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]

7 hours ago, KiwiGal117 said:

Yup - every time - always have to have the pictures redone.  I no longer bother doing them at home.

This seems to be a recurring theme,  I didn’t realize it was this common to have pictures re-taken at the port.

 

RCI should look for a way to better improve their software.

 

I want to say for Princess Cruises, they forces you to have a picture upload weeks before sailing as they embed your picture onto the chip of the medallion so that your picture shows up on your cabin display screen. 

 

They sent the medallion to your home for free a couple of weeks pre cruise (or they used but I think I read that now it costs money to have get the medallion pre cruise or you pick them up at the cruise port) so you must have a cruise picture for them ahead of time to do the medallion thing.

 

[harryfat1]

7 hours ago, Bobbosahn said:

Thanks Harryfat1 for the great memories!

 

We did the same cruise. Of note, it was a short Uber ride of around ten minutes to the port. Ubers were readily available at 1115 unlike the night prior’s arrival to FLL which incurred a 30 minute wait.

 

We had an 1130 checkin time and were onboard at 1150. Super smooth. 
 

The check-in clerk retook our group’s photos- everyone’s. I asked her why after I spent ten minutes taking what I thought were perfectly lit and composed mugshots. She replied that they take photos of everyone regardless of guests having a photo uploaded or not and then chuckled about how many poorly lit and non-compliant photos they see (as far as sunglasses, cluttered backgrounds, pictures taken from a guest’s younger years, facial hair in a picture vs now being clean shaved, etc.). Based on those points, I wouldn’t be surprised if the photos are used as a facial recognition component in security’s CCTV system to facilitate investigations after a problem occurs. See another thread on these boards where someone’s magnet was stolen off their door and security found the culprits after a report was made…. Also pretty sure the terms and conditions allow them to use photos as part of the photo package auto sorting system so long as you opt in. 
 

As for IFly and the North Star, we could not get free reservations as early as 11:40-ish on boarding day. I spoke with an activities rep on our second sea day and she coyly mentioned that I should continue checking the app for availability as they continually assess schedules and interest. Sure enough- a batch opened up later that day.  So don’t give up!  Pretty sure they had some more open around day six- but don’t quote me on that. 

Welcome to the trip report as we all get to experience the cruise one more time.  Please feel free to comment on any events you experienced during your cruise.

 

I see that this is only your 3^rd post after joining CC five years ago.  You must be a very patient reader in not commenting much all these years.  Anyway, feel free to comment here.  We are a very friendly crowd here.

 

What days were you trying to reserve the basic sessions of iFly and NorthStar for during boarding day?  We tried to reserve approximately the same time frame and got the time slots we wanted.   

 

[harryfat1]

As promised here are a few pictures from our company’s holiday party last night.

 

Performer greeting guests after we checked in at the front desk

 

 

My wife's pictures with the entertainers

 

 

 

Long line at the open bar as we all lined up for all-you-can-drink booze pre-dinner.  The company hired buses to take people to the hotel so we didn't have to drive in the rain on our own and have time to sober up in case anyone had too much to drink

 

 

We were assigned table #27

 

 

Seabass for dinner

 

 

On my way to the restroom, I saw the staff setting up dessert

 

 

After dinner, they have a Venetian dance/performance show 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Onward with the trip report:

 

+++++++++++++++

 

As there was no one at the Muster station when we were there, we decided not to wait and headed back to the Aft elevators and went up to deck 14 for Windjammers. 

 

Many cruisers here on CC complained about Windjammer lunch on boarding day as being too crowded and not finding a table.  That may be true if you show up later but at 11:30 AM, that’s not the case.  Plenty of seats and we were probably amongst the first 50 people in the area.

 

I assumed the suites are eating in their special area as well as other people with the special Key program dining at the specialty restaurant.  In addition, some people are down at the Royal Esplanade making meal/shore excursion reservations in person. 

 

We didn’t need to do any of that so we wanted to get lunch out of the way before it became the big mob mess CC folks complained about.

 

Wash your hands. 

