Odyssey of the Seas Jan. 15, 2022 - Not Live Recap

[TwinMamainMN]

I see you book future cruises while on board the current one. Are there any cost savings or OBC to be had doing it that way, instead of booking at home with a TA? Also, can we book at Next Cruise and somehow transfer it to a TA later? We have a TA we like, and I would rather let her deal with OBC, FCC and rebooking to save money, etc.

[jonj]

8 minutes ago, TwinMamainMN said:

I see you book future cruises while on board the current one. Are there any cost savings or OBC to be had doing it that way, instead of booking at home with a TA? Also, can we book at Next Cruise and somehow transfer it to a TA later? We have a TA we like, and I would rather let her deal with OBC, FCC and rebooking to save money, etc.

You can let them know when booking with the Next cruise desk you wish to still work with your current TA that was on the booking you are traveling on. Easy as that. If for some reason they do not list your TA you have 30 days to transfer the reservation to her. 

[vacationlover_mn]

42 minutes ago, TwinMamainMN said:

I see you book future cruises while on board the current one. Are there any cost savings or OBC to be had doing it that way, instead of booking at home with a TA? Also, can we book at Next Cruise and somehow transfer it to a TA later? We have a TA we like, and I would rather let her deal with OBC, FCC and rebooking to save money, etc.

I see you are also in MN…. Just curious, is she local?  If so, which city?   For our “mid pandemic cruise” we are using a TA, in case we had to do something complicated like a lift and shift.  She came locally recommended, but is in Canada, and she’s not as responsive as I’d like…

[ticketsunlimited]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

On the current 6 night cruise DSB is the cover band in the Music Hall.

Very good Journey band if you have not seen them you will enjoy the show.

 

Thanks very much for your follow up.

[TwinMamainMN]

@vacationlover_mn - no, she's not local. She's in Toronto. Hubby and I cruised in Feb/March 2011 on a Carnival sailing. Our table mates in the MDR were a couple from Toronto and super nice. Fast forward a few years, and she becomes a TA. We've kept in touch thanks to social media, so now we use her for cruise stuff. She's successfully moved our payment dates out a few times waiting for FCC to be applied, among other things. If you want her contact info, you can DM me. I just got a message from her today, and she's currently sailing (on Liberty, I think).

[bermuda_fm]

30 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Very good Journey band if you have not seen them you will enjoy the show.

 

Thanks very much for your follow up.

Any clue if DSB will also be on my Jan 29th sailing, love them

[ticketsunlimited]

1 minute ago, bermuda_fm said:

Any clue if DSB will also be on my Jan 29th sailing, love them

Was hoping TWANGSTER could use his investigation skills to see who we have next week. 🥸

[ticketsunlimited]

Also if anyone has the the odyssey concierge email address handy that would be a help please.

[John&LaLa]

24 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Also if anyone has the the odyssey concierge email address handy that would be a help please.

 

Suite Concierge 

 

Got our email Saturday night

 

[clochette]

love your review, just came back from Anthem and I am really enjoying seeing pictures of the Odyssey, the new dining room layout looks great.

[jmh2006]

20 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

Thanks, you for sharing @twangster! We are sailing the Nassau/Aruba/Curacao itinerary on Odyssey on Feb 26. We've never been on a huge ship and are excited about all it has to offer, and with all the sea days, we will have time to explore.

 

Earlier in this post, there was a tip to "book a complimentary North Star and iFly..." as soon as you board. Are these things complimentary for everyone, or only Diamond/Pinnacle people? We are light years away from that status. 🤣

Hi I am also booked for this cruise!  Can't wait to get out of cold and snowy Michigan!

[fliprcruiser]

20 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Which is the best port day/time, and can you book more than once?

 

Never done a Quantum ship. So much to fit in

Nassau North Star seemed busy, but I reserved Aruba, and it was very few takers on Jan 15 sailing. Will depend on your passenger count.

[twangster]

3 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

I see you book future cruises while on board the current one. Are there any cost savings or OBC to be had doing it that way, instead of booking at home with a TA? Also, can we book at Next Cruise and somehow transfer it to a TA later? We have a TA we like, and I would rather let her deal with OBC, FCC and rebooking to save money, etc.

