Something Old, Something New, Nothing Borrowed, Something Blue
- Thread starter dolphingirl47
- Start date
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I will treasure those memory forever.
That is our plan for our next visit, but we are planning to take the rack railway instead of the cable car.
What a shame. That was the absolute highlight for me.
This caught me totally unawares.
Montserrat is a truly magical place. Having done this as part of a tour, we came to the conclusion that we would have enjoyed this even more if we had been on our own time table.
I have no regrets at all. Despite the weather it was an amazing day. It is well worth a visit.
Tuna empanadas do not sound good.
Graham enjoyed them very much. I think they are fine as long as you eat fish.
Corinna
Pinkocto
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2011
What a shame the funding was pulled and Gaudi could not finish that church. The details around the windows are my favorite.
Montserrat feels like a different world all up in the clouds. What a treat to hear the choir. I would be nervous too, singing in front of all those people with only a group of ten.
The church is stunning.
Cute that Graham was adamant there are no mountain pigs but then found them himself
Montserrat feels like a different world all up in the clouds. What a treat to hear the choir. I would be nervous too, singing in front of all those people with only a group of ten.
The church is stunning.
Cute that Graham was adamant there are no mountain pigs but then found them himself
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
The details around the windows are actually pure recycling. They are made from used needles from the cotton factory. Graham and I did wonder if once Sagrada Familia is finished, the trust behind this may consider finishing this church off.
It really is a completely different world. Hearing the choir was absolutely amazing.
It is, but the highlight as far as churches is concerned is yet to come.
Cute that Graham was adamant there are no mountain pigs but then found them himself
I suppose technically they are wild boar, but we were both excited having seen some.
Corinna
Paula Sedley-Burke
Proud to believe in Rainbows and Unicorns...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
I am just catching up. Love the Gaudi photos. Been a while since I habe seem it. Lovely to see it once more.
Everything just wow!
Everything just wow!
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Day 11
I was awake a while before the alarm went off at 9:00 this morning. I checked my emails and Facebook and then got showered and dressed. Graham got up when the alarm went off and also got showered and dressed. Then we headed down for breakfast. Graham had a fairly healthy breakfast again with coffee, orange juice, muesli with fruit cocktail and yoghurt and bread with cold cuts and cheese. I was a bit more adventurous that morning and had coffee, orange juice, fruit cocktail, yoghurt, Spanish omelette with a cold sauce made from tomatoes, olive oil and herbs and cold cuts and cheese. We both enjoyed our breakfast.
I noticed when we got back upstairs that Graham managed to spill some yoghurt on his shirt. We took some shampoo and water to this, but Graham was a little enthusiastic when he rinsed it off and now half the t-shirt was wet. I was a little worried as I had made some special embarkation shirts for the photos. Graham was optimistic that this would be dry by the time we had to leave. I did not share his optimism and tried to take the hairdryer to it, but could not get it to work. So we just hung it up and hoped for the best.
We reorganised our luggage and I put the luggage tags on the suitcases. Royal Caribbean does not send out tags, but you have to print your own. Somebody on my review thread pointed me in the direction of plastic tags on Amazon that you put the printed paper tags in. This worked really well. I made use of the free Wi-Fi and checked my emails and Facebook once again. By the time I was finished, Graham’s t-shirt was nearly dry. He put it on, we did one last check around the room and then we headed downstairs. I went to check out and asked for a taxi to be called. Graham had sat down with the luggage near reception and I joined him once I was done. By the time the taxi arrived, his t-shirt was completely dry.
We did not have to wait long for the taxi. Our taxi driver spoke English fluently and we had a nice chat. There was not a great deal of traffic and we had a smooth run to the port. As we were approaching the port, I saw a Royal Caribbean ship, but this was not ours. The Brilliance of the Sea had arrived from her Transatlantic cruise from Tampa that morning and this was the ship I could see. Our ship was tucked away right at the back. It did not take much longer though until we pulled up to our ship. Right from the first cruise, I have always welled up when I got my first glimpse of the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. The same did not happen when I saw the Norwegian Jade or the Splendour of the Seas for the first time. However, when I saw the Ovation of the Seas for the first time, I could feel a distinctive lump forming in my throat. I think my sub conscience knew that this would be OK. I had more than a few misgivings about cruising on a ship that big before the cruise.
We paid our taxi driver and he unloaded our bags. We then had to walk a short distance to where some porters stood with some luggage cages. I think Barcelona is the only port I have sailed out of where the porters do not collect the luggage at the kerb. The porter checked that we had the luggage labels on and then he put our suitcases in one of the cages. Before the cruise we had been told that they would attach special RFID tags to the luggage and we could then track them with the Royal IQ app, but this did not happen. Once we handed in our luggage, we were directed to the line for the terminal. This was really well organised. It did not take long until we were inside the terminal and at security. Security was pretty smooth as well and then we were asked how far we were going. There were different lines for people who went as far as Dubai, Singapore and Tianjin. We were directed to the correct line and then straight to a desk. We had to fill in the health questionnaires at the desk as everything went so quickly that we did not have time to do this before we got to the desk. This did not take long. There was some confusion about the absence of a Dubai visa. I told the check in agent that we travel to Dubai a lot and that we would get the visa stamp there. She still called one of the Royal Caribbean staff over, who confirmed the same. He loved our embarkation t-shirts. Our Set Sail Pass was stamped and we were directed towards the ship. This is one of the big differences of the Quantum class ships. You do not get your Sea Pass card at check in, but this is waiting for you in an envelope outside your cabin.
We headed towards the ship and stopped where the ship’s photographers had set up the backdrop for the embarkation photo. We stopped to have our photo taken and then headed outside towards the ship. They had another photographer on the gangway and I thought that this was a really nice touch. Most people just passed him by, but we stopped for a photo. Then it was time to get on the ship. We entered on deck 5 midship. They had set up terminals to scan the Set Sail Passes near the entrance and then we stepped out onto the Royal Esplanade. The Royal Esplanade is the heart of the Quantum class ships. It is a space that covers two floors and is home to shops, Guest Services, the Shore Excursion desk, various bars and eateries. It also has a bit of a wow factor. There were various officers in this area welcoming people on board. The embarkation actually had a very similar feel to the Disney ships, but they don’t announce you on Royal Caribbean. We took a left once we were on board and landed on the Via.
