Odyssey Inaugural....3 years later....8 night Southern Caribbean Nov 25 - Dec 3 2023

[Sweety]

9 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

Service and food was great!  I think I got pictures of everything we had. Sorry @OCSC Mike, I thought with 8 people we would have more variety. Ended up 4 people ordered the lasagna

Seafood dish looks fantastic.

[LandstromCruise]

Breakfast this morning in the MDR. 

[LandstromCruise]

Another sea day today. Tried some bingo and was 1 number away from winning the jackpot game. Then went to the casino and donated back my winnings from yesterday. 

[asquared17]

i like the small hashbrown  

[LandstromCruise]

1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

i like the small hashbrown  

Yeah it’s like 2 bites. If you’re hungry, definitely do the buffet instead . But it was fine for what we needed this morning. 

[OCSC Mike]

30 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

definitely do the buffet

Just making sure @Lovetocruise2002 sees this. It's not out of context at all.

[AshleyDillo]

On 11/26/2023 at 6:26 PM, LandstromCruise said:

we had all dressed up for white night

White night at an Italian restaurant..whew you guys live on the wild side 

My clothes get stained just thinking about tomato sauce.

[LandstromCruise]

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

White night at an Italian restaurant..whew you guys live on the wild side 

My clothes get stained just thinking about tomato sauce.

Yeah it wasn’t really planned well. Giovanni’s was booked before we knew it was white night. Then I said well, wether we spill on white or something else we will still have to change after so let’s give it a shot. Of course, the crazy uncle the last bite of his dessert spilled chocolate on himself. The other 7 of us made it out alive. 

[LandstromCruise]

Got all dressed up nice and fancy tonight for formal night. Dinner was in MDR. I had the French onion soup, my favorite. Still mad it isn’t available every night. Also tried the calamari. For Entree I had the beef tenderloin and the seafood linguini. And dessert had the apple cobbler.  The soup and dessert were really good. The beef was decent. Didn’t care for the linguini. Service was good and we were out of there in about 90 mins. Here are some food pictures. 

[LandstromCruise]

Last night after dinner went and saw Effectors. Special effects were pretty cool. After that it was to the 80’s party. Cruise director Ricky and his team did an awesome job. Energy was great. It was in music hall which I would say just makes it so not as many people can participate as can when it’s on the promenade on oasis class ships. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

46 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

Last night after dinner went and saw Effectors. Special effects were pretty cool. After that it was tTo the 80’s party. Cruise director Ricky and his team did an awesome job. Energy was great.

The Effectors is the show that I am most looking forward to next month. I didn't really think I would care for it, but after seeing Effectors 2 on Wonder in July, I am really looking forward to seeing what type of special effects are in the first one.

And we love Ricky Matthews! We cruised with him years ago, I cannot even remember which ship it was now, then we ran into him again on Wonder in July. I was so excited when I saw on his FB feed that he was headed to Odyssey until January. You are right, he is hilarious, has an awesome energy to him. Go watch the Love & Marriage show with him too, it's always funny.

[OCSC Mike]

51 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The Effectors is the show that I am most looking forward to next month. I didn't really think I would care for it, but after seeing Effectors 2 on Wonder in July, I am really looking forward to seeing what type of special effects are in the first one.

As someone who doesn't do Broadway (with a few exceptions) I was actually looking forward to Effectors 2 on Wonder and I agree it was pretty cool. We had ages 9-70+ with us and it kind of had a little something for everyone (a bit less so for my wife's parents but you get the idea). I'd like to see the 1st one but given my cruise habits it's highly unlikely we sail on Quantum class anytime soon. I'll settle for your review.

[Ampurp85]

Everyone in my party loved Effectors on Odyssey, though not without a few criticisms. I am looking forward to Effectors 2 on Wonder, I loved the drones.

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Everyone in my party loved Effectors on Odyssey, though not without a few criticisms. I am looking forward to Effectors 2 on Wonder, I loved the drones.

The "light" scene was my favourite in Effectors 2. But I won't spoil it for you.

[LandstromCruise]

9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 Go watch the Love & Marriage show with him too, it's always funny.

We are going to that tonight at 10:45! 

[LandstromCruise]

I will try to update tomorrow with some pictures from our time in curaçao. We are in Aruba all day though so it might be Thursday when back at sea. However, we had a great time on our private excursion today. Crazy Uncle and Aunt unfortunately didn’t make it as Aunt wasn’t feeling well, but it was great. Will fill in some details later. Got back on ship about an hour before all aboard. Went to Windjammer for dinner, yes @Lovetocruise2002 we ate there for dinner. Sorry @OCSC Mike no pictures. Now about to watch Love and Marriage show! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 hours ago, LandstromCruise said:

We are going to that tonight at 10:45! 

