Refresher Course for RCCL, Odyssey of the Seas

[fly girl]

It has been a while since I have cruised on RCCL. We are Celebrity lovers, but their spring break itineraries were not for us.

So, we went back to our roots with RCCL. Going on the Odyssey to Coco Cay (been there, done that) but now hitting 2 new islands for us: Aruba and Curacao.

Shows/On Board Activiites: I need that refresher on when/how to book show times and activities. I heard definitely get a reservation for The Book, but I would like reservations for all the premium shows so we don't miss out. And what else should I make reservation for ... laser tag, bumper cars?? All these years of Disney parks planning makes me uber plan all our trips. I can't not plan!!

Dining: Booked 3 night dining package as well as Izumi and Chef's Table (our big splurge) as the reviews for main dining room are truly a mixed bag with the new menus. However, if you have had a great meal in dining room with the new menu, share which night! I can always rearrange according to what night and possibly cancel a reservation. As of now, our MDR nights are the 2 formal nights.

Odyssey itself: any ship specific advice? I am a sponge!! Share away.

Excursions: Looking into adrenaline excursions in those 2 ports as beach days are just not our thing (which I know is hysterical given we are going on a Caribbean cruise.) Any good suggestions, I am all ears! Right now we are leaning towards EZ Raider tour in Aruba and a possible ATV excursion in Curacao.

Thanks for any help, I feel out of the loop as I am so used to Celebrity.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Nice itinerary and good choice. We were lucky enough to visit Aruba and Curacao twice last year. Unfortunately we have not been on Odyssey yet so we can't help you there.

Will share a couple of quick things that might be helpful. The two islands are pretty close together but sort of farther from most departure ports. That likely means one of the two is a slightly longer port time and the other slightly shorter. Your exact itinerary may vary but that can make for the time to do a little more that one excursion at one of the ports.

My preference is Curacao since you can do enough with just walking around Willemstad on your own to constitute a "tour". There are a few interesting tours that were offered but one of the more popular is the liquor factory. That one is also short enough that you can get back to do your own walking tour, even if the day isn't really long in port. Odyssey is large enough that she will park outside of the pontoon bridge (yes, cruise ships do park inside). It is a short walk along the water front to the shopping and old fort. From there you can watch the pontoon bridge open and close, then cross over into the downtown. The view of the waterfront street is great and makes for some great pics. There are usually some street vendors out in the area when ships are in port. If you veer to the right after crossing the bridge, into the government buildings, you can walk through and check out the architecture. The bonus is one of the buildings still has a cannon ball visible, stuck in the wall from an old battle. Lots of shops and dining options around to check out as well as a few sites around the area and the small park. Aruba seems a little less like an European village compared but still has some nice sites. A tour here would be more beneficial.

Both places offer the chance to get passport stamps if you are into that. In Curacao after you cross the bridge, go left to the end of the waterfront street. At the corner is a building where they do the passport stamps. In Aruba, the main port building has some offices amongst the shops. They will do the passport stamps in there. The times seemed to be a littel more limited but just check as you leave the ship if it might work into your schedule.

Have a great time!

 

[fly girl]

Nice itinerary and good choice. We were lucky enough to visit Aruba and Curacao twice last year. Unfortunately we have not been on Odyssey yet so we can't help you there.

Will share a couple of quick things that might be helpful. The two islands are pretty close together but sort of farther from most departure ports. That likely means one of the two is a slightly longer port time and the other slightly shorter. Your exact itinerary may vary but that can make for the time to do a little more that one excursion at one of the ports.

