Ovation Goes North, Way North to Alaska! 11 Nights, May 13, 2019

twangster · May 15, 2019

1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Hey, maybe you'll get to see the Northern Lights ?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-northern-lights-aka-aurora-borealis-could-be-coming-to-a-sky-near-you-this-week/ar-AABmuze?ocid=ientp

I think MN has a better chance :)

At the moment cloud cover is our enemy.

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast

SpeedNoodles · May 15, 2019

1 minute ago, twangster said:

I think MN has a better chance

At the moment cloud cover is our enemy.

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast

Well darn it - I'm completely out of range. But you take better photos and what a way to enjoy them, if it was possible!

twangster · May 15, 2019

A new restaurant is being installed during this sailing.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/05/13/fish-and-ships-specialty-restaurant-coming-ovation-of-the-seas

Looking back at embarkation in the waiting area across from me was a contractor. Given his bag of tools and dress he was boarding to work. He had a large bag of tools so it was sort of logical he wasn't a guest bringing a large number of tools with them to go on a cruise :). My guess is he is working on the Fish & Ships on the pool deck.

twangster · May 15, 2019

When ever I sail on Quantum class I drop by the SeaPlex and take a picture of the activity times. While they may be listed in the cruise compass, you only learn those the day the cruise compass is left in your cabin. Sometimes it's good to know days ahead when each activity will be so you can leave time for them as the cruise progresses.

While these times are unique to this 11 night cruise, this should give you an idea of when these activities are planned.

twangster · May 15, 2019

In the RoyalIQ app used on Ovation (until it is converted to the new app) they have listed some Shore Excursions with pricing. Pricing in the cruise planner before sailing was better and in some cases sales were offered prior to sailing.

I booked this one for $318.99:

I booked this one in advance in the cruise planner for $100:

I didn't book this one but I'll post it here for a point of reference:

As you see you can save some money when you purchase in advance and you can save even more if you watch for sales in the cruise planner in the months before cruising.

arebee · May 15, 2019

18 hours ago, twangster said:

Day 1 - Getting To The Ship

I left my hotel at 9am walking 1/2 mile to the light rail Bridgeport station. It's concrete sidewalks all the way so managing my two spinner suitcases wasn't as bad as I feared it might be. Drivers here respect the crosswalks unlike some big cities where crosswalks are target zones for pedestrians.

The two zone fare one-way was $4.20 CAD or $3.12 USD. Pretty inexpensive transfer to the ship. I purchased with my credit card having notified them of my international travel plans before hand.  If you take the train from YVR airport there is an additional fee when leaving the airport. That fee didn't apply to me since I boarded the train further down the line.

Since the Canada Line services the YVR airport luggage isn't an anomaly although there isn't a luggage rack. I slid mine into a window seat next to me while I sat in the aisle seat.

The first "Waterfront" train that arrived at the station was packed with daily commuters on this Monday morning so I waited for the next train that was nearly empty.

Arriving at the end of the line the Waterfront station is approximately one 1/4 mile from Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. I used the elevator from the train platform to reach street level and made the right turn to head towards Canada Place. The paper ticket card I purchased is needed to exit the platform so keep your ticket handy at all times.

Once at Canada Place the cruise terminal is accessed by going down the ramp following the signs. Taxis, shuttles or private cars would drive down the ramp.

I arrived shortly before 10am. Total transfer time from my hotel including walking to the train and to Canada Place was around 50 minutes.

Departing guests were making their way up while I headed down.

The terminal uses four stages to mark the embarkation process with signs for them labelled one through four. Step 1 is the baggage drop which is geared for vehicle traffic down on the P2 level of the parking garage below the terminal. For pedestrian arrivals you can use a parking elevator to reach the P2 level.

Following the signs in the parking garage I was led to the baggage drop off in the parking garage.

There is a desk set up for guests who did not print luggage tags at home.

Guests with tags already on their bags can skip this and go directly to the drop area.

This is organized by forward cabins to the left and and aft cabins further down.

With baggage dropped off, it was back up to the terminal using the same elevators or stairs. Here there were signs for step 2, check in, up the escalator.

The check in hall is up one floor following the signs for step 2.

