We have been on both small and medium cruise ships but decided we'd like to try the big ship experience! Our boarding time at Sydney was 11.30 am and were on the ship within about 10 minutes. It was the smoothest embarkation we'd ever had!
We loved our room - we spend a lot of time on the balcony on a cruise ship and the balconies on Ovation are great. Two really comfortable chairs with footstools plus a table for drinks.
We went to Windjammers often and if there was a queue we'd simply come back a little later. If you ate outside of the busy times there was no trouble in getting a table. We had anytime dining and went to the Americon Icon the first night but preferred Silk next door for the rest of the cruise - it just had more atmosphere and the lighting was not so bright. Everything in the dining room was great - fast, friendly service and no issues there at all. We ate at one specialty restaurant, Chops Grille, but didn't enjoy that for various reasons (that have been expressed directly to RCI).
Great location, close to the lifts and stairs but no noise at all.