ODYSSEY *LIVE* December 18 2021

[FalklandIslander]

I hope you all remain uninfected.  We are choosing only cruises which require all passengers and all crew to be fully vaccinated.  The status perks we would get with Royal Caribbean are not worth the health (and death) risks, in our opinion.  We just had a fantastic (fully vaccinated) cruise.  Masks were not required and no outbreaks occurred.

[Retired2016Cruiser]

13 minutes ago, FalklandIslander said:

I hope you all remain uninfected.  We are choosing only cruises which require all passengers and all crew to be fully vaccinated.  The status perks we would get with Royal Caribbean are not worth the health (and death) risks, in our opinion.  We just had a fantastic (fully vaccinated) cruise.  Masks were not required and no outbreaks occurred.

Glad to hear you had a safe & fantastic cruise!  If this is an allowable question on this board, I'd like to know which cruise line doesn't require masks.  We were fortunate to have a covid free & partially (no longer the case) mask free cruise on the Harmony earlier this month. Great trip! They did allow kids under 12 to not be vaccinated, though. We've done 2 other vax only cruises on other lines but masks were required on both.

[D4]

2 hours ago, clover18 said:

… And finally, with respect to  “distancing“ it is not happening in spite of what anyone tells you. People are lined up for everything and jammed up right next to each other . Whether it’s buying bingo cards, waiting for the bumper cars, piling into the hot tubs, or waiting to get into the restaurant, nobody is “distancing“ consequently you are going more likely than not to get sick with some kind of cold if you have any immunity issues. We have been lucky thus far and have not had any symptoms, but people are coughing and sneezing all over the place and you just can’t avoid it. If this makes you nervous, I would definitely tell you don’t come. …

 

Thanks for letting us know what is going on.

 

I would encourage you to take video of the lack of social distancing and other things you’re observing.  
 

You didn’t mention mask compliance, but it would be nice to know if the cruise line is enforcing their mask mandate, especially in light of the ship’s current case count.

 

Those videos would be great to share with news organizations.  They would also help other cruisers make their own decisions on whether or not to cruise in the near future.

 

I hope you can continue to make the best of these 2 cruises.  

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, clover18 said:

Not having read the fine print closely enough it appears they will only give you future cruise credit and you have to use it before the end of next year. I would rather spend the $12,000 now rather than let royal Caribbean invest it for the next 10 to 12 months.

It's none of my business, but regardless, how do you spend $12,000 for two 4D balconies (one solo, one double) on a 7 night cruise?  Is that a typo?

 

For comparison, my 9 night Anthem NYE cruise is $1900 total (including taxes/fees) for two 4D balconies (both solo).

 

P.S.  Great review.  I agree that Quantum class should add water slides.  🙂 

[clover18]

3 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

It's none of my business, but regardless, how do you spend $12,000 for two 4D balconies (one solo, one double) on a 7 night cruise?  Is that a typo?

 

For comparison, my 9 night Anthem NYE cruise is $1900 total (including taxes/fees) for two 4D balconies (both solo).

 

P.S.  Great review.  I agree that Quantum class should add water slides.  🙂 

We spent $12,000 on the second week because the RCI group desk canceled the second cabin through no fault of our TA. Since we couldn’t pile three of us into a single balcony cabin, we moved up to a junior suite. A little more breathing room. That cost us $12,000- more or less. We still have not purchased a drink package or anything else for next week so that’s gonna take some money as well.

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

I'd like to know which cruise line doesn't require masks. 

Currently Celebrity only requires masks in the terminal at embarkation and disembarkation.  Of course that could change.

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, clover18 said:

We spent $12,000 on the second week because the RCI group desk canceled the second cabin through no fault of our TA. Since we couldn’t pile three of us into a single balcony cabin, we moved up to a junior suite. A little more breathing room. That cost us $12,000- more or less. We still have not purchased a drink package or anything else for next week so that’s gonna take some money as well.

Thanks for the response, but ouch!  😲

 

Hopefully you have a great 2nd week.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Thanks for the response, but ouch!  😲

 

Hopefully you have a great 2nd week.

I'm not sure under any conditions I could have a great week of cruising when having to pay $12,000 for a second week on  a ship  you really didn't like,  and when protocol's aren't being followed. Unsafe.

 

[JCDCA]

8 hours ago, clover18 said:

Hiya cruisers! An update from the 13th deck. We got our travel agent to talk to Royal Caribbean about cruising with confidence program. Not having read the fine print closely enough it appears they will only give you future cruise credit and you have to use it before the end of next year. I would rather spend the $12,000 now rather than let royal Caribbean invest it for the next 10 to 12 months. So we’ve decided to stay! Yippee!

