9 night Ovation of the Seas Hawaii Cruise

Are you planning to take a cruise on Ovation of the Seas with Royal Caribbean? Never been on

a cruise and need to know if its right for you? This past month I went on an Ovation of the Seas

nine-day cruise through Hawaii, ending in Vancouver B.C. I am here to tell you about my

experience and offer some advice I wish I would have had before setting sail!

Setting sail on its maiden voyage in 2016, Ovation of the Seas carries 4,905 passengers and

sails out of Seattle, Singapore, Sydney, and Honolulu. There are 16 decks jam-packed with

activities to keep your whole family entertained. I would say that the average age of cruisers

was in the mid-fifties on my cruise. There were a good amount of children aboard the ship with

their families as well. I would say, however, that there were only a handful of other people in

their mid-twenties like me. For food, there are the main dining areas as well as 5 other signature

restaurants available for an additional cost.

The cruise I experienced set sail on left out of Honolulu, journeyed to Maui and Kona, and then

sailed the seas for 5 days to end in Vancouver B.C. My first piece of advice about cruising

would be that if your cruise is leaving from a destination that you have never been to before, you

should arrive a day or two before your cruise leaves to really get a chance to experience that

location. I landed in Honolulu around 1 PM and had to be at the cruise port by five which didn’t

give me a chance to do more than grab a bite to eat and people watch at the beach for a while.

Many cruise lines offer pre/post cruise opportunities that I or any of my other fellow travel

designers at URT would be happy to arrange for you!

Off to a great start, Royal Caribbean’s embarkation process was the fastest I have experienced

on a cruise. The eateries and many of the experiences on the ship were already open and

available for me to enjoy when I got on the ship and my key card was waiting for me in my

stateroom door. Pro Tip: This was cause for confusion for me as on other cruise ships I

was given our key card during check-in. Don’t panic! I stayed in the balcony stateroom and

couldn’t have been more satisfied with the room. It is a perfect size for two people to

comfortably unpack and not feel cramped. The balcony was super spacious and an amazing

place to have your morning coffee or relax with a good book. I was also really impressed with

the size of the bathroom on this ship. Both the shower space and floor space were the biggest

that I have ever experienced on a cruise. I had a long day of traveling to get to the ship so after

dinner I enjoyed a relaxing night of watching Top Gun Maverick on the big screen of the pool

deck under the stars.

For Dining, I chose the dine-anytime option before I got on the boat, however, I went down for

dinner at 8 pm the first night and was instructed that that would be my set dinner time for the

remainder of the cruise. The menu in the main dining room changes every night. If the French

Onion Soup pops up on the menu at any time during your cruise, I highly suggest trying it!

I also found my way to Chops Grille and Jamies, two of the five signature restaurants aboard

the ship. Another cruise tip would be to take advantage of at least a couple of the specialty

restaurants during your stay but be sure to make reservations early!

Our first stop on the cruise was Maui which we ported at 6 AM on Tuesday and didn’t leave until

8 pm on Wednesday. Pro Tip: If possible, pick a cruise that includes at least one overnight stay.

This gives you a lot more time to actually experience your destination. I spoke to a couple of

passengers that decided to spend that night in one of the luxury resorts in Maui to really

immerse themselves in the area for the short time we were there. After recommendations from

some friendly locals, I chose to rent a car and drive on Hana Highway. The ship was too big to

dock in Lahaina so the ship anchored down about 5 minutes out from the port and we took the

ship’s emergency boats to and from the port. If you are prone to seasickness at all, I

recommend taking some Dramamine before getting on this boat. As I mentioned before, the trip

from the ship to the dock is only about five minutes but you sometimes have to sit on the boat

for a long time being pushed by the waves before the boat fills up and takes off.

Lahaina

Another thing I really loved about the Lahaina port is that as soon as you dock, you are right

smack dab in the middle of Front Street filled with tons of restaurants, souvenir shops, and my

personal favorite, art galleries. All of the art galleries are free for you to tour and unlike other

locations I have been to, the salesmen are not pestering you for a purchase but instead letting

you admire the amazing works. I also got a super fun caricature of myself and my friend done

by @ninjasketch on the sidewalk of Front Street. If you have 45ish minutes to kill (and your

feelings aren’t easily hurt) it's absolutely worth the $65.

