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12 night Aus > NZ cruise 2022


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Hi all,

I have  couple of questions, one specific to people who have cruised from Aus before and one for those who have done long cruises before. 
 

1. I’ve been on one cruise before In late 2019. I know that Matt often says that the arrival times for embarkation are more suggestions so when arriving to board my family all had different times. My partner and I had 11am and we could board straight away. My sisters family had 1.30pm and could not board with us. If you’ve sailed from Aus before/frequently do you find that the ‘embarkation times are suggestions’ holds true for embarking at Sydney? Or are they actual boarding time? (Note: regardless of answer here I do assume it will be different when cruising resumes due to the ‘rona).

2. MDR menus on long cruises. The last cruise I took was a 9 night cruise so it’s not like it was short, but this is a little longer than that one and I am wondering whether when cruises get this long, do they repeat MDR menus on some of the later nights? I’m thinking about the balance of specialty dining and MDR nights. There are so many more places to eat on Ovation than when I went on Voyager and I want to eat at all of them, but don’t want to miss out on the good nights at the MDR (not that I ever had a bad night there) when I’m eating at other place! So curious if there will be any menus repeated, in which case we can schedule specialty dining on those nights. 
 

Thanks! 

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Hello Vanessa, as for the embarkation time, Matt is correct, pre-Covid, I had a beer in my hand by 11am but now it will be scheduled as per the protocols. 

With the menus in the MDR, you do get some repeats on the longer sailings but the menus are quite a few options, so not really a big issue. For the longer cruises we tend to break up the MDR nights with specialty dinning, generally pre-purchase a 5 night dining package. I like to have a plan, so when we first board, I find out where to go to book the dining as it does vary, and book all my MDR and specialty dining; but this me. You can play it by ear, generally in the evening or early in the morning you can see what will be offered in the MDR and if nothing takes your fancy then book one of the alternative options. Also on the Ovation is the compliemetary Solarium dining, and it is a fantastic place to eat dinner; actual great for breakfast and lunch. Most people either don't know or forget it is there; we highly recommend it and its free.

Our only disappointment with the Ovation is Izumi; which on the Voyager and other ships I would go a few times. The location makes it quite noisy and not so private and for some reason, this is the only ship where we had some really bad misses in the Izumi restaurant. In saying that, food is really subjective.   

It is a great ship with lots to do and you will love it 

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Thanks @CruisingOz
 

I am fully expecting that post covid things will be strict for check in times to manage crowds, however was just curious whether my one experience pre-covid was the norm for Australia, or whether I just had a weird experience where they held to the schedule for other reasons ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. 
 

The 5-night dining package is exactly what we’re going for too. I did really enjoy the MDR but with 12 nights we’ll need to mix it up a bit. I am excited about the solarium dinner, the menu looks great. We actually tried Izumi on Voyager and we were not that impressed. The location was nice and quiet like you say, but the food just didn’t impress. We’re from Melbourne where there is an abundance of Asian food to experience at a pretty low cost. The food at Izumi kinda fell short for us. We’ll give it another go, but it’s probably not one of the restaurants we are hanging out for as it is. 

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As far as the board goes in Sydney, you are correct they send people away. We normally get there early and queue and the Intercruise staff all try to move us on and explain that you need to come back at your allotted time; which most people do. We never have, we tend to get them chatting and they leave us alone, and low and behold the barriers open and off we go. We have always done this. Now that we are D+ there were less questioning, but on one the cruises coincidently going to NZ on the Ovation we had a large family and friend group of 20 and my wife gathered them all up and in we all went through; many of whom were first timers. We simply ignore them and watch for when the terminal is empty and the managers start to gather and a minute or so late the flood gates open. 

Oh I am going to miss those mornings under the new rules  

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Pre-pandemic boarding times were enforced in Sydney and they will turn people away regardless of CAS status.   The only priority queues I saw were for the Key and Star Class. 

The terminal doesn't have large waiting areas so the concept is too meter traffic flow so you never really stop moving once you are allowed inside at your time, you just move from station to station and then right onto the ship.  Expect guests to try boarding early so there will be a lot of people standing around but I have heard repeat cruises who know terminal staff have managed to get through.  I guess you can try, but be prepared to be turned away.

ov_day1pm-22.jpg

Off peak the area looks a little less chaotic.

ov_day-2-20.jpg

ov_day-2-19.jpg

As far as menus what will happen is repeating entrees but possibly in different combinations.  I learned this on a galley tour.  Each cruise can vary slightly so if they have an abundance of one protein they can print new menus that may offer a variation that reflects trends for that cruise.  For example less chicken consumed early in the cruise may yield more chicken based entrees toward the end of the cruise.   

On the other hand they could simply take a day two dinner menu and use it verbatim on day nine.  They may not cycle precisely in the same order but you may recognize a menu from earlier in the cruise.

For me it's never really been an issue because I often want to try more than one entree or main course selection so a repeating menu is an opportunity to try something different.

As cruising restarts you can preview MDR menus in the app to get an idea of what you might expect.

 

You can read about my 11 night New Zealand cruise in this thread:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17870-standing-ovation-from-the-land-down-under-new-zealand-11-nights-feb-2-2020/

 

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19 hours ago, twangster said:

Pre-pandemic boarding times were enforced in Sydney and they will turn people away regardless of CAS status.   The only priority queues I saw were for the Key and Star Class. 

