dadLovesNachos Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Hi, I was wondering if people have been on Odyssey of the Seas in the cold weather, as I see there isn't an indoor pool. I'm scheduled for a cruise down to CocoCay but the 1st week of March leaving out of Bayonne ( near New York City) seems like it might be cold. Anybody have any experience if pools are usable in the cold weather, and if not, is it day 2 or 3 that it would be warm enough to use them. thanks for any feedback/advice Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Not Odyssey, but we left once on Anthem in March out of Bayonne and our kids only swam in the indoor pool. It was way too cold for the outdoor pool. Also, we barely used our balcony that sailing because it was also cold. We basically lost 2 days there, and another 2 days back. After that sailing, I made myself a promise that I would not sail out of Bayonne in the winter months again. There is actually a sailing on Odyssey that I was eyeing for December 2026 because the price was good, but I just could not pull the trigger on it because of the lost days due to cold weather. WAAAYTOOO, PhillyLady, tjcruisers and 1 other 4 Quote
FOB Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 Daughter went on Odyssey out of Bayonne on 26th January. Even as a hardy Scot she was not using the pools on day 1, but she did use them on day 2 when it was "much better than expected" I doubt it will be sunbathing weather but the pools should be warm enough for a dip Quote
FOB Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 31 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Not Odyssey, but we left once on Anthem in March out of Bayonne and our kids only swam in the indoor pool. It was way too cold for the outdoor pool. Also, we barely used our balcony that sailing because it was also cold. We basically lost 2 days there, and another 2 days back. After that sailing, I made myself a promise that I would not sail out of Bayonne in the winter months again. There is actually a sailing on Odyssey that I was eyeing for December 2026 because the price was good, but I just could not pull the trigger on it because of the lost days due to cold weather. Depends what you are wanting I suppose. We did a cruise to Iceland and Greenland last September and while none of the time was sunbathing weather the views were stunning for most of the time and we could just relax on the sea days indoors with a good book and a glass of wine Quote
Pattycruise Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Not Odyssey, but we left once on Anthem in March out of Bayonne and our kids only swam in the indoor pool. It was way too cold for the outdoor pool. Also, we barely used our balcony that sailing because it was also cold. We basically lost 2 days there, and another 2 days back. After that sailing, I made myself a promise that I would not sail out of Bayonne in the winter months again. There is actually a sailing on Odyssey that I was eyeing for December 2026 because the price was good, but I just could not pull the trigger on it because of the lost days due to cold weather. Anthem had the indoor pool kids could use. Odyssey does not-just the solarium-adults only Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 1 hour ago, FOB said: Depends what you are wanting I suppose. We did a cruise to Iceland and Greenland last September and while none of the time was sunbathing weather the views were stunning for most of the time and we could just relax on the sea days indoors with a good book and a glass of wine Totally agree. But assuming OP is trying to escape the cold, it's not going to be as much of an escape sailing out of Bayonne in March. But you are right, depends on your expectations. 31 minutes ago, Pattycruise said: Anthem had the indoor pool kids could use. Odyssey does not-just the solarium-adults only Yes, that is why I made sure to state it was Anthem when I sailed out in March. Quote
Pattycruise Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Totally agree. But assuming OP is trying to escape the cold, it's not going to be as much of an escape sailing out of Bayonne in March. But you are right, depends on your expectations. Yes, that is why I made sure to state it was Anthem when I sailed out in March. Yep but sadly not all Quantum class ships are alike-IDK what Royal was thinking putting Odyssey up in NJ when Athhem could at least accommodate the kids during those cold days of sailing. Quote
MKSglitz Posted February 15 Report Posted February 15 Have to agree with Lovetocruise 2002. When Oasis first was deployed, their home port was Bayonne, NJ Never cruised out of NJ until then. Cruised out of Bayonne in January for a 10 day cruise to the Southern Caribbean. When we embarked they were shoveling snow off the pool deck. When we arrived at our cabin there were icicles hanging from our balcony railing. Two days inside the ship until we hit warmer weather south of Florida. Then another 2 days inside the ship as we travelled back to Bayonne. So our 10 day cruise to escape the winter weather of Michigan ended up to be a 7 day cruise. Lesson learned. Never cruised from Bayonne in January since. Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 15 Report Posted February 15 13 minutes ago, MKSglitz said: Two days inside the ship until we hit warmer weather south of Florida. Then another 2 days inside the ship as we travelled back to Bayonne. So our 10 day cruise to escape the winter weather of Michigan ended up to be a 7 day cruise. Lesson learned. Never cruised from Bayonne in January since. This was the deal breaker for me. And you had a 10 day sailing. The one we were on was a typical 7 night sailing and we only got 3 decent days to escape winter weather. Can't bring myself to do it again. Maybe if it was a 10-11 nighter.... Quote
