Anyone on board Odyssey?

[leisuretraveler223]

Supposed to set sail Sunday. I am not at all concerned about getting Covid. Trying to understand what it's like when they say "adjustments have been made" to shows and activities.  Hopefully someone can weigh in before jazzbeau locks this.

[clover18]

The disappointment factor for us is being denied entry to Aruba and Curacao. We booked the cruise because we wanted to go there. We are booked back to back for next week as well but are thinking about going home instead because we don’t want to spend another week with an uncertainty about canceled port calls. The crowds at the pool solarium and restaurants are also a factor. Windjammer is a zoo. 

[Jimbo]

6 minutes ago, clover18 said:

The disappointment factor for us is being denied entry to Aruba and Curacao. We booked the cruise because we wanted to go there. We are booked back to back for next week as well but are thinking about going home instead because we don’t want to spend another week with an uncertainty about canceled port calls. The crowds at the pool solarium and restaurants are also a factor. Windjammer is a zoo. 

Sounds like Royal got a little greedy and upped the passenger counts and now they are seeing first hand what happens when you do that.

[Chauncey Picklepants]

8 minutes ago, clover18 said:

The disappointment factor for us is being denied entry to Aruba and Curacao. We booked the cruise because we wanted to go there. We are booked back to back for next week as well but are thinking about going home instead because we don’t want to spend another week with an uncertainty about canceled port calls. The crowds at the pool solarium and restaurants are also a factor. Windjammer is a zoo. 

Can’t you cancel now for a refund due to protocol changes? I would. 

[ReneeFLL]

16 minutes ago, clover18 said:

…The crowds at the pool solarium and restaurants are also a factor. Windjammer is a zoo. 

I think Royal screwed themselves by doing this. I’m guessing more people will be canceling due to the outbreaks.

 

8 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like Royal got a little greedy and upped the passenger counts and now they are seeing first hand what happens when you do that.

👍🏼

[Sunshine3601]

39 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like Royal got a little greedy and upped the passenger counts and now they are seeing first hand what happens when you do that.

I definitely agree.  Royal should not been booking sailings with 80, 90 or 100% capacity as we all expected the virus to be worse during winter months even before omicron hit.

The fact ships over 800 +/- kids running around that are mostly unvaxxed isnt helping either.  I have been hearing a lot more young children getting sick with this strain than previous strains.

Sure this strain is mild for people that are vaxxed but that doesnt seem to matter.

[clover18]

46 minutes ago, Chauncey Picklepants said:

Can’t you cancel now for a refund due to protocol changes? I would. 

We are thinking about it. Lots of logistics in getting back home day after Christmas. 

[clover18]

The windjammer is ridiculous. The workers hover next to your table and take your plate away because they want you out of there so others can eat the line to get on backs up and it’s hard to find a table unless you are there early. Main dining rooms are empty because the food is really not that great. 

[clover18]

Specialty restaurants at sold out for the week and deck chairs are tagged early in the am leaving others to mill around the decks waiting for someone to get up and leave. Hot tubs are overcrowded solarium pool is too cold. 
 

We just aren’t having that great of a time onboard. If you like to drink all day, you’re in the right place though! 

[Mapleleafforever]

I wouldn't worry about catching covid on a cruise either, I would however worry about testing positive for it and being quarantined. 

[livingonthebeach]

7 minutes ago, clover18 said:

Specialty restaurants at sold out for the week and deck chairs are tagged early in the am leaving others to mill around the decks waiting for someone to get up and leave. Hot tubs are overcrowded solarium pool is too cold. 
 

We just aren’t having that great of a time onboard. If you like to drink all day, you’re in the right place though! 

 

Have they said anything about any refunds, credits, etc? 

[clover18]

4 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Have they said anything about any refunds, credits, etc? 

We are receiving the equivalent of two days cruise fare in the form of onboard credit. They are also giving us a 50% future cruise credit on you current cabin cost. We have two cabins so we are basically getting the future credit at the value of 100% so that is nice of them. 

[bajathree]

6 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Have they said anything about any refunds, credits, etc? 

I read they are giving passengers 2 days worth of OBC for this plus a 50% future cruise credit.

[HxFx]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like Royal got a little greedy and upped the passenger counts and now they are seeing first hand what happens when you do that.

I thought most of the cases are amongst the crew? Did Royal up those numbers? At my office, we’ve been at the same capacity for about 6 months. We had 0 COVID cases. Omicron hit and now we have 4 in our office in one week (and more are getting tested). We have about 60 folks in my office area (when at full capacity). It’s a very contagious variant. The good news is all have mild symptoms (and we are all required to be vaccinated where I work).

