Vanessa77

Yeah they are classifying it as amplified. There was an announcement about it when it happened. I followed it closely because I was booked to go on it just after the amplification and was super excited following the reveal of the other ships that got amplified, hence the big disappointment at the time. Royal has it listed on their site with the amplified ships. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/cruise-ships/renovations-royal-amplified

It was ‘amped’ prior to the last time it was in Aus for the 19/20 season. However the amplification was quite lackluster in my opinion. Added some slides, removed Johnny rockets, didn’t add any of the pool deck coolness added to navigator or mariner. Added more cabins and some were refreshed. It was still a nice ship, though I think it really needs another complementary eatery - ideally pool side - as literally there is only the cafe, buffet, and MDR.

It’s 100% confirmed now that Anthem is coming. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5esgyVM4ce/?igsh=MWkzcXhuejc3cnN5eQ==

You’re amazing. This is exactly what I was looking for! And this is the spot I was talking about!

Hi all, Considering a cruise on Ovation for next year and just want to make sure I have the information correct to make my decision. I know that Ovation of the seas has splash away bay, and that for most of it you must be potty trained to use it (slides, pool etc) but from images is looks like there is a small section to one side that looks like a splash pad. So does anyone know if this area or any part of the splash area is suitable for babies in swim nappies? I’ll have a 1.5yo and I know he’ll be sad if he can’t join in on the water fun even a little bit. thanks!

I just spied this one this week and am seriously considering booking too! Only thing is, I’ll be cruising with a baby for the first time - he’ll be about 1.5 at this time. Has anyone done this before? Do you use a portacot or something different?

I don't believe that is entirely correct. Spectrum, which currently sails in Asia and will this year complete a limited number of Japan Trips, does not have an itinerary past March 2024. So it is possible that there will be a few that aren't released yet, however it does seem that Japan is a very limited destination for Royal, so you are unlikely to have much choice. There are still many 2024 schedules that have not been released yet. You can see the release dates for these locations at this link: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/02/15/2024-2025-deployment-schedule-released

@Patchy No, this was meant to be part 2 of my honeymoon, so I'm not replacing my husband with my mum haha. He still has leave, but it ends on the 31st of December where this cruise finishes on the 4th of Jan so we'll just change what cruise we go on. Essential services leave is a bit tricky!

Hi all, Unfortunately we found out yesterday that my husband is unable to get leave from work for part of the cruise we have booked and we won’t be able to go on this cruise. Now we booked refundable, so we’re good on that front, however rather than just cancel I would like to know if I can’t instead transfer the whole booking to other guests, namely my parents. They had previously considered booking the same cruise and coming with us, but since we booked early last year the price for a balcony cabin has gone up by $1000 per person (12 night Christmas cruise ex Aus) so if possible it would be better if they could just take the whole booking and save some money. I know you can change 1 name on the booking, but is it possible to change the whole thing and keep the good rate?

Hi all, not sure what the current go is in cruises in the US: Is the main dining room back to normal where (for traditional dining) you are sitting with allocated table mates, same table, same servers for the whole cruise? if not, do you think that royal will go back to this at some point, or will sitting only with your party be the standard from now on? My next cruise is in December in Australia and while I’m sure we’ll have some as yet unknown restrictions/regulations on board, this is the one I am wondering about most. My partner and I are going just us on a 12 nighter. We choose traditional dining because we liked having the same wait staff and table last time, and we thought it would be nice to have some dinner conversation with others some of the time as we’ll also have specialty dining, so heaps of opportunities for dinner as just as. But I’m not sure whether this will even be a thing in places where cruising has returned for a while, let alone down under during our first season back. What do you think will happen?

Looking forward to it! I agree, most blogging perspectives here seem to be suite class and above. From the first 10 blogs at the time of the comment, 7 are confirmed suites, 2 were not and one I couldn’t determine yet. A suite experience is nice to read every now and then, but I do like to read about experiences that will be similar to my own.

Looks like we’re got some movement!

It likely you are correct. I just made assumptions based on knowing very little about ships

hi! I can try to answer some of your questions, however I’ve not yet been on Ovation. I’ll be going for the first time in December! 1) this depends. If you are prone to seasickness then the best place to be is center ship in both length and height. In terms of port/star board I don’t think it matters. Obviously port you have the port view when docked, bus otherwise I can’t see why it would matter. 2) I haven’t tried the spacious ocean view but my last was an ocean view and my next is a balcony. I did visit a spacious ocean view on a voyager class and it was quite nice. Keep in mind the cabin you’re referring to being ‘forward’ will be the sort of place where you’ll feel the most movement. 3) I believe what you say is correct however I’ve never done it so not 100% sure. Recommend booking refundable fares just in case. 4) I was under this impression also for my first cruise, however this advice was specific to North American cruising and was never applicable in Australia. When I checked in they let me join the queue 30 minutes ahead of time, but wouldn’t let my sibling and family as their time was 1.5 hours away. Now that the pandemic has hit royal is being very strict with boarding times everywhere, so you need to stick to the boarding time you choose. Do not arrive early.

I suppose that it's possible they've all sold out, but the RC site is no longer showing 21/22 season dates. Nothing until the start of the 22/23 season.