Ovation Goes South to Hawaii Sept. 20, 2019

[twangster]

Time to bring you all up to speed, or at least up to date.

It's Day 3 here on Ovation but now that we've entered into our sea day phase I have some time to play catch up.  Unlike some other users who post in this section of the forum, I chose not to start this thread one year before sailing.  

Ten nights Vancouver, BC, Canada to Honolulu, HI.

Day 1 - Vancouver

Day 2 - Seattle

Day 3 - 6 - Sea Day

Day 7 - Cruising Napali Coast

Day 8/9 - Overnight in Maui

Day 10 - Kona

Day 11 - Debark in Honolulu

I flew into Vancouver the day before on September 19 and stayed at the Hilton Vancouver Airport.  It's significantly cheaper staying out by the airport compared to downtown.  I thought about going over to the Lions Gate Bridge for Ovation's arrival into Vancouver but low tide was around 4am when it would pass under the bridge so I stayed in bed.  

I'm not going to post everything in real time for this cruise but will drop in from time to time to post or show some pictures if anything interesting comes up.    

[twangster]

Hilton Vancouver Airport

Free shuttle from the airport. I don't recall booking a Junior King Suite but that's what they gave me.   Separate sitting area from the bedroom.

Bedroom.

Bathroom.

I walked over the the Richmond Center shopping mall and their food court for dinner.  

[twangster]

The last time I boarded Ovation in Vancouver I arrived at Canada Place to board at 9am.  I had a long wait inside a small waiting area so this time I left my hotel around 10:15am and took the Skytrain to Waterfront station for all of $3.12 USD.   From Waterfront station I walked over to Canada Place.  I knew the routine from last time, down to the P2 parking deck to drop luggage, back up to Hall C to check in (agent with tablet for a 30 second check in), down one level to security and US Customs to pre-clear back into the US.  This time my timing was perfect, they were just beginning to board as I reached the waiting area. 

First stop on board was to re-code my previous Wow band to my account and into the Diamond Lounge to finish some work.  Entering the DL requires the use of a SeaPass card which I wouldn't get until cabins were ready later but with a Wow band on my account I used it to enter the DL which I had to myself for over 30 minutes until someone else with a Wow band joined me.    

I saw a blog post about Ovation starting to use the new Royal app  so I tried the old Royal IQ app and found it still working.  Then I tried the new Royal app and sure enough it worked too. 

Shortly after 1pm the announcement came that cabins were ready.

[twangster]

Cabin Tour!

Deck 12 standard balcony - 12552.

View aft.

View down to the sea.

View forward.

[The Cruise Junkie]

Following @twangster!! Have A Great Cruise

[Lovetocruise2002]

Wow!  I thought you were skipping the blog this time!!!  So excited that you are blogging. 

This is one of my Top 3 bucket list cruises.  Cannot wait for the pics on this one.  No doubt it will be beautiful!  Happy sailing!

[twangster]

Vancouver is a great embarkation port and a beautiful city.

The last time I was on Ovation they were building the Fish and Ships restaurant on deck 14 by the pool.  This time it was open so I tried the basic fish and chips that included in the cruise fare.  It's small but a good snack size.  If you want a full meal I'd order two.  

I didn't know Vancouver had dry dock facilities for smaller ships.

As sail away approached the upper decks grew more crowded.

With that our sail away commenced and we headed towards the Lions Gate Bridge.

As if there was any doubt we cleared with ease and made our way into Burrard Inlet.

It's a very pretty sail away leaving Vancouver.

I enjoyed some balcony time taking in the scenery.

These pictures don't do the majesty of it all any justice.

[twangster]

The end of day one turned into night.

North Star was running on a walk up basis so why not?

I didn't realize it until later but I caught the reflection of the monitor with the North Star logo in this shot.

Hard to see in this photo but the night sky was full of stars.

The North Star Bar remains a favorite with incredible views and it's lightly used at night.   

Earlier on my way to muster a crew member stopped me in the hall and said he recognized me. I had to do a double take but saw it was Monaj from the North Star bar. He remembered me from May as I was often at or near this bar taking in the majesty of Alaska.  So happy he is still on!  That's him facing the other way taking care of another guest.  Really nice guy and great bartender.

Unfortunately it's nearing the end of the Milky Way season in the Northern hemisphere but I did catch the dipper from my balcony.  

