Last week I gave you a recap on my latest holiday to New Zealand, and now it’s time to talk about the cruise itself.

Let me tell you, cruising is a lifestyle. At this point, I have been on three cruises, all with Royal Caribbean. After my last cruise, which was a 10 day sailing around the South Pacific, I was on the fence about whether I liked this method of travel. The concept of cruising is amazing, to unpack once and have a floating entertainment complex deliver you to a new destination every day. I had spent three years working on sea vessels, so my sea legs are well and truly established, and I enjoy spending time out on the water. But cruising is all about relaxing. While there are a huge number of activities to do at any one time, the key to really enjoying the experience is not feeling the pressure to do any of them. To just sit by the pool with a Pina Colada and let the sea day go by. Here is my experience with Royal Caribbean, cruising as a solo sailor.

the ship

My home for this ten day sailing was a ship named the Ovation of the Seas. She is in the Quantum class of ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet and can hold nearly 5,000 guests. She took her maiden voyage in 2016, and ever since, she has been splitting her time between Alaska from May to October, and then she makes the long journey across the Pacific Ocean to spend the Australian summer cruising between the islands Vanuatu, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia.
This ship has an impressive list of amenities. There isn’t much Royal Caribbean hasn’t thought of. There are restaurants, bars, pools, a gym, spa, as well as an onboard medical centre, jail, and morgue, should any such unfortunate events occur. To find out what you can do at any point of the day, you can access an activity schedule through the Royal Caribbean app, which is free to use while on the cruise.

my cabin

I booked a solo balcony cabin, which, as the name suggests, really only has enough space for one person. You have a double bed, your own bathroom, a very small sitting area, and an enormous balcony. Honestly the balcony is bigger than the room.
When I first found my room, I couldn’t believe how small it was. But, as it has turned out, the space was adequate. It is probably slightly smaller than what I would find comfortable, but if you’re not going to spend much time in the room, it is fine. The real highlight of this room is the balcony. I spent a lot of time out there. In the afternoons, it was a wonderful place to escape to when you just don’t want to be around a thousand people.

activities

Like I have said before, it felt like you were sailing on an enormous entertainment complex. There is a surf simulator, skydiving simulator, rock climbing wall, a mechanical observation deck, bumper cars, 3 pools, a spa, gym, roller skating, designer shopping, sports courts, and two theatres. There is bingo, trivia, karaoke, sushi and cupcake making classes, lectures, dance classes, live music, comedy, interactive artwork, and art auctions. A lot of things to fill your day with.

food and drink

My god, the food and drink! If you wanted, you could eat and drink from the moment you woke up, until the moment you went to bed, and you could probably still eat if you woke up in the middle of the night and fancied a snack. I counted 10 bars, four main dining rooms, two buffets, four specialty restaurants, six cafes, a degustation experience, 24 hour room service, and a suite guest only restaurant. In the same day you could have a full English breakfast, a hot dog, fish and chips, an Indian curry, intricately designed gluten free cake, a molecular gastronomy adventure, escargot, surf and turf, and late night pizza. All without leaving the ship. There is a huge amount of food and drink that is included in the price of your cruise. You do need to pay extra for the specialty restaurants, and all alcohol is for charge, but you could have a satisfying holiday without spending a cent on food and/or drink.

entertainment

Royal Caribbean is known for its entertainment shows. And for good reason. In nearly every area of the ship, at all times after about 11am, there was some sort of live music or group activity happening. There was live music is most bars at all times, ranging from your traditional acoustic sets, through to Caribbean steal drum bands, to mini orchestras. Of an evening, there was a headline act in each of the theatres. Most nights would feature a jukebox-style cabaret act in the 270 Lounge at the aft of the ship. In the Royal Theatre, depending on the night, there were magicians, comedians, and singers. There were also two Broadway style shows throughout the cruise, featuring some very talented entertainers.

demographic

There are a few different types of people who take a Royal Caribbean cruise. Firstly, they work hard to attract are families. They offer a lot of onboard activities with families as a major focus. Secondly, and probably the least surprising, the over-55 community is well represented. The vast majority of people I saw fit this description. There were also quite a few honeymooners. There were at least six couples that I met that were on their honeymoon. I didn’t meet a lot of solo cruisers. I know they were around, but I just didn’t seem to see many.

my experience

Like I said at the start, I wasn’t sure whether cruising is something that I enjoy. I have taken three cruises, all with Royal Caribbean, so granted my experience is isolated to this cruise line, but did I have what it takes to be considered a cruiser? To rise through the ranks of the Crown and Anchor status program?

My verdict is that I don’t think I really enjoy cruises. Ok, let me get more specific. I like the exploring new places through the day and then sailing to a new location overnight. What I don’t like is spending too much time on the ship, the sea days. On this sailing, and every sailing I’v been on, there is a lot of time at sea. I think that’s just the deal with sailings from Australia. We sailed for five days before we left the ship. When I go on holidays, my favourite thing to do is to go exploring. Sitting by the pool, working on my tan got old pretty quickly. I did mention that there are a lot of activities on board, but a lot of the activities would have to involve children. Royal Caribbean focuses a lot of energy towards appealing to families. I am not a family cruiser, I am a solo cruiser in my 30s. Even some of the activities that were advertised as Adults Only had children in attendance. I’m not necessarily looking for some raunchy, X-rated activities, maybe just some time to not have to divide my attention between the show in front of me and the little feet behind me, kicking the back of seat.

The food and drink was mostly good. I did notice the quality of the ingredients in the meals in the included restaurants and cafes was not as good as the specialty restaurants, especially in the seafood options. I tried all the specialty restaurants and the Chef’s Table degustation, and really had no complaints with those experiences, other than there is just too much food. Eating almost six full-sized meals with matching wines in one sitting is quite a feat.

I would like to point out how wonderful the crew of this ship were. My stateroom attendant Dennis was like a ninja. I barely saw him, but my room was always expertly taken care of. The staff at every bar and restaurant were fantastic. I could barely fault them.

There was nothing in particular that Royal Caribbean does that is wrong, I am just not their target demographic. I wouldn’t rule out going on another cruise in my life, but I would just consider the number of sea days and the target clientele of the cruise line.

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