 

Someone asked what I didn’t like about the ship. Here are a few brief reasons I would not sail on odyssey of the seas again:

 

It is very claustrophobic. All of the shops and almost all the restaurants are in interior hallways. The Esplanade is two stories but everything is crammed into a single hallway. Unlike some of the other ships that have a wide walkway all the way down, this is missing that and it feels extremely tight as you’re trying to make your way from one end to the other.

 

If you don’t make your reservations for dining and shows on the first day You will be out of luck. We now know that for next week and plan to book everything as soon as they clear us to get back on board the ship on Sunday. This might seem like an obvious thing to take care of, but there’s a process of hooking up your phone to their Internet and if you haven’t already bought their Internet you have to do that too before you can start booking things. I suppose this is a minor complaint but still.

 

The pool deck is a funny layout. If you’re not into smoking you will have to keep away from the port side if you want to sit by the pool because the port side on that deck is the smoking section. Just makes the whole thing a little bit unpleasant if you don’t like smoking. The deck chairs are on both 14th and 15th deck, and they are laid out around the inner and outer perimeter between the Casitas. You can rent a Casita for the day, but keep in mind that it’s sunny up there and if you are hoping for shade you should bring some towels or something to cover up because unlike the Casitas on a CocoCay, these do not have any shades. 
 

As I said before, people come up early and reserve deck chairs so you just have to do the same thing even if you have a moral objection to doing so, because if you don’t, you’re not gonna get a chair on the pool deck. 
 

The bumper cars are fun, they let you run around for about three minutes and then they stop. The lines are incredibly long to get on the bumper cars so it’s a short-lived thrill at best.

 

Main dining room food is completely uninspired. They also seem to want you to eat and run. The wind jammer is, as I’ve said before, chaotic. There are lines to get in that stretch out to the elevators at peak times, and also you have to stop and wash your hands at the washing station. I have no objection to doing this but to wait in line to wash your hands is a little over the top. And as my husband said, after two weeks, you never want to hear the phrase “washy washy” again in your life. 

 

One exciting thing that has happened to us is that we won bingo yesterday! That was a real windfall! I’ll use that $829 to buy the drink package when we’re on board next week.

 

I just feel like the ship is large, but does not feel very inviting. A number of people have said the same thing. These are just conversations that you strike up while you’re in line for something or other.

 

And finally, with respect to  “distancing“ it is not happening in spite of what anyone tells you. People are lined up for everything and jammed up right next to each other . Whether it’s buying bingo cards, waiting for the bumper cars, piling into the hot tubs, or waiting to get into the restaurant, nobody is “distancing“ consequently you are going more likely than not to get sick with some kind of cold if you have any immunity issues. We have been lucky thus far and have not had any symptoms, but people are coughing and sneezing all over the place and you just can’t avoid it. If this makes you nervous, I would definitely tell you don’t come.

 

The people that work on the ship are really mostly nice for the most part and I tip my hat to them for the long hard hours that they put in every day. If it wasn’t for them, the ship wouldn’t be sailing. And I appreciate all They do for very little money. I plan to tip a few nice waiters and baristas on Christmas Day tomorrow.

 

Anyway if you’re coming on next week see you around the deck! If not merry Christmas and enjoy the rest of your year. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

A few thoughts: 

 

I really can’t believe even a JS would cost $12000 that’s outrageous if true.

 

It’s pretty well known on Royal that it’s best to schedule dining and entertainment right away on day 1.  You don’t need the internet although it can certainly be helpful.  Just book dinners at any restaurant host stand.  Shows can be booked at guest services I would imagine.  Indeed the app should be usable even without paying for WiFi.  Which, if you’re going to, should be purchased in advance for a reduced price. 

[Jasukkie]

8 hours ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Glad to hear you had a safe & fantastic cruise!  If this is an allowable question on this board, I'd like to know which cruise line doesn't require masks.  We were fortunate to have a covid free & partially (no longer the case) mask free cruise on the Harmony earlier this month. Great trip! They did allow kids under 12 to not be vaccinated, though. We've done 2 other vax only cruises on other lines but masks were required on both.

Virgin Voyages is adults only, vax required and was mask free. I believe they have since changed the mask policy with the Omicron surge but perhaps they will be able to return to their previous policy once things subside. 

[Alphawolf]

With regards to masks they are enforcing it as best as possible.  I've been at the schooner bar multiple times for trivia and each time they announced everyone should be wearing masks unless eating or drinking.  

 

As far as I can tell everyone is doing a good job of masking up when indoors. Very rare I see someone not wearing one.

[BND]

8 hours ago, clover18 said:

We spent $12,000 on the second week because the RCI group desk canceled the second cabin through no fault of our TA. Since we couldn’t pile three of us into a single balcony cabin, we moved up to a junior suite. A little more breathing room. That cost us $12,000- more or less. We still have not purchased a drink package or anything else for next week so that’s gonna take some money as well.