[twangster]

Day Two - Seattle

We arrived early at around 5am. A low cloud cover hung over the city like a fog.

They had a lot to load onto the ship.  While we loaded passengers and luggage in Vancouver we didn't load any other supplies or fuel in Vancouver.  Instead that would be done today.  The cruise goes on past Hawaii to Sydney.  I suspect they have loaded as much frozen and non-perishables as they could to minimize having to re-supply everything in Hawaii.  Instead they'll take on perishables and fresh fruit there but much of the frozen supplies and beer/wine/alcohol would be brought on in Seattle.

[twangster]

Future of Flight and Boeing Factory Tour

Meeting in the theater we eventually led out to our bus for the ~45 minute drive North to Everett, WA.  

They don't allow cameras or phones on the factory tour but you can use them in the tour entrance building and outdoor observation deck.  

Historic Paine field where many wide body Boeing jets have taken their first flight after leaving the factory assembling building to the left and the paint building near center across the runway. 

There are over 30 finished planes waiting for delivery to their future airlines.

The gray planes are refueling tankers for the Air Force.  The white planes with their wing tips turned up are early 777X test planes.  The 777X will release next year, it's currently in development.  The plane uses extra long composite wings for increased lift but to fit in at existing airports the last 11 feet of the wing turn upward on the ground so they can fit at normal gates.

Another early model 777X clad in the green protective vinyl coating that is applied during the assembly process to prevent dings and scratches on the factory floor. 

The two paint buildings where all wide body jets made here are painted.

Inside the tour building they have some displays including a full size 747-8 tail.  

Up close you realize just how massive it is.

The next generation of the popular wide body 777 will be the 777X. 

Tail section of fuselage from the inside.

What the wall of the plane looks like without the decorative panels we all see when we fly. 

This 787X has been clad with a body wrap graphics instead of using paint.  Paint adds significant weight that is carried like cargo.  By reducing weight over the lifecycle of a plane airlines can save money. 

Free lockers are provided for personal items since nothing is allowed on the tour.  The factory tour consisted of a bus ride over to the factory assembly buildings  We walked through a tunnel to a freight elevator where we went up to an observation floor overlooking the factory floor.  It's amazing to see so many very large wide body jets being built.  First up was the 747 and 767 assembly lines.  Next we went to the 777 assembly line.  Pretty mind blowing.  Unfortunately no pictures.  The tour lasted 90 minutes before we were bussed back to the tour entrance building.  

[twangster]

Back to the ship around 1:30pm in time for lunch and a picture of the ongoing loading of supplies for the long repositioning cruise.

With no luggage to load they could devote the entire day to loading cargo and supplies.

Some sail away drama as four returning guests were missing.  You know what that means... pier runners!

As it turns out some of these guests are a few doors down from me.  I saw security knock and then enter their cabin looking for them.  They were documenting everything with their body cameras.  On a another cruise I learned the process they follow that most of us never see when guests are late returning to the ship.   The security officers stayed outside the cabin waiting for instructions to retrieve passports and wallets from the safe.  Those would be left with the port agent at the pier should the ship leave without the guests.

 

We waited for them and left 70 minutes late. 

A dock worker played the Sax as we pulled away from the pier.

Finally underway now following the NCL Joy that should have been long after us.

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

We waited for them and left 70 minutes late. 

Wow!  That was generous of the captain.  I did not know that they would wait THAT long.

[twangster]

Dinner in the Solarium Bistro. 

Dinner is part buffet style and part full service for entrees.  Order your main entree then grab your own appetizers from the buffet.  I was able to use a Diamond happy hour drink for a glass of wine. 

There are two items, Lobster Tails and Lamb Chops that cost extra.  Other than those extra cost items the meal is included in your base cruise fare.

The New York Strip is not of my favorite cuts of meat but in the name of the blog I thought I'd sample one here.  Not bad as New York Strip steaks go.  

All in all a nice "free" dinner experience as an alternative to the MDR.

[twangster]

After dinner I caught a sunset over the Olympic Mountains.  

Always beautiful.

Following the Joy out towards the Pacific.

I seem to gravitate to the North Star bar.

Solarium at sunset.

[twangster]

Day Three - Sea Day

We have a gentle swell coming at us broadside from the West.

This is basically what my view will be for the next five days.

Not bad.

[twangster]

Housekeeping items...

