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

[T-2]

What were the cast members tossing to the crowd, you can see that it is something that flickers?? Maybe reflecting the stage lights, they tossed a bunch of them. I might not have ever thought of attending this but having seen your videos its now on my list of things I'd most enjoy- so grateful for all you've been sharing.

[Happy Cruiser Girl]

7 minutes ago, T-2 said:

What were the cast members tossing to the crowd, you can see that it is something that flickers?? Maybe reflecting the stage lights, they tossed a bunch of them. I might not have ever thought of attending this but having seen your videos its now on my list of things I'd most enjoy- so grateful for all you've been sharing.

During the 70s Dance Party in the Jewel of the Seas they tossed out flashing rings you could wear. Probably the same.

[T-2]

That would explain it, the flickering really caught the eye, hard to believe its a tiny flashing ring, what they can do with batteries these days is amazing- thanks

[RobInMN]

10 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

For some unknown reason, I have been a fan of classical piano music lately on YouTube…🤪

 

 

 

Ever run across Vika?

 

 

 

Edited March 7 by RobInMN

[RobInMN]

Dupe

Edited March 7 by RobInMN

[harryfat1]

19 hours ago, T-2 said:

That would explain it, the flickering really caught the eye, hard to believe its a tiny flashing ring, what they can do with batteries these days is amazing- thanks

Yes, those shining things are glow rings. If you stand close to the stage, your odds of getting one will be higher than if you are far back.

 

My son got one years ago on the Allure when they were throwing them out to the crowd

 

 

I also bought a set of Christmas glow rings online and brought them to the cruise parties but they aren’t as bright as the RCI ones

 

 

 

Since I was looking back at the photo archives, here’s a picture of the 70’s party on the Allure or the Navigator from last August.  

 

 

 

Originally, I wasn’t convinced/used to the 70s party being away from the Promenade is a good thing. Still, given how narrow the Esplanade is and the presence of all the sales tables, it’s better to have the party at 270 so it doesn’t clog up traffic in the middle of the ship.

 

 

[harryfat1]

11 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Ever run across Vika?

 

 

 

Thanks for the link.  I will check out her channel

[harryfat1]

Day 8 – Sea Day (Time to Say Goodbye)

 

Since I didn’t go to sleep until around 1 AM the night before, I slept in this morning.  I didn’t make it to café 270 until 8:15

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Looking outside of the balcony at 8:40, we see a lot more clouds and it would rain later in the day as the captain went on the PA system to give his daily updates.  In the past cruises, the captain typically makes his daily announcements at noon but for this cruise, the captain likes to make it at 10 AM instead.

 

We have the return of the one-eye monster attacking the ship (aka North Star in operation for the high-paying folks since today is a sea day and it’s not free).

 

 

Zooming in we see it’s empty inside at 8:45 so they must be running a safety measure with an empty cart to make sure everything is in order before they allow real passengers inside – similar to what Disneyland would do for their rides

 

 

 

Here’s a view of the inside connecting door when it’s partially closed.  When it’s fully opened, you can’t use the full-length mirror as the door blocks it

 

[harryfat1]

Today is another Saturday on this cruise.  Typically Saturday is a happy day back at home but on this sailing, it’s less so since it’s the last day of the cruise

 

 

Santa was still sleeping in at 9 AM.

 

 

We had to sit way in the back of the windjammer as it was very crowded that morning

 

 

Food from different members of the family, so no, this isn’t all my food

 

 

My wife likes Asian-style breakfast more so she always gravitates toward congee with ginger slices

 

 

 

I got my typical omelet from the station via the handy dandy pager.  So much nicer to not have to stand in line to get an omelet. 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

They still have salmon out.  No secret password is needed to request for them.

 

 

Saw two ships sailing next to us.  One of them is an RCI ship

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Santa came out as we were leaving

 

 

Cruise ship toilet paper.  I talked about it in my previous trip report.  Someone mentioned it may be thin due to the ship’s sewage system getting clogged up if the TP is too dense

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

At 10:15, there was a Captain’s Corner event at 270 so we made our way there. 

 

 

 

Somewhat similar info was provided in the “welcome back” event on day 2 as we got to know a little bit about the captain and cruise director’s background.  They also introduced the various department heads.  I was surprised (or I shouldn’t be) that there’s a Finance person onboard that handles each person’s paycheck. 

 

I originally thought corporate payroll in Miami would handle that but with ships not always in the US and the movement of workers between ships, it makes more sense to have each ship handle its payroll as they know who is working in their respective ships.

