Ovation - iFly and North Star Question

[jerseygirl629]

Hi,

 

I am sailing on the Ovation next week and am looking for clarification on a few things. 

 

We have the UDP and plan on making reservations as soon as we board. Are there any other things we should be booking when we get on? I had thought iFly but after reading here on CruiseCritic, I believe those reservations get booked the morning of at 8am? Is this true?

 

Also, I read that on "port days", the iFly and North Star are free. Does this mean all day on our sail back toward Seattle, when we stop in Victoria from 5pm-10pm, that times would be free since it is technically a port day? Or, are they only free while in the ship is docked in port? A little confused about this.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

A little confused about this.

That may vary - just look at 8AM on each port day (including embarkation day - the least booked probably) to see the free options.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Biker19

[msuspartabigten]

Book it immediately like your restaurant reservations. 

 

Yes, it's only free while docked in port. The free Ifly is 1 minute vs 2 minutes when you pay. The free northstar does not go over the edge of the boat like the paid version does. 

[soremekun]

Side note.  Ifly has a photographer standing nearby.  The person in the tube with you will turn you towards the camera.  Smile!  It makes for a great picture.

Edited August 3, 2022 by soremekun

[jerseygirl629]

20 minutes ago, msuspartabigten said:

Book it immediately like your restaurant reservations. 

 

Yes, it's only free while docked in port. The free Ifly is 1 minute vs 2 minutes when you pay. The free northstar does not go over the edge of the boat like the paid version does. 

 

You can book the free versions when you get on the boat? I do not have to wait until 8am each day? Do they let you book more than one session since they are only 1 minute? Like if we wanted to do it each day?

[Ourusualbeach]

34 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

Hi,

 

I am sailing on the Ovation next week and am looking for clarification on a few things. 

 

We have the UDP and plan on making reservations as soon as we board. Are there any other things we should be booking when we get on? I had thought iFly but after reading here on CruiseCritic, I believe those reservations get booked the morning of at 8am? Is this true?

 

Also, I read that on "port days", the iFly and North Star are free. Does this mean all day on our sail back toward Seattle, when we stop in Victoria from 5pm-10pm, that times would be free since it is technically a port day? Or, are they only free while in the ship is docked in port? A little confused about this.

 

Thanks!

 

 

I was on Ovation 2 weeks ago and the free slots all opened on the first day.  Book as soon as you can as they sell out fast.  On port days it was only when the ship was docked that it was free, once they started to sail they started to charge

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

 

You can book the free versions when you get on the boat? I do not have to wait until 8am each day? Do they let you book more than one session since they are only 1 minute? Like if we wanted to do it each day?

Only allowed to book it once per cruise.

[jerseygirl629]

15 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I was on Ovation 2 weeks ago and the free slots all opened on the first day.  Book as soon as you can as they sell out fast.  On port days it was only when the ship was docked that it was free, once they started to sail they started to charge

 

Can you book on the app AND in person (Like dining)? Or, just on app? 

[msuspartabigten]

1 minute ago, jerseygirl629 said:

 

Can you book on the app AND in person (Like dining)? Or, just on app? 

I believe you can only book in person.

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

 

Can you book on the app AND in person (Like dining)? Or, just on app? 

Either way will work - the desk is on the starboard side, right under the venue.

[Ourusualbeach]

13 minutes ago, jerseygirl629 said:

 

Can you book on the app AND in person (Like dining)? Or, just on app? 

Both, just like dining

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, jerseygirl629 said:

 

You can book the free versions when you get on the boat? I do not have to wait until 8am each day? Do they let you book more than one session since they are only 1 minute? Like if we wanted to do it each day?

Reservations for the entire cruise open on embarkation day and will sell out quickly. So as soon as you board the ship you need to get on the app and make your reservations. It clearly shows which blocks of time are free and which blocks of times are paid. 

 

All that being said, the Northstar can not operate in windy conditions. We had 3 reservations cancel on our cruise in May. 

[crzndeb]

42 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

All that being said, the Northstar can not operate in windy conditions. We had 3 reservations cancel on our cruise in May. 

Sounds familiar.

I still haven’t been on Northstar. Cancelled twice last Oct. and once in May on Ovation. I’m hoping my B3B on the Ovation in March, will bring better luck.

[ray985]

When I went in the first week of June, you could book the free or paid iFly appointments as soon as you were on the ship. For the North Star, you could book the paid ones for the whole week, but the free rides opened at 8 am each day. There were plenty of free rides of both later in the cruise.

 

Just a note, you don't have to be on the ship, just connected to the ship's wifi. I booked the iFly and my show reservations while I was still waiting to get on the ship (in the walkway before boarding the ship). And it's SO much better to use the app. There are crazy lines on embarkation day of people not realizing they can book electronically. 

[jerseygirl629]

Thank you all so much for the tips and replies. 🙂