Review: Ovation - Singapore to Sydney Repositioning Cruise 2017

[F1guynz]

We are back from our cruise on Ovation of the Seas Singapore to Sydney cruise. Although we enjoyed our cruise I must confess to being slightly dissapointed with some aspects of it. We were in Grand Suite 12646 which was very near the centre of the ship. The cabin was very nice but felt smaller than the Grand Suites we usually have on Voyager and Radiance class although the balcony was the biggest we have had so far. The cabin possibly felt smaller due to the wall the traversed the cabin. The Voyager class cabins do not have this wall and feel much more open and spacious.

On this cruise there was an outbreak of Norovirus which happened on the second day. Eventually around 200 people contracted the virus although we never knew anyone who did. Because of the number of cases the food and drinks area access was restricted and the crew served all drinks and food.

With a few exceptions most people excepted it in good humour and it didn’t really make the news until we reached Hobart.

The Itinerary

Singapore, Perth (day 6), Adelaide (day 10), Hobart (day 12), Sydney (day 14)

Embarkation

This was one of the one of our disappointments. Prior to the cruise RCI had sent us numerous emails advising we would be using an expedited boarding process where queues would be a thing on the past and we would be onboard the ship in minutes if we showed up at our allotted time. The reality was someone different and the the embarkation time was the longest we have ever experienced. There were a few reason for this. There was a Suite queue so this got us to the initial checkin desk reasonably quickly but there were delays from this point on. My partner has an electronic visa for getting into Australia but the RCI team wanted a paper copy of this electronic visa. We had to spend 20 minutes trying to logon to their WiFi to log onto the Australian Immigration website to prove that she had an electronic visa. When they went to provide the seapass cards they had the wrong names printed on them so they spent some time sorting that out. This happened to quite a few people and slowed things a bit. 

Once this process was completed we then had to go through the customs processing which also took some time as there were no express lines for suites. Once customs processing was complete there was another area which was broken into colours but it wasn’t really clear what was meant to happen here so we asked for assistance and were told to sit in the pink area. After a little while nothing seemed to be happening so we got up and went over to another queue to see if we could board and they let us on. The whole process took about about 1 1/2 hours. We we scheduled to board at 11:30 but is was closer to 1pm.

The length of time was irritating but what is actually annoying is the fact that RCI sent at least 3 emails saying how great their expedited boarding process was raising our expectations of an improved experience when the reality was way below the expectation RCI had set

The Ship

The ship was great, modern and clean with many great features. Once we were aboard we headed upstairs for our first Coastal Kitchen experience and we were not disappointed. Anita had the sirloin steak and I had the roast chicken and both were delicious. The CK was to become one of our go to locations for breakfast and dinner. It was one of our favourite aspects of the ship.

After eating at CK we went to the Seaplex were the bumper cars were in action so we got in on that as there were not many people around at this stage. They were great fun and we would play in them a few times on the cruise as there were many sea days.

Walking from one end of the ship to the other made for plenty of exercise as it is only about 20 metres shorter than an Oasis ship. There were two sets of elevators, one at the front, the other in the centre. The main hassle with this (not for us) was for people such as the elderly couple in the Royal Loft Suite at the aft on the 10th floor. It meant when they wanted to use the suite lounge they had to walk to the middle of the ship to catch the elevators to deck 12 then walk all the way back to the rear of the ship again.

The main common areas on the ship were deck 3 (the casino) deck 4 (Cafe Promenade, Theatre, Pub, Sorentos) deck 5 (Restaurants, Two70 lounge, Bionic Bar) Deck 12 (Concierge Lounge) deck 14 (Windjammer, Coastal Kitchen, Pool deck, Solarium) deck 15 (Seaplex) deck 16 (iFly, Flow Rider)

The Cabin

As I said the cabin was a Grand Suite on deck 12. It was nice but quite noisy, not from the elevators, or the cabins on deck 13, but from whatever was happening on deck 14. The noise carried on through the night on most days so if you don’t like noise I would suggest taking a cabin on a lower deck. That is what we will do next time.

Our room steward was fine and always did an excellent job keeping the cabin clean.