My preference is Curacao since you can do enough with just walking around Willemstad on your own to constitute a "tour". There are a few interesting tours that were offered but one of the more popular is the liquor factory. That one is also short enough that you can get back to do your own walking tour, even if the day isn't really long in port. Odyssey is large enough that she will park outside of the pontoon bridge (yes, cruise ships do park inside). It is a short walk along the water front to the shopping and old fort. From there you can watch the pontoon bridge open and close, then cross over into the downtown. The view of the waterfront street is great and makes for some great pics. There are usually some street vendors out in the area when ships are in port. If you veer to the right after crossing the bridge, into the government buildings, you can walk through and check out the architecture. The bonus is one of the buildings still has a cannon ball visible, stuck in the wall from an old battle. Lots of shops and dining options around to check out as well as a few sites around the area and the small park. Aruba seems a little less like an European village compared but still has some nice sites. A tour here would be more beneficial.

Both places offer the chance to get passport stamps if you are into that. In Curacao after you cross the bridge, go left to the end of the waterfront street. At the corner is a building where they do the passport stamps. In Aruba, the main port building has some offices amongst the shops. They will do the passport stamps in there. The times seemed to be a littel more limited but just check as you leave the ship if it might work into your schedule.

Have a great time!

Thank you for the info on Curacao!

You are absolutely correct on port times. Aruba is the longer visit, 8am-11pm versus Curacao is 8am-6pm. I was debating on ATV excursions in Curacao and after what you have mentioned I think he shorter one would be better so we can walk around on our own in Willemstad.

My daughter loves the passport stamps so I will definitely put those on our plans.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Nice itinerary and good choice. We were lucky enough to visit Aruba and Curacao twice last year. Unfortunately we have not been on Odyssey yet so we can't help you there.

Will share a couple of quick things that might be helpful. The two islands are pretty close together but sort of farther from most departure ports. That likely means one of the two is a slightly longer port time and the other slightly shorter. Your exact itinerary may vary but that can make for the time to do a little more that one excursion at one of the ports.

My preference is Curacao since you can do enough with just walking around Willemstad on your own to constitute a "tour". There are a few interesting tours that were offered but one of the more popular is the liquor factory. That one is also short enough that you can get back to do your own walking tour, even if the day isn't really long in port. Odyssey is large enough that she will park outside of the pontoon bridge (yes, cruise ships do park inside). It is a short walk along the water front to the shopping and old fort. From there you can watch the pontoon bridge open and close, then cross over into the downtown. The view of the waterfront street is great and makes for some great pics. There are usually some street vendors out in the area when ships are in port. If you veer to the right after crossing the bridge, into the government buildings, you can walk through and check out the architecture. The bonus is one of the buildings still has a cannon ball visible, stuck in the wall from an old battle. Lots of shops and dining options around to check out as well as a few sites around the area and the small park. Aruba seems a little less like an European village compared but still has some nice sites. A tour here would be more beneficial.

Both places offer the chance to get passport stamps if you are into that. In Curacao after you cross the bridge, go left to the end of the waterfront street. At the corner is a building where they do the passport stamps. In Aruba, the main port building has some offices amongst the shops. They will do the passport stamps in there. The times seemed to be a littel more limited but just check as you leave the ship if it might work into your schedule.

Have a great time!

We are going to both those ports too. I was hoping to do the caves tour, but it's sold out. Any idea if that's something a person can do on their own?

Also, you mentioned walking tours. What about renting a vehicle and driving the island? Good idea or not?

 

[Venoma]

We are doing the same cruise Departing March 15th!

 

[jenushkask8s]

We are on the same ship & itinerary January 20!

 

[ScooterScott44]

Also, you mentioned walking tours. What about renting a vehicle and driving the island? Good idea or not?

We considered it but there wasn't enough for our interest to have a car. There are some sites and a few things that could be of interest but you have to decide if you would benefit from a car based on your interest.

The other thing to note is the port load, if there are multiple ships in port I would expect the roads right around the town to be pretty crowded. On one of our stops we took a taxi out to the distillery and back, the roads were pretty full in the morning.

 

[FigmentSpark]

That's a good point. I hadn't thought about the Port load.

 

[FreeTime]

We are on the last night of this itinerary now. In Curacao we walked to the maritime museum. It was interesting. Then, walked to the government buildings.

