Live Review, Odyssey of the Seas, Dec 3-11

[Stealthdog]

15 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Ya'll just glided by  on Port Everglades cam.  Bon Voyage ya'll!

 

Thanks!  There were a total of 5 ships in port (that we were able to see).  Odyssey of the Seas was the first to depart.  1st was Celebrity APEX, 2nd Holland American Neuw Statendam, 3rd (Sky?) Princess, 4th was us, and Emerald Princess was still in port when we left.  

 

I'm having some weird interference with using my iphone to "reply" to cruisecritic posts.  So, we have to do a balancing act of 2 phones and 1 laptop sharing one Voom device internet.  I'll post some photos of Wonderland dinner and Giovanni lunch from Day 1 a little later off my iphone.

 

No issues with Voom though - we are streaming shows, videochatting on Meet, and surfing the net.  The speed is great on board.

[Stealthdog]

As I mentioned yesterday, embarkation day was a snap.  The facility was large enough to process a huge amount of people through at one time.  Some recommendations:

 

- You don't need your COVID Card.  Keep that packed away where you keep it.  When you check in, the greeters will ask if you are vaccinated and boostered, and mark you off based on your answer.  

 

- You will need your passport handy for the beginning of checkin, so make sure that is available.  You will go through quicker if you don't have to search for it.

 

- You will need your sail Pass (paper or digital) throughout checkin.  We just kept the app opened on the phone so we could pull it up whenever we wanted.

 

There are 3 different screening lines for security.  We both carried 2 bottles of wine and water in our backpack and roll-on luggage.  One of my water bottles was 1.5 liters.  This time we even went in the same line together.  The screeners did not ask any questions or look inside our carry-ons.  I know the question of how much wine you can bring on is often a topic here.  This is the second straight cruise we have brought on a total of 4 bottles (2 each).  

 

Once you get through security, you will go to the 2nd floor holding area and wait for your time to board.  We got there as the Suite/Pinnacle guests were boarding.  After them it was the Key guests, and then they board by rows, first arrive, first board.  Throughout the process noone ever asked what time our boarding time was.  If you want to push your luck and arrive early, you may be able to get on earlier than your time.

 

We arrived on Deck 5 (I think).  I'll verify today - it was nicely decorated with a bunch of balloons and you enter right next to a large Christmas tree and other holiday decorations.  

Edited December 4, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

We went to the Day 1 Headliner show, Finis Henderson.  For us, it was a little bit of a disappointment and we decided to go to the Casino about halfway through his act.  I'd describe his act as music comedy, and it just didn't work for us.  We have seen better comedians on recent cruises and better singers on recent cruises, so the combination of the two was underwhelming.  There were a lot of people in the theater that really seemed to enjoy it, so check it out for yourself.  

[Bette And Bill]

Enjoying your review, JC. It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday at the lime and Coconut. Looking forward to the rest of your review. Currently sitting in Two70, where the crew is setting up for the band for the Top Tier Party. Nice and quiet right now. 

[Stealthdog]

The ship itself is beautiful.  The decorations and interior designs of the lounges and other spaces are very well done.  The layout of the ship feels a little odd....but this may just be comparing it to an Oasis Class ship where the neighborhood concepts really divide and define the ship.  

 

There are stairs and elevators in the middle and forward of the ship, but nothing in the aft of the ship.  So, if you are in the aft, you have to travel to the middle of the ship to go up or down.  For this reason, if you have any physical handicaps or mobility issues, I highly recommend not getting a stateroom in the aft of the ship.  

 

Throughout the week, I'll post some pictures of the various areas of the ships to show what they look like.

[Stealthdog]

2 minutes ago, Bette And Bill said:

Enjoying your review, JC. It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday at the lime and Coconut. Looking forward to the rest of your review. Currently sitting in Two70, where the crew is setting up for the band for the Top Tier Party. Nice and quiet right now. 

 

It was a pleasure meeting you and Bill yesterday too!  We are going to brunch in the MDR soon.  We will see you at the Top Tier Party and hopefully cheer you on if they announce you and Bill!!!

[Stealthdog]

Want to show off our door decorations for this cruise. 2nd leg will be different. Hope guests and staff that walk by get enjoyment from it.

[BecciBoo]

We're sailing next week with Bette and Bill...glad they are breaking her in for us, we'll get tips when we meet up!  I am soooo excited!  Thx for the recommendations, I hate wasting time doing the stuff we do not like.

[Stealthdog]

Lunch at Giovannis on embarkation day. It was empty - if you have the UDP, just walk in and enjoy. Good options and the food was quick.  Caprese salad with truffles was really good, the meat/cheese board was standard.  The pizzas looked really good - will have to go back and try then.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

We went to the Day 1 Headliner show, Finis Henderson.  For us, it was a little bit of a disappointment and we decided to go to the Casino about halfway through his act.  I'd describe his act as music comedy, and it just didn't work for us.  We have seen better comedians on recent cruises and better singers on recent cruises, so the combination of the two was underwhelming.  There were a lot of people in the theater that really seemed to enjoy it, so check it out for yourself.  

Do you know what times the Day 1 headliner was offered? I have The Book reserved for 9PM and I am trying to avoid conflicts.

[BecciBoo]

That looked so good We just booked lunch at Gio's boarding day also.

 

[Stealthdog]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Do you know what times the Day 1 headliner was offered? I have The Book reserved for 9PM and I am trying to avoid conflicts.

One show at 9pm but he does another performance on Day 4.

