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

[Stealthdog]

Day 6 we watched the Headliner Showtime:  Jamie Allan in the theater.  We first tried going to the 8PM act, and the theater was already packed at about 745, so we went to the 10PM act instead.  The 10PM showing also filled really quickly.  The filling of the theater is something we noticed with a few other shows as well - people on this sailing tended to get there 20-30 minutes before showtime and many would block several seats for family members of friends who weren't there yet.  

 

Jamie Allan was an entertaining magician, on par with other magicians we have seen on cruise ships.  He included crowd participation in his acts, which is always fun.  Its worth going to his show - if you pay enough attention, you may be able to figure out how he does what he does. 🙂

 

 

[Stealthdog]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:52 AM, Ocean Boy said:

Is the food good there?

 

Here are some pics of Loco Fresh.  I included the hot sauces in case that is something you like and want to see what is on board.

[Stealthdog]

The Seaplex is awesome.  If I was a teenager, I would probably spend my whole day there.  There are two levels to the Seaplex, with Playmakers on the second level.  The venue is used for many different activities - shows, bumper cars, volleyball, pickleball, basketball, soccer, badminton, and a few others that I probably didn't notice.  Most nights they have a couple hours of bumper cars free time.  Last night they had a game show The Quest, which was interesting.  Throughout the day, the staff rearranged the sports area to set up nets, goals, and bring down basketball rims.  

 

Outside the sports space (but still inside the venue), are ping pong tables, pool tables, arcade games.  There is just alot going on.

 

For Playmakers, last Sunday was ridicuously packed.  Between NFL games and World Cup games, there were never any seats/tables.  I'd guess there were probably 5 different NFL games being showed.  Not sure how they pick which games go on which TVs - it may be by customer request.  Below are some pics of the Seaplex areas.

[Stealthdog]

We did the Spa tour and attended the Spa Raffle on Day 1.  Royal does a better job with a number of things compared to other cruise lines, but one where they are lacking is with the Spa space.  The Odyssey does have a relaxation lounge for people waiting for their spa appointments, and 1 sauna and 1 steam room that are both co-ed.  They do offer day passes for use of the sauna/steam room.  We find the Thermal Suites on Celebrity and NCL to be worth the cost and skipped the Spa on the Odyssey.

 

The gym looked really good on the first day and my first thought was it was big enough for this size ship.  But, going to the gym on Day 2 and Day 4, I quickly found it gets packed especially in the morning.  It didn't help that many of the stationary cardio machines were out of order.  It still offers a decent variety of cardio machines (bikes, ellipticals, rowers), some free weights and some machine weights.  If you want to get a regular workout in the gym, you may want to consider going in the afternoon than the morning to avoid the congestion.

[Stealthdog]

This may be an unpopular opinion based on comments I've heard on ship about The Book and Showgirl, but Showgirl is hands down the best show on the ship.  Everything about it was outstanding.  In terms of Cruise Ship productions, IMHO it was better than Hairspray on the Symphony but not at the level of the Lion King on the Disney Dream.  It is traditional production style with 5 singers and a little more than a dozen dancers.  3 of the singers were phenomenal, one of the female vocalists is probably the best cruise ship production vocalist I have heard.  The costumes and dancers were all fun and good at what they do, with a little bit if aerial dancing at the end.  The only critique (and its not about the performance) I have is there were about 15-20 staff members sitting in the audience, and they were hooting and yelling almost every scene, which was a little annoying.  I get they were supporting their friends, so it really didn't interfere with my enjoyment, but I could see how people may be bothered, especially if they were sitting right next to them.

 

Overall, Royal should be very proud of themselves with Showgirl and I would recommend everyone go see it.  Get there early to get your seats.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

I've been putting off the Voom review and want to finish that before we head to dinner.  The surf and stream on the Odyssey is outstanding.  I've been on several cruise ships (in the last few years), where it takes minutes to upload a website because the speed is so poor.  Whatever Odyssey has done, they have resolved any internet at sea issues I have seen in the past.

 

I mentioned earlier you can use your TV in your cabin to access your phone apps for Netflix.  I assume you could also link access streaming services equally as well.  The instructions on how to do it is simple on the TV.  We downloaded a couple of movies and TV shows, and the downloads were complete in less than 20-30 seconds.  I posted a pic below on where to find streaming services on your stateroom cabin.

 

The other aspect of the Surf and Stream that amazed me was with online gaming.  I was able to connect to a server on a popular multiplayer game through my Steam account and tested that connection for several minutes with no disruption.  The internet speed on the ship appears to be as good as what I have at home.  If you have kids or grandkids (or you are) that are avid gamers, whether it is first person shooters, strategy games, or MMORPGs, they will have access on the Odyssey through the Surf and Stream.  

 

The only limitation we are finding with Voom is the # of devices - we have a 1 device package and share that with 3 devices (2 smart phones and a laptop).  With this experience, I think Voom may be one of the best value purchases now.  

