Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on Odyssey of the Seas Sailing to A Minus B Plus C Plus H Islands

[harryfat1]

16 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

@harryfat1 for me the uncle in prison now has a name. And not just any prison but a real doozy! Thanks @Coralc for Uncle Glenn in San Quentin, model prisoner, only kills guys who need killin’. 

 

Also CFKACD we need to talk about the potential advantage of flexible dining time on Carnival Excel class ships - where you get one free dinner at Chibang and one free dinner at Cucina. Plus, it starts really early if you want to get the feasting over with and move along to the plentiful evening entertainment options. And with the app you can wait anywhere on the ship for your table so no more of this awful queue at the door. Just be ready to deploy immediately when the call comes as you have ten minutes to present yourselves. 
 

On Ovation in May for us we are doing fixed time because early seating is like an hour earlier than flex and we do like to prioritize the shows each night, plus we’re just early risers and as you mentioned the indigestion and sleep interference, having a little time to work off the big meal is better for us. Funny how on Carnival flex begins earlier than fixed and Royal is the opposite, 
 

I’m also hoping our sail date, 3rd week of May, will keep the ship right around 100% capacity or even lower before most of the little kids are done with school. We are now on the college schedule that ends a couple weeks earlier, dropping us down from high season into shoulder season. Somewhat cheaper for both the ship and airfare prices. We will be in inside cabins that don’t connect but are adjacent and in their own tiny 2 room hallway which has what I believe is its own locked security door giving the space a sort of low-end suite feel. 

People are probably booking the paid version now under the FOMO syndrome and if somehow they can’t get any free reservation time slots after boarding, at least they have something booked, even though it’s going to be pretty expensive.

 

You have up to 12 hours before the paid appointment time to cancel without a penalty so if anyone wants to play it safe, book a paid appointment for the end of the cruise.  Board the ship and see if you can ride it as early as possible (day 1) to see if you think the experience is worth it. 

 

If so, maybe keep the paid one and you get the extended experience as round 2.   If not, cancel the day 7 appointment after the initial day 1 ride.

 

For those curious, it's $40 to $50/pp for the extended experience for the 2 events

 

 

 

 

What are your tentative plans while at the ports in Alaska?

[harryfat1]

17 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

@harryfat1 for me the uncle in prison now has a name. And not just any prison but a real doozy! Thanks @Coralc for Uncle Glenn in San Quentin, model prisoner, only kills guys who need killin’. 

 

Also CFKACD we need to talk about the potential advantage of flexible dining time on Carnival Excel class ships - where you get one free dinner at Chibang and one free dinner at Cucina. Plus, it starts really early if you want to get the feasting over with and move along to the plentiful evening entertainment options. And with the app you can wait anywhere on the ship for your table so no more of this awful queue at the door. Just be ready to deploy immediately when the call comes as you have ten minutes to present yourselves. 
 

On Ovation in May for us we are doing fixed time because early seating is like an hour earlier than flex and we do like to prioritize the shows each night, plus we’re just early risers and as you mentioned the indigestion and sleep interference, having a little time to work off the big meal is better for us. Funny how on Carnival flex begins earlier than fixed and Royal is the opposite, 
 

I’m also hoping our sail date, 3rd week of May, will keep the ship right around 100% capacity or even lower before most of the little kids are done with school. We are now on the college schedule that ends a couple weeks earlier, dropping us down from high season into shoulder season. Somewhat cheaper for both the ship and airfare prices. We will be in inside cabins that don’t connect but are adjacent and in their own tiny 2 room hallway which has what I believe is its own locked security door giving the space a sort of low-end suite feel. 

 

For the December Carnival cruise, we will have a party of 11 as the wife’s side of the family is going as well.  It’s unlikely we will do flexible dining time as it won’t be easy to find seating time for that large of a group. It’s easier with a set dining time on top of the food allergy I mentioned previously. Don’t want to explain it 7 nights in a row.

 

You may want to check if the shows on the Alaska sailing are before or after dinner.  For the Navigator cruise last August, all our shows were before dinner at 7 PM so we just went to the show and then 8 PM dinner.  For the Odyssey, the late show was at 10 PM, after the 8 PM dinner.  So show time may be region/ship specific as to whether it’s pre or post-dinner.

 

 

Alaska doesn’t attract that many younger families.  The average age crowd in Alaska is older than the Caribbean crowd so more people are early dinner folks.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is during the summer months, it gets darker much later up north so you will still have sunlight in the Juneau area past 9 PM. However for Ketthcikan in May, there will be a high chance of rain as it’s one of the rainiest cities in the US.

 

Edited January 31 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

12 hours ago, luvtoride said:

There's a library on the ship?  Damn, and I dragged my own books along on the cruise!  

