A different perspective on the Odyssey

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

There have been multiple Odyssey reports lately, all very detailed and very helpful, so I won’t try to compete.  However, my cruising style is a bit different—for example, I start every day at the fitness center, I seldom drink anything but water and herbal tea, and casinos give me the creeps. 😉 But cruises aren’t entirely without guilty pleasures for me: I have at least one spa day, and boy do I EAT. Then eat again, and eat some more! 😄

 

Oh, and I have some mobility restrictions so I travel with a walker, although I seldom need it once I’m onboard.

 

We loved the ship and had a fantastic time, but I try to objectively share the less-than-stellar along with the amazing. So if it sounds like my cruise experience might have some useful information for you, please read on!  🙂 

 

Testing

We had originally planned to order the at-home proctored COVID tests, but once the demand started to decrease and  appointments were easier to come by, we changed our plans. Our CVS offers appointments two weeks out, so we started with them and then booked a backup appointment at Walgreens when they became available three days out. We also had two less convenient semi-local options if both CVS and Walgreens fell through, so we felt comfortable with our approach.

 

We booked the earliest appointment available at CVS, and it was smooth as silk. We were tested in our car, they billed our insurance directly, and we had the text link to our negative result within 20 minutes. Then I canceled Walgreens and got busy packing! 😊

 

Pre-cruise and embarkation

We flew to FLL on Saturday and stayed at the Hyatt House in Dania Beach. A nice enough hotel, with very nice rooms and a decent continental breakfast, but showing a bit of wear & tear in the common areas. Quick walk to a Panda Express, Chipotle and Burger King, with a few more options still in walking distance. Probably the biggest downside was that the airport shuttle only runs at the top of every hour, so if you get your luggage at 7:05, you’re out of luck. But a $30 cab ride solved that problem. 

 

Sunday morning we had an easy-peasy Uber ride to Port Everglades for our 11:00 check-in time. FYI, the Uber app says that Royal Caribbean is at terminal 25, which isn’t accurate, but there’s also a generic “Port Everglades” option. Once you get there, the signs let you know which terminal to go to. We had included a bit of a time cushion that we didn’t need, but by the time we dropped off our luggage and worked our way to the front of the line, it was 11:00 on the dot, so we were allowed in the terminal. Checking in does take a bit longer than pre-pandemic, but it wasn’t too bad. They have once again started C & A priority boarding for Diamond and up, but since they only recently re-started it, there were some miscommunications and we weren’t seated in the right area. So when the parade of Diamond and Diamond Plus started passing us by, I tried to explain to a port worker who impatiently cut me off and told me that it didn’t matter that we were there first, we would have to wait our turn. I tried again, and he cut me off again. Finally I cut him off, which is very out of character for me: “SIR! We. Are. Diamond.” He glared at me, but stopped talking and opened the rope. 😉 And fortunately, nothing can get me down for long on embarkation day!

 

We had watched the muster videos while waiting to board, so we went straight to our muster station to check in. And oh my goodness, I love this new system!! After five minutes onboard we were free to let the vacation begin. 😊

 

In the next installment: cabin, spa and fitness center.

[DonnaK]

We were also on this sailing.  Interested in reading your impressions and seeing if they are similar to ours.

[flamingos]

Love the fitness center on Odyssey!  We shared our mornings with a lot of dancers.

[ticketsunlimited]

Great start to your review. Looking forward to your thoughts.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Cabin

Our Royal Up bids were unsuccessful (Junior Suite and 1-bedroom Grand, both with bids in the “fair” range), so we were stuck in a plain old balcony cabin. 😁 No complaints, though—it was a lovely room, and although this was only my second non-suite cabin on Royal, I’m actually surprised at how little I miss the “suite life.” 😉 I’m not saying I’ve permanently turned my back on booking suites, but I suspect there will be a lot more standard balconies in my future!

 

We were in cabin 12682, fairly close to the aft elevators on the starboard side. For us, it was a great location and a great deck. And the cabin itself had two wonderful surprises: the coldest fridge I’ve ever had on any ship, and BY FAR the most comfortable bed on any Royal ship. I suspect it was the same standard mattress, but with a mattress topper that made for MUCH better sleep for me.

 

Although I travel with a walker, I don’t use it much once I’m onboard, so I didn’t want to take an accessible cabin away from someone who truly needs it. It was tight to get it through the door, but once it was collapsed, it fit quite nicely between the sofa and the balcony door as shown:

 

 

Fitness Center

Kind of a mixed bag here. The equipment was great, which I suppose is the main thing. 😉 The bikes are by Life Fitness, which is my personal favorite.  And while I did appreciate that the facility was located where it should be (I’m looking at you, Oasis class!)--on the top deck all the way forward so you get the beautiful ocean views—I was very disappointed that there is no locker/changing room, or even so much as a restroom. Definitely something I miss about the Voyager and Freedom classes! There is a “family bathroom” in the stairway area just outside, but it’s a one-person with no stalls and I always found the door locked. I wasn’t thrilled about having to go out to the pool deck just to splash some water on my face post-workout, or if heaven forbid I needed to pee!