 

I miss the Navigator’s Mr. Washy-Washy. That dude is like an energizer bunny on uppers.  No singing or special outfits for the Odyssey's Windjammer workers as they greeted people requesting that they wash their hands at the entrance

 

Maybe due to a lack of singing to grab people’s attention or people are no longer worried about germs/viruses being spread but I noticed a good deal of people ignoring the washing request and just barged into the Windjammer.

 

As a very unofficial tally of the cruisers at the windjammer, I would say roughly 60% of the people obliged in washing.  20% used hand sanitizer instead and 20% pretended they didn’t hear a thing and kept on walking.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Pick a seat.  Any seat.  The smart thing is to be on the side facing the water instead of the dockside.  Much better scenery.

 

Crowded at Windjammer on boarding day?  Not at 11:30 AM when these pictures were taken

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple small lunch.  Not that hungry since we ate breakfast less than 3 hours ago.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

As we were eating lunch, it was time to log into the ship’s Wi-Fi network so we could reserve the complementary iFly and NorthStar experience. 

 

Just making sure we have no misunderstanding of the terms here.  It is FREE to log into the ship’s Wi-Fi network to update your cruise schedule and to reserve things related to the sailing.  But you CAN NOT access the Internet with this Wi-Fi network like you can with the Wi-Fi from home.

 

To access the Internet, you have to pay extra for that.  The ship’s WI-FI is just internal only to check schedule/reserve events/text family members for free.

 

Even as a CFKACD in spending extra $$ on this cruise on other items, paying for Internet access isn’t one of them.

 

With the ship’s Wi-Fi, you can text other members of your party if they are on the other side of the ship so it’s similar to a regular texting app.  We used that function a few times when we were doing different things at various parts of the ship and needed to be in contact with each other.

[harryfat1]

But that’s later.  For now, the main goal is to find a time slot for iFly and NorthStar.  For those unfamiliar with the Quantum class ships, the iFly and Northstar experience offer two versions – basic or extended.  Of course, the extended version costs extra, like $40/pp extra.  Haha, thanks but no thanks, RCI.  We will stick with the basic version for both.

 

If you want the extended version, you can reserve it way ahead of time from home on the Handy Dandy app or online.  If you want the free version, you can only book it after you board the ship on or after day 1.  Hence it helps to get on the ship early to make sure you get the time slot that fits your schedule.

 

So what is the difference between the free or extended version? 

 

For iFly, on the basic version, you get about 1 minute of flying experience that starts the moment you walk into the air chamber until you exit. For the extended version, you get an extra minute of flying time.

 

For NorthStar, the basic version takes you up and down like an elevator. The extended version goes to the side so that you are effectively over the ocean to give you that sensation you are over water with no protection underneath you.

 

Another VERY important difference between the basic and extended versions is that the basic version, they are only available on port days (that includes day 1).  While the extended versions are for sea days.

 

 

 

 

[Bobbosahn]

50 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

What days were you trying to reserve the basic sessions of iFly and NorthStar for during boarding day?  We tried to reserve approximately the same time frame and got the time slots we wanted.   

 

Tried to get any opportunity but there were no available free slots showing while we were on ship’s wifi in the terminal. Figured we were too late!

 

But after reading this report, it seems boarding actually started around 11:00 from what I can infer. Now I’m wondering if there was an app “refresh” delay?  Can’t imagine they would have all been taken while guests were waiting to board from the second floor waiting area.

[karebare22]

35 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

As promised here are a few pictures from our company’s holiday party last night.

 

Wow, very impressive! I work as  a public servant, and holiday parties are at our own cost. This year we had a simple gathering with “bring your own lunch” to the boardroom , and music off someone’s phone 😂 

[harryfat1]

While eating lunch, I overheard the family sitting behind us in rushing off to do the basic version of NorthStar and iFly on day 1 afternoon as they have plans on the other port days.  But I had a different plan. 

 

In retrospect, I guess we could have done the iFly that afternoon instead of at Labadee but since we have already been to Labadee twice, we were in no rush to get off the ship super early on day 7.