Yeah, the library is tucked away at the corner of the top deck of 270.  I walked past it every morning on my way to café 270 (after I found out how to open the secret door).

 

Our cabin was closer to the library than to the elevator.

 

 

 

 

 

You never know what types of books are in the library so it’s safer (and cleaner) to bring your own

[harryfat1]

9 hours ago, karebare22 said:

Not sure if Odyssey had this available, but for our Oasis cruise you could view (and order) all your photos right in the App. We found this really convenient! It was one of the tabs at the bottom. It also showed many, but not all, of the photos from linked cabins (plus a few extras of strangers 😂).
Note that the photos are watermarked, and it’s not possible to take a screenshot. 

Oh, we missed that part of the app.  My wife mentioned that she missed seeing the pictures on the app as they had that on the Princess app but given our old eyes, it's easier to see the pictures on a computer monitor than the tiny phones.

 

I think the majority of the people didn’t know about the pictures in the app as the photo place was PACKED with cruisers on day 7 and day 8.  People had to wait to find an available monitor to view and order their pictures.  Never saw a photo area that busy before where all the monitors were occupied and people had to stand and wait for an opening.

 

Of course, I will have pictures to show that…

 

[harryfat1]

8 hours ago, T-2 said:

I'm excited to see a few other photo enthusiasts on this thread and hoping I can interject a question. I always buy the 50 or 100 photo pkg as I am old school and love to make photo books and still carry a camera around rather than using my phone or the cloud. Have any of you noticed any nice backdrops that you haven't seen time and time again. We were super impressed when we sailed on the Wonder of the Seas at the sheer number of gorgeous new backdrops and the skill of the photographers. I have never had one done like the one at Labadee from Columbus Cove and love the ship in the background so this trip will venture down there as the memories of our family vacations mean everything. Glad you are having such an incredible time, our turn in 2 months :0) Thanks

I assume you will buy the package pre-cruise as it should be cheaper than the 20% discount after boarding.

 

I didn't notice that great of background from our cruise.  Pretty standard set and had lots of Christmas-themed photos as it was a Holiday cruise.

 

They had Santa in a bumper car at SeaPlex.

 

I will look for some and point them out in future posts.

 

Here's one of the boys with the red holiday-looking background on the first formal night with the typical white background you see on every ship

 

[harryfat1]

OK, so where were we on the trip report? 

 

Oh, yeah, after visiting uncle in prison

 

++++++++++++++

After the photo area, we watched the Bionic Bar and the robots shaking their booty for a bit and then headed back to the cabin.

 

 

Stull a very cloudy day.  Saw a Princess ship on the port side in the distance.  I assume the same one that was at Port Everglades with us on day 1.

 

 

 

 

Oh, one thing about the RCI obstructed view is that they set the lifeboats further away from the main body of the ship so it’s harder to take pictures without the lifeboats getting in the way as you have to “shoot over it” more than the Princess ships.

 

Here’s a picture of the Princess ship.  Notice it’s much closer to the balcony so it is easier to see over it on the horizon.

 

 

 

Something to keep in mind if you are thinking of going to Alsaka on the Quantuam or Ovaationn and looking to get a deck 6 balcony to save money.  You can still get your scenery pictures but might have to work harder for it (assuming you don’t have a very obstructed view)

 

[harryfat1]

Oh, as I was looking at my pictures, I realized I did sit down briefly on the balcony chair to take one picture to show the view I have from the balcony if I had sat there regularly. But we are not balcony people.  With the windy and overcast skies, it wasn’t what I wanted to do for an extended period.

 

 

Now it's easier to see what the balcony looks like after they opened it

 

 

[harryfat1]

Sailing at 19 knots

 

 

Anyway, it was lunchtime at the windjammer as it was 1 PM now.  You can't go for more than 4 hours on a cruise without something to eat - it's written somewhere in your cruise contract with RCI...

 

Oh, yeah, it’s Sunday out there somewhere but you don’t care as it’s day 2 of your cruise as far as you are concerned.

 

 

As it’s Christmas time, Santa is chilling at the Windjammer.  Anyone can take a picture with Santa here.  No long wait like in the mall or down in the Royal Esplanade (Promenade).

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

The windjammer was showing 125% capacity that day as we couldn’t find a table until we went to the very back of the ship. 

 

Tip:  There are more tables WAY in the back of Windjammer as most people don’t want to walk/carry their food that far back.  Not our preference either but when the ship was that packed, you are just happy to find a table at times.

 

 

Surprised to see a ship this close to us out in the ocean.  Why do they need to come this near to us when there's literally miles of space they can be using

 

[harryfat1]

My son's lunch.  Don't ask me why he would get a RCI burger as they aren't typically very good. 