The Passengers

As this was a repositioning cruise the age of the passengers was older than we were used to seeing on a Royal Caribbean ship. They came mainly from Australia with 3200 out of the 4000 coming from there. There seemed to be a lot of repeat cruisers as there were 561 diamonds and 261 Diamond plus. RCI had to use the Music Hall as well as the Diamond Lounge for the nightly drinks. Because there were a lot of Diamond plus the concierge lounge was always full. One of them even complaining that Suite guests got the same privileges as a D+. In future on long cruises like this I think RCI needs to consider limiting access as Suite guests could not find seating due to the number of D+ in the lounge (maybe until after 6pm)

There were a few kids on the cruise but not that many as the school year has not ended in this part of the world yet.

We met a lovely old couple who had been upgraded twice by RCI first from a balcony cabin to a Grand Loft Suite, then from the Grand Loft Suite to the Royal Loft Suite. Some of the other D+ were not happy about this and thought they should have been upgraded twice. There were 15 pinnacles on this cruise but none were upgraded. I think the reason this couple were upgraded was because of their age, as the other Loft Suite guests were also of a similar age and when they were all having dinner together it just works better.

Entertainment

Three production shows consisted of Pixels, Live Love Legs and Beautiful Dream.

The Pixels show was not too bad but the Two70 lounge had poor sight lines so quite often you could only see the tops of the heads of the dancers. There were some seating around the dance floor but the seating was quite uncomfortable on these seats. They only have really short backs and you can’t lean back meaning you have to sit bolt upright for the show or the seat digs into your lower back.

Live Love Legs and Beautiful Dream were competent enough shows but not particularly memorable apart from the sets for Beautiful Dream which were quite impressive. I still find it annoying that even though we pay a high premium to travel on this ship it’s does not have Broadway shows for the Australian season. Sorry this is one of my pet peeves about this ship.

The Cruise Director Mike Hannerup was okay but not that great either. The Hotel Director was very funny and would have made a great cruise director. This is very subjective and I am sure you could find passengers who love Mike as well.

The other headline acts were also a bit hit or miss although we really enjoyed Phil Cass (comedic magician) and the U2 tribute band. They played at both the music hall and Two70. They were definitely better in the Music Hall as it is more intimate and people were really getting into it. Two70 the acoustics were not as good and this detracted from the vibe.

Food

Due to the Norovirus outbreak we did really go to the Windjammer to see what that was like. We purchased the 5 night dining package (another annoyance that you couldn’t purchase this on the cruise planner prior to the cruise) and went to Izumi, Wonderland, Jamie’s Italian and Chops Grill.

We went to Izumi on the second night but I didn’t really enjoy it as I am not a big fan of Sushi. At least I have tried it and know now to avoid it in future.

next up was Jamie’s Italian which we really enjoyed. We went there twice on this cruise and it was really popular every night. Some of the meals are quite large so I would recommend skipping lunch or having a very light lunch on the day you are booked. The same is true of Wonderland which we also really enjoyed. We followed the waiters recommendation and let them select the menu and we were not disappointed. If you go in with an open mind when it comes to the food I think you will come away happy (and full)

Chops Grille was its usual reliable self and the selection of menu options was greater than we have seen on the smaller ships. No complaints from us.

Johnny Rockets was replaced by Kung Fu Panda but this was not really popular and nobody really used it.

i think all the dining options on this ship is one of the highlights (including Izumi if you like Japanese) and is the best variety we have had on a ship.

Some people don’t like the upcharge but I don’t mind as it limits the number of people who will dine at these venues.

Onboard Activities

These were another plus for this ship. Anita didn’t enjoy the iFly but I went on it a few times and loved it. It was interesting to see the range of people who tried it. Most came away with wide smiles on their faces. The Flow Rider wasn’t very busy this cruise and 5-10 minutes seemed to be the average wait time although there were occasions when only 2-3 were using it during the open sessions.

North Star was always popular but it only went up and down. It was meant to side to side as well but apparently the wind was too strong.

