Ovation of the Seas - Inaugural B2B cruise review (with lot's of photo's!!)

[Setting sail for fun]

Lovely, just lovely! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

[drummerdavebmth]

At 2:30pm Joff Eaton (our Cruise Director) was hosting 'The Big Music Gameshow' in 270.

 

Joff was absolutely hilarious......A great way to spend an hour on a sea day.

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

Look in the background......top right!!

 

 

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1547/26392008350_fa3f289f1e_b.jpg' alt='26392008350_fa3f289f1e_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 26, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Great pictures. I was on her for the non- inaugural 3 day cruise and back on her next week - a chance to fully appreciate her! I really love this design and class of ship.

 

Sent from my iPad mini 4 using Tapatalk

 

 

I'm very jealous!!! :D

[drummerdavebmth]

Is there a link for the pics. Somehow it's not coming up?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Someone else was having problems viewing using the Tapatalk app. He found he could see all the photo's ok when viewing via a web browser (Safari on iOS, for example)

Edited April 26, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

Lovely, just lovely! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

 

Thank you!! I'm enjoying sharing it with you :)

[Gordo]

We are sailing on Ovation in November so am enjoying your review immensely. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.

[Virtopia]

Loving the pictures! Makes me want to get on a ship right now :)

[cdwh1902]

Thanks Dave for your fabulous commentary and photos. Like others, we are booked out of Sydney Harbour on the Christmas Cruise to Tasmania and New Zealand for 15 nights.

 

We have eagerly been waiting for a review and photos, so you have answered a lot of my questions already. One of the frustrations is knowing what time to book Dining (including Specialty Restaurants) - which we can do now, not knowing what time the entertainment is scheduled. Do you have any suggestions?

 

Many thanks again - I really enjoyed it.

[dandtgeddes]

What are the rules regarding drinks in and around the pools?

 

Was in the adult pool area on the Voyager and a RCI staffer told me I couldn't have my drink in the pool.

 

I immediately took my drink to another area, but had seen others drinking in the pool space, so just wondering if you can have your drink in or close by the pools?

 

Thank you.

 

TraceyG

[jules815]

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr://[/img]

 

 

 

Of course, no stateroom "tour" would be complete without a peek into the toilet/shower room.....

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1514/26303627630_956a775270_b.jpg' alt='26303627630_956a775270_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

Is that a bar near the floor of the shower to make it easier to shave your legs??? If it is, that's brilliant!

[Clarea]

What are the rules regarding drinks in and around the pools?

 

Was in the adult pool area on the Voyager and a RCI staffer told me I couldn't have my drink in the pool.

 

I immediately took my drink to another area, but had seen others drinking in the pool space, so just wondering if you can have your drink in or close by the pools?

 

Thank you.

 

TraceyG

I've seen them ask folks to not drink while in the pool, but that's not consistent.

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for all the great pictures. I'm really enjoying your review. :)

Heather

[lovelymiffy]

Great Review drummerdavebmth ! The Asian girl is a model and was invited by Royal Caribbean Hong Kong to introduce a new ship to Chinese people. You will see many photos and videos in facebook. https://www.facebook.com/RoyalCaribbeanHongKong/

You should be paid by Royal Caribbean as you were caught in the photo !! :)

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks Dave for your fabulous commentary and photos. Like others, we are booked out of Sydney Harbour on the Christmas Cruise to Tasmania and New Zealand for 15 nights.

 

We have eagerly been waiting for a review and photos, so you have answered a lot of my questions already. One of the frustrations is knowing what time to book Dining (including Specialty Restaurants) - which we can do now, not knowing what time the entertainment is scheduled. Do you have any suggestions?

 

Many thanks again - I really enjoyed it.

 

 

Hi...I'm glad you're enjoying the review (your 15 night cruise to Tasmania and New Zealand sounds like a serious bucket list cruise to me - it will be amazing on a ship like Ovation!!)

 

With regards to your question, I can empathise with your frustration. What I can say is, they generally had 2 sittings of the same show in the main theatre each night (7pm & 9pm). We generally made dinner reservations for around 7pm (sometimes earlier...like 6:30pm) and found no problem in getting decent seats for the 9pm shows (I'm referring to the headliner shows you don't have to book for here...)

 

The one time we wanted to move a reservation earlier (to give us plenty of time to get to the 'Dream' show on the last night), we had no problems doing that on the day.

 

In the case of the shows you have to book for (e.g. 'Spectra's Cabaret' or 'Dream'), they showed them so many times to make sure everyone got a chance to see them. In truth, you don't even have to book them - booking just allows you the opportunity to have first choice of the seats before they open the doors to those who hadn't booked.

 

I'd say....provisionally make reservations for all your restaurants online - but don't worry, these reservations aren't cast in stone and can be amended whilst on the ship.

 

Hope that helps? Have a great cruise!!:)

Edited April 27, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

What are the rules regarding drinks in and around the pools?

 

Was in the adult pool area on the Voyager and a RCI staffer told me I couldn't have my drink in the pool.

 

I immediately took my drink to another area, but had seen others drinking in the pool space, so just wondering if you can have your drink in or close by the pools?

 

Thank you.

 

TraceyG

 

I didn't really see anyone with drinks in the pools (that's not to say people didn't, though) - there were plenty of people drinking their drinks in the hot-tubs (us included) and no one had any problems with that....

