Jamesszy94

I didn’t ask the question, but yeah, March 12 sailing. Anything bigger will probably not be able to fit into the harbour. Unless they upgrade the OPT, Quantum class is the largest class that could fit.

So in terms of size what are we thinking? Smaller than Freedom-class but larger than Voyager-class? Or same as Voyager class? The Edge and the Apex are ~130,000 GT but the Beyond is ~140,000 GT

That's a real shame. There's so many ports Royal could visit (Moreton Island, Fraser Island (Carnival I know for a fact visits Moreton Island and I know P&O visits Fraser Island and Norfolk), LHI, PNG, Kimberley region just to name a few) but I guess they have to worry about the logistics and whether or not they can get into the ports. At least it'll be nice to visit the same ports on a different ship - somewhat of a difference experience I suppose.

I just got off Ovation yesterday, from what I could remember from the total of 3 times I was on the pool deck, I think I vaguely remember an area for babies or at least I saw babies splashing around, I could be wrong though and don't quote me on this. I wasn't really paying attention to the pool deck area if I'm being honest, I don't really frequent the pools on cruise ships..

Shame about Brilliance having to cut the cruise short, I can only imagine how many disgruntled guess there's going to be, but stuff happens and it's out of our control. At least they're getting compensated and the compensation is actually decent.

I'm just hoping that when we finally get the new deployment in a couple of weeks time, that we see more variation of the ports instead of the usual Adelaide/Tasmania, South Pacific or New Zealand cruises.

I got off the Ovation of the Seas yesterday after 10 nights. Food was hit and miss. Some nights the MDR had great food - other nights, it was pretty bad. WJ is definitely not great - same thing every morning/lunch/ and basically dinner except they change up maybe 1 or 2 stations for their "themed" nights. PLUS DID I MENTION THEY HAVE FOUR ENTIRE STATIONS JUST FOR SALAD. Izumi's was good though I guess it just depends if you're a picky eater.

Yeah, I basically took everything she said with a grain of salt. I just wanted to see if they had any extra insight. Well, at the session with the captains and the officers on my recent OV cruise - a question was asked about putting a ship here all year around, I vaguely remember the captain or the hotel director? Saying that Royal has been talking about putting a ship in Australia year round but nothing has come to fruition yet because of a lot of logistical issues or something. So yeah, I doubt Voyager is staying here year round. We just have to wait and see I guess. But also I have a feeling she won't go to Dubai - with the current political situation going on around the Red Sea. I know Dubai isn't in the Red Sea - but it's still in the Middle East and that entire region is basically unstable at the moment.

Final thoughts addendum: Picton is kind of boring if you don't join a shore excursion - the main city centre can be walked around in a total of like 30 minutes, the outskirts of the city centre - there's not really much to see, it's all industrial buildings. It's definitely a one and done for me personally. Napier is very beautiful and definitely worth checking out - the Art Deco style buildings are beautiful and it was fascinating getting to know the history of Napier and the Hawkes Bay region and how they basically rebuilt from the ground (pun intended) up after the earthquake in 1931. It's definitely a port you can visit more than once and if I ever decide to sail to New Zealand again, definitely will be exploring more/joining a shore excursion to see the wineries Wellington is also a very beautiful city, but because it's the capital, it has a very "big" city feel. It's your typical big city with lots of shops, eateries, lots of people and lots of landmarks for you to check out. The most famous thing about Wellington is probably the cable car that takes you up the top to the Botanic Gardens/Space Observatory and you definitely get a nice view of Wellington - definitely worth checking out. The Sounds were the best part of the cruise, just sailing through the fjords of Dusky, Doubtful and especially Milford Sound was very breathtaking and I'd argue is even more beautiful than Alaska (Alaska is still amazing!) The weather was spectacular and definitely worth checking out if you ever get the chance.

Was talking to the NextCruise lady and I asked her about if Voyager was coming down to Sydney and she said that's what a lot of other passengers are saying and she said nothing has been confirmed yet. Nothing confirmed for Brisbane/didn't ask. I vaguely remember her mentioning Anthem as a possibility because she said Spectrum is going to China so Ovation is heading to Singapore

I think people worry too much about the dress code on a cruise line like Royal Caribbean. Just dress however you want, if you want to walk around topless in budgie smugglers, that's your prerogative, but I suppose don't expect people to not stare or laugh. I know there's lots of westerners/older generation people who do like to dress up and look their best, but then I also know people who just want to relax and wear whatever they want. If it was Cunard on the other hand.... be prepared to have the dress code enforced.

Welcome back! I never met you, but the 12 night on Odyssey sounds amazing! Please do a live blog when you finally sail Also congrats on 55 years young! Only 25 more years to go for me. Maybe I'll book a suite this year/next year to celebrate the big 30.

