our Ovation cruise and it included the following:

"We invite our Suite, Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, Diamond, Emerald and Platinum guests to arriveat any time between 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. "

 

So it seems Platinum and above can board whenever they like.

This wasn't the case in December when we boarded Ovation at OPT. We are Platinum and were directed to the big queue with everyone else.

We sailed on the Ovation on March 8. When we did online checkin the earliest time that we could choose was from 1pm. When an email came a week before the cruise it said:

"To enhance your check-in and boarding experience, please arrive at the cruise terminal at your selected appointment time. For those that have not selected an appointment time, your cruise check-in will take place between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m."

We are Diamond and a friend who has sailed on the Ovation and is Diamond Plus told me that as Diamond we would be able to board any time. We arrived at around 11.40am and after lining up in the main line, once inside we were referred to the Diamond line and were checked in quickly and nothing was said about being earlier than the 1pm appointment time on the SetSail Pass.