Ovation vs. Odyssey

[Mikewa]

Visited Alaska in 2022 on Ovation - loved the ship.  Decided to do Italy in 2025, and by coincidence, we are looking at Ovation's sister - Odyssey.  I realize they are the same class, and Odyssey is a bit younger, but can anyone advise about specific differences between the two?  Thanks!

[The Fun Researcher]

VERY similar... but those I can think of off hand...

 

Odyssey removes the indoor pool area and turned that into a 2nd outdoor pool.  The solarium is still there.

 

The dining room on Odyssey is one large grand dining room (which we like) unlike how it's split into four small dining rooms on Ovation.

 

Playmakers is on Odyssey by the Seaplex.  Ovation doesn't have it.

[Another_Critic]

Odyssey has El Loco Fresh in place of Fish & Ships on Ovation.

Odyssey does not have aft outdoor windjammer seating.

Odyssey has Teppanyaki (on deck 14) in place of the Living Room on Ovation. 

Odyssey has Giovanni's Italian Kitchen in place of Jamie's Italian on Ovation.

Odyssey has Giovanni's Wine Bar in place of Vintages on Ovation.

[GimmeOcean]

You'll love Odyssey. Playmakers especially is a great addition.

[RobInMN]

50 minutes ago, Mikewa said:

Ovation's sister - Odyssey.  I realize they are the same class, and Odyssey is a bit younger

Technically, Ovation is a Quantum Class with Odyssey being a Quantum-Ultra Class. 

So step-sisters? Cousins? 

 

I've never been on any other Quantum/Ultra other than Odyssey, so other than things mentioned, I'm not sure what the big deal was that made them give Spectrum and Odyssey a slightly different class designation. According to Wikipedia, Odyssey has the smallest gross tonnage of the 5.

[GimmeOcean]

2 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

Technically, Ovation is a Quantum Class with Odyssey being a Quantum-Ultra Class. 

So step-sisters? Cousins? 

 

I've never been on any other Quantum/Ultra other than Odyssey, so other than things mentioned, I'm not sure what the big deal was that made them give Spectrum and Odyssey a slightly different class designation. According to Wikipedia, Odyssey has the smallest gross tonnage of the 5.

Marketing...

[taglovestocruise]

Multi story dining room and Playmakers make the ultra class a step above. 17 nights on Ovation and Quantum and they they are by far our least favorite of all Royal ships. 

[kwokpot]

22 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Multi story dining room and Playmakers make the ultra class a step above. 17 nights on Ovation and Quantum and they they are by far our least favorite of all Royal ships. 

It's funny who polarizing the Quantum Class ships can be, you either love them or hate them. Besides the promenade being a bit too narrow which causes congestion at peak times for me that's about the only flaw to the ship's design. 

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

It's funny who polarizing the Quantum Class ships can be, you either love them or hate them. Besides the promenade being a bit too narrow which causes congestion at peak times for me that's about the only flaw to the ship's design. 

Would like a larger promenade, agreed.  That's probably the biggest negative IMO.  However there is so much else that we loved about the Anthem and Quantum last year.

[Tatka]

3 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Multi story dining room and Playmakers make the ultra class a step above. 17 nights on Ovation and Quantum and they they are by far our least favorite of all Royal ships. 

 

And

1. absence of the roof over family pool is a step down

2. just like an absence of open dining area behind Windjammer

3. absence of Virtual TV in most inside rooms

 

We LOVED Anthem (11 times) and will see how Odyssey will work out out of New Jersey from November till April

Edited May 22 by Tatka

[Tatka]

54 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Would like a larger promenade, agreed.  That's probably the biggest negative IMO.  However there is so much else that we loved about the Anthem and Quantum last year.

 

We adjusted... 1 time on Anthem was tough 🙂 Remaining 10 was great!

[Southern Dan]

I was scheduled to go on Voyager for my Italy/Greek Isles cruise in July 2025 but I really wanted to go on Odyssey so I switched last week.  I am very happy with my decision.

