We spent 10 nights on Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. The cruise embarked in Sydney, Australia. Check-in wasn’t too bad. However, there was no service available to assist with luggage when we arrived so there was a bit of a struggle getting the luggage to the destination to be brought on board the ship.

Our room was quite nice. We had the Owner’s Suite which is part of the Royal Suite Class. That means you get a few perks in addition to a larger room such as access to the concierge lounge, full access to Coastal Kitchen (a restaurant onboard), priority arrive and departure, and much more. Check out RoyalCaribbean.com for all the perks. The stateroom had a one-bedroom suite with one full bathroom and one-half bathroom. It also had a full living and dining area with a sofa bed. The balcony was large and wrapped around with a separate section to lounge.

Our room was located on deck 11, the same deck as Adventure Ocean. This is the kid’s area starting from ages 6 months and up. My 3-year-old loves going there. For a small fee of $6-8 USD an hour, daycare can be provided during select hours.

The next stop was in Wellington, NZ. Wellington was extremely windy and cold. There was nothing within walking distance. The cruise line provided a free shuttle to take passengers to town. Due to the strong wind, we decided only to get off the ship to walk on land at the port and headed back on the ship.

Next was Napier, NZ. It was nice and warm in Napier. Again, there was nothing to do at the port so free shuttles were offered. We took a shuttle about 10 minutes into town. Napier is a great place for kids to visit. There were playgrounds, an aquarium, a park, shopping, and restaurants all in one area. The best part was being able to walk on black sand at the beach at Hawkes Bay! The view was amazing.

Our last stop was in Picton, NZ. The weather was perfect. Free shuttles were provided. Picton is definitely a kid’s dream spot. There was so much for them to do. Picton has a large play area for children to be able to play and have fun. There were even water play fountains and train rides. We treated ourselves to a frozen yogurt cone that was delicious! The people in New Zealand were very friendly which made our visit even better. Each port had lots of pinewood and it smelled so fresh.

On the way back we were at sea for 2 days. Once again, a rough sail in the Tasman Sea. Upon debarkation, we had an excursion to tour Manly Beach and Northern Sydney. The tour was about 4 hours. The reason we did an excursion is that we had a late flight and needed something to do instead of waiting at the airport all those hours. It was mainly a riding tour and we stopped for one hour to walk around the Manly Beach area. After the excursion, we were transported to the airport.

Overall it was a great trip. There were a few issues on board the ship that was addressed with Royal Caribbean directly. I would definitely recommend the cruise but just remember to bring plenty of motion sickness medicine.