I was awake a while before the alarm went off at 9:00 this morning. I checked my emails and Facebook and then got showered and dressed. Graham got up when the alarm went off and also got showered and dressed. Then we headed down for breakfast. Graham had a fairly healthy breakfast again with coffee, orange juice, muesli with fruit cocktail and yoghurt and bread with cold cuts and cheese. I was a bit more adventurous that morning and had coffee, orange juice, fruit cocktail, yoghurt, Spanish omelette with a cold sauce made from tomatoes, olive oil and herbs and cold cuts and cheese. We both enjoyed our breakfast.
I noticed when we got back upstairs that Graham managed to spill some yoghurt on his shirt. We took some shampoo and water to this, but Graham was a little enthusiastic when he rinsed it off and now half the t-shirt was wet. I was a little worried as I had made some special embarkation shirts for the photos. Graham was optimistic that this would be dry by the time we had to leave. I did not share his optimism and tried to take the hairdryer to it, but could not get it to work. So we just hung it up and hoped for the best.
We reorganised our luggage and I put the luggage tags on the suitcases. Royal Caribbean does not send out tags, but you have to print your own. Somebody on my review thread pointed me in the direction of plastic tags on Amazon that you put the printed paper tags in. This worked really well. I made use of the free Wi-Fi and checked my emails and Facebook once again. By the time I was finished, Graham’s t-shirt was nearly dry. He put it on, we did one last check around the room and then we headed downstairs. I went to check out and asked for a taxi to be called. Graham had sat down with the luggage near reception and I joined him once I was done. By the time the taxi arrived, his t-shirt was completely dry.
We did not have to wait long for the taxi. Our taxi driver spoke English fluently and we had a nice chat. There was not a great deal of traffic and we had a smooth run to the port. As we were approaching the port, I saw a Royal Caribbean ship, but this was not ours. The Brilliance of the Sea had arrived from her Transatlantic cruise from Tampa that morning and this was the ship I could see. Our ship was tucked away right at the back. It did not take much longer though until we pulled up to our ship. Right from the first cruise, I have always welled up when I got my first glimpse of the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. The same did not happen when I saw the Norwegian Jade or the Splendour of the Seas for the first time. However, when I saw the Ovation of the Seas for the first time, I could feel a distinctive lump forming in my throat. I think my sub conscience knew that this would be OK. I had more than a few misgivings about cruising on a ship that big before the cruise.
We paid our taxi driver and he unloaded our bags. We then had to walk a short distance to where some porters stood with some luggage cages. I think Barcelona is the only port I have sailed out of where the porters do not collect the luggage at the kerb. The porter checked that we had the luggage labels on and then he put our suitcases in one of the cages. Before the cruise we had been told that they would attach special RFID tags to the luggage and we could then track them with the Royal IQ app, but this did not happen. Once we handed in our luggage, we were directed to the line for the terminal. This was really well organised. It did not take long until we were inside the terminal and at security. Security was pretty smooth as well and then we were asked how far we were going. There were different lines for people who went as far as Dubai, Singapore and Tianjin. We were directed to the correct line and then straight to a desk. We had to fill in the health questionnaires at the desk as everything went so quickly that we did not have time to do this before we got to the desk. This did not take long. There was some confusion about the absence of a Dubai visa. I told the check in agent that we travel to Dubai a lot and that we would get the visa stamp there. She still called one of the Royal Caribbean staff over, who confirmed the same. He loved our embarkation t-shirts. Our Set Sail Pass was stamped and we were directed towards the ship. This is one of the big differences of the Quantum class ships. You do not get your Sea Pass card at check in, but this is waiting for you in an envelope outside your cabin.
We headed towards the ship and stopped where the ship’s photographers had set up the backdrop for the embarkation photo. We stopped to have our photo taken and then headed outside towards the ship. They had another photographer on the gangway and I thought that this was a really nice touch. Most people just passed him by, but we stopped for a photo. Then it was time to get on the ship. We entered on deck 5 midship. They had set up terminals to scan the Set Sail Passes near the entrance and then we stepped out onto the Royal Esplanade. The Royal Esplanade is the heart of the Quantum class ships. It is a space that covers two floors and is home to shops, Guest Services, the Shore Excursion desk, various bars and eateries. It also has a bit of a wow factor. There were various officers in this area welcoming people on board. The embarkation actually had a very similar feel to the Disney ships, but they don’t announce you on Royal Caribbean. We took a left once we were on board and landed on the Via.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
The Via is kind of an extension to the Royal Esplanade. There are a couple of high end shops there as well as Jamie’s Italian restaurant and the Vintages wine bar. Most importantly though, there were a number of comfortable seats group around sculpture that consisted of red glass disks and wire and was absolute stunning. So we found a couple of seats and settled down. I gave the Royal IQ app a trial run and liked what I saw. I noticed that it was possible to make reservations for the escape room so that was my top priority. I also noticed that our dinner rotation showed up and that we would be in Chic that night. I had a look at the Daily Compass and noticed that the North Star was operating that day. It stated that reservations were required and asked Graham if he wanted to go. I had to cancel our reservation that I had for later in the cruise and made a reservation for 14:00.
All of this out of the way, I left Graham to sit with the hand luggage and went exploring. I first headed further aft. There are more areas with comfortable seats in that area as well as the Next Cruise desks, the Cafe Two70 and the Two70 entertainment as well. I got talking to one of the Next Cruise consultants. They had a rather good offer on, but it specified that this excluded cruises from China. I had my beady eye on a cruise from Hong Kong on the Ovation in November and asked if this was included as Hong Kong still has a special status and was told that it would be. I told her that if we liked the ship, I would be back. I then headed in the opposite direction, where I came past three more of the restaurants that have a separate charge: Izumi, Wonderland and Chops Grill. I also walked through the Bionic Bar and was absolutely fascinated by the Makr Shakr robotic bartenders. I also checked out the Schooner Bar, which is a beautiful space and finally the photo gallery before returning to Graham. We ended up speaking to a couple who live quite close to us and also belonged to our Cruise Critic group.
I had spotted in the Daily Compass that cabins may be ready from 12:30 and it was nearly that time at that point. So we decided to go up to deck 8 to check it out. We went up in the lift. We were amused that the lift had a name. On the floor there was a plague that said Tuesday. It was not until the next day that we figured out that this actually represented the day of the week and was changed every day. Talk about attention to detail!
