So we loved Odyssey OTS........

[FlatFooted Freda]

Just home from our first Royal cruise, Odyssey of the Seas. This is our fourth cruise overall, previous being Disney ( many years ago), Holland America and Carnival. Hard to compare any to the Disney cruise, as it was so long ago with our then young children ( highly recommended). We are now empty-nesters cruising without children. Compared to Carnival and HA, the Odyssey was incredible. We loved it. How typical is the Odyssey of Royal ships?  

Not sure our cruise was typical of even future Odyssey voyages. Everything is literally "shiny and new", and very clean - which is even more important these days. Our cruise also only had 1200 passengers, on a ship designed to carry over 4000. So never a line for anything. No problem finding a chair in the Solarium.  Perfect Day at Coco Cay was practically deserted by the end of the day. 

There were drawbacks to so few passengers as well, including Windjammers being closed for dinner. There were a few times we did not get the reservation slot  we hoped for  at Coastal Kitchen ( need to book earlier). But overall, we were very happy with the quality of the food. 

 

Our next cruise is Norwegian. We are hoping to try most all of the cruise lines out before settling on which company loyalty program we would prefer. Would love to hear your opinions regarding Royal, and any other ships or cruise lines in comparison to our experience on the Odyssey. 

[The sea calls my name]

We also were on this cruise and agree with everything you stated. We have been on many RCCL cruises as well as their sister line, Celebrity, HA, 1 and only 1 Carnival, NCL, Oceania and Majesty cruise line . I personally feel that Royal has , by far, the best entertainment and on board activities in the business and it continues to escalate. Food is so subjective that it is hard to compare. I think that HA, Celebrity and definitely Oceania have better main dining room quality, but Coastal Kitchen and the specialty restaurants are all top notch in my opinion. I have always found the crew on RCCL to be very helpful and courteous and that has only been amplified in our recent sailings. 

 

So I would say that Royal has an excellent product top to bottom. If you want less numbers, smaller ships, and more 1:1 service then your luxury lines with smaller ships and usually an older clientele would be worth a go.

   

[binro01]

There are different cruise lines for any given whim one might have. I have bounced around a few lines recently to see what I prefer the most. We are taking our first Royal cruise in 20 years in Feb and a second one in April because of the great prices and double loyalty points. I hope to have the same experience as you!  

[rmontanez]

Thanks for sharing. Was wondering, how many formal nights did the cruise had?

[FlatFooted Freda]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:34 PM, rmontanez said:

Thanks for sharing. Was wondering, how many formal nights did the cruise had?

I recall one formal night on a 6 night cruise

[PhoenixCruiser]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:34 PM, rmontanez said:

Thanks for sharing. Was wondering, how many formal nights did the cruise had?

 

 

It should say on your booking. Two formal nights on 7 and 8 night cruises.