While in Aruba we did the hidden gems tour. It was good for my DH as it was not too active. There were a few people though who got tired of walking and didn’t get off at some of the stops. You also will go through the neighborhoods and see blight and have a look at the daily lives.

The cruise as a whole was relaxing. We were very disappointed in the food. We ate at Coastal Kitchen, Windjammer, Main Dining, El Loco, and Sorrentos. I would rate the last two fast food places as poor.

Ricky, the CD, is great!

After a few RCCL cruises, I find myself disappointed that they allow kids into clubs at all hours. I forgot this when booking this cruise. I’m not against kids. But would rather they not be in the bars. We have had a baby crying next to us while in the adult content shows.

 

[DCLMP]

I took my 18-year-old son on a 12-night Greek Isles cruise on this Ship in May.

In My opinion, the ship was Fantastic. It was a manageable size about the same as the Dream. No bells and whistles compared to Royal's other Mega ships. I thought it was the best-designed ship I've ever been on. I've cruised on DCL 30 times and I fell in love with this ship. Of course, our previous cruise was the Wish so they may have something to do with why I was so blown away by the design.

I can't comment on the specialty dining we didn't do that.

The gym is amazing if you work out. The sports bar and food were a nice change of pace.

We had great service in the MDR and stateroom. The bartenders were also very entertaining. I had the drink package.

I did not go to the nightly entertainment. It was a port-intensive cruise and were wiped out by 10 pm.

This ship is a little bit more laid back than our experience on the Allure or Harmony.

The ship itself is great. It's hard to say how a European cruise would compare to a Caribbean cruise in terms of atmosphere.

My son was bored on the ship because we went in May and there were not a lot of kids his age. He loves to travel and had a great time in the ports. He still says the ship was excellent and he loved the itinerary.

Sorry can't help you on excursions, but if you have questions about the ship I might be able to.

 

[fly girl]

We are going to both those ports too. I was hoping to do the caves tour, but it's sold out. Any idea if that's something a person can do on their own?

Also, you mentioned walking tours. What about renting a vehicle and driving the island? Good idea or not?

Have you looked on TripAdvisor or Viator for the caves tour?

We are doing a EZRaider tour in Aruba. They have several tour options and one is for the caves. Maybe something to look into.

 

[fly girl]

The cruise as a whole was relaxing. We were very disappointed in the food. We ate at Coastal Kitchen, Windjammer, Main Dining, El Loco, and Sorrentos. I would rate the last two fast food places as poor.

Ricky, the CD, is great!

After a few RCCL cruises, I find myself disappointed that they allow kids into clubs at all hours. I forgot this when booking this cruise. I’m not against kids. But would rather they not be in the bars. We have had a baby crying next to us while in the adult content shows.

I am worried about the food. I saw a Junior Suite opened up so we could utilize Coastal Kitchen. Then I saw the difference in price .... NOPE! Junior Suite lacks a lot of perks Celebrity offers with with their Sky Suite. No way!

I booked a lot of specialty dining for this trip in hopes the food will be better. I think it is wishful thinking but I am going to try.

And that is just rude of the parents to have a crying baby during any show. If they baby is quiet and sleeping, who cares. But the minute the baby cries, you excuse yourself. Common sense, geez.

 

[FreeTime]

We did enjoy Coastal Kitchen. My DH wanted to eat there each night but I unsmartly said we should each in the MD. Most nights in the MD the server was offering to bring something else. I forced myself to eat some of what I got and always refused something else. This wasn’t the case of us not enjoying it because it was fancy food, everything just tasted bland and processed. The desserts were awful. They reminded me of cafeteria food.

Agree, if the baby was quiet it would have been easy to overlook.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Have you looked on TripAdvisor or Viator for the caves tour?

We are doing a EZRaider tour in Aruba. They have several tour options and one is for the caves. Maybe something to look into.

Thanks. I'll take a look there.