 

As I mentioned above, the complementary sessions for both iFly and NorthStar are on port days as many cruisers are off the ship so RCI is willing to offer those days at no additional charge. So if you want "free" IFly and Northstar, you will need to adjust/compromise on your port day schedules to squeeze in both sessions.

 

Anyway, for those who are keeping track of what we will be doing via the Excel schedule I provided, we signed up for NorthStar for Curaaco in the afternoon and iFly for the morning while we were in Labadee.  I will explain the rationale for booking each at the appropriate part of the trip report.  No need to get that far ahead of ourselves.

 

For now, just knowing that we were able to reserve the 2 key events soon after boarding gave me a big sigh of relief as I was fretting over it with my 9.2 anal scale personality and the bright green time slot highlighted on the schedule as previously discussed.

[h20skibum]

17 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Just making sure we have no misunderstanding of the terms here.  It is FREE to log into the ship’s Wi-Fi network to update your cruise schedule and to reserve things related to the sailing.  But you CAN NOT access the Internet with this Wi-Fi network like you can with the Wi-Fi from home.

 

To access the Internet, you have to pay extra for that.  The ship’s WI-FI is just internal only to check schedule/reserve events/text family members for free.

 

Even as a CFKACD in spending extra $$ on this cruise on other items, paying for Internet access isn’t one of them.

Ok, so somewhat of a pro tip here.  If you do need to access the internet for a short period, without paying the daily rate, do this….  It will give you about 15 minutes of access. 
 

When you log in to the WiFi, it gives you a couple choices. One is to purchase or sign in to the paid WiFi that gives you Internet access. 
 

The second option is to use the free WiFi onboard the ship, which is what you are using. 
 

The third option is to download or update the app for free.  As soon as you click that, it will take you to the App Store, but more importantly, since that is done over the internet, it will give you internet access for about 15 minutes.  It will only work once or twice, then it will tell you to visit the voom desk for help. 

 

 

If you just need it briefly, it is an option. 

[GimmeOcean]

FWIW I really liked the extended North Star experience on Anthem and will probably pay again to do it on Odyssey in April/May in the Mediterranean. I definitely think it’s overpriced, but as a one off experience I found it acceptable and not as much of a price gouge as, say, Voom internet. It helps to get it on sale, we got it for about $30pp.

 

 

 

Edited January 22 by GimmeOcean

[Rubyfisch]

15 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

This is a good point. Not all ports enforce but some do. Baltimore does. I only sailed there once on Carnival but they share the one terminal with Royal and they run a tight ship, so to speak. 
 

It was a Christmas cruise and it was quite cold outside and they didn’t care one bit. Parking is right there and people were going back to sit in their cars and wait; if they’d been dropped off they stood out in the cold. Period, end of story.

I've cruised twice out of Baltimore on Royal (December 2022 and December 2023), and neither time were they enforcing check in times. They don't have a giant seating area, but they also only take small ships. They start boarding around 10:30, so there isn't much need for seating.

[KmomChicago]

3 hours ago, Rubyfisch said:

I've cruised twice out of Baltimore on Royal (December 2022 and December 2023), and neither time were they enforcing check in times. They don't have a giant seating area, but they also only take small ships. They start boarding around 10:30, so there isn't much need for seating.

Thanks for this info. @harryfat1 please note my information is outdated. We were in Baltimore in December 2021 so they were probably enforcing times due to Covid protocols. As @Rubyfisch has reported, this is no longer the case. I will say also before the pandemic we never had an issue with anyone at any port enforcing arrival times. I don’t even remember if they had arrival times before the pandemic. 🤔 😂 

[LuCruise]

Harry,

Enjoying reading your boarding.  Pretty smooth, and of course, great Windjammer experience.  We too go right there, and I'll say that Odyssey's Windjammer is the first that we never had an issue with crowds.

 

For iFly and North Star, we stepped on the ship, then right away I connected to Wifi (also don't purchase internet), moved off to a corner and grabbed free slots.  For iFly it was no problem as it was just my son.  But for North Star, even right away, we tried to grab the latest slots of 4pm or so on our Labadee day...couldn't get 4. Moved back a timeslot, and same thing.  Then third or fourth attempt worked which gave us 2:30pm or so.  So definitely these should be done ASAP, especially if you have a group to book.  Glad you were able to get your timeslot no problem.

