We previously sailed on Explorer of the Seas which was wonderful - Ovation of the Seas was just the opposite. Uncaring staff, room attendant who rarely even said Good Morning and seemed to have a chip on his shoulder for the entire voyage, Windjammer buffet food was bland and of low quality, the dining room meals were better however. Not enough staff for the number of guests was a consistent problem evidenced by huge lines or sold-out status for most attractions.

The cabin was clean and well maintained, and overall the ship was clean and fresh. The shows were mostly aimed at the seniors crowd (trivia, etc) and only a couple of movies were shown during the entire voyage - I suppose that forces people to by the overpriced USD$12 movies in their cabin. Room service was prompt but had a very limited choice - ie, couldn't get a hamburger or most other basics. There were many elevators but they were slow and it took a long time to get an elevator in many cases.

Others commenting on how staff couldn't even be bothered to operate on a first-come, first-served basis with lines of people is quite clear - these staff were entirely different than what we experienced on the Explorer of the Seas - the Ovation staff on the whole seemed uninterested in their work beyond the restaurant staff singing their highly annoying "happy happy happy, smiley smiley smiley, washey washey washey" song over and over until people had overdosed on their fake enthusiasm. Read more