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I'm back! Wondering...Wonder vs Odyssey


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Been very very very awol, but no money and lots happening!  However, we are now looking at a New years eve cruise this year since our schools'  winter breaks will be the whole week after New Years.  I have been on Allure, so I am sure I would love Wonder.  We are looking at an 8 day Odyssey Southern Caribbean cruise vs a 7 day Eastern Wonder.  I think we would love the Odyssey itinerary, but I'm worried about liking the quantum class and I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly what restaurants/amenities are on quantum vs. oasis class.  The wonder itinerary is the usual eastern caribbean we've been to but a new ship and new restaurants we haven't been to (we've been on allure once), whereas the quantum is an extra day and curicao for an extra couple hundred and a brand new ship.  Can people tell me the vibes and shows on the ships ?  Jane

 

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We did Odyssey last October. Loved the ship. I'm a Flowrider guy and the Flowrider on this ship was not good. Death seams. But my wife and I enjoyed the rest of the ship very much. We have done Harmony and Allure for Oasis class ships and enjoyed them but the Ultra Quantum class ship was another level up in my opinion. New ship doesn't hurt. The music hall was cool. Didn't get a chance to really take part in the Seaplex area. Did watch the bumper cars before going to Izumi hibachi. Everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Overall I liked the Odyssey over the Allure & Harmony

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1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I prefer Oasis-class ships over Quantum class.  Oasis class has more restaurants that we like, I'm not a fan of the Esplanade area on Quantum class.  I really enjoy the Boardwalk and Central Park neighborhoods.  But, to each their own.


100% agree!  

 

1 hour ago, mom2mybugs said:

 

 I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly what restaurants/amenities are on quantum vs. oasis class.  The wonder itinerary is the usual eastern caribbean we've been to but a new ship and new restaurants we haven't been to (we've been on allure once), whereas the quantum is an extra day and curicao for an extra couple hundred and a brand new ship.  Can people tell me the vibes and shows on the ships ?  Jane

 

 

The only specialty restaurants on Odyssey are Chops, Giovanni’s, Izumi, and Wonderland (which is tiny and not the usual atmosphere like on an Oasis class) ……… another negative is the very small pool area on Odyssey ….. it was PACKED when we were on the ship with 40% Capacity ……. I couldn’t imagine what the pool area would be like when the ship is full! ….. I don’t think I’d sail on Odyssey again for a Caribbean cruise.

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You can see what restaurants are on any Royal Caribbean ship by going to www.royalcaribbean.com ----> go to the top and choose "Ships"

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----> choose your ship

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and then scroll down to "Things to Do" -

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then scroll to "All Dining".  This works for all of the ships! You can also see what bars and other fun things are on each ship.

image.thumb.png.2ba1bc4418bca4936b680ce064be8ad4.png

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14 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I prefer Oasis-class ships over Quantum class.  Oasis class has more restaurants that we like, I'm not a fan of the Esplanade area on Quantum class.  I really enjoy the Boardwalk and Central Park neighborhoods.  But, to each their own.

100% agree with this. Oasis class is my favorite but I would even say I would prefer voyager class over quantum class. 

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I'm glad you're back  I have thinking about you and your family and hoping that you made it through the last two years.  

I am a big fan of the Oasis class and the voyager class.  I prefer both to the Quantum class, but it depends on your perspective.  If the itinerary is your destination, you should go with the better itinerary.  If the ship is the destination, go with your ship preference.  

You might want to check and see if there are any voyager class ships that meet your dates and have a good itinerary.  That might a great solution-and probably significantly less expensive.

Of course, you never know until you try, and y'all may love the quantum class.

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11 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

I'm glad you're back  I have thinking about you and your family and hoping that you made it through the last two years.  

Awww... Thank you.  Yes, we made it through with some hiccups but overall ok!  

My last 2 cruises have been on vision class so I'm anxious to try new venues and amenities.  I should look at voyager class though since we did enjoy adventure.  Jane

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Thank you everyone!   I guess I have to decide how much I would miss the neighborhoods vs the extra night and better itinerary. @Sharla has given me some great options... Now I just need to make a decision!  And seriously... Won't be my last cruise!  