 

P.S. - I also had the "booking" task on my spreadsheet..lol

Edited January 22 by LuCruise

[Rubyfisch]

6 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Thanks for this info. @harryfat1 please note my information is outdated. We were in Baltimore in December 2021 so they were probably enforcing times due to Covid protocols. As @Rubyfisch has reported, this is no longer the case. I will say also before the pandemic we never had an issue with anyone at any port enforcing arrival times. I don’t even remember if they had arrival times before the pandemic. 🤔 😂 

I think they assigned them before the pandemic and literally everyone ignored them ... At least that is my vague recollection.

[rncruiser]

12 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

 

 

In retrospect, I guess we could have done the iFly that afternoon instead of at Labadee but since we have already been to Labadee twice, we were in no rush to get off the ship super early on day 7.

I can’t recall how many times I have been to Labadee, but it has to be at least 10. It remains one of my favorite destinations in the Caribbean. Even though I am not a beach lover, and have not gone to a beach in other ports in at least 20 years, I love floating on a mat in the warm, gentle water. 
I was in Aruba at a resort last June. They had the same mats but the water was rougher and it took effort not to float too far out. At Labadee the water is calmer and as a poor swimmer I feel much more comfortable there. To me, it is the ultimate in vacation relaxation. 

[harryfat1]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:14 PM, Bobbosahn said:

Tried to get any opportunity but there were no available free slots showing while we were on ship’s wifi in the terminal. Figured we were too late!

 

But after reading this report, it seems boarding actually started around 11:00 from what I can infer. Now I’m wondering if there was an app “refresh” delay?  Can’t imagine they would have all been taken while guests were waiting to board from the second floor waiting area.

Huh, that’s interesting. We probably booked our reservations for iFly and NorthStar within a similar timeframe as you tried to book yours between 11:45 to 12 noon. 

 

We got the Curacao time slot at 4 PM as we wanted to see the colorful buildings from above.  That probably wasn’t a popular time as many people might still be off the ship on excursions since the ship stayed in port until 8 PM that night.

 

For Labadee, we booked the first slot that morning at 9 AM figuring we will eat a later breakfast and get off the ship close to 11 AM as we have been there before.

 

Does anyone from our sailing or other sailings have a different experience in booking your iFly or NorthStar?

 

[harryfat1]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:18 PM, karebare22 said:

 

Wow, very impressive! I work as  a public servant, and holiday parties are at our own cost. This year we had a simple gathering with “bring your own lunch” to the boardroom , and music off someone’s phone 😂 

Haha, yeah, I work for a publicly traded tech company in Silicon Valley and tech companies are well-known for their interesting parties.

 

We haven’t had a holiday party for the past few years due to Covid.  They finally started back up this year.

 

 

[harryfat1]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:41 PM, h20skibum said:

Ok, so somewhat of a pro tip here.  If you do need to access the internet for a short period, without paying the daily rate, do this….  It will give you about 15 minutes of access. 
 

When you log in to the WiFi, it gives you a couple choices. One is to purchase or sign in to the paid WiFi that gives you Internet access. 
 

The second option is to use the free WiFi onboard the ship, which is what you are using. 
 

The third option is to download or update the app for free.  As soon as you click that, it will take you to the App Store, but more importantly, since that is done over the internet, it will give you internet access for about 15 minutes.  It will only work once or twice, then it will tell you to visit the voom desk for help. 

 

 

If you just need it briefly, it is an option. 

Great tip, Mark. 

 

So, in theory, it’s phone-specific?  Meaning with a family of 4, we can use this loophole for up to an hour of Internet time as a family if each person’s phone can try this route?

 

Taking that concept further, if I have a phone and tablet and want to register on my tablet after trying it on my phone the day before, would this work as well?

