ScooterScott22

I’ll give a brief background first. Our TA was in the fall last year, UK - NYC and we had a TP booked for next May Tokyo - Seattle but L&S to Sydney - Honolulu in 2022. Of note probably our favorite cruise has been a EBPC which was 14 day with only 4 port days, so safe to say we like sea days. If you are not a fan of sea days you might find either one to be less than ideal but there are plenty of options for activities. For anyone who likes relaxing or a less hurried day the TA and TP would be great. There is as much or as little as you want to do so even someone who likes the action should still be happy. I feel that our TA was more classic, as occasionIly it even felt more like what you might see in a movie about sailing the Atlantic. Taking a walk on deck after dinner in the slightly cool air made it feel like a “crossing”. If we had stayed with the Tokyo -Seattle next year, with Russia and Alaska, I expect it would feel completely different from the TP in the South Pacific. Addressing the time change, since your on vacation adjusting time each day is not as difficult as if you were getting up for work. Adjusting, east or west bound, seems to be easier when there are no meeting or deadlines looming. All you HAVE to do is get up and have breakfast and being able to squeeze in a nap at your leisure also helps,

Wow, 4 b2b that sounds awesome!!!!!! Hope you guys have a great time. Wish we would have known before we did the L&S to the Monday on Quantum. We were trying to decide which Sydney - Honolulu to take and it didn’t really matter at the time. I did look at the rooms to see about switchIng and it looks like 10720 was the only one left on the Ovation sailing. We probably are not going to change since right now because we have 8724, and you sold us on that stateroom. So unless 8324 or 8724 opens up we are locked in place. We’ll just have to wave bon voyage to you from the Sydney shoreline.

2021 or 2022? Not sure that Australia will be accepting foreign visitors, especially from the US within the next 9 months. It came down to Ovation or Quantum and the only difference was on left on Sunday and the other on Monday. We L&S’ed to Quantum Sydney - Honolulu leaving on the Monday. Figured that give us the Sunday for checking out Sydney if we get stuck with taking a Friday flight due to the work week. If you both are leaving the day before and we can get the right room ?, maybe we could move again. Not sure what the rules are once you move things.

There is going to need to be a good deal of flexibility on everyone’s part (and patience) for a return to cruising to be successful. There will have to be a combination of plans and objectives. The plans need to be clear and well thought out but still have flexibility but the objectives, although clear and well thought out, must not be compromised. The objectives have to all start with “how can we keep our guests and crew safe while adhering to the laws and regulations of...”, and “instill confidence in our product to our guest, staff and our business partners”. If all processes from embarkation, to dining, etc. start with that thought it is easy to see that there is no “one size fits all” process that will work for all ships across the fleet or at every port. So I would expect changes as things progress, the one thing I would not like to see is a compromise to safety. They need to stick to the rules that are in place at that time and not decrease the standards around safety protocols.

Giving this thread a bump and update. A few months ago we were about the one year to go. Now this cruise is down to single digits for months. We had decided to stick with this cruise back at the one year to go mark. We even booked our flight and had a nice find on business class to Tokyo with miles. We were waiting to book hotels as there seemed to be too many question marks. And things continued to evolve. With rising cases and travel bans by other countries on the US we made the difficult decision to switch this to a Trans-Pacific in 2022. So our room is open but the cost is almost double the rate we booked at in the opening days. If anyone does happen to go on this cruise and it does sail, I would love to see a trip report or hear how it went.

Agree that some will love deck 17 and others may not. Our Star Loft Suite is scheduled for December so hoping that cruise happens but I know that we like the isolation. We have done some other lines in a similar isolated environment and it is fine for us, we are mostly there to relax and decompress so we don’t need much of the other “stuff”. Contrasting what we expect on the December cruise with our past experience with a GLS on Ovation, there was too much out and about for relaxing, the lounge and CK (And other things) on the Quantum class are just too spread out. We loved the cruise and experience and had expected more activity anyway.

So did the green or purple blow a Tire that caused the pile-up? Or sorry thought. It was NASCAR!

Probably a dumb question since they are the same class but can anyone share some key differences between the Quantum and Ovation? State room would be the same and itinerary pretty much the same so just trying to see if there is anything that might give one ship the edge.

Not sure how they calculate the space ratio, probably some version of square footage of public space vs number of guest, but that is pretty close the the other Q class ships or slight better.

We liked the Q class ship, there are some +’s and -‘s compared to other but it seemed to have more things that worked well. Sorry for bringing up another site but cruise ship deck plans has a good detail about space and feeling crowded. Since the OP’s cruise is 12n, during the school year and a repositioning that decreases odds of families and ales more singles and doubles likely per cabin. Which should help it feel less crowded.

Have two small things but they can both be frustrating in their own way. - Getting up early to go for a jog, thinking “I have a good jump starting the day”, get about halfway or more along the jogging track and find a rope and a team of pressure washers. - Finding a nice quite, relatively secluded spot to relax for a little bit and to enjoy the scenery, views or ambiance of the location. After taking things in for a bit when I’m ready for a little siesta, a group or activity of some sort comes along disturbing the peace.

