Review - Ovation of the Seas Nov 8 to 14 (Best of Taiwan)

[windjamming]

My parents and I just returned from a cruise on the Ovation of the Seas. This was our first time sailing out of an Asian port, so wanted to jot down some of my impressions. There also seems to be little information on the Ovation here, so hopefully this can be useful for those considering a cruise on her, or a different perspective for those who are just curious.

 

Edited to add: after starting this review, I see there are 2 Ovation reviews in progress right now!

- One of this exact cruise

- And one of Raina's epic blogs

 

Background

We are from New Jersey and have long considered a trip to Asia. Taiwan was on our “to do” list, and when we saw that the Ovation had a one-time “Best of Taiwan” itinerary, we immediately hopped on it. We have sailed on the Anthem a few times so were familiar (and liked) the class of ship but knew virtually nothing about sailing out of Asia or the immersion cruise experience.

 

I can say now that we had a complete blast and that our expectations were exceeded in every way. Great ports of call, beautiful ship, passengers queued up politely, absolutely no pushing or shoving that we saw, and the overall feeling on the ship - from both passengers and crew - was friendly, warm, and inclusive.

 

Caveat - a few crew members mentioned that sailings out of Hong Kong (which ours was) were very different than “China sailings”, which they meant as out of Tianjin or Shanghai.

 

Some initial thoughts first, before I get into more details in subsequent posts:

 

- Passenger mix was about 95% Chinese, with the very large majority from Hong Kong. The Next Cruise specialist said that our ship was mostly chartered by a large HK travel agency. Given we were still able to book a room, I’d guess they left some rooms available to the general public. All announcements were made in both English and Chinese, and even the morning show was bilingual, though much shorter and focused on information (e.g. no shout outs) than the ones on Caribbean sailings.

 

- Shows could not be booked prior to sailing, and once onboard, only Pixels (the show in 270 & equivalent to Spectra’s Cabaret on Anthem) could be reserved via RoyalIQ.

 

The other production shows - “Live, Love, Legs”, a Vegas style revue (no Broadway show here), and “The Dream” (equivalent to “The Gift”) were general seating.

 

Pixels had a $29 VIP package which got you a glass of champagne and an escort from Vintages to a special seating area in 270.

 

- As reported here, iFly and North Star had surcharges. I never found out what the actual costs were, as we had experienced both already on Anthem. Neither appeared that crowded whenever I looked, though, so I wonder if they might revisit the policy as it seems a shame to not have these signature activities utilized. Bumper cars also required tickets, and they were offering a 2 for 1 deal on our sailing.

 

- For Hong Kong sailings, Diamond Plus guests were not considered part of the Golden Suites program due to the (relatively) larger numbers. Apparently out of Tianjin, it was very rare to see a D+, hence they were always included.

 

On our sailing we had 2 Pinnacle, 21 D+, and 27 D, out of total 600+ C&A members (on a 4000 passenger ship). The top tier party was held in Boleros.

 

Still, the Golden Concierges could not have been nicer and more helpful to us, arranging for excursions and escorting us past lines when getting off the ship at ports. These 4 ladies were professional, friendly, and extremely capable.

 

- We were in a Family Junior Suite, which meant silver cards (vs gold cards for full suites). In the Compass, they mentioned the Solarium Bistro would be open to silver and gold cards only for breakfast, but I never saw this enforced.

 

- LOVED the Asian food in the dining rooms. Our sailing was the last on Cosmopolitan Dining before moving back to Traditional Dining for the HK to SG repo. There were 2 seatings - 5:30 and 8:00, and you could choose from the 4 dining rooms, which had their own menus but the same Chinese classics every day.

 

They switched menus midway through the cruise, and from my recollection of Dynamic Dining on Anthem 2 years ago, the menus seemed the same.

 

The one interesting cultural difference here is that passengers tended to line up (in an orderly manner) for meals well in advance of the dining times. No big deal, just wait 10 minutes after the set dining time (e.g. 8:10), and there was no line.

 

Coastal Kitchen only had one menu for all 6 nights- a combination of Chinese and Western selections.