I'm worried still about crowding on Odyssey but frankly, all pool decks are crowded on sea days.  And heck, with FOUR sea days, I can hope people would head to the ifly and other stuff.  

Random solarium questions... Does the solarium on Odyssey feel very "enclosed" ?  Can you still tan?  Are there sunny spots that stay sunny all day?  I like the relaxing in the solarium and being close to the pool, but am afraid I would miss fresh air?  

Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings!  Jane

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On 3/6/2022 at 6:42 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

I prefer Oasis-class ships over Quantum class.  Oasis class has more restaurants that we like, I'm not a fan of the Esplanade area on Quantum class.  I really enjoy the Boardwalk and Central Park neighborhoods.  But, to each their own.

I agree I think Oasis Class ships beat Quantum Class ships any day of the week.

I know Quantum Class ships were built to cruise through all 4 seasons but I love the openness that you feel on Oasis Class ships whereas Quantum Class ships feel more closed off. 

 

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9 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

Random solarium questions... Does the solarium on Odyssey feel very "enclosed" ?  Can you still tan?  Are there sunny spots that stay sunny all day?  I like the relaxing in the solarium and being close to the pool, but am afraid I would miss fresh air? 

No, we did not feel like it was too enclosed or claustrophobic at all. We spent many, many hours in there throughout the cruise! My wife and friend's go to area! The pool and hot tubs are much nicer than on Oasis class!

The solarium is full of light since it's all glass panel. Also, climate-controlled thankfully so you won't suffocate! There is more shade toward the back of the solarium due to the bistro, sunshine bar, roof, etc. We found (at least in FEB) that the higher tiers of the solarium pool were sometimes very cold since the water did not get much sun. We found the same issue (once again in FEB) with the outside forward pool that has the structure above and the North Star crane. The water was much colder due to lack of regular sunshine throughout the day. The main aft pool was bathed in sunshine and much warmer.

We got some color in the solarium... I did notice the glass, at least in some areas, blocks UV light as my transition lenses never darkened. You might have to occasionally "chase" the sun depending on the position of the ship.

Some pics...

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One of the 2 double hot tubs...

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Nice view from front row of loungers!

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9 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

I agree I think Oasis Class ships beat Quantum Class ships any day of the week.

I know Quantum Class ships were built to cruise through all 4 seasons but I love the openness that you feel on Oasis Class ships whereas Quantum Class ships feel more closed off. 

 

I think I will miss that openness... But I did see that the solarium on wonder is also all enclosed... Guess this is their solution to cold cruising.  Thanks for your input...I may punt and just make my husband decide!  Give me a drink and a pool deck and I should be fine!  Jane

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On 3/8/2022 at 6:19 AM, JohnK6404 said:

No, we did not feel like it was too enclosed or claustrophobic at all. We spent many, many hours in there throughout the cruise! My wife and friend's go to area! The pool and hot tubs are much nicer than on Oasis class!

Thanks so much!  It looks beautiful.  I did read your whole live blog!  Thank you for posting!   I wish ours (if we go) had late Curacao and short Aruba like yours.  Jane

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  • 3 weeks later...

We were on Odyssey and Symphony at Christmas. Been on Symphony 3 times before so Wonder is very similar. We were very disappointed with Symphony this time round, the rules were completely different compared to Odyssey. It was very poorly organised and the vibe just wasn't the same, which was a real shame.

We were specifically told that the rules on the Oasis Class ships were a lot tighter than on smaller ships, this was so true. Although many of the rules are now being relaxed, it wasn't a great experience.

The biggest change on Wonder is the new resort pool deck and fully covered solarium. We loved this on Odyssey, the pool area just had a feeling of fun with all the bright colours, in pool sun loungers etc etc. I am sure this will be a great addition to Wonder which we are looking forward to experiencing later in the year in Europe.

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Sailed Odyssey last year and agree that it's a gorgeous ship -  HOWEVER, I found the esplanade dark and almost depressing (perhaps it was because the ship was darned near empty when we were on it??) -   Other than itinerary, I would say it depends on your style of cruising and what appeals to you -  (clubs and shows at night vs constant sea breeze and lots of open air).  -  

Activities on Odyssey are great (iFly, Flowrider, bumper cars, North Star, etc) are great and the staff was amazing.   There was just something about the ship that didn't appeal to our style of cruising (again, very subjective).  Would we sail Odyssey again?  Sure thing!  Would it be our preferred for Caribbean?  Definitely not.  

