Vangrizz

Thank you so much for posting this. I wasn't checking in often as I didn't think there was a sale going on, but after I read this I checked and our refreshment package was on sale for $3/day less than the "sale" price that it was on for last week. Appreciate your suggestion to check constantly.

We made it, and Mimi wasn't lit when we picked her up at the airport! Pictures of the hotel to come.

While in the solarium I was surprised to see it empty at 8:15am on a sea day.  I think the time change last night escaped some people.  Regardless, I took advantage of the opportunity to grab some pictures. 
The Quantum class solarium is the nicest in the fleet and with the indoor family pool area it truly can be adult only.  Very similar to Anthem but different in subtle ways.

Sales happen throughout the year, and some of the best prices I've gotten (especially on excursions) I've snagged between advertised sales. It just pays to check often.  I literally check prices for various things (either to initially  purchase or to reprice) several times a week, and I've scored some amazing deals (again, many times not during "sales").

Day 9 Continues 
Tonight’s dinner at CK was excellent, as always. I can’t say enough good things about Indranee. She has been our server at CK each night that we have been there for dinner. She is great with our son. ?

Grilled Mediterranean Octopus ?

Sun Dried Tomato Crusted Flounder

Braised Short Rib

Green Vegetable Curry 


Bittersweet Chocolate Tart Praline

Coconut Custard 

After dinner, we went to Boleros for a caipirinha - finally. We saw the beginning of the Latin Fiesta with Candela. 


 

Day 9 - Sea Day
We had breakfast at Windjammer this morning. I just wanted something quick, without all the fuss of a table service meal. 

We did the cupcake decorating class at the Patisserie at 1130AM. The designs were rose and strawberries. We used piping bags and fondant. The yellow icing was lemon flavored, which my son does not like. So, he pretty much stuck with the pink icing. Here are our creations:

 




Even though I had been forewarned about the little laundry tags in the clothing, it still is surprising to find these itchy little tags cemented into the necklines of my shirts. I have started to take up a collection, which I have carefully hidden from our room steward. ?

 
Lunch today was at Jamie’s Italian at 12:30PM. We started with a meat plank.

Followed by appetizers: Garlicky Prawns, Crispy Squid, and Black Truffle Arancini.



Followed by entrees: Baked Lasagne and Prawn Linguine.


No dessert today with lunch. Just couldn’t imagine fitting it all in. Plus, we had a reservation at iFly at 230PM. We liked it so much, we did it twice! After iFly, we found ourselves back at the rock wall for our son.

Tonight’s dinner will be at CK. No specific plans after dinner tonight, so we’ll see where we end up. 

Day 3 - Sea Day
Up early before sunrise hoping for a beautiful sunrise at sea.  Maybe tomorrow.

It's now after the official sunrise time so the sun did rise.  Somewhere.

Did a next cruise deposit on the ship. Looking at either my birthday or the wife's birthday next year! I'll probably sail out of Jersey. Maybe a Canadian cruise? Such smaller ships going there though!

So to begin to wrap this up I thought I would just summarize my thoughts on certain areas.  My plan is to break it down to:
Embarkation/Debarkation
The Suite
The Genie/Star Class
Food
Entertainment
Room Attendants/Crew
Ports
If there is anything else you would like my opinion on just ask.  I’ll not finish them all tonight.  I went back to work early this morning and now feel like I fell on the FlowRider and it tossed me to the helipad. But I’ll begin.
Embarkation/Debarkation:  Very smooth both ways.  Straight to the Star Class Banner on day one.  We were in the Suite waiting area in minutes.  You really do feel pretty special when they whisk you to your private elevator to take you to the lounge. The new terminal is beautiful.  The staff was professional and welcoming.  Plenty of snacks and drinks available. Allan took us and one other family on right after Super Mario boarded - probably cant beat that.  I found it amusing that one of your first sights upon stepping into the promenade is the Next Cruise sign?  The whole process was very quick. I don’t know the couple in the cool shirts but I asked if I could include them in the blog.
Debarkation:  A difference between last year on the Harmony with luggage.  Last year it was taken the night before.  This year they came to get it at 7:30 am.  Allan met us in the suite at around 930 with the magic elevator key and about 5 minutes later we were outside calling an Uber.  Just this perk alone is a major draw of Star Class.  
It was probably the easiest on and off of any of the last three.

I was told we could not pick. But I do have insight if they let you pick.
 
I was in cabana 10. There are 2 sections 1-10 and 11-20. 1-5 were not ready to be occupied, 6 -10 were "ready" but there were some unfinished parts to the cabana. Little details not everyone would even notice... like the decorative ropes were only on some poles. Cabana 9 didn't have curtains... etc. I was told 11-20 were 100% but I was not over there to confirm.
 
