Odyssey of the Seas - Nov. 11th - Nov. 19th review

[Concord Slim]

Figured I'd do a quick review of our Odyssey cruise.  Please let me know if you have any questions...

 

On the cruise was my wife, 12 year old son, myself and my mother and father in law who stayed in a balcony room.  My wife, son and I stayed in the Owners Loft Suite which is 1 of 5 star class cabins on Odyssey.  We traveled down the night before and spent the night at the Marriot in Ft. Lauderdale and hit our usual spot with dinner at Coconuts, which is a must try if you've never eaten there.  Unfortunately, my son dislocated and fractured his elbow at wrestling practice 3 nights before we were set to leave for the cruise.  We were very nervous as the ortho doctor thought he'd need surgery which then would have led to us canceling the cruise, however we saw the specialist the next day and he said it was put back into place perfectly and there were no floating pieces of bone or anything so surgery wouldn't be required.  My son was not able to use the bumper cars, sky diving tube, water slides, surf machine, etc. so that sucked but my wife and I still took advantage of everything so it is what it is, just glad we were all able to go...  

 

Embarking/Debarking: This was the first cruise after the transatlantic so boarding didn't start until 12noon but Monica our Genie told us to arrive at around 11:30 which we did, we were immediately escorted to the star class waiting area and waited maybe 10 minutes before boarding.  Monica allowed us to include my mother and father in law so they boarded with us.  Very seamless process.  On the last day Monica met us at our room and escorted us off and we were off within minutes to catch our ride to the airport so very good experience on the front and back end...

 

Room:  Certainly one of the highlights of the cruise and why we booked star class.  The room was incredible as it's an aft room with 3 balconies, one on the back and two on the side.  The room had plenty of space and allowed us to have nice gatherings there for drinks, snacks, watching football, etc.  The view from the loft and in bed is absolutely incredible.  There were some fit and finish issues with the room which surprised me given the age of the ship.  On day 3 the handle for the back balcony door came off when we tried to open it, maintenance came up within minutes but it took about an hour to fix.  Wooden floor was pretty beat up, some stains in the carpet, and some spots on walls and ceilings.  No biggie but figured I'd mention it.  Overall, the room was incredible though especially the views.  I have a ton of pictures so if anyone wants to see let me know and I'll post more...

 

Food:  Given we were star class we had the dining package and my in-law's purchased as well so we did not eat at the MDR at all.  We did eat lunch once in 270 and it was fine.  Just had a soup and sandwich.  Giovani's was incredible and we ate there three times, the filet there is better than chops w/o a doubt.  The service and food were great.  I had the filet one night, chicken parm the one night and lasagna.  Plenty of aps and the cannoli's for desert were very good.  We ate at Chops twice and almost canceled the second night but Monica asked us to give them a chance to make up for the first night.  The service was very very slow, the food was average at best and my filet was a little tough even after asking for medium-rare.  The lobster were smothered in sauce which almost made them inedible.  We all were very disappointed and we're honestly not picky eaters as this was the only bad meal the entire cruise.  The second time I could tell they were determined to make up for it and it didn't disappoint.  I had the rack of lamb and it was awesome and the rest had steak and all said it was very good and cooked perfectly.  We all had lobster and they removed the sauce and they were very good.  Overall, we were happy we went back and had a good meal but we'd have been fine with eating somewhere else.  We ate at Teppanyaki twice and it was very good, typical hibachi so not much to say other than it was good.  Chefs made it entertaining and we had good table mates but both times they were fairly quiet which is fine.  My son really likes eating here and again the food is good so I'm fine with the experience as well.  We ate lunch at Playmakers three times and there were others complaining about service but it was great for us and the wings, jalapeno poppers, burgers, nachos, etc were all very good.  We ate there to watch football and just enjoy ourselves which we did.  Lot of people hover waiting for tables since it's first come first serve.  Monica had reserved our table and I could tell some weren't happy when we strolled up and got seated there and they weren't allowed to use the table.  Overall, very good food and experience though.  We also had sushi at Izumi three times and that was great.  Awesome service and the sushi was very good.  I had the rice, veggy and meat bowl once and it was very good as well.  My wife, mother in law and I ate at Wonderland and really enjoyed it, quite the experience.  I didn't like the deconstructed tomato or olives but enjoyed everything else.  It was certainly worth trying as we haven't before on any of our cruises but glad we did, not sure we'll do it again.  We enjoyed the liquid lobster so much and "O" the manager told us if we want anything off the menu just to ask so we were at Giovani's the next night and I was telling my father in law and son about it and asked the head waiter there if we could get it.  They were kind enough to run down and grab it for us and "O" came down to personally serve it to us which was really cool, part of the benefit of star class I suppose... lol  We ate breakfast in CC and lunch once and typical great CC service and food.  We normally cruise sky class and just eat at CC but given the in-laws couldn't and we got free dining with the cruise we didn't eat here for dinner.

 

Ship:  We prefer Oasis class ships but have sailed Quantum and Ovation so we know this class fairly well.  I'll say overall Odyssey is very nice and in good shape but it's only 2 years old so to be expected.  Really like the addition of playmakers into the sports complex.  270 is always a treat.  Just miss Central Park that Oasis ships have...  To me this ship is more suited for cold weather with more in door activities and such, we took Ovation to Alaska and again think it fits better for a cruise to a climate like that.  Ship never seemed crowded and I believe it was 94% full or that is what we were told.  Elevators were readily available but the new touchless buttons had us stopping at a lot of unintended decks.  lol  Lot of walking with our room at the back of the ship but no biggie.  Suite lounge is nice and I thought had a better feel than the one on Ovation.  Music Hall and other lounges are all very nice.  We loved the whine bar and met there for a pre dinner drink every night and the staff there was awesome!    

