Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship review
At a glance
- A scaled-back version of Royal Caribbean’s largest family-friendly ships
- Unbelievable onboard activities like skydiving and bumper cars
- Excellent food with plenty of free options, as well as specialty restaurants
Odyssey of the Seas overview
Odyssey of the Seas is what you get when you combine the technology and pizazz of Royal Caribbean’s newest mass-market vessels with a slightly smaller size that attracts passengers for whom the largest cruise ships in the world are just too unwieldy.
The 16-deck, 167,704-ton vessel, which carries 4,198 passengers at double occupancy, is only slightly larger than the line’s Freedom Class vessels. However, it still manages to house several jaw-dropping attractions that other classes of ships don’t have. They include a skydiving simulator, bumper cars, a technologically advanced aft-facing lounge with 270-degree views and a giant viewing pod that’s suspended more than 300 feet over the ocean by a robotic arm.
Odyssey of the Seas employs some of the tried-and-true favorites from other, often larger ships, too, including a rock climbing wall, laser tag, a FlowRider surf simulator and the robot-staffed Bionic Bar, which will make Royal Caribbean fans feel right at home.
The vessel appeals to families, especially when it home ports in New York, which means it routinely sails well above double-occupancy levels. On my voyage, the total passenger count was 4,732, just 778 people shy of the possible maximum capacity of 5,510 people.
Although Odyssey of the Seas is smaller than the largest ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, it still feels crowded, particularly on sea days. Because the vessel sails from the East Coast during part of the fall, winter and a bit of spring, the weather can be chilly or even downright cold on several days out of a weeklong sailing — generally the sea days en route and on the way back from the Caribbean or Bahamas. That often drives passengers inside, making already cramped lounges and public spaces feel even more packed.
I also experienced some issues with wait times for dining room seating and service.
However, the ship does a lot right. Plenty of daily activities, live music and nightly shows keep passengers busy in addition to spa treatments, fitness classes, shore excursions and other diversions. Plus, the food on my sailing stood out — in a good way — from the fare I’ve tried on other Royal Caribbean ships. My travel companion and I made a point of only eating at the free restaurants — the main dining room, the buffet, the Mexican restaurant, the pizza place and the solarium buffet — which makes the food’s excellence even more noteworthy.
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Here’s what you need to know about Odyssey of the Seas, from cabins and dining to activities and pricing.
Odyssey of the Seas cabins and suites
As is the case with most Royal Caribbean ships, cruisers have tons of choices when it comes to cabins.
Accommodations span four main varieties: inside or interior cabins with no windows, outside or ocean-view rooms with windows that don’t open, balcony cabins with sliding-glass doors that open to semiprivate outdoor spaces and roomy suites.
Within each of the first three types, variations include rooms large enough to sleep three and four people, as well as connecting cabins. Connecting rooms are great for families and friend groups, as they can sleep up to eight passengers and offer two bathrooms.
Special inside-cabin options include Virtual Balcony cabins featuring floor-to-ceiling screens that broadcast real-time views of the port or the sea, making it feel like you’re in a room with a balcony. I stayed in one of these during my voyage, and I was largely unimpressed. Although the idea was cute, the camera used for the footage was often dirty, and it was such poor quality that, at night, the view was fuzzy, similar to television static.
Also, despite the screen having volume controls, the sound emitting from it was basically nonexistent. It would have been nice to have had some white noise.
In the ocean-view category, in addition to standard outside cabins, slightly larger window-view rooms at the bow face forward and offer vistas similar to what the captain would see.
As for balconies, some versions come with obstructed views, which can often be booked at a slightly lower price than cabins with full-view verandas. Solo cruisers can enjoy their own space with a dozen balcony cabins designed for a single person.
Cruisers seeking exclusivity and a bit more space can choose from a sizable selection of suites, such as a 350-square-foot Grand Suite, a 541-square-foot Owner’s Suite, a 696-square-foot Grand Loft Suite, a 975-square-foot Owner’s Loft Suite or a massive 1,640-square-foot Royal Loft Suite.