Cabanas # 1, 10, 11, 20 will have the most view as there is nothing on multiple sides. You will also have more swim space until you are in someone else's area. However they will get the most wind (very noticable on my day where there was 20+ mph winds).
 
I would say the least desirable would be # 4, 7, 14, and 17 as they are sunk back in and you will be the backs of other cabanas on 2 different sides. I would have been unhappy in these locations. However these would also get almost no wind. While there was noticable choppy water on all sides of my cabana I could see # 7 had no chop at all.
 
All of the other cabanas would be perfectly fine.
 
This map explains what I am talking about.
 

Forgot to mention that last night as we were nailing down the rebooking of MIL's flights, DH said to me, "how much should I transfer for a Next Cruise deposit?" I didn't even have to plant the seed this time! 

RCTV Channel Lineup
While down under Ovation has a different channel lineup compared to when it was in the Northern Hemisphere.
14 - RCTV
15 - ShoreEx
16 - Cruise Compass
17 - Itinerary Map
18 - RCTV 2 
19 - Next Cruise
20 - Australian Drama & Comedy
21 - ESPN Pacific Rim
22 - Sport24
23 - Kids Programming
24 - Teens Programming
26 - ABC News 24  (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not ABC from the U.S.)
27 - MSNBC
29 - BBC World News
30 - Sky News Australia
31 - OV Views (various outdoor cameras on board Ovation)
32 - BBC HD
33 - Red Bull TV
34 - Prime Favorites
35 - Prime Journeys
36 - XYTV
37 - Voyage Information
38 - RCTV Channel Guide
 

One. Step. Closer.  I have to pick up dry cleaning tonight for DH. I'm 95% packed - just need to throw in the hair dryer and makeup in the morning. DH hasn't started filling a suit case yet, but he knows what all he is bringing. Somehow I managed to get all our cruise stuff into the kids and my backpacks - including two 6 pack bottles of Mimi's Diet Coke. I'm not sure what hubby is going to put in his backpack now. Maybe I'll share and give him half of what's in mine. ?

Hi all!
My first live blog! This upcoming cruise is for 7 nights from Sydney, Australia visiting Noumea, New Caledonia & Mystery Island, Vanuatu. My first time on a Quantum-Class ship and will be staying in a "Family" Junior Suite on Deck 10. Itinerary is as below, we are docked in Noumea and will tender at Mystery Island. More details to come. 
Accommodation:
Junior Suite (Family) on Deck 10 - Sea Class
Activities/Entertainment:
Rip Cord by I-fly (Day 2) 
Northstar (Day 3)
Pixels (Day 6) 

Excursions: 
Noumea: Noumea city tour + Wine & Cheese Tasting (RCI excursion)
Dining:  
Solarium Bistro (Day 1)
Wonderland (Day 3)
Jamies Italian (Day 5) 
Coastal Kitchen (hopefully!!) 

Housekeeping items
No sail away party on deck departing Sydney.  The Sydney City Council and the Sydney Residents Council voted to restrict music on outer decks of cruise ships.  Our CD mentioned that we have a few ports like that on this itinerary.
Wow bands have the muster station printed on them.  They were available at guest services upon arrival for $5 unless in a Junior Suite or better.
Diamond Plus are still allowed in the Concierge Lounge when the numbers permit it.  No directive from Miami to restrict Diamond Plus as perceived on some ships in other regions.  Our lounge concierge has had to restrict Diamond Plus before when there are high numbers of Diamond Plus present.  Eighty or ninety Diamond Plus is a rough number that can be accommodated.  On transpacific or certain other itineraries when there are nearly 500 Diamond Plus there simply isn't enough space or servers to keep it an enjoyable experience for all guests who have access to the Concierge Lounge.  
The cruise terminal has no waiting area inside so appointment times are strictly enforced.  Once the ship is ready to board they’ll open the doors and start looking for early appointment times.  Once you are allowed in you flow between the required stops at check in, Australian immigration for exit purposes and finally security.  The use of boarding times keeps the flow moving with some but minimal queueing at each stop.
When using Voom internet, the O3b satellite platform makes it appear that I am located in Mount Airy, MD U.S.A. which is one of many earth stations for SES/O3b.   

Day 8 - St Kitts
We had room service breakfast again.

Today’s excursion was 4x4 Island Safari & Beach. We booked through Royal Caribbean, but it was operated by Greg’s Safaris. Greg was our driver today. He is a 5th generation islander as he mentioned several times. We drove through less-often seen parts of the island, including rainforest. We saw mango ?, coconut ?, date, avocado ?, breadfruit ? ?, ackee, papaya, and chicle trees. We also saw wild chickens ?, monkeys ?, goats ?, lizards ?, cats ?, and dogs ?.

Here is Anthem on the left, Norwegian Epic on the right, and Viking Sea on the far right. 






Breadfruit tree 




Before heading back to the ship, we spent an hour at the beach. 



