OVATION May 13-24 *LIVE* in ALASKA w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

3 minutes ago, twangster said:

 my noon flight.

 

Safe travels to you Twangster!

Thank you formtiur awesome photos and

time lapse

[Hoopster95]

One last departure photo to end the live portion of this review.

 

Goodbye for now Ovation... I hope to be back sooner than later.

 

[The Sain]

Just read entire thread in just over an hour.  We sail her a week from today.

 

Best tips I learned on this thread:

 

Install the RC IQ app

Go directly to Seaplex - book escape room, get booked for IFly and N. Star asap

Chops may be a bit of a let down compared to other ships

WJ is well laid out and satisfying with themed dinners

Lots of great seating areas to enjoy the views

Gotta check out what Diamond perks are available (our first cruise as Diamond)

 

Thanks everyone for your postings and contributions.  Love this community forum!

[AlanF65]

1.25 hours wait for a cab had to change my flight cab line a mess

[twangster]

Wow this crummy airport wifi is amazingly fast!  (compared to Ovation).

 

With the 'faster' internet I was able to upload a video from Juneau - Five Glacier Float Plane tour featuring the Norris, Taku, Hole-in-the-wall, and East/West Twin glaciers.

 

10 minutes long.

 

 

 

[eel]

On our way to the Windjammer this morning I passed by Fish and Ships.  It looked nearly ready but I suspect they won’t start serving for a few more days.  I took the following pics including one of the menu.  I suspect you can get the first two items free with cover charge but the other items have an up charge.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by eel

[AlanF65]

4 minutes ago, eel said:

On our way to the Windjammer this morning I passed by Fish and Ships.  It looked nearly ready but I suspect they won’t start serving for a few more days.  I took the following pics including one of the menu.  I suspect you can get the first two items free with cover charge but the other items have an up charge.

 

 

Lee 

Was uber or Lyft simple or long wait? 

When did your group get off?

[eel]

Now that we have good WIFI at the airport (and a long wait for our flight) I thought I would post a few more pics from the cruise.

 

First there are a few pictures of Hoopster95 and the lovely Julia from Guest Services during Dancing with the Stripes. 

 

Also another from our last ride on Northstar, a shot of the fabulous indoor pool, and some impromptu entertainers at the Windjammer.

[eel]

8 minutes ago, AlanF65 said:

Lee 

Was uber or Lyft simple or long wait? 

When did your group get off?

We had a group of 6 and used Seattle Express shuttle.  Only $15 per person pre- booked (discounted due to group size).  We did not have luggage because we used port valet but many on the shuttle did.  We left ship about 9:45 am and where at the airport by 11 am.

[johnt83]

@Hoopster95 The group admin of the Ovation of the Seas facebook group is asking if we can use the first pic on this thread (Ovation with Mountains in the background) as the cover photo. I wanted to check with you first.

 

I also gave you picture credit of the pic you took of Ovation docked in Seattle and share it with not only my friends on facebook but also the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor society group as well as the Ovation of the Seas group. And another kudos to you all for this wonderful thread, I referenced it in the comments as well for the 2 public group posts.

[eel]

For those who are curious about the top brass on board, here is a list they gave out.  Note the hotel director was going on vacation today. And I am sure others will depart as contracts end.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are currently on the post cruise tour from hell. No commentary at all. The driver never claimed to be a guide, just a driver. We were supposed to go to the Space Needle. Instead we went to an observation tower with no explanation. Just pulled up, told us that this was our drop off, he would pick us up in an hour and don't be late.  Same thing with Pikes Market. We only had an hour and he dropped us off two blocks away. We barely had any time to look around. On the way to Starbucks he hit a school bus and broke the mirror off the bus. He didn't stop. Now we are waiting at the Starbucks for a replacement bus. His comment was, "Oh well, it happens". It is a good thing we have a later flight, but some people are worried since they have a 3 pm flight. We have friends on the other bus doing the same tour and they told us when we met at one stop that they are having a great tour with a great driver/guide. I have done other RCI tours and never have had an experience like this. Expensive tour. Who do I contact at RCI about this? 

 

Some on our bus have now gotten off and are taking Uber to the airport. 

 

This is the Seattle City Tour with Airport Drop Off. 

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Sunny AZ Girl

[Lloyd555]

I assume there was no piano player in the elevators. Any talk of there being one on board in the future?

[AlanF65]

5 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Well well well... Alan, you must be already out?

Nah I was in the luggage area just before 10. My bags weren't in my group number, they were 5 groups away mixed with a lot of other bags. Took about 10 minutes to find, I had a porter and with an over hour wait for a cab, needless to say he earned a big tip.

 

Cab driver didn't flat rate me. I was going to give a decent tip to make up for it but cut it back. Trying to decide if I should report him.

 

Planning on a taxi was an expensive mistake on my part. Last year when I got off EOS it looked like a 5 minute wait.

 

Hope you had a nice ride home. Was great meeting and dining with you.

