Odyssey Questions, Musings, and Trip Reports

[duct tape]

greetings, djbesq1. I am not sure where you were on the ship but our Odyssey Veranda bathroom does not have 2 sockets. There is only the usual "razor only" that can't be used for a night light since the circuit is closed when you turn out the bathroom light! They are hoping to change that on the Sojourn, I don't think they can rewire this ship.

[lord of the seas]

Just curious, if you are boarding on the Saturday, are the other restaurants likely to be booked out already by those lucky cruisers lucky enough to be left on-board? Not sure what sort of percentage normally embark and disembark? I know you can always ask the question once you are on, was just curious really.

 

Most people will dine in the Restaurant on the first night,there will always be a few that will use the other restaurant.We always have room service on the first night as we prefer to relax and settle in after travelling and unpacking.

[djbesq1]

greetings, djbesq1. I am not sure where you were on the ship but our Odyssey Veranda bathroom does not have 2 sockets. There is only the usual "razor only" that can't be used for a night light since the circuit is closed when you turn out the bathroom light! They are hoping to change that on the Sojourn, I don't think they can rewire this ship.

 

We just leave the bathroom light on so that our cell phone stays charged (we have it plugged in there and our US plug fits fine)

[djbesq1]

Hi Debbie,

 

thank you so much for your report. Have you used the hair dryer? If so, is it satisfactory?

 

Wishing you a great rest of the cruise!

 

Hairdryer is quite adequate - no need to bring one. It plugs in by the vanity in the hallway which is a great place to put on make-up and get ready.

[mborchgardt]

We are booked on the Odyssey in September 2010. We are currently in 512 which was the "best" category V1 available when we booked. We don't want to spend extra money unnecessarily, but are wondering whether there would be any noticable benefit of being more midship in a category V2 on the same deck. Any one have experiences with the category V1 and being so far forward?

 

Thanks!

[cruiseluv]

Hairdryer is quite adequate - no need to bring one. It plugs in by the vanity in the hallway which is a great place to put on make-up and get ready.

 

Thank you Debbie, one less thing to bring!

[LaPaloma]

Question for Lord of the Seas--on your receint cruise, I believe you stayed in several Veranda Suites-- on several levels. Do they really need 6 catagories of Veranda Suites? One of the great Marketing principals is K.I.S.S.--Keep it simple stupid!!! In my mind 6 catagories is very confusing--its not simple--you can never be sure you picked the right one--so you delay or don't pick one. Silverseas new ship has 2 veranda catagories Veranda and Mid Ship Veranda--to me thats simple! So I picked a Silver Suite--that figures! Any thoughts? Don

[lord of the seas]

Question for Lord of the Seas--on your receint cruise, I believe you stayed in several Veranda Suites-- on several levels. Do they really need 6 catagories of Veranda Suites? One of the great Marketing principals is K.I.S.S.--Keep it simple stupid!!! In my mind 6 catagories is very confusing--its not simple--you can never be sure you picked the right one--so you delay or don't pick one. Silverseas new ship has 2 veranda catagories Veranda and Mid Ship Veranda--to me thats simple! So I picked a Silver Suite--that figures! Any thoughts? Don

 

Well done Don,you have spotted the marketing ploy.

I spent five weeks onboard the Odyssey and had a chance to visit every catogory of suite.Embarkation day is a great opportunity to look around the suites.

Silversea does have a more simple approach to grading their suites,although if you look at the Silver Spirit it is stretching the mid ship veranda a bit too far forward.In fact only decks 6,7, and 8 offer truly mid ship suites. There are four suites on deck 5 that are also mid ships.so Silversea is charging a bit more for suite 718 over suite 716.Both suites are in fact forward positioned so there really is no point in paying more for 718 the same applies to decks 5,6,8 and 9.I agree with your choice of a silver suite and have always booked these when sailing with Silversea.The extra space for the price for me is worth it.

Now for the suites on the Seabourn Odyssey.The Veranda suites V1 to V6 are all the same size inside.The only difference is that a few V1 suites at the front have a slightly smaller balcony with a restricted view due to the glass being shallower because of the low deck position ie nearer the water.The first three suites on each side of deck 8 have a shade issue because the bridge is directly above and casts a shadow on the balcony,so if you like to sunbathe you will sometimes be in the shade.

I spent the first four weeks in suite 642 which I had booked over a year in advance.I wanted a suite exactly in the middle of the ship and not too high and with a suite above and a suite below me.This suite was great with no noise.This ship is the smoothest ship that I have ever sailed on.I decided after four weeks to see if there was availability for the next week which was going to ports that I have been to before and liked.I was in luck as there was just one suite that was empty,so I moved to suite 740.I was a little worried as to the position because of the recreation deck directly above.My fears were realised when I heard the noise after moving in.Every footstep and scrape of chair could be heard and I was woken at 06.00 by the cleaning of deck 8 above.I went to see the hotel manager who agreed that they knew about the noise issue and would move us when he had worked out the logistics.That evening we moved to suite 924 on deck 9.This suite is one of two V6 suites on this deck that is surrounded by Penthouse suites.I noticed slightly more movement in this suite but it was quiet like suite 642.So my findings were that it is not worth paying more for a suite on a higher floor only to find that it is not as smooth a suite as one on a lower floor.Many experienced cruisers always adopt this policy of lower down and mid ships especially when on a trans atlantic or an itinerary with a lot of sea days.I think that suites V2,V5 and V6 should all be the same price and V3 and V4 be slightly cheaper because of their forward position.

