Just off 1/9 Odyssey- Best cruise ever!

[budmeister]

We just had what may have been our best cruise ever! Truly fantastic shows, loved the seaplex,  great food. Awesome service, great ship with lots of sea views all over. 30% capacity. We missed one port due to waves going higher than and over pier. We got off at Roatan and stayed on ship for cozumel, enjoying  effectively 5 fun activity filled sea days. 

[nhraformula00]

Great to hear. We had a good cruise last December on the Allure.

[shelpt]

31 minutes ago, budmeister said:

We just had what may have been our best cruise ever! Truly fantastic shows, loved the seaplex,  great food. Awesome service, great ship with lots of sea views all over. 30% capacity. We missed one port due to waves going higher than and over pier. We got off at Roatan and stayed on ship for cozumel, enjoying  effectively 5 fun activity filled sea days. 

We are on Odyssey Feb 6th. Can't wait! Anything I shouldn't miss??

[daninwi]

I was on the Odyssey at the end of October on a solo cruise.  I really enjoyed my time in the Schooner Bar (the staff was amazing), the casino was good (at least to me), do not skip the North Star (amazing view, a bit shaky being afraid of heights), Teppanyaki is really good, and do not miss the show in Two270 - it is technically and visually amazing.  I heard a few complaints about not being able to follow the story, but I truly was amazed at the production.  

 

It is a beautiful ship - ENJOY!

[budmeister]

Teppanaki was one of the best dinners we have ever had.

 

The virtual reality activity was really fun. We wish we could have pictures of what we saw.

 

We saw 2 shows a day, so 12 shows. The regular singing and dancing was normal/good for how it always is, however the comedy, orchestra, and special effects were over the top fantastic and amazing. Even the virtual philharmonic was  very enjoyable. I agree about no story line for one two70 show,  put just watching the visual for what it was displayed fun effects, unpredictable things to see, and incredible music. 

 

The i fly was a big hit too. The seaplex had interactive arcade games like basketball, bowling, scee ball, air hockey, and few I could not figure out but looked fun.

 

The Diamond club concierge was super helpful.  She could make new sea pass cards, show and restaurant reservations, help you get in RC free internet for App usage, print your schedule, and answer questions.  The 5-8 snacks in there where very flavorful and worth fitting into your snack schedule.

 

There was an observation deck for i fly and flowrider, both of which were really fun to watch.

 

There was foot ( soccer ball) pool on deck 15 by Playmakers and other games- shuffle board, the touch the colored dot one. There are pool tables and another table game in Playmaker, and a fantastic marshmallow skillet cookie.

 

We enjoyed archery and corn hole at the seaplex, hubby liked bumper cars, and pickle ball looked like fun. There was harnessed and powered trampoline jumping,  which you could also do with a virtual reality game visor on- smash the candy by jumping for it, I did. 6 games to choose from or just do it regular.

 

The crew, including guest services and photo shop ( we rarely get ship photos,, but the i fly ones were not to be missed) were all super friendly and seemed genuinely pleased to help.

 

There were i fly and Northstar spots at no fee on 2 sea days.

 

My hot rocks massage , I think her name may have been Pam, was the best I have ever had.

 

[budmeister]

I should have added- we avoided all buffets and lounges- other than shows- and used the ultimate dining package  cafe two seventy. And sorrentos pizza for all meals,  so we could do our best to social distance. So, I have no idea what food was like in the Windjammer, dining room, of the Mexican place on the pool deck.

[birdylady]

So glad you had such a good trip.   We’re scheduled for the Feb 12 sailing. This will be our first time on a quantum ship.   A couple questions.

 

ifly/seaplex/North Star-  do you need to complete waivers and such like if you do for wave rider and such?  If so,does one waiver cover all activities?

 

Do you know what restrictions there are for these?  Aka age, height, weight, whatever.

 

are there fees for the above items?  If so, can you share what the costs are?  I would assume you need to book appointments for each,  yes?

 

thank you for sharing about Two270.   For some reason I thought it was just a lounge with a nice view and set up perhaps for a and or so.  Will definitely have to check it out .

 

thanx again 

Erika

[NO_Member_Name]

We were on Odyssey in mid October on a 25% capacity cruise and loved it. Being able to immediately get an elevator even during dinner was a different experience. We were all diamond and all had 4 free drinks loaded onto our sea passes each day, which is about 3 and a half more than we'd normally have (I did get the soda plan). We ended up using many of our credits for bottled water. I was pretty good about bringing enough singles with me, to tip the bar staff. It was a period when the delta variant was winding down an vaccinations were still somewhat billed as providing complete protection (not that we beli it). My only real complaint was that the bacon in Windjammer (one of my favorite things about cruising) tasted rancid throughout the cruise. It surprised me that they let that go on. It's a beautiful ship.