Bumper cars were really popular and the queue went right around the whole Seaplex. This caused some issues as the wait time was around 1 hour and people just pushed into the queue. This queue needs to be managed better as one lady was pushed over and hit her head on the floor. Maybe it should be like the Ice Show on Explorer where you have some kind of ticketing system. It you turned up closer to the end of the session the queue was much shorter so I guess people just go when the session first starts.

There is an Escape Room on the ship was not up and running for this cruise. Another annoyance as I really wanted to try this.

We did the All Access tour and had a great time doing this. Luckily we did it early on in the cruise and they cancelled later bookings because of the Norovirus.

i admit I did miss the mini golf and the Shows in the Ice Rink but there is on,y so much space on the ship.

The Crew

The crew were fantastic as always, especially the team at Coastal Kitchen and in the Concierge Lounge. Due to the Norovirus outbreak there was heightened cleaning and hand sanitising going on at all times. Some passengers were very rude to people just doing their job, I heard one passenger in the lounge telling the crew member “don’t come anywhere near me” when he was told he would have to sanitise his hands prior to getting any food.

The captain was always around, in fact more than I seen on any other ship. He could be found in Two70 lounge, North Star, Concierge Lounge and other places just walking around.

The only issue I had was with the tailor. The shirt I had ordered with my tux was to big so Bing (our awesome Concierge) rang to see when he would be able to come and measure for a replacement. He was busy at that time so he said he would be free at 10:00am and would come to our cabin then. By 10:30am he still hadn’t shown up so I went to see Bing again and she gave him another call. He told her he was busy and didn’t have time to come now. Bing gave him a telling off and he eventually showed up at 1pm and everything was sorted.

The Ports - all docked

Perth - We got off in Fremantle which is about a 40 minute train ride from the city centre. We did this ourselves as it is much cheaper than a ship tour. We walked around the city for a while before heading back to Fremantle for lunch. Fremantle is a great little town with some awesome views of the ocean while you are eating your fish and chips.

Adelaide - we did a ship tour for this one out to Historic Handolf, a German settlement in the hills. It is quite a long coach trip (around hour and a half) each way so you only get to spend a couple of hours in Handolf itself. If you want to look in all the shops and have lunch then you will be pushed for time, otherwise it is a nice place to spend some time. It was busy as there were about 14 coaches from the ship in the village at the same time.

Hobart - We didn’t do much in Hobart other than get off the ship and have a wander. We have been here before and done most things on offer. I recommend going to Port Arthur to see the original penal colony or doing one of the wild life parks if you are ever in Hobart.

Disembarkation

Not much to say about this other than it was smooth and quick. We had to vacate our rooms by 7:30am as the entire ship was being deep cleaned before the next cruise due to the norovirus. We had a final breakfast at Coastal Kitchen and said goodbye to everybody there.

Medical

There were ambulances waiting in each port we stopped at to take off a few people to sick to continue after contracting Norovirus

There was one helicopter medical evacuation of a crew member who needed urgent medical attention. There is no helipad so he had to be winched to the helicopter. He made a full recovery.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed our cruise but I still feel it was overpriced for the experience we received. We would still do it again but only if we got a better deal on the cabin pricing. I am better at doing that now that when we originally booked so I am confident we could get it for a better price. Next time we would also look at going from Sydney to Singapore as this goes up the other side of Australia and we would get so see some different ports and scenery.

Thanks for reading

[twangster]

Very good review.  Lots of detail and great photos! 

Do you remember what TV channels were available on the ship?

As a suite guest did you receive Voom internet and if you used it, how was the Voom internet?

Thanks!

 

[Bazza]

@F1guynz great review.

I'm on Ovation March 13 from Sydney so hopefully boarding will be better!

Can I ask what they charged for the dining package please as the Ultimate one is probably not justifiable for 27 days!!!

Somehow doubt my obstructed view balcony will get a double upgrade! 

[F1guynz]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Very good review.  Lots of detail and great photos! 

Do you remember what TV channels were available on the ship?

As a suite guest did you receive Voom internet and if you used it, how was the Voom internet?

Thanks!

 

Hi Twangster,

Once we got to Australia, there were the local Australian channels, 7,9,10 SBS and a mix of International channels CNN etc. I can't remember what channels were available for the crossing between Singapore and Australia.