 

Every other machine is currently blocked off, which isn’t a big deal for the treadmills since there are plenty. But for people like me who can’t use anything other than a recumbent bike, that meant there were only two available. And since DH’s preference is the rowing machine, there was only one. We were fine for our early morning workouts, but if you have your heart set on a particular type of equipment, I would recommend avoiding the peak hours.

 

I can’t speak to any of the classes, but I did see yoga/stretching classes most mornings, since they were located right in front of the recumbents. 😊

 

Spa

It breaks my heart to say it, but … this was a disappointment. 😔 I crave that “oasis of tranquility” feeling when you step through the door, with the music and the décor and the aromatherapy oils. And most ships deliver pretty well—but here, I felt more like I was in a doctor’s office. Maybe they were just having an off day, but there were no oils being diffused and the music was more elevator than zen.

 

I had a 75-minute hot stone massage. The treatment was very nice. But the upsell pressure was worse than usual,  both for products and additional services. You can usually sidestep that to some degree if you say in your intake form that you have no health concerns whatsoever and you’re only there to relax. Unfortunately that’s not an option for me, since it would be unsafe to not disclose some medical facts. Usually a polite but firm “thank you but I’m not interested” will do the trick, but my goodness, this gal would not let it go. I eventually just stopped responding to her. I DO NOT LIKE TO BE RUDE and it felt awful. 🙁 So I didn’t leave feeling particularly relaxed. And, if I’m not mistaken, it was the first time I’ve ever left without an additional gratuity.

 

Oh well. I was still on a fantastic cruise on an amazing ship! 😊

 

In the next installment: dining.

[flamingos]

I'm a recumbent bike person, and the stretching/yoga class was mostly dancers, wearing masks.  🙂  Only one morning out of 5 did I have to wait for a bike.   I didn't even notice the lack of locker rooms, since I do not use them.   And I haven't gotten a  massage on Royal ships for 20 years because the upsell is sooooo annoying.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

3 minutes ago, flamingos said:

I'm a recumbent bike person, and the stretching/yoga class was mostly dancers, wearing masks.  🙂  Only one morning out of 5 did I have to wait for a bike.   I didn't even notice the lack of locker rooms, since I do not use them.   And I haven't gotten a  massage on Royal ships for 20 years because the upsell is sooooo annoying.

Oh good, I'm glad you usually didn't have to wait! One in five is pretty good odds. 😉 Hopefully they won't be blocking off equipment by the time the passenger load gets back to normal.

 

And yeah ... that upsell ... UGH. 😑 It's been a really long time since it's been that bad, but it sure left a bad taste in my mouth. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Dining

We ate in the MDR, Windjammer, Café 270, Solarium Bistro, Sorrento’s, Promenade Café, El Loco Fresh and Giovanni’s. I’ll break them down individually:

 

Main Dining Room

Now, for an extremely unpopular opinion: I am a loud and proud fan of the MDR! 😁 Usually when people tell you they don’t buy a dining package because they’re happy with the MDR, they add “but I’m not much of a foodie.” Well … I eat in the MDR precisely because I am a foodie! Let me ‘splain. 😉

 

I’ve spent a good chunk of my adult life in Western Europe, primarily France and Southern Italy. And when I have the chance to eat escargots à la Bourguignonne, soupe à l’oignon, crème brûlée  and a cheese plate every single night if I choose to?!?  YES PLEASE!! 😍 Not to mention the pot de crème (I believe they call it dark chocolate custard) which is equally divine. Full disclosure, though: a couple of other things that are theoretically French are not authentic and not especially tasty in my opinion, most notably the seafood puff pastry and the profiteroles. The choux are good in the profiteroles, but they don’t use pastry cream inside—it’s the whipped topping stuff that they put on everything and call it whipped cream. 😉 I’ve never had the chicken cordon bleu so I can’t speak to that.

 

The Italian dishes are a bit more hit-or-miss and seem to depend more on the chef. The lasagne al forno tends to be closer to Italian than American-style, and the Bolognese sauce is sometimes surprisingly close to the real thing—or at least the Apulia version of Bolognese, which admittedly is not where Bologna is located. 😉 The antipasti appetizer has always knocked it out of the park, and while nothing can touch an insalata caprese made with fresh Mediterranean tomatoes, I do enjoy the ship’s version too. I tried the cheese tortelloni once, but was not impressed.  