Grand Suites come in both one- and two-bedroom varieties, with the latter sleeping up to eight people. Royal Loft Suites can sleep up to six, and Owner’s Loft Suites have room for as many as eight. Plus, both types of Loft Suites have two stories, making them feel a bit more like apartments than cruise ship cabins.
Odyssey of the Seas also has an array of junior suites, which are basically balcony cabins with a bit more square footage, rather than actual suites.
Additionally, the ship offers 38 accessible cabins spread across a number of categories, including standard inside, outside and balcony accommodations, Virtual Balcony cabins and junior suites. These rooms offer wider doorways, more square footage to allow for movement, ramped entryways, lower closet bars and bathroom amenities like roll-in showers with benches, lower toilets and sinks and grab bars.
Cabins are elegantly designed with a mix of neutral colors, light faux woods and nautical blue tones. Even the most basic offer king beds that convert into two twins on request, nightstands, vanities with makeup lighting, closets with plenty of shelving and bars for hanging clothes and drawer space. Every room has some kind of sitting area, but that could be one chair, a sofa or a totally separate living room, depending on the cabin’s size.
Additional amenities include a hair dryer, a small keypad-operated safe, a phone and a TV that offers a few news channels along with ship-produced channels and a painfully small selection of movies.
Each cabin has its own bathroom with an enclosed shower, a vanity, storage shelving, bar soap for handwashing and a dispenser of all-in-one bodywash and shampoo mounted in the shower.
Suites offer additional perks, such as bathrobes, higher-end Royal Caribbean branded toiletries, entry to special embarkation and disembarkation lounges, access to dine in dedicated dining room Coastal Kitchen, luxury bedding, in-cabin coffeemakers, free Wi-Fi and reserved seating in certain entertainment venues. The most expensive suites include the services of a butler (known as a Royal Genie), crew gratuities and complimentary alcohol packages.
Odyssey of the Seas restaurants
Frankly, the free dining on Odyssey of the Seas was so excellent that I didn’t feel the need to eat at any of the extra-fee restaurants. That’s rare on any ship but especially on a Royal Caribbean one. (I usually find the line’s dining to be a bit hit-or-miss.)
On the first night, I had dinner at the Solarium Bistro, which served delectable buffet-style Mediterranean fare as an overflow option for passengers with My Time Dining (which allows you to eat any time between 6:30 and 9 p.m.) who didn’t have reservations. I also greatly enjoyed breakfast, brunch and dinner in the main dining room, which served up mouthwatering French toast, salmon, Indian dishes and more.
Although the food was excellent, wait times were excessive for cruisers who had My Time Dining but who didn’t have reservations (which defeats the entire purpose of being able to show up to dine when the mood strikes). It was common for me to stand in line for 30 minutes for a table. Larger parties often had even longer waits, something made even more intolerable due to the heat generated by giant LED walls that display animations near the dining room entrance.
The hosts did their best to seat me with the same great waiters — Kadek and Astrawan — every night. But, on two nights, I was seated in a different section and waited 20 minutes between courses. It took so long that I had to leave without dessert in order to make it to the show on time. When I arrived, the theater was overly crowded, and I wasn’t able to find a seat, adding to the frustration.
Other free venues included the Windjammer buffet, Coastal Kitchen (which is exclusive to suite guests and passengers at the highest level of Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program), El Loco Fresh’s pool deck Mexican, Sorrento’s pizza, Cafe Two70 (where Rosita makes wonderful specialty coffees and Sophie serves up cheesy, melty sandwiches), Cafe Promenade for pastries and finger sandwiches and Sprinkles for complimentary soft-serve.
Although I didn’t pay extra to dine at any of the for-fee eateries, I poked my head into all of them and took a look at their menus. The most notable for its quirky design is Wonderland, where the dining room might make you feel as if you’re visiting the home of the Mad Hatter from “Alice in Wonderland.” It features menus that must be revealed with wet paint brushes, featuring a list of curious molecular gastronomy dishes.
