Ovation of the Seas - Early Reviews woeful !

[CCC's]

I have booked Ovation of the Seas for January 2018 (Sydney, Tassie, S.A.) for 8 nights. As it is a new ship I am closely watching all reviews on this ship and I must admit they have been somewhat "underwhelming" to the point of being very negative.

 

To all the seasoned cruisers out there - is this normal for a new cruise ship experiencing teething issues? Take a look at the most recent reviews on CC and you will understand my concern. Also, would the fact it is primarily in China/Asia for the bulk of the year before coming to Australia have any bearing on the matter, ie Chinese market and Australian cruise market are somewhat different in what they each expect from a cruise holiday.

 

Any advice would be great.

[easyboy]

We take negative reviews with a grain of salt. Reviews are subjective and depends on one's varying expectations. With a year out to your cruise, just hope that the ship and services will continuously improve.

[Andyinmacksville]

They change the crew when transitioning between Asia and Australia so I could see a few hiccups in that process. I have seen plenty of positive comments about the ship in different forums.

 

Additionally people with nothing to complain about are less likely to post a review.

 

 

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[The_Big_M]

All the Quantum class get a lot of negative reviews.

 

A lot of that has been due to Dynamic dining, and was the reason they scrapped it.

[bertrande]

Regarding the crew etc, one of the waiters in the Windjammer on our recent Mariner cruise shared something interesting. One would expect the China itineraries to be staffed primarily by mandarin speakers (which would naturally mean more staff from China). We were chatting with the waiter (been with RCL for 9 years and she is from China) and she said this was not the case and that RCL consciously tries to staff caucasians/south Asians etc on the ships running the China itineraries because the passengers (almost 100% from China) don't want to go on vacation and see only their own countrymen onboard. So most Chinese crew get assigned to other Asian itineraries instead of to ships departing from China. Our ship had a large number of crew from China and we had a wonderful cruise. The concierge Yin Tao would give many other concierges a run for their money - he went over and above his line of duty to make the cruise a pleasure for the suite guests. We are booked on the Ovation in April next year and are confident that regardless of the nationalities of the crew, we will be able to enjoy our cruise.

 

 

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[nelblu]

I have booked Ovation of the Seas for January 2018 (Sydney' date=' Tassie, S.A.) for 8 nights. As it is a new ship I am closely watching all reviews on this ship and I must admit they have been somewhat "underwhelming" to the point of being very negative.

 

To all the seasoned cruisers out there - is this normal for a new cruise ship experiencing teething issues? Take a look at the most recent reviews on CC and you will understand my concern. Also, would the fact it is primarily in China/Asia for the bulk of the year before coming to Australia have any bearing on the matter, ie Chinese market and Australian cruise market are somewhat different in what they each expect from a cruise holiday.

 

Any advice would be great.[/quote']

 

What else is new. Just look at all of the reviews for Quantum & Anthem. Cruised on both and enjoyed both immensely. I'm quite disappointed that RCL eliminated D Dining.

[little britain]

I've been on Ovation twice (including her first sailing); Quantum's maiden Transatlantic sailing and Anthem. I've also got Anthem booked again.

All 3 ships are truly fabulous and fantastic.

[datolim]

Regarding the crew etc, one of the waiters in the Windjammer on our recent Mariner cruise shared something interesting. One would expect the China itineraries to be staffed primarily by mandarin speakers (which would naturally mean more staff from China). We were chatting with the waiter (been with RCL for 9 years and she is from China) and she said this was not the case and that RCL consciously tries to staff caucasians/south Asians etc on the ships running the China itineraries because the passengers (almost 100% from China) don't want to go on vacation and see only their own countrymen onboard. So most Chinese crew get assigned to other Asian itineraries instead of to ships departing from China. Our ship had a large number of crew from China and we had a wonderful cruise. The concierge Yin Tao would give many other concierges a run for their money - he went over and above his line of duty to make the cruise a pleasure for the suite guests. We are booked on the Ovation in April next year and are confident that regardless of the nationalities of the crew, we will be able to enjoy our cruise.

 

 

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Don't take the word of 1 waiter. There is no truth in this. They are paid according to the per capita GDP of their home country. China GDP has grown up to about the level of Malaysia. So it is much cheaper to hire from Vietnam, Indonesia or Rumania. Singapore used to have ships homeport here with Chinese nationals. Not any more. Never seen a single Singapore national staff on these ships for the same reasons.

Edited December 15, 2016 by SG007

[besberry]

Ovation is a great ship to sail. I'm not sure she can still have teething problems as she's been sailing for the best part of 8 months. I'd book her again in a heartbeat.

[bertrande]

Don't take the word of 1 waiter. There is no truth in this. They are paid according to the per capita GDP of their home country. China GDP has grown up to about the level of Malaysia. So it is much cheaper to hire from Vietnam, Indonesia or Rumania. Singapore used to have ships homeport here with Chinese nationals. Not any more. Never seen a single Singapore national staff on these ships for the same reasons.

 

 

I'm not sure that you're not saying the same thing as the waiter (i.e. that vessels homeported in China have primarily non-Chinese crew). In any case, Singapore *still* has ships with many Chinese nationals as crew. Mariner is one such example.

 

But either way, it's tangential to the topic at hand so let's get back to the discussion.

 

 

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[Gordo]

We sailed on Ovation of the Seas on 11/23-11/30, from Hong Kong to Singapore, and had an amazing vacation. The ship is wonderful, and I have to say the crew was the friendliest that we have experienced in all of our sailings (whether on RCI or other cruise lines).

 

We also read some negative stuff online prior to our cruise, and am happy to report that we did not have the same experience.

 

We were lucky to be sailing in a Sky Loft Suite, so were able to eat in the Coastal Kitchen for breakfast and lunch, and then dinner at the Specialty Restaurants.

 

We loved the iFly, and had fun on the flow rider and roller skating. The North Star was just ok.

 

Please let us know if you have any specific questions, as we would be happy to answer them.

 

Hope you have an amazing vacation.

[datolim]

We sailed on Ovation of the Seas on 11/23-11/30, from Hong Kong to Singapore, and had an amazing vacation. The ship is wonderful, and I have to say the crew was the friendliest that we have experienced in all of our sailings (whether on RCI or other cruise lines).

 

We also read some negative stuff online prior to our cruise, and am happy to report that we did not have the same experience.

 

We were lucky to be sailing in a Sky Loft Suite, so were able to eat in the Coastal Kitchen for breakfast and lunch, and then dinner at the Specialty Restaurants.

 

We loved the iFly, and had fun on the flow rider and roller skating. The North Star was just ok.

 

Please let us know if you have any specific questions, as we would be happy to answer them.

 

Hope you have an amazing vacation.

 

Could you answer what is in this link then. It scares the daylight out of me and I am book with them for Mar. 2017.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=985

[Sarvowinner]

Could you answer what is in this link then. It scares the daylight out of me and I am book with them for Mar. 2017.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=985

Did you read the second review - I would go with that. Make sure you book your shows and restaurants beforehand and you should have a wonderful cruise.

[bobbythedog]

We sailed Ovation Singapore-Fremantle 30Nov - 6Dce2016...lovely.

 

We are sailing Ovation again Sydney-Hobart-Sydney 23Jan -28Jan2017 :)