
Royal Caribbean’s brand new $US1 billion supercruiser, Ovation of the Seas, arrived in Sydney today, December 15, the largest cruise ship ever seen on our shores.
The ship came through Sydney heads at about 5am and docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay at around 6am.
At 168,66 tonnes, the Quantum class liner is the equal 4th biggest passenger ship in the world – and around 20,000 tonnes bigger than Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.
She 347-metres long, with 18 decks and capacity for up to 4,905 guests (4,180 at double occupancy) plus 1,500 crew.
This floating city launched in April this year and spent the Australian winter cruising in China. This summer, she’s calling then Sydney her home port and there are several cruises on offer from three to 14 nights.
Business Insider went to have a look at this impressive ship as she took on her first passengers in her base in Tianjin (Beijing).
Here’s what we found:
A little video jingle about 'Wash your hands' was on loop. It reminded me of Victoria's 'Dumb ways to die' ad - catchy and funny. But norovirus is a big problem on cruise ships, so this is message is important

The cabin's mini bar doesn't have much and remember everything's in US dollars, with a 18% service charge on top, so a can of coke will cost you about $A4.40.

The trick, if you like a drink, is to buy a beverage package - even if you're teetotal, it's $US29 a day. Add alcohol and prices start at $US44 pp for basic wines and beers.

But in my view, some of the offerings are pretty basic. Wolf Blass Yellow Label is a $10 quaffer at Dan Murphy's.

But the prices had me going woah! That's about $A54 for that $10 bottle, not including service. A 150ml (5oz) glass of Thomas Hyland shiraz is $A16 - about $A80 a bottle, duty free. You can buy it at Dan Murphy's for $13.25 inc. GST.

These are special 'liquid' olives at Wonderland, which are like the ones Ferran Adria served at Spain's El Bulli.

To stop the spread of germs, you're funneled past the basins to wash your hands before heading to the buffet dining area.

Or the Ocean Adventure kids program, which is broken down into a bunch of age groups from about 3 to 17 years.

Art is a huge part of the ship's design, with around 11,000 words on board. This mother and baby panda by British artist Jo Smith weighs 6.5 tonnes and is 10 metres high

Rowena Martinich is among several Australian artists commissioned. This is her work Paradiso near the solarium bistro

The Seaplex area is dodgem cars, roller skating rink and basketball court at various times during the day.

They cost around $20,000 per person a cruise, but Royal Caribbean is now wondering if they're too cheap.

* Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story first appeared on BI in July.
* Business Insider traveled to China as a guest of Royal Caribbean.
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