Odyssey or Wonder?

[Thisguylikestocruise]

22 minutes ago, FlatFooted Freda said:

Yep. I’d say I agree with that. 
On the Wonder now. Was on Odyssey in fall 2021. That was still pandemic era , so perhaps not a fair comparison. But way more kids on board this ship, and it seems to be geared more for families. 
Half way thru this week, I think I’d give a slight nod to Odyssey. 
Wonder does have beautiful Central Park, but for us it’s just a quick stroll. Had a bagel from Park Café this morning. Can’t say it was anything really special. 
Cost of Wonder was also maybe double, but that may be more of a 2023 vs 2021 thing. 
Overall though, don’t sweat that decision. They’re both great. 

If you’re on now, I think there’s a lot of kids because of a Jewish celebration. That’s why solarium bistro has been closed. 

[taglovestocruise]

Over 50 nights on Oasis Class. 17 nights on Quantum Class last year. We are both over 70 and will agree on every negative post about Quantum Class. Ship feels small and narrow, Esplanade is a joke compared to Oasis Class Promenade, separate dining rooms are blah at best. Shows were not nearly as enjoyable as Oasis Class shows. Crew were fantastic, ships in pristine condition. Twice and done for us. Looking forward to our next Oasis Class transatlantic. 

[orville99]

52 minutes ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

If you’re on now, I think there’s a lot of kids because of a Jewish celebration. That’s why solarium bistro has been closed. 

That was last week - 1/15 to 1/22. This weeks sailing should be back to normal operations.

[FlatFooted Freda]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

That was last week - 1/15 to 1/22. This weeks sailing should be back to normal operations.

Apparently still going on. Others have mentioned Yeshiva week ( forgive if spelled incorrectly pls). Certainly the most kids I’ve seen on a January cruise. Again, different vibe from Odyssey , but could be many factors to that. 

[orville99]

10 hours ago, FlatFooted Freda said:

Apparently still going on. Others have mentioned Yeshiva week ( forgive if spelled incorrectly pls). Certainly the most kids I’ve seen on a January cruise. Again, different vibe from Odyssey , but could be many factors to that. 

We were on the Yeshiva week cruise last week. There were more than 600 people participating, and quite honestly it was the most peaceful and calm cruise we have ever been on.

[FlatFooted Freda]

36 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We were on the Yeshiva week cruise last week. There were more than 600 people participating, and quite honestly it was the most peaceful and calm cruise we have ever been on.

Large contingent on the Wonder. Certainly all well behaved. Some one on CC posted that Yeshiva week was kinda sorta like spring break for Jewish schools. We’ve been on another ship in March - US typical spring break time. I made a note to self - never again. Despite the Wonder having such large capacity ( or, perhaps because of ), this sailing is “calmer”.

[orville99]

1 minute ago, FlatFooted Freda said:

Large contingent on the Wonder. Certainly all well behaved. Some one on CC posted that Yeshiva week was kinda sorta like spring break for Jewish schools. We’ve been on another ship in March - US typical spring break time. I made a note to self - never again. Despite the Wonder having such large capacity ( or, perhaps because of ), this sailing is “calmer”.

Are you on Wonder this week? Just curious if it is as calm (passenger wise) as it was last week.

[zoepipes]

On 1/25/2023 at 9:34 AM, GlasgowCruiser01 said:

I love the Oasis Class and have done all 5, with several on the Harmony in particular. I can't quite put my finger on why but for me, Wonder did have a very different vibe to the other 4 and I didn't care much for the layout changes. Had a good time but after going back to the Oasis, it kinda reaffirmed that I feel more at home on her sister ships.

 

For the OP - I'd recommend Odyssey. Since you've already done Symphony & Allure, Odyssey would give you something a bit different whilst still having plenty to do. I enjoyed my Odyssey cruise a lot. Key thing is to set your expectations accordingly - Quantum & Oasis Class are chalk and cheese and offer completely different things so I wouldn't go on Odyssey expecting much from an Oasis Class.

What are the layout changes on Wonder?  We've been on Allure, Oasis and Harmony and have loved that class of ship and are scheduled for Wonder in May.

