Onboard Ovation of the Seas

This is a business trip, and a sea day means it’s mostly a workday. The day starts with Common Ground with Vicki Freed. Vicki is the Vice President of sales for Royal Caribbean and this session is a question-and-answer session between travel advisors and Royal Caribbean. It’s where we get the insider scoop. Some questions are still top-secret, but the non-answers tell something too. There were questions about the Discovery Class. This is the next class of ships after the Icon Class. They are still tight-lipped on the details, but right now they are saying this will be a smaller class of ships. We also heard about some new technology (for travel advisors) in the pipeline which is really exciting for me. The current system has limitations that are pretty inconvenient, and the new system should address this. The new technology might mean we can finally hold group space for families. This would be huge for us and our clients. 

Next on our agenda was the cabin tours. Royal Caribbean has several cabins open for viewing and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to get a better gauge on cabin-types. The non-cruiser probably doesn’t know much about cabin types. The normal cruiser knows about the basics such as interior, ocean views, and balconies. The savvy travelers and travel advisors know all about the weird ones and best locations for the normal ones. When I send quotes, the cabin I chose has been carefully selected based on availability, price, and location. Today we see a wide variety of suites. I’ve been on so many ship inspections and today is the first time I’ve seen a studio cabin. These are smaller one-person cabins. We have two cabins left of the tour, but the lines to get in are long and the hallways are hot. We take a detour. 

Specialty Dining

Specialty dining tastings are happening now. This is a special thing that happens during this type of cruise. Each specialty restaurant has several of their popular menu items available for us to try. This ship has four specialty restaurants open for the tasting. (Specialty means it’s not included in the normal fare.) We start with Jamie’s Italian where I have a rice ball and a couple desserts. We move to Wonderland which has an Alice in Wonderland vibe to it with unique food. Here I have a dessert that looks like a red mushroom.  We move to the sushi restaurant called Izumi. I don’t like sushi so I pass on this one, but it looks wonderful if that’s your thing. We end with Chops Grille which is my favorite one, but I love filet mignon. There were also tasty desserts here. 

Our next order of business is the trade show. Here they have representatives from probably every department at Royal Caribbean. It is packed and lines have formed for each table. We visit each one and ration our questions to avoid further backing up the tables. We asked if Royal Caribbean has any plans of visiting Glacier National Park in Alaska and she basically said they can’t get the permits. I liked the destination table where they had information on all the new land projects that Royal Caribbean has in the works. Perfect Day Mexico looks like it’s going to be amazing!

We return to our cabin to drop off our stuff and there is a sticker and note on our bed. Shondaland is onboard and the note says to check the schedule for some special events. I immediately lookup who specifically is onboard and realize that Jason Winston George had asked to take the stool from our table yesterday. (He is the actor who plays Ben Warren on Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19.) I’ve always said that a celebrity could talk to me and I wouldn’t know who they were because I don’t really pay attention to celebrity stuff. I do regularly watch both of these shows so I really should have recognized him, but his hair is way longer than it is in the show, and we were at a bar that was kind of dark and I was jet lagged and tired so I didn’t recognize him. 

Shondaland Event

Shondaland is having an event in the Royal Theatre this afternoon and I’m so excited to attend. The event starts with an introduction from Shonda Rhimes (writer) and Betsy Beers (producer). I have a lot of respect for both ladies who create some amazing shows! We watch the first episode of Scandal, and I feel like I’m in film school again. One of my professors always said that movie watching is a group activity. I had forgotten that until now. I’m so used to watching movies and tv shows by myself while my family sleeps. It is more entertaining to watch in a group. This is an episode I’ve seen, but a long time ago and it still draws me in. After the screening, Shonda, Betsy, and four actors from Shondaland talk in a casual and fun session. I don’t know celebrities in general, but I knew all four of the actors on the stage. Katie Lowes from Scandal, Joshua Malina from Scandal, Caterina Scorsone from Grey’s Anatomy, and Jason Winston George from Grey’s Anatomy. It was a cool surprise for this cruise! I should just know I’m going to run into famous people when I’m at an event on Royal Caribbean. The last event, I nearly walked onto an elevator with Mario Lopez until security denied me entry. I also didn’t recognize him until the security incident. 

Silk

We need a snack before our late dinner, so we head to the Royal Promenade. Pizza and a slice of pistachio pound cake holds me over until dinner. We watch a show right before dinner and then off to Silk for our meal. It’s been a long day, so we opt out of the nightly entertainment.