F1guynz

I have received an email from RCI advising the Royal Up program will be available in NZ and Australia from tomorrow. i didn’t actually realise it wasn’t live in this part of the world but it will be interesting to see what offers maybe presented in the future. i don’t think we will bid as most cruises we take are 10-14 days so even at $100pp it is still $2000 extra for a 10 day cruise. having said that the Royal Suite in still available on our Independence cruise in September so never say never. 😊 Safari - 11 | 02 | 2019 at 17:34.pdf

This is an article our local NZ press published regarding a Pride of America cruise if you are interested. https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/cruising/110252350/pride-of-america-cruises-around-hawaiis-most-hallowed-and-remote-coastlines

We have already been offered the suite luncheon on embarkation day but it is not much to write home about really. Just a small selection of finger foods. It might be a better option to grab a few selections from the Windjammer and take them up to the suite luncheon area. To be honest I have never really noticed whether Chops is open for lunch on Explorer when we have boarded.

I have attached the menu from Izumi on Explorer Izumi_Explorer.pdf

I have done it on Explorer. From memory I think it was surf 'n turf. It was not an option available on Ovation so not sure about Anthem.

For us, we have always found our pins waiting in our stateroom when we arrive. We never got platinum pins but the emerald and diamond were waiting for us in little plastic bags attached to a congratulations note from the Loyalty Ambassador on 1st cruise after obtaining the required points.

Here in New Zealand and Australia the gratuity is included as part of the cruise fare so there is no option to add or remove it (This applies to any cruise regardless of country). For our convenience an 18% gratuity is also automatically added to any drinks purchased. Gratuities are not included for spa services and needs to be paid separately. Even though some gratuities are included in the base cruise fare we will normally still tip extra for our room steward and the waiters in the suite/diamond lounges for good service. (Not as much as somebody in the US though, usually between $20-40 USD for a 7-14 night cruise). A lot would also depend on where we are cruising. E.g. We would not normally tip the concierge sailing out of NZ or Australia as it is not expected, but we probably would sailing out of the US. We have not had a genie yet so I am not sure what we would tip them. As genies are promoted as part of purchasing a Star Class cabin I would feel like we have already paid for their services so would not tip excessively. As most Australians and NZ'ers generally do not tip I am sure it would be factored into the cabin cost just like stateroom and dining room attendants.

Hi, there were no restrictions I recall when we sailed on Ovation from Singapore to Sydney in 2017, When she is in the Chinese market the ship is managed differently. For example you have to pay to use the Northstar and bumper cars. I think you will be fine with your sailing.

I can find numerous reviews of Independence after the refurb mentioning a puzzle room/escape room called the Observatorium so it looks like you will be fine. The reviews imply that it has taken the place of the chapel.

We have eaten there before using the 5 night dining package so I am sure you will be fine.

If you booked directly through RCI I would expect the invoice to convey that information.

We were on Ovation last year from Singapore to Sydney and we could not pre-book any activities on the cruise planner. We just booked when we got onboard so you should be fine. From memory the only activities you could pre-book was Pixels. the bumper cars were busy but if you showed up later in the session the queue was much shorter. People all seem to go at the beginning causing a long queue. Once they have had a go they leave and the queue gets much shorter.

All pricing on Ovation are in USD. I don't drink alcohol so I am not sure the pricing was like but as far as I know it is comparable with all the RCI ships.

Luckily for those of us booking through the Australian website, gratuities are included in the cruise price so we don’t see them. Drinks have an 18% automatically added “for our convenience” when purchasing drinks. i prefer this to having to the previous way of having to pay them separately.

Taking the crown and anchor discount is not always cheaper so it pays to compare before booking. For example if sales promotion has obc that can be better value than C&A discount as you don’t usually get the obc using C&A discount. I also find the room rate can change when using C&A so the discount can be off a higher room rate. We rarely use the C&A discount because quite often the promos are better value.