 

 

Now Guy's Burger on a Carnival (the TV personality Guy Fieri) would be a burger I would get.  Haven't had one in 11 years.  Looking forward to getting one in December

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

My lunch

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

Wake view as we are at the very back of the ship

 

[T-2]

2 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

I assume you will buy the package pre-cruise as it should be cheaper than the 20% discount after boarding.

 

I didn't notice that great of background from our cruise.  Pretty standard set and had lots of Christmas-themed photos as it was a Holiday cruise.

 

They had Santa in a bumper car at SeaPlex.

 

I will look for some and point them out in future posts.

 

Here's one of the boys with the red holiday-looking background on the first formal night with the typical white background you see on every ship

 

I always buy the photo pkg on BF, that way I know I'm good to go. I really like the Christmas colors of the one you posted, we did not have that on the Wonder and its been amazing to see RCCL really expand their array of backdrops, and borders, and photographers out and about. We turn D+ on this next cruise and I never tire of buying photos. As long as they're not those tiny things on my phone- those are just my placeholders till we get to the good stuff :0) 

On the Wonder last Nov they had some incredible shots with the red convertable, a backdrop with a cabin at Christmas time, another with pirate ships and they provided props like a pirate hat and some swords- it was so popular. Another backdrop was an underwater coral reef of colorful sea life and in the foreground they had some fake rocks and a pirate treasure chest- so different from the usual- stand there and smile. Such Very gifted photographers onboard. I'm also hoping there will be some new stuff to celebrate the Icon, fingers crossed. I'll see what they have on the Odyssey this spring, thanks for the assist!

[harryfat1]

44 minutes ago, T-2 said:

I always buy the photo pkg on BF, that way I know I'm good to go. I really like the Christmas colors of the one you posted, we did not have that on the Wonder and its been amazing to see RCCL really expand their array of backdrops, and borders, and photographers out and about. We turn D+ on this next cruise and I never tire of buying photos. As long as they're not those tiny things on my phone- those are just my placeholders till we get to the good stuff :0) 

On the Wonder last Nov they had some incredible shots with the red convertable, a backdrop with a cabin at Christmas time, another with pirate ships and they provided props like a pirate hat and some swords- it was so popular. Another backdrop was an underwater coral reef of colorful sea life and in the foreground they had some fake rocks and a pirate treasure chest- so different from the usual- stand there and smile. Such Very gifted photographers onboard. I'm also hoping there will be some new stuff to celebrate the Icon, fingers crossed. I'll see what they have on the Odyssey this spring, thanks for the assist!

I wouldn't get my hopes up for Odyssey having those props as on the Wonder.  They had none of that on our cruise.

 

I know Carnival cruises in the past always had props but RCI photography is more bland and just relies on the same props/same gestures.

 

At the end of the cruise, we pretty much know all the photographers on the ship.  One guy said, I won't tell you guys to how pose as you all know the routine by now...

[harryfat1]

We went back down to deck 4 after lunch and saw a huge line of people waiting to have their picture taken with Santa whereas the Santa upstairs got no love.

 

Lots of people visiting their uncles in prison today

 

 

 

Just like Santa in the mall back home with long lines

 

[harryfat1]

Since we are at the Esplanade (Promenade), time for a quick stop to see how the crazy aunt in the basement is doing and make sure she is well-fed (aka shopping).

 

These backpacks are cute if you have little kids.

 

 

[harryfat1]

More people at the Bionic Bar:

 

 

After a while, Santa was done and gone and so was the crowd.

 

 

I like the fact that the Esplanade is two levels versus the one-level Promenade at the other ships as you can walk on the upper deck if the lower deck is crowded.  Well, technically it's not a true 2 deck setup as the upper part doesn't connect at the front of the ship.  

 

I will explain in a later post if I can find pictures

[harryfat1]

By then it was 3 o’clock and my old man memory got fuzzy at this point as I don’t recall why the family went back to the cabin first without me.  All I knew was by the time I made it back up to the room, the cabin attendant just started to clean one of the rooms at 3 PM.  

 

As I said in previous posts, she never asked if we preferred morning or evening room cleaning since she will clean our room whenever she gets to it. I have never had a cabin attendant clean the cabin at 3 PM. 

 

They typically do it early in the morning as I typically see them when we eat breakfast or get ready to get off the ship on port day or they are around when we go off to dinner and clean the cabins while we are out at night.

 

3 PM is normally their break time.  So either she was overwhelmed with too many cabins to clean with 125% capacity, which meant extra towels and more messy bathrooms to take care or she was too slow and couldn’t get to our cabins until later.