One of the drawbacks on Royal Caribbean ships is that they do not have aft elevators. We had a bit of a trek from the midship elevators to our cabin, which was a long way aft. There is some very nice art in the corridor though, which made up a little for it. We got to our cabin and it looked ready to us so we went in. I loved the cabin. it was very contemporary, but still cosy. We put our hand luggage down and had a look around. I checked out the paperwork that had been left on the desk. Before we could make ourselves too at home, the housekeeping supervisor turned up to advise us that they were not quite done with our cabin. I asked about our Sea Pass cards and was advised that they would be put out when the cabin was ready. I grabbed my souvenir cup that I would need for the Coca Cola Freestyle machines and my camera and then we headed out. Almost opposite us was a smaller corridor with some inside cabins. This is what we had originally booked before we ended up saving a lot of money by upgrading to a balcony cabin. All the inside cabins on the Ovation have virtual balconies and I was curious about this. One cabin was open so we had a quick look. This is really rather impressive and I hope that we will get to try one of those out in the future.
We decided to head up to the upper decks to explore the offerings there. We started at deck 15 and took a lap around the walking and jogging track taking in the views. Then we headed down to deck 14. There are three pools there: an outdoor family pool; an indoor family pool and the solarium, which is adult only. We came down the forward staircase so we explored the indoor offerings first. This looked good. The indoor family pool is a decent size and has two nice big hot tubs. Then we headed to the solarium, which was the area I was most excited about. It did not disappoint. This is the best adult area I have seen on a ship. It has cascading pools that are just about big to swim in if you take your mind to it. It also has four hot tubs, plenty of loungers, a bar and its own buffet restaurant. Essentially you have everything at your fingertips. We also saw an Emirates A380.
I wanted to switch over cameras so I quickly went back to the room. I arranged to meet Graham near the entrance to the North Star. By the time I got down to our room, it was finished and our Sea Pass cards were in an envelope behind the sign with the cabin number. I picked them up and put them in the lanyards that I had ordered for this trip. I quickly took some photos of our room before heading back upstairs to meet Graham.
All of this out of the way, I left Graham to sit with the hand luggage and went exploring. I first headed further aft. There are more areas with comfortable seats in that area as well as the Next Cruise desks, the Cafe Two70 and the Two70 entertainment as well. I got talking to one of the Next Cruise consultants. They had a rather good offer on, but it specified that this excluded cruises from China. I had my beady eye on a cruise from Hong Kong on the Ovation in November and asked if this was included as Hong Kong still has a special status and was told that it would be. I told her that if we liked the ship, I would be back. I then headed in the opposite direction, where I came past three more of the restaurants that have a separate charge: Izumi, Wonderland and Chops Grill. I also walked through the Bionic Bar and was absolutely fascinated by the Makr Shakr robotic bartenders. I also checked out the Schooner Bar, which is a beautiful space and finally the photo gallery before returning to Graham. We ended up speaking to a couple who live quite close to us and also belonged to our Cruise Critic group.
I had spotted in the Daily Compass that cabins may be ready from 12:30 and it was nearly that time at that point. So we decided to go up to deck 8 to check it out. We went up in the lift. We were amused that the lift had a name. On the floor there was a plague that said Tuesday. It was not until the next day that we figured out that this actually represented the day of the week and was changed every day. Talk about attention to detail!
One of the drawbacks on Royal Caribbean ships is that they do not have aft elevators. We had a bit of a trek from the midship elevators to our cabin, which was a long way aft. There is some very nice art in the corridor though, which made up a little for it. We got to our cabin and it looked ready to us so we went in. I loved the cabin. it was very contemporary, but still cosy. We put our hand luggage down and had a look around. I checked out the paperwork that had been left on the desk. Before we could make ourselves too at home, the housekeeping supervisor turned up to advise us that they were not quite done with our cabin. I asked about our Sea Pass cards and was advised that they would be put out when the cabin was ready. I grabbed my souvenir cup that I would need for the Coca Cola Freestyle machines and my camera and then we headed out. Almost opposite us was a smaller corridor with some inside cabins. This is what we had originally booked before we ended up saving a lot of money by upgrading to a balcony cabin. All the inside cabins on the Ovation have virtual balconies and I was curious about this. One cabin was open so we had a quick look. This is really rather impressive and I hope that we will get to try one of those out in the future.
We decided to head up to the upper decks to explore the offerings there. We started at deck 15 and took a lap around the walking and jogging track taking in the views. Then we headed down to deck 14. There are three pools there: an outdoor family pool; an indoor family pool and the solarium, which is adult only. We came down the forward staircase so we explored the indoor offerings first. This looked good. The indoor family pool is a decent size and has two nice big hot tubs. Then we headed to the solarium, which was the area I was most excited about. It did not disappoint. This is the best adult area I have seen on a ship. It has cascading pools that are just about big to swim in if you take your mind to it. It also has four hot tubs, plenty of loungers, a bar and its own buffet restaurant. Essentially you have everything at your fingertips. We also saw an Emirates A380.
I wanted to switch over cameras so I quickly went back to the room. I arranged to meet Graham near the entrance to the North Star. By the time I got down to our room, it was finished and our Sea Pass cards were in an envelope behind the sign with the cabin number. I picked them up and put them in the lanyards that I had ordered for this trip. I quickly took some photos of our room before heading back upstairs to meet Graham.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I came out of the lift in front of the Windjammer buffet and then headed outside. I came past the Kung Fu Panda Noodle shop and the kid’s water play area first. The water play area was closed at that point, but looked great. I wanted to try out the current pool all trip.
When I re-joined Graham, the North Star was up. We headed towards the entrance to check in. When we got there, the North Star had gone down and the started to let people up. There was one more space on the next ride, but we decided to wait for our allocated time and ride together. We chatted with the two crew members in that area for a bit and then were joined by a lady and her grandson from Germany. He spoke English, but she did not and was very pleased that somebody spoke German.
Soon it was time to board the North Star. A few more people had joined us, but we were not at capacity. They have a sports team on the Ovation of the Seas that is responsible for the North Star; Ripcord by iFly; the flow rider and anything happening at the SeaPlex. This was our first interaction with a member of the team, but we saw rather a lot of them during our cruise. David was from Coventry and told us a bit about the North Star. The North Star is an observation capsule based on a pod from the London Eye, which is attached to a robotic arm. It can swing out 90 degrees over the edge of the ship on either side, but it can only do this while at sea. As we were in port, it only went up and down. Somebody asked about how it feels when you are at sea and David explains that it is so stable that you don’t really notice. He explained that it has sensors and a safety cut off, which means that if winds reach 50 knots, the North Star automatically comes down and returns to its docking station. He shared that while they were travelling from Hamburg to Southampton, the crew got to try it out and at one stage, winds had reached 49 knots and they were not even aware of this inside.