Terminal contractors with tablets were here to greet me, scan my SetSail pass and passport, take my photo and finally stamp my setSail pass.

Following the signs for the loop around to step 3 the path takes you outside along the edge of the building to an escalator down to security.

At the bottom of the escalator I was directed through to security where I didn't take any pictures but it's clearly marked for step 3.

Typical cruise security with carry on through X-Ray and guests through metal detectors much like airport security.

After this was step 4, US Customs and Immigration. No pictures but it was nice to pre-clear US customs here so we wouldn't have to deal with it mid-cruise. They have kiosks where you scan your passport, make your declarations and proceed.

With that complete I was led to a holding area since guests were still debarking the ship. Time at this point was 10:25am.

Initially there was seating for around 250 guests but with the ship delaying embarkation they expanded this and added another 250 seats, then another 250 seats.

The terminal appeared to have wifi available but it didn't work.

Instead my phone switched to 3G cellular this far into the interior of the terminal away from the LTE signal I had been enjoying outside. T-Mobile includes Canada and Mexico in my home area so my phone works no different compared to being at home with no additional charges.

Terminal contractors were very apologetic stating it doesn't usually take this long before the ship is ready. I suspect departing guests were slow to leave as we could see a few heading off and through the terminal from time to time as we waited. Finally the ship was ready for us and we were led to the typical embarkation photo area and outside to the gangway.

Time to start boarding - 11:25am.

They were busy loading the ship down on the dock below us.

Up the covered gangway and onto the ship.

It was a very organized embarkation with the four steps clearly labelled and easy to follow. In fact it may be one of the most logical and easier embarkations I've experienced.

We stayed in the Fairmont on West George street for a week last September (straight up the road form the port). We walked down the hill to the port for our cruise on a HAL ship. I agree with you about the crosswalk thing, its nice they respect it but if you are in it when the light changes they start blowing their horns. I also liked the embarkation, it was smooth but you do a lot of walking to finally get to the waiting area.

J_Keeble · May 15, 2019

On ‎5‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 6:10 PM, monctonguy said:

Could very well be....I am not too tech savvy...but I can see pretty much anyone else's except his when he posts.......when I am a work so makes sense.

me too, I think work block the hosting site too :(

SpeedNoodles · May 15, 2019

1 minute ago, J_Keeble said:

me too, I think work block the hosting site too

That's grounds for finding a new job!

monctonguy · May 15, 2019

weird...his pictures I could see for the first couple pages..and then starting yesterday once aboard the ship I could no longer see them....maybe work doesn't want me daydreaming about cruising all day!..lol

SpeedNoodles · May 15, 2019

6 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

weird...his pictures I could see for the first couple pages..and then starting yesterday once aboard the ship I could no longer see them....maybe work doesn't want me daydreaming about cruising all day!..lol

twangster · May 15, 2019

Day two afternoon included an enrichment lecture in Two70° featuring a guest speaker focused on Alaska. I caught the tail end and it was informative.

I noticed another event in the cruise compass shortly after the enrichment lecture. "The Royal Caribbean Story, Part 1". This was the name of the documentary I watched on the Symphony Transatlantic so I was hoping it was related.

It was! Instead of just playing the video they took the narration from the video that the Cruise Director and Activities Director took turns reading in between interviews and clips that played from the original video.

It provides great insight into the history of Royal Caribbean. Part 1 covers 1968 - 1999. Part 2 coming later in the cruise covers the second video presumably which covers 2000 - somewhere around when Oasis class was announced and being built if I recall correctly from watching it on Symphony.

This is the stuff that @Matt trivia is made of. Don't miss it.

twangster · May 15, 2019

Whales spotted off the port side!

The distinctive sprout of water appeared in the distance too far off to get a picture. They are out there, heading North to their summer feeding grounds.

ScooterScott22 · May 15, 2019

10 minutes ago, twangster said:

Whales spotted off the port side!

The distinctive sprout of water appeared in the distance too far off to get a picture. They are out there, heading North to their summer feeding grounds.

