First every cruise to New Zealand

Ovation of the Seas Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 53

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Ovation of the Seas

10 Night New Zealand (Sydney Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 26, 2019

Ship: Ovation of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 3632

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

As an introduction to cruising this cruise was fantastic and has convinced my husband to ask when is the next one. Well done.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Handled by knowledgeable experienced personel who streamlined the process and made it very easy and this led to a confidence that the cruise would be just the same, a wonderful experience

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
These rooms were staffed by people who really cared about my dining experience. They were caring, knowledgeable professional people who were very attentive to our desires and needs. We were at table 169 in the Chic restaurant 5.30 service and had a fantastic time, even when there seemed to be a mixup about seating they just expanded the table to include all which then became a larger group that had a lot of fun together. We were very impressed by Yasah, Bob and Renato and their comfortable professional and entertaining way they helped us with our meals. Great job boys.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
I joined this cruise for the Needlework group. Hence my main focus was the embroidery and this did not leave me with a lot of extra time. My husband went on the kitchen and also the all access tours and was very impressed to be able to see how the ship 'ticked'

Entertainment

5 out of 5
We went to a few of the shows, all very well presented.

Children's Programs

I travelled with my husband and no children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
These rooms were staffed by people who really cared about my dining experience. They were caring, knowledgeable professional people who were very attentive to our desires and needs. We were at table 169 in the Chic restaurant 5.30 service and had a fantastic time, even when there seemed to be a mixup about seating they just expanded the table to include all which then became a larger group that had a lot of fun together. We were very impressed by Yasah, Bob and Renato and their comfortable professional and entertaining way they helped us with our meals. Great job boys. Coffee shops like 720 and the pizza shop food range were great.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The design was easy to navigate, the lifts are placed centrally and easy to use. Everything was constantly cleaned, waiters were continuously attentive and clearing tables for the next persons to use. However some of the sessions for the embroidery group were held in the conference room on the 13th floor and that seemed a long way to get there from the lift. That's when I was reminded that the Ovation is such a large ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The cabin was adequate, roomy enough for 2 people, bathroom had everything we needed except for shampoo to wash my hair. Comfortable bed and receiving the notes for the next day ensures everything ran smoothly, especially as we 'time travelled'

Ports of call

Sydney, Australia Did not visit port

Beginning of our journey, resident of Australia

Cruise Milford Sound Did not visit port

Sailing day

Cruise Doubtful Sound Did not visit port

Sailing day

Cruise Dusky Sound Did not visit port

Sailing day

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

5 out of 5
Very interesting, beautiful way to explore on train into the gorge.

Wellington, New Zealand

5 out of 5
Amazing how the houses are soo close together, so different from Australia

Napier, New Zealand

5 out of 5
Very interesting

Picton, New Zealand

5 out of 5
Wonderful to see how living on an island is possible with boat access as there was no road access. Fascinating to see how Paua pearls are cultivated and grown. Best excursion

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
I was impressed how quick this process was, even when we had some no answers. Most impressed with the arrangements with the taxis on the 3rd floor, although we missed the sign and only discovered it by asking a few of the guests.
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2 Comments

HannibalMonk    5 years ago

Nice. Exciting review

AndreJohn    5 years ago

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