Jamesszy94

Just attended the session where they ask questions to the captain and the other officers.

Something mentioned about Lelepa in 2026 (couldn't hear properly cause people wouldn't stop talking over the captain - lowkey a bit rude)

Captain basically confirmed Ovation (and by extension Quantum and Anthem, dunno about Odyssey or Spectrum) is the largest ship that will fit into Sydney, unless they get a bigger port. He mentioned something about 7 metre gap between the ship and the rock - again couldn't hear properly cause people wouldn't be quiet..

Hotel Director also basically confirmed that Ovation is going into Dry Dock in 2026.

There were a few questions I wanted to ask but didn't get the chance cause people kept rambling on..

Day 8 - We went through the Sounds of New Zealand! - Doubtful Sound early in the morning. Went up to the WJ for breakfast, needless to say... lots of people fighting over tables near the window. After breakfast, dad went to play bumper cars and I went to the arcade where I spent ~$10 on one of the machines to win a wireless charger. After winning the wireless charger, we sailed through Dusky Sound - it was pretty cold and windy on the top deck - bad mistake wearing shorts .  The Fiordlands of New Zealand are spectacular and I definitely recommend people sail through them at least once. After Dusky Sound, I headed over to the WJ for lunch. After lunch, we went back to the cabin to nap. Around 3pm, we sailed through Milford Sound. Milford Sound is easily the most beautiful of the New Zealand Sounds. They were nice enough to stop the ship for us to take photos. 

After Milford Sound, we waited for dinner. It was Asian night. The Pad Thai was very dry and the Sweet and Sour Pork just wasn't good. The Dumplings were very good though . So much so that I ordered 4 portions . Desert was the weakest part of the night. 

After dinner, dad didn't wanna do anything so we just went back to the room. I went to watch a game show in the two70 "The Majority Rules Game Show" where like the name implies - the majority answer wins. It was pretty funny... too bad I have noone to participate in these game shows with. Dad doesn't like doing anything. After this ended - I went to watch the production show - A Beautiful Dream (a show I've seen before, but like watching for the different cast). Just as good as the last time I saw it. 

It was pretty late at this point so I just went to bed. 

Day 9 - Sea Day

Day 8 - The sounds. Will update on the morning. 

Day 7: CONT

After finding the duck, we went back to the room where we just chilled for a bit, I went out the Music Hall to do the Morning Word-Search Challenge and then stayed for the morning trivia. The word search was about feeling and emotions - there was one word that nobody would find though "Euphoria" which is kind of funny if you ask me. Then trivia happened. One of the questions was what is the longest word that contains 26 letters, naturally you'd think the alphabet right? Nope, apparently the answer was "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which 1 - isn't even a real word, and 2 - doesn't have 26 letters. It's got like 32... so that was clearly a misleading question. After trivia finished, I walked around the Royal Esplanade for a bit - they have watches 2 for $40 and they look pretty good - anyone have experience with buying those kinds of things on the ship? then I went up to Deck 15 to hang around in the arcade and the SeaPlex. I spent about $14 trying to win a PS5... I was never going to win, but it was fun trying. After the arcade, I went back to the room to watch YouTube videos - the weather outside was raining and it was like ~10 degrees celsius. Miserable weather to be hanging out outside. Turns out dad went to the SeaPlex and saw me but I didn't see him, he was playing Table Tennis with some Chinese couple he'd met. Then we went up to the Windjammer for lunch - honestly, lunch service is probably the worst. I can see now why people don't go to the Windjammer.... (more about the Windjammer later). Then we went back down to the room to nap/shower/rest. We went down to the MDR at around 5:15pm. It was Italian night - naturally you'd assume there was lots of pasta and you'd assume correct. They had a grand total of 4 pasta dishes on the menu. I ordered the lasange and the vegan Spag Bol - can you even call it spaghetti bolognese if it doesn't have meat in it.. desert was Tiramisu - finally a desert I actually like. After dinner dad wanted to try the Bumper Cars - I didn't ride them - I'm not a huge fan of dodgems/bumper cars. I saw the guys that were staying in the Star Class suite and their genie there, naturally they got to skip the queue... like I said above must be nice having a genie to be able to get you to the front of the line for things. But again, I digress.

Dad wanted fruit so we headed over to WJ to get some fruit. After dinner - I walked around the Royal Esplanade a bit more then went back to the room.

I was going to go out for the comedy show, but I'd already showered and in my PJ's.... plus the Royal Theatre is on the other side of the ship... First world problems.. 

