LIVE from Odyssey of the Seas Transatlantic April 21, 2024 thru May 5, 2024

[Ocean Boy]

42 minutes ago, LooneyCruzer said:

The elevator buttons suck. 

 

The elevator buttons suck

 

The elevator buttons suck

 

reading rccl??? Change them out plz

What don't you like about them? Just point to your choice and don't actually touch it.... and don't lean against the panel!

[LooneyCruzer]

The intelligent thoughtful people that stand against the buttons repeatedly then laugh and say sorry i know not to do that. Rude people that cram the elevators so full you cannot help that someone pushes them all. Just pure stupidity that can be solved by putting in normal buttons. 

Edited April 24 by LooneyCruzer

[Joe33472]

We went to Giovanni's tonight and had a very enjoyable meal.  For some reason, we both totally forgot to take pictures of our appetizers and meals, but remembered by dessert.    Overall, a very nice experience.  Our waiter, John, was great and didn't bring too many unsolicited menu items.   We started with the meat and cheese platter and Giovanni's pizza.   Both were really good.  For dinner, we both had the filet and split an order of spaghetti Carbonara.   I liked the filet okay, but think that the Carbonara was really good.   I think we liked the filet at Chops better.  

 

We left a LOT of uneaten food.  Not exactly sure how that we feel about that.    Part our fault for ordering the meat/cheese board and a pizza for appetizers, but the Carbonara and extra dessert were totally unsolicited.  

 

The tiramisu was GREAT and I have to admit that I've had a lot of tiramisu over the years.   So, I can say that is a really fabulous.  Didn't like the pistachio pannacotta very much.  It could also be that we were just too full by that point.  I've never liked lemoncello, so that's no fault of Giovanni's.    Overall, I think I liked it a bit more than my girlfriend, but I've always liked Italian food a little more than her.  

 

Went to Boleros and met a nice couple, had a few drinks, listened to music, and watched the dancing.    Overall, nice time.  

 

We have Chops booked for lunch tomorrow and are excited about that.  

 

Edited April 24 by Joe33472

[Joe33472]

18 minutes ago, LooneyCruzer said:

The intelligent thoughtful people that stand against the buttons repeatedly then laugh and say sorry i know not to do that. Rude people that cram the elevators so full you cannot help that someone pushes them all. Just pure stupidity that can be solved by putting in normal buttons. 

 

Starting tomorrow, standing against the buttons and selecting all the floors is no longer allowed, captain made an announcement tonight.  Just kidding.  Yes, it's annoying at this point.  Everyone should know to not stand or lean against the buttons.  The first couple of days, okay, but now.....  It's actually has been the conversation piece of many of our elevator "trips".   Most people annoyed that it's seemingly impossible to select your floor quickly.   I go right to the back of the elevator when I can so I avoid being the person selecting all the floors.

 

[GimmeOcean]

Alpha alpha alpha just called? Ugh.

[Jimbo]

11 minutes ago, GimmeOcean said:

Alpha alpha alpha just called? Ugh.

Lots of older people on these kind of cruises. It's bound to happen. Better to happen now then 4 or 5  days from now when you are half way.

 

Are you heading back to Bermuda? If they get behind time wise, just have to cancel one of your ports later at the end of your cruise to make up the time.

Edited April 24 by Jimbo

[Joe33472]

13 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Lots of older people on these kind of cruises. It's bound to happen. Better to happen now then 4 or 5  days from now when you are half way.

 

Are you heading back to Bermuda?

 

At this point we're still headed ENE.   

 

[JamesEM]

• Regarding elevators, one of the smallest books ever written was, Elevator Manners.

[GimmeOcean]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Lots of older people on these kind of cruises. It's bound to happen. Better to happen now then 4 or 5  days from now when you are half way.

 

Are you heading back to Bermuda? If they get behind time wise, just have to cancel one of your ports later at the end of your cruise to make up the time.

Looks like we’re headed back.

 

[Coralc]

Again? 

[LooneyCruzer]

Another medical emergency, they are offloading them to the Oasis now (6:30 am) Not sure why we came back to Bermuda to do that. 

[davidrlewis2302]

presumably, Oasis has a bit more time to spare.  Get the passenger off the Odyssey, onto Oasis, then Oasis can hang around to get the passenger to shore successfully and Odyssey can be on her way... again...!

[davidrlewis2302]

That said, Oasis is now streaming away and Odyssey is still there.  Did they definitely offload the patient to Oasis?

Edited April 24 by davidrlewis2302

[LooneyCruzer]

Odyssey offloaded someone, the lifeboat just came from the island and got loaded back onboard, but we are still here. 

Edited April 24 by LooneyCruzer

[Joe33472]

4 minutes ago, LooneyCruzer said:

Odyssey offloaded someone, the lifeboat just came from the island and got loaded back onboard, but we are still here. 

 

I was wondering why the lifeboat was hanging off the side of the ship.  Looks like we're moving now.  Hope all is good with the passenger. 

 

 

[Joe33472]

Captain just made an announcement that we're underway and if everything goes okay that we should still arrive in Ponta Delgada on time.  Fingers crossed. 

[Joe33472]

Was thinking this morning that our room steward, Komang, has really been wonderful.   Very pleasant guy and so hard working.    Overall, I think that the crew has been really great and welcoming.   

