Ovation of the Seas
So…. The Uber ride was an interesting experience. The twenty-something driver spent our thirty minutes of travel telling us how she would NEVER have a real job again. She’s just not that type… too restrictive. She prefers spending time at the beach, hanging out with friends and reading. Well… okay. Then she told us she is proud of us for getting out and seeing the world at our age (ouch! We aren’t THAT old!!!) By the way, this photo is of Carnival Splendor. I’ll have to post a blog about our experience on that ship about nine years ago…
This is the lovely gift presented to me by Royal Caribbean as a thank you for spending 140 days at sea. It sort of softened the blow of the unfortunate events leading up to this day. First, we booked the cruise with friends a year ago. Our second time on the ship, we were looking forward to the Hawaiian ports of call. No sooner had final payment been paid, and Royal Caribbean began telling us of an “unavoidable situation”. Apparently, since this would be the first time for Ovation to be in United States waters, the inspection would be much more involved. Rather than the usual morning procedure, this would take THREE days. As a result, the previous cruise would have to arrive on Oahu a day early and our leg would have to stay an extra day.
We had already planned our pre-cruise visit to Waikiki so an extra day wasn’t met with much excitement… especially since it meant we would be missing Kona (where I had purchased a tour of Kona Brewing) and the sail around Kauai, however, we were told we would still be sailing past Mt Kilauea despite the fact it was no longer erupting!
Enough complaining by all of the passengers resulted in a reinstatement of Kauai (Napali Coast) instead of the dormant volcano. Yay!
One of the best parts of sailing is being reunited with friends! On the left is Oliver… he was our wine steward at the Chef’s Table on Allure of the Seas when we sailed from Barcelona to Florida (another blog I need to do to get all my past travel documented). We have kept in touch and I was so excited to see he would be joining the ship in Sydney! On the right is Mr Wilson. We spent fifteen days together at the Schooner Bar on Brilliance of the Seas. I was shocked to see him working in the Diamond Lounge! Almost as shocked as he was to be away from his favorite ship. There was one other special surprise named Boodhoo! He was our waiter in Jamie’s on our first trip on Ovation. He remembered us immediately! So we had dinner with him several nights.
My FAVORITE ship restaurant on any cruise line. Jamie Oliver. I seek them out on land… We always start with the Charcuterie board. This particular board happens to have my husband’s favorite olives (which I mentioned in a previous blog from Rotterdam May 1, 2018 . They have gluten-free pasta that is unbelievably delicious! Such a feast… The little saying caught my eye. And I agree with the sentiment!
link to Rotterdam blog:
https://www.duelingtimezones.com/duelingtimezonesgmailcom/hjc8ey587hha2z5676xzt39ypfcph3
After our two days sitting in port, we headed out to sea. My eyes peeked open at 7am and I realized we were sailing past Lihue-ish area. Since I lived there for decades, it was exciting to be on the ship and identify towns… Poipu… Kalaheo… Ele’ele… Waimea… home sweet home! The third photo is Port Allen and one of my besties has a preschool there. If only I could jump off for a moment!
In my excitement, I posted something on Facebook and one of my other besties (haha) was awake and raced in her car to the Waimea Pier. On her way there, she called and was screaming because she could see us! This photo was taken from the pier… I also received hilarious videos of my friend yelling to me. Other’s around her probably didn’t know what to think!!! But how fun to have someone you know seeing you cruise and talking ship to shore!
Well, early the next morning, we arrived off the coast of Lahaina, Maui. The Captain came on the in-room speaker to announce that the seas were too rough to tender in… yet. The crew would keep trying and when it was deemed safe, passengers could begin tendering to shore. Well… it took until noon for the seas to calm. We waited awhile so the painfully long lines died down. Turned out there was only one slot on the pier for the tenders to let passengers off and reboard. So all the tenders were leaving the ship and wandering off shore, stalling until their turn. What should have been a five-minute tender ended up being forty-five. We didn’t stay in port too long. After looking in a couple shops and stopping by Kimo’s for a Mai Tai, it was time to beat the crowd back! Great choice!!! By early evening, people were posting on our private Facebook group that the wait was over two hours long! They wanted someone to let the Captain know. We had an overnight off of Maui so there was no fear of the ship leaving without them. The next day, the lines were even worse, so I found a comfy, round wicker chair and read for about two seconds and fell fast asleep. That’s vacation…
With the chaos of Maui behind us, our five sea days lie ahead of us. It was time to pull out the Mexican Train game! As usual, we also brought Five Crowns in case game time was cut short by an early dinner or a cocktail party. Due to the direction we sailed, we lost an hour and had to reset our clocks three times. This occurred at noon… so our friends ate lunch at noon, which immediately changed to one o’clock and by the time they finished, it was two or two-thirty. That left us limited time to play before the Diamond Lounge cocktail party. I know… first world problem!
One of my favorite parts of Ovation OTS is the ADULT Solarium area (my husband refers to it as the Sanitarium)! The tiered soaking pools are a comfortable temperature. The views are amazing. We even had a Jacuzzi all to ourselves!
After leaving Maui, the Captain made yet another announcement… one more change in itinerary. Due to the size of the massive ship, there would only be a thirty-five minute window for us to make it underneath the Lion’s Gate Bridge between Victoria and Vancouver. Therefore, we would have to cut short our time in Victoria (now 6am to 2pm) so that we could be in position when the tide lowered. Well… we didn’t end up getting cleared for Victoria until 8:30am, so we again decided to stay on the ship. After thoroughly enjoying an afternoon nap, we realized our balcony was the perfect place to enjoy the stunning scenery on our way to Vancouver. So many little islands… snow capped mountains on the horizon. Just beautiful!
When we arrived at Lion’s Gate Bridge, most of the passengers were on the pool deck and upper pool deck anxiously awaiting. Bands played, cocktails flowed and cameras were ready! (My actual photos are on another camera that isn’t with me!). Throngs of people stood on the edges of the bridge, film crews waited and the bridge was closed to traffic… just in case.
We made it under to the sounds of cheers from the ship and the bridge. Car horns honked! It was like New Year’s Eve! Great ending to a chaotic, never changing cruise.
