RCI Odyssey or Celebrity Beyond

[djnj]

We are looking for a transatlantic cruise for next Spring and these are the two we are down to> we have been on 4 Royal Caribbean cruises but never on the Odyssey, on the other hand we have never been on a Celerbrity cruise. Anyone who has been on both, if you could give me some advice i would really appreciate it!

we are a group of 8, 2 seniors and the rest are 20-30. Celebrity has some really great perks right now, but will the younger crown miss all that RCI has to offer?

Thank You!

[basenji56]

Do you like a real balcony?  Odessey has almost all real balconies, Beyond has mostly infinite verandas.

I think Odessey has more to do for young active people.

What is the price difference per day?

Odessey "feels" a lot like a Celebrity Solstice class ship.  

How does the itinerary differ?

I have sailed on both.  Would sail on either but sailed on Odessey twice this year because the balcony is important to me.

[PhillyFan33579]

Based on your ages alone, I would go with RCI. As a general rule, RCI ships have a lot more activities going on during the day and especially at night. However, if you want a more relaxed atmosphere with a little more pampering and better food (this is just my opinion…food is very subjective) I would go on Celebrity.  

[djnj]

the itinerary's are very similar, the price is a bit better on Celebrity, because of the perks. We always get balcony cabins and it is a important part for us also, and having never been on a infinate veranda, I dont know if I will like it or not. Thank you for your answer

[PhillyFan33579]

2 minutes ago, djnj said:

the itinerary's are very similar, the price is a bit better on Celebrity, because of the perks. We always get balcony cabins and it is a important part for us also, and having never been on a infinate veranda, I dont know if I will like it or not. Thank you for your answer

 
I have stayed in an infinite verandas a few times.  Personally I like these cabins because they make the cabin bigger. However, I wouldn’t call them a balcony. It’s more like being in a room at home and you have the ability to open a large window in your room. Also, depending on wind, rain or other issues, the windows are often locked and cannot be lowered/opened. 

[basenji56]

6 minutes ago, djnj said:

the itinerary's are very similar, the price is a bit better on Celebrity, because of the perks. We always get balcony cabins and it is a important part for us also, and having never been on a infinate veranda, I dont know if I will like it or not. Thank you for your answer

Odessey is a lovely almost brand new ship.  I love it.  Especially on a Transatlantic because it draws a younger crowd without many kids.

[basenji56]

5 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 
I have stayed in an infinite verandas a few times.  Personally I like these cabins because they make the cabin bigger. However, I wouldn’t call them a balcony. It’s more like being in a room at home and you have the ability to open a large window in your room. Also, depending on wind, rain or other issues, the windows are often locked and cannot be lowered/opened. 

Many people seem to love the IVs.  The problem with trying them for the first time on a Transatlantic (if you are among the many who don't like them), is that you are stuck with them for two weeks.

 

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Many people seem to love the IVs.  The problem with trying them for the first time on a Transatlantic (if you are among the many who don't like them), is that you are stuck with them for two weeks.

 

A TA may actually be the best situation for an IV.  As it's often too cool or windy on a true balcony.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Many people seem to love the IVs.  The problem with trying them for the first time on a Transatlantic (if you are among the many who don't like them), is that you are stuck with them for two weeks.

 

Friends I have cruised with who didn’t like the IVs are ones who like to drink coffee and/or breakfast in the morning on a balcony and have a glass of wine at night on the balcony. As much as I personally like IVs, I can’t argue that point. We had a cruise booked on Apex earlier this year that we changed to Wonder, because the couple we were traveling with love being on their balcony and they did not like the IV when we were on Alex in early 2022. 

[PhillyFan33579]

3 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

A TA may actually be the best situation for an IV.  As it's often too cool or windy on a true balcony.

Personally I agree with you, but I know people who wouldn’t want to be in an IV with the window being locked due to the weather. From my limited experience, the weather doesn’t have to be that bad for the windows to be locked. 

[basenji56]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Friends I have cruised with who didn’t like the IVs are ones who like to drink coffee and/or breakfast in the morning on a balcony and have a glass of wine at night on the balcony. As much as I personally like IVs, I can’t argue that point. We had a cruise booked on Apex earlier this year that we changed to Wonder, because the couple we were traveling with love being on their balcony and they did not like the IV when we were on Alex in early 2022. 

Count me among one of them.  I never go to the pool.  I live the privacy of sitting on the veranda for several hours of the day feeling the sea breeze.  If you are a pool person or a person who doesn't like to sit on the veranda, the extra space makes an IV a better choice.

[basenji56]

6 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

A TA may actually be the best situation for an IV.  As it's often too cool or windy on a true balcony.

