We have sailed on ships every year since 2004 and wanted to experience what a big ship would be like. Disappointed with wine been unavailable not a great choice when it comes to average priced wine. Dining room for breakfast took nearly 2 hours just as well we had no shore excursion.Being Lactose intolerant it was easier for me to go to 14th floor to bring milk down for more self then try to explain what I needed. Food was average and served on different plates or bowls. Our waiters tried hard but need direction maybe one in charge helping the other out may be an option. Our Stateroom apart from obscured view which was disappointing as we booked early was a good size. The bathroom shower cubicle was great with nice easy to manage taps and water pressure good. Entertainment The Aussie Boys fantastic!! comedian very average. The line up time for bumper cars was far too long may be they should allow more times for the amount of people who want to go on them. Air flow rider a real winner so was the Northern Star capsule. The ship itself is fantastic and decorate tastefully. Down the track I would consider going on the "Ovation" and would hope these problems have been rectified I don't like to complain but I like good service and happy staff members. Season traveler so comments are genuine!! Read Less

Booked late after seeing 2 for 1 ad in paper. Embarkation straight forward. Took about an hour. Had a balcony suite. Nice new room well laid out. Hard but comfy bed, plenty of storage Nice bathroom, few toiletries. Need your own shampoo Coffee making facilities but NO COFFEE IN CABIN. BRING YOUR OWN Staff very young and eager, predominantly Chinese rather than the usual Phillipines. Very hectic and uncomfortable in all areas at peak times. Deck chairs occupied and hard to get all day from very early Kids and parents who want to be kids dominate all pools and spas including Solarium main pool. Slightly quieter at very front of Solarium where it is still hard to get a chair most of the time. Food was very average. Plenty to eat but cafeteria standard. Perhaps it is better if you wish to pay extra. I didn't. Windjammer and Solarium extremely busy at meal times. Last day on ship at 6am was total chaos trying to get a meal and somewhere to sit as it seems all passengers turned out at once. I ended up taking my breakfast out on deck next to pool. Danish Captain made announcements in Abba style sing song English that was difficult to understand. Captain and officers were invisible during cruise. At least they sailed well. Glad to get off in the end. Would not take this ship again. I would recommend it to families with young kids if you can get it at a good price. No good for relaxation or romance. Read Less

We booked this cruise primarily to experience the ship tech and for me to unwind. The size of the Ovation of the Seas is very impressive as is the technology that drives and operates her. My son and i flew from Canberra to Adelaide to begin our "high sea" adventure on board this high tech vessel. Our Cruise was organized through Mary Rossi Travel in Sydney, acting on our behalf and arranging all aspects of our travel. Embarkation went without issue, luggage was tagged and arrived safely outside our cabin. We entered the ship and were met with merchants selling us drink packs. As we are not consumers of alcohol, we opted for a refreshment pack each (2 x $120). We expected that we would be able to have fresh juices and "mock-tails", this was not to be as the only juices they had were highly sugared fruit drinks from cardboard boxes. We ended up drinking mainly water and cranberry with soda water for the rest of the trip. the purchase of these drink packs were a rip-off. That night, my son and I had dinner at the Silk restaurant, the meal was terrible as the lobster tasted old and rubbery. The meat tasted like it was frozen, warmed in a microwave then placed on the grill for a few minutes before serving - very few fresh vegetables. I got food poisoning the morning of the third day (i suspect it was the smoked salmon) and spent the rest of that day and most of the forth day in my stateroom. Dinner on 4th night was at the Grand, nice layout but again the food was dissapointing I had to send it back as my pasta sauce was far too sweet - I ended up having two plates of Greek salad which were themselves barely passable. I had no coffee as the milk used comes from a plastic bag (i expect it was re-constituted). Fruit was also unripe and tasteless (grapes were ok). We found very few activities that a 16year old could engage, my son was bored, spent a lot of time in the room watching movies. There was a language problem on board - we found it difficult to communicate with staff members and be understood. Music played in the garden area was not pleasant, some quite, classical or even wild-life sounds would have suited the environment more than the euro-pop that was being played. Like all reviews, i need to finish with just a few suggestions: 1) Use fresh ingredients, don't sugar sauces 2) Bake pastries fresh every day and use a proper french patisserie chef that knows how to make pastries 3) If you advertise Italian cuisine, make the cuisine authentic - don't compromise - patrons will pay for good food...bad food looses customers and future cruise goers. 4) Use fresh milk for coffee, use freshly ground beans every time a coffee is made at the espresso machine 5) Create unique atmosphere in places - the cruise is not all about getting drunk everywhere on deck Read Less