Other available options included the Chops Grille steakhouse, Izumi and Teppanyaki for Asian fare (including sushi), Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar for travelers craving Italian food and room service, which levies a fee of $7.95 per order (except for continental breakfast, which is free).
Based on my experiences at these restaurants on other ships, I’d skip Chops (which consistently disappoints me) and Teppanyaki (which is gimmicky) and try Izumi or Giovanni’s.
Odyssey of the Seas bars and lounges
As is typical of any Royal Caribbean vessel, Odyssey of the Seas boasts a plethora of bars and lounges, but some stand out more than others. The pool deck social hub is The Lime & Coconut, a brightly colored bar that serves up beachy drinks. The Schooner Bar, a line staple, has arguably one of the best drink menus at sea — try the Toasted Marshmallow Old-Fashioned — and serves as the venue for many of the ship’s trivia competitions, as well as piano tunes.
Music Hall is a unique lounge with pool tables, music-related trivia and game shows, plus a cocktail menu whose drinks — think the Raspberry Beret, the Jack and Diane and the Ice Ice Baby — draw their names from hit songs. Live music there is often meant for dancing, and this venue also serves as a nightclub on certain nights, including the ’80s theme night on my voyage. (On other nights, such as for the line’s trademark RED party, the nightclub scene is found at Two70. On Caribbean night, the party is held under the stars on the pool deck.)
For a pint and live music, you’ll want to head to the Crown & Compass Pub, where you can enjoy mellow cover tunes from the ship’s resident singer-guitarist.
If you’d rather have a cold beer while you watch the game, Playmakers Sports Bar, perched above the Seaplex sports court, is the place. Meanwhile, the Bionic Bar is interesting to watch, but don’t be too caught up in the gimmicky nature of its robotic-arm bartenders. They usually end up sloshing your drink as they craft it, making it rather sticky when the cup finally reaches you.
Worth noting are Royal Caribbean’s zero-proof cocktails, which are tasty and contain no alcohol. My favorite is the Blueberry Nojito, which is like a sweet version of a mojito but with a blueberry twist.
Royal Caribbean sells drinks a la carte, or passengers can purchase one of several beverage packages that generally offer savings to people who drink a lot, whether it’s bottled water, specialty coffees, soda or alcohol.
Odyssey of the Seas activities
Odyssey of the Seas does have a few activities and attractions you won’t find on other Royal Caribbean ships in different classes. The most notable is the Ripcord by iFly skydiving simulator. Watch a short instructional video before donning a jumpsuit, helmet and goggles to try your hand at what feels like free-falling for two minutes in a giant see-through wind tunnel. It’s a fun experience that will, quite literally, take your breath away. You can try it for free on port days or for $50 per person on sea days.
Other unique-to-Quantum-Class offerings include the Seaplex sports area, which is ringed with arcade games and features bumper cars and other fun activities; the North Star viewing pod, which rises more than 300 feet above the sea on a robotic arm for amazing photo opportunities; and next-level technology in the Two70 lounge, which runs both live and recorded performances (don’t miss the cruise director-led showcase).
On the main stage, don’t miss theater production “The Effectors,” during which a team of four superheroes saves the day through song and dance amid jaw-dropping costumes and special effects.
Standout activities for me included a Name That Tune gameshow, where eight contestants tried to guess songs after hearing just a few seconds of them, and the Ultimate Trivia Battle, where team captains had to run into the audience to find answers to trivia questions. Other pursuits you might see on the daily schedule include BINGO, arts and crafts, sports competitions, dance classes, live music, pool games and seminars designed to sell you everything from art and spa treatments to jewelry and shoe orthotics.
That’s not to say there weren’t some activity-related hiccups, though. Venues like Two70, the Music Hall and the Schooner Bar were often so crowded for game shows, bingo and trivia on sea days that it was impossible to find a seat if you didn’t arrive at least 15 minutes early. There were also issues with seating for the early shows in the main theater. It often felt like the lounges just weren’t big enough to accommodate the number of passengers on board.