[drummerdavebmth]

Great Review drummerdavebmth ! The Asian girl is a model and was invited by Royal Caribbean Hong Kong to introduce a new ship to Chinese people. You will see many photos and videos in facebook. https://www.facebook.com/RoyalCaribbeanHongKong/

You should be paid by Royal Caribbean as you were caught in the photo !! :)

 

 

Hahaha.....cool! Maybe I should get my agent on the case! ;)

[drummerdavebmth]

Right......on with the review!

 

 

Although we were thoroughly enjoying our time relaxing in the Solarium (...and photo-bombing Asian model photo shoots), we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get ready for dinner. We'd made a reservation for The Grande that evening, so for us this was our formal night. We headed back to our stateroom.

 

 

I never get tired of this view - it's why we've always booked a balcony...

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

Here we can see Jen modelling the C&A bathrobe. This was our first cruise since reaching Platinum status and one of the perks of that is you're given your own bathrobes to use for the duration of the cruise. As some people mentioned on these forums previously, we did have to ask our room attendant for them on the first day (a relatively new policy apparently, rather than them being automatically in your stateroom). This wasn't a problem though, as he delivered them to us that very afternoon.

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 27, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[drummerdavebmth]

And now we are ready for dinner!!!

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1611/26301095150_97ac49c328_b.jpg' alt='26301095150_97ac49c328_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

Ok, so lets talk about The Grande....

 

To be honest, we were a little bit underwhelmed by the experience.

 

Let me elaborate. Firstly, the positives. The room was magnificent and it really did give you the impression of being on an ocean liner from a bygone golden age". We were excited as we sat down (as you can tell from the first couple of photo's below) and were looking forward to an excellent meal with a more refined level of service than the other DD options....

 

Unfortunately, we felt the food was ok - not bad, but certainly not at the level I was expecting (in my opinion the worst out of all the DD restaurants). What really spoilt the experience for us, however, was the service. We felt rushed from start to finish....it was as if the waiter was being paid commission on how quickly he could get us though the meal. He tried to take both Jen's starter and my starter away before we had even finished!! At the end of the meal, when you're usually offered coffee I had to ask for it (and I felt like I was being an inconvenience).

 

For us, it was a bit of a let down, to be honest. We felt as if it wasn't really worth getting dressed up for. We actually don't mind traditional formal nights on ships, when everyone gets dressed up for the MDR (it's more of an event and creates a nice atmosphere across the whole ship - we quite enjoy it). However, for us, RCI built The Grande up to be something special where (unlike the other restaurants on the ship) it was formal night every night. The perception being you were getting dressed up for a really special classy meal with exceptional service. It really wasn't.

 

I took some photo's anyway....(our waiter was the guy in the top left of this photo, fighting to get passed the girl in the glasses).

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

[drummerdavebmth]

After dinner we decided to see if some robotic barmen could give us better service......

 

by , on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

The robotic barmen required a tip....the tips are where they earn their wages, poor things!

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

 

This was the first and only time we went to the Bionic Bar. For us it was one of those, do once kinda things. It was fun, but we didn't feel the need (or want) to repeat.

 

We headed to the Schooner bar (Ahhh...our happy place!). You're probably thinking we had our usual B52's, right?

 

WRONG!.......This time we went "craaaazy" and had a 'Baileys Butterball', at the barman's recommendation. It became a new favourite! We took our drinks with us into the main theatre to watch the 'Love & Marriage' show. Although this is a Royal Caribbean tradition, this was the first time we'd gotten around to seeing it.

 

As usual, Joff Eaton was hilarious (and he had his work cut out....lol). It was a fun way to round off what had been a (on the whole) great sea day!

 

 

Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

 

 

Overall, we'd had a great day at sea. Tomorrow we'd be in the port of Zeebugge. We were going to spend the morning in Brugge, which we were really looking forward to.....Stay tuned!!

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1599/26573969755_6a143eb420_b.jpg' alt='26573969755_6a143eb420_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

Edited April 27, 2016 by drummerdavebmth

[heathermk57]

And here's a Royal Caribbean classic.....although it didn't quite have the same feel as the Schooner bars on the other ships (our favourite is still the one on Serenade). However, this didn't stop us having a night-cap in here most evenings!

 

 

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1571/25971460304_43e2e4c98e_b.jpg' alt='25971460304_43e2e4c98e_b.jpg'>Untitled by drummerdave72, on Flickr[/img]

 

One of our favourite place too... and indeed there we are, sitting on the right of your picture with our friends! :)

[debgreg]

Thanks again Dave, great seeing all the pictures really building my excitement :)

 

Did you notice how much the internet was, I don't know whether to book now or wait until I'm on board ?

[kandj05]

This review is great Dave. Thanks for sharing ALL the pics!!!

[drummerdavebmth]

 

One of our favourite place too... and indeed there we are, sitting on the right of your picture with our friends! :)

 

Cool!!!! :D

[drummerdavebmth]

Thanks again Dave, great seeing all the pictures really building my excitement :)

 

Did you notice how much the internet was, I don't know whether to book now or wait until I'm on board ?

 

I'm afraid I didn't notice how much the internet was (someone else might be able to tell you).

 

I'm quite old fashioned in the sense that, whilst I love technology at home, I like to disconnect totally whilst on holiday and not get distracted - I always put my phone on "Airplane Mode" for the duration and just use it as a camera. :)