I can well believe it. The North Star is very smooth and gentle. It also provides a unique view over the ship and its surroundings. We were encouraged to walk around, which we did and I took some photos from different angles. After a little while, we headed down again. We thanked David and then headed to the Windjammer for some lunch.
As soon as we walked into the Windjammer, we noticed a big difference from any buffet we have visited on land or at sea. The main entrance was roped off and there was a member of crew by the barrier. She directed us off to her left where there were a number of sinks. I thought it was a great idea to ask people to wash their hands before coming inside. Once this was done, we went to find a table. Considering it was a round 14:30 at that time, it was pretty busy. We joined a couple at a table and it turned out they were German, too. I went to get food first. I had a look at the steam tables and there was nothing that particularly grabbed me. I did however find something that would become a firm favourite during the cruise. They had some create your own pasta stations at the back of the Windjammer. They always had two kinds of pasta, three or 4 sauces, herbs and spices and a selection of meats and vegetables. I went with the spaghetti that day with a tomato and basil sauce, oregano; sausage, sweetcorn, mushrooms and black olives. Next to the pasta station, they had strips of marinated chicken and beef strips. This was a make your own kebab station, but the meat worked very well with the pasta. Graham had some salad first and then had a pork chop and grilled chicken with some mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. We both enjoyed our lunch. I made good use of the Coca Cola Freestyle machines at the Windjammer and had a raspberry Coke and a grape Fanta with my lunch. Graham had gone to get some water at one stage, but the line for the free drinks dispensers were huge. I had heard before the cruise that they had a gelato bar in the Windjammer on the Ovation and I went to find this. I did not succeed, but found another drink station on the opposite side and there was nobody there. So I brought back from strawberry and kiwi water for Graham. At some stage we were also joined by a couple from Australia. We were the only people who had cruised on Royal Caribbean before so we were able to give our lunch companions a few tips. We had a nice conversation.
After lunch we headed towards the spa. I wanted to do a spa tour. As we came out of the Windjammer, we were handed cards for the raffle. We headed forward to where the spa is. There were a number of members of the spa staff in the forward elevator lobby. Graham wanted to use the bathroom first. I got talking to one of the members of staff and she asked if I wanted a spa tour. I said that I did, but was waiting for my husband. Graham had been gone quite a while and I went off to look for him. I did not have any joy and headed back to where I had last seen him. It turned out that the nearest bathroom was out of order and he had to go and find another one. By the time we were reunited, all the spa staff had disappeared. We headed up to the spa reception and although there was plenty of staff milling around in that area, none of them showed any interest in us. Graham found a seat and after a while I approached a member of staff asking if I would be able to get a tour. They have a thermal suite on the Ovation and that is what I was mainly interested in. She found somebody for me who could give me a tour. We walked right past Graham and I assumed that he would join us, but he did not. The spa area was nice and I loved the thermal suite. I got to try out the heated tile loungers and the infra-red sauna. I think if Graham had been with me, I may have got a pass, but in the end I did not bother. I thought I would probably get a day pass on a couple of days, but I never did.
When I re-joined Graham, the North Star was up. We headed towards the entrance to check in. When we got there, the North Star had gone down and the started to let people up. There was one more space on the next ride, but we decided to wait for our allocated time and ride together. We chatted with the two crew members in that area for a bit and then were joined by a lady and her grandson from Germany. He spoke English, but she did not and was very pleased that somebody spoke German.
Soon it was time to board the North Star. A few more people had joined us, but we were not at capacity. They have a sports team on the Ovation of the Seas that is responsible for the North Star; Ripcord by iFly; the flow rider and anything happening at the SeaPlex. This was our first interaction with a member of the team, but we saw rather a lot of them during our cruise. David was from Coventry and told us a bit about the North Star. The North Star is an observation capsule based on a pod from the London Eye, which is attached to a robotic arm. It can swing out 90 degrees over the edge of the ship on either side, but it can only do this while at sea. As we were in port, it only went up and down. Somebody asked about how it feels when you are at sea and David explains that it is so stable that you don’t really notice. He explained that it has sensors and a safety cut off, which means that if winds reach 50 knots, the North Star automatically comes down and returns to its docking station. He shared that while they were travelling from Hamburg to Southampton, the crew got to try it out and at one stage, winds had reached 49 knots and they were not even aware of this inside.
I can well believe it. The North Star is very smooth and gentle. It also provides a unique view over the ship and its surroundings. We were encouraged to walk around, which we did and I took some photos from different angles. After a little while, we headed down again. We thanked David and then headed to the Windjammer for some lunch.
As soon as we walked into the Windjammer, we noticed a big difference from any buffet we have visited on land or at sea. The main entrance was roped off and there was a member of crew by the barrier. She directed us off to her left where there were a number of sinks. I thought it was a great idea to ask people to wash their hands before coming inside. Once this was done, we went to find a table. Considering it was a round 14:30 at that time, it was pretty busy. We joined a couple at a table and it turned out they were German, too. I went to get food first. I had a look at the steam tables and there was nothing that particularly grabbed me. I did however find something that would become a firm favourite during the cruise. They had some create your own pasta stations at the back of the Windjammer. They always had two kinds of pasta, three or 4 sauces, herbs and spices and a selection of meats and vegetables. I went with the spaghetti that day with a tomato and basil sauce, oregano; sausage, sweetcorn, mushrooms and black olives. Next to the pasta station, they had strips of marinated chicken and beef strips. This was a make your own kebab station, but the meat worked very well with the pasta. Graham had some salad first and then had a pork chop and grilled chicken with some mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. We both enjoyed our lunch. I made good use of the Coca Cola Freestyle machines at the Windjammer and had a raspberry Coke and a grape Fanta with my lunch. Graham had gone to get some water at one stage, but the line for the free drinks dispensers were huge. I had heard before the cruise that they had a gelato bar in the Windjammer on the Ovation and I went to find this. I did not succeed, but found another drink station on the opposite side and there was nobody there. So I brought back from strawberry and kiwi water for Graham. At some stage we were also joined by a couple from Australia. We were the only people who had cruised on Royal Caribbean before so we were able to give our lunch companions a few tips. We had a nice conversation.