Just been in my room the whole time watching YouTube and getting some work done. So didn't really do much else today. 

Tomorrow is Day 8 and we arrive in the sounds (Dusky, Doubtful and Milford) so that'll be some great views. 

Observations:

- The main dining room was busier than usual today for some reason. Maybe people just didn't like what was on the menu at the Windjammer or the weather was just terrible and people wanted to eat and then stay in their rooms? Who knows, but the service in the MDR today was not as great as previous nights when it was less chaotic and busy. 

- The Windjammer was also surprisingly not busy, considering it's Greek/Spanish night. I don't know if it's just because people don't really care about the food, but we went around 7:30pm today (way earlier than usual) and it was not even packed, we could find a table easily. Honestly, I'm liking the Windjammer less and less each day. They never have anything different and it's literally just the same thing every night. (beef, curry, rice, pasta) - they just change like 2 stations and that's it and I guess they also change the desert stations - but like barely. The fruit stations are nice, but come-on, give us some variety in fruit.  Might just stick to the WJ for breakfast only, but we skipped the WJ for breakfast today and only went there to get fruit.

Must be nice having a genie be able to get you to the front of the line! 

I guess I'll never know

24 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

You have to call to get the 5th passenger and more added. They will even have a separate reservation number. 

Ah okay, thank you Ashley.. kind of annoying that we have to call, but I guess it is what it is. 

There'll be 5 adults and 2 toddlers (Time of sailing, my niece will be 6 and my nephew will be 4)

So I'm turning the big 30 this year... but it'll be in August and I'm planning on doing a belated sailing next year to celebrate me turning 30. I wanted to bring my brother, my niece and nephew and my SIL with me on a cruise - Unfortunately there's no way for me to use a travel agent in Australia - so I have to book through Royal directly.  But Royal's website is a bit hard to use since the max you can put into one room is 4 people. How do I book the 2-Bedroom Family Grand Suite or the UF GLS (if I decide to sail on SY, WN or SP) or anything that will fit more than 6 people in it if it doesn't let me put in more than 4 people when choosing rooms. I don't know if that makes sense. 

On Royal? They probably don't care what you wear, it not like there's someone outside the MDR going "Nah, no shorts!!! Get lost". I saw someone shirtless a few days ago in the MDR...

On other cruise lines like Cunard where the dress code is more heavily enforced, you'd probably be turned away.

Thank you for the blog! Looks like you had an amazing time on Oasis with the kids! Despite only being confined to the FlowRider viewing bench for 90%? of the time Safe travels home and look forward to your next blog whenever that is. Always love reading your insights. 

(Can someone tell Royal to send an Oasis class ship down to Australia?)

Day 7 - Solarium Bistro for Breakfast. I wanted some fruit so we headed over to the WJ... on the way.. Look what I found on top of the lifts.

The Solarium Bistro is honestly such an underrated venue - might go there again tomorrow - they more or less have the same stuff they have at the WJ minus the omelet station I guess + it's never packed there the times I've been. It's just a way more pleasant experience in the Solarium Bistro than the Windjammer. 

Day 6 - Final port: Wellington.

We stopped at our final port for the cruise in the capital of New Zealand! Wellington

Windjammer for breakfast, nothing too fancy. Gangway opened at 8am, I think a lot of people were already off the ship or waiting to get off by like 8:30. Dad and I got off the ship around 9:30 (Virgin Voyages's Resilient Lady was docked behind us, she's smaller than Ovation. Ovation is ~80-90metres longer and I think maybe ~20-30 metres taller. She's also about 58,000 gross tonnes larger, but I digress). By the time we made it into town, it was already like 9:45. We walked around for a bit and took some photos, I went to the Lego store to get my Lego passport stamped.. the lady who did it for me didn't stamp it properly but I realised too late and couldn't go back. 

Then we walked around for a bit more. I wanted to go to the Space Observatory... me being a huge space nerd, but I was like "I'll walk there, it's only 25 minutes".. I got about 1/4 of the way there and realized it's all hills which I wasn't going to walk, so I walked back down to meet dad who I had told to take the cable car to the top. One of Wellington's most famous attractions is its cable car.  The line was very long.... I'll show you photos when I get back to cabin. We got up to the top where we got off at Kelburn Terminal. Dad was tired so he sat down while I went to walk around. I went to visit the Space Place Observatory where they have a whole museum dedicated to the Planets, Star Formation and Galaxies. I watched a show inside the Planetarium which was pretty cool - it was about how Astronauts prepare for spaceflight - when the show finished, the guide gave us a 20 minute lecture on the different constellations in the skies and how they were used for navigating in the olden times etc. Once the show finished, I walked around the museum for a bit more and then I went to the gift shop - nothing really caught my eye that I wanted to buy. We caught the elevator back down to the bottom to Lamtom Quay Terminal where we then proceeded to be basic and ate at McDonalds, it was that or Subway... then we walked around the city for a bit more - I went to visit the Whitcoulls Store, it's 2 levels!! And they have so many books, toys and stationery inside, but didn't want to carry it all the way back to the ship...  At this time it was about 3:30pm already so we decided to head back to the ship.

