Guy Gadwa

How did the RC transfer work out for you guys? I thought it was the worst thing RC ever offered. I think it also might be independent of them. Even though we were told they run every 30mins, we waited 2hrs to leave. I vowed to only use ride sharing from there on out. Plane landed at 9:35 and we didn't get on ship until almost 3pm, missed out of food......?

Internet speed test.

We have made it on the ship!

currently in the windjammer....stuffing food in our mouths since we are hungry!  More updates in a bit about the transfer, embarkation process etc. later. Muster is soon, then we have to get the kids registered for adventure ocean. Time for some more food. But first, find some booze!

So we are here at the airport waiting for the shuttle. For people who are considering the the Royal Caribbean sponsored shuttle, the check in desk is located in terminal C right next to the #10 baggage carousel. 
 

Pay attention to what the people at the desk tell you. There are multiple shuttles today headed to the port. After we got checked in there was a group of people who had checked in earlier that came back to the waiting area and they had actually missed their bus. It must have only been by a minute or two, because they were able to make a call to hold that one up. 
 
Our ticket in the eDocs say meet between 11-12, but as we checked in, we were told that once everyone is checked in the bus will leave, so you shouldn’t wander far. They have a list of everyone’s arrival times, but they must not get the dates. One of the reps said they were about to call me because our arrival time was listed at 1:35, but that was yesterday, not today. 

Heading to the shuttle!!

Some picture from throughout the day. Tonight is the first formal night so we plan on getting all fancy later.
 

I assume that you are sleeping on the couch, because your daughter is definitely wondering why you are taking pictures in HER room.

Writing this from Central Park after a perfect day at coco cat. Wow life can’t get much better! So yesterday the start of the cruise. We left our villa at 9am and arrived in port Canaveral at 10am after a 10 minute wait in line to drop off the car on the shuttle we went and off to the port. The porters grabbed our luggage (we over pack 5 people 6 large suitcases, 2 small carry on roller bags and a small duffel bag) and off to the terminal we went. Literally 2 people ahead of us for security then off to check in that took less than 5 minutes no line but I needed a new photo then right onto the ship. We were on-board by 10:45! Next we went to bolaros to reprogram our old wow bands and to get the first drink. I have the deluxe drink package so at the recommendation of this blog the first drink I grabbed was a kracken lava flow. Then off to the solarium my favourite place on any ship. I do notice the lack of pool in harmony’s and do miss it. Ate lunch at the solarium bistro this was an amazing idea as we did not wait found a table no problem and the food was good. Then the rooms were ready! Rest of day 1 later I’m going to go enjoy sail away from my balcony with some sangria! 

two70° drink menu









Prices are $USD.

Cruise Summary
This cruise was a pretty fantastic experience overall.  New Zealand is pretty amazing and every port was very welcoming.   Sydney was a great city to start from.  
A couple of days pre-cruise to adjust to local time was perfect.  In general terms I haven't found the time changes to be that hard on the system on either end.  The long flight helps the transition.  
I was able to use credit cards in most cases so there wasn't a need for a lot of cash.
Third time on Ovation.  I'm very comfortable with Quantum class and it was a good fit for this cruise and the environmentals around New Zealand.  Tendering wasn't an issue, they seem to have this down to a science on Ovation.  In fact they did a better job tendering on Ovation than Vision did on a recent cruise with a tender port.  
I booked this cruise for the ports of New Zealand yet the time in Fiordland was the highlight of the cruise.
This was a photo intensive cruise.  Picture stats: 4,828 pictures taken, 870 posted.  
I hope you enjoyed following along and I thank you for viewing.
PS - some menu pictures coming soon.