Thanks, we will keep an eye out. Saw some yesterday morning on the Starboard side, also around 0900.

twangster · May 15, 2019

Day Two Evening - Pixels

Pixels is the only show that uses reservations on Ovation. It's sort of a techno show at times that also features some strong vocal parts and the solitary call of a saxophone with an aerial artist at other times.

It starts with some background images projected onto the Vistarama screen that lowered soon after guests started entering to find a seat. The backgrounds had a distinct Asia-Pacific theme to them.

The backgrounds change with a ripple effect

Our main character and leader of the Pixels gets the show off to a start.

Love the sound of the sax.

One of the harmony sisters.

Shout out to the bots out there.

These same robo singers "perform" on Anthem.

Girl in a drum. She's very athletic, moving and holding different positions to the rhythm of the music.

The grand finale.

All in all a great show that I enjoyed more than Spectra's Cabaret on Anthem.

twangster · May 15, 2019

After Pixels I headed out past Vintages but it was barely still Diamond happy hour so I had time for one more drink. I noticed they have a cigar humidor which people sometimes inquire about. Here it is with pricing:

hayley_bopp · May 15, 2019

Love the photos of Pixels.

Technical question: How do you get such fantastic shots if the shows? Do you use camera on phone or DSLR? What kind of settings do you use?

TIA

twangster · May 15, 2019

After the show there was an Elvis impersonator in the main theater but that isn't my genre so I skipped it.

The cloud cover remained but i saw a sliver of a sunset on the horizon forward.

I left my cabin to see what I could capture of this so called "sunset" from the Solarium.

The bridge wings were closed so I had to settle for a shot through the glass with a reflection in it.

Out of the Solarium and back into the indoor pool area where there are windows that slide open.

By this time most guests had settled in for the night so I used the opportunity to take some pictures around the ship. Here are some:

The VIA:

The lobby art is in motion. It's a series of paddle like blades that swing back in forth.

Finally the Esplanade without hordes of people.

This next piece of art is from artist Celilia Lueza called "Epiphany II":

Izumi:

Wonderland:

Some folks may not have sailed this class or a ship with similar decor so here is a typical elevator lobby :

With that it was bed time.

twangster · May 15, 2019

1 hour ago, hayley_bopp said:

Love the photos of Pixels.

Technical question: How do you get such fantastic shots if the shows? Do you use camera on phone or DSLR? What kind of settings do you use?

TIA

I use cameras that capture in the RAW format. This allows for a lot of options to "fix" pictures later in software. For indoor or dark shows I tend to use around 1/80th or for skating shows 1/250th shutter speed to avoid motion blur and I let the auto-ISO of the camera go crazy high, then I apply noise reduction later in software to remove the noise that is typical with high ISO photos.

The Pixel shots were captured with a Sony RX100M6. It's not inexpensive but small, discrete and it shoots in RAW just like my bigger mirrorless camera does. It's a very capable little camera.

The Cruise Junkie · May 15, 2019

43 minutes ago, twangster said:

r

Great Pic Of The Flowrider!! Can You Please Try To Take A Photo Of The DJ Mixer On The Boat. I Am Just Wondering What They Use On That Boat.

Thanks

twangster · May 15, 2019

4 minutes ago, Jaymac Radio said:

Great Pic Of The Flowrider!! Can You Please Try To Take A Photo Of The DJ Mixer On The Boat. I Am Just Wondering What They Use On That Boat.

Thanks

Will try. I've yet to see a DJ on the pool deck, no outdoor parties.

The Cruise Junkie · May 15, 2019

Just now, twangster said:

Will try. I've yet to see a DJ on the pool deck, no outdoor parties.

Are They Running Open Night Club Every Night On That Sailing? I Know When I Used To Work On My Last Ship Ten Years AgoThey Did Club Night Every Night.

twangster · May 15, 2019

11 minutes ago, Jaymac Radio said:

Are They Running Open Night Club Every Night On That Sailing? I Know When I Used To Work On My Last Ship Ten Years AgoThey Did Club Night Every Night.

The Music Hall has permanent sound and lighting equipment.

twangster · May 15, 2019

Before I forget, time change at the end of day two, we are now on Alaska time, four hours off eastern time.

tiltoo · May 15, 2019

hey @twangster we can't thank you enough bro. All these posts are so informative & exciting. Your share on VOOM was so helpful. Can you give us a realtime weather / clothing advisory on and off the deck. It will help so much in preparing for my upcoming May end cruising on Ovation.

