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.

Thanks @Matt! Putting it in my Calendar ?

Just wondering, do we know when the 2023-24 season will be released? Although we've had our upcoming cruise cancelled and our next wont be until Dec 2022, I'm pretty sure that I've solidly got my fiancé onboard with cruising being a pretty solid choice for our preferred holiday style. So to that affect I want to be on top of the next release of cruises! I'm keen to potentially try a suite for our next booking (potentially with family) and I know the best rates and room combinations will be available at release. Thanks!

Nothing of interest to me unfortunately. They’re mostly short cruises and I really prefer the longer sailings. It’s not really valuable for me to spend $300-500 on return flights and accommodation to Sydney when the cruise is only 5 nights long and only visits one port. Happy to see the cruise industry getting a restart though! I wondered if some announcements might be made following the release of the road map, so I hope it all goes smoothly! Fortunately I already had a back up cruise for December 2022! Unfortunately said cruise is still 506 days away ?

So someone that is a part of the FB group for my next sailing on Ovation on 08-Jan-22 just posted this to the group. The originally had a 4 day booked immediately before the 12 night NZ cruise. That 4 nighter has been shortened and re-named. GUYS! WHAT DOEA THIS MEAN!?!??

This is not technically and on the ship thing, but I will never do a ‘resort for a day’ excursion. You leave the ship where you have a pool, free flow drinks (if you’re like me), all inclusive food and great service to pay to go to another place that has……a pool, free flow alcohol, all inclusive food, and great service. I just don’t get it! It seems like you are paying for something the ship already provides. Sure, sometimes there is a beach involved, but surely you can go to beaches without this pay charge. And if you don’t like beaches then why not just stay on the ship? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

See that's the way that I read it, but they've really not said it in a way that it's super clear. I can still see Ovation sailings available from late October on the site.

The thing is that it doesn't explicitly say that the whole 21/22 season is cancelled for everything, which is why I am confused. Additionally, from Matt's post below: Kinda makes it seem like only sailings within this period are eligible.

I'm really confused, so is the whole season cancelled or are they still holding on for some? Eg. Ovation or Radiance?

Anyone else super surprised that they haven’t just thrown the towel in for the whole season? Like, that’s exactly what I was expecting. Not sure if I should be taking this as a hopeful sing that my Jan cruise has a chance of going ahead, or just that the cruise lines are dreaming and trying to keep our money for as long as possible ??

Hi all, Next time I cruise I’m wanting to try the Windjammer for dinner, which I never did on my last cruise. I hear there are different themes each night, and the offering changes each night along with the standard crowd pleasers. My question is, how do you find out what the theme is for the night? I don't recall seeing this highlighted in the CC, and therefore didn’t know until later in the cruise when all my dining was already planned. On my next cruise we have the 5 night package, plus I want to try Solarium Bistro, and I’m a big fan of the MDR. So hoping I can find the info to plan everything around what we don’t want to miss in the MDR/what we want to try at the buffet. I feel like planning food is the biggest planning burden for this cruise ?