Updates on New Sailings of the Odyssey from Florida

[smokeybandit]

1375 Odyssey crew got vaccinated today. Man they really were behind in Haifa

[FionaMG]

I have never been on an inaugural sailing but I've been around the boards long enough to know that it's a big deal for many of my "board buddies". So I am just curious how those of you who were booked on the initial inaugural that subsequently got shortened and now is apparently no longer an inaugural feel about this latest move? Will any of you want/be able to go on the new inaugural? 

[Jill]

8 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

1375 Odyssey crew got vaccinated today. Man they really were behind in Haifa

Well they did have to dump a bunch of crew that didn’t have US visas and pick up new crew that did. But still that’s a lot of vaccines 

[ConstantCruiser]

4 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I have never been on an inaugural sailing but I've been around the boards long enough to know that it's a big deal for many of my "board buddies". So I am just curious how those of you who were booked on the initial inaugural that subsequently got shortened and now is apparently no longer an inaugural feel about this latest move? Will any of you want/be able to go on the new inaugural? 

This latest inaugural is the 7th or 8th or 9th version of an inaugural concept, or may be higher.

How do I feel?  I am disappointed with every cancelled cruise regardless if it is a new ship, old ship, inaugural, new destination or one I've sailed many times.    It is what it is and the changes are not my doing or Royal's doing from anything within their control.

The good news is the previous U.S. inaugural in November 2021 has good pricing for us that booked it earlier.

I have booked on the latest iteration of the first revenue cruise with passengers.  However until the first revenue cruise on Odyssey occurs I'm not even certain July 3rd will be the inaugural and I'm okay with that.  

If there is a test cruise that the public is invited to those guests will be able to brag they were on the first cruise with guests.  

If July 3rd proves to be the first revenue cruise those guests will have bragging rights for being the first true cruise with guests.  

Anyone who books before she heads to Europe as planned can brag they sailed on Odyssey's inaugural season.  

It's all good.  Let's cruise!

[LizzyBee23]

12 hours ago, Biggiojr said:

Longtime lurker here but I'm just to excited! looks like the first two sailings on Odyssey are available for bookings!

I have a cruise on Indy in October and my Cruise planner now says

IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’ve been diligently preparing for our Royal Comeback. As we update our itinerary plans, we’ve decided to reposition certain ships in anticipation of our return to cruising. Unfortunately, this means your sailing is being cancelled. The good news is your booking will be automatically moved to a new ship with the corresponding sailing to help make the transition easier. Or, you can opt in for a full refund. Learn More
Regardless of whichever option you choose, pre-purchased Cruise Planner items - like internet, beverage, dining, shore excursions and more, will be refunded to your original form of payment.

 

 

This might be the most excited I have been since the shutdown began!!

 

-Neil

We're on the Nov 1st Indy 4 nighter out of PC... Kind of hoping we get to keep that one. Even though the Odyssey is newer, the room type we've got is unique and pretty perfect for the family.

[Scott M]

Our July 10 Symphony is cut, just got word we were able to get on the July 3 Odyssey, pretty excited! First time on this class of ship, looking forward to exploring something new!

 

[Jverge]

25 minutes ago, Scott M said:

Our July 10 Symphony is cut, just got word we were able to get on the July 3 Odyssey, pretty excited! First time on this class of ship, looking forward to exploring something new!

 

Nice.  I looked into switching my Aug 15 Allure cruise to Odyssey but the cost difference was insane so I'll continue on my quest to sail on all the Oasis class ships. 

[Kaitlyntk]

3 hours ago, Scott M said:

Our July 10 Symphony is cut, just got word we were able to get on the July 3 Odyssey, pretty excited! First time on this class of ship, looking forward to exploring something new!

 

May I ask if Royal switched you over or if you had to start a brand new reservation? 

[FionaMG]

7 hours ago, ConstantCruiser said:

This latest inaugural is the 7th or 8th or 9th version of an inaugural concept, or may be higher.

How do I feel?  I am disappointed with every cancelled cruise regardless if it is a new ship, old ship, inaugural, new destination or one I've sailed many times.    It is what it is and the changes are not my doing or Royal's doing from anything within their control.

The good news is the previous U.S. inaugural in November 2021 has good pricing for us that booked it earlier.

I have booked on the latest iteration of the first revenue cruise with passengers.  However until the first revenue cruise on Odyssey occurs I'm not even certain July 3rd will be the inaugural and I'm okay with that.  

If there is a test cruise that the public is invited to those guests will be able to brag they were on the first cruise with guests.  

If July 3rd proves to be the first revenue cruise those guests will have bragging rights for being the first true cruise with guests.  

Anyone who books before she heads to Europe as planned can brag they sailed on Odyssey's inaugural season.  

It's all good.  Let's cruise!

