We were very excited to board Ovation of the seas as we had been wanting to try a Royal Caribbean cruise for some time. There were quite a few things that did go wrong for us but as a whole it was great to experience this ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Considering Sydney was flooding our on embarkation day and the terminal was a hive of people, we were on board fairly quickly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Main dining was a bit hit and miss, specialty restaurants were very nice, you must pass through a hand washing station before entering the buffet, a fantastic idea. I gave 3 stars as I feel the food in the MDR could have been better.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Planned activities on board would frequently change without notice. We found ourselves waiting for events to start that had been canceled or moved elsewhere on the ship. This was quite frustrating as communication was very bad for the entirety of the cruise.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Stage shows were fantastic, the best I’ve seen on a cruise so far. Most of the musicians were very good. DJ happy and DJ Jazzy Joff rocked the house. Silent disco was fantastic.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I cannot fault the attitude of the staff, they always had a smile on their faces and nothing was ever too much trouble for them. I felt their focus was on the guests having a great holiday.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship design is amazing! Lots of glass throughout the ship and on the main deck meant fantastic views were easily attainable. Hygiene on board was 10 out of 10.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Size and cleanliness of cabin were more than adequate. My only gripe is how hard the mattress was. In 14 nights my wife and I didn’t get one good nights sleep. Unfortunately this did put a big dampener on our holiday as we were constantly tired and as a result missed out on a few things we wanted to do.
Staff tried their hardest to soften the mattress by adding mattress toppers but to no avail. I felt that for the price paid a comfortable mattress is not a big ask.
Ship tip
Take enough clothes to see you to the end of your cruise, so that you do not need to use the laundry service.
Another beautiful spot, highly recommend the three sisters coffee house on the main strip if you need a good coffee. Also look out for the mobile fresh doughnut van, absolutely delicious.
Where to start? We decided to have Breakfast on shore at a place called prefab. Without doubt the best cooked breakfast I have ever bought, great coffee. Also worth a visit is the scale of war exhibit at the museum, very well put together, free entry, display is amazing!
as Cliche as it may sound, the best part about Dunedin was the view from the balcony while leaving, it was beautiful. Would have been a better experience had we have booked an excursion I am sure.
I applaud Royal Caribbean for being on top of it when it comes to hand washing. I just got off a Carnival cruise not that long ago and nobody looked twice as the hand sanitizers. A bunch of nasty people. Saw women come out of bathroom without putting one drop of water on their hands. Sneeze and cough around food. Ugh!!!
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