Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on Odyssey of the Seas Sailing to A Minus B Plus C Plus H Islands

[harryfat1]

Greetings! This is my trip report from our family’s vacation on the Odyssey of the Seas 8-day cruise to Southern Caribbean from December 23 to December 31. I called this posting a “trip report” instead of a “cruise review” because, in my opinion, I am not qualified to do a professional review. This is just a summary of what our family experienced during our vacation time – Days of our lives, so to speak.

 

Keep in mind when I say “trip” report and not “cruise” report. This means you will be taken along for a ride for the entire trip process, not just the cruise portion. It’s the mailman version of the vacation resort, stopping off at each and many detailed points that may be of no interest to the veteran cruisers. Another way to look at it in cruising terms is having to suffer through some idiot pressing every number on the elevator between decks 2 and 12 and you have to watch the elevator door open and close on every deck instead of going all the way to the top….

 

Background – We are a family of 4 on this cruise consisting of my wife, 2 boys, and myself.  For those that have read my previous trip report, we sometimes travel with my in-laws but they didn’t sail with us this time. My wife and I are both CPAs (aka bean counters – yeah, we have very boring mealtime conversations talking about tax law changes and we wonder why our boys tune us out) so I will have more numbers-related discussions than most people care to read.

 

Bias – Everyone has a bias on their preferences when it comes to cruises & life in general. The key is to identify the bias and discount the bias versus fact. We like the big ships, the bigger the better. Our best cruise was on the Allure of the Seas – an Oasis-class mega-ship. You will see that bias in my report. That’s just our preference, but certainly will not be everyone’s preference so discount it any way you deem necessary.

 

This format is the same format as previous reports as I typically throw in some random pictures in the first few introductory posts in what I considered highlights of the trip.  Similar to movie trailers that give you a quick overview of the cruise but not giving you any details.  For that, you would need to stick around for a while to read through my various posts. 

 

On the other hand, if you think the pictures in the next few posts suck, then go ahead and hit the return arrow on your browser as the future pictures won’t get any better than these first few sets.

 

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Dude, who cares about your background? I’m not interested in hiring you for a job.  Hurry up and show us your cruise pictures already.

I’m frustrated in trying to find a reasonable price for my next RCI cruise as I have spent numerous hours/days/weeks/months clicking on every dang RCI sales promotion that is not really a sales at all.  These inflated prices suck.  I wish my stock portfolio could go up as fast as these cruise prices.

With the way Icon and Star of the Seas are being priced, all my stocks need to double in price before I even think of booking a sailing on those….

 

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[harryfat1]

To borrow a phrase from the old Capital One TV ad – what is in your cruise? To me, a cruise vacation is the ultimate buffet of vacations. There are many ways to enjoy a cruise vacation and just like eating in a buffet, people will have different experiences from their cruise even on the same sailing. Just a matter of personal preference on how you approach your cruise.

 

For us, our preferences on a cruise are based on the 3 E’s:

 

• Entertainment
• Experience a new ship/port
• Enrichment/Fulfillment in seeing the awesome spectacle of nature

 

Notice that “relaxation” is not on the list. Being cheap, I want to maximize my dollar value when I go on vacation. I didn’t spend thousands of dollars and spend hours on a plane/car just to relax on a vacation. I can relax and sleep for free in front of the TV on the weekend in my living room. I vacation to see and experience different things. So that’s the bias of this trip report.

 

We take a lot of pictures on vacation. It’s from something I read a while back which has become my motto – the most expensive picture on the vacation is the one that you didn’t take.

 

Essentially the thought is that you have spent a lot of money/time/effort to get to wherever your vacation spots are and you don’t want to go home and think – dang, I should have taken a picture ZZZ while I was on vacation. Even if you can go back later on, at the extra cost, the lighting/mood/people will be different and you may never be able to recreate the same atmosphere so when in doubt, take the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Life is all about setting expectations.  If you set too high of expectations and things don’t turn out as expected, you are disappointed.  Whereas if you walk in with low expectations, then if anything good happens, it’s an unexpected bonus and you are happier for it.

 

If your expectation is to drop in looking for a quick synopsis of a cruise review that’s completed in a few posts, you can stop right now.  Click on the back arrow key on your web browser and move on.  This thread isn’t for you.

 

However, if you are bored at work and want a diversion to talk about cruises/road trips/donuts/lost luggage and whatever rabbit holes we might slide down to the next few weeks, pull up a chair…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Another key to writing a trip report is knowing your primary audience.  For me, I want to appeal/help out the first-time cruisers.  Even though I have cruised enough times previously, I just considered myself to be a newbie +1 cruiser. 

 

This is our first cruise on the Quantum (plus) class ship so I will try to share some info that I learned during the cruise to pass along to future newbie cruisers.