The terminal doesn't have large waiting areas so the concept is too meter traffic flow so you never really stop moving once you are allowed inside at your time, you just move from station to station and then right onto the ship.  Expect guests to try boarding early so there will be a lot of people standing around but I have heard repeat cruises who know terminal staff have managed to get through.  I guess you can try, but be prepared to be turned away.

ov_day1pm-22.jpg

Off peak the area looks a little less chaotic.

ov_day-2-20.jpg

ov_day-2-19.jpg

As far as menus what will happen is repeating entrees but possibly in different combinations.  I learned this on a galley tour.  Each cruise can vary slightly so if they have an abundance of one protein they can print new menus that may offer a variation that reflects trends for that cruise.  For example less chicken consumed early in the cruise may yield more chicken based entrees toward the end of the cruise.   

On the other hand they could simply take a day two dinner menu and use it verbatim on day nine.  They may not cycle precisely in the same order but you may recognize a menu from earlier in the cruise.

For me it's never really been an issue because I often want to try more than one entree or main course selection so a repeating menu is an opportunity to try something different.

As cruising restarts you can preview MDR menus in the app to get an idea of what you might expect.

 

You can read about my 11 night New Zealand cruise in this thread:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/17870-standing-ovation-from-the-land-down-under-new-zealand-11-nights-feb-2-2020/

 

Wow, twangstar, you really are the oracle of Royal.

It is embarrassing, I live near the port, having sailed out of it numerous times and worked there for a season, and never thought of taking photos. You really are amazing. I think it is my mission to come up with a topic that is new to you, Royal related; I dare say I may be scratching my head for a while.

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3 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

Wow, twangstar, you really are the oracle of Royal.

It is embarrassing, I live near the port, having sailed out of it numerous times and worked there for a season, and never thought of taking photos. You really are amazing. I think it is my mission to come up with a topic that is new to you, Royal related; I dare say I may be scratching my head for a while.

So you're the one who turned me away!!!!  Don't you know I am a .... ?!?!?! 

Beautifilt city.  I'm looking forward to getting back there one day.  

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On 3/29/2021 at 6:16 AM, twangster said:

Pre-pandemic boarding times were enforced in Sydney and they will turn people away regardless of CAS status.   The only priority queues I saw were for the Key and Star Class. 

The terminal doesn't have large waiting areas so the concept is too meter traffic flow so you never really stop moving once you are allowed inside at your time, you just move from station to station and then right onto the ship.  Expect guests to try boarding early so there will be a lot of people standing around but I have heard repeat cruises who know terminal staff have managed to get through.  I guess you can try, but be prepared to be turned away.

The perk of Sydney is that, even if you have luggage, there's plenty to do in the area unlike many cruise ports that are in industrial areas. Even just sitting there watching the harbour traffic and ferries can kill a few hours easily. That is if you're not just in a hotel within walking distance, which many people are, in which you can either check out late or store luggage. 

I've never cruise out of Sydney, but I can't imagine there are many better places to originate from as far as convenience and ease...and views. 

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On 3/31/2021 at 1:14 AM, Allen2 said:

We are going on three B2Bs on Ovation in 2022, ending in Vancouver.  Appreciate all the tips!  Most menu rotations on crossings, for us, have been repeat of earlier days, but as mentioned, menu choice makes this palatable.  

We would have loved to do the three B2B's but as Australians, the PSVA (some people call it the Jones Act) would not allow us to actually go ahead, so we could only do the one leg and flew the other legs. Because the ship departs Sydney Australia and then leaves a US port, Oahu Hawaii and onto another US port Kailua Kona without visiting an international port inbetween. We actually thought we could get around it by paying the fine to the TSA but when we contact them we found out the Royal would also be fined and although not specified the amount, told it was substantial.  

So jealous, what an awesome adventure, enjoy.   

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6 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

We would have loved to do the three B2B's but as Australians, the PSVA (some people call it the Jones Act) would not allow us to actually go ahead, so we could only do the one leg and flew the other legs. Because the ship departs Sydney Australia and then leaves a US port, Oahu Hawaii and onto another US port Kailua Kona without visiting an international port inbetween. We actually thought we could get around it by paying the fine to the TSA but when we contact them we found out the Royal would also be fined and although not specified the amount, told it was substantial.  

So jealous, what an awesome adventure, enjoy.   

Embarking down under clears you of any possible PVSA violations.  Your ticket starts in a non-U.S. country so you are free to debark anywhere and the PVSA isn't involved.

Embarking in Hawaii and then staying on before eventually debarking somewhere in the U.S. is another matter.  That is a PVSA violation.

The trick is starting in Oz.

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13 hours ago, twangster said:

Embarking down under clears you of any possible PVSA violations.  Your ticket starts in a non-U.S. country so you are free to debark anywhere and the PVSA isn't involved.

Oh, okay. Admittedly at the time we were trying to do the Anchorage, Hawaii and home to Sydney legs, but on our last cruise we enquired about doing the opposite and were advised the same. It is confusing unless you read the rules, and I think most TA's simple go with the no option. 

Thank you for the correction and I will look into starting from Sydney Australia. Doing the Hawaiian Island's on Royal would be great and ending up in my favourite city, Vancouver. I don't want to cruise the Pride of America, so this now opens up an option for us. 

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