Picturesque New Zealand Cruise Royal Caribbean

Ovation of the Seas Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

CelebrantSusanG

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 50

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5

10 Night New Zealand (Sydney Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 12, 2018

Ship: Ovation of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Ovation of the Seas is a beautiful ship, but very large. The Cruise Director Joff and his offsider Angelle were a great entertaining team and really made everyone feel very welcome. The disco's and dance parties were fun so throw in a few dress ups for the cruise, 70's, formal, tropical etc.. The staff were friendly, the food was OK. Take advantage of the shows, they were great. If you are hoping to escape travelling without children, pick outside of school holiday times, there were a lot of kids running and I mean running through the ship. We stayed in the solarium to escape children but we did have to ask the staff to have children removed often! All in all the cruise was great. I would definitely travel Royal Caribbean again. New Zealand was stunning, especially the Fjords! We were lucky and had perfect weather. Pack light, it's really a very casual affair and do take US dollars with you and some NZ dollars for your day trips and purchases.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Chops grill was excellent, Jamie's Italian overrated! Windjammer busy but good variety, dining room OK. Alcohol very expensive for Australian's! Ship's exchange rate very poor.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Excellent facilities, Gym, pools, Solarium, Spa and games deck with dodgem cars etc..

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The quality of the shows onboard were excellent. From PIXELS, to La Forza, Beautiful Dreamer musical, Magician, hypnotist and Marty Coffey, all fantastic!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Everyone was helpful and friendly

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship was spotless, the rooms were well appointed and very new. Decor and layout was excellent.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The room was great, very new, spotlessly clean and well appointed. There was an movement cracking noise through the night, that may have been because we had a large balcny room and the shape may have contributed to this.

Ship tip

Travel with US dollars if you are from another country outside the US. Do take on board the allowed alcohol allowance it will save money. See all the shows, they are great, don't eat at Jamie's Italian, choose Chops Grill. Soak up atmosphere and relax in in 270 Lounge and theatre

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Sydney, Australia

5 out of 5

Beautiful Sydney, the harbour is stunning to explore. Catch a ferry to Manly, go to the Zoo. Enjoy a 5 star restaurant experience, Sydney's restaurant scene is A1!

Thumbs Up 6

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

5 out of 5

Beautiful place, small quaint village- Do the Heritage Taieri Gorge Railway, but not through the ship, book when you get into town. So scenic and beautiful. Don't do the city tour, it's boring!

Thumbs Up 7

Wellington, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Must do Cable Car, check out Museum of New Zealand, talk a walk on the boardwalk too

Thumbs Up 7

Napier, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Beautiful Napier, must do a tour and take in Te Mata Peak, Strawberry Farm, best ice-creams ever! TRy and find a small group tour, we got stuck on a large coach, the smaller intimate groups are better. Better still book a local well in advance and they will personalise the tour to suit you

Thumbs Up 4

Picton, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Beautiful, stunning Picton. Book a small group tour including a winery, seafood and green-lip mussel experience and scenic drive. BOOK AHEAD..it was a challenge fighting to book a tour at their I-Tourist site with 2000 other passengers from the Ovation.

Thumbs Up 2

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Fast and easy

1 Comment

shipmate13 5 years ago

I am surprised to hear there were alot of children. We are booked in March for 10 days. We assumed there would be a handful of children due to length, school, and really not much excitement for them in New Zealand. I don't mind children at all on ships just a little surprised with the itenary.

Thumbs Up 0

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