On our cruise, we had some special circumstances and timing of the sail away. Because of that we asked for a specific dining location and time for that evening. We submitted the request via email before sailing and there was not an issue. So as long as you have what you want in mind for that first evening is communicated, expect that it will happen. The more details you can share, exact time, orders etc. the better it will be. Knowing the genies they may even through in a few surprises. On another day we had a later shore excursion so the evening before we just asked our genie to have dinner in the room when we got back. We ordered the Seafood tower (that might be a Star Class Requirement!) and some appetizers and they timed it nearly perfectly for our return. On the coffee question, I can share that our party did get specialty coffees on our own. Since I am the only coffee drinker And I am usually up early and either out for a a run or just to walk about, we never made a request for morning coffee. I have heard that some genies will do that on their own, so there is probably some variability. If it is important the options are either communicate that or make a direct ask of them to bring some.

Like you we found a wealth of information from the people on this thread and others on these boards. We were able to relax and enjoy the experience and let the genie work their magic since folks on here eased our itch to plan. There are some great tips and info so far but I wanted to address your item about specifically planning before hand. When we did our Grand Loft Suite last year due to a few reasons we had two specific dining requests that we submitted to the genie via email prior to the cruise. If you know that you want to do something specific, especially that first day, don’t be afraid to ask up front when you get the email from your genie. You could actually make all your requests before boarding but that takes any some of the fun that accompanies spontaneity. Enjoy!

Great info! Quick follow up on this item. We have done the one cruise in a suite so far on Ovation and did breakfast in room, Grabbed a quick bite in the suites lounge or usually had Coastal Kitchen. Is the suites breakfast In Chops available on all ships?

@WAAAYTOOO helped answer questions about the GLS for us not long ago. I can add we did Alaska last year in 10720 and were very happy. It was our first time in a GLS so we did not have many expectations about the room going in. We have done suites on other Cruise lines. For out party of three the room was large enough but we do understand it is one of the smaller suites. Since we were doing the Alaska cruise having the three balconies was really a bonus. Being on the corner and able to walk out to the side balconies on either level, as well as the back payed off. The rear balcony was fine but I feel that we saw more scenery and wildlife since we had the side also. It seems that the main benefit of the corner is if you expect less time at Open sea and more direct scenery having the corner might be a relative trade-off for the space. I’ll also add we did make the switch on our cruise next year to the middle lower room, I think 8324. So we can share more but it is almost 10 months away.

There are some great tips and info in this thread so far. One thing I think you should remember is that the general layout of the ship is the same even if it is much larger. Your will find the top decks still have the public spaces for sunning and swimming as well as other activities and some places to get drinks and eats. Progressing down you will find mainly Decks with staterooms until you reach the lower public spaces which will have theater, shops Restaurants and Casino. Yes, there is much more to do and lots more stairs and walking but if you are typically on the top decks to sunbath, swim and play person, then that will probably hold true for the larger ship. If you recognize your normal pattern of where you spend your time on the smaller ship it will help with your planning for the larger one. Unless you are doing a longer cruise like a trans Atlantic understand you will not be able to do it all. Have fun and happy planning.

Since I travel to and through MIA a lot for work, thought I would share some options. Much of this will depend on the dates of your actual cruise and what services and business will be operating. - MIA has quite a few clubs and restaurants as well as shopping so after you deplane you could just grab a bite and relax a little before hitting baggage claim. That doesn’t let you rest much but if you really take your time, you likely won’t be to the port too early. - There is a small hotel connected to the airport (Miami International Hotel?). I had to stay there once due to flight delays and it isn’t terribly nice. It would be an option to crash for a nap and grab a shower to freshen up. It is pretty cheap, like $75, so even if you are charged for a full day it is not a great cost. There are other nicer places around the airport but not sure how successful you would be on getting a day room. - You could see if you could purchase a day pass to one of the lounges, or see if one of your credit cards might be a partner. A few of those are pretty quiet and have some good options for food and drinks. The Centurion lounge under normal conditions has showers and spa service. Those service are currently suspended due to Covid.

The equation can get really complicated if you factor in the parks and strategies to visit them. For example, time of year, budgets for parks, must do rides - thrill vs kid vs classic vs Harry Potter, fastpass/ultimate pass use, your park familiarity and Transportation can impact how successful your park time will be. With the post-COVID uncertainty it makes it even tougher. So looking at your question and trying to simplify by ignoring some of those details, I think you can get the answer internally from you and your family. You mentioned in the first post that the kids would be fine because “they don’t care” and then state the would want to do Universal and Disney. So float the idea of cruise only and see how they react. Then give the option for one park and see which they pick. That might help gauge what park(s) are important and how you can best use the 9 days. For the cruise longer is better but it is stealing from park time. If you just want a few days at sea to relax and get away the 4 day is fine. If you can narrow that park time with the questions above to the kids and family the 7 day becomes more do-able. For me the answer is easy, the 7 day. But I live in the Orlando area, know the parks very well and have season passes so my situation isn’t a fair comparison. This is a cruise message board and that might also be influencing my response some. Good luck with the planning and have fun.