After lunch we headed towards the spa. I wanted to do a spa tour. As we came out of the Windjammer, we were handed cards for the raffle. We headed forward to where the spa is. There were a number of members of the spa staff in the forward elevator lobby. Graham wanted to use the bathroom first. I got talking to one of the members of staff and she asked if I wanted a spa tour. I said that I did, but was waiting for my husband. Graham had been gone quite a while and I went off to look for him. I did not have any joy and headed back to where I had last seen him. It turned out that the nearest bathroom was out of order and he had to go and find another one. By the time we were reunited, all the spa staff had disappeared. We headed up to the spa reception and although there was plenty of staff milling around in that area, none of them showed any interest in us. Graham found a seat and after a while I approached a member of staff asking if I would be able to get a tour. They have a thermal suite on the Ovation and that is what I was mainly interested in. She found somebody for me who could give me a tour. We walked right past Graham and I assumed that he would join us, but he did not. The spa area was nice and I loved the thermal suite. I got to try out the heated tile loungers and the infra-red sauna. I think if Graham had been with me, I may have got a pass, but in the end I did not bother. I thought I would probably get a day pass on a couple of days, but I never did.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
When we got back, Graham had left. I figured that he had probably headed to our cabin so I went there next. He was not there, but our luggage was. I started unpacking a few odds and ends and then decided to use the data roaming to check my emails. This was the day when our profit share announcement was supposed to be made. I was not optimistic that we would get any, but I was still curious. I could not get a signal inside the cabin so I went out on the balcony. One of my team members had messaged me on Facebook. Against all of my expectations we did get profit share and another member of my team had got a shout out from the VP for Retail Offices and Contact Centres for her customer service. So I was pretty happy. I decided to put my magnets on the door and then head out again. As I was in the process of putting the magnets on, our next door neighbours arrived. They were two ladies from Germany. Yet again I was amused that they started to speak German to me. They wanted to know what I was putting on the door. I explained about the magnets and where this tradition comes from. We had a brief chat before they headed into their cabin and I finished putting the magnets on. Once I was done with this, I decided to go and search for Graham.
It did not take too long to find him. On the way, I did get a soft serve ice cream though. The ice cream station was on the pool deck between the outdoor pool and the entrance to the indoor family pool. I had a chocolate and vanilla swirl, which was very nice. I found Graham shortly afterwards. He had found himself a lounger towards the back of the indoor family pool area just before the entrance to the solarium. I decided to join him. We relaxed for about an hour. By then it had started to rain again and it was nice that so much of the ship is covered. Graham decided to head back to the cabin to get unpacked. By then it was coming up to 17:00 and our Cruise Critic group had arranged an informal meet at the pool bar near the outdoor pool. So I decided to go and show my face before heading back to our cabin.
Not that many people had turned up, but it was nice to put some faces to names and I did enjoy some conversation with some of the people I had chatted with online ever since we booked the cruise. The couple that we had spoken to earlier was there and I also met one of our table mates. In the end I had spent longer there than I had planned. Once people started to drift away to get changed for dinner, I went back to the cabin. Graham had finished his unpacking and decided to go for a swim. I told him that I would finish unpacking myself and then would come and join him. The unpacking took a little longer than I had anticipated. I had brought mainly dresses for this part of the trip and it took a while to hang them all up. Fortunately there was plenty of storage space. I also needed to fill out the form to send my gowns for pressing. While I did all of this, I was entertained by video about washing hands. Initially I found this quite annoying, but this grew on us as the cruise went on and kind of became the theme song of the cruise. For the first few weeks that we were back, we were both humming this catchy little tune whenever we went to the bathroom.
By the time I was unpacked, the gowns were in the laundry bag with the form attached and the suitcase was stored safely under the bed, it was nearly 18:30. I put on my swim suit underneath my clothes and then headed down to the Royal Esplanade on deck 4. The Ovation is one of a number of Royal Caribbean ships that offers the DreamWorks Experience. Prior to this cruise, I was not really a fan of the DreamWorks Animation films, but I have watched and enjoyed all the films in the Shrek franchise. My favourite character from those films is Puss in Boots. I was very excited before the cruise when I found out that Puss in Boots would be on the ship. So when I spotted that Puss would be out for a meet and greet at 18:30, this was a must do for me. When I got down to deck 4, I was a little confused. I had expected a long line just like you would find for the characters on Disney ships. When I got to the Royal Esplanade there were a few people around minding their own business, but there was nothing that remotely looked like a line. I headed towards the theatre to see if the meet and greet was that end of the Royal Esplanade. I walked past the pub and took a double take. There were two people sitting at a table outside the pub. One of them was studying the menu and was wearing a rather fetching hat, which I would not expect around a cruise ship. I had a closer look and it was Puss with his escort. There was nobody else in this area. I had expected a photographer with Puss, but there was nobody else in sight. I went up to them and said “hi”. I did not have a camera with me as I was heading to the pool, but I had a nice time with Puss. We must have spent a good 10 minutes together without anybody else turning up. Once somebody else arrived to see him, I said goodbye and headed up to deck 14.
I found Graham in the outdoor pool. It was still raining and I was not too keen on this idea. I told him that I would head for the hot tub by the indoor family pool. He decided to join me. We ended up talking with another passenger from Mexico for a while. Once we had long enough in the hot tub, we decided to check out the solarium pools. They were nearly as warm as the hot tub. There were ledges to sit on around the pool and seats in the middle of a couple of the pools. There were also waterfalls and it was nice to sit on the ledge by the waterfall. After a while, we decided that we had enough water for one day. We got dried off as much as we could and then headed back to the cabin. We both had a shower and got changed for dinner.