 

I'd probably be annoyed on a winter cruise out of NYC with the lack of an indoor pool and it would be nice to have the aft outdoor dining area of Windjammer in the Mediterranean but Playmakers/ELF/Lime & Coconut will make up for it for me on the Odyssey. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

It's funny who polarizing the Quantum Class ships can be, you either love them or hate them. Besides the promenade being a bit too narrow which causes congestion at peak times for me that's about the only flaw to the ship's design. 

Funny, isn't it? Polarizing for sure. We are definitely fans, although I agree that the promenade bottlenecks can get annoying. But I LOVE the enclosed Solarium, the Two70, the SeaPlex, North Star, iFly ... the Odyssey in particular will always be one of my favorites in the fleet. But you're right, it seems that most people who aren't fans are reeeeeeaaaally not fans. 😉 

[Mikewa]

Thanks everyone!

[GimmeOcean]

2 hours ago, Southern Dan said:

I'd probably be annoyed on a winter cruise out of NYC with the lack of an indoor pool and it would be nice to have the aft outdoor dining area of Windjammer in the Mediterranean but Playmakers/ELF/Lime & Coconut will make up for it for me on the Odyssey. 

But there is still a nice (indoor) panoramic aft view from the Windjammer, and it tends to not be very crowded back there. Great for port sailaways.

[ARandomTraveler]

22 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Multi story dining room and Playmakers make the ultra class a step above. 17 nights on Ovation and Quantum and they they are by far our least favorite of all Royal ships. 

Except Spectrum doesn't have playmakers so I'm not sure what makes it ultra-class.
 

Spectrum is the only Quantum class ship I've sailed though so I have nothing to compare it to.

[Biker19]

31 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Except Spectrum doesn't have playmakers so I'm not sure what makes it ultra-class.

The real obvious one is the open MDR. A few more cabins. 

[FOXTROT]

Just did a TA on the Odyssey, best cruise we have done. We even booked it again for next year. That was our 89th cruise.

[pyrateslife4me84]

On 5/22/2024 at 6:08 PM, Tatka said:

 

And

1. absence of the roof over family pool is a step down

2. just like an absence of open dining area behind Windjammer

3. absence of Virtual TV in most inside rooms

 

We LOVED Anthem (11 times) and will see how Odyssey will work out out of New Jersey from November till April

With regard to the family pool, that depends on where you’re sailing. Sailing from Rome, an extra outdoor pool sounds lovely. From Cape Liberty, it’s an odd choice. 

[The Fun Researcher]

44 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

With regard to the family pool, that depends on where you’re sailing. Sailing from Rome, an extra outdoor pool sounds lovely. From Cape Liberty, it’s an odd choice. 

Exactly.  We'll be sailing the Odyssey in March 2025 out of Bayonne, NJ.  Last March sailing from the same port on the Anthem it was 35 degrees when we boarded. 

 

My guess is that folks wanted anything other than the same ship year after year so the Odyssey, while not the very best suited for cold weather, is pretty well suited for it with the very nice Solarium and 270 in the back.

 

[pyrateslife4me84]

2 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Exactly.  We'll be sailing the Odyssey in March 2025 out of Bayonne, NJ.  Last March sailing from the same port on the Anthem it was 35 degrees when we boarded. 

 

My guess is that folks wanted anything other than the same ship year after year so the Odyssey, while not the very best suited for cold weather, is pretty well suited for it with the very nice Solarium and 270 in the back.

 

I think it will be great for adult groups. With kids, I would only consider it in April during Spring Break since it’s usually a bit warmer by then. 

[mil76]

Odyssey would be a step up for me just because of Playmakers.  I have cruised on Ovation, Anthem and Spectrum, and these are the only ships we don't get the unlimited dining package due to the specialties and not having a good lunch/casual UDP option (Johnny Rockets is NOT a good option).  

 

We still like Quantum class and are doing 19 days on Anthem in a week, but it gets more and more disappointing with the cut-backs.  The Quantum class Music Hall is one of my favorite venues on all ships, and they have gone from having a tribute band AND a cover band to now having the pool band headlining.

 

Spectrum is a whole other story, but that is mainly due to the market it serves.  I was glad it was a port-intensive cruise so I didn't get upset about the lack of on-board venues I am used to.

[Tatka]

On Anthem we had amazing Iconic Band, but I think pool band was different.

We love Bolero’s setup on Quantum class.