[harryfat1]

They showed a video about the crew on the ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

The officers lining up to say goodbye

 

 

 

Time to queue up the classic song with the Bellagio water fountain backdrop

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

One drawback of 270 is there is only ONE way in and out on deck 5 (deck 6 is the fire door that Jim referenced to be used in case of emergency) so after any big event, expect a big crowd exodus.

 

Also, note the “next cruise” tables to the right.  On my prior cruises, there were hardly any people around the next cruise tables to schedule for future cruises but for this sailing, there were always people at the tables every time I walked by so that tells me there’s a strong demand for future RCI cruises

 

[harryfat1]

The other day when I was taking pictures of the Wonderland restaurant, the rest of the family wasn’t with me and since today is the last day of the cruise, they wanted to check out the restaurant.  Maybe on the next cruise, we will try Wonderland if they have the Mad Hatter on that ship

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Some people are visiting the crazy aunt in the basement.

 

 

 

Since today is “family day”, there were A LOT of people visiting the Uncle in Prison (aka photo area) because everyone needed to make their picture selections from all the pictures taken from the cruise. Every monitor was taken and some people had to stand and wait for an open monitor after people had left. 

It’s similar to Windjammer being full on embarkation lunch.  This is why I highly recommend that you visit the uncle in prison daily and select the pictures you like as you go along instead of waiting until the last day as the area is crowded.

 

 

I was looking for Brian @luvtoride from our roll call as I was looking for a guy with a bandage on his head (insider joke) but never saw him as he was probably here earlier during the day in selecting his 50 pictures from his package.

 

As you recall, I mentioned that we ordered the 100-picture package for $150 or $1.50 each.  I ordered the biggest package as my inlaws were originally going to sail with us but they couldn’t make it by then the deal was too good to give up as it was a 50% off deal. We opted for hard copies as if we print them at Shutterfly or Walgreens, it’s more than $1.50 for an 8 X 10 photo.

 

Even though we selected most of the pictures ahead of time, it was still time-consuming at the end on which ones to leave out.

 

OK, we finally selected all the pictures.  Sent them to be printed and we will need to return in a few hours after they finish printing them.

[harryfat1]

Now it’s back to the cabin to start the dreaded “pack all the stuff to go home” routine.

 

In the previous post, I mentioned I had to get different tags.  So my wife and I got tag 26 but the boys got 40 but I wanted 60.  Since we couldn’t move down, I just took their extras and we became group 40.

 

 

Here's the departing schedule (I'll post again in the morning of day 9)

 

 

[harryfat1]

At One o’clock they had the towel folding demonstration and after that, they had the “Sexist men” contest.  They typically have that contest up on the pool deck but as it started to rain by then, they had to announce to say the contest had been moved to guess where – yeap, our favorite place, 270.

 

But first thing first - is towel folding.  We sat next to "The Book" as we got there few minutes early and they were wrapping up another rehearsal

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

You can see the robotic arms on the right that move the 6 TV monitors

 

 

 

My younger son and my wife were able to replicate every towel-folding shape they showed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

After that, it was the sexiest men's competition. 

 

The crew made the disclaimer that they can’t control what dances/gestures each contestant will perform.  Thus if any parents who are sensitive to this type of material, it’s time to take their little ones and leave the 270 theater if they don’t want little Johnny or Debbie asking questions afterward that they don’t want to answer.

 

 

So each contestant does their routine and the audience votes on whom they like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Similar to the Navigator of the Seas competition, the audience voted for the oldest man, not necessarily the sexiest man.  Guess the notion is if Grandpa is willing to go up and make a fool of himself, at least he deserves to win something…

 

So the winner is the last photo

 

They had all the contestants do a dance at the end.  I like how the staff was frantic in trying to cover Grandpa’s backside before he inched further down - Yeah, he was the winner...

 

 

 

All you ladies (and gents) are welcome to drop in your favorite “baby got back” YouTube video here…

 

[harryfat1]

Alrighty.  Done with the contest. Time for a late lunch at 2:20 at Windjammer

 

 

In case anyone is wondering what condiments are available at the WIndjamer, well, wonder no more…

 

 

Here’s the last lunch at Windjammer for this cruise

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Carnival ship heading the same direction as us as they are likely heading back to Florida as well

 

 

 

 

Very empty Windjammer at 3:11 as they officially close the place at 3 so there’s no food being served