 

I should know the answers to most of your questions but unfortunately didn't pay that much attention. I guess I have a few tips though.

 

Northstar has both free and paid experiences. Go book your free experience as soon as you get there, because they do fill up. We ended up doing the paid experience, which was only a few minutes longer and went out to each side of the ship. It was fun but not earthshattering. I liked that I was able to text pictures to a cruise junkie friend while hanging over the side of the ship. I looked at it as a chance to give RCCL a few extra dollars, because so much other stuff was discounted or free.

 

The wifi was really good. They finally seem to have gotten that right. I'd say I had good quality connectivity probably 98% of the cruise. I was even able to connect while passing by on an excursion ferry, sending pictures to my abovementioned friend.

 

We spent many evenings in the Music Hall. They had a pickup band of musicians from major groups and even just winging it they were very good. I think we went to all their shows. We also saw them around the ship a lot, and by chance did an excursion with one of them. They were all very nice and approachable.

 

The thing they'll tell you about 270 is that the multi-media projection system is a modern marvel that cost 6 million dollars. I will say it was pretty cool. The show was pretty good, but slightly meh. I had a seat off to one side where I ended up in the spotlight a lot, so I tried to look interested and not yawn. Probably the best thing about 270 was the bistro, and their roast beef sandwiches. 

 

The specialty restaurants were OK but not great. Chops didn't get my steak right, but they rarely do. I prefer the main dining room and our wait staff there was awesome. Many nights I think we were their only table. We got know them very well.

 

I could go on for a while, but enough rambling.

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by NO_Member_Name

[ticketsunlimited]

So looking forward to getting on her on the 29th. Thanks so much for the report!!

[vacationlover_mn]

Can’t wait to board Feb 6!  Thx for the report!

[crewsweeper]

Waiting for April 9th. Boss is on Odyssey now.  So we'll hear about it when we return from our Harmony cruise leaving today.  Nice to know everything is up and running on board.

[Scottee25]

For all of you that have already been on the Odyssey, do you know if the TVs in cabin are 4K or 1080p? Can you access the HDMI ports on the TV? What about Smart capabilities like access to Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, etc? Are any of those apps available?

[meg1021]

We are on B2B Odyssey on January 23rd, and January 29th.  So glad to hear that you had a great experience.  So many negative reviews have been posted lately, but we kept our reservations, and are looking at the cruise as a way to get a break from our recent cold spell (6 to 12 inches of snow predicted for later on today).  I have been on both Ovation and Spectrum, the Odyssey's sister ships, so we're quite familiar with the venues, restaurants, and other attractions.  One question though, are they offering group exercise classes in the Seaplex?

 

Once again,  glad that you had a great cruise and for the post.

[At5920Feet]

Odyssey was a great time. We love this ship, and echo all the positives above. Another don't miss are the interesting cocktails and Steven at Craft Social bar. Can't wait to be on again in April.

* Before Odyssey, Spectrum was our favorite, but the immersive experience is not comparable.

[cindyscruise]

No_Member_Name.  Have you written a review?  If not, I think you should and please include what sounds like wonderful pictures.  We look forward to hearing all and everything about the Odyssey.  

[budmeister]

9 hours ago, birdylady said:

So glad you had such a good trip.   We’re scheduled for the Feb 12 sailing. This will be our first time on a quantum ship.   A couple questions.

 

ifly/seaplex/North Star-  do you need to complete waivers and such like if you do for wave rider and such?  If so,does one waiver cover all activities?

 

Do you know what restrictions there are for these?  Aka age, height, weight, whatever.

 

are there fees for the above items?  If so, can you share what the costs are?  I would assume you need to book appointments for each,  yes?

 

thank you for sharing about Two270.   For some reason I thought it was just a lounge with a nice view and set up perhaps for a and or so.  Will definitely have to check it out .

 

thanx again 

Erika

I fly and Northpoint we're either free , if you grabbed  a  free  port day spot, or $49 and 29. Reservationd needed.. Virtual reality was 18.00. I do not remember  many restrictions, except age 13 on virtual reality and 230/250 for i fly depending on height. Hubby remembers 240 ish on trampoline.

 

I am pretty sure we did separate waivers for each, but think there may have been online waivers available before you board. 