I chose this cruise to experience a brand new ship after thoroughly enjoying a week on the Allure of the Seas from Port Lauderdale. I looked forward to being on what was marketed as a historic arrival in Australian waters. I looked forward to the new "Set Sail Pass" that would allow me to go straight to my cabin where I would find keys that were the gateway to the ship. I arrived at the Port in my allotted time frame.to find a new dimension in lining to board a ship. I lined to get through passport inspection at the port gate. I lined to place my luggage in the hall. I then lined at the check in counter (wasn't "Set Sail Pass" supposed to eliminate this line?) behind hundreds of people without proper documentation. The final line was security inspection that went quite well. In all the process took two hours. While local volunteers did a great job controlling the crowds there was not enough staff to handle the process at ant check point. This was not a good start to a cruise on what I can only describe as a cramped ship after wonderful cruises on the Oases Class ships and with the organisation of a ports in the USA. Maybe Adelaide is not yet due for 21st Century cruise ships? The service staff did not seem up to the standard of RCCL and it appeared that many lacked even basic training. This was reflected in the long lines at the customer service desk that seemed to exist for the entire cruise. I had pre-booked my whole family on this ship in February 2017 and hope that they have sorted out some of the failings that plagued this maiden journey from Singapore. Read Less

We thought it would be an experience for our grandchildren...but Disaster...booked a family balcony room, the second double bed was the rock hard couch that the cabin boy pulled out, putting extra duvets on it to make it more comfortable...not good enough, when we Paid $4200 for 4 nights..Royal c did not help on any way, nor Cruise co..the only person to help and give any service, was the girl in the diamond club..We have done 20 cruises, this one being the worst ever..we will never go on the ship again,food also disgusting, no service, dining room menus, only one item change every night...poor service.. Totally disorganised...in seal plex area eg..bumper cars, soccer, basketball.overall...very disappointed.. Shows were good if you could get into see them..again if it had not been for the fact that the girl in the Diamond lounge got us a booking on the North arm..because it and every show was booked out when we boarded the ship. Read Less

The Cruise was a Short Break for the Family - the Shops where too Up Market - maybe if I had a high end Credit Card - no where to buy Souvenirs or gifts - the Kids Club lacked proper staff - I'm comparing it to Celebrity Solace - nearly every time my wife picked our child from the kids club - they asked if she was my child's mother - needed more shows for children - the Movies you had to pay $11.99 to watch - the Room Service menu was poor - again comparing it to Celebrity Solace - the Rapid Rider is a waste of space - would I go on ovation again - yes if the destinations where right - it sailed beautifully across bass strait even tho the seas where between 15 to 20 feet - we aren't sailors but we never felt squeamish - Read Less

I have sailed twice on the Rhapsody of the Seas which was wonderful in every respect. These earlier experiences with RCL led me to believe that all their ships would be of the same standard. WRONG..... I have always sailed in a suite and this cruise was the same, a suite on deck 10. On a delayed boarding due to lost luggage which was correctly tagged being misplaced for 6 hours I was exasperated to be advised by the suite steward on asking for an ash tray to smoke on the balcony, that smoking on balconies is no longer permitted and smoking is allowed only on decks 5 and 6. Now as a member of the RCL Crown and Anchor society one would have expected that since my booking was made PRIOR to the RCL smoking policy in board their ships that a courtesy advice would have been nice to advise all members and passengers in general however as an alternative there is no policy that prevents anyone drinking copious amounts of alchahol and being sick (vomiting) in public areas, hallways and even restaurants on board. I also have issues with the RCL policy of adding 18% to all on board purchases and also charging each passenger a gratuity fee DAILY. Passengers are wise to check on the ACTUAL end costs of excursions offered by RCL as the gratuities and taxes are NOT added until after bookings are made and charged to your credit card at the conclusion of the cruise, this can amount to a substantial amount not budgeted. Read Less