 

Ports: We stopped at CoCo Cay which we always enjoy.  My son and I had booked the water park($83 PP which I thought was good given some of the other rates I've seen) but with my son's injury we swapped it to my wife and her and I were first off the ship thanks to Monica and within an hour we did probably 15-20 runs and were good... Looks like they're adding another slide or two to the park as their was construction going on.  Slides were fun for sure...  We really liked the big raft one and the drop ones were pretty intense!  We spent some time in the wave pool and then met up with the rest of the family and just chilled on the beach until mid day and then got back on the ship.  We like this stop as it's just relaxing and will probably be the only stop we get off the ship on when we cruise Icon.  In Aruba we shopped the town and hit one of the hotels and chilled there for an hour or so and then just explored, we'd been to Aruba before and didn't book an excursion so more just leisurely exploring...  Was pretty much the only day we got rain that I can remember, it would pour for 10 minutes and then be sunny but that's the Caribbean for you.  Was very hot and humid and we walked a ton which helped burn off some of the food!  lol  I really prefer Curaco over Aruba...  Next day we hit Curaco and again didn't have anything booked so we just walked around and explored town and hit some local eateries, bars and even an awesome ice cream store where I had a very good pistachio milk shake.  Did a lot of sight seeing, shopping and walking and again it was very hot at 89.  Great port as I really like Curaco and it's to walk around and see stuff in town.  

 

Entertainment:  Effectors was ok, certainly great visuals and effects but not the greatest show IMO.  Book was very good but lacked a true plot that tied everything together but the effects and dancers were incredible.  Showgirls was good and we enjoyed the singing and dancing, my inlays really liked this one.  My favorite was the show in 270 were they cover the background on 270 and the Cruise Director walks you through everything.  They played some awesome videos like a tribute to John Williams, my son and I are Star Wars geeks so that was really cool!  The Oceanides video was pretty awesome as well...  This is a much see show IMO and it wasn't very packed so I think many missed it.  My wife and in-laws did the Tenors or whatever it was called but Wilhelm and I skipped it to watch football... lol  Overall, good but not great entertainment...  We're excited to see the shows on Icon especially the Wizard of Oz.  Outside of 270 Oasis class ships offer so much more with the ice skating shows, Broadway shows, and diving shows...  Just my opinion of course...  

 

Activities: We did the usual bumper cars which were fine and it's nice not having to wait in line.  We used our free hour of the surf machine and it was literally just my wife and I, none of the other suites participated.  We did use the full hour and I was pretty sore the next day... lol  Nice perk for sure...  We did the north star in CoCo Cay which was cool to get that perspective on the island.  Wife did I-fly and enjoyed it, I didn't as I separated my shoulder as a kid and it bothered me when we did it on Ovation this past summer.  Suite deck/area was nice and there were always chairs available even seemed that way outside the suite area.  I did notice a lot of unbooked casitas or whatever they call them which I thought was interesting, must be a pricing issue.  Hot tubs were nice and warm, never overcrowded and my wife was able to swim laps in the pool in the later afternoon.  There weren't a ton of kids on the cruise given the time we went.  Overall, we were pretty laid back and just chilled most of the time given my son's injury and traveling with my in-laws.  

 

Genie:  Monica was great and is a very nice person, once in a while she seemed rushed but we're very low maintenance and really didn't even need a "Genie"...  We are planners so we had everything laid out and she made all the reservations for us so that was nice.  She met us before lunch and dinner everyday and chatted with us and made sure we got our table w/o any delay.  She got us a bridge tour which we enjoyed and have done before, my son got to "drive" the ship in open waters, the captain was the best and Monica said she'd never seen him let anyone do that before, think he felt bad for him being in a sling.  lol  Neat experience...  Monica got us prime seats for every show, and we didn't need to arrive super early since she had seats set aside, we let her pick what she felt were the best locations and such...  Monica also arranged a cake and decorated our room for my mother in laws 78th birthday which was really cool and we did appreciate that!  She also included them in everything with no additional cost don't think she broke any rules so to say but never an issue with getting them in with us and no extra costs on food or anything so that was nice...  Overall, no issues with her service and again very nice lady but we are fine with sky class and using the concierge when needed.  

 

Overall, it was a great cruise and we loved the room and time with family.  Can't wait to do Icon in Feb. in a sky class suite!  Let me know if you have any questions or want to see any specific pictures as I have a ton... lol

[massfamilyof4]

This is a great review! Thank you. How I wish I could cruise in a suite! Maybe someday...goals! Silly little question. Did you notice if there was Cornhole on the ship? 

[Concord Slim]

55 minutes ago, massfamilyof4 said:

This is a great review! Thank you. How I wish I could cruise in a suite! Maybe someday...goals! Silly little question. Did you notice if there was Cornhole on the ship? 

 

Thanks!  The aft suites are truly awesome with the views and we love the layout...  Yes, there was cornhole in that dome thing in the back of the ship that used to have trampolines.  They also set boards up in the seaplex several times.  

[massfamilyof4]

4 hours ago, Concord Slim said:

 

Thanks!  The aft suites are truly awesome with the views and we love the layout...  Yes, there was cornhole in that dome thing in the back of the ship that used to have trampolines.  They also set boards up in the seaplex several times.  

Thank you so. much for getting back to me! My hubby will be so happy 😉