Glad to hear that it is on at night on Odyssey. On Wonder, it was in the afternoon and that was strange.

[OCSC Mike]

10 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

On Wonder, it was in the afternoon and that was strange.

Agreed. Now that I've seen all the shows and will be living sailing on Wonder several times in the not-too-distant future, I'd like some alternative night time entertainment.

Although now that I've typed that, I'm wondering if it's in the afternoon b/c they have so many stage shows at night... Effectors 2, Tap Factory, Voices, and I can't remember if the comedians did a last night main theater show like they often do.

[Lovetocruise2002]

43 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Although now that I've typed that, I'm wondering if it's in the afternoon b/c they have so many stage shows at night... Effectors 2, Tap Factory, Voices, and I can't remember if the comedians did a last night main theater show like they often do.

That was mine (and Hubby's) assumption. Too many shows in the theatre and Love and Marriage got the boot to the afternoon. Either way, Ricky Matthews is always hilarious in that role!

[LandstromCruise]

A lot of adventure of the last couple of days. I’m now relaxing on the balcony as we just pulled away from Aruba. Such a beautiful island. 

[LandstromCruise]

Let’s back track a little to yesterday. So in Curaçao we had a private tour guide. I found her on tours by locals. I was struggling to find options of things to do as I had waited to book something, but obviously it was just meant that I found Faraday on this site. She was awesome and we had such a blast. It only ended up being 6 of us instead of 8, as my Aunt was sick so crazy Uncle stayed on the ship with her. Kind of a bummer as they would have loved it. 
 

we started with driving around looking at some historic buildings as she filled us in on some of the history of the island. We then went to the Aloe Vera farm as my wife is totally into all that healthy stuff. Even I ate, yes I said ate; some Aloe Vera.  My wife grows this at home at eats it routinely but I had never tried it as that seemed weird. But it wasn’t that bad, and supposedly really healthy for you.  
 

we then went to a park, which sorry I forgot the name of, which just has some great views and opportunities for pictures  

we then went and saw some sea turtles at a beach  

 

after that it was lunch time  at Jaanchies  this was such a cool place and the owner was absolutely amazing. I got a few food pictures that I will post, but I ate Iguana folks. Yes you heard that right, Iguana. I’m not a very adventurous person when it comes to food, but between our guide and the owner of the restaurant giving a recommendation for it I felt I had to try it. Probably not something I would ever look to eat again, but it wasn’t bad. Just tasted like chicken. 
 

She then took us to her favorite beach which just again had some amazing views. 
 

While all of it was fun, the funniest thing was on our drive back to the ship. So we had the guide and driver up front in this 12 passenger van, and then the 6 of us in back. So full disclosure, we weren’t wearing any seat belts, but don’t tell anyone. So we are driving on this hilly road that goes up and down a few times and my father in law says go faster go faster like a little 5 year old kid. So the driver it’s the gas a little bit going up this hill. Well we come to the top and just on the other side of the hill some not so smart tourist thought it would be a great idea to stop in the middle of the road on the down side of a hill to take a picture. So our driver has to slam on his breaks. Well, my father in law was sitting in a seat that didn’t have any seat directly in from of him as that was the row people got out of the van and he went sliding right out of his seat onto the floor. Thankfully he was ok, but everyone just started busting up laughing, including him. The guide and driver couldn’t stop cracking up. 
 

anyways, if anyone is going to Curaçao and looking for a private tour I highly recommend Faraday. 

[LandstromCruise]

Here are some random photos from curaçao. Sorry don’t think I got any at the aloe Vera farm. My wife probably did so I will try and get some later. 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Love this entire blog…and the pictures are great. 
 

 I got a few food pictures that I will post, but I ate Iguana folks. Yes you heard that right, Iguana. I’m not a very adventurous person when it comes to food, but between our guide and the owner of the restaurant giving a recommendation for it I felt I had totry it. Probably not something I would ever look to eat again, but it wasn’tbad. Just tasted like chicken. 

I’m wondering if all odd animal foods just taste like chicken!  My most adventurous tasting was rattlesnake…which also IMO tasted like chicken.  I will admit you are braver than me because no way I would be able to try iguana!!    

Enjoy! 