Day 6:
We had breakfast and drinks delivered this morning then off to the Dolphin and Manatee Encounter.  There we had a ton of fun. I kissed a girl dolphin and a boy manatee.  I preferred the girl dolphin, so I don’t know what that says about me ?
Would not recommend lunch at the encounter. ?
we purchased the photo shoot and it turned out awesome!
grabbed a taxi and went down town for a real lunch and shopping, taxi back and port shopping.  Had enough of the shopping
back on board, drinks and cookies waiting for us.
cleaning up for a CK dinner!

ANOTHER CAKE

150 Central Park. Excellent food and service!

Animal Kingdom day! Woke up this morning breakfast burritos for breakfast then we had to go exchange our rental van (really just do new paper work as we booked the rest of the days using air miles) then off to animal kingdom. As soon as we got there it started pouring rain. Like we were all soaked. Off to Navi River journey thankfully this ride was indoors so we could stay out of the rain. then off to our first fast pass the festival of the lion king! Loved this show it was amazing!! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
next was another fast pass for Kilimanjaro safari. This was really well done too. My sister who has done a safari in Africa says this was really well done for Disney and even for North America. Got to see some cool animals!  
hippos 
 
baby zebra - it was so tiny
 
cheetah 
I will post more animal photos when I go through my camera photos. 
 
Then off to Starbucks we went, everyone was cold and wet still. Hot beverages for all and an animal kingdom Starbucks cup were bought. Then it was time to find lunch wow this was harder than I thought. I found there were less food stands in animal kingdom than in magic kingdom. Finally a hot dog was consumed by me than off to ride triceratops spin this was a fun children’s ride but i enjoyed it. Then off to dinosaur. This was my favourite ride of the day! It was amazing!! A thrill ride was enjoyed! Then time for a bugs life show. This was really well done and we all enjoyed it. It reminded me of the 4D rides at universal but those are better. Then it was time to make the long trek back to the car! 
 
then on to Florida Mall for the m &m store! Got to visit them all! Actually I have! Did some shopping got some new dress pants on sale boring but very useful! Then home for dinner of heart shaped pizza, salad wine and chocolate covered strawberries. All in all a good day! 
 
Final Disney thoughts: I enjoyed going to Disney and it was a fantastic experience! Magic kingdom was WAY better than animal kingdom! Part of it was the weather but I also enjoyed more rides at magic kingdom and more characters everywhere. As a whole next time I will do magic kingdom and universal studios! I think that’s my best fit!  
 
 
 
 
 

That's how we feel every time without them! ?
Save that gif for our Odyssey Inaugural joint monster blog. ?

If I wasn’t traveling with the kids, I would have been like...

Our dog Rusty would prefer to come with us as well. He is a huge snuggler, and sometimes I feel that we are his “emotional support humans” It is hard to leave him with the boarders sometimes.

I mean, look at that face!

All seated on our next flight. The plane is oversold and they are now offering A $3000 travel voucher for people to take a later flight! Next stop Houston!

Well, the train wreck that is Newark Airport has not disappointed. After a brief and uneventful flight, we have landed at Newark, annnnnnd of course we are early, no gate is available for our plane to go to, so we are sitting on the tarmac waiting for one to open up........Nothing you can do but ? 
 

Peace out Albany

This plane is little!

Well it’s @waaaytooo early, but we have made it to the airport. Coffee has need procured, and it’s go time.
One day till we go on a cruise, one day till we go. The sun comes up, and goes back down, one day till we go on our cruise!
 

Oh no!  Last nachos on board until January 2021!  ?
 

and if anyone has the chance for this pizza it’s called “carnivore”....it is delicious!  They only had it a few days of the 9 nights but when they did you would want to grab a piece!  YUM!
 

Today is the last sea day and last full day of the cruise ?.  Not a whole lot planned today.  We are taking the diamond and above level entertainment tour (which we have never done before) this morning.  Today is also the tshirt sale day so we are hitting that up!  We plan on some mini golf this afternoon too!  

If there is anything anyone wants to see please let us know and we will try to get it posted.  Only a few more cruises for this ship before dry dock (and it needs it)!

Following!!! ?