Having sailed Quantum out of China before I thought I knew what to expect. Same cruise line, same class of ship, similar passenger base, similar origin/region.

Unfortunately Ovation is no Quantum. While Quantum was a model recognising the differences between customer groups and trying to cater for each, and doing a great job, Ovation did not. Their approach was mostly just to lump everyone together, or not do much. Worse, we had a large number of international passengers compared to normal (and Quantum), around 1000 so it wasn't due to being insignificant. Examples:

Embarkation: Quantum has a separate entrance at main entry clearly marked for international guests. Staff speak English here, and boarding process is clear. Read more