Ovation of the Seas Review
Love RC but Ovation from Sydney around NZ - a Big Miss on RC Standards
Rating by category
Additional details
We close this cruise as we wanted to see Australia and New Zealand and wanted to be in Sydney on New Years Eve to see the fireworks from the Opera House. The 15 day RC cruise was a perfect fit for out schedule and desires (we were in Aus from Dec 6 to Jan 8, 2017.
My wife and I are Diamond on RC and independently Elite on Celebrity. We have also cruised Princes and Carnival. We love RC, but the Dec 15 2016 cruise for 15 days from Sydney around New Zealand and back to Sydney was not up to RC Standards.
The production shows were minimal. The ship tries to substitute technology for production shows with live entertainment. The "two" production shows with live entertainers were excellent. They may have been more, but we could not find them on the schedule (and we are EXPERIENCED travelers).
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Great Balcony cabin. Lots of room for storage (most of any ship at that level). Great cabin attendant.
Port Reviews
Sydney (Australia)
Spent abount a week in Sydney in between visits to Melbourne and Great Barrier Reef (Port Douglass). Loved Sydney
Of course visit the Opera House and take tour. We went to La Boheme on iYears Eve and booked the "party" at the opera house North Porch to see the great fireworks (now off my bucket list).
I highly recommend the Free Walking Tours (both City Tour and the Rocks Tour). They were teriffic in very way. The tour guides work for tips (I gave them a well deserved big tip) and the could not be more informative. My tour guide was a native of Sydney.
Took fery to Manley Beach - went to beach and had great lunch overlooking water.
Took taxi or Uber to Bondi and had great lunch - also most wonderful. Changed in public changing rooms for both. 2
BIG RED BUS (Hop on - Hop off). DO NOT TAKE. This was the worst HoHo Bus in any city we have visited. Took taxi to pick up point - but it was closed. Walked three blocks to 2nd pick up point - it was closed. Fianally took taxi to a main pick up point. Wasted one hour trying to take bus. Also pick up points not clearly described and dificult to find. Audio tour was not very comprehensive. Find another way to tour city - Big Red Bus is NOT THE WAY.
Melborne - the InterContinental Hotel Concierge recommend the "free" walking tour in Melborne which was equally as good as Sydney. (We tried to book a Paid Waiking Tour for $100 US but was booked). The free walking tour could not have been better. We could not have been more pleased with the quality and comprehensiveness of the tour.