Further, some events ran late or started early, which meant I missed some of the activities I was hoping to attend. One night, I was disappointed when a phenomenal juggler’s show ran nearly 10 minutes late in the theater, which meant I was too late to sign up to play adult dodgeball at Seaplex by the time I got there.
Another time, trivia started several minutes early, which meant I missed the first couple of questions. And, although “The Book: Seven Chapters, One Adventure,” an elaborate production show held in Two70, was visually appealing and impressive in terms of technology, I found it difficult to follow. Sometimes parts of it were so chaotic that I didn’t know where to look. During other parts, it dragged on with no activity for what seemed an unnecessarily long time.
One odd remnant of activities past is the ship’s SkyPad — a giant yellow and orange sphere that sits on the back of the vessel. It used to house virtual-reality bungee trampolines, which Royal Caribbean scrapped in 2023, following a lawsuit from a passenger who was seriously injured when his bungees came loose. The sphere is still there but is now empty, except for a few lonely-looking beanbag sets.
The ship also includes a casino, three pools (including an indoor one in the adults-only Solarium), six hot tubs, a generously equipped fitness center and a spa with a sizeable menu of for-fee hair and nail services, as well as massages, acupuncture and other treatments.
Odyssey of the Seas itineraries and pricing
Odyssey of the Seas spends part of autumn, all of winter and most of spring sailing to the Caribbean and Bahamas from Cape Liberty cruise port in Bayonne, New Jersey. Beginning in May, it repositions to Rome, from which it sails Mediterranean and Greek Isles voyages through the fall each year.
At the time of publication, fares started from $740 per person for an inside cabin on a seven-night Bahamas cruise and from $1,056 per person for a seven-night Greek Isles getaway.
Odyssey of the Seas for families
Odyssey of the Seas is excellent for families, especially those with kids and teens. In addition to the AO (Adventure Ocean) kids club, which offers daily complimentary activities — think games, science experiments and arts and crafts — for kids from ages 6 to 12, the line also offers a Royal Babies and Tots program, which caters to the youngest cruisers, ages 6 months to 3 years, for a fee.
Teens have their own hangout spaces, too, which feature areas for lounging and socializing; this older subset of kids, ages 13-17, has fewer scheduled activities and can come and go as they please. Late-night babysitting is also offered from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for ages 6-12 for $10 per child, per hour.
In addition to the kids club spaces and activities, youngsters will love spending time at the Seaplex, a sports court area that hosts everything from laser tag, archery, badminton and dodgeball to bumper cars. The area is ringed with arcade games, and adults will have fun watching from above at Playmakers sports bar.
Other family fun includes the free rock climbing wall and FlowRider surf and boogie-boarding simulator, as well as the Ripcord by iFly skydiving simulator, which is free on port days or $50 per person on sea days (reservations needed). Arts and crafts, game shows, beanbag toss competitions, karaoke and an array of other family-friendly activities round out the agenda for all ages. For water babies, the Splashaway Bay splash area offers a couple of pint-size waterslides.
Odyssey of the Seas accessibility
All elevators and public spaces on Odyssey of the Seas are accessible, featuring entrances with gradual inclines and enough hallway space for a 180-degree turn. One of the vessel’s three pools — the forward main pool — has a lift, and most deck spaces have automatic doors. Additionally, the ship houses 38 accessible cabins in a variety of categories, and the line can provide assistance at boarding and disembarkation.
Odyssey of the Seas bottom line
Although Odyssey of the Seas felt a bit crowded at times, particularly on its sailings from the U.S. East Coast, it offered great food, captivating entertainment and a fun, lively atmosphere that’s perfect for active adults and families with kids of all ages. Ultimately, the ship is a nice way for cruisers to experience some of the over-the-top amenities of the line’s largest vessels but among fewer passengers.
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