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44 minutes ago, fishernrex said:

Sailed Odyssey last year and agree that it's a gorgeous ship -  HOWEVER, I found the esplanade dark and almost depressing (perhaps it was because the ship was darned near empty when we were on it??) -   Other than itinerary, I would say it depends on your style of cruising and what appeals to you -  (clubs and shows at night vs constant sea breeze and lots of open air).  -  

Activities on Odyssey are great (iFly, Flowrider, bumper cars, North Star, etc) are great and the staff was amazing.   There was just something about the ship that didn't appeal to our style of cruising (again, very subjective).  Would we sail Odyssey again?  Sure thing!  Would it be our preferred for Caribbean?  Definitely not.  

My wife and I felt the same. Odyssey is great but the esplanade lacked something., We didnt like how places like izumi and wonderland were laid out. With izumi you would walk thru people dining to get to the other side. We did like giovannis and the table. I am spoiled since my first royal cruise was on symphony and i am now an oasis class homer. Will be going on Navigator soon so I am intrigued to experience a Voyager class vessel.

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@GatorCruiserWe primarily travel on the Voyager class (Mariner, Voyager, and Adventure) for the quick 3-4 days trips and love them.  I think it's a completely different atmosphere on the quick trips with lots of energy (and drunks...).   While it lacks the openness of the Oasis class, the energy levels are usually a lot of fun (casino, bars, pool, etc).  We rarely go to the shows, so I can't comment on them.  

Also, couldn't agree with you more on the restaurant layout of Odyssey (I'd actually forgotten about that part).  The majority of the specialty restaurants lacked atmosphere I felt -  Chops felt like it was an afterthought in a dark corner.  I'm a sucker for the world dessert (not crazy about their other food) @ Wonderland, so I don't really care where it is as long as I can get that at least once!  To be honest though, we enjoyed the location of Izumi just for people watching, but agree it is in a bit of an odd space.    Agreed also on Giovanni's -  Felt like it was the most open space and the food was quite good also.  We also enjoyed 270 for lunch very much.  Great views and if you're lucky you can see the entertainers practicing.  

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29 minutes ago, fishernrex said:

@GatorCruiserWe primarily travel on the Voyager class (Mariner, Voyager, and Adventure) for the quick 3-4 days trips and love them.  I think it's a completely different atmosphere on the quick trips with lots of energy (and drunks...).   While it lacks the openness of the Oasis class, the energy levels are usually a lot of fun (casino, bars, pool, etc).  We rarely go to the shows, so I can't comment on them.  

Also, couldn't agree with you more on the restaurant layout of Odyssey (I'd actually forgotten about that part).  The majority of the specialty restaurants lacked atmosphere I felt -  Chops felt like it was an afterthought in a dark corner.  I'm a sucker for the world dessert (not crazy about their other food) @ Wonderland, so I don't really care where it is as long as I can get that at least once!  To be honest though, we enjoyed the location of Izumi just for people watching, but agree it is in a bit of an odd space.    Agreed also on Giovanni's -  Felt like it was the most open space and the food was quite good also.  We also enjoyed 270 for lunch very much.  Great views and if you're lucky you can see the entertainers practicing.  

I did enjoy cafe 270 quite a bit and went daily for bfast and coffee. We did chops once and it was ok, just lacked ambience not being in central park. We like the 2 story layout for wonderland on oasis class because we just go to the bar and then eat elsewhere. I thought the seaplex with playmakers was cool. I just keep coming back to the esplanade concept not tickling my fancy as much as the promenade concept does on oasis class ships. We did spend more time on the pool deck than I ever would on oasis class however.

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I’m on Odyssey right now, and I liked Allure back in November better. The ship layout is confusing. Restaurants scattered all over the place, yet no real direction to get there. It’s still a nice ship, but prefer Oasis class. Maybe things will change by end of cruise. Also, price of Zone Zero is $29 pp, not $18. Also aft JS is sweet, but what a long walk from nearest stairway.

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