Today was the day for us to board our first Royal Caribbean cruise! We got up to enjoy breakfast and then went back to the room to get our luggage ready. We had printed our luggage tags before leaving home and had purchased some luggage tags holders on Amazon. These luggage tag holders also came with a steel loop that you can use to secure them to your luggage.
After getting our luggage ready, we headed downstairs. We were a bit early to head to the ship, so we decided to have some coffee before getting an Uber. Around 10 am, we couldn’t wait any longer and summoned an Uber XL (especially needed with our three bags) for our trip to Pier 91. After a quick ride, we were within sight of our destination, the Ovation of the Seas. There was another ship, the Celebrity Solstice, at the Pier this morning as well.
There was a huge line of cars approaching the port. It was a mix of taxis, ride sharing vehicles, and private vehicles. I suspect that we were a bit on the early side as passengers were both being dropped off and picked up. It took about ten minutes or so for us to wait long enough so that our Uber could get a spot to stop so we could unload ourselves and our luggage.
The luggage drop off areas were clearly marked between the Ovation and the Solstice. We found a porter near the marked area and handed over our bags, along with a tip for each bag. Having deposited our luggage, we got our documentation out (Passports and check in information) and headed inside.
One thing we noticed immediately was how large the Ovation was. It definitely seemed to dwarf the Disney Fantasy and Dream, which are the largest ships we had been to up until this point. There was also a lot of external glass on the ship. We were excited to get on board so we could start to explore.
We walked towards the cruise terminal building and found plenty of signage to help separate the two different cruise ship passengers. There were plenty of port employees to stop traffic to let pedestrians cross over to the terminal building.
Once inside the building, we had to pass through the standard security lines. There wasn’t much of a wait to the security line, especially considering the number of passengers on board the ship. After going through security, we headed up an escalator.
We then found ourselves inside the check in area for the ship. Normally on a Disney cruise, we would end up waiting in a line to check in, receive our Key to the World cards, then wait for our boarding group to be called. Here, we were directed to an individual with an iPad. She scanned our Set Sail Pass, looked over our passports, and then told us we could board the ship when we were ready. It was amazing! We were expecting to sit and wait a bit before boarding began.
We looked at the boarding line and decided to take a moment to get situated. I needed to put our passports and documentation away before we left the building to get on board the ship. The chairs here definitely weren’t comfortable, so waiting here for a long time wouldn’t have been fun.
I did notice off to the side that there was a small shop to the side that was selling lanyards. We had brought our own with us, but these definitely seemed nicer than what we had brought. I didn’t check the prices for the lanyards, unfortunately.
We got in the line to board the ship and we headed out towards the gangway. The line from the terminal to the ship was really long. It took us another 10 minutes or so to get to where we could get onboard the ship. One “benefit” of waiting in the line was getting to talk with some of our fellow passengers. There was a bluegrass group that was going to be onboard this cruise, having special seminars and meetings. Just a spoiler, during a few nights on the cruise, we got to listen to them play in small groups on the pool deck at night. It was fantastic.
Instead of scanning our cruise cards, the crew used our pictures to sign us onto the ship. This part was really quick and we were soon headed onto the ship. We did miss the part on Disney Cruise Line when the crew announces your arrival to the ship.
After getting on board, we were dumped into a traffic jam that led to the Royal Esplanade. Since we didn’t need anything being offered (signup for kids clubs, drinking packages, etc), we took a short cut up the stairs to the next deck. This allowed us to bypass the jam and get to exploring the ship.
Next up, we will explore the ship!
Planning | Travel | Seattle | Boarding | Exploring | Sea | Juneau | Skagway | Glacier | Sea | Victoria | Disembarkation | Travel
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page or our Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