 

This cruise is right on the heels of the Navigator of the Seas cruise just 4 months before so there was a tad of redundancy (disappointment) feel on the MDR food pre-cruise but Odyssey is different enough when compared to the Voyager class ships and Holiday sailing adds extra dimension to the cruise you won’t experience the other 11 months of the year.

 

So hopefully I won’t sound too “been there done that” in this trip report

 

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Dude, I don’t care if you are a newbie or old-bie wan.  Just show me some food pictures

 

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[harryfat1]

Ahh, yes, food pictures.  Typically at this point of the introductory phase of the trip report, I go on the “cheapo spiel” saying I try to save money by only eating in the complimentary venues.  However, for this cruise, I splurge with a couple of specialty dining (albeit lunch only) and a balcony cabin (albeit VERY obstructed) view.

 

Thus the explanation for the long title of this report as I can’t call myself “cheapo dad” in this report as I had surrendered to the “dark side” and spent money above the minimal fare. So for the remainder of this report, I’ll be known as Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad (“CFKACD”)…

 

Although in my self-defense in the Cheapo Inquisition Hearing scheduled for later in the year, I spent the extra money because:

 

·       It was our 25^th anniversary so I thought maybe spending a little extra would be warranted.  To quote Homer Simpson “Give me your second least expensive champagne…”

 

·       It was a Christmas sailing so I thought the family would enjoy the new experience

 

·       The specialty meals were all lunches and with Black Friday prices, they weren’t as outrageous as the Christmas Chops dinner at “only $99.99”.  Haha, No Thank You, RCI…

 

·       Nearly impossible to find a double/double inside connection window view cabin on the Odyssey. We were lucky to find this set of cabins as is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Qextor]

Looking forwards to the ride  I always enjoy a good (formerly known as) CheapoDad trip review.

[NHProud]

Welcome back and a happy belated anniversary 🥂.  Now that you’ve crossed over to the dark side you may never go back.  

[perfect match]

CFKACD, I’m here! I’ve been patiently waiting for you to begin. I’ve been very impressed with all of your pictures so far. My favorites at this point are the Odyssey all lit up at night, that up close and personal mooring line shot, and I think that was you flying on iFly! I also loved seeing the Christmas decorations you’ve shown so far as our cruise on Odyssey was this past April, thus there were no Christmas decorations to be seen.

[harryfat1]

1 hour ago, Qextor said:

Looking forwards to the ride  I always enjoy a good (formerly known as) CheapoDad trip review.

Thanks for reading along. 

 

Never thought I'd hear the words "good" and "Cheapo Dad trip report" in the same sentence unless it was preceded by the word "Not"...🤪 

[harryfat1]

8 minutes ago, NHProud said:

Welcome back and a happy belated anniversary 🥂.  Now that you’ve crossed over to the dark side you may never go back.  

Thanks.  Good to be home.  

 

Yeah, now the wife is saying how much she enjoyed her Chops steak on Christmas Day.  Think it's a slippery slope I have started on...

[harryfat1]

10 minutes ago, perfect match said:

CFKACD, I’m here! I’ve been patiently waiting for you to begin. I’ve been very impressed with all of your pictures so far. My favorites at this point are the Odyssey all lit up at night, that up close and personal mooring line shot, and I think that was you flying on iFly! I also loved seeing the Christmas decorations you’ve shown so far as our cruise on Odyssey was this past April, thus there were no Christmas decorations to be seen.

Thanks.

 

Yeah, originally I was going to upload the pictures last weekend but got busy with real-life obligations.  Took a while to sort out the various pictures from different cell phones to see what pictures I wanted to include in the opening segments.

 

My favorite picture is the night picture of the ship as many ships sail off by 5 PM at the majority of the ports so it's not possible to see your ship all lit up at the pier.

 

The iFly picture is not me but my younger son.  I wouldn't be crazy enough to go on that as I would pull a muscle I didn't know I possessed having my body bent in the "U" shape.

 

I believe they put up the Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving and take them off after the New Year's sailing? RCI went heavy on the Christmas theme with lots of holiday-themed events. 

 

Money issue aside, I must say I enjoyed December sailings more compared to other money as it's very festive during the Holidays.  Santa was at the Windjammer daily waving to people.

 

 

[perfect match]

I wasn’t sure if that was you or one of your sons on iFly. I was hoping it was you! I did it and not only survived, I loved it! I did have some sore muscles the next day, you a good swim at Coco Cay the next day worked the soreness out nicely. I may be a lot older now than I used to be, but the thrill seeker in me is still alive and well. I have cut down some on the thrill seeking activities I take on these days. No death wish here. 

[mk907]

Super timely to run into the CFKACD report as we are headed to this ship next weekend. So excited to read more and see your lovely photos. I love the style of this report, too, so thank you! 😊 

[h20skibum]

CFKACD!   I have to carefully type that, and make sure that autocorrect didn’t change it into a banned word.