MKSglitz Posted February 15 Report Posted February 15 My mistake - it was a 7 day cruise back in 2010. So it was shorter than I thought. Point being for me, no more January cruises out of Bayonne! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote
teddy Posted February 15 Report Posted February 15 We’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. We like boarding in the cold and waking up in progressively warmer temperatures. Gilley 1 Quote
MKSglitz Posted February 15 Report Posted February 15 ...And this is why cruisin' is so great. There's something for everyone!!! teddy 1 Quote
Pattycruise Posted February 16 Report Posted February 16 11 hours ago, MKSglitz said: My mistake - it was a 7 day cruise back in 2010. So it was shorter than I thought. Point being for me, no more January cruises out of Bayonne! The January sailings out of Bayonne have only been longer cruises now. What’s worse is they brought up Odyssey which does not have an indoor pool, just the solarium, so not a lot of room on those cold days out of NJ or when heading back. Quote
Sealegs Posted February 16 Report Posted February 16 We were on the January 12 night Southern Caribbean out of Bayonne and we loved it, loved the ship. The covered Solarium served as the waiting room for the warm weather we were sailing into. Temps were much warmer by the second day and by day 3 it was balmy and the outdoor pools were jumping. We are close enough to drive to Bayonne, and it felt almost surreal to be in the lower latitudes without using an airplane. We were on Symphony prior to this, also out of Bayonne, and the solarium was more exposed, thus negating the effect, imo. Prior to that, it was Anthem, Bayonne again, and that ship has a covered solarium. For us, the covered Solarium makes all the difference in sailing out of Bayonne. teddy, WAAAYTOOO and Gilley 2 1 Quote
RCIfan1912 Posted February 16 Report Posted February 16 We sail from NJ 2-3 times a year so we keep up on everything from here and to replace a ship with an indoor pool like Anthem for the winter for ship without makes just about zero sense. We sailed Anthem last February and our son was in the indoor pool the entire trip when in the cold in the beginning and end of the cruise. I do not understand Royals thinking on this one. Quote
rjac Posted February 16 Report Posted February 16 On 2/14/2025 at 9:27 AM, dadLovesNachos said: Hi, I was wondering if people have been on Odyssey of the Seas in the cold weather, as I see there isn't an indoor pool. I'm scheduled for a cruise down to CocoCay but the 1st week of March leaving out of Bayonne ( near New York City) seems like it might be cold. Anybody have any experience if pools are usable in the cold weather, and if not, is it day 2 or 3 that it would be warm enough to use them. thanks for any feedback/advice The Odyssey does have an indoor solarium, which can get filed up quickly with guests quickly. There is a bar and cafe also there. Bon Voyage! Quote
Pattycruise Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 On 2/15/2025 at 10:38 AM, MKSglitz said: My mistake - it was a 7 day cruise back in 2010. So it was shorter than I thought. Point being for me, no more January cruises out of Bayonne! Odyssey today out of Bayonne. It’s a tad cold out and quite rainy. WAAAYTOOO, RCIfan1912 and Rackham 2 1 Quote
Matt Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 It might be cold the first day and the last day, but I always thought it was worth it not to have to fly (assuming you live close enough to drive) RCIfan1912, Rackham and teddy 3 Quote
Crown&AnchorEsq Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 We have Feb of next year booked out of NJ for exactly that reason, not needing to fly. However, it still boggles my mind that RCL put Odyssey there without the indoor pools...or that they built Odyssey with no indoor pools to begin with... RCIfan1912 1 Quote
RCIfan1912 Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 I do not fly because of a severe fear of flying and the last month or two in aviation has not made that any better so we only sail from NJ. We sail from NJ because we are about 35 minutes from the Cape Liberty and we sail Royal because we love Royal. Thank goodness someone at Royal had the insight to use this port. We are limited on itinerary but we mix it up enough and we LOVE Canada, we LOVE Coco Cay and we LOVE Bermuda even though prices are way out of whack for some crazy reason. It will works out for us. teddy 1 Quote
MaryCS62 Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 we were on odyssey early January - 11 nights - and even the indoor solarium was too cold the first few days - but we were also between 2 cold systems in the Atlantic at the time. I didn't use the outdoor pool til day 5 - our first port day in Nassau RCIfan1912 1 Quote
teddy Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 7 hours ago, Matt said: It might be cold the first day and the last day, but I always thought it was worth it not to have to fly (assuming you live close enough to drive) This is why we love cruising out of Bayonne. We actually changed a cruise booked in 2026 from Miami to Bayonne because it’s so nice to drive. RCIfan1912 and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote
teddy Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 5 minutes ago, teddy said: This is why we love cruising out of Bayonne. We actually changed a cruise booked in 2026 from Miami to Bayonne because it’s so nice to drive. Although this can be brutal at the wrong time of day. WAAAYTOOO and RCIfan1912 1 1 Quote
Leighq Posted February 21 Report Posted February 21 Leaving on the 23rd and hoping it’s not ice cold out but there is always the solarium! Quote
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