Jamesszy94

It's because Icon is currently the latest and greatest and of course people are gonna be talking about Icon for months, when Utopia eventually launches and the novelty of Icon was worn off, people will be talking about Utopia, that's just how it is. When Symphony was just released, people barely talked about Wonder, when Wonder came out, everyone was talking about Wonder because she was the latest and greatest.

Well I'm hoping I bid enough for the upgrade...

Oooh, Outer Space, that's definitely one I'd attend. I'm a huge space nerd so I'd probably do pretty well at it I reckon. But the other topics seem pretty generic like the ones on the other cruise ships... I know usually if it's Harry Potter/Wizarding World, there's a pretty huge turn out, but some of the other ones like Airport Codes or Movie Quotes, there's not as many people... Wish they'd change it up a bit re: trivia. Have some new topics or something

What's the trivia on board like? Is it like the generic Harry Potter, Disney, etc Or do they have new trivia topics?

Just buy a bunch of cheap Effy jewellery, or can you not use OBC for that kind of things? PLEASE tell me the ship left without them

Yeah, I'll have a look into it. Not getting my hopes up though because I would still need to fly to the United States which would be probably an extra $1500-2000 PER PERSON. That's like 5k per person including hotels. Something which I'm not willing to pay (says the person who paid $8,000+ to sail 4 days on the Disney Wonder...)

Oh, you're right. I've bid on an Oceanview with Large Balcony and a regular Oceanview. I figured it was cheaper this way to maybe get an upgrade, I called Royal this morning, and to upgrade from IGTY to Oceanview it was AUD$1275 and to a balcony was AUD$2050... yeah I'm not paying those prices.. Wish me luck, didn't bid too high, so hoping I'll be able to upgrade to at least one of them

Why is it cheaper to bid on an oceanview with a large balcony than a regular oceanview? Someone elaborate... cause I'm confused

Nothing is wrong with Enchantment or any of the other Vision class ships, I've personally never sailed her, but I'm sure she's still a great ship, just snide comments because of her age and that she feels "dated" and she doesn't have the latest and greatest (waterslides, rock climbing, Flow Rider etc). So people immediately assume she's a crap/bad ship. (Not saying anyone here, just general comments I've read all over the internet)

In other news... many chair hogs?? Have Royal started collecting things from chairs and put them away for safekeeping???

Dam.. you'd think being a multi-billion dollar ship, they'd have better pressure showers, I guess that's what happens when most companies try to go "green" and are trying to be environmentally friendly. At least give us the option to change the pressure.... Thanks for answering.

This sailing is in 2 weeks and there's still a HEAP of balconies available, and this is just deck 6...

Could be something to do with the North Star being out of service? Maybe going into dry dock for repairs and they'll add other features? I don't think Quantum has been selling well regardless, each time I do a mock booking, there's a heap of cabins still available. I have a feeling it's sayonara to Quantum in Brisbane and we'll only have one Royal ship in Australia - Ovation unless they send us Voyager Maybe the transpacific just wasn't selling well. The thing about Brisbane is most of the ports that it sails to are the same ports that Ovation sails to in Sydney and Ovation is almost sold out on all South Pacific cruises. I honestly don't think there's much of a cruising market in Brisbane because of this... Now if Quantum went to different ports than Ovation, I could see the appeal more - Moreton Island, Fraser Island, even up to PNG, the Solomon Islands, heck even Darwin.

Ovation is a great ship! Hope you enjoy.

What's the pressure on the showers like? Do they have options to change the pressure? I hate low pressure showers....

What are the elevator wait times like?

It's a shame they didn't spruce them up or make them a bit fancier for the inaugural... you'd think being as ICONic as Icon is... they'd put in a lot more effort. Alas, it is what it is. Thanks Ashley. That last bit about the departure details though

What I want to know is if they've gone away with paper cruise compass's entirely, or can you still get them and what do they look like? Anything special or are they the standard cruise compass you'd find on any other ship?

Yeah, thanks for the advice lol. I've checked with MEI Travel but they only deal with US prices - like all travel agents do (at least ones based in the US) and Danny from Harr Travel doesn't deal with Australian clients.. yet, I live in Australia, so if you convert USD back to AUD, it'd probably be about the same. I'll just wait till 2034... when the prices come down real low But on top of that... I'd have to fly to the US (which would cost even more for flights and hotels) but it's not like Icon is travelling to any port that I particularly want to visit, I don't care about PDCC..

Does this mean you've converted back to being a WJ person? at least for noodles? I agree so much! I'm just sitting at my computer looking at Icon of the Sea prices... but that's all I'm doing - looking, I can't afford to sail on her... so I'll just live vicariously through this live blog and the mods

Your husband must be very patient if 30 minutes is "not too bad"... I waited almost 30 minutes just to take 2 photos with Mickey Mouse on the Disney Cruise I went on last week... 30 minutes felt like almost an hour cause there was so many people... Haha about the kids! Glad you are having a great time though!

Yeah, QN has two70. I've never tried two70 for breakfast, but I have tried the Solarium Bistro - the Solarium Bistro is definitely less ratchet than the WJ buffet (for lack of better word). Maybe this time I can convince my dad to not go into the WJ at all... unless we absolutely have to.

Just you and the husband this time? No kids?

I see, yeah, these are valid and fair points and I can understand why people would be turned off by the Windjammer. I do try to avoid the Windjammer during the peak hours - but we have no choice for breakfast... might just order Room Service this time or try somewhere else. But usually I go around 7-8pm where it's not as crowded because most people are either at the shows or the casino/other activities - anyone recommend any good places to have breakfast on QN class ships? You're right about the proper buffet etiquette, so many times I've seen people just grab the food with their hands or they drop something on the bench or the counter next to them and then they just leave it there or put it back into the food.

The last time I was on Ovation (March, 2023), the MDR food was nothing to scoff at, like it wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything amazing either, but I remember when I sailed on her back in 2016 - because she was still relatively new at the time, I remember the MDR food being so good! Maybe for my upcoming New Zealand cruise... I'll avoid the MDR and finally try one of the specialty dining venues...