Ovation of the Seas

With all twelve of us seated at dinner, sailing east of the coast of Sydney, it was almost hard to believe it had all come together - passport applications, covid protocols, bureacrracy, decisions, travel plans, group collaboration, customs, boarding and checkin and everything else and here we were... and you know what, nothing is ever as hard as it seems, people say, or you might expect.
It was no walk in the park (why should anything be), well at least after Taronga zoo, which basically was just that, but its been a great reminder of how much you can do, easily, if you want it, and how satisfying it is when you pull it off, even moreso if it is challenging.
With the cruise checkin at 3pm, we opted to leave our vast warehouse of bags at the Sebel for safekeeping, whilst we headed out to the Taronga Zoo via ferry. "Exactly how many bags do you have? You don't know exactly??" - the polite Sebel conceirge query as we set off.
The morning to afternoon ran beautifully, ambling downhill with boys in prams, seamlessly onto the ferry via a Subway breakfast and off to Taronga Zoo about 15mins away. The boys loved the ferry ride over and gondala up to the top of the hill where you enter the zoo. Free entry for us Victorian zoo members we set about worming our through the zoo, down the hill, in glorious sunshine.
It wasnt the most prolific exhibitionism display from the zoo residents, but that wasnt really any bother to us enjoying the weather and surrounds.. Ryland spent most his time in the pram whilst Axel ran amok.
The Gorillas were a major highlight, along with the endangered Bongo.
Getting back to circular Quay was another breeze without incident or delay, and returning to the hotel was no big deal.. now for just 7 minutes from hotel.. this time its downhill and Im used to pushing three big bags, easy surely?
I can proudly say I made it 90% of the way without collapse... the last street was a fairly steep decline, and whilst momentum can be your friend... too much can be an avalanche.
With another unrequested (but welcome) stranger assist, we were down the hill in front of our home for the next 11 nights.
For all the prefilled, overwhelming admin and bureaucracy, checking in and getting aboard was a breeze really. Axels patience ran a little thin, but we made it.
Our room is 9538 on deck 9. A balcony room, for four. This would be a first, all of us sharing one room to sleep. Cruise rooms arent huge, but offer excellent storage space. Being tidy and space efficient is part of the fun really and we set to it.
The plan is a balance of direct and extended family time, with couple and individual time perhaps an outside chance given the opportunity.
All 12 of us plan to meet daily for dinner booked 5.30pm. We managed it tonight for a great start. The kids were fantastic today 8/10each, and whilst settling in for sleep for the first night wasnt flawless, nor was it catastrophic.
The next few days we're at sea, New Zealand bound which will give us ample opportunity to explore all 16 decks of this 4000 passenger liner.Read more