That's very interesting, thanks for answering. 

Can't wait to see your onboard pics when you do finally get to sail her.  

[Mpr]

On 6/5/2021 at 11:08 AM, Scott M said:

Our July 10 Symphony is cut, just got word we were able to get on the July 3 Odyssey, pretty excited! First time on this class of ship, looking forward to exploring something new!

 

We were moved from July 3rd Indy to Odyssey July 3rd at no extra cost plus a hefty onboard credit to offset the cost difference between excursions and drink plans as Odyssey cruise planner is more expensive than when we purchased previously on the original itinerary.  When RC changed us to Odyssey, the cruise planner purchases from the original itinerary were automatically refunded.  Overall we are happy to have a vacation or atleast feel like we do, however this really surprised us because the room cost was 3x what we paid but they gave it to us at no extra cost plus travel rearrange cost being covered but really it isn't that much difference in port location. 

[beck]

We were booked for Independence of the Seas out of miami for august 14-22 for southern caribbean and our booking still shows that we are booked for that time but I can’t view anything and saying our ship was canceled and we’re being moved but we haven’t received any email about it 

[JC Pats]

1 hour ago, beck said:

We were booked for Independence of the Seas out of miami for august 14-22 for southern caribbean and our booking still shows that we are booked for that time but I can’t view anything and saying our ship was canceled and we’re being moved but we haven’t received any email about it 

Welcome to the Message Boards! 

Based on other posts in other threads, sailings on Independence of the Seas were transferred to Freedom of the Seas and will be doing those sailings Independence was scheduled for. I suspect the reservation transfer process is still ongoing as these updates were just announced on Friday (6/4/21) afternoon. I would either contact your travel advisor, if you have one, or contact Royal themselves to confirm your booking has been, or is in the process of being transferred.

[Scott M]

On 6/5/2021 at 1:04 PM, Kaitlyntk said:

May I ask if Royal switched you over or if you had to start a brand new reservation? 

No, we rebooked

[livin-the-life]

we are so excited now! feels like we hit the jackpot! we were scheduled on 3 back to backs on the independence weeks of july 11th(6), july 17th(8), and july 25th(6 day) and we recieved an email stating we will atomatically be booked on the Odyssey of the seas! on the same dates too!  we are happy to be on the 2,3, and the 4th cruises on this wonderful new ship. looking forward to going back to aruba and curacao, along with everything else. after having 14 cruises cancelled since march 2020, we are more than ready.. love the fact we had lift and shifted into independence from other great cruise deals we already had. after looking at current pricing, im so glad we are price guarenteed into this expensive ship!! 10 more scheduled between dec21 and april22!!  

[UNCFanatik]

13 minutes ago, livin-the-life said:

we are so excited now! feels like we hit the jackpot! we were scheduled on 3 back to backs on the independence weeks of july 11th(6), july 17th(8), and july 25th(6 day) and we recieved an email stating we will atomatically be booked on the Odyssey of the seas! on the same dates too!  we are happy to be on the 2,3, and the 4th cruises on this wonderful new ship. looking forward to going back to aruba and curacao, along with everything else. after having 14 cruises cancelled since march 2020, we are more than ready.. love the fact we had lift and shifted into independence from other great cruise deals we already had. after looking at current pricing, im so glad we are price guarenteed into this expensive ship!! 10 more scheduled between dec21 and april22!!  

Thats awesome! But now I hate you as I had a July Symphony cruise that was cancelled but not moved to the Odyssey. I kid, I kid. 

In all seriousness, I will give credit where credit is due, this was a VERY smart move by Royal to move sailings from a ship with cancelled sailing to the Odyssey. 

[Atricks]

It's pretty cool seeing the switches, that said I tried to book a cabin for 3 on July 31st, and the best price I could get was just over 5k (Balcony was the only available option), so everyone else enjoy that.  Too much for us.

I was out a Port Canaveral Saturday and saw it for myself, it really is a beautiful ship, though.

 

 

[AshleyDillo]

2 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

In all seriousness, I will give credit where credit is due, this was a VERY smart move by Royal to move sailings from a ship with cancelled sailing to the Odyssey. 

Agreed..it's a brilliant move.  They don't have to sell a full ship on short notice and they can also charge a nice premium for the rooms they do have available.

[Kaitlyn]

5 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

Thats awesome! But now I hate you as I had a July Symphony cruise that was cancelled but not moved to the Odyssey. I kid, I kid. 

In all seriousness, I will give credit where credit is due, this was a VERY smart move by Royal to move sailings from a ship with cancelled sailing to the Odyssey. 

We were also booked for Symphony in July. When I called, they were able to move us over to the July 31st sailing on Odyssey without having to pay a new deposit or fare. 

