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November 2019 cruise on Ovation departing Sydney


Keithds

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Hi Everybody,

 

My family and I are booked on the Ovation for 11nts departing Sydney on 23rd Nov 2019.

 

We have booked our shore excursions, but having difficulty making head or tail of the onboard activities and dining options.

 

The kids are 15 and 17 - yes they want wifi!!!!

 

We have mytime dining and my understanding is that you can eat for free almost anywhere - in the main 4 restaurants - but should book a table

 

We are still unsure if we should get the drinks package - we do like a wine, beer and odd cocktail!  Is it worth it??  Is there ever a sale??

 

Is there a fridge in the cabins - we have 2 external balcony cabins

 

Can you really take 2 bottles of wine onboard per cabin?

 

Should we book as much as possible in advance?

 

Any other tips or tricks that will make our holiday - much needed any better??

 

Thank you in advance

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2 hours ago, Keithds said:

The kids are 15 and 17 - yes they want wifi!!!!

Look under the Internet & More section for the VOOM options.  They are currently running a sale.  When you purchase VOOM, opt for the Surf & Stream and usually you can save by getting a multiple device package.  You can log off of a device and log into another one, so it doesn't require a dedicated device.  When you purchase the multi-device VOOM, you only need to select one name for the package.  If you are purchasing a 2-device package and you choose two names, you will end up with 2 of the 2-device packages (a total of 4 devices).

2 hours ago, Keithds said:

We have mytime dining and my understanding is that you can eat for free almost anywhere - in the main 4 restaurants - but should book a table

You will be assigned a dining room and it will be on your SeaPass card.  This is the dining room that you will dine at whenever you choose to eat.  All 4 of the dining rooms serve the same menu; they just have different decor.  With MTD you can make reservations if you want or you can just show up when you want to -- same as any restaurant on land.  You may or may not have a wait if you don't have reservations already.  You can make reservations when you get onboard for the entire cruise or one or two days or you can just wing it and show up as you like.  MTD offers flexibility.  

2 hours ago, Keithds said:

We are still unsure if we should get the drinks package - we do like a wine, beer and odd cocktail!  Is it worth it??  Is there ever a sale??

The drink packages are on "sale" all the time but it doesn't really mean much other than it is a discount relative to the price you pay when you get onboard.  Whether or not it is worth it will depend on how much you expect to drink.  Most alcoholic drinks run $8-$13 each, sodas are $3-$4 each, bottled water is $3-$4.  You also have to take into consideration any days where you aren't on the ship -- you won't have as much time to take advantage of the package.  Remember that every passenger over the age of 21 in the same cabin has to purchase the beverage package, so if the two adults are booked in the same room both will be required to purchase.

2 hours ago, Keithds said:

Is there a fridge in the cabins - we have 2 external balcony cabins

There's a teeny fridge in the cabins.  It is more of a cooler than a fridge as it will keep drinks that are already cold at a cold temperature, but it won't quickly chill a room temperature drink.

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From memory when we sailed on Ovation as there is no MDR two of the dining rooms are reserved for MTD and two are reserved for traditional. If you book MTD you will not be able to use the traditional or vice versa. There are also other included restaurants around the ship you can eat at.

not sure about the balconies but our suite had a fridge.

book the iFly and Pixels in advance if you can as then you will be secure in the knowledge you have a booking.

The  bumper cars get busy and the queues can get quite long. From experience everyone goes at the beginning of the session but by about half way through a lot of people have a go and leave. I would observe the first session to see if this happens for you.

On embarkation day they were running the bumper cars and there was no queue. I would suggest checking this out if you get on early. When in Sydney we normally get on board about 10:45 - 11am.

if you want to go for a swim before everyone has boarded and the pools get busy pack your swimwear in your hand luggage.

We have taken 12 cans of coke on board without issue as RCI allow it. You will have no trouble with this.

Have a great cruise when it is time, Ovation is a fun ship.

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On ‎9‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 8:18 AM, AshleyDillo said:

Look under the Internet & More section for the VOOM options.  They are currently running a sale.  When you purchase VOOM, opt for the Surf & Stream and usually you can save by getting a multiple device package.  You can log off of a device and log into another one, so it doesn't require a dedicated device.  When you purchase the multi-device VOOM, you only need to select one name for the package.  If you are purchasing a 2-device package and you choose two names, you will end up with 2 of the 2-device packages (a total of 4 devices).

 

Thank you, I was curious about this!!! 

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