Anyone on board Odyssey?

[gracia98]

4 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

No 48 hours prior.

You can still cancel the 12/26 cruise today.

[gracia98]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like sleeping , finding a safe place to eat and staying clear of everyone is the main entertainment going on right now. Not alot going on but waiting to return to port and getting off the ship safely.

 

Can't see this ship returning and going out on the next cruise until the crew gets much healthier and all the crew gets out of quarantine.

We are supposed to board on 12/26.  If it weren’t for forums like this or FB groups, we would be in the dark, besides what the info on the news, which is very little.  We need to decide today if we should cancel. I don’t think Royal will do it.

[gracia98]

2 hours ago, NO_Member_Name said:

We were on Odyssey 2 months ago with around 1200 passengers total. It was awesome, and while we wore masks inside a lot, we had them off a lot too. Probably the biggest thing we noticed was being able to get an elevator any time and almost always being able to adhere to the 4 person limit. The biggest negative was that the bacon tasted like rancid cooking oil. I'm not sure why. I said something but nothing changed.

 

3500 passengers sounds awfully crowded, and effectively fully loaded. From some of the posts I've seen it looks like they're trying to get passenger counts back down some.

 

There wasn't much going on on our cruise so the captain didn't have much to tell us. But, the staff in the main dinning room was very chatty (I think we were their only diners most nights) and we picked up a few tidbits, like expected passenger counts in the future.

 

I also got to meet Chris Wong. Nice guy. Much taller than I expected.

Any idea how many expected passengers on the 12/26/21 cruise? 

[chiguypaul]

1 minute ago, gracia98 said:

Any idea how many expected passengers on the 12/26/21 cruise? 

I predict 3400. 

[NO_Member_Name]

3 minutes ago, gracia98 said:

Any idea how many expected passengers on the 12/26/21 cruise? 

They only had numbers for the next 3 weeks, with 3k the first week in November. But, I believe they said 80% capacity for Christmas.

[toad455]

I'm surprised the 12/26 cruise is still on or hasn't been delayed at least to sanitize the ship and deal with the positive cases of crew members.

[Kitkatgrrl]

16 minutes ago, gracia98 said:

What are they doing for passengers who already purchased things like wifi, drink packages, reservations? We are supposed to board on 12/26 and we bought all that already plus other stuff.  We were hoping to get restaurant reservations on board once we arrive, but that seems a little iffy now too. We also love trivia with our young adult kids.  How crowded is the Schooner bar? Can you find tables or seats?

We bought all those things before hand and haven't had issues getting reservations on the ship.  Just try to get to them early to get a good spot. Try to get to schooner at least 20 mins early to get a table or else be prepared to stand or sit on the floor as they have closed down a few tables and the bar area to reduce  capacity.  Some of the larger trivia is at the music hall which is bigger and two stories.  You just have to get there early.  

[Kitkatgrrl]

4 minutes ago, toad455 said:

I'm surprised the 12/26 cruise is still on or hasn't been delayed at least to sanitize the ship and deal with the positive cases of crew members.

They sanitize the ship daily early in the morning between 2 to 4 according to the cruise compass 

[livingonthebeach]

Just read on FB from a passenger on Odyssey who states the positive passengers are being moved to deck three but they want to get off ship ASAP. Apparently RCI is not asking or not wanting to stop anywhere before they get back to Fort Lauderdale.  Some of the passengers are saying it's not safe to be on a ship with so many positive cases and that it can only get worse.  Also read somewhere else the ratio of passengers that tested positive is a lot higher than first reported.

[gracia98]

If you were booked on the 12/26 cruise on the Odyssey, would you go? Looking for kind, honest opinions.  FWIW, my family is fully vaccinated and boosted. Not as much worried about getting sick, more concerned about spending a lot of money (since it’s a NYE cruise) and not getting a good cruise experience due to staff shortages.

Thanks.

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, gracia98 said:

If you were booked on the 12/26 cruise on the Odyssey, would you go? Looking for kind, honest opinions.  FWIW, my family is fully vaccinated and boosted. Not as much worried about getting sick, more concerned about spending a lot of money (since it’s a NYE cruise) and not getting a good cruise experience due to staff shortages.

Thanks.

 

That would be my concern as well.  You can take the same cruise for a lot less after NYE.  Unless a lot of people cancel, there will be staff shortages as it's been reported over 300 crew are currently in quarantine. Unless they get new entertainment crews the shows are going to be iffy.  If I was going with a big group and able to make our own fun, I would go, otherwise, no.

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, gracia98 said:

Looking for kind, honest opinions.  

A better question would be, why wouldn’t you go?