• O3b internet is back!  While in Alaska Ovation used the old legacy satellites.  Now that we are staying within range we are using the newer O3b satellites.  Yay!
• I asked the hostess at Coastal Kitchen about Junior Suite access for dinner.  It's accommodated on a space available basis.
• NFL coverage.  Two stations added to the channel line up.  Channel 40 and 41 have East/West games.  Channel 40 is labeled Sunday/Monday/Thursday.  Channel 41 is Sunday only.  Early games Jets/Patriots and Ravens/Chiefs.  Late games Texans/Chargers and Saints/Seattle.  
• We changed time last night.  Current time is 4 hours off Eastern time.  We change time again tonight.  

By the numbers (of guests):

• Australian 367
• Brazil 27
• Canada 860
• China 41
• Germany 91 
• Great Britain 41
• Ireland 18
• Israel 15
• Mexico 70
• New Zealand 55
• United States 2,588 
• Children on board 238

[twangster]

Enrichment talk in Two70° today.  History of Owahai, the original name for Hawaii.  Very interesting historical information.  I really appreciate these types of sessions being offered.  I understand there are more coming building on today's lecture.  

[JLMoran]

Just found this now and got caught up. I actually saw your Instagram post of the Seattle pier runners, I'm stunned the ship waited that long for them!

Have a great trip, and enjoy the sea day stretch! Hopefully there will be much to enjoy on the ship over those days. 

[Baked Alaska]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

Housekeeping items...

By the numbers (of guests):

• Children on board 238

That's 238 lucky kiddos on your cruise! My 14 year-old son would love that cruise! 

[Auto]

17 hours ago, twangster said:

Unlike some other users who post in this section of the forum, I chose not to start this thread one year before sailing.  

Is it just me, or did it get shady in here all of a sudden? 

[Matt]

That Boeing tour is a bucket list thing for me to do

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

That Boeing tour is a bucket list thing for me to do

The tour is $25 booked directly.  I paid $82 on sale through Royal, regular price was $109 but that includes transportation both ways.

I looked at Uber while there and it was $87 one way.  For me solo it made sense booking it through Royal as I couldn't get there and back for the $57 difference. 

For a family a rental car for the day might make more sense combined with buying the tour directly.  They do have a height requirement though so small kids wouldn't be able to go and would probably be bored.      

It was popular enough to warrant two excursion times.  There were 50 guests on the 8am time slot.  Unsure about the later time.  

No traffic on the way there on a Saturday morning but we hit traffic on the way back.  It's Seattle, so traffic is a thing even on weekends.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

9 hours ago, Auto said:

Is it just me, or did it get shady in here all of a sudden? 

Nope.  Just the run of the mill "blame it on the nice Canadian".  Regular occurrence. 

[StayFrosty]

On 9/22/2019 at 3:51 PM, twangster said:

 

Is that a ISS module being the 747 tail?  Looks like maybe a mock up of the Destiny Lab?

[twangster]

41 minutes ago, StayFrosty said:

Is that a ISS module being the 747 tail?  Looks like maybe a mock up of the Destiny Lab?

Yes.

[Cathy Drew]

Looks great so far. Awesome photos. 

[twangster]

Day 4 - Sea Day

Quick update on position and conditions.  Temperature around 72°F and some sun today (yesterday was overcast).  Calm seas with a gentle swell from the West.  

Our position on day 4.

Voom holding up well, 4Mb down, 2Mb up.

For these sea days I'm basically working much like I would from land.  I'm holding back from posting a lot until we get to Hawaii.  There is a lot going on around the ship.  Enrichment talks continue.  Shows are going on.  Bumper cars are bumping, North Star is doing it's thing.  Weather getting warmer with each passing day as we sail South, supposed to be high 70's tomorrow.  Time changing 1 hour each night.

Next update in a day or maybe two.  

[twangster]

New experience for me - the Monday Night Football game was shown in the pub and on channel 40. 

We've crossed so many time zones and changed times enough that the game started at 3:45pm.   I'm used to watching MNF in the evening.  It was kind of bizarre walking past the pub and seeing football on TV.  Who knew?  An afternoon, MNF game :) 

Just wait until Thursday and this coming Sunday when we've moved the clock a few more times.

[firebuck]

On 9/22/2019 at 1:43 PM, twangster said:

I saw a blog post about Ovation starting to use the new Royal app  so I tried the old Royal IQ app and found it still working.  Then I tried the new Royal app and sure enough it worked too. 