A

Edited May 24, 2019 by AlanF65

[Scottishmum40]

2 hours ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

We are currently on the post cruise tour from hell. No commentary at all. The driver never claimed to be a guide, just a driver. We were supposed to go to the Space Needle. Instead we went to an observation tower with no explanation. Just pulled up, told us that this was our drop off, he would pick us up in an hour and don't be late.  Same thing with Pikes Market. We only had an hour and he dropped us off two blocks away. We barely had any time to look around. On the way to Starbucks he hit a school bus and broke the mirror off the bus. He didn't stop. Now we are waiting at the Starbucks for a replacement bus. His comment was, "Oh well, it happens". It is a good thing we have a later flight, but some people are worried since they have a 3 pm flight. We have friends on the other bus doing the same tour and they told us when we met at one stop that they are having a great tour with a great driver/guide. I have done other RCI tours and never have had an experience like this. Expensive tour. Who do I contact at RCI about this? 

 

Some on our bus have now gotten off and are taking Uber to the airport. 

 

This is the Seattle City Tour with Airport Drop Off. 

 

Wow this sounds awful 😮 

 

Drop an email to royalguestrelations@rccl.com If I’ve had any problems on a cruise they’ve been great and I think probably your best bet for post cruise problems too. 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

58 minutes ago, Scottishmum40 said:

Wow this sounds awful 😮 

 

Drop an email to royalguestrelations@rccl.com If I’ve had any problems on a cruise they’ve been great and I think probably your best bet for post cruise problems too. 

Thank you. I have already completed the post cruise survey and described it in detail. I will also follow up with the email. 

 

In fairness, I should mention that friends of ours ended up on another bus for the same tour. They had a great tour and an excellent driver/guide. So, we were just unlucky with our driver. We have his name and number, so I will be sure to specify which driver it was. 

[Jimbo]

9 hours ago, drusierdmd said:

Key breakfast. Icon deck 4.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

Maybe I read it wrong on the earlier pages of this thread but I thought earlier in the cruise you asked for and got your money back at GS for "The Key "which you said wasn't much use to you and your family on this sailing? Did you still eat the "The Key" breakfast when debarking this morning?

[Ourusualbeach]

5 hours ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

We are currently on the post cruise tour from hell. No commentary at all. The driver never claimed to be a guide, just a driver. We were supposed to go to the Space Needle. Instead we went to an observation tower with no explanation. Just pulled up, told us that this was our drop off, he would pick us up in an hour and don't be late.  Same thing with Pikes Market. We only had an hour and he dropped us off two blocks away. We barely had any time to look around. On the way to Starbucks he hit a school bus and broke the mirror off the bus. He didn't stop. Now we are waiting at the Starbucks for a replacement bus. His comment was, "Oh well, it happens". It is a good thing we have a later flight, but some people are worried since they have a 3 pm flight. We have friends on the other bus doing the same tour and they told us when we met at one stop that they are having a great tour with a great driver/guide. I have done other RCI tours and never have had an experience like this. Expensive tour. Who do I contact at RCI about this? 

 

Some on our bus have now gotten off and are taking Uber to the airport. 

 

This is the Seattle City Tour with Airport Drop Off. 

 

Post cruise customer service 800-256-6649

[drusierdmd]

Maybe I read it wrong on the earlier pages of this thread but I thought earlier in the cruise you asked for and got your money back at GS for "The Key "which you said wasn't much use to you and your family on this sailing? Did you still eat the "The Key" breakfast when debarking this morning?

GS offered to allow us to enjoy the key breakfast. Not my idea but I'm not going to turn it down.

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[scottsgal]

22 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Thank God I have not had hardly any MDR/MTD the last several years... it has really become even a worse issue (can it possibly get any worse?) if last night’s offering was any indication. 

 

I am sorry to say that Windjammer fully outperformed MTD/MDR ... as was my expectation on this sailing from my MTD experiences  the last few years. Sigh 😕

 

Totally agree with this.  We were on the repo cruise from Hawaii before yours and the MDR food was awful,  probably the worst of 30+ cruises. Had 3 nights in specialty which were good.  Windjammer definitely better than MDR in our opinion as well, so many options to choose from and layed-out well, we ate several dinners there.

 

Great review and pictures - Ovation is an excellent ship for that area, great crew as well. 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

27 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Post cruise customer service 800-256-6649

Thank you. I will call them. 

[Baowen]

Just watched you guys sail away from my place in West Seattle.  It looks like the North Star was up as you sailed out.

 

Have a great cruise!

Edited May 25, 2019 by Baowen
OOps - meant that for the Sailing starting today

[Jimbo]

57 minutes ago, drusierdmd said:

GS offered to allow us to enjoy the key breakfast. Not my idea but I'm not going to turn it down.

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That was so unlike them to do that for you..................

[twangster]

Cruise Compass posted.

 

Ovation of the Seas May 13, 2019 11 Nights Cruise Compass

 

Adventure Ocean, Babies and Tots and partial Teens Cruise Compass

Edited May 25, 2019 by twangster

[cft8]

What was the scheduled arrival time? Ours is 4:30am and I understand from a poster on the West Coast Departures board that the Ovation sailings are split with some having the 4:30am arrival and others having a 6am arrival (which was our original time; I can't remember exactly when I was notified it changed). Just wondering whether Hoopster's picture of the departure timings is a good guideline for our group or if I should wait for a post from a sailing with the 4:30am arrival. 

 

To be clear, I have no intention of getting off the ship at the crack of dawn, but others in my group are curious about the schedule.