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Odyssey of the Seas, Jan. 15, 2022 - The Not Live Blog, Blog


twangster

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I wasn't planning to live blog this one but with all the FUD about cruising right now I thought I better clear the cruising record.  FUD is Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt and there is plenty of FUD being tossed around social media with respect to cruising.  Consequently this not live blog is from the ship as we return on the final sea days on our way back to Port Everglades. 

I didn't start out taking pictures and documenting everything with the intent to present it here so bear with me as I hobble together something to represent this cruise and to set the record straight.  It's still a great time to cruise.  The "enhanced" mask policy has had zero impact to me as a universal mask hater but I know the rules and I am following them.  

This is an eight night Southern Caribbean itinerary with a great blend of sea days and awesome ports.  

Day 1 - Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale embarkation

Day 2 - Nassau

Day 3 - Sea Day

Day 4 - Sea Day

Day 5 - Aruba

Day 6 - Curaçao

Day 7 - Sea Day

Day 8 - Sea Day

Day 9 - Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale debarkation

Let's start with a cabin tour of an obstructed balcony cabin on deck 7.  Obstructed balconies are a great way to enjoy a balcony while benefiting from a discount for living with an obstruction.  On Quantum class ship the most common form of obstruction in the balcony category comes from the lifeboats and the towers that support the lifeboats (davits). 

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Many (but not all) deck 6 and deck 7 balcony cabins are of the obstructed form but they are not all equally obstructed.  By carefully picking the cabin location including choosing deck 7 the obstruction is not as significant.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for... I present... the obstruction:

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Yep, that's it.  That's several hundred dollars off the price of the cruise but YMMV.

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The rest of the cabin is the same as any other balcony cabin on the ship.

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And for the icing on the cake this is a connecting balcony cabin.  However the connecting door on this class, at least in this cabin, is near the main entrance door and it seals very well.  I've not heard a peep from the young college aged kids next door.  By placing the connecting door here it doesn't impact the sofa or desk or any other aspect of the cabin.

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I've sailed Odyssey a few times already and so I know the ship very well.  One thing I noted as soon as boarded and commenced making my entertainment reservations was this:

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First come, first seated.  Reservation not required.

On prior Odyssey cruises the main theater shows used reservations.  Not so on this cruise.

That may seem odd but thinking back to my pre-pandemic Anthem and Ovation cruises the main theater never used reservations on those ships.  The Two70 show does use the reservation system but the main theater on Odyssey has adopted the general Quantum class approach to the main theater, come early for the best seats.

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We often hear claims of a lack of transparency but with this letter presented to us at check in it seems pretty transparent to me.

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While unpacking my luggage I spotted a familiar shape coming into the port.

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It's Vision of the Seas!

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Here is a time lapse I quickly grabbed as I finished unpacking.

After lunch and a few diamond beverages it was time for our departure which I also captured from my balcony.

On the way out I noted some Royal fans here to see us off!

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A time lapse of course:

 

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Day 2 - Nassau

After a late night enjoying the ship I woke up with us almost docked in Nassau.  Arriving right behind us was Freedom of the Seas.

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We docked at the outermost pier which is nearly finished in terms of the construction that has been going on on all the piers in Nassau.

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While the extension that is being added is still under construction at least this section of the outer pier appears complete.

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Walking around the ship I discovered the Flowrider surface was being replaced.

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This new top mat doesn't have the ridges the original mat did so this should be a welcome update for all Flowriders.

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While near the Sportplex I discovered it was Bumper Car time and there was no line!

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I had to replace the sound in this video to avoid a copyright issue but you can get the idea.

While in the Sportplex I made a reservation for the Virtual Reality game Zone Zero.

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Later after a Kümmelweck in cafe270 I stopped by NextCruise.  YOLO!  Staying on for a B2B!  

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For the record, beverage package prices on board:

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Zone Zero was a lot of fun and a level of virtual reality I've never experienced before.  It is $18 per person.  

Since I am solo I was paired up with 3 teenage girls to make our team of four as we Swashbuckled our way to defeat the Kraken.

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Picture is free to download or at a cost if you want it printed.

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Zone Zero was a lot of fun and a level of virtual reality I've never experienced before.  It is $18 per person.  

Since I am solo I was paired up with 3 teenage girls to make our team of four as we Swashbuckled our way to defeat the Kraken.

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Picture is free to download or at a cost if you want it printed.

Ok, now we know who you really are. That's you Mario!😎

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Day 3 - Sea Day

Good morning world!  A sunrise at sea.

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On a sea day, at 8:30am and hardly another guest to be found.

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It did rain briefly which brought with it some rainbows.

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Then a winter storm hit us and the roads were covered in snow and it was miserable.  Then I woke up from my balcony nap under sunny skies.

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Crown and Anchor Top Tier event this morning. 

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The house band played some tunes while we waited for the event to start.