Final thoughts and OBSERAVATIONS: Earlier in the week, I mentioned that I feel like Mike wasn't as enthusiastic as Steve from Canada - but I take that back, Mike was super funny all the time and he was very friendly and made everyone laugh a lot. It was probably the first night and I shouldn't have made judgement so quickly This is my third time sailing Ovation of the Seas - and while she's a great ship and I love sailing on her, I found myself not doing as much as I did on previous sailings with her - I don't know if it's just because I was lazy or if it was because I'd already done everything and seen every show there was to see (the Broadway Style ones precisely). And most of the Trivia's were all the same more or less; Harry Potter, 70's/80's/90's Tunes, Scavenger Hunts, Star Wars - all the usual trivias. I don't know what it is. I'll be happy once we get a different ship and try a different sailing - I do hope Ovation comes back to Sydney though after the 2025-2026 Asia season - she's a great ship and I definitely do love sailing her, I just wish there was more variety in Sydney sailings. The Windjammer was definitely my least favorite part of the ship and even my dad agrees. We ate in the WJ mainly for breakfast and lunch - I had lunch a few times at Sorrento's and two70 though. But the thing about the Windjammer is that there's no variety - it's all the same food every. single. day. Chips, burgers, bacon, hash browns, sausages - they literally change one station and that's it, but even then it's like half a station. They occasionally put out things like tacos, tortillas etc, but everything else is the same and they have FOUR stations JUST FOR SALADS (TWO OF THEM ARE LITERALLY JUST FOR CHEESE AND HAM/PROSCUITTO ETC) AND FRUIT. Honestly, the food in the MDR was way nicer than the food in the Windjammer. It was a very nice sailing and to get away from reality and civilization if only for 10 days and I very much enjoyed the shows even if I'd seem them before - I like re-watching shows cause I know they change casts. They've kept Ovation in really good condition, all her decor is still very nice and she's very clean. There are parts of the ship that are starting to show some wear and tear though - like the carpet in the WJ is a bit dated and starting to mould, the stools in the casino are all worn and could use some replacing, and there are some parts of the ship that are starting to rust (but the rust can't be helped, it's just what happens when ships are exposed to seawater for too long). Also one of the lifts wasn't working the entire sailing which didn't help after the shows or when people were trying to get off the ship. I'm not sure if I'm just being cynical or if people are genuinely just lazy - I saw SO many able bodied people take the lifts JUST TO GET FROM the THIRD FLOOR to the FOURTH floor or they'd take the lift just for one level...honestly... just walk the stairs, it's a lot faster than waiting for the lifts.

Day 10: Woke up to go to the Windjammer as usual... then started packing a bit for the dreaded disembarkation date Then I attended a show named "Kazoo that Tune with Mike & Neil" in the two70 where yes - as the name says, they play hit tunes using the Kazoo and the audience has to guess what song it is. Pretty funny if I do say so myself. After Kazoo that Tune - I went with dad to the duty free shops to buy some liquor and I went to buy some Royal keyrings. It was then time for lunch in the WJ - I wasn't feeling too hungry cause I was kinda full from breakfast but also cause I had a bit of a headache (I think cause of the weather and the rocking of the ship got a bit much (I don't get seasick easily, but the rocking was pretty bad)). Dad told me there was an emergency like I mentioned above a passenger fell and hit his head and fell unconscious because I think he probably lost balance from the rocking of the ship - the waters were very rough. I just stayed in my room to watch YouTube video and laid down and had a rest. About an hour later I felt a bit better so then I attended Game of Thrones trivia in the Music Hall - I did better than I thought I would, I got 18/24. One of the answers was "Name Daenerys Targaryen's 3 Dragons" - incase some people haven't watched the show here, the name of the dragons are; Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. But when the trivia host was reading out the answer - he had it as Drogo instead. Game of Thrones trivia ended and then I went out to the casino to play Keymaster - I don't expect to win, I just wanted to have a bit of fun. After this - I went to the Royal Esplanade to buy some keyrings from the shops. Dad went to buy Duty Free liquor and he opened the bottle immediately.... After this we just stayed in our room until dinner time - I got Spaghetti Bolognese again and the Shrimp Cocktail. Desert I ordered some kind of apple crumble with ice-cream. I also ordered extra strawberry ice-cream - thought I'd treat myself on the last day. Dad went up to ride the bumper cars one last time while I went back down to the room to pack on the way I decided to play the keymaster at the casino again, it was so random, I turned around to have a look at the claw machine and there it was! A green $25 Royal Caribbean casino chip just on the floor, I picked it up and contemplated what to do with it - we had to have our suitcases out by 10pm. This is when disaster struck!! I got back to my room but the ship was rocking so much, I lost my balance in the bathroom and dropped my phone and it hit one of the corners at the bottom of the sink, the entire screen started skitzing out and hasn't stopped since - alas, accidents happen (it was time to buy a new phone anyway). The cruise director notified us that due to a medical emergency on board, we were sailing at full speed (19.5 knots) back to Sydney and would arrive a few hours earlier than expected. We went up to the WJ again for fruit...(as you do) and then the cruise director notified us that one of the shows had to be cancelled because the rocking of the ship was too much and it was causing a list to one side - apparently the tech inside two70 can't operate if the ship lists to a certain degree. Not really a big deal for me since I had already seen Spectra's Cabaret. After this, we went down to NextCruise to put a $200 deposit down for the NextCruise whenever we decide on a sail date and ship. We were offered $100 onboard credit for this (I just told the lady to use it to settle our account and she said okay). After NextCruise - dad went back to the room to do some final packing and rest while put out my luggage and then went to watch the Farewell show - it was a person named Paul Brasch - pretty funny. Then Mike (CD) came out and basically thanked everyone for cruising with Royal and told us to have safe trip home in the morning. After this I went back to the room and it was time for bed.