[Stealthdog]

Whatever issue that had the Robotic Bar out of order appears to be fixed.  We saw people using it two nights ago, so it should be available for future cruises (assuming no other issues arise).  

 

Edited December 10, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Also wanted to show the wonderful views out the windows of the 5th Deck Specialty Restaurants.  🤣

 

These are the views from Chops and Giovanis.

[Stealthdog]

Map of Labadee - I don't think I have posted this yet.  I didn't see these on the ship, but you can get it when you get off the ship.

[lcpagejr]

6 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

The Seaplex is awesome.  If I was a teenager, I would probably spend my whole day there.  There are two levels to the Seaplex, with Playmakers on the second level.  The venue is used for many different activities - shows, bumper cars, volleyball, pickleball, basketball, soccer, badminton, and a few others that I probably didn't notice.  Most nights they have a couple hours of bumper cars free time.  Last night they had a game show The Quest, which was interesting.  Throughout the day, the staff rearranged the sports area to set up nets, goals, and bring down basketball rims.  

 

Outside the sports space (but still inside the venue), are ping pong tables, pool tables, arcade games.  There is just alot going on.

 

For Playmakers, last Sunday was ridicuously packed.  Between NFL games and World Cup games, there were never any seats/tables.  I'd guess there were probably 5 different NFL games being showed.  Not sure how they pick which games go on which TVs - it may be by customer request.  Below are some pics of the Seaplex areas.

Totally agree!! My grandson literally spent the whole cruise there. IMO...one of the most innovative concepts introduced on a ship. The size is aslong as a full sized basketball court and even wider. Adding Playmakers above with 50+ TVs and a large screen TV was brillant.

[Bette And Bill]

15 hours ago, davekathy said:

When you say, "not been there for quite a while now", when? We were in Curacao March of this year and the market was full with vendors and very busy (locals).  

The floating market has not been there for several years now. The open market is there but not the floating one. 

[Bette And Bill]

14 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

This may be an unpopular opinion based on comments I've heard on ship about The Book and Showgirl, but Showgirl is hands down the best show on the ship.  Everything about it was outstanding.  In terms of Cruise Ship productions, IMHO it was better than Hairspray on the Symphony but not at the level of the Lion King on the Disney Dream.  It is traditional production style with 5 singers and a little more than a dozen dancers.  3 of the singers were phenomenal, one of the female vocalists is probably the best cruise ship production vocalist I have heard.  The costumes and dancers were all fun and good at what they do, with a little bit if aerial dancing at the end.  The only critique (and its not about the performance) I have is there were about 15-20 staff members sitting in the audience, and they were hooting and yelling almost every scene, which was a little annoying.  I get they were supporting their friends, so it really didn't interfere with my enjoyment, but I could see how people may be bothered, especially if they were sitting right next to them.

 

Overall, Royal should be very proud of themselves with Showgirl and I would recommend everyone go see it.  Get there early to get your seats.

I think those "hooting and yelling" were the members of the installing group. Since this was the first week for this cast, the "team" were still on board. They will probably be getting off today.

[Stealthdog]

Watching our home for the next week pull into port!  

 

We have had a fantastic time on the Odyssey.  Great entertainment, good food, awesome staff, and fun passengers.  Had a blast meeting people from the Roll Call and others on board not associated with Cruise Critic.

 

I'll continue to post some summary thoughts on here about the Odyssey and a few topics and pictures I have may forgotten (ie iFlight).  I hope this review was useful for future Odyssey cruisers, or fun for people stuck in the cold and just following along.

 

Its almost time for us to leave our Fun Cruise and begin our Relaxing Cruise! 🙂 

 

Here is a link to the Celebrity Beyond review for anyone who wants to continue along:

 

[jamon]

thanks for the review

[ihopfar]

Thanks for the review Stealthdog!    Just to confirm, you stayed on ship time the whole time?  Which means ship time was different than the port time in Aruba and Curacao, right?

 

Brad

 

 

[Bette And Bill]

1 hour ago, ihopfar said:

Thanks for the review Stealthdog!    Just to confirm, you stayed on ship time the whole time?  Which means ship time was different than the port time in Aruba and Curacao, right?

 

Brad

 

 

That is correct. The ship stayed on Eastern time the entire cruise.

[ihopfar]

14 hours ago, Bette And Bill said:

That is correct. The ship stayed on Eastern time the entire cruise.

Thanks!  So, are the times in the itinerary the port times or the ship times for the ports where it is different?

[Bette And Bill]

3 minutes ago, ihopfar said:

Thanks!  So, are the times in the itinerary the port times or the ship times for the ports where it is different?

They are ship times. If it is part of Royal and not the port - all times are ship time. Everyone tells you to stay on ship time and to turn off auto updating on your electronic devices. Although for these ports the islands are an hour ahead of ship time.