Ovation of the Seas

Ovation of the Seas is a Quantum-class cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and the third ship of her class. The Quantum class is the third largest class of cruise ships behind MSC Cruises's Meraviglia class and Royal Caribbean International's Oasis class by gross tonnage.[5]

Ovation of the Seas docked in Rotterdam, Netherlands on her maiden voyage.
History
Bahamas
Name: Ovation of the Seas
Owner: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Operator: Royal Caribbean International
Port of registry: Nassau,  Bahamas
Ordered: 13 September 2013
Builder: Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany
Laid down: 5 March 2015
Launched: 18 February 2016 (float-out)
Christened: 24 June 2016 by Fan Bingbing
Completed: 8 April 2016
Maiden voyage: 14 April 2016
In service: 14 April 2016
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Quantum-class cruise ship
Tonnage: 168,666 GT[1]
Length: 348 m (1,141 ft 9 in)[1]
Beam:
  • 41.2 m (135 ft 2 in) (waterline)[1]
  • 48.9 m (160 ft 5 in) (max)[1]
Draught: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)[1]
Decks: 18 (16 passenger-accessible)[2]
Installed power:
  • 2 ×  Wärtsilä 12V46F (2 × 14,400 kW)[1]
  • 2 ×  Wärtsilä 16V46F (2 × 19,200 kW)[1]
  • 2 ×  Cat 3516C HD (2 × 2,500 kW)[1]
Propulsion:
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)[4]
Capacity:
  • 4,180 passengers (double occupancy)[2]
  • 4,905 passengers (maximum occupancy)[2]

Ovation of the Seas mainly sails from Seattle during the northern summer season and re-positions to Sydney during the southern summer season.

Concept and construction
Ovation of the Seas at Tahiti on 24 April 2019.

On 11 February 2011, RCI announced that it had ordered a new class of ships from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, the first of which was scheduled to be delivered by autumn of 2014. At the time, the project was code-named "Project Sunshine".[6] On 29 February 2012, the company announced that a second "Project Sunshine" ship had been ordered and would be delivered by Spring 2015.[7] Just under a year later, on 31 January 2013, RCI announced that the official name of the new class of ships was the Quantum class.[5][8]

The first steel for the third vessel in the Quantum class was cut on 18 September 2014, the same day its name was announced to be Ovation of the Seas.[9] The keel was laid down by Meyer Werft on 5 March 2015. Before the first piece of the keel was lowered into place, Adam Goldstein, President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the holding company of RCI, placed a lucky coin in the dock. The keel was formed of 74 blocks.[10] The first section was launched on 20 June 2015.

Ovation of the Seas at inner harbour of Fremantle Harbour, Western Australia in 2016 December.

Ovation of the Seas was delivered on 8 April 2016,[11] and entered service on 14 April 2016.[10][12]

Service history

Ovation of the Seas arrived from Hamburg to the Port of Southampton, UK on 10 April 2016, to begin a series of inaugural events, including press previews and a limited number of "Shake-down" and mini-cruises for VIPs, specially invited guests and members of the public. The ship berths at the City Cruise Terminal in the Western Docks, where its fleetmates also dock when visiting the city.

Ovation of the Seas at Sydney

Following her entry into service, Ovation of the Seas departed on an inaugural 52-night Global Odyssey cruise from the Port of Southampton in the UK on 3 May 2016. The ship's ultimate destination on that cruise was Tianjin in China, where she homeported and operated a series of cruises to destinations in Asia. During the lower hemisphere summer of 2016–17, the vessel homeported in Sydney, Australia and the ship will return to the region again for both the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons.[13]

In the spring of 2019, the ship sailed to Seattle for the summer season, where she is sailing 7-night cruises to Alaska.[14]

The ship's christening ceremony was 24 June 2016 in Tianjin; the ship's godmother is Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.[15]

Incidents

On 27 August 2019, a man suffering from a possible bowel obstruction was medically transported into a 5-foot Response Boat of the cruise ship and requesting a medical evacuation from Ovation of the Seas near Douglas.[16]

White Island eruption
See also: 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption

On 9 December 2019, a volcanic eruption occurred on New Zealand's White Island (Whakaari) while Ovation of the Seas was docked in the nearby Port of Tauranga. 47 people, including 38 passengers and crew from the ship, were on the island when it erupted, despite an increase in seismic activity in recent weeks.[17][18][19] Twenty people on the island were killed and 27 were injured.[20][21] A spokesperson said the line was "devastated by today’s events",[22] and the ship remained in port until 11 December to assist with recovery efforts.[23] The captain offered refunds to all passengers on board the ship.[24]

2020: spread of COVID-19
Further information: COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships § Incidents

In March 2020 thousands of passengers were ordered to self-isolate after disembarking from the ship in Sydney, Australia on 18 March due to COVID-19 fears.[25] 79 passengers subsequently tested positively for the virus. As of 1 April, the ship was located off the coast of New South Wales. The International Transport Workers' Federation had called on the Australian government to allow the crew members to be disembarked so that could be flown to their countries of residence. They formed part of 15,000 crew members in 18 cruise ships sitting off the Australian coast during the pandemic.[26]

On 2 April, a 75-year-old former passenger died in Wollongong Hospital.[27] The ship departed Australia on 4 April 2020 with its crew.[28]

References
  1. "Ovation of the Seas (34050)". DNV GL Vessel Register. Det Norske Veritas.
  2. "Ovation of the Seas Fact Sheet". Royal Caribbean Press Center. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. "Azipods ordered for two RCL cruise ships". The Motorship. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  4. Innovation & Technology: Shipbuilding in Papenburg (PDF). Papenburg, Germany: Meyer Werft. 2013. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  5. "Start of Steel-Cutting for First Project Sunshine Ship". Meyer Wert. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  6. "Royal Caribbean Signs Letter of Intent to Build New Generation of Ships". Investor Relations. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  7. "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Exercises Option to Build Second "Project Sunshine" Ship". Investor Relations. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  8. Tribou, Richard (5 February 2013). "Royal Caribbean announces names for new cruise ships". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  9. "Ovation of the Seas to be Third Quantum-class Ship". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  10. Gibson, Rebecca (9 March 2015). "Meyer Werft starts Ovation of the Seas construction". CruiseandFerry.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  11. "Ovation of the Seas Delivered". 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  12. "Royal Caribbean adds three-night Ovation of the Seas itinerary". 22 February 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  13. Gibson, Rebecca (14 April 2015). "Ovation of the Seas to homeport in Australia in winter 2016–2017". Cruise&Ferry.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  14. Sloan, Gene. "Giant Royal Caribbean ship, Ovation of the Seas, to move to Alaska". USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  15. Caribbean, Royal. "Royal Caribbean International Announces Godmother for Ovation of the Seas". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  16. Lockett, Michael S. (27 August 2019). "Coast Guard medevacs man from cruise ship near Douglas". Juneau Empire.
  17. "New Zealand police open probe into volcano deaths". 10 December 2019.
  18. "Whakaari/White Island: Ocean liner to stay in Tauranga until police finish investigation".
  19. Greenfield, Charlotte (10 December 2019). "UPDATE 9-Spitting volcano keeps search parties off New Zealand island, death toll rises to six". CNBC.
  20. "Another person dies of injuries from Whakaari /White Island eruption, bringing death toll to 20". TVNZ. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  21. "Whakaari/White Island eruption: We have a plan to recover bodies, police say". Stuff.
  22. Moniuszko, Sara M. "New Zealand volcano eruption: Royal Caribbean cruise nearby, other travel effects". USA TODAY.
  23. "Ovation of the Seas to sail out of Tauranga after losing multiple passengers in White Island eruption". 1NewsNow. TVNZ. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  24. Eddie, Rachel (11 December 2019). "Cruise company offers one-day refund after deadly volcano tragedy". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  25. Farrell, Paul & McDonald, Alex (23 March 2020). "Thousands of cruise ship passengers told to self-isolate due to coronavirus days after disembarking". ABC. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  26. "Coronavirus: calls to repatriate 15,000 crew members from cruise ships off Australia's coast". The Guardian. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  27. "Death toll from coronavirus rises in Australia after cruise ship passenger dies". 7NEWS.com.au. 3 April 2020.
  28. "Criminal investigation launched into Ruby Princess cruise ship coronavirus disaster". The Guardian. 5 April 2020. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
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