Back from the Odyssey and had a wonderful time but...

[Calvin]

4 hours ago, wreckem2013 said:

Midnight buffets have been gone for what over a decade? Not just on Royal but pretty much all lines. Most lines late night dining is minimal. I don’t see a whole lot of people who are clamoring for gorging on a fourth or fifth meal late at night. Plus on Odyssey they have the nicest playmakers in the fleet that is usually open  till 11pm.

I agree that midnight buffets have been gone for quite some time, but there are still those of us who clamour for them.  As I mentioned, NCL has a 24 hour restaurant and, though used sparingly, it was still used (I can personally attest to that).

[Calvin]

On 11/23/2023 at 7:36 AM, Dan83 said:

We were on the Odyssey TA as well. As a family with young kids we didn’t fit into the main demographic of this particular sailing. For the first week, I felt like we were on a half empty ship. But it was port days for the first 4 days in a row. And we were doing lots of the kids and family activities. I felt way more crowded in Cinque Terre than I did on the ship. Even the windjammer at peak times you could easily find a table. I’ve been able to navigate the crowds on a ship fairly well on previous Royal sailings. But half of the ship was diamond or above. Everyone was using the same tricks and they just didn’t work. You couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a pinnacle name tag. I gave up on solarium bistro the first day. I’m not lining up 15 minutes prior to opening for that breakfast. Lines to get in the theater started at least a full hour before showtime. We can easily deal with all that. I adjusted my strategies accordingly, and we continued to have a good time. I’m the type that absolutely hates being in crowds. Really I shouldn’t even like cruising because of this but I still do. Towards the end of the cruise I really started feeling the pinch. And the day of the Bermuda stop was the day I was ready to be off that ship. The one thing that really gets me is not being able to find a place to sit at the windjammer. Up until that day, we could walk in at peak hours grab a plate and have a seat. Now we have to spilt up to go table hunting. And take turns getting up to get a plate for us and the kids. Many other venues seemed more crowded those last few days as well. Surprisingly there were many more families with kids. There were just enough that my kids easily made friends but adventure ocean never came anywhere near capacity. On a typical 7 night Caribbean, getting the kids into the evening session means lining up 20 minutes prior to opening.
 

We still have next year’s Odyssey TA booked so it wasn’t all that bad. However, I won’t book a 7 day holiday sailing on Odyssey.  I feel like Oasis class handles crowds for that demographic much better. 

You've expressed many of the same sentiments as I.  I have my criticisms, but I would sail her again.

[Calvin]

On 11/23/2023 at 9:55 AM, sjb317 said:

We, too, were on the Odyssey TA 😂. The only places  we found really crowded were Giovanni’s Wine bar (very difficult to find a seat between 6 and 8pm every night) and the Solarium.  I couldn’t sleep one night so went for a walk and discovered the Solarium was packed with people’s stuff.🙄

 

And the Diamond Lounge was packed every night so we would just run in and grab a snack!

 

Sherri🙂

Yep, I couldn't believe there were sooo many diamond and higher loyalty club members.  I popped in the Diamond Lounge a couple of times but saw the same as you...it was packed.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:20 PM, wreckem2013 said:

Midnight buffets have been gone for what over a decade? Not just on Royal but pretty much all lines. Most lines late night dining is minimal. I don’t see a whole lot of people who are clamoring for gorging on a fourth or fifth meal late at night. Plus on Odyssey they have the nicest playmakers in the fleet that is usually open  till 11pm.

I am not saying you’re wrong, but I am not a big fan of Playmaker’s on Odyssey, at least during football season. Because of the way it is laid out, it is difficult to find a table where you can easily watch more than a few games at the same time (although I do like the large screen on the other side of the seaplex). Personally I like the layout of Playmaker’s on Independence because from most locations in the bar you can easily watch/see a half dozen games at the same time. The Playmaker’s on Freedom is pretty good too, but they have a wall behind the bar that blocks a bunch of TVs, unlike Independence which doesn’t have this wall. 

[jjjandkk]

This was great information to know what to expect.  Never been on a cruise longer than 7 days, and last cruise was 2018.  We were on a plane to Miami on 3/13/20.  When we got off the plane, it was announced all cruises were cancelled.  TA on Explorer coming next April, with a d2b to Venice after that.  Got crazy and booked the Odyssey for the TA the following year as another b2b.  For,those on the b2b, how did the menus change, since they seem to be set up on a 7 day rotation?  

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, jjjandkk said:

For,those on the b2b, how did the menus change, since they seem to be set up on a 7 day rotation?  

The ship has alternate menus for sailings over 7 nights. You can look on the menu on Serenade leaving next week to get an idea of how the menu may differ on a longer sailing. 

[Calvin]

On 11/23/2023 at 6:15 AM, lovesthebeach2 said:

We were also on that transatlantic as you.  We were on the ship from the cruise before also and I can say that it was totally different.  The TA was crazy crowded and with so many card and game players every table everywhere was full ALL DAY. I agree with people getting to lectures and games so early it was annoying so we just stopped doing those things. 
 

The “Vibe” of the ship on the TA wasn’t nearly as good as the holy land cruise before. A lot of older people that sat around all the common areas all day. I’m older too so don’t flame me.

 

The lobster is nothing  special, and as others said it’s been this way since the new menus, which aren’t the same either. On the positive side, I no longer ever gain weight on cruises because I mostly just eat appetizers for dinner. 

 

It's a shame that you almost have to put the disclaimer "so don't flame me", LOL. 

 

Only the short-sighted people do that, especially when you are simply asserting your opinion.  My guess is that flaming is what stops a LOT of helpful comments, because many are not inclined to share their opinions because some people enjoy (themselves) because they get to make snide comments...

[Etta1213]

On 11/25/2023 at 1:50 AM, Calvin said:

I agree that midnight buffets have been gone for quite some time, but there are still those of us who clamour for them.  As I mentioned, NCL has a 24 hour restaurant and, though used sparingly, it was still used (I can personally attest to that).

I've never cruised on NCL. Is the 24-hour restaurant extra, or included? Are there items like hot vegetables, salad bar?

[Calvin]

15 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

I've never cruised on NCL. Is the 24-hour restaurant extra, or included? Are there items like hot vegetables, salad bar?

The 24 hour restaurant is F-R-E-E.  It's called The Local on some ships, O'Sheehans on others.  It's a nice welcome from the usual sandwiches and pizza on other cruiselines.  One of the wonderful things about cruising is that most lines do something a little different, and possibly better, for your desires.

 

If you google the restaurant names and NCL, you will see the menus.  There was no salad bar.

[Calvin]

16 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

I've never cruised on NCL. Is the 24-hour restaurant extra, or included? Are there items like hot vegetables, salad bar?

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/617ac6f28abd337ac8fc5f75/t/65a5b96543d23822e7a5bc94/1705359727065/The+Local+Menu+Norwegian+Cruise+Line.pdf

 

Above is a menu I found re The Local.