Beautiful Ship . Just too big for my liking

Ovation of the Seas Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

Gumbys

Contributor Level: Purser

44 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5

10 Night New Zealand (Sydney Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 05, 2023

Ship: Ovation of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10180

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

First time on this ship. A beautiful ship, A big ship, too big for my liking .. I have never been sick on a ship before, but did pick up a bug , which dampened a couple of days . Not much to do . The movies were repeated a few times during our journey.Shops not that interesting. US$ used onboard abit disappointing, if sailing from Australia back to Australia should be Aussie$. 3 berth cabin I wouldn’t recommend, not really catered for 3 people, paying for a lounge instead of a decent bed was ridiculous. We missed 2 ports because of windy weather and the ship was too big to enter ports. Not sure if I would do this ship again . Bit of a shame ..

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Good

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

All good.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Didn’t really enjoy any activities. Everything was very spaced out. I thought most was for children. Movies were repeated for a couple of days.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Didn’t like the main theatre. Poles in the way and getting in between the seating was a nightmare. Why didn’t they put the aisles where the poles are ?? The cabaret show was disappointing. Dancers were amazing, just couldn’t see them.. Most of the action was way too low for anyone other than the front row to see. Didn’t understand the show at all .

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All good. We had extra days at sea because the ship was too big to dock in windy conditions and it seemed that the staff were a bit tied

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Beautiful ship , but way too big for my comfort. Lots of smaller bars but were very packed. Not able to find seating

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin looked great . Loved the kettle . We had 3 adults in a room which was ok. But the 3rd bed was the sofa!! Not comfortable at all. Was very hard and our 3rd person had terrible nights sleeping

Ship tip

It’s a beautiful BIG ship .. lots for the kids to do, but not much for the ordinary person.. The show rooms were beautiful but not people friendly

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cruise Milford Sound

5 out of 5

Cruise Doubtful Sound

5 out of 5

Cruise Dusky Sound

5 out of 5

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand Did not visit port

Windy weather Prevented the big ship from docking

Thumbs Up 0

Lyttleton (Christchurch), New Zealand

5 out of 5

Shame that we had to pay $25US to get bus to Christchurch. No excursion. Paid for tram that was very packed..

Thumbs Up 0

Wellington, New Zealand Did not visit port

Windy weather prevented the big ship from docking

Thumbs Up 0

Picton, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Loved this place. Beautiful

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Good

6 Comments

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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javawoody 1 year ago

Appreciate the review

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed feedback. Glad you still enjoyed your cruise in spite of the size of the ship.

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PaulzyJC 1 year ago

It is very strange to accept only USD on an Australian cruise. 🤷🏿‍♂️😐. Nice itinerary, tho'. Big ships are cesspools for virii. That's why I am sticking to smaller ships of less than 2500 and longer cruise days. 😸

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience. Sorry to hear you were ill.

Thumbs Up 2

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience. Sorry to hear you were ill.

Thumbs Up 1

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