[BND]

Just now, HxFx said:

I thought most of the cases are amongst the crew? Did Royal up those numbers? At my office, we’ve been at the same capacity for about 6 months. We had 0 COVID cases. Omicron hit and now we have 4 in our office in one week (and more are getting tested). We have about 60 folks in my office area (when at full capacity). It’s a very contagious variant. The good news is all have mild symptoms (and we are all required to be vaccinated where I work).

They are.  Symphony had 55 cases.  Only three were guests.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, BND said:

They are.  Symphony had 55 cases.  Only three were guests.

You may have ships confused. 

[MommaBear55]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like Royal got a little greedy and upped the passenger counts and now they are seeing first hand what happens when you do that.

When they made the decision, case counts were low, Omicron had never been heard of and all cruises up until then had gone well. How about instead of "greedy", the phrasing could be "made the best decision they could with the information they had then got caught short".

[bajathree]

I believe what has been keeping passenger count down at this point has been demand....not so much Royal...thus the increase demand/capacity for Thanksgiving and Christmas/NY sailings we are seeing. I was on Allure Dec 5 sailing and we sailed at right around 50% and there was still plenty availability for sale just prior to sailing. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by bajathree

[BND]

Just now, bajathree said:

I believe what has been keeping passenger count down at this point has been demand....not so much Royal...thus the increase demand/capacity for Thanksgiving and Christmas/NY sailings we are seeing. I was on Allure 2 Dec 4 sailing and we sailed at right around 50% and there was still plenty availability just prior to sailing. 

Well, until the last couple of days when RCI shut down new bookings through like 10 Jan. That is definitely to keep counts down.

[bajathree]

2 minutes ago, BND said:

Well, until the last couple of days when RCI shut down new bookings through like 10 Jan. That is definitely to keep counts down.

Thats probably cause what we are seeing going on now was a direct result from the increased capacity from Thanksgiving and they are probally predicting more issues again in the coming weeks due to to the increase capacity from Christmas/NY

[CruisingSince1982]

1 hour ago, Chauncey Picklepants said:

Can’t you cancel now for a refund due to protocol changes? I would. 

 

No. FCC only. They quietly rescinded the "cancel for a refund due to protocol change" portion a while ago. 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, clover18 said:

The windjammer is ridiculous. The workers hover next to your table and take your plate away because they want you out of there so others can eat the line to get on backs up and it’s hard to find a table unless you are there early. Main dining rooms are empty because the food is really not that great. 

That would really annoy us, especially my husband.  We are on vacation and dont want to be rushed and have someone hover over us.

I bet there will be lots of complaints on surveys done for this cruise.

[ricksurf]

Interesting how these Covid ships are departing from Florida with high capacity and alot of unvaxxed children.  Could there be something to this, since other cruise ports in the world are having better results.

[Chauncey Picklepants]

2 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

 

No. FCC only. They quietly rescinded the "cancel for a refund due to protocol change" portion a while ago. 

Just spoke with my TA and there is terminology that will result in refund. I got a full refund in November two weeks before sailing.  Posters came out of the woodwork to tell me I was wrong.  I was not. They said it would take 3 months.  It did not.  Refund was received approx 17 days later. 

[Kitkatgrrl]

Im on the Odyssey. Only 3 passengers have covid as of yet.  The rest who developed it were crew members.  I have been happy with the protocols in place for the safety of the families on board.  My family and I have been cruising for years on Royal and in general stay away from Wind Jammer because its usually a hot mess even before covid.  We aren't at capacity. Yes we were disappointed to not be allowed entry to Aruba and Curacao, but I'm still happy to be on vacation with my family and I feel safe. When I left my home, there were outbreaks happening in my kids schools, in my workplace and even in my state. They just didn't happen to make the national news.  

Make the decision thats best for your family but remember everyone is looking at this situation from a different lense. People want different things from their vacation experience.  If you want a vacation where you can visit islands and that's a guarantee, might want to wait a bit.  If you're like us and have teenagers who are living their best life right now with wifi, spa, dining room, trivia,  then come on over.  We've won a highlighter, waterbottle and a Keychain already.  Got our eye on that hat today. 

 

I was literally walking back from the spa yesterday when I read comments on the board about speculation that we were being confined to our rooms for the rest of our trips and having to take mandatory covid tests. Things are fluid and changing.  Everyone's doing their best. 

 

Also reports are the ship has about 3500 people, well below max capacity. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Kitkatgrrl