[gracia98]

8 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

A better question would be, why wouldn’t you go?

Because there are cancelled shows, windjammer is packed, crew shortages and we paid a premium to go on this cruise.  

Edited December 23, 2021 by gracia98

[chiguypaul]

10 minutes ago, gracia98 said:

If you were booked on the 12/26 cruise on the Odyssey, would you go? Looking for kind, honest opinions.  FWIW, my family is fully vaccinated and boosted. Not as much worried about getting sick, more concerned about spending a lot of money (since it’s a NYE cruise) and not getting a good cruise experience due to staff shortages.

Thanks.

We decided today we are a go unless we hear something that significantly concerns us. If you sail you need to be ok with knowing shows may be canceled, ports may be canceled, and the overall experience will not be typical. Can you live with that? Do you feel that’s worth the money you’re spending? Are you ok with risk of possible multi day quarantine? Omicron doesn’t care if you were boosted to infect you. Just things to consider. 

[Biker19]

Just now, gracia98 said:

Because there are no shows, windjammer is packed, crew shortages and we paid a premium to go on this cruise.  

Then never book a cruise during a pandemic. 

[livingonthebeach]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

A better question would be, why wouldn’t you go?

 

I can think of a lot of reasons, namely, having a skeleton crew to serve you, or worse, having to fetch and clean for yourself.  All the good shows and activities cancelled is no fun either.  Having to line up to eat at every meal due to insufficient waitstaff,  will be very annoying at best. Having no ports that will accept "Odyssey of Dis-ease" as it's being redubbed by the media. All this plus paying a big premium to cruise on NYE, are sufficient reasons to postpone the trip, IMO. Unless, like I stated earlier, you're with a fun group and can survive with your own entertainment and fun activities and can roll with the punches with whatever changes come your way.

[Jimbo]

9 minutes ago, gracia98 said:

Because there are cancelled shows, windjammer is packed, crew shortages and we paid a premium to go on this cruise.  

Good Point, for people though that cruise dozens of times a year don't care if things on the ship are limited and you will miss the real cruise experiences.

 

I think you answered your own question above. Cancel.

Edited December 23, 2021 by Jimbo

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

I can think of a lot of reasons

All of that can happen on any ship at any time during a pandemic - you shouldn’t book in the first place. 

[gracia98]

6 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Then never book a cruise during a pandemic. 

We went on a cruise during this pandemic already and it was just fine. Before Omicron. 

[chiguypaul]

8 minutes ago, gracia98 said:

Because there are cancelled shows, windjammer is packed, crew shortages and we paid a premium to go on this cruise.  

You should cancel. 

[livingonthebeach]

4 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

....Omicron doesn’t care if you were boosted to infect you. Just things to consider. 

 

I'm sure there are people who are positive and asymptomatic and will never know if they get on the plane with Omicron or infect people in their home communities as the ship doesn't test all the passengers -- just those that ask to be tested.  They have the time to test everyone before they reach Port Everglades on Sunday.  This would be the responsible thing for RCI to do.  **flamesuit on**

[livingonthebeach]

Maybe for someone who booked just to be on Odyssey and doesn't give much priority to other activities, going on the cruise is a no brainer.  However, if excursions, ports, shows, dining etc. is important, then it becomes a tougher decision.  The fun-loving part of me would go, the practical side of me would not.

[vacationlover_mn]

6 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

Maybe for someone who booked just to be on Odyssey and doesn't give much priority to other activities, going on the cruise is a no brainer.  However, if excursions, ports, shows, dining etc. is important, then it becomes a tougher decision.  The fun-loving part of me would go, the practical side of me would not.

The big reason we booked (Feb) was the ship, and grand cayman.  Even with grand cayman no longer an option, we’re ok 🙂. I’m super excited for warm weather and our first fancy suite!  Hopefully Feb 6 will be a go 🙂

[Jimbo]

3 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

The big reason we booked (Feb) was the ship, and grand cayman.  Even with grand cayman no longer an option, we’re ok 🙂. I’m super excited for warm weather and our first fancy suite!  Hopefully Feb 6 will be a go 🙂

She has to decide on how it is currently, just as you will do in (Feb).

 

Does not sound like good times on that ship right now or in the near future until they get everything under control again.

Don't see anyway they can get that ship ready for the next sailing.

Edited December 23, 2021 by Jimbo

[livingonthebeach]

21 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

All of that can happen on any ship at any time during a pandemic - you shouldn’t book in the first place. 

 

True, but sometimes these things are unknown or you find out too late -- this time around there are known risks with the 12/26 sailing.  That is the big difference.