tomatosauce

Exactly, from the specialty coffee and ice cream end of things including the Ben & Jerry's ice creams.

I have bought a milkshake from the Promenade Cafe on the Explorer to go with a rather nice slice.

The outside seating area for Jamie's is enclosed and is pretty much identical to the smoking area on the other side.

The Ovation is a perfect cold weather ship. You can spend time in the solarium pools and whirlpools in comfortable warmth which looking out through the vast amount of glass. The other great thing about the Ovation is the variety of different types of chairs, couches and loungers that make it that much better for relaxing compared to the Voyager class.

I am a fan of ordering the most appealing appestiser then asking for a garlic bread to be brought with the entree.

I have been in it for passport return and x-ray for returning to the ship. I have heard it being used for sewing and I also happened to be on the annual pole dancing at sea cruise which made use of it.

The other thing to remember is that the RCI cruises out of Singapore are largely 4 nights with some 3 and 5 night ones thrown in and the odd relocation cruise. With 4,900 passengers getting everyone who wants to try it through Northstar or iFly in so short a period is logistically impossible so it makes perfect sense to do something on the demand side of things.

I admit to being very surprised myself as I was not expecting it. I was checking how much I have spent and spotted that I supposedly cancelled it and repurchased it and got some money back.

For my last couple of cruises I have pre-booked the internet and then been surprised to find that they give me the discount as OBC generally with a line about being cancelled and bought again on the purchasing list.

In some ports even pre-packaged food is not allowed off the ship and they have dogs checking for fruit, etc. in the terminal.

The concierge lounge on the Ovation is spectacular. It is high up and the full width of the back of the ship. The only downside is the long walk to the elevator especially after a few drinks...

With the ship tour you also get to go down to the engine control room, the laundry, bridge and the entertainment areas plus incidental areas like the recycling/recovery area and get to speak to a wider variety of staff.

It is upstairs right in the front couple of rows. Upside is that the view is amazing and you get to see everything. The downside is that downstairs you can be in the middle of everything with the stage show making use of hidden exits in the middle of the fake plants. Also that is where the bar is so you have less people coming around and offering you drinks.

I often start with the bruschetta but also like the plank then ask for the garlic bread (i.e. 2 starters) to be served with the main of the burger. The garlic bread is lot's of garlic on a brioche bun that is very soft. I am often full by the time desert comes around but when I am still hungry I had done the brownies and the cheesecake but I have also wandered down to the Patiserie to spend an extra $2.50 on a slice of Red Velvet Cake or Carrot Cake.

16 hours ago, Perkyboy34 said:

Having realised the cruise we have booked, is now being advertised £ 900 ($1300) cheaper and including onboard wifi,

I must say that reading this thread has given me some more insight into why the Independence is moving. If price drops like that are a regular occurrence that certainly helps explain the move. 

I must agree that the storage in the rooms is really well thought out especially once you put your luggage underneath the bed. They even have a nook next to the bed especially designed to provide somewhere for your teddy bear to sit.

The first 3 Quantum class ships have 12 solo balcony and 24 solo interior cabins. A number of the solo interior cabins are linked to other cabins to form a family or group area with a combined vestibule. From memory the Spectrum had at least the same.

The rooms have a standard bed although it can't be split in two like in normal rooms and it does feel slightly shorter than normal. The room has a theoretical capacity of 1-2 people so technically they could just apologise and give you some OBC to "make up for any misunderstanding" if it is for two people. Having said that, having two people in a solo room would be a bit cramped especially if it was an interior.

For those who wonder why they exist, they are very popular and sell out very fast because it make cruising by yourself much more affordable as there is no single supplement. i.e. the cost will be about half what a couple would pay for the same level of room which is what solo would have to pay otherwise.

My understanding is that all of the ships use O3b when they can as it is by far the best option (O3b has better latency and beam steering). The one complicating factor with O3b is the fact that coverage is limited to the far North and South.

When eating at Jamie's Italian on the Ovation I normally order two appetisers, one to start with and then the garlic bread to eat with the main. The only downside is that it leaves you too full for dessert.

It saves you a lot of lining up to get the tickets and then the time waiting for your number to be called. There have been a couple of times where it has saved me at least one hour.

No-one can tell that you are using the priority as people come from all over the ship when their number is called.

The Quantum class has 12 studio balcony cabins on decks 6 and 7. Because of their locations a 8 of them (the forwardmost 2 cabins on each side) have a balcony that is a bit bigger than normal. The location is very near the lifts as well which makes them rather convenient.

Some pharmacies will make the pill organiser up for you and put the prescription labels on it. If I was concerned then that is the approach that I would take. For somewhere like Dubai I would definitely do that if I wanted to use an organiser.

Northstar on the Ovation originally went over both sides but by about 6 months they changed it so that it only goes up and down now. It is the only way that they can keep the queues at a reasonable length.

During it's first 5 yearly update after coming to Australia the Voyager has a tender station added to it so that it could visit more ports, locations actually, in the South Pacific. With all of that, tendering on Voyager class ships does require patience due to the number of passengers onboard.

The Voyager and Explorer do use their own boats for tendering in the South Pacific. On those ships at least there is a difference between the ones that they use for tendering (see picture) and the other lifeboats.