JB

[duct tape]

Agree. My issue of the moment is the lack of Penthouse suites on the lower floors. We wanted to book one next year for an extended period of time. The location on 6 is great but it is handicapped and I understand SBs reluctance to book it to me. Too bad, they lost a good booking.

[lord of the seas]

Agree. My issue of the moment is the lack of Penthouse suites on the lower floors. We wanted to book one next year for an extended period of time. The location on 6 is great but it is handicapped and I understand SBs reluctance to book it to me. Too bad, they lost a good booking.

 

Suite 635 is a fantastic suite,You can book this but if there is a disabled person who wants a penthouse suite then you may be moved.This suite is bookable nearer sailing but it is a gamble.It is the only penthouse suite that is wheelcair accessible.I think that there are only seven suites on board that are wheelchair accessible.

Have you looked at 731 as an option?

[LaPaloma]

Thanks Lord--I have a much clearer picture of the Veranda situation on the Odessey. To bad everyone considering a Veranda on the ship can't read your analysis. I'm printing your message and will keep it in my Seabourn file for future planning.A lot of the "stuff" you have posted on your Odessey cruise has been most helpful. Thanks again! Don

[bradtarga34]

A recent review with some photo's as well, just in case you had forgotten how wonderful the ship is. We are off on Saturday, sooo excited! http://www.johnnyjet.com/folder/archive/WheresJohnny09162009.html

[JaneBP]

Wow! Thanks for the link, it's a great report. Having paid our final deposit only makes it a bit easier to wait until 12/10!

[claudiaYVR]

Thank you for the link! we're booked on cabin 604 so it was twice as exciting to look at the pics and read the review. Love it, can't wait till Nov 14. By the way, no documents yet for us :(

[Roxburgh]

A recent review with some photo's as well, just in case you had forgotten how wonderful the ship is. We are off on Saturday, sooo excited! http://www.johnnyjet.com/folder/archive/WheresJohnny09162009.html

 

Great link .... especially the photos!! Thanks for posting.

[JunPOA]

A recent review with some photo's as well, just in case you had forgotten how wonderful the ship is. We are off on Saturday, sooo excited! http://www.johnnyjet.com/folder/archive/WheresJohnny09162009.html

Thanks Brad - this was great!

We're with you on the same sailing - are you by any chance doing an Athens day tour prior to embarking?

Leah

[bradtarga34]

Thanks Brad - this was great!

We're with you on the same sailing - are you by any chance doing an Athens day tour prior to embarking?

Leah

Hi Leah, We get in about 1400 on the Friday, so by the time we get to the hotel will probably just have a mooch around the Plaka and a few beers and most likely dinner there I think. We have to get up about 0430 on the Friday for the flight, so will probably be a bit sluggish that day...:o

[JunPOA]

Hi Leah, We get in about 1400 on the Friday, so by the time we get to the hotel will probably just have a mooch around the Plaka and a few beers and most likely dinner there I think. We have to get up about 0430 on the Friday for the flight, so will probably be a bit sluggish that day...:o

I understand - we arrive in Athens @ 0900 transatlantic from Philadelphia - so do not have high expectations for Friday either. We are limiting ourselves to a 1/2 day tour on Saturday. See you onboard then.:)

[djbesq1]

We are booked on the Odyssey in September 2010. We are currently in 512 which was the "best" category V1 available when we booked. We don't want to spend extra money unnecessarily, but are wondering whether there would be any noticable benefit of being more midship in a category V2 on the same deck. Any one have experiences with the category V1 and being so far forward?

 

Thanks!

 

We were in 522, which is right across the hall from the elevators. The location was fine from our point of view - very quiet except when anchoring in port in the morning. You hear the grinding of the anchors goign down and it wakes you up. We didn't mind this thought - it was our port alarm clock!

[duct tape]

It is the quietest ship I have ever been on! On several segments we had "veranda door bangers". Some of them even responded positively to notes left on their doors!

[JaneBP]

Curious, in the blog, there was a photo of kiosks used for signing in. Is that done in the terminal or onboard? How did they work? If one arrives a bit early, is the wait in the terminal or onboard? (I should miss the champagne and little sandwiches...)

[josephone]

We were in suite 505 and found that the anchoring awoke us everyday. It was good to know that midship didn't matter. The point made earlier about a good alarm clock was exactly the way we used it.

We didn't see or use any kiosks when we checked in--only lovely people.

[bradtarga34]

We were in suite 505 and found that the anchoring awoke us everyday. It was good to know that midship didn't matter. The point made earlier about a good alarm clock was exactly the way we used it.

We didn't see or use any kiosks when we checked in--only lovely people.

Just wondering what the balcony was like, was it tapered or normal size? I am expecting the part steel, just not sure if it will be tapered given that it is quite forward. We are booked onto 506, so same but port side. Given that I am a sleepy bear, the anchor alarm is probably a good thing for me!

[Host Dan]

I posted this on another thread, but hopefully someone will have an answer to this...

Question for those who have sailed Odyssey.. my assigned suite backs up to the elevators and stairs. Will I hear the elevator operating and "dinging" constantly in the suite??

 

Host Dan

[lord of the seas]

I posted this on another thread, but hopefully someone will have an answer to this...

Question for those who have sailed Odyssey.. my assigned suite backs up to the elevators and stairs. Will I hear the elevator operating and "dinging" constantly in the suite??

 

Host Dan

 

Which suite Dan?