 

But that’s the thing: if you choose something that doesn’t meet your expectations, I guarantee you that someone will be around within five minutes asking you if you’re enjoying your meal. A simple “this isn’t quite what I expected,” and you have an alternate dish in front you before you know it. That hasn’t happened to me often, but when it does, I always go with the chef’s recommendation for the night and find myself thinking “Yeah, I should have trusted him in the first place.” 😉

 

I’ve occasionally seen people complaining about the service there, and that is INCOMPREHENSIBLE to me. I don’t mean to discount anybody else’s experiences, but I will say that never, on any cruise line, have I had below-average service in the dining room. Never. And it’s usually flat-out amazing.

 

Like I said, I know this is an unpopular opinion, and I respect that it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But if you’re a newish cruiser and you’ve been scared off by horror stories of the Main Dining Room, please consider giving it a try and forming your own judgement before plunging straight into an unlimited dining package.

 

Sooo, after that lengthy prologue: we had early seating in the Main Dining Room and thoroughly enjoyed it! 😄

 

Okay, that turned out to be a bit lengthier than anticipated. 😉 Let’s save the rest of the venues for the next installment…

[LuCruise]

Great review so far.  Love hearing different experiences.  

And we are in the same club....we really enjoy the MDR and rarely purchase dine in the restaurants. 

[flamingos]

45 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Great review so far.  Love hearing different experiences.  

And we are in the same club....we really enjoy the MDR and rarely purchase dine in the restaurants. 

Same.  I really love having the same waitstaff every night.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

 

And we are in the same club....we really enjoy the MDR and rarely purchase dine in the restaurants. 

 

32 minutes ago, flamingos said:

Same.  I really love having the same waitstaff every night.

Glad to know we aren't the only ones! 😊

[ChickonRules]

Great review so far! Do you know how many guests were onboard for this sailing?

[onefishtwofish]

13 minutes ago, ChickonRules said:

Great review so far! Do you know how many guests were onboard for this sailing?

Great review so far and I would like to know how many guests were on your sailing as well!

 

In the fitness center, do you know if there was a charge for the exercise classes?

 

What is the new muster system??

 

That is great for the turnaround time on the COVID test!  We too have our appts at CVS 2 days prior and hoping no issues with time getting back the results!

 

THANKS!!

[SG65CB]

1 hour ago, onefishtwofish said:

What is the new muster system??

 

In the RC app there are some safety videos you need to watch. Then, at your convenience after you have boarded, you stop by your muster station and find the person with a clipboard. They will ask if you have watched the videos, and check you off the list. That's it, you have completed the muster drill and are free to go.

[perfect match]

I’m very much enjoying your perspective on Odyssey! While I enjoy all the reviews I read here, it’s certainly refreshing to read one that more closely aligns with our usual cruise experience. That said, I will admit that after reading some reviews that were very different from our usual cruise experiences I have been inspired to venture out and try some things I might not have thought of doing on my own, and have enjoyed most of them.😄

 

Thank you very much for sharing with us. I’ll definitely be following along.
 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

9 hours ago, ChickonRules said:

Great review so far! Do you know how many guests were onboard for this sailing?

 

9 hours ago, onefishtwofish said:

Great review so far and I would like to know how many guests were on your sailing as well!

 

In the fitness center, do you know if there was a charge for the exercise classes?

 

That is great for the turnaround time on the COVID test!  We too have our appts at CVS 2 days prior and hoping no issues with time getting back the results!

 

DH and I heard slightly different passenger counts from different sources, but somewhere between 3k and 3100. Supposedly that's the largest number the Odyssey has had so far. It still felt manageable most of the time and in most places, but it did make me wonder if I would enjoy the Quantum class on a fully booked sailing. 

 

Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the policies for the exercise classes, but I know that in the past, there has been a charge for some of them (spinning for example) but the yoga/stretching ones were complimentary.

 

And yes, the CVS experience couldn't have gone any better!! I was still glad to have a backup appointment, though, even though testing seems to be a lot more readily available these days. I guess I was scarred by reading about people who had CVS and/or Walgreens cancel on them at the last minute. 😉

[julzcruizes]

On 2/27/2022 at 8:29 PM, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Every other machine is currently blocked off, which isn’t a big deal for the treadmills since there are plenty.

Did this apply to the weights equipment too or just cardio machines? Haha I am imagining because normally there is only one of each weight machine type sooo logically and hopefully they leave them all open. Our gyms for a good portion of covid here were like that and it was annoying - saw some people literally fight over an elliptical.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

11 hours ago, julzcruizes said:

Did this apply to the weights equipment too or just cardio machines? Haha I am imagining because normally there is only one of each weight machine type sooo logically and hopefully they leave them all open. Our gyms for a good portion of covid here were like that and it was annoying - saw some people literally fight over an elliptical.