Dinner that evening was in Chic, which is on deck 2 aft. The way dinner is handled is a real departure from how Royal Caribbean normally does things. Virtually all their ships have a multi-level main dining room. People then have the choice between traditional dining with early or late dinner and My Time Dining. However, irrespective of what you choose, the menu is the same. On the Quantum class ships, the setup is different. Apart from the speciality restaurants, a restaurant for suite guests, the two buffets and the various quick service offerings, there are four complimentary restaurants. They each have an individual theme and menu. There are two different approaches to dining. Dynamic Dining Choice takes the place of My Time Dining. People are encouraged to make dinner reservations before the cruise, but they can be changed while on board using the Royal IQ app, the iPads that are around the ship or by visiting one of the restaurant podiums. At times, walk ups are also available. We had gone with Dynamic Dining Classic. Dynamic Dining Classic is essentially the same as rotational dining on the Disney ships. With this you have the same server and table mates and a set dining time and rotate through the 4 different restaurants. Each restaurant has two lines, one for Dynamic Dining Choice and one for Dynamic Dining Classic.
We arrived at Chic about 5 minutes ahead of our dinner time. There was no line for Dynamic Dining Classic and we were shown to our table straightaway. Two of our table mates had already arrived and the other two arrived a little while later. Our server came to introduce himself and brought the menus. Then we did not see him for a long time. Things were all over the place that first evening. It took an hour until we had our starters and at one stage we all wondered if we would be done in time for the muster drill at 22:30. They have a strange set up in the restaurants on the Ovation. Every table has a server, but there also floating assistant servers and sommeliers. That first evening this set up did not work at all. Our head server came by to introduce himself and asked if we had to be anywhere before the muster drill. The food was nice though. Graham had crab cake followed by cream of vegetable soup. For his main course he had the rack of lamb with broccoli and mashed potato. For dessert he went with the yoghurt panna cotta and berries. I had the beef Carpaccio with Parmesan and sourdough bread. It was very tender and full of flavour. For my main course I had the prime rib with Hasselback potato, mushrooms, asparagus and tomato. The only disappointment was dessert for which I had chosen the Black Forest Mousse. This just was not very tasty.
Once everybody had finished dinner, we said goodbye and headed back to the cabin. We still had a little bit of time and I checked out the Daily Compass for the next day. Then the alarm sounded and it was time to make our way to Two70, which was our muster station. I had expended that we would be directed down a crew staircase. There was one not far from our room. However, we ended up going back down the corridor to the midship elevator lobby and then had to head through the Via to Two70. That seemed to be a strange approach to take in an emergency. The rest of the drill was pretty smooth and well organised though. There were plenty of crew members at the elevator lobby and at the Via to direct people to the right place. I think pretty much any public space on deck 4 and 5 that was not a shop was used as a muster station. When we got to Two70, our Sea Pass cards were scanned and we were directed to the right area as there are two muster stations in there. They used the screens in there for a brief video. Then crew members demonstrated on how to put on a life vest. It was then that I realised that there are no life vests in the cabins, but they keep all of them at the muster stations and around other public areas. The captain made an announcement. They then played the wash your hands video again and then we were dismissed. The whole thing was smooth, quick and painless. We decided to find some seats at the Via and wait for the crowd to disperse. We ended up chatting with the couple from the morning again and once people had stopped milling around, we headed back to the lifts and went to our cabin. We quickly got ready for bed and I set the alarm for the next morning. This may well have been one of the most comfortable beds I ever had the pleasure to sleep in and it did not take long until I was fast asleep.
It did not take too long to find him. On the way, I did get a soft serve ice cream though. The ice cream station was on the pool deck between the outdoor pool and the entrance to the indoor family pool. I had a chocolate and vanilla swirl, which was very nice. I found Graham shortly afterwards. He had found himself a lounger towards the back of the indoor family pool area just before the entrance to the solarium. I decided to join him. We relaxed for about an hour. By then it had started to rain again and it was nice that so much of the ship is covered. Graham decided to head back to the cabin to get unpacked. By then it was coming up to 17:00 and our Cruise Critic group had arranged an informal meet at the pool bar near the outdoor pool. So I decided to go and show my face before heading back to our cabin.
Not that many people had turned up, but it was nice to put some faces to names and I did enjoy some conversation with some of the people I had chatted with online ever since we booked the cruise. The couple that we had spoken to earlier was there and I also met one of our table mates. In the end I had spent longer there than I had planned. Once people started to drift away to get changed for dinner, I went back to the cabin. Graham had finished his unpacking and decided to go for a swim. I told him that I would finish unpacking myself and then would come and join him. The unpacking took a little longer than I had anticipated. I had brought mainly dresses for this part of the trip and it took a while to hang them all up. Fortunately there was plenty of storage space. I also needed to fill out the form to send my gowns for pressing. While I did all of this, I was entertained by video about washing hands. Initially I found this quite annoying, but this grew on us as the cruise went on and kind of became the theme song of the cruise. For the first few weeks that we were back, we were both humming this catchy little tune whenever we went to the bathroom.
By the time I was unpacked, the gowns were in the laundry bag with the form attached and the suitcase was stored safely under the bed, it was nearly 18:30. I put on my swim suit underneath my clothes and then headed down to the Royal Esplanade on deck 4. The Ovation is one of a number of Royal Caribbean ships that offers the DreamWorks Experience. Prior to this cruise, I was not really a fan of the DreamWorks Animation films, but I have watched and enjoyed all the films in the Shrek franchise. My favourite character from those films is Puss in Boots. I was very excited before the cruise when I found out that Puss in Boots would be on the ship. So when I spotted that Puss would be out for a meet and greet at 18:30, this was a must do for me. When I got down to deck 4, I was a little confused. I had expected a long line just like you would find for the characters on Disney ships. When I got to the Royal Esplanade there were a few people around minding their own business, but there was nothing that remotely looked like a line. I headed towards the theatre to see if the meet and greet was that end of the Royal Esplanade. I walked past the pub and took a double take. There were two people sitting at a table outside the pub. One of them was studying the menu and was wearing a rather fetching hat, which I would not expect around a cruise ship. I had a closer look and it was Puss with his escort. There was nobody else in this area. I had expected a photographer with Puss, but there was nobody else in sight. I went up to them and said “hi”. I did not have a camera with me as I was heading to the pool, but I had a nice time with Puss. We must have spent a good 10 minutes together without anybody else turning up. Once somebody else arrived to see him, I said goodbye and headed up to deck 14.
I found Graham in the outdoor pool. It was still raining and I was not too keen on this idea. I told him that I would head for the hot tub by the indoor family pool. He decided to join me. We ended up talking with another passenger from Mexico for a while. Once we had long enough in the hot tub, we decided to check out the solarium pools. They were nearly as warm as the hot tub. There were ledges to sit on around the pool and seats in the middle of a couple of the pools. There were also waterfalls and it was nice to sit on the ledge by the waterfall. After a while, we decided that we had enough water for one day. We got dried off as much as we could and then headed back to the cabin. We both had a shower and got changed for dinner.