[Scott M]

2 hours ago, Kaitlyn said:

We were also booked for Symphony in July. When I called, they were able to move us over to the July 31st sailing on Odyssey without having to pay a new deposit or fare. 

Same cabin type? obviously a difference in length right?

 

[Kaitlyntk]

1 hour ago, Scott M said:

Same cabin type? obviously a difference in length right?

 

Yes, we were switched from a deck 14, midship balcony on Symphony to a deck 12, mid-ship balcony on Odyssey. At first, the agent said we had to wait for our FCC to come through and rebook ourselves, but she spoke with the resolutions department and was eventually able to do it. This was after my hour and a half phone call the day before with no luck. I’m glad I tried one more time. We were on a seven night cruise and this new one is 8 nights. We were refunded $350 with the price difference 

[Atricks]

  Did Royal just pull all the July Odyssey sailings listed or is it just me?

[LovetoCruise87]

16 minutes ago, Atricks said:

  Did Royal just pull all the July Odyssey sailings listed or is it just me?

It's not you. I just looked and they have been removed. 

[barjpoe]

What about the Sept. 19th cruise that's not listed. Back on June 1st I was on Indy's 9/19 cruise for 6 nights, then Friday got the message about all Indy's cruise got moved to Odyssey, YEAH!, but not the 9/19th cruise. It not showing to book. But if you got to book Indy out of Galveston there is one on the 19th for 8 night. it does cost more. BUT I want to sail on the cruise I booked for 6 nights that should have been automatically moved to Odyssey.

[Cruising With JT]

2 hours ago, LovetoCruise87 said:

It's not you. I just looked and they have been removed. 

They pulled them likely to make sure they can accommodate enough people from other ships being moved over to the Odyssey. Those people have to be booked first before opening the rest to the public. They should've done this from the start honestly.

[CruizIan]

On 6/6/2021 at 6:03 PM, Mpr said:

We were moved from July 3rd Indy to Odyssey July 3rd at no extra cost plus a hefty onboard credit to offset the cost difference between excursions and drink plans as Odyssey cruise planner is more expensive than when we purchased previously on the original itinerary.  When RC changed us to Odyssey, the cruise planner purchases from the original itinerary were automatically refunded.  Overall we are happy to have a vacation or atleast feel like we do, however this really surprised us because the room cost was 3x what we paid but they gave it to us at no extra cost plus travel rearrange cost being covered but really it isn't that much difference in port location. 

How did you receive the onboard credit for your cruise planner purchases as ours were refunded as well? A perk from your TA or Royal just gave you OBC just to make up the difference?

[BarbieBell]

We haven’t heard anything from RCI on our Aug 22 cruise being moved from the Indy to the Odyssey.  It’s kinda aggravating as we are traveling with friends who got notification of the change and even have a cabin assignment.  By having to wait so long, I fear our cabin may be right under the pool, or worse, maybe our cruise will be cancelled in lieu of reduced capacity.  Not even our MEI agent had been able to help!

 

 

[Mpr]

15 hours ago, CruizIan said:

How did you receive the onboard credit for your cruise planner purchases as ours were refunded as well? A perk from your TA or Royal just gave you OBC just to make up the difference?

As far as the credit, I just talked to RC, very nicely, on a day they were being blown up by alot of people.  I believe it was early on the 6th, it did take escalation up two levels and about 4 hours on phone. RC initially said that them waiving the additional cost of Odyssey cruise was enough to satisfy any cost differences in cruise planner.  However I wouldn't let that go because it wasn't our fault they canceled the Indy sailing that we preferred to be on, we wanted a waterpark ship such as Indy and only have the week of July 4th for vacation, Odyssey doesn't have the Waterpark other than the really small toddler area.

Our issue now is that no shore excursions are available to buy other than coco cay. 

 

[steverk]

17 hours ago, BarbieBell said:

We haven’t heard anything from RCI on our Aug 22 cruise being moved from the Indy to the Odyssey.  It’s kinda aggravating as we are traveling with friends who got notification of the change and even have a cabin assignment.  By having to wait so long, I fear our cabin may be right under the pool, or worse, maybe our cruise will be cancelled in lieu of reduced capacity.  Not even our MEI agent had been able to help!

 

 

I haven't heard anything from royal about my October Indy cruise that has moved over to Odyssey other than an email saying our cruise planner purchases were cancelled.  I was confused because I didn't know I HAD an Odyssey cruise!  Since I'm on Celebrity Millennium, I went over to the next cruise department and asked.  They were able to confirm that I was moved from Indy and even gave me the room number.  I checked the Royal app, and it shows the same.

However, the Internet on Millennium is slow enough that I'm unable to log in to the cruise planner to find out about possible excursions.  It's kinda frustrating, but I like the idea of sailing on Odyssey, so I'm going to look in to it in more detail when I get home.

