Ovation of the Seas bad reviews in China

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I ‘m hoping they keep the Kung foo panda noodle place. It would be fun to try something different.

 

I would love to have that as well.

[Havingfun2010]

The issue isn't the Asian food. The issue is the quality of the food - amongst other things.

 

Well, I was on Quantum, and although generally speaking food on ships is not high quality, but I found it to be about the same as in the USA or in Europe on the ship. The Asian dishes seemed fine.

 

I tell you what, I was so happy to get off in Hong Kong and have genuine Asian food. And Beijing where I started the cruise also had a wonderful range and good quality.

 

Eating both in Beijing and Shanghai, I could tell you, that most of my meals were great, but I did have some questionable quality also. It's like anyplace.

 

However, the food and dining service onboard Ovation were terrible - and not good quality Asian food by any stretch.

 

Given how widely Asian food pervades Australia and the US, you might want to question why there is an overwhelming consensus of negativity about the food onboard before you make assumptions. Do you really think only Westerners who can't handle anything foreign are sailing Ovation there?

 

The reviews come from Westerners. It would be very difficult to find a review from a Chinese citizen. When a review calls the food on the ship "exotic" when it's really basic, shows that their is a lack of understanding. I read many reviews, and if you dig deeper into the review, the common theme is always based on culture differences without the understanding of the culture. The quantum got such low reviews, but yet, it was the best cruise I was on with service, and food. I enjoyed the extra variety. No, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad.

 

The poster was reading Asian review, which all have some common themes to them. It's not really the ship is bad, but the passengers, and the other theme is often the misunderstanding that this ship is in Asia.

[Caon74]

Obviously the cruise director wasn’t jof eaton

Why would you say that,Joff Eaton is one of the best cruise directors around.

[FOXTROT]

This spring did 35 days, not long enough. First cruise was out of Sydney & returned to Sydney. That was geared more towards the Australians. Don't get me wrong that is not a bad thing. Second cruise was heading to Hawaii. That cruise was leaning more American. Third cruise was the usual American flare.

[PCWalton1]

My family and I are cruising on the Ovation of the Seas next year when it goes to Alaska. Asa part of my research, I have read many reviews from multiple sites. One pattern I see regularly is that when the ship is in Australia or New Zealand, the reviews are mostly good, but when it is China and Singapore, the reviews are consistently poor.

It strikes me that the focus of the negative reviews relates to the overwhelming abundance of Asian food and the behavior of the passengers. It strikes me that the tone of the reviews may mainly relate to who the cruise line is treating as their core demographic for a particular itinerary. I would be surprised next year to see the majority of the food remain Asian themed when the ship goes to Alaska, and I would also expect that if passengers from China came over and took the cruise in America, there would likely be many things we do that would shock them.

 

Is that the impression that anyone else gets when they look at ship reviews of the cruises based out of Asia?

 

We spent 17 wonderful days on Ovation back in April. Here is the link to my review/report.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2620307

 

The ship is great, you will have a wonderful time.

[Chiliburn]

Why would you say that,Joff Eaton is one of the best cruise directors around.

People keep telling me that and I can't understand the appeal.

We saw the captain 4 more times than jof and the hotel director was more entertainment.

[The_Big_M]

The issue isn't the Asian food. The issue is the quality of the food - amongst other things.

 

Well, I was on Quantum, and although generally speaking food on ships is not high quality, but I found it to be about the same as in the USA or in Europe on the ship. The Asian dishes seemed fine.

 

We are talking about Ovation here, not Quantum.

 

I have sailed both Quantum and Ovation in China. I agree with you that I found the food on Quantum reasonable. However, Ovation was completely different, hence a stark difference in my experience and ratings between the ships. You'd think they'd be the same - but they aren't.

 

I actually raised it with the F&B manager on Ovation and was surprised that he confirmed there were differences in provisioning and processes between the two ships, but his recommendation was just to 'let a staff member know if there's something you're looking for' which doesn't address the root issue about quality, and doesn't greatly improve the experience, to have to chase things up all the time.

[luv2cruiseau]

Would be but most likely not going happen...

 

We travelled on Ovation out of Sydney and it was still Kung Foo Noodles. No Johnny Rocket on our cruise.

[BekkaW]

We travelled on Ovation out of Sydney and it was still Kung Foo Noodles. No Johnny Rocket on our cruise.

Agreed, Ovation has never had Johnny Rockets and I don’t think that will change

[vrock]

I hope they keep the kung foo panda for the alaska sailings.

[Chiliburn]

I’ve been on ovation 4 times and I’ve hardly seen anyone in

Kung foo panda.

I think next refit they’ll get rid of it but not while in service.

[The_Big_M]

If she's not sailing in Asia at all I can see Kung fu being removed. But when transitioning between Asia and elsewhere it stays.

[Blizzard54]

If she's not sailing in Asia at all I can see Kung fu being removed. But when transitioning between Asia and elsewhere it stays.

 

I believe it will be doing Alaska and Australia. I assume they will monitor its usage and possible make a change during the next drydock if warranted.

[The_Big_M]

I believe it will be doing Alaska and Australia. I assume they will monitor its usage and possible make a change during the next drydock if warranted.

 

Most likely no need to even wait for dry dock. When they switched out Rita's cantina to seafood, it was done between voyages without waiting for dry dock. Similarly when they remodel facilities between Aust/China on Ovation, also done without dry dock. No need for just redecorating.

[Blizzard54]

Most likely no need to even wait for dry dock. When they switched out Rita's cantina to seafood, it was done between voyages without waiting for dry dock. Similarly when they remodel facilities between Aust/China on Ovation, also done without dry dock. No need for just redecorating.

 

Someone was referring to changing the noodle bar into Johnny Rockets. Changing the menu might be easy enough but redecorating is a bit more of a project. Of course all this is speculation on our part.

[dchurchward]

Someone was referring to changing the noodle bar into Johnny Rockets. Changing the menu might be easy enough but redecorating is a bit more of a project. Of course all this is speculation on our part.

I would think they could change it when the ship repositions from China to Australia, or from Australia to the west coast. Even changing the branding could be done during a repositioning cruise.

 

Sent from my LG-H910 using Forums mobile app

[The_Big_M]

Someone was referring to changing the noodle bar into Johnny Rockets. Changing the menu might be easy enough but redecorating is a bit more of a project. Of course all this is speculation on our part.

 

Yes, all the examples I gave were of redecorative tasks, including at the other restaurant, which have been done during regular sailings.