ODYSSEY vs HARMONY

[molsonschooner]

5 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 Wonder's length and width are shown in both feet and meters.  

 

check out post 16

[DaKahuna]

3 minutes ago, molsonschooner said:

check out post 16

 

 I did -- and as I said -- Wonder's it's both feet and meters.

 

[TwinMamainMN]

We sailed on Odyssey in March and Harmony in September. Loved them both for different reasons.

 

On Odyssey, we really liked getting a latte and a light breakfast in Cafe 270 and watching the ship tie up at Coco Cay from 270. The venue was interesting with lots of types of seating. We enjoyed The Book. I can't explain what it was about, but it was cool and unique. We also really enjoyed The Effectors. We enjoyed dinners at Giovanni's Italian Kitchen, Chops and Wonderland, plus the MDR. We liked having cocktails and splitting a burger or wings at Playmakers and loved the go-karts. We watched some sports there too (soccer and basketball, I think) on the huge tv screens. Plenty of pool and hot tub space and a Solarium with hot tubs and a wading/shallow pool.

 

On Harmony, we would get a latte at Cafe Promenade and then go to Central Park Cafe for breakfast. Having to go to 2 locations was kind of annoying, but Central Park Cafe has a nice "garden" vibe that we enjoyed. We enjoyed Grease and also saw "Oh What a Night" featuring songs from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. That was a really fun experience and I found myself singing along to songs I didn't realize where even his. We had UDP on Harmony, so we ate at Chops, Jamie's Italian (better than Giovanni's on Odyssey IMO), 150 Central Park (outstanding!), Izumi Hibachi and had lunch one day at Sabor Taqueria. Lots of pools and hot tubs. No regular pool of any sort in the Solarium, but several hot tubs.

 

We didn't use iFly on Odyssey or FlowRider on either ship but enjoyed watching others use them. We did North Star on Odyssey while still docked at Coco Cay and thought it was really fun to get that view but wouldn't pay to do it unless maybe in Alaska.

 

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong. We are sailing with kids on Oasis in March and are looking forward to it. I'd happily cruise on either of them again.

[molsonschooner]

22 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 Wonder's length and width are shown in both feet and meters.  

 

sorry, I just read the one part, did not even see both numbers for W

onder

[wreckem2013]

We did an 8 day on Odyssey for Thanksgiving and Allure for Xmas. We liked Odyssey better. But that’s vs Oasis Classic(not amplified) in Allure. We will see how we like Wonder vs Odyssey. But we loved Odyssey’s solarium so I’m sure we will love Wonders.
 

I think the biggest thing to remember is Wonder was originally meant for the Asian market and while they converted it for the US some design decisions couldn’t be undone.

[nelblu]

I'll be sailing Harmony out of Galveston in the latter part of the year and wondering if Harmony has been amped like Oasis.  Loved what they did to Oasis Solarium and the water slides and the Abyss.

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, nelblu said:

I'll be sailing Harmony out of Galveston in the latter part of the year and wondering if Harmony has been amped like Oasis.  Loved what they did to Oasis Solarium and the water slides and the Abyss.

I don't think Harmony needs to be amped, it was built with the new features.

[nelblu]

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

I don't think Harmony needs to be amped, it was built with the new features.

Are you sure as I sailed Harmony prior to the pandemic and don't recall the water slides or the Abyss.  However, I can't even recall the open area in the Solarium as in Oasis.  

 

Maybe senior moments.😆

[twangster]

5 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Are you sure as I sailed Harmony prior to the pandemic and don't recall the water slides or the Abyss.  However, I can't even recall the open area in the Solarium as in Oasis.  

 

Maybe senior moments.😆

 

First Oasis class ship to have them.  Harmony was built with the slides (water and dry).

 

Only Allure is missing the purple monster and water slides in this class now.    

[nelblu]

9 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

First Oasis class ship to have them.  Harmony was built with the slides (water and dry).

 

Only Allure is missing the purple monster and water slides in this class now.    

Oh, thank you. It was a senior moment as I just realized that the scheduled Harmony Easter '20 sail was cancelled due to C19.

 

To Ocean Boy, sorry for doubting you.

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

33 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

 

To Ocean Boy, sorry for doubting you.

 

 

Lol, no worries!🙂

[firefly333]

11 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

On Harmony, we would get a latte at Cafe Promenade and then go to Central Park Cafe for breakfast. Having to go to 2 locations was kind of annoying, but Central Park Cafe has a nice "garden" vibe that we enjoyed. 

Did the central park cafe not make specialty coffee at certain hours? I just did allure and the park cafe made specialty coffee, though I'm not sure of the hours. 

