FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Ovation Of The Seas

A cold and wet welcome to Ovation of the Seas from Sydney

After more than a year of booking, the day has finally come for our cruise on Ovation Of The Seas. There was excitement on multiple levels. Ovation, one of the Royal Caribbean's newest ships, is also the biggest ever to sail into Sydney Harbour. The grey and drizzly skies could not dampen the family's buzz in the morning. A 23 strong family group was picked up by our chartered bus and transported to Circular Quay where our mammoth ship awaited us. Check in was surprisingly smooth. As soon as our bus stopped at the port, our luggage was whisked off from the bus straight onto trolleys. There were "mobile" check in staff rather than the usual fixed check in counters. Even though the International Passengers Terminal was full of people, there was a steady flow and we were kept moving. Before long, we were onboard and in Windjammer's enjoying buffet with a view!

Waiting patiently for our bus...

Here it is!

Just to be sure....yup its our bus

Buffet! Yay!

Buffet with a view! Yay yay!

We had access to our cabins by 1pm and we were lucky to have our luggage arrive soon after. It was time to explore the ship! But not before the walkie talkies were tested and codenames issued...after all we just HAD to keep in touch with each other. With 6 walkies talkies between us, we were the communication commandos. A quick tour of the ship's highlights, followed by a spin on the dodgems and the obligatory boarding day swim accompanied by the pool deck soft serve were a hit with the children. It wasn't long before it was time for the mandatory fire drill and dinner. We chose traditional early dining and we were allocated The Grande restaurant, an elegant restaurant in line with most restaurants on cruise lines. Minor seating issues were fixed quickly, although the meal was on the slow side.

With the ship docked in Sydney Harbour overnight, some of the adults chose to venture out into the city for drinks. Unfortunately, it was babysitting duties for me. Perhaps a date with the robotic bar tender instead in the near future!