 

Just got off of Odyssey.   Loved Two70 area - great place to get away during the day - floor to ceiling windows, lots of seating areas and tables.  Unless you were chair hog in the solarium, all the lounges were taken, either by people or towels, by 8 a.m. - ha!  and it was lacking outdoor tables.  Didn't care for the separate dining room areas.  Contrary to what I keep hearing, we loved The Book.  No, it really didn't have a "story" that I understood, but there was so much talent there.  We actually enjoyed the Windjammer - it was never so crowded you couldn't find a seat.  

 

 

[zoepipes]

On 1/25/2023 at 9:34 AM, GlasgowCruiser01 said:

I love the Oasis Class and have done all 5, with several on the Harmony in particular. I can't quite put my finger on why but for me, Wonder did have a very different vibe to the other 4 and I didn't care much for the layout changes. Had a good time but after going back to the Oasis, it kinda reaffirmed that I feel more at home on her sister ships.

 

For the OP - I'd recommend Odyssey. Since you've already done Symphony & Allure, Odyssey would give you something a bit different whilst still having plenty to do. I enjoyed my Odyssey cruise a lot. Key thing is to set your expectations accordingly - Quantum & Oasis Class are chalk and cheese and offer completely different things so I wouldn't go on Odyssey expecting much from an Oasis Class.

I wish Cruisecritic would give you the option of deleting your own post - this was posted in error twice 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by zoepipes

[Ocean Boy]

19 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

DW has opined about the Odyssey and Carnival's Mardi Gras that there were too many scooters and wheelchairs everywhere!😮😆  Full disclosure: we're both in our 70s!

Is that really a ship issue? Seems like a passenger issue that could happen on any ship depending on the passenger mix. 

[FlatFooted Freda]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

Are you on Wonder this week? Just curious if it is as calm (passenger wise) as it was last week.

Wasn’t on last week ( sadly, would love to do a B2B), so can’t compare. But I’d say very calm respectful pax mix this week. Haven’t noticed any crazies!

[crewsweeper]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Is that really a ship issue? Seems like a passenger issue that could happen on any ship depending on the passenger mix. 

Said iin part in jest.  But yes it's  a ship issue when scooters block the passageways  because not enough room in cabin  for vehicle  and not enough handicap cabins to handle the crowd.

[orville99]

10 minutes ago, FlatFooted Freda said:

Haven’t noticed any crazies

I think they all got off on the 15th. That cruise was very rowdy and slovenly. The pool deck constantly looked like a garbage dump, with food plates, empty drink glasses, and trash everywhere, and the staff couldn’t keep up no matter how hard they tried.

[orville99]

1 minute ago, crewsweeper said:

Said iin part in jest.  But yes it's  a ship issue when scooters block the passageways  because not enough room in cabin  for vehicle  and not enough handicap cabins to handle the crowd.

Staff were moving, parking, and charging them out of the way of the hallways in the evening and bringing them back to the cabin in the morning when the passengers needed them on our last few cruises.

[PhillyFan33579]

I have sailed on both ships several times. I like both ships but if I had to pick one, I would go with Odyssey.

[orville99]

On 1/26/2023 at 10:02 AM, zoepipes said:

What are the layout changes on Wonder?

These are the ones that stand out on the public areas of the ship.

 

Elimination of one Flow Rider and replaced it with a children's climbing area.

 

Elimination of one of the cantilevered hot tubs and replaced it with an outdoor bar. 

 

Eliminated the upper balcony of the solarium - it is now the Hooked restaurant

 

The solarium is now completely encased in glass - no windows to open, and no air flow anymore.

The solarium bar that was up on deck 16 is now dead center on deck 15.

 

Moved the kids splash area to where the adult pool was on other Oasis class ships and moved the pool to where the splash zone was.

 

The two pools closest to the WJ are smaller, but they made the area where there would have been deck chair seating into large wading pools.

 

With the exception of the remaining cantilevered hot tub and two of the hot tubs in the solarium, all of the remaining hot tubs now have see through glass walls and only have jets on one side. If you are going to use one of them, make sure your bathing suit fits and covers what you want covered, because you are in an aquarium in full view of everyone on the pool deck.