 

 

[John&LaLa]

12 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

I don't understand this desire to be able to "look from one end of the Royal Promenade to the other."

 

Yea, what's up with that.

 

Actually I liked the Esplanade on Odyssey 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

I'll be sailing Harmony out of Galveston in the latter part of the year and wondering if Harmony has been amped like Oasis.  Loved what they did to Oasis Solarium and the water slides and the Abyss.

 

You may not like Harmony Solarium. No front extension like Oasis, and no pool at all

[nelblu]

7 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

You may not like Harmony Solarium. No front extension like Oasis, and no pool at all

😟

[Mikew0805]

18 hours ago, basenji56 said:

I agree with trying new ships. I loved Odyssey in November. Best windjammer I’ve had on Royal.   

Agreed, I like Odyssey's WJ.

[4_canucks]

2 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

Agreed, I like Odyssey's WJ.

 

Just got off the Odyssey on friday (Christmas sailing). We LOVED the WJ (and many other things on the Ody) but thought it was just good design on RCI's part across its fleet!? We're thinking of Wonder of the Seas next (to experience the BIG OASIS class, again, only other sailing was Allure 11 years ago and memories are fading 😁).

 

Edit: Just to add more, we thought the food on the cruise was great and we liked the fact that there was plenty of seating in the WJ, there were tables on each side all the way to the back and wrapped around and there's a food counter/outlet at the stern. Our Christmas cruise was supposed to have the highest passenger count 4800 ("beating the previous record holder by 5 passengers" was what we heard at Captain's Corner), yet we never had an issue looking for a place to sit, including debarkation morning at 8am haha. There were many choices, plus specialties stations such as Gluten Free, Vegetarian and Vegan (we are none of those but have friends who are). Just wish the WJ was open later than 9pm but there are other options : Cafe Promenade has pastries and sandwiches, Sorrento's has pizza, and Playmakers ($) has many pub food options, to name a few.

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by 4_canucks

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, 4_canucks said:

 

Just got off the Odyssey on friday (Christmas sailing). We LOVED the WJ (and many other things on the Ody) but thought it was just good design on RCI's part across its fleet!? We're thinking of Wonder of the Seas next (to experience the BIG OASIS class, again, only other sailing was Allure 11 years ago and memories are fading 😁).

 

 

Wonder had a fabulous Windjammer, much better than her 4 sisters

[Wineaux007]

We did a TA on Harmony.  The solarium is not enclosed, so if it's raining and windy, it's not a pleasant place to be.  

[iuki]

On 12/31/2022 at 10:15 AM, twangster said:

All ships are subject motion depending on sea state and swell.  Even Oasis was rocking last week.  If the swell can move Oasis it will also move Quantum Ultra class. 

 

Things you'll miss on Odyssey - no Central Park, no Ice Skating venue, no Boardwalk, no zip line, one Flowrider

 

Things you'll gain on Odyssey - iFly, North Star, Sea Plex, Playmakers, Solarium with wading pools,  Two70°

 

Harmony has Grease as it's primary theater show, Odyssey has The Effectors and The Book in Two70.  Shows are personal.  I've seen Grease enough times for a lifetime.  The Effectors is a high tech show.   

 

 

Thanks for the info.  I’d stick with the OASIS class.

[bajathree]

Over 20 sailings on oasis class and 2 now on Odyssey. My next is back on Odyssey again. Oasis class just played out for me...after sailing Odyssey I much more appreciate the fully enclosed solarium and even though it's a big ship smaller feel compared to oasis class. Much better Windjammer on Odyssey that I can't stand on Oasis class and never used. Love the 270 area as well as cafe 270...great ship. 

[nelblu]

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Wonder had a fabulous Windjammer, much better than her 4 sisters

How so?

Edited January 1, 2023 by nelblu

[Ocean Boy]

42 minutes ago, bajathree said:

Over 20 sailings on oasis class and 2 now on Odyssey. My next is back on Odyssey again. Oasis class just played out for me...after sailing Odyssey I much more appreciate the fully enclosed solarium and even though it's a big ship smaller feel compared to oasis class. Much better Windjammer on Odyssey that I can't stand on Oasis class and never used. Love the 270 area as well as cafe 270...great ship. 

Appreciate your opinion. I am an Oasis fan but booked on Odyssey (first time on Q class). Since I don't have a problem going back to V/F class ships I am pretty sure Odyssey will work out fine. I'm pretty excited about being on a new class of ship.

[Mikew0805]

31 minutes ago, nelblu said:

How so?

It's laid out differently. Instead of it being on 16, it is on 15. The dining area wraps around the boardwalk open area. Whether there is more seating or not... I don't know, but it sure feels like there is.

[resetjet]

I like both ships.  I could go

either way.