We had Voom as part of sky class package. We were provided with two access codes as there were two of us in the stateroom. I generally found it to be fast and reliable. I was able to watch Netflix shows with no issues. We also used it for Skype and Facetime and did not have any dropouts. I mainly used it in the cabin and the gym, Out on the balcony away from the door it didn't always work but everywhere else was fine.

I only had one issue where it would not connect but that was late at night and it was all good by the next morning.

[F1guynz]

3 hours ago, Bazza said:

@F1guynz great review.

I'm on Ovation March 13 from Sydney so hopefully boarding will be better!

Can I ask what they charged for the dining package please as the Ultimate one is probably not justifiable for 27 days!!!

Somehow doubt my obstructed view balcony will get a double upgrade! 

Hi Bazza,

The boarding on your cruise should be much better. We have never had any trouble with the Australian system.

The five night dining package was $115 USD PP but I think that now the Australian season has started you should be able to pre-book on the cruise planner. You can only visit Wonderland once as part of the dining package. If you want to go again there is an extra charge of $10 USD PP which is still pretty reasonable.

I am sure you will enjoy your cruise as we did, Ovation is a great ship with plenty to keep you occupied for 27 days.

[Bazza]

16 hours ago, F1guynz said:

Hi Bazza,

The boarding on your cruise should be much better. We have never had any trouble with the Australian system.

The five night dining package was $115 USD PP but I think that now the Australian season has started you should be able to pre-book on the cruise planner. You can only visit Wonderland once as part of the dining package. If you want to go again there is an extra charge of $10 USD PP which is still pretty reasonable.

I am sure you will enjoy your cruise as we did, Ovation is a great ship with plenty to keep you occupied for 27 days.

Thanks again @F1guynz. Can't wait. I have booked the Ultimate Dining Package for the 3 day taster cruise in the middle of the 3 back to backs so will get to try some of the 'better' restaurants.

Hopefully they will offer the 5 night package either before we depart or whilst on board - worried if book the UDP for teh 10 or 14 day part will feel obligated to go 'posh' for the duration! 

Pity our only stops in NZ are Dunedin, Napier, Wellington and Picton - although that is a great excuse to come back some day!!  

  

[F1guynz]

7 hours ago, Bazza said:

Hopefully they will offer the 5 night package either before we depart or whilst on board - worried if book the UDP for teh 10 or 14 day part will feel obligated to go 'posh' for the duration! 

Hi Bazza,

I agree, The ultimate dining package would be to much for this ship when there are lots of great included restaurants for lunch and dinner. We enjoyed Café Two70 for lunch because of the salads and light meals they served. (they also had meat pies were also great for something different). The Solarium had two menus for dinner. One for the 1st seven days then a new menu for the next seven.

Now you are making me wish I was back on board.

[Matt]

Great review! Thank you for sharing it

[RestingBird]

Great review!  I enjoyed the honesty.

[ChrisV]

On 10/12/2017 at 9:07 AM, F1guynz said:

We did the All Access tour and had a great time doing this

On 10/12/2017 at 9:07 AM, F1guynz said:

 

Thanks for the detailed review @F1guynz (Bazza?). We're also sailing on her March 13 to NZ - just wondering how much you paid for the access all areas tour? Last cruise I did with RCI was on Voyager and that was $150USD. Thanks. 

[Bazza]

Hi @ChrisV

Looks like you saw my post on Facebook and joined here! It is a great site full of helpful people, tips and reviews.

Well worth spending time reading trough many of the threads. I am sure there was a very good one about the All Access Tour ( @twangster was it yours?) that is worth finding.

Ovation does not get too many reviews at moment due to fact it is based around Australia and not North America, however, a lot of the people on here know Royal Caribbean really well and most of the tips are universal!

Maybe bump into you in March! Happy New Year.

[Bazza]

@ChrisV

Found @twangster 's review - day 5 is the tour....

 

[F1guynz]

Hi @ChrisV the all access tour we did on Ovation was 142 NZD which equates to approx. 100 USD. We pre-booked on the cruise planner which maybe cheaper than ship prices.

IMO it was well worth the money and we would definitely do it again on another ship.

Welcome to the website and enjoy your cruise.