 

Good to see you posting your trip report.  I need a good read, while I am shivering here in the cold and windy conditions in Pennsylvania.   I am already questioning my decision to come home from cruising, and I am already looking to get away again.

 

Carry on, and get to work on this,  I mean it is already 5 am on the west coast, and it is a weekend.

[LuCruise]

10 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

...people will have different experiences from their cruise even on the same sailing. Just a matter of personal preference on how you approach your cruise.... 

 

This sums up exactly why I love reading other's trip reports!

 

And thus, I was very happy to sign in this morning and see your report.  I actually though of you as we were getting on the cruise following yours (don't take that as a mean comment as it meant your cruise  was ending, but I remembered that you were on the one before us). Looking forward to hearing your experiences and your thoughts on Odyssey.  Great pictures so far!  And, happy anniversary!

 

 

[GimmeOcean]

6 hours ago, mk907 said:

Super timely to run into the CFKACD report as we are headed to this ship next weekend. So excited to read more and see your lovely photos. I love the style of this report, too, so thank you! 😊 

He might be on day 2 by then…. (I kid)

 

Sailing on Odyssey next ourselves, so looking forward to reading this. 

[DigiPro]

Love your pics so far!  Looking forward to you review.

[edspec]

I've been looking forward to this.  We're on Quantum in April  so interested in hearing your opinion on this class of ship.

Yes indeed, you're on a slippery slope 🙂

[EllieinNJ]

Looking forward to your report.  We will be on her when she is in NJ next February.  We were on her sister ship Anthem once and enjoyed her very much.  Not having to fly to a cruise port is a major + and like you entertainment and experience comes first before relaxing.

[sanchoucsb]

Love your reports! I hope you find time to delve into RCL’s 10-K again! 

[MamaToMany]

Oh, hooray! You are one of my fave trip report writers. I should probably call myself CheapoMom when it comes to booking our family cruises, so I appreciate your approach to the very serious business of (frugal) family fun and togetherness. Coming out of the lurker closet to say hello, and thanks in advance for a great report!

[Mom*3]

I love your trip reports! And, Odyssey is up next for us!

[harryfat1]

12 hours ago, mk907 said:

Super timely to run into the CFKACD report as we are headed to this ship next weekend. So excited to read more and see your lovely photos. I love the style of this report, too, so thank you! 😊 

Oh, very nice to have an upcoming cruise.  It looks like you are on the 6-night cruise on the Odyssey this weekend?  Our itineraries are different as we were on the 8-night cruise but it's the same ship so at least the onboard info will be helpful.

 

Not sure if it's super timely as others can tell me, I move along at a snail pace so I will still be on day 2 or 3 by the time you come back from your cruise.  Actually I think the snail is actually faster as at least it's going a single direction whereas my trip reports typically go sideway fast as we get distracted by whatever odd topic that pops up.

 

If you have any specific questions about the cruise, I can try to answer them now.  I probably don't know the answer but there are many vetran cruisers reading this reprot that will know it.

 

One suggestion is to show up at Port Everglades early.  Try to get in board ASAP to get the complimentary time slots for IFly and Northstar as you can only reserve them once board and connect to the ship's wif-fi. 

 

 

[harryfat1]

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

CFKACD!   I have to carefully type that, and make sure that autocorrect didn’t change it into a banned word.

 

Good to see you posting your trip report.  I need a good read, while I am shivering here in the cold and windy conditions in Pennsylvania.   I am already questioning my decision to come home from cruising, and I am already looking to get away again.

 

Carry on, and get to work on this,  I mean it is already 5 am on the west coast, and it is a weekend.

Mark,

 

Haha, my 117-page contract with CC doesn't require me to wake up at 5 AM on a Saturday to upload pictures.  I will leave these early bird time slots for you.

 

Yeah, it's always good to plan for something warm when it's cold outside.  I have some new pictures from this cruise and looking forward to share them with everyone.

 

 

[harryfat1]

5 hours ago, LuCruise said:

This sums up exactly why I love reading other's trip reports!

 

And thus, I was very happy to sign in this morning and see your report.  I actually though of you as we were getting on the cruise following yours (don't take that as a mean comment as it meant your cruise  was ending, but I remembered that you were on the one before us). Looking forward to hearing your experiences and your thoughts on Odyssey.  Great pictures so far!  And, happy anniversary!

 

 

Thanks.  Yeah, as we were disembarking on 12/31, I was thinking you and Ken and others on your sailing were out there somewhere getting ready to come onboard.

 

Did you guys have good weather on your sailing?  FLL was unseasonably cold when we disembarked at 48 degrees on New Year's Eve.

 

We really like the Odyssey as we enjoy the 270 area.  That was our favorite place to hang out and relax in the wide open space.