ScooterScott22

Thanks for the great pics and all the information.  It was fun to follow along while sailing with you, would have loved to say hi and even though it was never certain, we might have crossed paths at some point.  I was up early most mornings and probably walked past you one of those days or on the bridges wings.  My son has been following some of the threads and was also looking for you too, but a couple days in the club became more important!  

Cruise Summary
Wow!  What an awesome Alaska experience.
There is a part of me that wants to say this was my best cruise to Alaska.  However looking back I thought the same thing on every Alaska cruise I've taken.  
There are a couple of ways to interpret that sentiment but the truth is that Alaska is such an amazing destination that each cruise can top the last one.  Every visit to Alaska is different. 
I chose to focus on Alaska on this cruise and in writing this trip report.  The ship itself is very similar to Anthem from a core ship experience.   Anyone who has sailed Anthem will feel right at home on Ovation.  Apologize for no menus and less about the on-board experience of Ovation, but I took this cruise for Alaska so that became the focus of this thread.
There were some special aspects of this cruise and it starts with the itinerary.  This itinerary may never be repeated.  That would be a shame because it included a lot I love about Alaska.
I was curious how an early season cruise would compare but now I'm sold on the idea that any time for an Alaska cruise season is the perfect time for an Alaska cruise.  
I was also curious how Ovation of the Seas would compare to Radiance and Voyager class or Celebrity's Millennium class for an Alaska cruise, the ships I've sailed before to Alaska.  Each has features I like.  Looking back over this experience there is a lot to like about Quantum class in Alaska.  
Great indoor pool space for families Great indoor Solarium for adults, one of the best in the fleet North Star (more on this below)   Two70° SeaPlex Flowrider New ship feel, new technology, new decor Great Windjammer experience (I have always liked the WJ on Quantum class) Great entertainment Better suite amenities including Coastal Kitchen Affordable balcony options for a reasonable fare difference I was curious how viewing angles would work out for glacier visits.  I prefer to move around during glacier visits and seeing everything from multiple perspectives.  I was very pleased with how this worked out on Ovation, better than I thought it would.  I didn't think I'd like the glass dividers in places on the top decks but they were a blessing at times to block the wind with large spaces between them I could still take pictures.
Not everything was perfect.  These are areas that I felt had some room for improvement:
The crew pressure wash the outer decks from 5am to 7am.  During this time they are closed.  This is a required maintenance exercise but they could have adjusted times to recognize the long days of Alaska.  Sunrise is around 5am.  Runners want to run.  Arrival into ports is often occurring at this time.   I don't recall this being an issue on any ship I've sailed before including three cruises on sister ship Anthem.   Smokers were complaining there was no where to smoke.  I don't smoke but I know if you close all the outdoor smoking areas at the same time to wash them down guests are going to break the rules and some did.   The Cruise Director lost an opportunity to hype certain events like sailing under the bridge in Vancouver or the fact that every port of call was an inaugural port of call.  The CD and staff seemed unaware that this was a special cruise itinerary or the ship's first ever visit to Alaska. Voom internet was a disappointment but if you have read this thread I've covered this already. North Star Experience.   North Star brings a new aspect to Alaska cruising allowing guests to see things from a very different angle.  This really sets Ovation apart from other ships that have sailed in Alaska.   Despite a single complimentary reservation for North Star I found great availability to enjoy it on standby basis.  Groups larger than 2 may find less enjoyment in the standby line unless they are willing to split up.  While the $49 charge during glacier visits was higher than I expected I understand why a charge is required.   Having done that extra cost version of the North Star Alaskan Experience I might even do it again. 
I've devised some ideas how to reduce glare from the curved windows in my North Star photos that I look forward to trying in North Star in other regions before I return to Alaska and enjoy North Star there again.  For me North Star really has value in Alaska where in other regions it's simply a cool activity to do.  You get a bird's eye view just like an Eagle soaring in the sky above the ship.
When I cruise Alaska my focus is Alaska and not ship entertainment or activities.  I have more cruises booked on Ovation in other regions some with many sea days.  This allowed me to skip entertainment or activities on this sailing knowing I can try them another time. 
I did not visit the MDR once.  For my needs and a desire for a quick meal experience the Windjammer fulfilled my needs perfectly.  Despite some cool meals I ate most of them on the aft outdoor seating area for the Windjammer.  Daily complimentary room service breakfast was appreciated with a balcony to enjoy a coffee while watching marine life below or an incredible sunrise unfold in front of me.
For Diamond Happy Hour the use of the entire Music Hall worked well but I still missed access to the Concierge Lounge, a stated benefit for Diamond Plus members.  I understand the reasoning offered for blocking access to the Concierge Lounge but it remains a disappointment.  
If you've enjoyed my pictures in this thread what you may not understand is that mere photos don't do it justice.  To experience Alaska you have to go to Alaska.   I know Royal offers great entertainment and activities but I feel like Alaska is a destination where you shouldn't try to do everything on the ship just because it's offered and available for you.  A number of times I found myself nearly alone enjoying incredible scenery, peace and tranquility.  Apologies to Nick Weir and his incredible team that produce awesome Royal entertainment but I came for Alaska.  
At times I put the camera down and just enjoyed the moment live and in person.  What you don't see in this thread are those moments.  Those are some of my best memories and for you to experience them you'll need to book a cruise to Alaska for yourself.
Thanks for following along and I thank you for viewing.  