 

Whatever the case was, the rest of the family was camped out at the “other room” that she wasn’t cleaning as we have a connecting room so one cabin is the same as another.

 

I didn’t want to just sit in the cabin and wait for her to clean so I went for a walk by myself to check out the ship.

[harryfat1]

Here is the Promenade deck outside on the port side, just one deck below us. Here would be a good place to be for the Glacier viewing on an Alaska cruise.  No obstructed glass.  Good for the sailaway party as well.

 

 

Here’s the view of the outside of our cabin one deck above.  The balcony with a slanted glass is where the boys are and our cabin is to the left.

 

[harryfat1]

As I had nothing special in mind, I figured I would get a cup of afternoon coffee and hang out at 270.  When I got there, I was surprised by the music and the show there.  As it turned it, the cast was doing their walk-through rehearsal for the show, The Book, which is regularly performed at 270 (reservation required).  So I sat down and got a preview of the last half of the show.

 

I texted the family on the free RCI app to tell them to come out to 270 via the back door entrance to check out the rehearsal but they didn’t want to the spoiler alert on the show so they came and then left.

Edited January 31 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

 

 

[perfect match]

4 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

People are probably booking the paid version now under the FOMO syndrome and if somehow they can’t get any free reservation time slots after boarding, at least they have something booked, even though it’s going to be pretty expensive.

 

You have up to 12 hours before the paid appointment time to cancel without a penalty so if anyone wants to play it safe, book a paid appointment for the end of the cruise.  Board the ship and see if you can ride it as early as possible (day 1) to see if you think the experience is worth it. 

 

If so, maybe keep the paid one and you get the extended experience as round 2.   If not, cancel the day 7 appointment after the initial day 1 ride.

 

For those curious, it's $40 to $50/pp for the extended experience for the 2 events

 

 

 

 

What are your tentative plans while at the ports in Alaska?

We sailed on Odyssey in April, 2020. On our sailing the price for the paid version of iFly was $29/pp and for North Star was $19/pp. What a difference a year makes!

[luvtoride]

46 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

By then it was 3 o’clock and my old man memory got fuzzy at this point as I don’t recall why the family went back to the cabin first without me.  All I knew was by the time I made it back up to the room, the cabin attendant just started to clean one of the rooms at 3 PM.  

 

As I said in previous posts, she never asked if we preferred morning or evening room cleaning since she will clean our room whenever she gets to it. I have never had a cabin attendant clean the cabin at 3 PM. 

 

They typically do it early in the morning as I typically see them when we eat breakfast or get ready to get off the ship on port day or they are around when we go off to dinner and clean the cabins while we are out at night.

 

3 PM is normally their break time.  So either she was overwhelmed with too many cabins to clean with 125% capacity, which meant extra towels and more messy bathrooms to take care or she was too slow and couldn’t get to our cabins until later.

 

Whatever the case was, the rest of the family was camped out at the “other room” that she wasn’t cleaning as we have a connecting room so one cabin is the same as another.

 

I didn’t want to just sit in the cabin and wait for her to clean so I went for a walk by myself to check out the ship.

Our Cabin attendant saw me the first day and asked me what time we would like our cabin cleaned.  He said all of his morning slots (til 1pm ) were filled, so he could do it after 4.  I chose 4pm which worked out fine for us throughout the cruise.
What does the family do at 3pm in the cabin…naps?  

[hucifer]

12 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

By then it was 3 o’clock and my old man memory got fuzzy at this point as I don’t recall why the family went back to the cabin first without me.  All I knew was by the time I made it back up to the room, the cabin attendant just started to clean one of the rooms at 3 PM.  

 

As I said in previous posts, she never asked if we preferred morning or evening room cleaning since she will clean our room whenever she gets to it. I have never had a cabin attendant clean the cabin at 3 PM. 

 

They typically do it early in the morning as I typically see them when we eat breakfast or get ready to get off the ship on port day or they are around when we go off to dinner and clean the cabins while we are out at night.

 

3 PM is normally their break time.  So either she was overwhelmed with too many cabins to clean with 125% capacity, which meant extra towels and more messy bathrooms to take care or she was too slow and couldn’t get to our cabins until later.

 

Whatever the case was, the rest of the family was camped out at the “other room” that she wasn’t cleaning as we have a connecting room so one cabin is the same as another.

 

I didn’t want to just sit in the cabin and wait for her to clean so I went for a walk by myself to check out the ship.

Remember the days when it was about the passenger and what was convenient for them? Now it's about whatever is convenient for the room stewart, no apologies given. 

 

Personally, I don't mind the once-a-day cleanings, but time options would be nice.

 

Agree on Carnival's burgers. Nothing at sea beats them.