Live … Ovation of the Seas …Alaska … May 13 - May 20, 2022

[BecciBoo]

4 hours ago, iuki said:

Thank you so much. Good to know.

 

You were the lucky one.  We sailed in September and had 35-foot wells.  Most of the crew and we’re really sick.  We were the ship they gave permission to go through the inside passage.  The ship before us called for permission just after our Captain and was denied.  The next day he told our Captain it got worse - up to 45-foot swells.  Merchandise fell all over the stores.

I'd say you were unlucky.  Both our September cruises were perfection.

[harryfat1]

6 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

That's the problem with using a 2X teleconverter, and the main reason that I never bought one...you lose 2 stops of light.  It's great if you're on a tripod on firm ground.  Not so much if you're handheld on a rocking ship.  The 70-200 2.8 stays wide open at 2.8 for the entire focal length range, which is great. I used it a lot for action sports with my kids when they were younger.  I could shoot at least at 1/200 sec and often faster, even indoors with the ISO cranked up a bit. But 200mm might not be enough for Alaska.

 

I think we've turned this into a photography thread. 😁

Think the moderators will move our posts to the Photography section at CC.

 

One suggestion for Alaska cruise is the day your ship is scheduled to dock in Juneau, try to wake up early to see the ship pull in as it’s very scenic.

 

You can be “THAT GUY” with the tripod at the back of the ship taking pictures as the ship docks in super calm river stillness waters.

 

 

 

 

 

If going to Mendenhall glaciers in Juneau, 200 mm may not be  big enough to zoom in as some of these were taken back in 2009 with 300 mm and I wanted to get be even closer but you can't always walk up to be closer so you need a bigger zoom.

 

You are pretty far from the glacier even at the closest point

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

There was some discussion on getting flowers for the cruise.  Here are couple old pictures from our previous Alaska cruise taken from Pike Place Market where you can get really nice summer flowers.

 

Ignore the price as these were many years ago but you get an idea on what's over there.  Back then they were cheaper than the Costco flowers we get from home so that's saying something...

 

 

 

 

[taznremmy]

@Ozark_Kid thank you for the great review and fabulous pictures!  I’m on board and can’t even keep up with reading all the posts, much less creating them. 🙀 The Aquarium is on my list for turn around day.

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, taznremmy said:

@Ozark_Kid thank you for the great review and fabulous pictures!  I’m on board and can’t even keep up with reading all the posts, much less creating them. 🙀 The Aquarium is on my list for turn around day.

Glad you enjoyed.  You will love the Aquarium.  If you have time the Glass museum is great too.

[perfect match]

Thank you very much for a great review, @Ozark_Kid! Spectacular pictures all around and great tips! I’ve been playing catch up here, so I haven’t been commenting as I went along, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I appreciate your taking the time to share your trip with us.

[Ozark_Kid]

12 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

There was some discussion on getting flowers for the cruise.  Here are couple old pictures from our previous Alaska cruise taken from Pike Place Market where you can get really nice summer flowers.

 

Ignore the price as these were many years ago but you get an idea on what's over there.  Back then they were cheaper than the Costco flowers we get from home so that's saying something...

 

 

 

 

Great pics.  And this just shows a small portion of what's offered. Larger bouquets were $20.

[Ozark_Kid]

9 hours ago, perfect match said:

Thank you very much for a great review, @Ozark_Kid! Spectacular pictures all around and great tips! I’ve been playing catch up here, so I haven’t been commenting as I went along, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I appreciate your taking the time to share your trip with us.

I am glad you enjoyed. 😊 

[SKSMIKE5]

On 5/20/2022 at 1:31 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

As we were disembarking I saw a long line in front of us.  As we got there we found the long line was for those who need an elevator.   If an escalator is fine, stay left  

 

What time was this? We are on the Quantum in 2 weeks and plan to walk off as early as we can to catch our flights home on 20 June. Do you know what time the ship cleared and people were allowed to walk off? 

[Ozark_Kid]

58 minutes ago, SKSMIKE5 said:

What time was this? We are on the Quantum in 2 weeks and plan to walk off as early as we can to catch our flights home on 20 June. Do you know what time the ship cleared and people were allowed to walk off? 

The picture was taken at about 9am.  We were some of the last off.  The first walk off was about 7:30am.

[SKSMIKE5]

Thank You for the reply Ozark_Kid!

[quack2]

On 5/18/2022 at 2:01 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

We kept coming to exercise stations.  I'm so glad they had them.  I was wondering how I was going to get my exercise in while hiking. 😆

 

 

 

Being chased by a bear should do it.

 

[Ozark_Kid]

3 minutes ago, quack2 said:

Being chased by a bear should do it.