Please also let us know about the Spa, Couples passes and your overall experience there, whenever you find time to be there.

Three cheers to you. Keep us posted.... literally glued to this blog !

twangster · May 15, 2019

Day Three - Sea Day

Here is the breakfast door tag I've been using to order a continental breakfast each morning. Time slots are 6am - 11am in 30 minute windows.

twangster · May 15, 2019

I was up early on account of still being on my home time zone two hours different. At 4:30am it was getting light out so I was hoping for a sunrise.

Temperature was 39° F according to the itinerary channel.

Finally blue sky above us!

To the East the sun was trying to rise but cloud cover obscured it and the mountain range that I know runs along the coast here. If you look closely you sort of see mountains along the water's edge.

To clear under the bridge in Vancouver with the largest margin possible they lowered the stacks. The gray area with the piping is an assembly that lowers as a unit. It appears it rides on those chrome support columns or they might be the hydraulic rams that lift and lower it.

The indoor pool area was a nice place to warm up. It's pretty massive and should work great for families on these sea days in Alaska.

twangster · May 15, 2019

The Case of the Disappearing and Reappearing Stacks

In order to pass under the bridge in Vancouver they lowered the exhaust stacks at the top of the ship's funnels. This along with timing the transit to occur at low tide provided the necessary safety margin to sail under the bridge.

May 13 - Vancouver harbor:

May 15 - At sea.

WAAAYTOOO · May 16, 2019

WOW ! Beautiful, as always.

Amazing that the Pixels costumes and staging is almost identical to spectra on Anthem ! Obviously, the vistarama images are entirely unique to Pixels but almost everything else is Spectra !

twangster · May 16, 2019

22 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

WOW ! Beautiful, as always.

Amazing that the Pixels costumes and staging is almost identical to spectra on Anthem ! Obviously, the vistarama images are entirely unique to Pixels but almost everything else is Spectra !

Minor differences. Somehow I enjoyed Pixels better.

ScooterScott22 · May 16, 2019

Ok, this is like “Where’s Waldo?” We dropped in on the Cruise Critic meet and greet, since my wife was following this cruise on there. One of the attendees took the mic asked if @twangster was in the room. Only response was - the sound of crickets. He made a few quite complementary remarks about your photos that you have shared and remarked he is looking to run into you.

Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.

ScooterScott22 · May 16, 2019

Since your cabin is port side I’ll share the view of the sunrise from our starboard side balcony this morning. The aft balcony was not as impressive but I can see we are much close to land on the port side from there. Hopefully you can find some wildlife with being so close.

twangster · May 16, 2019

@ScooterScott22 - I tend not to do M&Ms.

Another Alaska Enrichment talk on day three in Two70° at 1:30pm was well attended. This one focused on the Geography of Alaska.

Temperatures were in the mid-50s and sunny. Some folks were in t-shirts and shorts. Flowrider was going.

Voom is becoming very slow. We've switched to the old satellite platform that was designed for ships half this size. With 4000+ guests it's excruciating at times.

Dinner tonight in Jamie's was very good and courtesy of my travel agent. I was in a corner with poor lighting for photography so I couldn't get good food pictures.

I'm spending a lot time outdoors looking for photo opportunities and with the very slow Voom I'm going to switch from live blogging to semi-live or a few days delayed and will fill in the missing photos when I can give them the respect they warrant. As we move into the port intensive phase of the cruise I'm going to focus on the cruise and less on the blog, at least for now.

Back soon...

JLMoran · May 16, 2019

1 hour ago, ScooterScott22 said:

Based on the pics you shared of sailing under Lionsgate I think I have might have a photo of you, if you were wearing dark pants and a grey Hoodie.

I only see an empty space where that arrow is pointing, right between two other people.

Guess it goes to show that bots are like vampires in that regard; they don't show up in photographs or mirrors.

ScooterScott22 · May 16, 2019

34 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I only see an empty space where that arrow is pointing, right between two other people.