Back on the ship - We went to the Windjammer for some fruit and some drinks then went back to our room to nap. I napped to about 5:30pm and then started getting ready for Izumi's. Went down to Izumi's about 6:28pm. 

First time trying specialty dining onboard a cruise ship - Izumi's was great and $39.99 for basically 3 dishes is pretty good considering how big the portion of sashimi is. My dad and I both ordered the sashimi dish, I ordered a beef bowl and he ordered sushi, but he didn't like the sushi. The Chocolate Lava Cake was so good! Dad ordered the Assorted Mochi Ice-cream which was also very good. Will definitely be dining there again... soon...

Tbh, I was pretty full from sushi, but I went up to the Windjammer to have some watermelon (I LOVE Watermelon and honestly could eat a whole one if it was possible) After Windjammer - I went down to charge my phone cause it was on 2%. Dad stayed at the Windjammer for a bit more. I got some work done until about 9:50 then proceeded to two70 where the game "Crazy Quest" happened... let's just say things got pretty interesting to say the least. Crazy Quest is always a hoot! Back in the room now, pretty exhausted. Day 7 to 10 are all sea days now except 8 or 9 when we go through Dusky/Doubtful/Milford Sounds - I can't remember which one but will keep everyone updated. 

Day 7 - Sea Day tomorrow. Hoping to attend more trivia's. Dad wants to try the bumper cars tomorrow. I think tomorrow night's cuisine is Italy - so that should be good, expecting a heap of pasta (they have Lasange!!!!) and I think it's Greek/Spanish in the Windjammer - might have a stickybeak after dinner. 

Goodnight everyone. 

They literally have it on repeat...

Speaking of Cats.

They have a documentary on Royal Entertainment right now on Ovation about the making of Cats. 

Day 5 (cont): Dad and I went to the Windjammer for lunch - there weren't that many people cause I think most people were still walking around Napier. Had a nap after lunch, it was exhausting walking around the entire city. But also, when you're so full from lunch, you kinda just wanna rest instead of doing anything. 

We went down to the MDR for dinner pretty late today, around 5:15. The theme was tropical night so naturally a lot of people were wearing their tropical shirts and so were the waiters. It was also Caribbean themed - honestly, nothing on the menu really looked that appetising to me. I went with the Crispy Coconut Jumbo Shrimp which was very good and then also the Asian Style Pork-Bao which was also very good. Main course I had the Pesto Tagliatelle - which was decent, not the best, but also not bad. (I didn't take a photo cause I simply forgot to). I ordered a lemon and lime bitters (yes I know, I'm very basic) but it was so bitter and had almost no flavour - I think the bar tender forgot to add the thing that makes it orange/red (idk what it's called  the bitters?) - he was nice enough to make me a new one though! Desert was strawberry ice-cream as usual - Honestly. I'd say my least favorite part about the MDR menu so far are the desert options - every desert I've tried didn't taste good so I've just kinda stopped getting the fancy deserts. After dinner was just a pretty chill evening - did some laundry in the bathroom sink (yes, I'm that kind of person) - now just waiting for it to dry - the aircon is at like 19 degrees. Then went to the music hall to watch the game show "Who Wants To Feel Like A Caribbeanaire" - apparently Royal got in trouble by the producers of WWTBAM because its original name was Who Wants To Be A Carribeanaire so they had to change it. Nevertheless, it was pretty tame, the questions were kinda basic - the host was pretty funny though, but people just wouldn't shut up and kept yelling out the answer even after she told the audience not to. Anyway. Bed time now, pretty exhausting day. 

Wellington tomorrow - Hoping to get to the LEGO store and explore the capital of New Zealand.

Izumi's for dinner tomorrow. First specialty dining experience on a Royal cruise .

Also St. Patrick's Day tomorrow so I expect a lot of people will be wearing green. I had totally forgotten about St. Patricks Day - luckily I have a green graphic tee that I threw into the suitcase. 

7 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Then, I lost 90 minutes of my life watching Cats. The things we do for our kids

These people were all smarter. 