 

There are two reasons to book at NextCruise.  Potentially lower deposits ($100 pp sometimes)  and OBC.  However, not all promos and discounts are combinable with NextCruise OBC.  You won't know until you ask.  My OBC ranged from $19 to $75 but my bookings were for a solo and most of them close in.  Booking cruises a year or more away will usually yield higher OBC as does more expensive cabins.  If it's a really cheap last minute deal you are not likely getting very much OBC if any.   Refundable rates typically don't get the $100 deposits and OBC is usually lower.

 

All travel agencies have a primary phone number that Royal recognizes that agency by.  This may not be your individual travel agents phone number so ask your TA.  With that number NextCruise can allocate a new booking to your TA and they should instantly be able to view it once you give them the booking number.  Your printed copy of the booking that NextCruise gives you should also list your designated travel agency.   If the cruise you are sailing on was booked through your TA by default any NextCruise booking should go to them but they don't have to.  You can ask NextCruise not to allocate a new booking to the default travel agency if you want to give the booking to a different agency.  You can also keep the booking direct, unassigned to any travel agency.  

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by twangster

[twangster]

Odyssey of the Seas arriving into Perfect Day CocoCay this morning to join Oasis of the Seas.

 

 

[twangster]

Perfect Day Today

 

Stacks at half height.  Ever so slowly being lowered.

 

 

I've been keeping an eye in this section of CocoCay.  Some increased evidence of work going on.

 

The case of the missing funnels.  I've seen them do this here before.  While cleaning the roof area they seem to lower the stacks for cleaning and to mechanically operate them so they don't seize.  Still weird not seeing the funnels.  Ovation lower the stacks to get under the Lionsgate Bridge in Vancouver so I've seen this before.

From North Star.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HBE4]

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

From North Star.

 

 

 

I love this picture. It gives a great perspective as to just how much wider the Oasis-class ships are.

 

[Scottee25]

@twangsteryou posted early on how both the Flow Rider and Bumper Car area had their surfaces replaced. Any idea why this was needed on a ship sailing for less than a year?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, Scottee25 said:

Any idea why this was needed on a ship sailing for less than a year?

The Flowrider had a raised seam on the surface which was disturbing to the riders.

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

On the current 6 night cruise DSB is the cover band in the Music Hall.

I love Journey!  I wish they would be staying on for another month. 🙂 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Odyssey of the Seas arriving into Perfect Day CocoCay this morning to join Oasis of the Seas.

 

 

 

Beautiful.

 

[Scottee25]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

The Flowrider had a raised seam on the surface which was disturbing to the riders.

Thanks for the explanation. Any idea about why the bumper car floor surface?

[Biker19]

Just now, Scottee25 said:

Any idea about why the bumper car floor surface?

I haven't read anything about that.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Scottee25 said:

@twangsteryou posted early on how both the Flow Rider and Bumper Car area had their surfaces replaced. Any idea why this was needed on a ship sailing for less than a year?

 

The Flowrider surface had large ridges along the seams that some referred to as "speed bumps".  It made for difficult entries and exits off the sides.  Guests complained.  Royal talked to the vendor and a new mat was produced.  As you can imagine these are custom made with the logo and all, they aren't something you can drop by any flowrider store and buy off the shelf.  Then they had to coordinate with the vendor to get vaccinated contractors to schedule a date for installation.  That all takes time.  I don't know if that captures all the details and nuances, but it's a condensed version.

 

The Sportsplex floor I imagine is something that is done on a routine or periodic basis.  I guess they saw an opportunity with a lower guest count cruise so they took the opportunity to get it done.  I've not seen anyone else discuss it so it's one of those things that if I wasn't there we'd never know.  

 

I did notice something with the forward end display that had the picture using only the upper half of the screen.  Some sort of electronics failure.  That's also been fixed.  

 

Ship happens.

[fliprcruiser]

27 minutes ago, Scottee25 said:

Thanks for the explanation. Any idea about why the bumper car floor surface?

It was discolored and scratched. They closed Playmakers for 2 days. New surface is perfect.

[ptf2009]

Twangster, I may have missed it, but did you find out how many passengers are on your Jan 23 cruise? I read where 2500 were reserved, but perhaps many decided to cancel?

 

Any info about the estimate for our cruise next week, Jan 29?

 

Thank you again for updating all of us on your cruise with valuable info!