Guess it goes too show that bots are like vampires in that regard; they don't show up in photographs or mirrors.

Yea, it has been easier to find some of the wildlife. This morning there were a number of Dalls porpoise all around. For those traveling later in the season keep on the lookout. They appear to be about the size of the spinner dolphin in Hawaii but have a darker back and light (almost white) side.

JohnK6404 · May 16, 2019

16 hours ago, twangster said:

The Case of the Disappearing and Reappearing Stacks

In order to pass under the bridge in Vancouver they lowered the exhaust stacks at the top of the ship's funnels. This along with timing the transit to occur at low tide provided the necessary safety margin to sail under the bridge.

May 13 - Vancouver harbor:

May 15 - At sea.

I wonder if Oasis has, or will have, that capability... It's going to be a tight fit to squeeze under the Verrazano bridge here in NY next year!

The Cruise Junkie · May 16, 2019

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Flowrider was going.

Sweet!!

SpeedNoodles · May 16, 2019

@twangster. Is the AC/DC show still on the ship, or did they leave it down under?

twangster · May 16, 2019

Day Three - Sunset

After some heavier cloud cover it was nice to see it break up a little and we almost saw a sunset. We were at this point approaching the entrance to the Alaskan Inside passage.

There is another ship ahead of us crossing our bow in the distance.

Some heavier clouds in the distance stole the sun from our sunset but helped to produce some dramatic late evening skies.

With that it was bedtime in anticipation for tomorrow.

Day Four - Icy Strait Point

Progress so far...

Weather was continuing to improve and for the first time we were treated to a nice sunrise here at 4:55am.

There was some low cloud cover that filled some inlets and areas of the inside passage that the sun had not had a chance to burn off yet.

Technically the sunrise was earlier but with the hills and mountains it was hidden from us until now.

The effect of the sun and the low cloud cover was mesmerizing to watch.

At this 5 o'clock hour is when they wash the outer decks down which is how the glass is always so clean. This includes washing any sea mist off the North Star.

The sunrise was quite breathtaking this morning.

In the water there was frequently seals and small porpoises playing in the water (or feeding). It was quite interesting to watch once my room service breakfast arrived.

A coffee on my balcony watching the marine life of the Inside Passage.

As the sun rose higher the beauty of the Inside Passage began to unfold.

Finally in the distance I could make out the floating pier of Icy Strait Point.

The cloud cover is common at this morning hour but it looked promising for a great day.

We began our turn to dock starboard side in.

Finally we were at our first port of call and the first time a ship this large had ever visited ISP.

twangster · May 16, 2019

Day Four - Icy Strait Point

My day starts with an excursion booked through Royal Caribbean called Glacier Bay Flightseeing. Originally $399 but offered on sale for $319.

The meeting point was inside the first building at the end of the pier where many excursions depart from.

It's very well organized with large displays that matched the number printed on my ticket.

We boarded a bus for the 10-15 minute ride to the Hoonah airport.

Our chariot to Glacier Bay on this occasion.

The right seat or copilot's seat was offered so I jumped at the chance.

On the taxi out to prepare for take off our pilot spotted a couple of deer.

Soon we were airborne with a great view of the town and local marina.

Not long after I spotted Icy Strait Point with the profile of a familiar ship in the distance.

Hard to miss North Star.

Our pilot made the turn and we headed off towards Glacier Bay.

Everyone gets a window seat!

Alaska is quite beautiful.

As we flew North and the peaks increased in altitude so did the amount of snow.

In the distance I could make out the ice fields that feed the glaciers.

We were in the mountains now at an elevation of around 7,000 feet.

The ice fields are massive. It's hard to appreciate the scale but it's basically a sea of snow.

What's amazing about this excursion is not only to see some glaciers, but to fly above and behind them, to see the ice fields that feed the many glaciers in this area.

Climbing still we head towards some of the highest peaks in this region.

You can see how the snow has deformed from it's own weight pushing down slope beginning the multi-decade process of moving towards the face of a glacier.

Flying in close proximity to the peaks and seeing this with your own eyes is incredible.

Pictures don't do this justice.