Royal IQ was suuuper buggy when I was on.  The cruise compass hardly ever loaded and you couldn't reserve anything in the app at all.  Dinner reservations never showed on the calendar either.  I'm guessing that they were concentrating on porting over to the new app during my cruise.

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, firebuck said:

Royal IQ was suuuper buggy when I was on.  The cruise compass hardly ever loaded and you couldn't reserve anything in the app at all.  Dinner reservations never showed on the calendar either.  I'm guessing that they were concentrating on porting over to the new app during my cruise.

RoyalIQ has been hit and miss for years.  I think that's why they gave up on it and created the new app a few years ago.  I could take your description and post it verbatim for an Anthem cruise in 2017.  

The new app is missing massive amounts of cruise compass items.  That too is consistent with my new Royal app experience on other ships over the past 12 months.   

It's a work in progress.  One day I hope to no longer need to say that.  Any year now...

[bretts173]

48 minutes ago, twangster said:

New experience for me - the Monday Night Football game was shown in the pub and on channel 40. 

We've crossed so many time zones and changed times enough that the game started at 3:45pm.   I'm used to watching MNF in the evening.  It was kind of bizarre walking past the pub and seeing football on TV.  Who knew?  An afternoon, MNF game

Just wait until Thursday and this coming Sunday when we've moved the clock a few more times.

Try watching Monday night football on Tuesday like I do each week. Then try explaining it to your kids.

[DDaley]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Just wait until Thursday and this coming Sunday when we've moved the clock a few more times.

How many times overall? Hawaii is only 3 hours different from west coast time so that seems weird you've already changed it so much! 

[twangster]

12 minutes ago, DDaley said:

How many times overall? Hawaii is only 3 hours different from west coast time so that seems weird you've already changed it so much! 

Nights 2, 3 & 4.

While the ship's master clock has changed, the itinerary channel and the billing system is slower to catch up.  Diamond drink coupons have to be entered manually at the bars since the billing system doesn't think it's diamond happy hour when it is.

[mrsb_p]

@twangster If you have time, would you find out what hard ciders are served onboard? Draft or can or bottle. Thank you!

[MotleyCruiser]

On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 12:47 PM, twangster said:

Is someone forcing perspective??  longest cabins in the fleet!!  and doors that no way  fit the closet they are attached too.  Love it!!

[twangster]

18 minutes ago, MotleyCruiser said:

Is someone forcing perspective??  longest cabins in the fleet!!  and doors that no way  fit the closet they are attached too.  Love it!!

That door is so big it covers the whole bed when closed.

[Andrew72681]

On 9/22/2019 at 3:51 PM, twangster said:

Another early model 777X clad in the green protective vinyl coating that is applied during the assembly process to prevent dings and scratches on the factory floor. 

I saw a story this week that the first 777x flight is pushed back again due to problems with the Engines. It’s pushing back Emirates Premium Economy release as well. They can’t afford a problem on the 777x so I imagine they’ll be very deliberate with the release. 

[Andrew72681]

11 hours ago, twangster said:

New experience for me - the Monday Night Football game was shown in the pub and on channel 40. 

We've crossed so many time zones and changed times enough that the game started at 3:45pm.   I'm used to watching MNF in the evening.  It was kind of bizarre walking past the pub and seeing football on TV.  Who knew?  An afternoon, MNF game

Just wait until Thursday and this coming Sunday when we've moved the clock a few more times.

That’s my favorite part of football Sunday’s on Vegas trips. Wake up, get breakfast, head to the sports book to make a day of bets. Being on the east coast I normally have to wait till 1pm. 

[twangster]

29 minutes ago, Andrew72681 said:

I saw a story this week that the first 777x flight is pushed back again due to problems with the Engines. It’s pushing back Emirates Premium Economy release as well. They can’t afford a problem on the 777x so I imagine they’ll be very deliberate with the release. 

Engines are out of their control, Boeing doesn't make engines.  Speaking of engines, they are the most expensive component on a wide body jet.  Know what the 2nd most expensive item is?

[Andrew72681]

16 minutes ago, twangster said:

Engines are out of their control, Boeing doesn't make engines.  Speaking of engines, they are the most expensive component on a wide body jet.  Know what the 2nd most expensive item is?

Yes,  very aware of the engines coming from GE, but with the Max issues, if something happened the news cycle would never blame GE.