Dinner that evening was in Chic, which is on deck 2 aft. The way dinner is handled is a real departure from how Royal Caribbean normally does things. Virtually all their ships have a multi-level main dining room. People then have the choice between traditional dining with early or late dinner and My Time Dining. However, irrespective of what you choose, the menu is the same. On the Quantum class ships, the setup is different. Apart from the speciality restaurants, a restaurant for suite guests, the two buffets and the various quick service offerings, there are four complimentary restaurants. They each have an individual theme and menu. There are two different approaches to dining. Dynamic Dining Choice takes the place of My Time Dining. People are encouraged to make dinner reservations before the cruise, but they can be changed while on board using the Royal IQ app, the iPads that are around the ship or by visiting one of the restaurant podiums. At times, walk ups are also available. We had gone with Dynamic Dining Classic. Dynamic Dining Classic is essentially the same as rotational dining on the Disney ships. With this you have the same server and table mates and a set dining time and rotate through the 4 different restaurants. Each restaurant has two lines, one for Dynamic Dining Choice and one for Dynamic Dining Classic.
We arrived at Chic about 5 minutes ahead of our dinner time. There was no line for Dynamic Dining Classic and we were shown to our table straightaway. Two of our table mates had already arrived and the other two arrived a little while later. Our server came to introduce himself and brought the menus. Then we did not see him for a long time. Things were all over the place that first evening. It took an hour until we had our starters and at one stage we all wondered if we would be done in time for the muster drill at 22:30. They have a strange set up in the restaurants on the Ovation. Every table has a server, but there also floating assistant servers and sommeliers. That first evening this set up did not work at all. Our head server came by to introduce himself and asked if we had to be anywhere before the muster drill. The food was nice though. Graham had crab cake followed by cream of vegetable soup. For his main course he had the rack of lamb with broccoli and mashed potato. For dessert he went with the yoghurt panna cotta and berries. I had the beef Carpaccio with Parmesan and sourdough bread. It was very tender and full of flavour. For my main course I had the prime rib with Hasselback potato, mushrooms, asparagus and tomato. The only disappointment was dessert for which I had chosen the Black Forest Mousse. This just was not very tasty.
Once everybody had finished dinner, we said goodbye and headed back to the cabin. We still had a little bit of time and I checked out the Daily Compass for the next day. Then the alarm sounded and it was time to make our way to Two70, which was our muster station. I had expended that we would be directed down a crew staircase. There was one not far from our room. However, we ended up going back down the corridor to the midship elevator lobby and then had to head through the Via to Two70. That seemed to be a strange approach to take in an emergency. The rest of the drill was pretty smooth and well organised though. There were plenty of crew members at the elevator lobby and at the Via to direct people to the right place. I think pretty much any public space on deck 4 and 5 that was not a shop was used as a muster station. When we got to Two70, our Sea Pass cards were scanned and we were directed to the right area as there are two muster stations in there. They used the screens in there for a brief video. Then crew members demonstrated on how to put on a life vest. It was then that I realised that there are no life vests in the cabins, but they keep all of them at the muster stations and around other public areas. The captain made an announcement. They then played the wash your hands video again and then we were dismissed. The whole thing was smooth, quick and painless. We decided to find some seats at the Via and wait for the crowd to disperse. We ended up chatting with the couple from the morning again and once people had stopped milling around, we headed back to the lifts and went to our cabin. We quickly got ready for bed and I set the alarm for the next morning. This may well have been one of the most comfortable beds I ever had the pleasure to sleep in and it did not take long until I was fast asleep.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Welcome back. It was really a magical trip and we were privileged to see so many amazing sights. There is still a lot more to come.
Corinna
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
After reading this update, I can't remember what I was going to comment on the previous one. All I can say is that I am left with being very confused about all the different dining options. I'm not sure how I feel about that. So many choices! Whether or not to stay the course, or go out on our brazen own! I guess if I did proper research on the ship and the options I would feel much more comfortable about making my choices.
I can't imagine doing the muster drill that late. Normally by that time, I am falling asleep, at least I'm thinking that. Isn't that 10:30PM? If I've had dinner and several glasses of wine, I'm done, especially with dessert!
Your previous day, that was the one with the tour to Monterassat right? I'm guessing that is one that I should skip with Fran. It sounds as though the only way to access the place is via hundreds of steps right? I know at the first sight of rain, we would have probably been running for the hills. I don't know about Fran, sometimes she surprises me, but we are so unaccustomed to rain, we normally choose to stay inside when it happens.
Within the next 2 years or so we too will have exhausted most of the DCL itineraries, so we will be looking for other potential cruise ships, so I am very curious about your RCL voyages!
I can't imagine doing the muster drill that late. Normally by that time, I am falling asleep, at least I'm thinking that. Isn't that 10:30PM? If I've had dinner and several glasses of wine, I'm done, especially with dessert!
Your previous day, that was the one with the tour to Monterassat right? I'm guessing that is one that I should skip with Fran. It sounds as though the only way to access the place is via hundreds of steps right? I know at the first sight of rain, we would have probably been running for the hills. I don't know about Fran, sometimes she surprises me, but we are so unaccustomed to rain, we normally choose to stay inside when it happens.
Within the next 2 years or so we too will have exhausted most of the DCL itineraries, so we will be looking for other potential cruise ships, so I am very curious about your RCL voyages!
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I fell head over heels in love with the Ovation and it will be difficult to go back to another type of ship.
I am actually wearing this today. I really like it.
It is actually not as complicated as it sounds and not that much extra choice compared to the Disney ships. The Quantum class ships are also very different in that respect from the rest of the fleet. For none suite guests there are 4 main restaurants that are complimentary: Chic, Grande, Silk and American Icon Grill. Depending on your dinner arrangements, you can either make reservations for them or you rotate through them based on a schedule that Royal Caribbean sets. This is what we did and is no different from rotational dining on DCL apart from the fact they have four restaurants rather than three. Then there are the buffets. Windjammer is the main buffet (like Cabanas or Beach Blanket Buffet) and Solarium Bistro is a similar set up to Parrot Cay, etc on DCL. They serve breakfast and lunch buffet style and then offer a sit down dinner. The main difference is that this is adult only and is a separate venue.