We were back onboard and ready for lunch at CK by 1PM. 

Watermelon Salad

Caramelized Scallops 

Back down to the ship I could see boarding was beginning.   


The cruise terminal has no waiting area inside so appointment times are strictly enforced.  Once the ship is ready to board they’ll open the doors and start looking for early appointment times.

With the new expedited arrival feature boarding is pretty quick and pretty much a non-stop flow through check in, Australian immigration and finally security.
To give you an idea how my timing went this morning, this next picture was at 10:15am as I walked towards the Pylon to start my climb.

This next picture was at 11:41am after I had cleared security and was on the gangway about to walk on the ship.

And with that the cruise can finally begin!

Factoid: There are some 3 million rivets used in the making of the Eiffel Tower, whereas there were 6 million rivets used to make Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ergo, SHB is twice as rivetting as the Eiffel Tower! Ba-dum, pisshhhh.

Day 1
IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!
But first, I need a ship... and some breakfast.
I had been watching the weather forecast and it didn't look as promising as my time in Sydney has been up to this point.  The morning looked okay but with increased cloud cover.  Possibly some rain later in the day.
My internal body clock is still mostly on eastern time so I didn't need an alarm to wake up earlier than I needed to.  Might as well head out...



When it's o-dark hundred and you're hungry in The Rocks, there's always Pancakes on the Rocks.  It's open 24 hours.



This is the quick menu, the full menu is much bigger.

Time for an Aussie Sunrise.

Now I can waddle up the hill to the bridge and wait for another Aussie sunrise.

Even though I miss the ship already, it's good to be home.
 
We really missed the dogs and it looks like they missed us!

Before bed I wanted to see what the rooftop pool area of my hotel would look like at night.  Not bad.

The Lunar Lanterns marking the animal signs of the lunar zodiac located around Circular Quay.

The tongue is animated, moving up and down.





There were also some dragons running around.



 

Our next stop was the main opera theater.  On our way we were able to see the inside of the iconic shapes we have all seen on the outside.
Our first glimpse up the stairs.

Originally called simply the Opera Theater in 2012 it was renamed after a famous Australian opera singer and is now called the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

Looking up...







The stage was being prepared for an event so no photography of the stage area.

4 days until we leave for Miami and 5 until we board the ship!!!  Can't wait!!!
 
We both have 3 days left of work so almost done with the grind.  I (Matt) will have worked 9 days in a row before we go with a couple 12-13 hour days.  Watching the Super Bowl stuff on TV and seeing all the sun makes us want to get down there even more!!!
 
We FINALLY booked our last excursion..

We booked this because we have had good experience with cave related excursions in the past and thought hanging out on the beach would be nice and relaxing.  Who can't use relaxing in the sun....right?!?!?!
 
Just got this email from Royal Caribbean about the coronavirus so this will be a bit different experience...
  ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS    
 
 
Dear Guest,
We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard! Before you embark on our adventure, we have some important information to share with you.
After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we’ve decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this, but due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases around the world, this precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.
Additionally, we’ve tightened our secondary health screening requirements and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal:
Guests or crewmembers that have been in contact with individuals that have traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the last 15 days. Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport - regardless of when they were there last. Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms. While these measures are conservative, our responsibility is to reduce the spread of coronavirus, in an effort to keep our ships safe and to ensure you are able to enjoy your time with us.
If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us at 1-800-256-6649 or visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. 
Your vacation and your health are very important to us, so in an abundance of caution, we’ve taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships. This includes:
Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing, Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day, Adding extra medical staff on each sailing,  Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests & crew,  Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard. And, you can do your part too! To ensure we all have an enjoyable cruise, here are some important tips to help keep you healthy and prevent colds, flus, and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land. 
After using the bathroom and before any meal or snack (it’s a cruise; we know there’s lots of that), make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If you happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve). Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth. Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry. And remember, if you don’t feel well while you’re onboard, it’s imperative that you immediately visit our medical facility on Deck 2 for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always ready to assist. Your safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities, but we also want you to have an amazing time. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay happy!
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Sincerely,

   
Packing will be starting soon so stay tuned.........!!! ? 

Day 7 Continues 
So we ended up here. That’s my husband and my son. 


 
Tonight’s dinner will be at Chops. Again.
The Super Bowl will be shown in Two70, pool deck, pub, casino, and stateroom televisions. They are selling seats on the pool deck as advertised in the Cruise Compass: 

There is also a VIP area in Two70. I think it’s for suite guests. 

We’re planning to check out the Super Bowl set-up in Two70 after dinner, then head back to the suite for the game. That’s a long time to spend in Two70 for a game that doesn’t have the Ravens, so it will be more comfortable and less hectic in the suite. We could always order room service snacks, but I doubt that we’ll be hungry.  ?