First Alaska Cruise

Ovation of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 70

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5
Verified Review
Ovation of the Seas

7 Night Alaska (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 13, 2022

Ship: Ovation of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 10206

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Cruising to Alaska was new for us. We were not sure how cold it would be but we packed appropriately for May. The passage and ports were just beautiful and we are glad we went. The ship was either at or close to capacity but it never felt really crowded. They limited the number of people in the Windjammer and you had to wash your hand before entering which was actually a really good thing. Plenty of hand sanitizer stations all over the ship too. This ship also had two indoor pool areas which is great for the Alaska climate.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
Seattle port was understaffed and not well trained. Took over an hour to get onboard.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Food and drink were very good. Always found something great to eat.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
We are trivia fans. If you didn't arrive early to trivia, it was hard to get a seat.

Entertainment

2 out of 5
The few shows that they had were very good. There wasn't a piano player at all which we missed. The karaoke selections seemed lacking, i.e. they didn't even have Piano Man as a choice.

Children's Programs

Did not travel with kids.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Overall the ship seemed short staffed but the service was excellent. The wait staff was professional and did a great job with getting the orders correct. The room steward was also very good. They were very short handed with bar staff. Had to track down staff to take orders and it was slow.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
This is a great ship and the layout was easy to learn. Everything seemed clean and very well maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Very impressed with this cabin. It was large, with large balcony. Very spacious with more than enough storage space. This was a Junior Suite however felt this was not just an oversized balcony cabin. There was one full bath with bathtub shower combo plus a half bath with sink and toilet. We also got a fruit basket and a tray of cookies in the room when we arrived.

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

3 out of 5

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

4 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

4 out of 5

Sitka, Alaska

5 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
We had a later group number to get off. They let us stay in our cabin to wait which is not the norm on other cruises. When our number was announced, it took about 10 minutes to get off the ship. Very efficient process.
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