Oh wow ... I guess some people just really, REALLY need their elliptical!  😂

I didn't notice any weight equipment blocked off, and DH didn't either, so probably not unless we both missed it somehow. 😉 

[flamingos]

20 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

 Then, at your convenience after you have boarded, you stop by your muster station and find the person with a clipboard. 

We always go right away, to get it over with.  Then, we sit in the hot tub in the Solarium and listen to the many announcements warning people that we cannot sail until everyone goes to their muster station.....

[lv2golf]

What was the sailing  capacity of the  Odyssey ? 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

2 hours ago, lv2golf said:

What was the sailing  capacity of the  Odyssey ? 

Double occupancy is about 4200, or 5500 with every berth filled.  So with somewhere between 3000 and 3100 passengers, we were well over the limits they have previously been imposing.

Edited March 2, 2022 by la_croisiere_s'amuse

[onefishtwofish]

23 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

In the RC app there are some safety videos you need to watch. Then, at your convenience after you have boarded, you stop by your muster station and find the person with a clipboard. They will ask if you have watched the videos, and check you off the list. That's it, you have completed the muster drill and are free to go.

That is great! We haven’t sailed since that change! Thanks for that info! 

[onefishtwofish]

14 hours ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

 

 

DH and I heard slightly different passenger counts from different sources, but somewhere between 3k and 3100. Supposedly that's the largest number the Odyssey has had so far. It still felt manageable most of the time and in most places, but it did make me wonder if I would enjoy the Quantum class on a fully booked sailing. 

 

Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the policies for the exercise classes, but I know that in the past, there has been a charge for some of them (spinning for example) but the yoga/stretching ones were complimentary.

 

And yes, the CVS experience couldn't have gone any better!! I was still glad to have a backup appointment, though, even though testing seems to be a lot more readily available these days. I guess I was scarred by reading about people who had CVS and/or Walgreens cancel on them at the last minute. 😉

Thanks for the info! 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Dining part 2

 

Windjammer

I’ll be honest, Windjammers tend to all blend together for me. 😉 This one seemed to have a better flow than most, though, and I really liked the addition of the ice cream bar.  We mostly ate there for a quick bite or an evening snack, so I can’t speak to what it would be like for dinner.

 

Café 270

I liked this a lot! Especially earlier in the cruise before everyone else discovered it. 😉 There wasn’t a ton of variety for lunch, just sandwiches and salads with a few pastries, but it was all delish. I particularly recommend the grilled cheeses. Between DH and I, we tried all three and they were divine.

 

Breakfast was a variety of breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal, and bagels with a variety of toppings. Also delish.

 

Solarium Bistro

For breakfast and lunch, this was essentially a mini-Windjammer. A smaller selection, of course, but worth it for the smaller crowds! Only open for lunch on sea days.

 

Evenings were completely different. That’s when they break out the traditional Mediterranean-style menu, with formal table settings, soft music and low lighting. The food itself is still served buffet style, with some individually portioned dishes and others that they put onto your plate. It is distinctly Mediterranean, though, so I would check out the menu and see if it appeals to you before you try dinner there. We thought it was delicious, but it was just for post-show appetizers & dessert so I can’t speak to the entrees.

 

El Loco Fresh

Well, some of it was good. 😊 I found the pre-made burritos rather dry and without a lot of flavor, and DH said the salsa was awful (I had the pico de gallo and it was tasty). But the quesadilla was pretty good. We decided that if we went back, we would stick to the made-to-order stuff, but we never did.

 

Sorrento’s

Pretty good pizza and some very good sides. The grilled eggplant & zucchini in particular … yummm!

 

Promenade Café

The smallest selection I recall seeing on any ship, but it was nice to know that you could get a sandwich and some cookies at any time of the day or night.

 

Giovanni’s

As I mentioned, I used to live in Southern Italy, so while I do enjoy good “Ameritalian” food, it doesn’t have the same nostalgia factor for me as it would for someone who grew up in New York with an Italian heritage. For that reason, while Giovanni’s and Jamie’s have tasty stuff, they don’t knock my socks off. However, the margherita pizza at Giovanni’s is worth a trip for me. It’s not quite an authentic pizza napolitana, but it’s close enough to make me happy!  So I was very happy to see that they sell it at Giovanni’s Wine Bar, which doesn’t require reservations and sells its items à la carte. $7 very well spent! Oh, and we also got the Nutella & banana stromboli. Not remotely authentic but absolutely heavenly. 😊

 

In the next installment: onboard activities and games.

[joand452]

Really enjoying this, and looking forward to more!  
 

We’ll be taking DH’s walker with us for the first time next month. We have an aft balcony cabin on Celebrity Apex (almost same ship as Odyssey), and we’re worried about the distance to the elevator. After a day or so, he’ll be okay and leave it in the cabin. Fortunately, we’re on Harmony the following week and are very near the elevator.