$12,000? DH and I just spent two weeks on HOTS in a JS and both cruises combined didn't cost us $12,000.

[cruiserchuck]

31 minutes ago, BND said:

$12,000? DH and I just spent two weeks on HOTS in a JS and both cruises combined didn't cost us $12,000.

 

i suspect the price was high due to it being a Christmas/New Year's cruise.  Those cruises generally are the highest price cruises of the year, while the few weeks before Christmas generally are the lowest price cruises of the year.  

[keyboardjunkie]

Does the children's program exist right now during this Covid breakout?

[BND]

10 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

i suspect the price was high due to it being a Christmas/New Year's cruise.  Those cruises generally are the highest price cruises of the year, while the few weeks before Christmas generally are the lowest price cruises of the year.  

That's over three times the normal, but whatever floats their boat.

[watcher_62]

21 hours ago, clover18 said:

We spent $12,000 on the second week because the RCI group desk canceled the second cabin through no fault of our TA. Since we couldn’t pile three of us into a single balcony cabin, we moved up to a junior suite. A little more breathing room. That cost us $12,000- more or less. We still have not purchased a drink package or anything else for next week so that’s gonna take some money as well.

Hi Clover 18.  First off - Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope you have a wonderful day and spend time enjoying all of you together! 

 

Second - THANK YOU for taking the time to post updates on this board.  Clearly it's not a great situation to be in, and I do appreciate the updates as I know they take you away from your cruise time.

 

Are you going to switch to the next board for your next cruise? I think many of us will want to follow any updates if you are. 

 

Finally, I would like to suggest that all of us reading along and commenting should maybe focus on the current issues and move on from discussing Clover's personal cruise prices, etc. It's really none of our business, and it has very little to do with the COVID issues we are all looking to learn more about and understand more fully. I would hate to see Clover decide to stop their updates because of a comment or opinion that comes across as too personal or critical.

 

Merry Christmas all!   

[clover18]

15 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

Virgin Voyages is adults only, vax required and was mask free. I believe they have since changed the mask policy with the Omicron surge but perhaps they will be able to return to their previous policy once things subside. 

Not for us with a 14 year old

[clover18]

12 minutes ago, watcher_62 said:

Hi Clover 18.  First off - Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope you have a wonderful day and spend time enjoying all of you together! 

 

Second - THANK YOU for taking the time to post updates on this board.  Clearly it's not a great situation to be in, and I do appreciate the updates as I know they take you away from your cruise time.

 

Are you going to switch to the next board for your next cruise? I think many of us will want to follow any updates if you are. 

 

Finally, I would like to suggest that all of us reading along and commenting should maybe focus on the current issues and move on from discussing Clover's personal cruise prices, etc. It's really none of our business, and it has very little to do with the COVID issues we are all looking to learn more about and understand more fully. I would hate to see Clover decide to stop their updates because of a comment or opinion that comes across as too personal or critical.

 

Merry Christmas all!   

Thank you! I will jump on the 12/26 odyssey board tomorrow. We three were tested T 7:30 this morning to allow us to reboard tomorrow’s and we are all clear. So now off to enjoy a final day at sea. Merry Christmas and Cheers!

[keyboardjunkie]

Merry Christmas to all! 

 

Clover 18, as others have said, thank you for your updates.  We will be sailing with you on the 26th and feel more fully informed based on your feedback.

 

Looking forward to meeting you!  Hopefully, we will meet you at a trivia game (we love to play).

[bsa0092]

Clover 18 thank you for your updates.  We are boarding tomorrow Dec. 26th.  Our Oceanview large balcony was RoyalUp to a JS3 suite which is perfect for the three of us. (Mom, Dad, 20 year old daughter). Now we know what to expect.  This is supposed to be a "leisure" trip for us so I just might stay on the balcony the whole time.  Hope to meet a few of you sometime this week. 

[AtSea2021]

On 12/21/2021 at 2:14 PM, clover18 said:

This is our second Sea day, and day four of the eight day cruise. It has been a lot of organized chaos, especially in the Windjammer, which I mentioned yesterday. The food on board continues to be underwhelming. All of the specialty restaurants And the shows are pretty much sold out for the rest of the week. We will either be eating in the main dining room, the wind jammer (reluctantly) or grabbing a slice of pizza or a burger somewhere quick.

 

There are lots of kids on board. More than you can count. They are running around a lot even late into the evening. Most of them are well behaved, and spending time with their families it looks like they’re all having a lot of fun.

 

The pool decks are packed. There is a lot of difficulty finding a deck chair available and people are definitely heading up top to reserve their chairs with towels and clips early in the morning. The solarium in particular was already filling up at about 815 this morning and if not the actual people sitting there, the chairs were definitely reserved in full with towels and books, etc.

