Don't let the title put you off - Ovation is a great ship, and we will cruise on her again, but just not our style (maybe we are getting old!)

But to start at the beginning - we had a number of reservations cancelled due Covid (like many) and we ended up booking a Grand Suite on Ovation to get back to cruising; to do that in Oz (a Covid hangover, wanted it to actually occur); to treat ourselves a little (and to take advantage of the double points).

The boarding was a schmoozle. We did receive a text (like many, but not all) to indicate our boarding would be delayed (as we understand it was a Customs / Covid, thing), but the wharf side staff were as much in the dark as we were. It didn't help that no-one stuck to their timeslots so the wharf was crowded, with many frustrated passengers, and no real information. This is where the GS came in super handy, once boarding started we were straight through - quickest ever (not an OS trip, so no Customs). We did chat with other passengers and they indicated that once things got started it wasn't huge delays. What was needed was better communication between ship and shore (and passengers to stick to their arrival time slots). Read more