[MLH]

4 hours ago, steverk said:

I haven't heard anything from royal about my October Indy cruise that has moved over to Odyssey other than an email saying our cruise planner purchases were cancelled.  I was confused because I didn't know I HAD an Odyssey cruise!  Since I'm on Celebrity Millennium, I went over to the next cruise department and asked.  They were able to confirm that I was moved from Indy and even gave me the room number.  I checked the Royal app, and it shows the same.

However, the Internet on Millennium is slow enough that I'm unable to log in to the cruise planner to find out about possible excursions.  It's kinda frustrating, but I like the idea of sailing on Odyssey, so I'm going to look in to it in more detail when I get home.

Any word from the captain or staff about the 2 covid cases?

 

[steverk]

10 hours ago, MLH said:

Any word from the captain or staff about the 2 covid cases?

 

Nothing other than the announcement last night that it happened

[CrimsonCruiser]

Hi all!

Jumping on the wagon now that my Sept 11 from Indy was shifted to Odyssey (wooo!).

Anyone see any further word on her test cruises or what's happening with that? I can't find anything concrete anywhere and I've been burned enough by rumors and assumptions that I only trust concrete stuff lol.

[barjpoe]

2 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Hi all!

Jumping on the wagon now that my Sept 11 from Indy was shifted to Odyssey (wooo!).

Anyone see any further word on her test cruises or what's happening with that? I can't find anything concrete anywhere and I've been burned enough by rumors and assumptions that I only trust concrete stuff lol.

According to an article in Cruise Critic this is what I read

Test Cruise Date: June 21, 2021

First Passenger Sailing: July 3, 2021

 

[Cruising With JT]

5 hours ago, barjpoe said:

According to an article in Cruise Critic this is what I read

Test Cruise Date: June 21, 2021

First Passenger Sailing: July 3, 2021

 

This is for Odyssey...? 

[barjpoe]

8 hours ago, cruisingwithjt said:

This is for Odyssey...? 

yes

[UNCFanatik]

1 hour ago, barjpoe said:

yes

Are you certain? Not seeing that being reported

[CrimsonCruiser]

14 hours ago, barjpoe said:

According to an article in Cruise Critic this is what I read

Test Cruise Date: June 21, 2021

First Passenger Sailing: July 3, 2021

11 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

Are you certain? Not seeing that being reported

Also unable to find this, even on cruise critic. Only article I can find that talks about test sailings lists approval for Freedom, Allure, Mariner, Symphony, and Independence (source). Nothing is mentioned for Odyssey there nor in the article about its return to the US and planned sailings.

Would love to read the article you're referring to. Link?

[barjpoe]

Sorry, I get emails directly from CC, and it was in there. When I did go to the website there was nothing.

other ships - Freedom - Test Cruise Date: June 20-22, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: July 2, 2021.

Grand Classica - Test Cruise Date: June 25-27, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: July 2, 2021

Disney Dream - Test Cruise Date: June 29-July 1, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 9, 2021

MSC Meraviglia - Test Cruise Date: July 17, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 2, 2021

Allure - Test Cruise Date: July 27-29, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 8, 2021

Mariner - Test Cruise Date: August 1, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 23, 2021

Symphony - Test Cruise Date: August 1-3, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 14, 2021

Independence - Test Cruise Date: August 11, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 15, 2021

He also listed 2 Carnival ships but there going to be fully vax so no need for test cruises.

article by Aaron Saunders, updated June 8, 2021

[ConstantCruiser]

1 hour ago, barjpoe said:

Sorry, I get emails directly from CC, and it was in there. When I did go to the website there was nothing.

other ships - Freedom - Test Cruise Date: June 20-22, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: July 2, 2021.

Grand Classica - Test Cruise Date: June 25-27, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: July 2, 2021

Disney Dream - Test Cruise Date: June 29-July 1, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 9, 2021

MSC Meraviglia - Test Cruise Date: July 17, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 2, 2021

Allure - Test Cruise Date: July 27-29, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 8, 2021

Mariner - Test Cruise Date: August 1, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 23, 2021

Symphony - Test Cruise Date: August 1-3, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 14, 2021

Independence - Test Cruise Date: August 11, 2021; First Passenger Sailing: August 15, 2021

He also listed 2 Carnival ships but there going to be fully vax so no need for test cruises.

article by Aaron Saunders, updated June 8, 2021

 

I still see it on CC

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6171

[CrimsonCruiser]

39 minutes ago, ConstantCruiser said:

I still see it on CC

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6171

Thanks! That's not too far away now. I'll just chew my nails down to the cuticles praying nothing changes. A successful test cruise is the last thing I want done before I really feel some kind of confidence in my cruise sailing.

[PG Cruiser]

Here we go again!

We can keep on jinxing this all the way to November 15th, right @Cruising With JT