 

Reflecting on our meals at the specialty restaurants so far, it's been a really slow dining process, but I think we just have to adjust our preferences to what happens at sea.    I see in the calendar that they've budgeted 2 hours for specialty dining reservations and it has been taking about 1 hour 45 minutes each visit.  So, they've been exceeding the expectation and getting us out "early", it's just a long time for us sitting in one place.  🤣

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

7 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

Was thinking this morning that our room steward, Komang, has really been wonderful.   Very pleasant guy and so hard working.    Overall, I think that the crew has been really great and welcoming.   

 

Reflecting on our meals at the specialty restaurants so far, it's been a really slow dining process, but I think we just have to adjust our preferences to what happens at sea.    I see in the calendar that they've budgeted 2 hours for specialty dining reservations and it has been taking about 1 hour 45 minutes each visit.  So, they've been exceeding the expectation and getting us out "early", it's just a long time for us sitting in one place.  🤣

 

 

That is one of many reasons why I prefer the Windjammer. Meals happen on my schedule and time frame.

[GenSteve]

After having our 6/7 Serenade cruise cancelled, we'll be on Odyssey's 10/22 cruise. First cruise since COVID, and I have a few Odyssey-specific questions:

 

1) Are Ripcord and iFly ever available for free, or do you always book appointments and pay?

2) What's the lowest daily price you've seen for VOOM Internet and The Key?

3) Do the TV's have an HDMI port to simply "plug and play" from a laptop?

4) Does your VOOM location change, or is it static? (Question is related to needing to use/change VPN country.)

 

I welcome any feedback. Thanks for your time.

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, GenSteve said:

1) Are Ripcord and iFly ever available for free, or do you always book appointments and pay?

3) Do the TV's have an HDMI port to simply "plug and play" from a laptop?

4) Does your VOOM location change, or is it static?

Free options are available. 
The port is there and should be easy to switch to that input. 
Yes, the downlink location for Starlink can change during a sailing. 
 

[Joe33472]

45 minutes ago, GenSteve said:

After having our 6/7 Serenade cruise cancelled, we'll be on Odyssey's 10/22 cruise. First cruise since COVID, and I have a few Odyssey-specific questions:

 

1) Are Ripcord and iFly ever available for free, or do you always book appointments and pay?

2) What's the lowest daily price you've seen for VOOM Internet and The Key?

3) Do the TV's have an HDMI port to simply "plug and play" from a laptop?

4) Does your VOOM location change, or is it static? (Question is related to needing to use/change VPN country.)

 

I welcome any feedback. Thanks for your time.

 

As far as #3, the HDMI slot has been working great for us.  There are actually several HDMI slots on the back of our TV.    On the "Live TV option" there is an option to input from HDMI.   My experience has been that the TV "knows" what device is sending a signal.  I haven't been exactly sure how to change HDMI slots on the remote as there is no input button.  Last night I was able to switch to HDMI 3, but not sure how I did it, and it was a pain to switch back.   I would recommend plugging and unplugging if you're using multiple devices.   We've been using a Roku for local/national news and other entertainment.  I've also attached my iPad to the TV and it projected automatically.  I'm sure my PC would do the same.   The ship's selections of TV are limited. 

 

The cheapest I saw the internet plan for 2-devices (on one plan) was $30.99 per day.   We've been streaming content with good success.  The Key didn't make much sense for this TA and it was never priced good IMHO.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 24 by Joe33472
To update regarding the Key

[RobInMN]

11 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

 

As far as #3, the HDMI slot has been working great for us.  There are actually several HDMI slots on the back of our TV.    On the "Live TV option" there is an option to input from HDMI.   My experience has been that the TV "knows" what device is sending a signal.  I haven't been exactly sure how to change HDMI slots on the remote as there is no input button.  Last night I was able to switch to HDMI 3, but not sure how I did it, and it was a pain to switch back.   I would recommend plugging and unplugging if you're using multiple devices.   We've been using a Roku for local/national news and other entertainment.  I've also attached my iPad to the TV and it projected automatically.  I'm sure my PC would do the same.   The ship's selections of TV are limited. 

 

The cheapest I saw the internet plan for 2-devices (on one plan) was $30.99 per day.   We've been streaming content with good success.  The Key didn't make much sense for this TA and it was never priced good IMHO.

 

 

 

 

That's why we pack a universal remote with our Firestick. Then you have access to a Source button.

Also, Odyssey has the newer interactive system (as you show). When we were on Odyssey, our experience was that we had to unplug the network cable and power cycle the TV before we could actually change the source. With the network cable plugged in, it force-launched the custom software as the top priority which usually (or used to?) prevent you from changing the source, effectively disabling all other inputs. I've had to do that in some hotels also.

but @GenSteve, my main suggestion would be to get an inexpensive universal remote and take that.

 

I also use a VPN. One other thing I've found is that my Firestick does not have a GPS, so that's all I need. However, if I try to watch some streaming services (like YTTV) from a device with a GPS, they will refuse to launch if the GPS is disabled, and if the GPS is enabled, it ignores the VPN for location and goes by the GPS location, allowing it to Geo-lock the content anyway 😞. I would suspect that a Roku also doesn't have a GPS.  

 

[Billy Baltic]

2 hours ago, Joe33472 said:

I've also attached my iPad to the TV and it projected automatically.

May I ask how you did that? 

[GimmeOcean]

26 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

May I ask how you did that? 

USB-C to HDMI adapter will do that.

[Joe33472]

13 minutes ago, GimmeOcean said:

USB-C to HDMI adapter will do that.

 

Exactly!  USB-C to HDMI, like this one.   Purchased this cable from Amazon, but they might have one in the Photoshop or in Ponta Delgada if we're able to port.

 

 

 

Edited April 24 by Joe33472