Ovation to Alaska.....thoughts from recent cruisers

[waykaylincruz]

Embarking on Ovation this upcoming Friday and wondered how the past few cruises have been? Curious as to how the service and crowds have been. 

 

Any tips on things that should not be missed while on the ship? 

 

In regards to the ports, I think I have researched and came up with a fairly decent gameplan. Any tips or suggestions to what I might have missed?

 

Sitka:  tour on our own ..  want to go Sitka National Park

Skagway: White Pass Scenic railway

Juneau:  Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier 

Victoria:   City tour with PediCab

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

There have been two live reports from Ovation cruises in the past month:

 

and

 

There is other Ovation information available as well. You can click in the "Search" bar in the upper right, before you type anything, and get a drop-down menu where you can click "This forum" and "Content titles only" to make sure that you're only getting results that are primarily/exclusively about the Ovation of the Seas.

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by la_croisiere_s'amuse

[deliver42]

We were on the Ovation last September on the same itinerary, and loved it. Your choices for tours are spot on. The ship was only about 50% capacity at that time, but the crew was great, the food was good, and the ship, spotless. Can't ask for more, except for better weather.

[mrpie90]

16 hours ago, waykaylincruz said:

Embarking on Ovation this upcoming Friday and wondered how the past few cruises have been? Curious as to how the service and crowds have been. 

 

Any tips on things that should not be missed while on the ship? 

 

In regards to the ports, I think I have researched and came up with a fairly decent gameplan. Any tips or suggestions to what I might have missed?

 

Sitka:  tour on our own ..  want to go Sitka National Park

Skagway: White Pass Scenic railway

Juneau:  Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier 

Victoria:   City tour with PediCab

What is a pedicab?

[mrpie90]

1 hour ago, mrpie90 said:

What is a pedicab?

 

1 hour ago, mrpie90 said:

What is a pedicab?

Ha.

I think they renamed the Rickshaw

[AeroBaldness]

Just off Ovation last week.  We did an amazing double excursion day in Skagway.  Great call on the White Pass Railway.  We booked the 9am.  By pure accident, we jumped on the back car which "lucked" us in to incredible views as you can step out on the the platforms between cars and the back car gave us unobstructed views going both directions.  You have to share and most folks (except 2 jack ###es) we very kind about rotating.  THEN, in the afternoon (2pm) we did the Helicopter, glacier walk combo.  It was like nothing we have ever done (I'll reply with some pics from my phone when time permits).  I'll get to tell bar tales about "that one time I was stranded on a glacier" as battery issues on our helicopter allowed us almost an additional hour on the glacier.  You travel out in pairs with 2 helicopters and both pilots have great local and glacier knowledge.  Emily, who used to be a guide, now pilot and guide held court while we waited for our new ride and shared so  much great info.  Making this an even bigger bonus was that due to fog and floating ice, we did not get to see The Mendenhall Glacier the next day.  BTW, we even had time for lunch back on the ship in between excursions.  

[Jimbo]

15 minutes ago, AeroBaldness said:

Just off Ovation last week.  We did an amazing double excursion day in Skagway.  Great call on the White Pass Railway.  We booked the 9am.  By pure accident, we jumped on the back car which "lucked" us in to incredible views as you can step out on the the platforms between cars and the back car gave us unobstructed views going both directions.  You have to share and most folks (except 2 jack ###es) we very kind about rotating.  THEN, in the afternoon (2pm) we did the Helicopter, glacier walk combo.  It was like nothing we have ever done (I'll reply with some pics from my phone when time permits).  I'll get to tell bar tales about "that one time I was stranded on a glacier" as battery issues on our helicopter allowed us almost an additional hour on the glacier.  You travel out in pairs with 2 helicopters and both pilots have great local and glacier knowledge.  Emily, who used to be a guide, now pilot and guide held court while we waited for our new ride and shared so  much great info.  Making this an even bigger bonus was that due to fog and floating ice, we did not get to see The Mendenhall Glacier the next day.  BTW, we even had time for lunch back on the ship in between excursions.  

How was that knowing the first helicopter you were on couldn't continue the tour. That would have freaked out my wife, what if they had the issue while flying?

[AeroBaldness]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

How was that knowing the first helicopter you were on couldn't continue the tour. That would have freaked out my wife, what if they had the issue while flying?

Strangely, it barely bothered either of us at all.  It helped that both pilots appeared unfazed and Emily in particular lauded over how well run Telesco  (the tour company) is run; you could feel this from the moment the bus picked us up and we arrived at their building.  

[AeroBaldness]

[AeroBaldness]

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, AeroBaldness said:

Strangely, it barely bothered either of us at all.  It helped that both pilots appeared unfazed and Emily in particular lauded over how well run Telesco  (the tour company) is run; you could feel this from the moment the bus picked us up and we arrived at their building.  

Maybe you were both in shock and hadn't comprehended the situation.🤣

[AeroBaldness]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Maybe you were both in shock and hadn't comprehended the situation.🤣

LOL, likely also correlated to the fact that we had the beverage package and stopped for lunch before... 

[jeffkolyn]

Hey all, first time poster, sailing soon on Ovation in room 6642 J4.  Does anyone know if the Bus Shelter smoking room is still there?  Trying to figure out if I need to move my room to one of the few others that are left.