Again you can see the snow where it has advanced downslope from it's own weight, like a land slide, compressing the layers below it into glacier ice and squeezing oxygen out in the process.

At this point we are flying above a valley of snow and ice with peaks on both sides.

In the distance another valley of glacial ice is approaching from the opposite direction.

Flying beside these rock peaks is an incredible experience. They are so beautiful and experiencing them up close like this will stay with me when I see a peak way off in the distance.

More evidence of motion in the sea of snow and ice below us.

We are literally flying around these peaks, not above them.

As we descend along with the valley of glacial ice below us we begin to see signs of melting with pools of turquoise blue water on the surface.

Turning around one more peak...

We are presented a magnificent view of the John Hopkins Glacier as seen from the glacier.

You can clearly see the moraine or dirt trails on top of the glacier.

With a banking turn so both sides can see the glacier below us you somewhat appreciate how wide this glacier is but it's hard to fathom the scale of all this.

At this point more peaks are right beside us.

Then we turn to follow the channel of water, the John Hopkins Inlet.

Turning the corner the scale of this all suddenly becomes clear when a tiny ship appears.

Originally looking small next to the rising sides of the valley (and the highest peaks are well behind us) I realize it's the Norwegian Bliss. The Bliss is pretty much the same size as Ovation being slightly smaller than Ovation by a narrow margin. In other words it's a pretty massive cruise ship, the largest to visit Alaska until Ovation arrived on this cruise, yet it seems so small in the vastness of the space.

Seeing something familiar, a large cruise ship, set the scale for what we had just seen and it blew my mind just how big all of it really was.

Continuing our flight down Glacier Bay I spot another glacier. The Lamplugh Glacier, something the folks on the Bliss will reach soon after our flyover.

Next is Reid Inlet and Reid Glacier.

We continue to fly South back toward the entrance of Glacier Bay park and with the peaks of the mountain range behind the snow capped peaks of these smaller mountains give way to lush green vegetation below the snow line at lower elevations.

It's all still very breathtaking and I could have taken many more pictures.

A suspended frozen lake in a bowl on the side of this mountain.

Our pilot does a fantastic job bringing us safely back towards Hoonah.

In the distance to the South I spot the North Star. Not that North Star...

Ovation's North Star and Icy Strait Point.

Our pilot spots a whale excursion boat so we bank overhead in time to see a whale surfacing near the excursion boat. No pictures of that one, had to see it live.

With the lush green land near Hoonah below us we gently land from where we had departed.

Back in our van and heading to Icy Strait Point my mind raced to process all that I had seen.

Our driver dropped us off near the entrance to Icy Strait Point by the old cannery.

I chose to walk back to the ship along the shore.

Here is this excursion compressed into a 7 minute video made from clips I took in between taking photographs.

At the 3 minute mark is the John Hopkins glacier and around the 5 minute mark you can see Ovation at Icy Strait Point.

It's hard to put into words everything that I experienced on this excursion. At $319 it was the most expensive excursion on this trip but I have to say it was well worth it. I've heard naturalists and others countless times talking about "The Ice Fields" but now I've seen them first hand. I can visualize the process of snow falling, compressing, hundreds of feet deep turning into glacial ice, having oxygen squeezed out and turning blue then slowly creeping it's way down a slope to the eventually find itself on the face of a glacier where we get to watch it calve countless years later.

Pretty awesome experience and I look forward to seeing Glacier Bay by ship now that Royal can begin sailing there in future years. When I do all this will come flooding back to me having seen this same area from high above it and from the opposite perspective.

twangster · May 16, 2019

Day Four - Icy Strait Point

After a bite for lunch I headed back shore side for my second excursion Spasski Valley Wildlife and Bear Search.

After a 45 minute bus ride we were given a safety briefing. This included the request to whisper so as not to startle the bears which could lead to an attack. Living in Colorado and hiking in bear territory this was confusing advice. I have always been told to make noise when hiking so as NOT to startle bears. Some hikers wear cow bells so they are announced. Hmmm.

By now it was raining and I was glad I had my rain coat. That's Alaska weather. The excursion takes place along a boardwalk like wooden walkway with three viewing platforms along a river. To reach the river you cross a meadow on the boardwalk.