[Bette And Bill]

5 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

Want to show off our door decorations for this cruise. 2nd leg will be different. Hope guests and staff that walk by get enjoyment from it.

Love your door. Especially the gnome. Now you just need a Grinch. 

[vettprincess]

My daughter just got off the Harmony this am. She and some others in her hallway on deck 11 had their door decor stolen. Even the married couple next door that had their 60 yr anniv pictures stolen.

Her room steward said they were in "a high crime area". Central park!!!!! Hard to believe but anything can happen.

She was told to go to gs and describe the issues. She got a bottle of bubbly for her efforts.

She has not seen the usual bands of roving teens so can only guess what did happen.

We are on Odyssey next week so we will see what happens with the doors.

And your door decor is terrific. We always put decorations on our doors. Then can find our cabin down a long passage way.

Thank you for all the boarding rules, not our first rodeo but always good to know everything to make boarding go smoothly.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Stealthdog]

Dining Night 1 - Wonderland

 

Compared to our experience with the Wonderland on the Symphony, the Odyssey Wonderland was fantastic.  The room is one level, much smaller and more intimate.  The decorations and decor are all well done, and it seems like they planned space rather than just throw things together.  There is no Mad Hatter cast member walking around the restaurant (which we found a little annoying on the Symphony).  Our server told us the smaller ships don't do the Mad Hatter.  We even thought the food on the Odyssey's Wonderland was better.  

 

We definitely recommend Wonderland the on the Odyssey for the experience and ambiance.  The food may not be to everyone's liking because it is really eclectic.  If you do go to Wonderland on Odyssey, ask to be served in Shey's section - she was outstanding.  Some pics of the food.

[Stealthdog]

Some Holiday decorations on the ship, on Deck 5.  Deck 5 is the area where you embark onto the ship.

[BecciBoo]

O wow, looks like they are doing away with the awful maroon and gold balls...love the crystal and snowflake motif!  Lovely, can't wait to see....

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

On 12/1/2022 at 1:08 PM, Stealthdog said:

 

I'll see what I can do! 🙂 

 

Can usually find the extra papers with the senior staff for the sailing in the rack where they keep the extra and foreign language dailies near guest services.

 

Thanks for bringing us along on your cruise!

Edited December 4, 2022 by Steeler Nation At Sea

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, vettprincess said:

My daughter just got off the Harmony this am. She and some others in her hallway on deck 11 had their door decor stolen. Even the married couple next door that had their 60 yr anniv pictures stolen.

Her room steward said they were in "a high crime area". Central park!!!!! Hard to believe but anything can happen.

She was told to go to gs and describe the issues. She got a bottle of bubbly for her efforts.

She has not seen the usual bands of roving teens so can only guess what did happen.

We are on Odyssey next week so we will see what happens with the doors.

And your door decor is terrific. We always put decorations on our doors. Then can find our cabin down a long passage way.

Thank you for all the boarding rules, not our first rodeo but always good to know everything to make boarding go smoothly.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Too bad the staff can't be bothered to review the camera recordings of the passageway. The culprits deserve a good hand slapping.

[RobinKS]

We board on December 30th, thanks for your review, I'll be following along.

[abpplh]

We are on this itinerary Dec 23 - 31 2023!!!!  Wish it was 2022....

[Stealthdog]

20 hours ago, vettprincess said:

My daughter just got off the Harmony this am. She and some others in her hallway on deck 11 had their door decor stolen. Even the married couple next door that had their 60 yr anniv pictures stolen.

Her room steward said they were in "a high crime area". Central park!!!!! Hard to believe but anything can happen.

She was told to go to gs and describe the issues. She got a bottle of bubbly for her efforts.

She has not seen the usual bands of roving teens so can only guess what did happen.

We are on Odyssey next week so we will see what happens with the doors.

And your door decor is terrific. We always put decorations on our doors. Then can find our cabin down a long passage way.

Thank you for all the boarding rules, not our first rodeo but always good to know everything to make boarding go smoothly.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

Thats terrible.  I guess I have proof if things go missing because of my pictures.  I bought everything at the dollar store, so for me its not sentimental.  But, I feel for your daughter especially if the stolen items were important to her. 😞 

[Stealthdog]

On 12/1/2022 at 9:29 AM, RCCLNYMETS41 said:

@StealthdogThe Odyssey was great! We sailed Nov 13th. If by chance you get the paper that lists the Captain, CD, Hotel Director etc. with their photo & bio, I would appreciate it if you could share it. It was not available my sailing as it still had the old CD on it. Enjoy your vacation.

 

I checked with Guest Services yesterday and they said they no longer do the photo & bio pages for the officers (at least on the Odyssey).  I thought I saw them a few months ago and mentioned that to her, but she was adamant they don't have them on the Odyssey.  I'll keep digging around, but I don't think I will be able to find them for you.

[Stealthdog]

Day 2 Daily

[lcpagejr]

4 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

 

I checked with Guest Services yesterday and they said they no longer do the photo & bio pages for the officers (at least on the Odyssey).  I thought I saw them a few months ago and mentioned that to her, but she was adamant they don't have them on the Odyssey.  I'll keep digging around, but I don't think I will be able to find them for you.

I can confirm the same from our Thanksgiving cruise. There are a couple links for Captains and Cruise Directors in these topics. Since Captain Per and Cruise Diretor Anna are currently on Odyssey...I'm sure you can get their last names from these links and then do a social media search for more info on them