 

 

[cruisetorelax44]

2 hours ago, Scottee25 said:

For all of you that have already been on the Odyssey, do you know if the TVs in cabin are 4K or 1080p? Can you access the HDMI ports on the TV? What about Smart capabilities like access to Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, etc? Are any of those apps available?

I dont know what type of TV it was, but it's set up in a way where you can "cast" all if your streaming apps right from your phone to the TV.  We had the internet package.  Without that, I don't know if it would be possible. 

[budmeister]

We are not very technical, but I do remember seeing streaming as an option on the menu.

[cindyscruise]

Can you explain a little more about the virtual reality.  Are their different scenarios to select from?  How long was it?  

[budmeister]

1 hour ago, cindyscruise said:

Can you explain a little more about the virtual reality.  Are their different scenarios to select from?  How long was it?  

 About 15 min, one scenario,  cartoony but super fun, 4 people, you put on a backpack,vest, hands and feet wraps.  Silly, but walking through a door that likes like a sci fi port- cannot see to other side seemed very real.

 

[Scottee25]

8 hours ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

I dont know what type of TV it was, but it's set up in a way where you can "cast" all if your streaming apps right from your phone to the TV.  We had the internet package.  Without that, I don't know if it would be possible. 

 

7 hours ago, budmeister said:

We are not very technical, but I do remember seeing streaming as an option on the menu.

 

I know the "virtual oceanview" cabins use a 4k TV to simulate the outside of the ship. I would hope that being such a new ship they would use 4K TVs since 1080p are pretty much antiquated and not as readily available for purchase as 4K. We will have the streaming internet package on our sailing and I also have my devices configured to use a VPN which connects through my home network to avoid any location restrictions (like having to be in the US). If the TVs are cable of accepting a cast from our mobile devices that is promising. Having the services on the TV is even better. I guess I may just have to wait until I get on the ship to find out. Thank you for your replies!

[flamingos]

We were on that cruise, and it was really nice with ~45% capacity.  

 

The Solarium was a bit crowded on the first sea day, but we always found a seat after that.

 

The Crown & Compass was our meeting place and the service was great, and it was a great location to people-watch. 

 

Main dining room was great, as was Windjammer.  They had so many waitstaff and cleaning crew there that there were times that we asked for a glass of water just to give them something to do.  🙂 

 

The theater shows were all very entertaining, and the headline show of the week, 'The Effectors', was impressively staged.  

 

We got to see 'The Book' in 270, and it was fun to watch but we had no idea what the story was about.  I was not impressed with the Cafe270 lunch.

 

We did the North Star in Cozumel when it was free - 10 minutes straight up, and we got to look down on Oasis and that beautiful Central Park.  It's $29 for the half-hour trip on sea days where it goes over the edge of the ship.

 

It was far too rough to get docked at CocoCay, and it would have been too chilly for this Floridian anyway so no big loss there.

 

Disembarking was amazingly easy - Captain said it was open so we got our bags, said goodbye to the room steward, and went down the elevator to Deck 5.  Walked right off the ship, into the terminal where we got scanned by the facial recognition camera, and walked straight out to the parking lot. 12 minutes from room to car.  

[SpeedNoodles]

12 hours ago, At5920Feet said:

. Another don't miss are the interesting cocktails and Steven at Craft Social bar.  

Where is this venue? It's the first time I've ever seen it mentioned and I don't see it on any deck plan (but I could easily be missing it).  Thanks!  Will be sailing on her Jan 29!

[At5920Feet]

10 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Where is this venue? It's the first time I've ever seen it mentioned and I don't see it on any deck plan (but I could easily be missing it).  Thanks!  Will be sailing on her Jan 29!

Hi Speed- sorry, i'm an idiot 🙂  Craft Social was on Celebrity Apex, which we also sailed last year; Apex and Odyssey are very similar design so that's my excuse.

 

That said, we loved our Odyssey b2b and look forward to April.  You will have a great time!

Coastal Kitchen was excellent, and we alternated that with Cafe 270, WJ and Izumi.

Other highlights were all the activities to try- especially iFly, Skypad and the VR on 15.

Don't miss The Book in 270- the production, performers and technical aspects were great- similar to Silk Road on Spectrum, and we recognized many of the performers from there. 

Edited January 17, 2022 by At5920Feet

[vacationlover_mn]

Question regarding the VR thing… is it a crowded environment?  I can’t do it (ugh, nausea!), but DH would love to, if it didn’t seem “Covid risky”.