Check this video by @Matt to see the differences between each Radiance class ship - starts at 8:04 "Best" is subjective, what might be the best for someone else might not be the best for other people. Just have a look around each ship and see what you think you might like/dislike - but smokeybandit said, they should be nearly carbon copies of each other save a few differences.

I don't know what it's called but it's the one for babies where there's a change table inside.

Day 11: dreaded disembarkation day

Day 10: will update when I get home But: the ship was rocking a lot and there was a medical emergency in the windjammer where one passenger fell and hit his head and fell unconscious. We had to sail full speed back to Sydney so we arrived approximately 1am instead of the usual 4am.

If you feel uncomfortable using the mens restroom, you can use the family restrooms - it's not ideal but if you're that worried, it's an option, most of the time, the public restrooms aren't that full, so not many people will be in there at any given time.

Most people cruise to get away from reality. Some people will probably stare and talk and make snide comments, but most of them won't care. There are LGBT+ meetings onboard where other LGBT+ cruisers can meet each other. Cruising is just like any other holiday experience you'll probably take. It's no different to judgemental people back on land, you'll find judgemental people everywhere.

Oh yeah those still exist, but I still prefer if it was done on the TV, much easier and less hassle waiting for someone to come collect the tags.

The ship is going through the Tasman Sea right now and it's rocking a lot. My dad made a good point. It doesn't matter how big the ship is! The ocean is always bigger. Also it annoys me when people call it a boat and not a ship...lots of first time cruisers on here calling it a boat...

Live. Love. Legs ended up being some 90's and 2000's hits with music, lights and dancing. Pretty cool show. What do you mean about the tags you put out at night? I don't think so? You can only order room service by calling now. I think it ended up being Mediterranean instead of Greek/Spanish. I don't remember. I'll definitely check the show out.

Day 9: Not really much happening. Sea Day as we make our way back to Sydney! WJ for Breakfast. After the WJ. I went to do the morning trivia in the music hall while dad went back to the room. After morning trivia was over, I went over to the captain and officers session where we could ask questions about the ship or anything related to Royal. Some questions were very weird and some weren't related to the ship at all. Captain/Hotel Director confirmed Ovation is going into dry dock in 2026 - possibly when she finishes the 2025-2026 Asian season. And also Lelepa is still on the cards for 2026. Some people just would not stop talking while the captain/officers were answering the question - not only is it rude, it's a bit disrespectful for people who want to go there to hear what the crew have to say. Regardless, it was pretty interesting to see what the captain and officers had to say. Captain said we have ~4,551 people on board and ~1250 crew on board. After captain's session, Wizarding World trivia happened in the Royal Theatre - I got 22/27 - there weren't as many people there as I thought there would be and there weren't as many as the Star Wars Trivia. After the Wizarding World Trivia we headed over to the WJ for lunch - lunch was the same stuff as the previous 10 day.. I really wish they'd change things up. After Lunch in the WJ - there as the "NextCruise Destination Trivia" which tests you on your knowledge of Royal destinations around the world. Not many people knew Petra in Jordan. Petra is on my bucket list of places to visit but unfortunately with the situation in the Red Sea at the moment - probably not going to be possible in the foreseeable future. After NextCruise Destination Trivia - I went to the Royal Esplande to buy some Royal Caribbean shirts. The designs this year aren't that good... (It seems like Royal are really skimping on a lot of things). Then I went back to the room to have a nap . Our dreaded disembarkation information arrived . I opted for Luggage Assist this time because my suitcase is super heavy and I didn't want to lug it up 2 flights of stairs to the two70 (that's where we have to wait). Theme for dinner was Royal night - the menu wasn't that great for the second night in a row; I basically just had prawns (shrimp) and for desert I just had baked alaska and strawberry ice-cream. After dinner we headed back to the room where we started to pack a little bit, then we headed to the WJ for fruit and deserts. Dad went back to the room to get ready for bed while I went to the Royal theatre to watch a show - Patrick McCullagh - he's pretty funny and the tricks he does are pretty simple, but he adds comedy to his tricks which adds to the appeal. There was this lady in front of my though who I felt was being very disrespectful, not only was she filming the whole thing (I know technically filming isn't prohibited, but most people don't) anyway, she was scrolling instagram, texting and it basically felt like she wasn't really interested in the show - her screen was very distracting... and the performer is trying to put on a good show and there's just people who don't seem interested. Regardless, it was still a good show and I think most people had fun, the acting by some of the guests were a bit cringe and over the top though, but that's just me. After the show finished - It was time for bed. Day 10: Final sea day. Will update when I get back to Sydney.