dr martini

half of my family is in south florida and october is my favorite month to visit.  snowbird season hasn't started yet, at the very tail end of hurricane season, weather is nice and warm everyday, ocean is very comfortable.  here's a table of nassau ocean temps, which is a good comp for PDCC and you can see october is 10 degrees warmer than feb (mid 80's vs mid 70's) mid 80s is perfect, but it has to be a very hot day to enjoy or even get into 70 degree water (that or i need to p** pretty badly) 
 

half of my family is in south florida and october is my favorite month to visit.  snowbird season hasn't started yet, at the very tail end of hurricane season, weather is nice and warm everyday, ocean is very comfortable.  here's a table of nassau ocean temps, which is a good comp for PDCC and you can see october is 10 degrees warmer than feb (mid 80's vs mid 70's) mid 80s is perfect, but it has to be a very hot day to enjoy or even get into 70 degree water (that or i need to p** pretty badly) 
 

half of my family is in south florida and october is my favorite month to visit.  snowbird season hasn't started yet, at the very tail end of hurricane season, weather is nice and warm everyday, ocean is very comfortable.  here's a table of nassau ocean temps, which is a good comp for PDCC and you can see october is 10 degrees warmer than feb (mid 80's vs mid 70's) mid 80s is perfect, but it has to be a very hot day to enjoy or even get into 70 degree water (that or i need to p** pretty badly) 
 

This card seems to be an indication of drink package sales on that cruise not being at whatever target RC wants them at.

Check the cruise compass for the time each day they set up toys for toddlers - usually in the morning in the teen area. If your child won't be potty trained yet, the nursery is your only option  - so make sure you visit right upon boarding and get the paperwork filled out and make as many reservations as they will let you - usually 2 or 3 to start off (this does cost like $6/hr whereas Adventure Ocean has no cost). Bring bags to put dirty diapers in, and take those to the hallway or public restroom trash cans - those are emptied much more frequently. If your little likes specific dry snacks, take a good supply. Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. I recommend an entire box. If you're travelling to the port, have Amazon deliver a box to the hotel and then just check it with your luggage. You can get milk in the Windjammer and all sorts of fruits, etc. throughout the day. Call and and ask them to put a pack n play in your room. Children under 3 are not allowed to sleep in the berths. Do NOT bring your giant stroller on board, there will be no where to put it. Invest in a collapsible umbrella stroller. I never used the stroller on board, but utilized baby wearing everywhere because it was much easier to get around not having to wait for elevators or be a nuisance to other guests in hallways. Be prepared for interruptions in sleep patterns and pack a big bag of patience! We liked to order the free continental breakfast room service with fruits and pastries to let our littles get something while we got ready to go to breakfast - it bought us time and peace. Also, be prepared to be somewhat isolated from your group to manage nap times - I was caught off guard how isolating it can be to manage nap times and bed times and found that it usually fell to me to manage. Make sure y'all make agreements on expectations for coverage otherwise you'll find it always falls to mom, and it feels like everyone else gets to have all the fun while you're stuck in the cabin at nap time and in the evenings. If you're planning to go to the beach, I found packing some collapsible sand buckets and a few sand toys was useful.

I've run into this twice in recent months. In both instances, I had to call and specifically ask them to "push" the OBC through now rather than later. I had to wait on hold for a while but when the process was completed, the OBC showed up in cruise planner within a day. YMMV but I thought I'd mention this for anyone in the same boat 🙂

We don't even know what it actually means to opt in or even out of biometrics.

You do realize you will be on security cameras at almost all times when you are out of your stateroom?

Do you have a passport? Drivers license? Your bio metric data is already out there

I usually spring for the extra cost and get some food at Playmakers. There aren't any complimentary options that really are away from the masses on that ship class unfortunately.

I've never had an issue with going through the suite line in Galveston with a Jr. Suite.  Royal even explicitly states that Jr. Suite gets priority boarding.  You just don't get the personalized escort is all. 
What are the Benefits of the Suites Program? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

They actually do. I made it to D+ on comped cruises.

I respect everyone's opinions here. Most things in life are subjective.
I will say, however, the predominant nature of the responses 1) cite the fact that Quantum ships were developed for cold weather, and/or 2) appear to be written by people without young kids who are on cruises to have a mostly 'adult' experience. All of that is fine. It makes total sense for there to be cruise ships with more indoor options if they're going to be deployed outside of warmer climates. It also makes total sense for there to be cruises with more adult-driven experiences (although I'd argue the lack of Central Park and the Aqua Theater with no replacement is a bit underwhelming in that respect.)
However, for most of Odyssey's short history -- including this cruise I just went on -- it has been deployed in the Caribbean packed with families with young kids -- which is increasingly Royal's target demographic.
If I were taking a Celebrity Cruise in Alaska, Odyssey would be an amazing ship. But for a cruise full of kids needing things to do during two sea days, it underwhelmed. The SeaPlex continually kicking kids off the sport court to have adult sports competitions, giving the hundreds of kids no where to go on a ship built for cold weather, was particularly unideal. It was a Spring Break Caribbean cruise with no waterslides, no mini-golf, no sports court, no Boardwalk, no carousel, no Abyss, no ice rink, and no designated karaoke venue. It does, however, have a lot of specialty restaurants and a giant crane that you could pay to stand in and take pictures. To me, that wasn't an even trade.  
I also didn't mention the massive footprints of the Music Hall and Boleros. There are huge back areas of these venues far from the entrance, which serve no purpose other than to provide huge spaces for people to drink. Again -- great for a Celebrity or Virgin ship catering to adult experiences. Not ideal for one catering to families. 