[jbrinkm]

I really enjoyed this blog as well! We will be in Aruba and Curacao for the first time in March, so I especially enjoyed reading about those two islands. 

About iguana - we did a land vacation to Belize before we had our kids, and we saw kids hunting iguana when we did a tubing trip down a river. The iguanas were HUGE! We would hear a splash near us, then see an iguana swimming to shore and a kid up in the tree, out on a limb over the water with a spear. 

[LandstromCruise]

Sorry getting a little behind. I feel like I’ve missed some things that I will try to recap at the end. Anyways, yesterday we were in Aruba. Docked early and announcement to let people off came around 8am. We had booked 2 UTV’s to drive around the island that started at 10 so we didn’t have to rush off. Slept in a little, went to WJ for breakfast and headed off around 9:45. The UTV probably wasn’t best for the in-laws, but the rest of us had quite a bit of fun cruising around in them. We first headed up to Marriott Ocean Club as my crazy Aunt and Uncle happened to have some friends that were down here visiting there. We talked to them for a little bit and walked the beach. 
 

After that we drove up to the lighthouse. All but the in laws went up to the top. Probably not worth the $5 honestly, but had never done one before so said YOLO. The climb up was some pretty narrow stairs. The view was beautiful, but it was very windy. People have said it is usually pretty windy down here. 
 

After that we had been told Baby Beach was the best beach on the island. It definitely was gorgeous. Several of us got in and swam for awhile, couple walked the beach, and the in-laws recouped from the ride to the beach and probably were figuring out how not to want to kill me. About 2 miles before the beach is started pouring rain. Now these UTV’s did not have a roof or windshield. I was having a blast and said it’s just part of the experience, so we kept driving. They wanted me to stop for shelter. But we made it and the rain had stopped right before we got there. 
 

After swimming we grabbed lunch right there at the beach. Sorry, didn’t get food pictures there but it was nothing special.  I would have loved after that to go up north where you can take the UTV’s off roading, but knew that wouldn’t be good for the in laws. Plus it would have been pushing it for us to be back in time with the UTV, but next time I’m come we are definitely doing that. 
 

so we decided to go ahead and return the UTV’s and go back to ship to clean up. After cleaning up we got back off to walk around port area. There was a marketplace area with restaurants and stores that seemed like maybe it would be a happening place, but it was kind of a dud. So after walking around for about an hour we headed back to the ship for dinner. WJ it was again, sorry @OCSC Mike no Windjammer food pics. The food in there has certainly been adequate I would say, @Lovetocruise2002hubby should have no issues eating there. 

[LandstromCruise]

I was really bad with pictures in Aruba. Probably good since I was a driver of one of the UTV’s. I will try and get some pictures from my wife and post later. Here are a couple. 

[LandstromCruise]

After dinner we went and saw the Headliner Magician Martin Brock. The audience must have been tired because they didn’t really seem to impressed with him. Not much cheering, but I thought it was really cool. His magic was pretty neat and he was pretty funny on top of that. 
 

We sailed away about 11pm so I went up to the bridge wing off the side of the solarium to watch that. Then it was time to retire to bed as I was pretty exhausted. 

[LandstromCruise]

Day 6 was a sea day. Unfortunately I couldn’t sleep in because the wife thought an 8am couples massage sounded like a good idea . After that had some WJ breakfast and then headed to the flowrider. I have done the knee boarding once before in 2018 and have a surf lesson tomorrow morning so figured seeing if I could still at least get up on my knees would be a good thing. Surprisingly I did a pretty decent job, so hoping tomorrow I can figure out the stand up surfing so when @Lovetocruise2002 invites me to sleep on the couch in the RLS to keep her hubby company on the flow rider I will be ready

 

After flow rider went to the belly flop contest. It was what you would expect. Definitely over crowded at the pool. I think on some oasis class ships they use the aqua theater which seems much better than the pool deck. 
 

Then another trip to the salon as wifey decided I also needed accupuncture. I’m pretty sure she was trying to kill me. She knows I’m deathly afraid of needles. 
 

By then it was time to get ready for dinner.  I got ready and had some time while wife was finishing so went to the casino to make a donation.  Not a huge fan of the casino.  It’s a little small and not enough tables for blackjack.  

 

[LandstromCruise]

Dinner was in Chops. Food porn pics coming.  I didn’t get pictures of the side dishes, but that is the only thing I would say was disappointing. The say the sides are shareable. Not sure if they think 5 year olds are eating or what, but those portions were not shareable. I had the ribeye and some of my wife’s filet and they were both great. Mushroom soup was really good. Cheesecake for dessert was awesome. I used to love having the Royal cheesecake every night for dessert before the new menus. I would say that is the worst part of the new menu. MIL had the red velvet cake for dessert and didn’t want all of it so I gladly finished that off as well. 