 

If so, I' will be bringing 7 tablets in my backpack on the next RCI cruise…🤪

 

[harryfat1]

23 hours ago, GimmeOcean said:

FWIW I really liked the extended North Star experience on Anthem and will probably pay again to do it on Odyssey in April/May in the Mediterranean. I definitely think it’s overpriced, but as a one off experience I found it acceptable and not as much of a price gouge as, say, Voom internet. It helps to get it on sale, we got it for about $30pp.

 

 

 

 

Very nice picture.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Yes, it’s definitely a different perspective seeing the ship from the side.

 

Yeah, always be on the lookout for whatever sales RCI might throw out there.  When in doubt, book it ahead of time and I know from personal experience, you can book dining or other packages pre-cruise and if you see something on sale later, cancel the original one and re-book it at a better price.

[harryfat1]

14 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Harry,

Enjoying reading your boarding.  Pretty smooth, and of course, great Windjammer experience.  We too go right there, and I'll say that Odyssey's Windjammer is the first that we never had an issue with crowds.

 

For iFly and North Star, we stepped on the ship, then right away I connected to Wifi (also don't purchase internet), moved off to a corner and grabbed free slots.  For iFly it was no problem as it was just my son.  But for North Star, even right away, we tried to grab the latest slots of 4pm or so on our Labadee day...couldn't get 4. Moved back a timeslot, and same thing.  Then third or fourth attempt worked which gave us 2:30pm or so.  So definitely these should be done ASAP, especially if you have a group to book.  Glad you were able to get your timeslot no problem.

 

P.S. - I also had the "booking" task on my spreadsheet..lol

 

Thank you for your kind words. 

 

I strive to make sure everyone is getting their money’s worth from their annual CC premium tier membership dues.  You are getting exactly what you paid for when you read my trip reports.

 

Yeah, for us anal FOMO people, trying the NorthStar and iFly (or my kids trying) was important and we want to book them ASAP.  The note is there but I wasn't going to forget it...

 

Glad you got your time as well as as @Bobbosahn.  The take-home lesson for future Odyssey cruisers is that you need to try to book this on the App early and try often for new openings if you can’t get it right away.

[harryfat1]

11 hours ago, rncruiser said:

I can’t recall how many times I have been to Labadee, but it has to be at least 10. It remains one of my favorite destinations in the Caribbean. Even though I am not a beach lover, and have not gone to a beach in other ports in at least 20 years, I love floating on a mat in the warm, gentle water. 
I was in Aruba at a resort last June. They had the same mats but the water was rougher and it took effort not to float too far out. At Labadee the water is calmer and as a poor swimmer I feel much more comfortable there. To me, it is the ultimate in vacation relaxation. 

For Labadee, we docked at 7 and I saw people getting off the ship at 7:30.  We didn’t get off until 10:30 after iFly and breakfast. 

 

By 11 AM, I saw people already walking back to the ship with their beach towels.  So they might be done for the day after an early day at the beach and back to the ship for lunch and enjoying an empty ship.

 

Everyone has preferences on how they spend their time.

 

Yeah, Labadee, especially on the Columbus Cove side no wave to speak of.  Maybe the ship in the background blocks any waves coming ashore

 

 

[harryfat1]

Onward with the trip report

 

++++++++

So where were we?  Oh, yeah.  Finishing lunch at Windjammer.  Few more misc. pictures from the lunch and then we move on

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

As Windjammer started to get crowded after 12 noon, after we were done with lunch and made the reservations on the App, it was time to go explore the ship around deck 15

 

Emerald Princess docked right across from us.

 

 

Viking Neptune is adjacent to us as well as HAL and Celebtrity ship on the other side. 

 

 

Being a ship geek, I love seeing all the ships in port. 

 

My wife couldn’t care less which ship was in port as she only cares about the ship she’s on at the moment but for me, seeing a ship in person is a different level of excitement as I have studied many of them as an option before picking our current ship.

 

The Northstar is already up and running with the “basic” ride but I don’t want to ride it here at Fort Lauderdale. 

 

The scenery is good but I wanted a better scenery later in the cruise at Curacao.  As I mentioned before, we vacation/cruise through our camera (phone) lens so I always seek an angle for what is the best option from a photography perspective. 

 

 

The Lawyers need to have this out....