As a first time cruiser I have been super eager to travel on the ovation of the seas. I found out about the ship during its build process and instantly fell in love! I have been waiting for it to come back to Australia as I missed out the first time and was really looking forward to boarding.Now I'm sure the ship is great although I can not say the same for the most arrogant and condescending staff members I have had to deal with pre-cruise. My partner and I payed $9,998.00 to travel over the Christmas break and since the very first day it has been a nightmare communicating with their representatives over the phone and via email. At the time of booking we were not told that the complimentary activities had already been booked out online or that we could only be scheduled in for an 8pm dinner every night because as a first time cruiser it was expected that I already know the "first in best dress" rule (unless we want to pay out of pocket at a specialty restaurant). I have had another consultant yell at me, sigh and misinform me over the phone when I have tried to seek some advice on whats included in my ticket because the email was a little confusing. This consultant couldn't be bothered logging in and checking what was and wasn't included in my ticket - mind you when he did eventually log in he immediately tried to correct himself as he realised that he had been wrong the whole time he was yelling at me.What is more frustrating is that when I had tried to provide this feedback via email discreetly I had been told in a round about way that I was a liar and that no such call/ interaction exists on their database (funny how they have record of every other single call I have made to them but not this one). At this point all I wanted was a phone call with a simple apology and to be connected to someone who I could trust would provide me the correct information and helpful tips that I may not have considered before travelling. I had requested a call back 6 times (I have evidence of all 6 requests) and not once did someone pick up the phone and call me. Instead I had to keep waiting 48-72 hours for a generic response via email. At one point I had to wait over a week to get a response. After numerous emails and no acknowledgment of the rude staff members wrong doing I decided to run a report off my work system to prove that such call was made. At the same time I've had to contact my phone provider to retrieve the data on all calls I had made to their phone line just so that I could prove to them that I did place a call and did have a really bad experience in that interaction. I even tried to speak to a technician at apple to recover my previous phone logs as I was part way though my billing cycle at the time. I dont believe that it is fair that I have had to go through all this stress and have spent every single day since November 29th trying to prove that I have been mistreated by a staff member. To date I still have not received a phone call from a staff member.What is even more disheartening is that for almost 10k our ticket only includes drinks it doesn't even incorporate transfers. For us to get internet for two devices it will cost an additional $1,065 for the duration of our travel AND they have recently released last minute tickets for the same cruise that are cheaper tickets than ours which had a promotion running that included up to $1,000 + $200 onboard credit when I was pushed by the booking agent to quickly book because I was supposedly booking the very last room on that ship and I felt like I couldn't ask questions beforehand because there was such an urgency to take a full payment to secure my spot before someone else did. I followed the direction of the booking agent as I did not want to miss out on travelling on the ovation of the seas ship again and on a non refundable fare it was the worst possible thing I could ever do. I have been so scarred by this process that I am not even looking forward to my holiday anymore :(For all you first time cruisers like me I have a few suggestions before booking:1. Book well in advance so that you dont have to pay for a non refundable ticket upfront and be stuck dealing with rude staff members. This way you will also be able to lock in your complimentary activities 2. Record ALL your calls with Royal Caribbean as they will make you out to be a liar3. DONT ever pay a lot of money for a ticket when they say there is only one ticket left because they are lying and will release cheaper ones along the way4. Book through a travel agent so that they can fight your battles because Royal Caribbean will never take you seriously or call you to make sure your concerns have been addressed 5. Make sure you only book when there is either onboard credit or internet coverage as they will and try sting you in every way possible no matter how expensive your ticket is5. And finally AVOID booking with Royal Caribbean all together unless you want to be treated like dirt!
