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paradise4me

paradise4me

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Just waiting for it to post but it was such an awesome cruise. There were no complaints. People say it was crowded but it’s a show you wanted to really see then get there 15 minutes earlier. It’s really easy to have a great time and pretty hard to have a bad time!

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viviancartman

viviancartman

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I’m looking forward to your review! I’ll be on the Ovation in 62 days time cruising around NZ. And since you’ve offered to answer some questions....

 

How was the food? There are tons of reviews of people complaining about bland and cold food. 

 

What was your favourite NZ port?

 

What shows were playing on your cruise?

 

Thanks!

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paradise4me

paradise4me

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4 hours ago, viviancartman said:

I’m looking forward to your review! I’ll be on the Ovation in 62 days time cruising around NZ. And since you’ve offered to answer some questions....

 

How was the food? There are tons of reviews of people complaining about bland and cold food. 

 

What was your favourite NZ port?

 

What shows were playing on your cruise?

 

Thanks!

We've been on many Royal cruises and the food is about the same. Nothing we ate was cold, the menu varied with plenty of choices, it was good but not as good as 10 years ago. We did chops, Jaimes and Wonderland and feel Jaimes was the best the others not much better than the dining room.

I cant pick a favorite port, all of them were mind blowing one way or another. Just plain stunning! We stayed with Royal excursions being unfamiliar with the region but in hindsight would go out on our own at any of them. The people everywhere were incredibly nice and I would move to Taraunga across the street from the beach if I could!

Pixels was the best show we saw. The singers and dancers were awesome but they are about the same on all cruises. They had some comedians that were ok, people were saying if you lived in Australia you would get more of their jokes 🙂 

 

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paradise4me

paradise4me

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51 minutes ago, mumsy1959 said:

Booked on Ovation for March 8th to New Zealand..looking forward to any suggestions or recommendations you have. Glad you had such a wonderful time

Just make sure if you want to do the ifly and Northstar to book online before you go. There are alot of people doing that. Try and do Northstar on the sounds day. Its incredible!

 

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mumsy1959

mumsy1959

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48 minutes ago, paradise4me said:

Just make sure if you want to do the ifly and Northstar to book online before you go. There are alot of people doing that. Try and do Northstar on the sounds day. Its incredible!

 

Thanks for the tip...says Northstar not available to book online..but will certainly do the Ifly.

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

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1 hour ago, paradise4me said:

Just make sure if you want to do the ifly and Northstar to book online before you go. There are alot of people doing that. Try and do Northstar on the sounds day. Its incredible!

 

Suggest you book any outside activities earlier on the cruise on sea days...since Northstar (in particular) and iFLY don't operate on days when seas are rougher - and the Tasman Sea between Sydney and New Zealand can be quite choppy on some days.  That gives you a chance to rebook onboard if needed. We got on Northstar on the 2nd day on the way to New Zealand and I did iFLY on the first day at sea.

 

Ovation is quite the ship...and this whole cruise is absolutely a "bucket list" experience.

 

Coming in a few days early and enjoying Sydney was also a big plus. While there is a Zoo in the city, highly recommend a Southern Coast Tour that includes a stop at the Symbio WIld Animal Park about an hour away - an open sanctuary where you can actually walk among scores of Kangaroos and be up close with the Koalas. Without those things...we would not have felt we saw Australia.

120918 B5_Sydney_Harbor Area.jpg

121118 E6 Sydney Southern Coastline Tour_Symbio Wildlife Park_Koala.jpg

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countess5 "Live from...." Rare

countess5

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Thanks for your thoughts, we will be boarding Ovation on January 17th for the 12 day NZ cruise. Can’t wait to sail the sounds. What time in the morning did you hit the first sound? I know going in will be the same as coming out but want to take it all in.

 

We have sailed Anthem in the Mediterranean so know the class of ship which 270 is a nice touch! 

 

Cheers

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

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2 minutes ago, countess5 said:

Thanks for your thoughts, we will be boarding Ovation on January 17th for the 12 day NZ cruise. Can’t wait to sail the sounds. What time in the morning did you hit the first sound? I know going in will be the same as coming out but want to take it all in.

 

We have sailed Anthem in the Mediterranean so know the class of ship which 270 is a nice touch! 

 

Cheers

Milford and Doubtful Sounds are roughly starting 9am and 1pm respectively.

 

121518 A7_OVATION of the SEAS Approaching Milford Sound, New Zealand.jpg

121518 C3_OVATION of the SEAS Milford Sound, New Zealand.jpg

121518 D2_OVATION of the SEAS Doubtful Sound, New Zealand.jpg

121518 C1_OVATION of the SEAS Milford Sound, New Zealand.jpg

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

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26 minutes ago, countess5 said:

Beautiful!  We hope our weather is as nice! 

 

Thanks

Indeed.  Our 4 days in Sydney averaged 76 degrees (F) and nice. Departure day on the cruise started 4 days of rain in Sydney - so it's tough to predict. Terrific weather all days we were there.

 

On the cruise...we had 1 choppy day at sea and another that was overcast but OK. On the 6 days in New Zealand, we had 3 hours of mist in one port that stopped quickly, and the rest of the weather was sunny in all locations and about 70 degrees (F). While in any ports or in the Sounds...the weather was great.

 

One thing to keep in mind...since New Zealand is actually 2 islands...the Southern ports are cooler than the Northern ones. It makes sense when you realize the Southern area is closer to the Antarctic.

 

One final recommendation...the Taieri Gorge Railway EXCURSION tour in Dunedin.  The RCI tour cost is much higher than booking it directly through a travel service like Viat-r. The views are stunning, and the train itself enjoyable and comfortable.

 

121618 E6_OVATION of the SEAS_Dunedin, New Zealand Railway Tour.jpg

121618 F4_OVATION of the SEAS_Dunedin, New Zealand Railway Tour.jpg

121618 G5_OVATION of the SEAS_Dunedin, New Zealand Railway Tour.jpg

Edited by CRUISEFAN0001
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countess5 "Live from...." Rare

countess5

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Thanks for the weather info, we have been watching it and one thing for sure is that it is unpredictable. Will pack warm and cooler clothing. Cooler weather not an issue, just hope rain can be avoided. 

 

The train is not in our plans we have another private tour booked but I am sure whatever we see it will be stunning. Your pictures look great. 

 

One additional question, how was the tendering? We are Diamond so hope the C&A helps. It is a large ship and a lot of people to move. Do they use the life boats as the tenders. That happened in Edinburgh last year and was a nightmare. 

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paradise4me

paradise4me

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5 hours ago, countess5 said:

Thanks for the weather info, we have been watching it and one thing for sure is that it is unpredictable. Will pack warm and cooler clothing. Cooler weather not an issue, just hope rain can be avoided. 

 

The train is not in our plans we have another private tour booked but I am sure whatever we see it will be stunning. Your pictures look great. 

 

One additional question, how was the tendering? We are Diamond so hope the C&A helps. It is a large ship and a lot of people to move. Do they use the life boats as the tenders. That happened in Edinburgh last year and was a nightmare. 

We had Eli as our diamond concierge and she would ask us the day before if we had ship shore excursions or not because if not she would escort us down to the tenders and bypass most. We did that in Auckland. She was amazing, the best I have ever had on any Royal ship. And yes they use the life boats as tenders.

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countess5 "Live from...." Rare

countess5

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Thank you for that info, I will work with Eli if she is still onboard or whoever the Diamond concierge is. We are all Diamond or Diamond Plus.When she did help you did it take long to get off and get to shore? We have, of course, times we need to meet our guides.

 

Thank you again

 

Cheers

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