 

- For specialty dining, we tried the Kung Fu Panda Noodle House (a la carte) - decent noodles but a little slow in service - and Wonderland Da Dong ($60 + 18% service charge) - great.

 

Da Dong is a chain of high-end Chinese restaurants from celebrity chef Dong Zhenxiang and famous for their Peking Duck.

 

On China sailings through Singapore, the traditional Wonderland menu is replaced with a special 10-course Da Dong tasting menu. It seems Chinese palates weren’t warming up to Wonderland, and so this new offering was introduced this past summer.

 

Incidentally, a NYC branch (seating 400 at a swanky Bryant Park address) is opening in December, and their menu offers 9 of the 10 items on the Ovation tasting menu (minus the salad) at a significant higher price point. Diff serving sizes and rent of course, but still nice to understand the “land” equivalent.

 

- 70% of the crew was Chinese, but everyone spoke English well. I found the service on this ship to be amazing. Lots of friendly smiles, no slackers, and willingness to help.

 

A quarter of the bridge officers were also Chinese, including one of the 1st officers, who was knowledgeable, funny, and patient with everyone’s questions during the bridge tour. Probably the best bridge tour we’ve ever had.

 

- Chinese Karaoke was offered every night in the Music Hall and was probably the most popular after dinner activity. English karaoke was in Boleros.

 

- Trivia offered in both English and Chinese, as were the usual “Secrets to a Flatter Stomach”-type spa talks. No Quest, belly flop, Love and Marriage .. etc.

 

- Many more tables in the Casino, with games I wasn’t familiar with (not that I’m a huge gambler). Additional slot machines along the hallway behind the Music Hall. USD was the currency.

- Diamond Lounge is the Golden Room, with special VIP gambling tables and couches. I believe the food, coffee, and bar setup remained the same.

 

- Gym- no real difference except machines on metric system. Nice service touch to have towels neatly placed on the machines already.

 

- In the dining rooms, warm water was offered by default. As much as I wanted to “go native”, my American stomach wanted ice water with meals. No problem. They brought out a pitcher and refilled proactively.

 

- Taiwan is a gem. More on that in future posts.

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review details!

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[opmet]

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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[windjamming]

Okay, now onto the day-by-day portion of the review. We arrived in Hong Kong about a week before the cruise and spent several days in Taipei and Hong Kong. (If there’s interest I can talk about those days at the end of this review.) Throughout the cruise I took LOTS of pictures - many blurry but I wanted to capture what was a very different experience for me.

 

DAY 1 - HONG KONG

This was THE day. After months of planning, then flying 8000 miles, then a week sightseeing on land, we were finally going on the Ovation.

 

We took a car from the hotel. Almost there!

 

 

The cruise terminal is the former airport. Here’s the drop off area.

 

 

We’re not at Cape Liberty anymore.

 

 

And finally onboard. This looks familiar!

 

 

As one does at Cafe 270, one gets a roast beef sandwich. Except when I asked for a sandwich, the guy gave me 2 slices of roast beef with mayo (blech) and horseradish cream (double blech) but no bread. So maybe low carb is the thing here? Roast beef was tasty, though I avoided the condiments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[windjamming]

I can’t get over how all the signs are familiar yet aren’t.

 

 

 

 

Muster is a bit of a nightmare as directions aren't clear. They are announced in both English and Cantonese. After we are finally released by the Captain, we get the scoop on entertainment (book for Pixels and that’s it) at Boleros, where they’ve set up a box office, and then head up to the Concierge Lounge for Sailaway:

 

 

Tonight we eat at the Coastal Kitchen. No food pics.

 

 

 

 

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[windjamming]

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.

 

 

Thanks for the kind words, opmet! I'm just so glad to have a partner in review writing here - I'm really enjoying your review. It's like getting a bonus cruise, as you did so many things we didn't do.

 

Ah, that makes sense about the travel agency booking. I thought it was neat that the SeaPasses even had the travel agency's name printed on it.

[opmet]

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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[datolim]

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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A roast beef sandwich is a roast beef sandwich. You didn't miss much.

[LuCruise]

Thanks for doing a report. Look forward to reading more. You don't see many reports on this ship.

 

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[Clarea]

Enjoiying the review and photos.:)