We are in the last days of the Ovation Alaska sailing and visited the next cruise desk to do a placeholder at minimum.  Apparently they just announced a few repositioning cruises for this ship in spring 2012.  We booked one that looks sort of interesting.  Would like to do both but don’t think we could get enough time off to accommodate a 13 and 14 night b2b.  According to the agent it sounds like those will out very soon.  

Yep, typo, should have been 2021.  I can always say I am not use to putting  “2” as the third number for the year but it really is I don’t want to wait another two years to do that trip.

Yep, typo, should have been 2021.  I can always say I am not use to putting  “2” as the third number for the year but it really is I don’t want to wait another two years to do that trip.

2012? WOW!!! The ship is extremely late!! ??

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

The morning coffee might be the thing that is throwing off that equation.  I’m not saying the views are bad in two70 but there might be better spots in the morning.  With the time change, early docking times and the fact that it is light at 4-something each morning, it has been easy to be awake and taking pics before anyone is really serving.  IMHO the views to the side and forward coming into Icy Straight Point, Sitka and Hubbard glacier have been better.  The aft views are not bad, just better as we sail out, so two70 may not be ideal.  So far, in the morning, the Solarium has been one of the better spots.
We are fortunate enough to have the Grand Loft Suite on the starboard/aft and while we have pics and seen great views from all the balconies more pics have been taken from the side, in the morning specially.  I’m up again at 4:30 as we sail into Juneau and this morning the aft views are a little better than the other days.  Sorry for chiming in on the live blog, it’s just early and we are moving probably less than 10 knots so there is time to kill.  Below are the starboard and then the aft pics I just took with the phone. 

Not sure if anyone is still watching during the conference finals.  Since we are Blues fans  and on the Ovation in Alaska wanted to share that we have not seen any feed up here with the playoffs.  Had to stream the game and the lag is pretty bad.  Hopefully the Caribbean has either more places to watch sports and/or better VOOM service.  

Since your cabin is port side I’ll share the view of the sunrise from our starboard side balcony this morning.  The aft balcony was not as impressive but I can see we are much close to land on the port side from there.  Hopefully you can find some wildlife with being so close. 

Ok, this is like “Where’s Waldo?”  We dropped in on the Cruise Critic meet and greet, since my wife was following this cruise on there.  One of the attendees took the mic asked if @twangster was in the room.  Only response was - the sound of crickets.  He made a few quite complementary remarks about your photos that you have shared and remarked he is looking to run into you.  
Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.
 
 

Since your cabin is port side I’ll share the view of the sunrise from our starboard side balcony this morning.  The aft balcony was not as impressive but I can see we are much close to land on the port side from there.  Hopefully you can find some wildlife with being so close. 

Ok, this is like “Where’s Waldo?”  We dropped in on the Cruise Critic meet and greet, since my wife was following this cruise on there.  One of the attendees took the mic asked if @twangster was in the room.  Only response was - the sound of crickets.  He made a few quite complementary remarks about your photos that you have shared and remarked he is looking to run into you.  
Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.
 
 

Since your cabin is port side I’ll share the view of the sunrise from our starboard side balcony this morning.  The aft balcony was not as impressive but I can see we are much close to land on the port side from there.  Hopefully you can find some wildlife with being so close. 

Ok, this is like “Where’s Waldo?”  We dropped in on the Cruise Critic meet and greet, since my wife was following this cruise on there.  One of the attendees took the mic asked if @twangster was in the room.  Only response was - the sound of crickets.  He made a few quite complementary remarks about your photos that you have shared and remarked he is looking to run into you.  
Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.
 
 

Since your cabin is port side I’ll share the view of the sunrise from our starboard side balcony this morning.  The aft balcony was not as impressive but I can see we are much close to land on the port side from there.  Hopefully you can find some wildlife with being so close. 

Ok, this is like “Where’s Waldo?”  We dropped in on the Cruise Critic meet and greet, since my wife was following this cruise on there.  One of the attendees took the mic asked if @twangster was in the room.  Only response was - the sound of crickets.  He made a few quite complementary remarks about your photos that you have shared and remarked he is looking to run into you.  
Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.
 
 

Yea, it has been easier to find some of the wildlife.  This morning there were a number of Dalls porpoise all around.  For those traveling later in the season keep on the lookout. They appear to be about the size of the spinner dolphin in Hawaii but have a darker back and light (almost white) side.

I only see an empty space where that arrow is pointing, right between two other people.
Guess it goes to show that bots are like vampires in that regard; they don't show up in photographs or mirrors. ??