For the most part, it was a good cruise. We had some hiccups, some that could not be avoided, and I do not blame Royal Caribbean for, but others were totally due to poor company management.
Ovation of the Seas Cruise Review to Transpacific
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 38
19 Night Transpacific (Honolulu To Sydney)
Sail date: September 30, 2019
Ship: Ovation of the Seas
Cabin type: Suite
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
As I said in the beginning, we had some hiccups along the way, but we did enjoy a lot of things during this cruise, especially the time we shared with the people we met in the American Icon Dining Room. Our biggest issue was the lack of decent evening entertainment during the sea days. We never had that problem on our previous cruises. I expect that Royal Caribbean will receive plenty of comments about this and will do something to improve it. However, as I said in my tip, I recommend that you give a lot of thought to your sea days/port days ratio. We do not gamble, and we do not do spas. You need something to keep yourself occupied during the sea days. I read books at home, but when I am away I want to do things.Embarkation
Even though I personally saw our four pieces of luggage placed together on the same cart in the ship's control, only three made it to our stateroom. The fourth piece was finally delivered at 10 PM by the stateroom attendant. She was not provided any information about why the mix-up occurred. The scheduled mandatory arrival and welcome meeting did not take place. No one knew anything about it. The mandatory drill was done before our scheduled arrival. We had to skip dinner the second night on board to attend a makeup meeting. I certainly would not have called it a drill. They only took attendance.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The main dining rooms were excellent! The friends we made at breakfasts and dinners made the cruise! The specialty restaurants frequently cost more than Class A restaurants on land and are no better than the main dining rooms, so we have skipped them after our first Royal Caribbean cruise. The Windjammer and buffets on other cruise lines are not my cup of tea. I call them cattle calls because of poor food quality, the always extreme commotion and the lack of availability for clean tables.
Onboard Activities
The participant venues were fantastic, especially the North Star, the iFly (vertical wind tunnel) by RIPCORD, Bumper Cars, Ship Tours — all the fun things! I would give one or two stars for most of the selling presentations.
Entertainment
The nightly theater events were very poorly organized and frequently very disappointing. They did not even deserve one star. Every morning on the ship television, the Cruise Director and Activities Director tried to convince us what a great show we had seen the night before. They were probably responsible for the questionable bookings. We were not impressed.
Children's Programs
No children.
Service and Staff
The on-scene crewmembers we dealt with directly did their level best to take care of us. Unfortunately, there were some behind-the-scenes supervisors who did not deserve a star. Our Suite Concierge and the person in charge of onboard Guest Relations bent over backward to get things corrected. These two individuals are the only way I could give this category a 5-Star. We need more dedicated high-level people like them.
Ship Quality
The ship is only 3 years old so, based on our 13-cruise experience, it is among the best.
Cabin / Stateroom
I would rather have a balcony suite facing forward similar to the one we had when we went through the Panama Canal but our stateroom attendant Mariruth did such a wonderful job keeping things clean and well-stocked that we could not ask for anything better!
Ship tip
Give a lot of thought to your sea days/port days ratio. We probably will not do another transoceanic cruise. We learned that you cannot depend on getting a good entertainment booking team.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Polynesian Cultural Center & Circle Island Tour: Our tour bus driver was great and very entertaining explaining the sites to and from the cultural center. The cultural center was interesting but the tour guide there chose to take us on an unscripted route to ensure we saw what she thought were the most important parts. Unfortunately, we quickly got lost from the main group and ended up not seeing a lot of things because of it. I think tour guides should be required to stay on script.
Papeete, Tahiti — 2 Excursions
East Coast Highlights: We visited the home, now a museum, of poet and writer, James Norman Hall, the author of Mutiny on the Bounty. It was an interesting and okay collection of artifacts but not a memorable experience for us. We used this short tour to fill in our day away from the ship.
Discover Tahiti's West Coast: We learned about the culture and customs of ancient and modern day Tahiti. We really enjoyed the beautiful Vaipahi Gardens and visiting the Marae Arahurahu Temple, an ancient meeting place and shrine on Tahiti’s western coast. From there we did a walking tour that took us past the Maraa Grotto, Tahiti's largest underwater cave, and tropical gardens populated by unusual waterfowl. We were surprised to come upon a Muscovy duck protecting her five ducklings, three of which we did not know were there until Mama stood up! I captured numerous photos and videos of the flora and fauna during our walking tour.
Moorea, French Polynesia Did not visit port
This port was canceled. Because of a Triple Alpha medical issue that occurred during our first night at sea, we returned to Honolulu. I suspect the time lost could have been recovered during our 10 sea days, but the ship cruised consistently 2+ knots slower during those sea days. I know it is easy to second guess the captain and I do not know all the circumstances, but the seas did not seem any rougher on those slower cruising days.
Bora Bora, French Polynesia — 2 Excursions
Glass Bottom Boat: We spent the morning watching the beautiful underwater world of fish, seashells, living coral, and underwater flora. The tour guide narrated facts about the life we were seeing while the boat pilot guided us to many reefs. I recorded much of what we saw on video but I did not realize what was actually happening with other passengers until we played the videos. Only then did I realize what could be seen and heard. The excitement of the children on board when an unexpected resident of the sea appeared below us was heartwarming! There was almost too much to absorb into our eyes and ears. I am so glad I switched to video when the fun began.
Bora Bora Island by Le Truck: A relaxing bus tour. After visiting the ancient ceremonial site of Fa'anui Marae, we stopped to see the tie dye fabrics at Mama Edna's. At Matira Beach, we paused only long enough to take photos of the beautiful vistas before continuing on to the famous Bloody Mary's Restaurant for drinks but, unfortunately, were not allowed enough time to eat. CAVEAT: People over 6 feet tall should be prepared to protect their heads when getting off and on the truck.
Cross International Dateline Did not visit port
We were told this day did not exist. The day that did not exist was different than the day in our itinerary.The day that did not exist was different than the day in our original itinerary. We missed our scheduled North Star Experience but picked it up on another sea day.
Wellington City and Shipwreck Coast Tour: For me, the best part of this tour was experiencing the humor, memories, and colorful tales of our indigenous Māori tour guide, Tommy, and visiting a sheep station where we watched a sheepdog presentation and enjoyed delicious treats and tea. We left Pencarrow Station with the entire family including their youngest children all waving goodbye to us like we were family. We then traveled along the famous Shipwreck Coast, but we saw only two lonely lighthouses and one rusty shipwreck. Tommy said the rest of the wrecks are at the bottom of the ocean. Back in Wellington, he ended the tour with singalongs of two songs in English. He had the entire bus singing! Even though it was a cold and windy day, Tommy made this tour worth every penny!
Amazing Omaka Aviation and Rail Journey Tour: An interesting ride through the beautiful New Zealand countryside on a sunny day, first on a bus and then on an open-air train ride along the Taylor River. Arriving at the museum, we were treated to a detailed guided tour through actual and restored World War I aviation relics. On the way back to the ship, we were treated to a quick stop at the Makana Chocolate Factory — delicious! The experience was enhanced by sharing it with fellow passengers who had become our dinner friends on the ship.
Sydney Sights, Opera House, Bondi Beach Tour with Airport Drop Off: Unfortunately, the tour bus showed up 90 minutes late and dropped us off at the airport at the regular time. A 4½ tour that lasted only 3 hours. All we got to see was city streets, a 10-minute pitstop at the toilet on Bondi Beach and the Sydney Opera House. Royal Caribbean has promised to reimburse 50% of our ticket price.
Disembarkation
Leaving the ship went fine until we arrived at the street and found our tour bus that was to take us on our tour and drop us off at the airport was missing.