Jim Van Fleet will come to the rescue and keep these guys safe. As @Twangster mentioned it shouldn’t be too bad for the ships unless it suddenly intensifies. A few years ago we were out on a cruise and sailed through the system that became Hurricane Matthew. Didn’t impact the ship much except for a few outdoor events. About a week later back at home we were preparing since it did develop.

Agree with pretty much everything above. Between the two choices there doesn’t seem to be a huge variety so it really probably depends on something that only matters to you like best travel dates or specific room availability. As for which side of the ship it probably doesn’t matter even more when you consider your stops. Many days you head into port you will sail into a fjord to get to the location (Juneau and Dawes for example) and then sail back out. So the views for both side of the ship will be pretty much the same just at different times of the day. We have never done Quantum, only the Ovation in Alaska last year, so can’t give a direct comparison. Having looked at the deck plans they don’t seem all that different, even the restaurant choices that you mentioned are similar. It seems the only difference is really the noodle shop that was removed from the Ovation and replaced with the fish and chips place. You had mentioned having a suite so I can share that Coastal Kitchen had pretty good views. If your suite will have all day access then getting spot near the window is pretty easy at breakfast and lunch, dinner was a little more crowded and near the windows was not as reliable.

You know your child the best so only you can really determine if they might have a positive experience in AO. The staff will attempt to engage and even though our experience is that most of the staff have some official educational background and child life training the success can be very individual. It seems that with regards to shy children they all make an effort to engage everyone but some of counselors do better with certain individuals, so a little luck may be involved also. To me there seems to be two types of shyness in children. The first being a true shy child that appears to be much more of an introvert and the shyness may wane but is persistently present. The other, which seems to be more common, is the child that is shy to start but once they get engaged open up and they tend to engage easier with subsequent events. It is not an either/or situation as as shy children can be somewhere in between. Our son is pretty shy to start but usually after a day or so gets pretty comfortable once he finds a few friends or a counselor that he likes. After a couple of days it become hard to get him out of the club. All children have a pretty good is chance to enjoy themselves as the type of events in AO will vary each day. Besides the open houses, I would encourage you to review the daily schedule. If your child is more of the first type I described above the GaGa ball and other similar activities would be better to avoid. The “classroom” like activities, like the science classes, that are on the schedule might be good to attend. Some of those allow the parents to attend also. It may take a couple of visit but with the right events, right kids or counselor the AO usually wins the kids over at some point.

Haven’t seen any reference to this and it is not set in stone but there is some good news. A group of researchers at Oxford had been working on vaccines and the timing of this pandemic has helped speed some things up for them. They were able to take some established work and quickly modified things specific to this virus to get a head start. That coupled with the world focus on this disease has provided them some additional support/funding and “fast track” pathways for approval. If things progress then predictions are a vaccine could be ready by September. https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-covid-19-vaccine-begins-human-trial-stage https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2020/astrazeneca-and-oxford-university-announce-landmark-agreement-for-covid-19-vaccine.html https://www.barrons.com/articles/good-news-on-oxford-vaccine-is-bright-spot-in-somber-covid-19-landscape-51588084298

218 since the last cruise... ...372 until we board the Ovation. Even though it is a long way off since it is the trans-pacific there are still a lot of “what if’s” in my mind. So I am really hopeful that the Oxford group’s vaccine really does well and is out buy this September as some are predicting.

@MarvinS thanks for sharing, the stepped plan sounds pretty reasonable. Some of the success is obviously due to the unique, relatively isolated geography of Alaska. Quick follow up question - how are they dealing with the North Slope? Are they exempting those trips as necessary? Just wondering partly because with reserves up and prices down, the companies probably want to cut down the overhead as well as the travel restriction implications. Since quite a few workers up there rotate in from the lower 48 are they allowed in, are they restricted to staying in state or just using the staff that reside in state and they make the trip up there? It seems like if they are allowing those workers in, the risks of importing a case increase even with the quarantine period since transmission can happen when people are asymptomatic.

We did our first WBTA last September and I think that the statement for other cruises holds for the most part with the TA - The sea conditions you experience will depend on the current weather conditions. If the weather is decent expect it to be pretty smooth and if there is a storm, not so much. We had a mix of both rough and smooth sailing. There was a tropical system that moved up the east coast and to the Canadian maritime providences. Because of that we started off great in England and Ireland and the first days at sea. Things started getting rough as we progressed west and got closer to the storm. It was projected to head right into our path, based on timing of the storm and our port schedule they made the decision to turn south and skip the Canadian stops. Once far enough south and out of the reach of the storm, things settled down. With the change we ended up with an extra sea day and a night in port at NYC.