[LandstromCruise]

After dinner tonight we went to see Showgirls. All I can say is this show should be on more than just 1 night. On an 8 night cruise I definitely would have gone and seen this a second time. The singing was great, and I won’t spoil the ending, but WOW. You would catch me every trying what those ladies did. 

[LandstromCruise]

Then we went to battle of the sexes. We’ve probably all seen this many times, and I think it’s always going to be different based on the participation of the team leaders. The guys won and they were hilarious. If they only would have done the love seen in the car from Titanic it would have been a sweep

[SweetPea]

On 11/25/2023 at 10:49 AM, LandstromCruise said:

We got up and walked to DD so some of the people could get some coffee. I wasn’t expecting to get exercise before we started .  My sister and brother in law that live in Deerfield Beach

Forgive me. We got back Sunday, and as per usual, i was raging ill beginning Monday morning, and am finally just feeling up to catch up. 

Forgive me as i multi quote one post at a time (for maximum efficiency, of course)...

 

1) i worked at DD starting junior year of high school through my first 2 years of college summers. Still the best coffee (especially if you find a chain that uses well water like ours does). Starbucks tastes burnt to me, and it's no wonder its nickname is Charbucks.

2) My fave cousin and his family moved from Deerfield Beach, Fl back to NJ. I know they occasionally miss it! He and his wife are both teachers and left FL for much better pay and benefits here though I'm glad to have them here instead. I did tell them they moved in the wrong direction! But no one can tell me we don't treat treat our teachers right here!

Sorry, the rest will be cruise relevant, i promise!

[SweetPea]

On 11/25/2023 at 12:08 PM, LandstromCruise said:

I’m usually not very adventurous with food but tried some lamb and loved it.

Yum! Meat is murder. Tasty, tasty murder. I draw the line at veal, but lamb is amazing. Though i feel bad every time i eat it .... 

 

On 11/26/2023 at 9:29 AM, LandstromCruise said:

After dinner last night we went to see The Book.

Is it The Book that no one can follow or The Gift? I can't keep up!

On 11/26/2023 at 11:57 AM, LandstromCruise said:

My favorite view

Me 3!

On 11/26/2023 at 12:20 PM, LandstromCruise said:

Captain was pretty funny. Had 1 person reach pinnacle this cruise. He was a younger guy. Probably early 20’s. 

Do you know i can't help comparing ... Mike booked us on Norwegian over Thanksgiving.  Norwegian splits the D+ equivalent on Royal (Sapphire 175-349 points/Diamond 350-699 points). We didn't bother going to the loyalty party, but found out there were a "boatload" of Platinum (Royal's equivalent to Diamond), 29 Sapphire, 6 Diamond, 2 Ambassador (Royal's Pinnacle equivalent). 

Seems the great benefits on both cruise lines start at Platinum/ Diamond respectively. I wonder how long both cruise lines can keep up with the perks. 

[SweetPea]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:25 PM, LandstromCruise said:

After dinner went to karaoke. Boy was that a mistake. I by know means even begin to claim that I can sing, but somehow on this cruise we got all the people who flunked 5th grade music class up here singing 

Cruise ship karaoke is such a crapshoot. We tend to avoid it as people tend to sing songs they like to sing but no one else likes to hear. (I once suffered through a friend's Unbreak My Heart and felt I'd done penance for all previous sins). If nothing is going on, we might suffer through, but the rule is the second someone sings something from Greese or The Devil Went Down to Georgia, we're out.

[LandstromCruise]

I think the book is the one people say they can’t follow. It seems to be a love it or hate it show. I thought it was pretty good. 

[SweetPea]

44 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

Day 6 was a sea day. Unfortunately I couldn’t sleep in because the wife thought an 8am couples massage sounded like a good idea

Sacrilege!!!!

[LandstromCruise]

Cruise director Ricky killing it at the 70’s night just like he did at the 80’s night! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

27 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

I think the book is the one people say they can’t follow. It seems to be a love it or hate it show. I thought it was pretty good. 

I think “The Gift” on Anthem is the super confusing one. Lol

[Jax]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I think “The Gift” on Anthem is the super confusing one. Lol

Ditto. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

8 hours ago, Jax said:

Ditto. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. 

I watched The Gift three times and I still barely have a clue! lol