 

We are now pretty much an open water having gone around Cuba and down past Jamaica. The weather is a bit windy and seas are a little choppy, but the captain is keeping it steady and it’s not too bumpy.

 

Tonight we managed to get a seat for the “Journey” tribute band. That should be fun. I’m determined to get a plate of pretzel sticks at the crown and compass. Bingo and trivia games are very crowded. The flow rider and the Northstar are very popular and people are lining up to do those things.

 

This morning my husband observed that it would be much better if the odyssey had a couple of waterslides rather than the Northstar. It really is gimmicky and not very inspiring.

 

The Esplanade has way too many watch stores and not enough practical things to purchase. The one “shop” has T-shirts and sweatshirts that are ridiculously overpriced. I don’t mind paying for a souvenir but there’s hardly any choice. We continue to be baffled by why people are interested in buying jewelry on a cruise ship.

 

at this point I am not too excited about spending another week on the ship. First world problems notwithstanding, a back to back sounded like a great time and a relaxing way to enjoy Christmas break. However there really isn’t “a lot“ to do on board once you’ve ticked off the two or three novel things that the odyssey has: Northstar, 270 show, and rip-cord I fly. All of which are pretty much booked up for the week. 
 

One minor complaint is that the water in the solarium pool is too cold. If you want to take a quick drunk because you warm from sitting in a deck chair you expect it to be refreshing, but not freezing. But I guess you could get used to it if you have the perseverance to stay in the water for minute or two longer. I don’t.

 

The hot tubs are insanely overcrowded and the only time to really enjoy one is early in the morning before everybody gets up. 
 

Everyone is basically wearing their mask when they’re supposed to, but I take mine off frequently and no one ever says anything. If the hallways or elevators are empty when traversing the inside decks I don’t wear it. And you certainly don’t have to wear one outside on the deck or in the solarium. There are some people who do, but they are greatly outnumbered by the people who are not wearing them in those places.
 

More to report after the port day at Curacao tomorrow. 
 

 

Clover 18, why? Why would you purposely take your masks off “frequently,” especially in the elevators? Why should you be allowed on this cruise and future ones if you’re not going to follow company policy, no different than the passenger we sailed back to FTL for? Your exact words: “Everyone is basically wearing their mask when they’re supposed to, but I take mine off frequently and no one ever says anything. If the hallways or elevators are empty when traversing the inside decks I don’t wear it.” 

[Mapleleafforever]

23 minutes ago, AtSea2021 said:

Clover 18, why? Why would you purposely take your masks off “frequently,” especially in the elevators? Why should you be allowed on this cruise and future ones if you’re not going to follow company policy, no different than the passenger we sailed back to FTL for? Your exact words: “Everyone is basically wearing their mask when they’re supposed to, but I take mine off frequently and no one ever says anything. If the hallways or elevators are empty when traversing the inside decks I don’t wear it

Some people don't mind taking the chance of catching it and becoming quarantined on the 3rd deck. Who knows if the masks are even effective in such close quarters. To each one's own. 

 

Not to mention every person stepping foot on a cruise for the next little while has accepted the fact they may test positive at some point on the cruise or once they get home. 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Mapleleafforever

[Mapleleafforever]

Just now, d9704011 said:

Yes.  I've noticed that when preparing a post and another member posts while I'm working away, the names can get mixed up.  I don't know why this happens.... I need to move a little faster.

Oh I hear ya. 

[clover18]

Hey CC friends. Thanks for the love and the flames. It’s all good. I’m just here trying to keep it real. Yeah I’m mentioning things like pool water temp.  I live in the Midwest and do water aerobics at the Y in a pool that’s a lot nicer temp. But the solarium marketed as luxurious and frankly the colder water does not meet that expectation. Each to his own though!

yes I hate wearing a mask and don’t wear one when nobody is around. If I’m having a drink or a slice of pizza or singing karaoke I don’t wear one and nobody is throwing eggs. 
 

No judgment and no fear. Merry Christmas. See the rest of you next week if you’re still willing to come aboard.!

[RoyalC]

2 minutes ago, clover18 said:

Hey CC friends. Thanks for the love and the flames. It’s all good. I’m just here trying to keep it real. Yeah I’m mentioning things like pool water temp.  I live in the Midwest and do water aerobics at the Y in a pool that’s a lot nicer temp. But the solarium marketed as luxurious and frankly the colder water does not meet that expectation. Each to his own though!

yes I hate wearing a mask and don’t wear one when nobody is around. If I’m having a drink or a slice of pizza or singing karaoke I don’t wear one and nobody is throwing eggs. 
 

No judgment and no fear. Merry Christmas. See the rest of you next week if you’re still willing to come aboard.!

Yes the water was cold. Not sure why. Enjoy the cruise I guess.