Then you have the complimentary quick service outlets: SeaPlex Dog House serves hotdogs, Sorrento's serves Pizza, Cafe Promenade serves pastries and fruit for breakfast and sandwiches, wraps, salads and cakes/ cookies for the rest of the day. Cafe Two70 has a a similar menu, but adds some hot breakfast sandwiches and for lunch adds hot sandwiches, paninis and soup. So in terms of what they offer they are quite similar to Goofy's Galley, Pluto's Dog House and Pinocchio's Pizzeria.
The most involved are the upcharge restaurants. There you have Izumi (Sushi and Japanese food); Michael's Genuine Pub (pub food); Chops Grill (steakhouse); Wonderland (upscale experimental dining); Vintages (tapas at lunch and dinner), Jamie's Italian (Italian food chain owned by a UK celebrity chef) and Kung Fu Panda Noodle Bar (dim sum and oriental food). On the Anthem of the Seas that is based in New Jersey they don't have the Kung Fu Panda Noodle Bar, but have Johnny Rocket's instead. We only tried Kung Fu Panda Noodle Bar for dinner one night and Jamie's Italian for lunch and they were both very nice. We did not feel we were missing out either.
It really is not too bad.
There is also then added advantage that you can make reservation for the 4 complimentary restaurants and most of the speciality dining up to 90 days in advance via their website.
We did not leave until midnight and a lot of people used the day for sightseeing.
Yes it is and it is normally past our bedtime as well on a cruise.
We don't normally have wine with dinner on our cruises. This is going to be a new experience for us on our April cruise. They have thrown in a heavily discounted drinks package including wine, beer and soft drinks and with that we will have a couple of glasses of wine each night to make it worth our while.
Yes, it was.
I would not completely discount it. The cable car is not accessible, but I think the rack railway is and you can also drive there. Most places are accessible via lifts and ramps. You cannot get to the black madonna avoiding stairs, but there is a special viewing area from which you can get a good look at her for people with mobility issues.
We are well used to rain and it does not tend to bother us.
We have now two further RCL cruises booked and are very excited about them.
Corinna
Pinkocto
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2011
It's embarkation day!!! 
Sounds like a smooth day getting to port and onboard the ship.
Your cabin looks lovely. Very comfortable, and the bathroom sink looks quite big.
I really like the look of everything. The solarium is my kind of place!
I'm amazed with that big of ship that you kept seeing the same people.
Too bad your servers were a bit scattered that first night.
Amazing that the North Star was that smooth. Did you have to pay for that?
Sounds like a smooth day getting to port and onboard the ship.
Your cabin looks lovely. Very comfortable, and the bathroom sink looks quite big.
I really like the look of everything. The solarium is my kind of place!
I'm amazed with that big of ship that you kept seeing the same people.
Too bad your servers were a bit scattered that first night.
Amazing that the North Star was that smooth. Did you have to pay for that?
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Embarkation is something Royal Caribbean really excels at. On both of our cruises, this was a very smooth process and I love the fact that once you are checked in, you can head straight on board.
The cabin was lovely.
The Ovation is a gorgeous ship and the solarium is amazing. Unfortunately towards the end of the cruise, it got too hot in there. It is kind of like a greenhouse.
I suppose some of us had similar interests so our paths did cross quite a bit.
It was a lot better after the first night and we had a very similar experience on our first ever cruise on the Wonder.
No, it was complimentary. On one of the sister ships (Quantum of the Seas) they do charge for the the North Star.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
She truly is an amazing ship and I am very sad that she is so far away. Rumour has it that the fourth ship in that class will come to Europe and I am really hoping so.
We were considering a cruise on one of the sister ships (Independence of the Seas) for fall, but in the end another ship and itinerary won out. Freedom has the DreamWorks experience, which would have been a major draw for me, but unfortunately the Independence of the Seas is the only ship in that class that does not have it.
The deal is not quite as sweet as on DCL, but it is still worth doing.
I will get an update posted later today.
Corinna
Paula Sedley-Burke
Proud to believe in Rainbows and Unicorns...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
Still catching up! I love that Northern star how cool is that.
The ship looks very elegant. I love the pool. Your cabin looks great also. Nice and roomy. I just love pasta stations in a buffet then adding meat like you did. That would make a decent go to lunch!
The other guests sound friendly too funny they all wanted to speak in your mother tongue.
Congrats on your profit sharing!
Dinner looks nice. So many dining options. I recall on Pride of America ( NCL ) the dining was cool. They had this digital board up showing all the restaurants and the free spaces they had. So you could decide which one if you had nothing booked. It worked well otherwise you could always go to the MDR.
I would not like the muster drill that late at night that would be a show stopper for me I am in bed!
The ship looks very elegant. I love the pool. Your cabin looks great also. Nice and roomy. I just love pasta stations in a buffet then adding meat like you did. That would make a decent go to lunch!
The other guests sound friendly too funny they all wanted to speak in your mother tongue.
Congrats on your profit sharing!
Dinner looks nice. So many dining options. I recall on Pride of America ( NCL ) the dining was cool. They had this digital board up showing all the restaurants and the free spaces they had. So you could decide which one if you had nothing booked. It worked well otherwise you could always go to the MDR.
I would not like the muster drill that late at night that would be a show stopper for me I am in bed!
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
It really was cool. The North Star will make another appearance later in the cruise.
I was really surprised by this. Considering the size of this ship, the Ovation has some pretty classic lines.
I loved this and had the same for a few lunches during the cruise.
Most of the passengers were very nice. We kept hearing people complaining about the Chinese guests, but the one we encountered were friendly and polite. I have to say though there was one point during the cruise were I ended up being thoroughly ashamed for both of my nationalities in a single day, but this is still a few days in the future.
Thanks. This will go some way towards our bucket list cruise in April.
That sounds really neat. The ship where we had bad experience with the dining was the Norwegian Jade, which is also a NCL ship.
The MDRs were the issue. They had lines clear across the deck to even get a pager. The upcharge restaurants always seemed to have space with minimum waiting times. In the end we ended up eating mainly in the upcharge restaurants.
I was not keen on this either. After dinner we are usually done. The next cruises that we have booked are going to be better as we leave port at 16:30 for the Transatlantic and 17:00 for the Transpacific.
Corinna
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