 

Stadium seating on the pool deck facing the WJ entrance and the giant TV screen that hovers over Central Park

 

WJ moved from deck 16 to deck 15, so deck 15 dead ends at the WJ elevator entrance.

Deck 16 now dead ends at the solarium because the space is now a restaurant

[zoepipes]

38 minutes ago, orville99 said:

These are the ones that stand out on the public areas of the ship.

 

Elimination of one Flow Rider and replaced it with a children's climbing area.

 

Elimination of one of the cantilevered hot tubs and replaced it with an outdoor bar. 

 

Eliminated the upper balcony of the solarium - it is now the Hooked restaurant

 

The solarium is now completely encased in glass - no windows to open, and no air flow anymore.

The solarium bar that was up on deck 16 is now dead center on deck 15.

 

Moved the kids splash area to where the adult pool was on other Oasis class ships and moved the pool to where the splash zone was.

 

The two pools closest to the WJ are smaller, but they made the area where there would have been deck chair seating into large wading pools.

 

With the exception of the remaining cantilevered hot tub and two of the hot tubs in the solarium, all of the remaining hot tubs now have see through glass walls and only have jets on one side. If you are going to use one of them, make sure your bathing suit fits and covers what you want covered, because you are in an aquarium in full view of everyone on the pool deck.

 

Stadium seating on the pool deck facing the WJ entrance and the giant TV screen that hovers over Central Park

 

WJ moved from deck 16 to deck 15, so deck 15 dead ends at the WJ elevator entrance.

Deck 16 now dead ends at the solarium because the space is now a restaurant

That's quite a few changes!

[orville99]

1 hour ago, zoepipes said:

That's quite a few changes!

And that is only a partial list. Those are the highly visible outdoor changes, but there are a lot of smaller differences as well.

Edited January 28, 2023 by orville99

[topanga49er]

There is a dedicated suite sundeck too; not sure if that was on Symphony.  

 

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, topanga49er said:

There is a dedicated suite sundeck too; not sure if that was on Symphony.  

 

There is one on every Oasis class ship, but on Wonder  they moved it from above the solarium to the back of the ship on deck 18 behind the stacks, and turned the old suite sundeck area into a teen sundeck.

[Bradleygirl]

On 1/25/2023 at 8:09 AM, msuspartabigten said:

We just did that Odyssey southern cruise over Thanksgiving and we're doing Wonder in 3 1/2 weeks. We have done Allure in the past though. 

I think that both are unique enough that it's really tough to compare. I loved Aruba and Curacao though. Our Wonder cruise has (imo) not desirable ports but we're doing to for the ship.

My kids loved Odyssey (actually did it twice in 2022) but personally, I prefer the Oasis class. 
Bottom line is I'm really no help lol but you can't go wrong with either. 

 

[Bradleygirl]

I have two children in their 20's.  I am torn between the Odyssey and the Wonder of the Seas. Can you comment on your Wonder of Seas now that you have done both?  My kids like to have fun and party.  Thank you.

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Bradleygirl said:

My kids like to have fun and party.

Welcome to CC.

They can do that on both - set the app to each ship's current sailing and look at the activities offered to see what's more appealing.

[Joseph2017China]

1st. Ports

2nd. Price

3rd. Ship

 

Pretty easy.  I pick where I want to go, than the price, and than what available ship.  There are things I like about every ship in the fleet, and things I don't like.  But the bottom line, is that I am going to go where I want, and enjoy every evening on the ship.

[Thisguylikestocruise]

3 hours ago, Bradleygirl said:

I have two children in their 20's.  I am torn between the Odyssey and the Wonder of the Seas. Can you comment on your Wonder of Seas now that you have done both?  My kids like to have fun and party.  Thank you.

Can’t go wrong with either one. They both are loaded with activities. It’s a matter of preference. Wonder: Aqua theater, boardwalk, zip lines, ice rink which turns into a night club, water slides, huge dry slide, Central Park. Odyssey: SeaPlex sports area with bumper cars, ifly, North Star. Both have silent discos.