I guess it depends on the time of the year.  I did a TA on Odessey in April and used the veranda every day, almost all day--even in the evenings.  But I may be more hot-natured than others.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Count me among one of them.  I never go to the pool.  I live the privacy of sitting on the veranda for several hours of the day feeling the sea breeze.  If you are a pool person or a person who doesn't like to sit on the veranda, the extra space makes an IV a better choice.

I am missing something here. How can you enjoy the veranda and sea breeze when you can’t lower the window? Or maybe I just had the bad luck to be on cruises when the windows were locked for a good portion of the day/night every day of the cruise. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by PhillyFan33579

[basenji56]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I am missing something here. How can you enjoy the veranda and sea breeze when you can’t lower the window? Or maybe I just had the bad luck to be on cruises when the windows were locked for a good portion of the day/night every day of the cruise. 

I am talking about Odessey which has real verandas.  

[PhillyFan33579]

1 minute ago, basenji56 said:

I am talking about Odessey which has real verandas.  

 
Ok, that makes a lot more sense. I obviously misread your comment. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by PhillyFan33579

[Another_Critic]

15 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I guess it depends on the time of the year.  I did a TA on Odessey in April and used the veranda every day, almost all day--even in the evenings.  But I may be more hot-natured than others.

Not only the time of year, but the route.  I did a TA in May and it was cool and windy most days.  So, YMMV.

[basenji56]

12 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Not only the time of year, but the route.  I did a TA in May and it was cool and windy most days.  So, YMMV.

TAs are inherently risky.  Both because of the nature of crossing the ocean but because they sail in spring and fall.  I have been very lucky on my eight TAs.  Only one has rough seas or cold weather.  But the ship *one day* behind my TA this year, had much worse weather. 

[kwokpot]

34 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I am missing something here. How can you enjoy the veranda and sea breeze when you can’t lower the window? Or maybe I just had the bad luck to be on cruises when the windows were locked for a good portion of the day/night every day of the cruise. 

Were you on a TA ? On a standard Caribbean cruise I can't imagine that the IV window was locked the majority of the time during a 7 day cruise. We did a 9 day repositioning of the Beyond this past October from Bayonne to Ft. Lauderdale and the window was NEVER locked once during the whole 9 days.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 minute ago, kwokpot said:

Were you on a TA ? On a standard Caribbean cruise I can't imagine that the IV window was locked the majority of the time during a 7 day cruise. We did a 9 day repositioning of the Beyond this past October from Bayonne to Ft. Lauderdale and the window was NEVER locked once during the whole 9 days.

Last time I was in one was on Apex last year. I never spend time in my cabin during the day, but a couple we were traveling with said their window was locked every day for at least part of the afternoon. They were told by guest services that any time the wind exceeds a certain speed (I have no idea what that is the speed), the windows are automatically locked. They also locked them every time it was raining. 

[basenji56]

8 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Last time I was in one was on Apex last year. I never spend time in my cabin during the day, but a couple we were traveling with said their window was locked every day for at least part of the afternoon. They were told by guest services that any time the wind exceeds a certain speed (I have no idea what that is the speed), the windows are automatically locked. They also locked them every time it was raining. 

The first reason makes sense because the reason for infinite verandas is to reduce drag and save fuel for Celebrity.  Wind above a certain level would increase drag from windows.  Rather than admitting that the purpose is to reduce drag from real verandas, Celebrity sells infinite verandas as an enhancement to the cruise experience.

 

[Crazy planning mom]

Beyond does have aft balconies called sunset verandas but they sell out frequently.

Sailing on the Apex next year.  We have a porthole veranda and my cousin has a sunset veranda.

[dani negreanu]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Based on your ages alone, I would go with RCI. As a general rule, RCI ships have a lot more activities going on during the day and especially at night. However, if you want a more relaxed atmosphere with a little more pampering and better food (this is just my opinion…food is very subjective) I would go on Celebrity.  

 

+ 1 👍

[4js]

We did both beyond and odyssey this year.  We were on the odyssey transatlantic and loved it. We enjoyed the beyond and it was beautiful. I felt that there was so much more to do on the odyssey 

[Norwich Cruiser]

Celebrity Beyond is a truly beautiful ship which we have only cruised on one occasion and would have no hesitation in sailing on her again.

 

However our preference is for Odyssey as we found more to keep us entertained.

 

I honestly don’t think you could wrong with either.

[little britain]

I find the Edge ships akin to being in a very upmarket over stylised boutique hotel; without a comfortable chair in sight! Everything is just sooo perfect to look at; but too much bland colours, and there aren’t enough bars!  The IVs are little more than an OV. 

I went on Apex twice because I couldn’t believe how much I disliked the ship the first time round!!

 

That said; the 4 dining room concept is great, and the only decent cabins are SVs.

 

Stick with Odyssey. Get a starboard side room for the sun on an eastbound TA. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by little britain