 

Shortly after the exercise station we did come across some fresh bear poop. 

[calestultz]

To you who had wifi on this cruise: Do you think it was a good value? Or do you think cell service at the ports would be just as good? 

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, calestultz said:

Do you think it was a good value?

Only you can decide if the cost is worth it. If you can get by with only checking things while in port, you can skip it - cell service data will likely be better in all the ports than the on board wifi.

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, calestultz said:

To you who had wifi on this cruise: Do you think it was a good value? Or do you think cell service at the ports would be just as good? 

We both had wifi.  A Samsung and an iPhone both on the same at&t plan.  At each port we got great service except for Victoria. For some reason the iPhone was fine and the Samsung struggled. 

We usually got great 5g for at least an hour after leaving each port.

The wifi on ship uses different satellite when up in Alaska as compared to the Caribbean.  It can be more  Inconsistent.

It really depends what you want to use it for.  The iPhone was always able to text and search the internet.   The Samsung had a much harder time uploading pics to CC.  

In Alaska I would not get it for streaming YouTube but works great for texting on iPhone.   I rarely text with the Samsung so I am not sure about it.

[calestultz]

6 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We both had wifi.  A Samsung and an iPhone both on the same at&t plan.  At each port we got great service except for Victoria. For some reason the iPhone was fine and the Samsung struggled. 

We usually got great 5g for at least an hour after leaving each port.

The wifi on ship uses different satellite when up in Alaska as compared to the Caribbean.  It can be more  Inconsistent.

It really depends what you want to use it for.  The iPhone was always able to text and search the internet.   The Samsung had a much harder time uploading pics to CC.  

In Alaska I would not get it for streaming YouTube but works great for texting on iPhone.   I rarely text with the Samsung so I am not sure about it.

Thanks for taking the time waiting this detailed response. I think for the first time in a while I'll go without the WiFi plan. 

[Ozark_Kid]

2 minutes ago, calestultz said:

Thanks for taking the time waiting this detailed response. I think for the first time in a while I'll go without the WiFi plan. 

You may already know this but you can share a plan.  Use it with one device, sign off,  then sign in with a different device using the same password/account.  We have done this before and it worked out fine.

[calestultz]

On 6/3/2022 at 6:16 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

You may already know this but you can share a plan.  Use it with one device, sign off,  then sign in with a different device using the same password/account.  We have done this before and it worked out fine.

That is what we've done on previous cruises. We bought a wireless router to use on future cruises which will allow us to use all our devices simultaneously on one account. Found a YouTube video explaining how it's done. 

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

Thanks for this. We go on the Ovation on August 26th and this was a nice preview! 

[Ozark_Kid]

2 hours ago, SeekingKillerWhales! said:

Thanks for this. We go on the Ovation on August 26th and this was a nice preview! 

Thanks.  Glad you enjoyed.   It was our first Alaska cruise and we enjoyed it enough that we want to do it again.   I would say one of our favorite cruises.  Hope you have a great time too.

[maranelloboy05]

How would you rate the overall service onboard? Anything closed or seem to be lacking? Booked for end of July and just a bit concerned over some of the staffing issues I've been reading about, have quite a few first time cruisers with us and worried they'll get a bad first impression.

[Ozark_Kid]

This was the first cruise since we got back to cruising that a port or show wasn't canceled.  North Star was down the whole cruise and the previous week's cruise due to mechanical not staff.  You could see them working to fix it. This was also the first full ship.  The only thing that I noticed that was not up to par was our MDR experience.  Our waiter was experiencing his first time.  Before he had been an assistant.   Also his assistant was new at the job.  They were real nice but it certainly added to the time in the MDR. It improved as the week went on.

All other service was good.  I think your 1st timers should love it.  Take them to 270 for breakfast/lunch and enjoy the view.  They will love it.  Or the view at the back of the Windjammer.   Have a great cruise. 

[justKirbo]

Thank you O_K for this wonderful review. We'll be on the Ovation for the 9/9 cruise and this thread made me so excited. I appreciate the time you put into this.

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, justKirbo said:

Thank you O_K for this wonderful review. We'll be on the Ovation for the 9/9 cruise and this thread made me so excited. I appreciate the time you put into this.

Thanks!  I am glad you enjoyed it and thankful that you took the time to post that you  checked it out.  That is what makes it worth the time.  

I am curious,  did you find the review by a general search or under the Live Cruise Reports section.   Also, will this be your first cruise to Alaska?  

Please try to remember to try a Doughboy in Skagway and don't share it with someone.   They are big but so good! 

If you have any questions feel free to post.  

We have been on several cruises but I believe the Alaska cruise will always be one of most memorable.   Hope you enjoy it too.