Ovation Of The Seas

[driving21]

We are booked on the Ovation Of The Seas cruise to Alaska next may and was wondering what the dress code would be? 

Are there still formal nights or is is more casual than a normal cruise

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, driving21 said:

We are booked on the Ovation Of The Seas cruise to Alaska next may and was wondering what the dress code would be? 

Wear what you feel comfortable in - whatever dress code RCI may have, is not really enforced - think more casual.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Biker19

[rj59]

You'll find that Alaska is even more casual than other cruises, in my experience. Part of the reason is that people need to pack heavier clothes for the colder/wetter weather, so there's not room for suit coats and fancy stuff. Most lines seem to be going away from strict requirements, other than forbidding certain slobwear like tshirts or baseball caps, and not even using the term Formal Night any longer. 

[EdandMary]

dealers choice for Alaska. We dress up and there are "dress smart" nights twice. Because the windjammer is only doing breakfast and lunch, the dress requirements for the evening will be based on which direction you wish to go but we dress for us. Layering up is the name of any Alaska cruise and sweatshirts and hoodies were popular We are from Washington State so we were comfortable but the folks from the south wore parkas

[Blizzard54]

We just got off the Ovation to Alaska.  There were a few dress up but not very many.

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

We just got off the Ovation to Alaska.  There were a few dress up but not very many.

Any more rumors about Ovation coming to the west coast or are they going to Australia?

[wolfcathorse]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Any more rumors about Ovation coming to the west coast or are they going to Australia?

can't go to Australia just yet, they extended their ban on cruise ships to December

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Any more rumors about Ovation coming to the west coast or are they going to Australia?

RC in sydney are trying to get a permit for ovation, no word yet.

[crzndeb]

Do some RT Pacific Coastal trips and hit Victoria, like they have with other ships, until she can go to Sydney.

Edited September 11, 2021 by crzndeb

[lovelife]

49 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

Do some RT Pacific Coastal trips and hit Victoria, like they have with other ships, until she can go to Sydney.

I second that!

[Blizzard54]

I spoke to a number of staff onboard last week.  Nothing is for sure yet but Alaska will wrap up.  I really doubt they will stay around the west coast.  The seas get rough on the Washington coast soon.  Because of shore power requirements California is not an option.  I assume they will head south and hang out until they can sail with passengers. 

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, Blizzard54 said:

I spoke to a number of staff onboard last week.  Nothing is for sure yet but Alaska will wrap up.  I really doubt they will stay around the west coast.  The seas get rough on the Washington coast soon.  Because of shore power requirements California is not an option.  I assume they will head south and hang out until they can sail with passengers. 

I was on the Explorer for a Pac Coastal in 2017, and I think they did 3 cruises. I know about the shore power thing, but are ships allowed a certain number of trips, and not fall under those rules?

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Blizzard54 said:

I spoke to a number of staff onboard last week.  Nothing is for sure yet but Alaska will wrap up.  I really doubt they will stay around the west coast.  The seas get rough on the Washington coast soon.  Because of shore power requirements California is not an option.  I assume they will head south and hang out until they can sail with passengers. 

Thanks for letting us know we can stop hoping Ovation will come to the west coast...Oh well!

[Cc cruisers]

On 9/12/2021 at 4:25 AM, Ashland said:

Any more rumors about Ovation coming to the west coast or are they going to Australia?

We are from Sydney  Australia and have booked Ovation for March 31. Our February cruise to Fiji was cancelled and Royal changed to Domestic cruises only. Fingers crossed this one goes ahead. Our Govt hasn’t announced restart to cruising yet. 

[Chiliburn]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

Thanks for letting us know we can stop hoping Ovation will come to the west coast...Oh well!

I think the pressure will be on our government.

 

[Blizzard54]

17 hours ago, crzndeb said:

I was on the Explorer for a Pac Coastal in 2017, and I think they did 3 cruises. I know about the shore power thing, but are ships allowed a certain number of trips, and not fall under those rules?

I did some of those as well.  Current California rules allow 5 port stops per year without shore power.

[Blizzard54]

17 hours ago, Ashland said:

Thanks for letting us know we can stop hoping Ovation will come to the west coast...Oh well!

It does come to the west coast, just not California.  🙂

[crzndeb]

3 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

I did some of those as well.  Current California rules allow 5 port stops per year without shore power.

Got it. 5 Pacific Coastal’s it is then…LOL Since I’m on the last Alaska sailing, hopefully they will know by then where she is going. I sure wish they would have done a TP to Singapore.

[tserface]

On our cruise last week we saw everything from tuxedos to shorts and fancy t-shirts on formal night.  They didn't really even announce much about the night being formal and we got the impression it is considered optional now.  Since you don't have the option of going to the Windjammer (like before) they really can't force any standard in the MDR.  It would be a bit rude to tell people they have to eat at the pizza place or pay for food from somewhere else when they already paid for the MDR.

 

We dressed nicer than usual.  I wore a tie and my wife wore a sparkle top, but we didn't get as fancy as we have in the past.  It was kind of nice not having to be concerned about it.

 

I think the days of enforced formal nights are gone.  I have mixed feelings.  I always loved getting dressed up, but it's really difficult to pack all the stuff these days with airlines charging for extra suitcases.  That said, people are certainly welcome to dress up any time they want and they'll never get any judgement from me.