I have been on a decent amount of cruises in my lifetime and I will admit that I felt the waves

more on this cruise than any other. There was only one night out of the nine that I felt quite a bit

of seasickness but I also took Dramamine every day after that first experience so that I wasn’t

inhibited for the rest of the trip. There is a small convenience store on the ship but it’s pretty

expensive so the best bet would be to bring some with you before you get on the cruise or buy

some at a local shop at one of your ports.

Our next stop was Kona. We were only at this port from 7 am to 3 pm. I had a slow morning and

didn’t end up getting off the ship until around 11 am which didn’t give me much time to explore

the area at all. This is another port that we had to take the life rafts from the ship to but once you

get off you are again, dropped right into the center of town. I enjoyed an amazing acai bowl

here, bought some coffee and donkey balls (chocolate-covered Macadamia nuts that are to die

for), and read for a while on the beach. By 2:30 the line to get back on the ship was incredibly

long so I sat at Cheeky Tiki and drank an alcoholic slushie. They have a big outdoor seating

area with a couple of lawn games and you can see the port line perfectly.

After this was five whole sea days. Royal Caribbean does a great job of providing you with

activities so that you won't get bored during your sea days. I have to say that the artwork

throughout the ship is exquisite. You could spend a whole couple of hours just checking out all

the ship’s pieces. One thing that you should be aware of before you board the ship is that there

are a lot of experiences aboard the ship that include an additional charge, so be prepared for

that.

I really enjoyed spending my days watching the sunset and reading my book in the solarium.

This is an adults-only enclosed pool area at the front of the boat. There are lots of comfy places

to sit, a bar, and an eatery. Something that I definitely had to try out was the Bionic Bar. Here,

you use an iPad to order your drink and then watch a robot create, shake, and serve up your

cocktail.

I got to take a shot at indoor skydiving which makes for some pretty funny pictures. I wouldn’t

describe myself as the most dare devilish of types but there is an instructor in the wind tunnel

with you the whole time to make sure that you don’t hurt yourself and can just enjoy the ride.

You have a complimentary try included in your trip but this only provides you with a minute in

the wind tunnel. Any other attempts include an additional charge.

One of the things that I was a little surprised about was the fact that there were no movies

available on your tv in your stateroom. For all the other cruises I have been on there have been

a plethora of free movies available on your stateroom TV for the nights that you just want to kick

back and relax. Luckily I had movies downloaded onto the iPad for the long days at sea

because the wifi isn’t always strong enough to stream from your favorite streaming service. Pro

Tip: Make sure that you download a couple of choices in case you feel the urge to spend a

night or two relaxing in your room.

This brings me to my next point. The wifi is not all that great. I was able to get some work done

but had to reschedule any Zoom meetings I had planned due to connectivity issues. I believe

that the best way to enjoy a cruise is to spend time disconnected from the outside world. It

forces you to really get in the vacation spirit. If you have to work, think again about scheduling

any conference calls.

Every day, the ship had activities happening until around 1 am. 1 AM is also the curfew for

anyone that is under the age of 17. There’s a kids club as well as a teens club, giving your

children a chance to make new friends and enjoy their vacation without having to follow their

parents around all day.

There are so many activities on the ship, including but not limited to:

● Rock Climbing Wall

● Casino

● Bingo

○ Depending on how many bingo boards you would like, this will cost you $30-60

per person each time that you play

● Flow Rider

● NorthStar

● Game Shows

○ One of my favorite game shows was the Love and Marriage show. For this, they

call three lucky couples on stage to test their knowledge of one another.

● Nightly Shows

○ One show that is not to be missed is Spectras Cabaret. It reminded me of a Las

Vegas quality show and featured state-of-the-art robots that interact with the

characters of the show.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time on the Royal Caribbeans Ovation of the Seas cruise from

Honolulu to Vancouver B.C. Being able to experience the cruise firsthand allows me to better

answer my client’s questions. So what are you waiting for? Book a cruise with me today!

Perri Kitzman