[Ozark_Kid]

On 5/28/2022 at 9:01 PM, waykaylincruz said:

Juneau:  Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier 

We had this booked a week ago and it was canceled due to lack of workers.  We were able on ship to book a shorter, just whale watching,  excursion. 

On 5/28/2022 at 9:01 PM, waykaylincruz said:

 

Sitka:  tour on our own ..  want to go Sitka National Park

We did this and really enjoyed.   When you get around to the river look for eagles.

 

On 5/28/2022 at 9:01 PM, waykaylincruz said:

Skagway: White Pass Scenic railway

When you are done consider going to the Skagway Brewing Co.  Order the Halibut and chips.  Best we ever ate.  Also go to Doughboy and order one each.  They look big enough to share and they are but they are sooo good.

 

If we go to Victoria again we will do the Pedicab tour.  It was a thought but went to the Castle instead.   I think you will enjoy more on the Pedicab tour.

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, jeffkolyn said:

Does anyone know if the Bus Shelter smoking room is still there?

Welcome to CC.

 

Still there, though unlikely you'll have any affects from it.

[TekGuy22]

Hi,

We just returned from the Ovation (5/20-5/27) it was a great cruise. The one thing we had the biggest issue with was embarkation at Seattle Port 91. The check-in line was crazy. We stood in line for 90 minutes. Our 1300 check-in time meant nothing. The ship definitely back to 100% capacity based on the crowd. We took the White Pass Scenic train ride and the Victoria City bus tour. Our stop in Juneau was delayed due to an onboard emergency that required a helicopter medivac, so all excursions were  cancelled. All of the ship amenities were great. The headliner show with David Lucas is a must see. 

Enjoy your vacation!

  

[deliver42]

The bus shelter is alive and well. I smoke cigars and used it a lot last September. The best thing is you don't miss any scenery.

[bmblob]

On 5/28/2022 at 7:01 PM, waykaylincruz said:

Embarking on Ovation this upcoming Friday and wondered how the past few cruises have been? Curious as to how the service and crowds have been. 

 

Any tips on things that should not be missed while on the ship? 

 

In regards to the ports, I think I have researched and came up with a fairly decent gameplan. Any tips or suggestions to what I might have missed?

 

Sitka:  tour on our own ..  want to go Sitka National Park

Skagway: White Pass Scenic railway

Juneau:  Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier 

Victoria:   City tour with PediCab

Was on Ovation in September and had a great time.  You have got all the major sights.  Walk through the Sitka National Historical Park and cross the road to the Raptor Center.  Very easily walkable from the bus drop off point near downtown Sitka.  There is/was a reindeer hot dog station near the bus stop too.  White Pass Scenic railway definitely a great excursion.  In Juneau, there is also the Mount Roberts Tramway - if it is a clear day, you will get great scenic views.  You may have to allow a bit more time if you want to hike the easy trail to the falls, closest to the Mendenhall Glacier.  Consider too Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau, although they did not have any king crab in September (not sure if any still now).  

[Mikewa]

Going on Ovation in August.  Any chance anyone has a copy of a recent Cruse Compass?

[Markanddonna]

On a May Anthem sailing, they stopped giving the Daily Planners out to anyone who was under 65. Everything is on the app and you are forced to carry your cell phone around. We were given the planner each evening but then we fit the demographic of being incapable of using a cell phone app. 😂

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

On a May Anthem sailing, they stopped giving the Daily Planners out to anyone who was under 65.

Your experience may not be the same as others on the same sailing and certainly not as on other sailings/ships.

[Mikewa]

Wow - I'm close to, but not at the 65 mark.  I would really like paper to look at.  

[crzndeb]

19 minutes ago, Mikewa said:

Wow - I'm close to, but not at the 65 mark.  I would really like paper to look at.  

Since this thread is about the Ovation to Alaska, you should get one, unless something has changed since I was in the May 5 sailing. I got one every night.

As you can see above, there are some Compasses posted in Live threads. However, it looks like entertainment has already changed a couple of times since I was on first sailing, so don’t count on the Compasses to be 100% the same for your sailing.

[chefchick]

I realize that every week’s sailing is a unicorn and things are always changing, but to those who have traveled so far this season, how was the MDR food and more specifically, the wait times for a table?  I am new to a Royal and keep reading that the wait times with MTD are ridiculous.  As a back up plan, was the Solarium open for dinner on your sailing?

 

And speaking of the Solarium, how crowded was it during the day?  Chair hogs in full effect?

[jeffkolyn]

On 5/30/2022 at 12:38 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

We had this booked a week ago and it was canceled due to lack of workers.  We were able on ship to book a shorter, just whale watching,  excursion. 

We did this and really enjoyed.   When you get around to the river look for eagles.

 

When you are done consider going to the Skagway Brewing Co.  Order the Halibut and chips.  Best we ever ate.  Also go to Doughboy and order one each.  They look big enough to share and they are but they are sooo good.

 

If we go to Victoria again we will do the Pedicab tour.  It was a thought but went to the Castle instead.   I think you will enjoy more on the Pedicab tour.

Hope that Juneau one is running in July.  We've already had our excursions cancelled for Skagway 3 times.