Disappointed

Item: Ovation of the Seas
Rating: 3.5
Author: KarlaB89

Ovation of the Seas Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

KarlaB89

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 49

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5

15 Night New Zealand (Sydney Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 15, 2016

Ship: Ovation of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 9516

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

I was so excited for my first cruise. But as soon as we set sail I felt sick (this isn't their fault) Sailing down to Hobart then off to NZ was pretty rocky. It was like being drunk all the time. The weather was pretty bad, high winds and raining daily. A lot of shows were cancelled. Not much options for shopping unless your like high end boutique shopping. They had the little markets stalls almost daily but it was the almost the same stuff daily. If you love a good cup of coffee it is hard to find on this boat. Too many people with not enough activities or things to do. The food in the Windjammer was boring. Mostly the same stuff daily. They need to have an extra staff member for the dessert section. I felt sorry for whoever got stuck there as they were constantly stuck with about 10 people waiting for food. The beds & pillows are hard. The room service is terrible! Its a very small menu and the food is bad. On a Billion $ new ship I don't think it's up to standard. The bionic bar was average. I think it should of been somewhere different. More off to the side, not in the middle of a walkway. Most restaurants were booked out. As were excursions. So plan well ahead! The wifi was terrible. For the price paid just for the room i don't think it was worth it. The wifi should have been included. Even if it was just basic wifi.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Most restaurants were booked out. The sushi was ok. The noodles up on deck 14 (Kun Fu Panda?) Were not very good. The Pork buns had little filling. The windjammer was big but not a lot of variety. The hamburgers you could make yourself were nice and the curry's were tasty. The pizza's at Sorento's were OK. Not much toppings you can pick from.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

A lot was cancelled due to weather conditions.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

It seems like a good idea to have the Ifly, bumper cars, North star ect. But when you can only really go on the North Star & ifly once then have to wait 10 days so everyone else on board can have a go kinda sucks. I understand everyone is entitled but they should of had more entertainment. Not to mention the booking system essentially got thrown out & cancelled due to bad weather. It became every man for themselves essentially.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our room attendant was always happy everyday. The barista up in the Windjammer was also happy and nice to talk to about destinations. The person down were the duty free alcohol was always in a sour mood. But you cant have always win.

Ship Quality

We overheard a staff member on a phone or walkie talkie being pretty pissed of about staff not keeping their area clean. It was resulting in Staff getting sick. The ship went through a thorough sanitation process in the following days. We had to mark a sheet before we disembarked stating whether or not we had gastro symptoms or sickness. The area to wash your hands in the Windjammer was always messy. I think they should of had 2 people manning that area at all times. Water was almost always everywhere. Not to mention the smell from the cheap paper towel.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

I was happy that the bathroom wasn't tiny. I was expecting something really small. There was enough draws for clothes. More Coat hangers should be provided. The worst was the bed!!! It was rock hard. Plus the pillows. It was so bad. Towards the end I was experiencing headaches from the back pain I got from the bed. If you have any conditions or back pain, take this into consideration. My partner and I were going to buy our own pillows before we left Sydney. I wish we had.

Ship tip

If you are prone to motion/sea sickness make sure you have medication try to help. The journey to Hobart & New Zealand was not easy and smooth sailing. If you like watching TV bring your laptop with movies as they play the same episode of about 5 or 6 shows over and over again.

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