We’ve just gotten back from our fourth holiday in five months, and let me tell you, I am definitely living my best life.
I never thought I’d really be a cruise type of person, but one of our best friends is always cruising and we thought it’d be a good idea for a group holiday. It actually ended up being perfect. There were six of us in total, three couples, which was good because we could do our own thing and then come back together for dinner and drinks or split into smaller groups for shore activities.
The ship was Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas and the cruise was a total of twelve nights with five ports of call:
- Noumea, New Caledonia
- Mystery Island, Vanuatu
- Tauranga, New Zealand
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Bay of Islands, New Zealand
I’d never been to any of these places before, so I was super excited to tick a couple more countries off the bucket list!
This trip made me realise why people love cruising so much. It was the most amazing experience, and I really think it’s the best way to get a taster of lots of different places. I’d never been to New Zealand before and now I am really keen to see more of it. I loved cruising so much that I’m already looking at adding a Mediterranean cruise to our Europe 2020 trip!
I’ve decided to split this blog into a series of four parts, as there are way too many words and photos to cram into one post. The first part will be a review of the ship from the perspective of a first-time cruiser. The other three parts will be about the ports of call, with Auckland’s Waiheke Island getting its own post (it was my favourite port).
[Sneaky Cruise Tip: We booked a room with an ‘obstructed balcony’ (which was absolutely not obstructed) so we actually saved a decent amount compared to our neighbours with the exact same view. Winning!] Jade and I both get a bit seasick and I think it was definitely worth paying a little extra for the balcony.
Dining
Before we even left, I knew we weren’t going to stop eating for two weeks straight. I was not wrong. The food was amazing but after all the alcohol, bread and meat, all I was craving was a salad and a green juice!
For breakfast on sea days, we made our way up to the Windjammer Marketplace which was the ship buffet. The buffet was huge with all your typical options. The pancakes were to die for! On port days, we ordered room service. We had the pastries, bagels, coffee and fruit as they didn’t have a delivery charge. If you were after a hot breakfast of bacon and eggs, you could order as much as you wanted for a flat rate of $7.95 USD. Room service would ring your room a few minutes before they arrived, which was the perfect way to wake up every morning!
Lunch was just your typical buffet again. The buffet had a bar and café within, which was great. We ate at the Windjammer most days and on port days, got lunch off the ship. There were heaps of options, like a restaurant meal at Chic, which we did on the last sea day, or pasta and rolls at Two-70 Café.
We had dinner every night at American Icon Grill and had the most amazing servers Ariston and Fei who really made the experience amazing! They were always excited to see us and Fei was amazing always remembering our drink orders (even though they changed every night)!
Dinner was served as a three-course meal with a different menu each night. There were some dishes that stayed every night like a simple chicken or steak, as well as lots of vegetarian options . We missed dinner one night because Jade wasn’t well, and our servers sent me down dinner and a special dessert! It was all the little things that made the trip amazing.
The one thing I already miss is Sorento’s pizza bar! It was open from 11.30am – 3am, making it perfect for that pre-dinner snack or post-clubbing feed. I honestly averaged about three pieces of veggie pizza per day. It was that good. Next to the pizza place was Café Promenade which was open 24-hours with little sandwiches and pastries for constant snacking.
Things to do
The Ovation was amazing and there was always something to do. I think Royal Caribbean really prides itself on the amount of activities on offer to make your experience as enjoyable as possible. Aside from the endless food options, there were heaps of activities to keep us busy.
Entertainment
I was amazed by the amount of entertainment available on the ship. On the third day we played trivia in the afternoon and then watched a Ventriloquist comedy show after dinner. There was a Seventies Disco Inferno Dance Party and a Silent Disco. The nightclub was open every night with live music until late and there were shows on every night.
North Star
The North Star is a massive pod (sort of like a Ferris Wheel but just one carriage) on the top deck which goes up above the ship to give panoramic views of both the ship and the surrounding ocean. We were booked to go on the second last sea day, but if I went again, I’d try go up on a port day to see more.
Gym
After a week of eating endless amounts of bread and butter, I really needed to just run on a treadmill for a while. The gym is on the top level which is amazing because you get the best views while you’re working out. I even managed to get Jade to come to the gym with me which was a miracle!
Spa
After the last port day, the spa was offering a ‘Ladies Night Special’ which included a foot and ankle massage, neck massage and eye and face mask rehydration. This was amazing! They had heaps of different treatments on offer, but it all felt too expensive to justify on my student budget.
I was really impressed with Royal Caribbean. Although I don’t have much to compare it to, I loved every minute of it, both on and off the ship. I would definitely recommend this cruise to everyone!
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