Having cruised several times with Princess Cruises, we chose this sampler cruise on the Ovation of Seas because its is one of the newest and biggest ships to visit Australia. Also, it is good to see what other cruise companies have to offer. The ship itself is really good, packed with lots of technology and activities but that is about it. Maybe it was because it was a sampler cruise with 4900 plus guests that the on board experience was disappointing. There were too many guests wanting to do the North Star, Ripcord and Flow Rider, hence it was impossible for everyone to try these activities. You had to be up early to get a deck chair in the Solarium or missed out entirely. Annoying to see people reserve chairs by dropping towels on them and then disappearing for hours before coming back to use them. Ordering drinks from the bars or cafes meant long queues. I had to wait 25 minutes to be served in the Two Seventy cafe when ordering coffees.

The food in the dining room and in Chops Grille was ordinary; have had better in the local shopping centre's food court. Windjammer was by far the best option for eating. The staff in Windjammer were friendly and attentive. Unlike in the Two Seventy cafe when a guest dropped their plate of food. Two senior staff just stood there and let other guests help clean up the mess. It took one of the wait staff to leave their station to finally help. Generally, drink wait staff were few and far between. We never had to wait too long to order drinks on our previous cruises. We are not blaming the staff for the poor service - just too many guests for the number of staff on duty. Guests that sail regularly with Royal Caribbean commented on the slowness compared to previous cruises.

As for the shows - We attended both, and well, they were far from great. The artists have great voices but the sound was loud and lacked clarity. Being regular theatre goers, we know what makes a good performance and both shows didn't make it due to being too loud and hence lack of clarity. Read more