People were leaving in droves! Entire rows were emptying out. Sort of rude. It was not my favourite either, but still. I felt bad for the cast. Not sure if they are used to it or not. 

That's kind of sad that the performers work so hard to try and put on a good show but people leave because of the bad reputation the movie has.. it's a shame. I think some of the comedy shows aren't that funny, but I'd never leave because I know they worked so hard to try to put on a good show for people!

6 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Our night started off with Giovanni’s. Yummy food. Super stuffed! 

That food looks so good! Why does the food in the MDR never look like that  

Should just get a Flowrider in your backyard at home (assuming you have the space for it )

Day 5: We're docked in Napier. Gangway opened 9:30am, all aboard time is 4:30pm! Napier is way bigger than Picton and actually has shops. They had markets here which was pretty cool. The markets were pretty small though, and it was half a street long. Not sure if that's always the case or if it's just because it's Saturday. Dad sat down in the city centre while I walked around. Spent ~$40 at Timezone just for a bit of fun. Then I went to the Aquarium... to look at the gift shop...then it was about 1:30pm so we headed back to the ship. I was originally going to book a shore excursion for Napier where they take you around the city on a bus and then you go inside the Aquarium, but I basically walked around the city and went to the aquarium anyway... I just didn't go inside. 

Some observations: Mike (CD) specifically told people to not bring food or drink off the drink, lo and behold, two people thought it wise to bring their coffee off the ship. Unsurprisingly they were stopped at the gangway and told to chuck it. Which held up the line for like 10 minutes. Pretty chilly in Napier

Day 4: We arrived in Picton around 11:00am but the gangway wasn't open till 11:45am. One of the downsides to living on Deck 3 is that they block off both sides so you can't get to your stateroom easily... everytime we'd have to get someone to move the barrier for us if we wanted to go back our staterooms...but it's whatever, not the end of the world, but I should have known when Royal assigned us Deck 3.

Picton is a nice little town that basically takes about 1 hour to walk around the entire city centre. Royal? Or the Port? provides you with free shuttles into the town centre though, since Picton is a working port and pedestrians aren't allowed to wander. It's full of timber logs. I didn't want to pay for a shore excursion cause it was a bit expensive.. I walked around the city why my dad just sat and waited for me (He had a sore leg so he couldn't walk much, which is fair enough), we got back around 2:30pm. I booked North Star for 4:15pm but went earlier cause they had room... I don't get why you'd want to do the North Star on Sea Days.. it's basically just ocean. 

Went to get a bite at SeaPlex Hotdogs. Very underrated venue that I think many people don't know about. 

Dinner was UK themed... the Fettucine Alfredo was very good, and the soup has been the best since Night 1. Definitely better than last night. Tomorrow is Caribbean themed. 

There was an encore performance of Live. Love. Legs that I considered going to, but I'd already seen it so I decided to walk around the Royal Esplanade instead... I would buy one of the Rolex's or the Invicta's... if they didn't cost an arm and a leg. But alas. It was around 9:20 so I decided to get to the Royal Theatre early to secure a seat for the Love and Marriage game show. Needless to say... some secrets were revealed. A couple from Indiana won  , there was this couple who were married for 58 years, but I don't think they really knew what was going on, cause some of the answers didn't make sense. Regardless, it was still extremely funny to watch. Although, the woman sitting next to me would not stop talking the entire show and it was very annoying and everytime she laughed she did that really weird squeal thing that people do when they think something is hilarious. She ruined the show for me... plus the guy on my right spilled my drink as he was sitting down cause he accidentally knocked it over - he offered to buy me a new one after the show, but it's whatever, it was already almost finished so It wasn't like a huge deal, just a slight annoyance. Nothing else really on now so bed time! 

Day 5 tomorrow- Napier

The ship is rocking again.. we're back in rough seas...

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

No clue. I just haven't seen it in awhile!

Bloody annoying to say the least... I just want to be able to order on my TV or at least let us order on the app. I hate having to use the in room telephone cause half the time they can't hear you or you can't hear them.

We're docked in Picton. Just waiting for all the logistics and then we can get off the ship!

Day 4: We've arrived in our first port of call - Picton. Nice little town on the very north of New Zealand's South Island. We dock around 11:00am and gangway opens for people to get off around 11:45am. 

No breakfast in the WJ for me today. Honestly, it's just the same thing everyday. Bacon, eggs and mushroom. Might head up to get some fruit... I HATE not being able to room service on the television anymore!!!

Can't wait to see pictures of Wonder.