My wife and I were on the September 29, 2023 Alaska sailing for the Ovation of the Seas which started in Seattle and ended in Vancouver. We are experienced cruisers, this is our 22nd voyage, 8th to Alaska, and 3rd on Royal Caribbean. We previously sailed on the Quantum of the Seas and the Spectrum of the Seas both out of Asia, and this was our first American RCL vacation.
Embarkation: Without ...
My wife and I were on a late September Alaska sailing for the Ovation of the Seas which started in Seattle. We are experienced cruisers, this is our 22nd voyage, 8th to Alaska, and 3rd on Royal Caribbean. We previously sailed on the Quantum of the Seas and the Spectrum of the Seas both out of Asia, and this was our first American RCL vacation.
Embarkation: Without question, the check in ...
I wanted to revisit this ship. The Mid-May 2022 cruise had embarkation and technical difficulties, and Victoria B.C. hadn't approved the use of North Star yet. Those difficulties have been overcome.
This time embarkation was a breeze, and everything about the ship seemed to be working well. This beautiful ship just sparkled, and the crew was very friendly and competent. There were ...
Booked Quantum for AK glacier cruise. Unfortunately didn’t read post about ship not being able to get near glacier. Sailed into Endocot arm and turned around before glacier. Ship is nice, RCI food quality has declined significantly since Feb menu changes. The production shows, Starwater, sonic odyssey are both very strange with no real plot. Northstar broken entire cruise. Icy strait point was ...
Travelled with family to Alaska on RC. This was our first time cruising. We had a balcony which was great for viewing the scenery & wildlife. We had a soft drinks package & bought a few cocktails & some wine, which worked well for us. Paid for gratuities in advance, so we did not need to worry about tipping at the end.
Enjoyed the photographer on board & purchased a package.
The food was ...
We generally prefer good views of the ocean, a chair in the sun for some drinks by the pool and a few activities to enjoy while onboard. We didn't love the layout of this ship as everything felt alot more enclosed than other ships we've sailed on. Views were often restricted and the dining rooms felt small with their low ceilings and cramped seating vs the multi floor dining rooms on the other ...
Wife and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary on this trip which was our first Alaska cruise and it was amazing! Enjoyed everything on the ship but agree that the food at the buffet does get bland after a couple visits. We did buy the 3 extra dinners package and ate at the steak place (delicious), Italian (ok) and Japanese spot and it was good. Nice change of place from the usual buffet. Nice the ...
We had been to Alaska on a Princess cruise about 10 years ago and loved it so we chose an Alaskan cruise to travel with our grandkids so that we could make memories to last a lifetime! We chose the Ovation for the ship activities to keep them busy when we were not touring in port.
The ship was great...the kids roller skated, did rock climbing several times, took the sushi making class which ...
Let me start by saying that I would give this cruise 4.5 stars if the system would allow. This cruise was amazing overall with just a few quibbles here and there.
Embarkation: Was nervous because I heard Seattle is a madhouse (or awesome, depending on who you ask) but we had an early check-in time and were on the ship in no time.
Food: We ate most dinners in the main dining room (my time ...
* Background Information
Full disclosure: I am a travel agent. I received free WiFi and $50 onboard credit for completing my Master of Adventure certification with RCI. My room was booked as part of a large group with my agency but not at a travel agent personal rate. In total, we had 67 staterooms and 144 people traveling. In my own party we had 11 adults and 1 infant across six staterooms. ...