Funny you mention Mariner as another you don't like- I see nothing but people LOVING that ship.  

Before I begin, let me say that Odyssey is a beautiful ship and -- more importantly -- the service and staff are excellent. Our cruise last week had the best service and easily the best food of any Royal ship I've been on. I can't stress this enough. After several cruises lamenting the quality of MDR service and food quality, and the freshness of food in the Windjammer, everything on this cruise was fantastic. 
That aside, I've never before been disappointed by a ship on Royal -- and our group (all of us veteran cruisers) was continually underwhelmed by Odyssey's design. You wonder what happened during development of the Quantum Ultra ships that they totally missed the mark after killing it with the Oasis Class. 
I've been on Wonder, Symphony, Freedom, and Mariner, and I felt even the Freedom & Mariner were superior in so many ways.
Quantum boats were developed after Oasis Class but they didn't include Central Park, Boardwalk (+ carousel & Abyss), Aqua Theater, or skating rink -- yet they basically added nothing to replace them. The elevators. OMG 🤣 The no-touch buttons are a disaster. Of the 50 elevator rides I took during the week, I think I can count on one hand the times I got in and there weren't at least 2 or 3 buttons hit with no one getting off. You couldn't get within 2 feet of the panel without accidentally hitting a button. It was a joke among every passenger on the ship. I get that it's a COVID thing, but Wonder doesn't have this issue. The SeaPlex is a cool room but the big mistake was removing the sports court and skating rink, etc., and thinking the SeaPlex could handle everything. The sports court on every ship I've ever been on is in constant use by kids playing soccer or basketball. But because of the lack of other venues, every time kids would go out to play, within 30 minutes they were kicking everyone off for bumper cars, laser tag, adult sports tournaments, pickleball lessons. It was crazy. You had a boat FULL of kids on spring break and every time they started having fun they'd shut the court down for an adult 3-on-3 basketball tournament and leave all the kids with nothing to do.  No waterslides. I realize not everyone cares about waterslides, but at this point they've been an expectation on all ships and cruise lines for 15 years. It's odd that they felt waterslides were unimportant enough to build Quantum class with none and then do a total 180 and decide they're so important that Icon needed SIX. They seem to have sacrificed them for the North Star, which is gimmicky, limited to a small % of passengers, and a clear effort to replace something free with something that drives $$$. The 270 Theater that essentially replaces the skating rink and Aqua Theater is terribly underutilized. We were on the boat for 6 days and never had a reason to go there.  In general, I had the overwhelming sense that the amazing job Royal has done with crowd control on other ship classes was totally missed here. I've never felt crowded on a ship, but Odyssey is full of overcrowded venues (SeaPlex and Esplanade, particularly) and they totally screwed up the Windjammer. Half the seating is way in the back far away from the buffets, and as a result the WJ always felt crowded. There are buffet stations in the back but they were never open, even during the busiest of breakfasts, etc.  Again, staff, service, food, cleanliness -- all excellent. But Royal totally missed the boat, so to speak, on ship design here. If not for the food I'd go on Mariner 10x again before I'd go Quantum class. 
Just my opinion 🤷‍♂️
 

tried the cc beach club last year in january only because we found an $89 rate, I don't think we'll be back.  it's a beautiful area and liked the quiet, but had the same experience with a very slow bar and nonexistent waiter service around the beach chairs, we have been to PDCC several other times and bounced between south beach (i really like the four sided pavilion bar at the entrance to the beach as well as the swim up which, yes, gets crowded) and the Oasis lagoon pool if you're into that vibe (we were).
here's the view looking out from the pavilion bar on SB (with back to the road and the ship looking out towards cabanas on the left, swim up bar from south beach to the right)

Number 27 on this map, apparently it's named "coconut willie's"

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/perfect-day-at-cococay-wayfinding-maps.pdf
 
 

And shore to ship service brought us back. The cruise ships have to anchor about 5 miles out and it's a 15 minute tender ride. 

Yes, but *shouldn’t* it be?? 🤣

I got up super early this morning to make the 4 hour drive to Tampa from Tallahassee.  No need for a hotel the night before this way.

Not the best driving conditions..but the rain cleared up once I arrived.

There's also refunds and OBC being given... overall, I think they are offering a pretty good deal being it wasn't something they had any control over. 

Sorry to get off-topic for a second but I don't understand why they built a bar that looks so nice at night in the dark only to close it at 8pm. Nothing wrong with it in the daytime but that colorful canopy looks amazing at night.

Symphony is the only Oasis class ship I'm missing and I'm Wonder's biggest fan but I'd choose based on price, itinerary, ease of travel, etc. You'll likely love either one.
I could tell you to pick Wonder b/c I love Mason Jar brunch (and I do) or the redesigned WJ is nice (it is) or the ice show is my favorite (it is) but the above is still my answer.

More importantly Edge class goes through the Panama Canal.