LIVE from Ovation of the Seas 5/31/2024 - Who isn’t tired of sandy beaches???

[niksmom630]

 

 

 

[GimmeOcean]

2 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

 

 

Mendenhall glacier by helicopter & dog sledding is an amazing excursion. Though maybe not if you don’t like heights.

[niksmom630]

Day 1/2 thoughts and observations….

 

-I’ve only sailed this class of ship

once before (Odyssey, 2021). Ships weren’t anywhere near full capacity then, and we really enjoyed it. It takes awhile getting used to the Esplanade vs. promenade, and this ship definately feels more crowded…. But I’m going to chalk that up to a sea day and the fact that most people are congregating inside. 
 

- I emailed dining the week before our sailing, asking for a large table together. I got several replies back asking for additional information, then it was crickets. In retrospect I should have followed up a final time, but assumed it was taken care of. In fact, not only did we not have a table together, some of our group weren’t even on the same floor of the dining room. last night we were placed at two tables and have been told we are all squared away for this evening. Fingers crossed. Moral of the story, if you have linked dining reservations, you may want to email dining to confirm, otherwise plan on spending some time in line the first day. Not a good start to any cruise….

 

- the ship Is in great shape, and the crew is fabulous. Service in the MDR was good, and the waiters even tried their best to keep a cranky , sleep deprived infant entertained 🤗

 

- I think Royal is reducing the number of towel stations, or at least that’s my observation the last few sailings . It’s an excursion in itself hunting one down.  So I just sign out towels at the beginning of the week and return them in the last day. 
 

- I was really excited for our first port of call, Sitka….I’m a huge fan of “The Proposal” movie, and was sure I’d get to see the house in person.   nope, turns out the real house is in Massachusetts, and thanks to Photoshop, it was “Alaska-ized”

 

https://hookedonhouses.net/2010/08/08/the-real-house-where-the-proposal-movie-was-filmed/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

We’ve gotten some peaks of the sun today, and despite the cold, it’s a beautiful day…

 

 

 

lots of chairs  outside available  🥶  

 

[niksmom630]

Tomorrow will be our first excursion

 

https://alaskashoreexcursions.com/sitka/simply-amazing-sitka-tour

 

the reviews were decent, and it will work for our entire group, including the grand kiddos 

 

i did not book a single excursion through Royal on this sailing. If you’ve never researched excursion costs in Alaska. Be prepared for sticker shock, especially if you have a larger group 🤑

[gippy]

Enjoying your posts!!  We're on Ovation in 2 weeks and can't wait.

 

What time is "early dining" (reserved) on the ship?  When we booked our cruise over a year ago, we were told 5:15p.  What I'm seeing on our cruise documents is 5pm.  I know it's only 15 minutes, but might need to slightly adjust a planned excursion or do anytime dining that evening.

TIA!

[perfect match]

On 5/31/2024 at 12:42 PM, niksmom630 said:

Ugh, I hope that happens to me! I wouldn’t have walked out on that moving glass floor if you paid me! 🤢

I hope it happens for you someday too. 🥰

On 5/31/2024 at 6:10 PM, niksmom630 said:

No luggage yet, they said as late as 8 pm for delivery. 
 

I might have packed my carry on differently if I knew this…. But hopefully my air tag is as wonky and unreliable as the cellular connection coverage here…. otherwise my suitcase is rolling down the highway….😬

 

 

Since I can’t unpack, I guess it’s time for a beverage and some exploring 

I sure hope that wasn’t your suitcase rolling down the highway!

 

W had trouble locating DH’s suitcase on our recent Allure cruise. The suitcase had its own Air Tag in it plus he couldn’t find his keys which had their own Air Tag. Turned out that he had put his keys in the suitcase which did show up but not after I’d called the parking lot to see if he had left them there. I guess nobody loading suitcases had an iPhone. 🤷‍♀️

 

On our Odyssey cruise openings for free times on North Star and iFly were showing up each morning so keep checking daily. We were able to walk on to free North Star one day by showing up and hoping for people who had reservations to no show. We got lucky and were able to get right on. Hope you can too.

[niksmom630]

10 hours ago, gippy said:

Enjoying your posts!!  We're on Ovation in 2 weeks and can't wait.

 

What time is "early dining" (reserved) on the ship?  When we booked our cruise over a year ago, we were told 5:15p.  What I'm seeing on our cruise documents is 5pm.  I know it's only 15 minutes, but might need to slightly adjust a planned excursion or do anytime dining that evening.

TIA!

its 5:00….its a little early for my liking, but the later time doesn’t work with the little ones. 
 

i was told by dining that they don’t start “giving away” the tables of the fixed dining no shows until 5:30. But, might make sense to just book a rez for MTD anyway! 
 

 

[niksmom630]

8 hours ago, perfect match said:

I hope it happens for you someday too. 🥰

I sure hope that wasn’t your suitcase rolling down the highway!

 

W had trouble locating DH’s suitcase on our recent Allure cruise. The suitcase had its own Air Tag in it plus he couldn’t find his keys which had their own Air Tag. Turned out that he had put his keys in the suitcase which did show up but not after I’d called the parking lot to see if he had left them there. I guess nobody loading suitcases had an iPhone. 🤷‍♀️

 

On our Odyssey cruise openings for free times on North Star and iFly were showing up each morning so keep checking daily. We were able to walk on to free North Star one day by showing up and hoping for people who had reservations to no show. We got lucky and were able to get right on. Hope you can too.

thanks, @perfect match! I’ll check into the North Star daily! 
 

and thankfully, suitcase showed up at 4 pm! 🤗

[niksmom630]

Day 3, Sitka, coming up! 

 

a chilly and rainy start…fingers crossed we get just a few hours rain free for our excursion 🤞

the seas were pretty angry yesterday, lots of people complaining about the motion…

 

 

even I was feeling a tad unwell at points. Not nauseous, but the balance/vertigo feeling…. 
 

And…. The tell tale signs in the stairwells 🤢🤮

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

The sun is trying to make an appearance…

 

 

Some ship photos coming up next…

[niksmom630]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

The finishes on board just have a slightly elevated feel….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

It appears files under 4 mb will load, anything else needs to be sized down from actual to large…. Hard to tell on my phone the difference between two photos…. 
 

but I’ll take a stab at posting two….1st is actual size, second is reduced to large…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

Gorgeous views from the windjammer this morning

 

 

[niksmom630]

A few pool and solarium shots….

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

 

 

[niksmom630]

[niksmom630]

[luvcruzing]

7 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

It appears files under 4 mb will load, anything else needs to be sized down from actual to large…. Hard to tell on my phone the difference between two photos…. 
 

but I’ll take a stab at posting two….1st is actual size, second is reduced to large…

I really don’t see any difference between the two.

[sdonaghy]

I'm on this same cruise next Friday.  Loving the pictures and the insight.  We also booked our excursions through Alaska Shore Excursions.  Enjoy !!!!