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Captain stated we have 1,634 guests with 1,597 crew so almost a 1:1 ratio.  That's luxury cruise ships numbers!  In terms of CAS onboard, here is the breakdown:

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One sequence created for the Vistarama screens has the Royal Caribbean fleet sailing behind us.  This was originally created for a Board of Directors meeting that occured on Quantum soon after it first launched but the video has since become a staple in C&A top tier events on Quantum class ships.

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Our progress:

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Checking out the new Flowrider surface.  

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Looks pretty good.

Later on this day they were testing out the new Flowrider:

 

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Dinner in Teppanyaki:

Love the view...

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Nearly a full moon rising from the sea.

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What these photos don't capture is the show that comes with the dinner experience.  So much fun!

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Right from dinner I headed down to see Showgirls! in the main theater.

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It's really a great production.

For a much more thorough post on Odyssey's entertainment line up see this post:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/26522-odyssey-of-the-seas-entertainment-in-pictures/#comment-288089

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For any teens out there here is quick sample of what Social180 offers:

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Bumper cars!  Again?  Why not?  No line.

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Another trip to NextCruise means another cruise booked.

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The main dining room is so different compared to the earlier non-ultra Quantum class ships so it was dinner in the MDR.

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4 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Do you know if there's anywhere on Odyssey to get smoothie-type drinks?

Only Oasis class has Vitality Cafe so the smoothies with real fruit are exclusive to this class.  On all other ships the best they can do is smoothies made with the syrups that are used to make frozen cocktails and mocktails. 

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Day 5 - Aruba

Approaching Aruba I spotted a familiar shape in the distance.

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It's the TUI Marella Discovery, formerly Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas!

Right at 8am the Captain announced we have been cleared and guests started making their way to various excursions buses waiting for us.

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I planned to self explore today so off I went.

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We have a late stay in Aruba with an all aboard time of 10:30pm.   On occasions like I always try to find a beach to enjoy the sunset.  

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Another ship inbound to join us.

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This has a lot of potential for a sunset and checking an app I have it confirmed the sun should set in this general direction.  The little boat anchored just off shore caught my eye as a potential subject to include in my sunset photos.

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After a 4 mile morning stroll I was back on board grabbing some lunch sandwiches from cafe270.  Another view of the Discovery behind us.   

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Oops!  I did it again!  Another NextCruise booking.  Fun fact I didn't know - NextCruise has a 3 booking limit.  To book a 4th they'll need to get permission from HQ. 

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5 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Do you know if there's anywhere on Odyssey to get smoothie-type drinks?

 

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Only Oasis class has Vitality Cafe so the smoothies with real fruit are exclusive to this class.  On all other ships the best they can do is smoothies made with the syrups that are used to make frozen cocktails and mocktails. 

Don't they serve smoothie-type drinks at Two70 Café?

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Day 7 - Sea Day

On our way back across the Caribbean Sea and I'm no longer on the sunrise side of the ship so no morning photos.

I went to Playmakers for lunch.  They Sportsplex has been closed while we were in port as they finished the floor and fixed some other things here and there.

The shiny new floor of the Sportsplex:

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Love the sea views from Playmakers.

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Games of the week:

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The Playmakers Classic Burger:

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One more look at the shiny new floor.

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We were overtaking another ship in the early hours.

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Captain's Corner this morning.

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Crown and Anchor: Up Close and Personal With Your Entertainment Family

A one hour presentation and Q&A session with the cast and backstage crew.

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At these events you always learn some tidbit of information and get insight what's it like for the cast and crew right now.  

Normally the cast spend a month or more at the Royal Caribbean Studios in Miami rehearsing a show.  Right now they are sent to a ship, go into quarantine and learn the show over video.  Once out of quarantine they meet for the first time and put all the pieces together into the production we see.  Amazing.

Simply georgeous sea day!  Talk about calm seas...

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Moving cabins between cruises so I have to pack up tonight.  I'm moving up in the world! 

I chose a deck 13 balcony for my next cruise as it was cheaper than the obstructed balconies I'm in now.  My current cabin is occupied next cruise so if I have to move I'm taking the opportunity to check out something higher, see if there is pool deck noise and if I like the location.  It's only a 6 night and was pretty reasonable so I'll survive no matter what.

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Day 8 Sunset

I spotted a cruise ship on the horizon near the sun.


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I imagine it's a lot hotter over on that ship.

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That Captain better be careful, it's heading straight for them.

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The clouds save the day.

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Added bonus:

Balcony sunset 360 photo featuring a guest appearance from the North Star

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18 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Do you know if there's anywhere on Odyssey to get smoothie-type drinks?

In the Solarium bar they were making smoothies with oats, protein and fruit (in December 2021) . They qualify as a Diamond drink! I'm also VERY VERY pleased the flowrider surface was replaced! It was... challenging with the bubbles and the standing seams. Thanks RCCL and Flowrider. 

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