A COVID cruise

Odyssey of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 31

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5
Verified Review
Odyssey of the Seas

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 04, 2021

Ship: Odyssey of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 9618

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Cruise was impacted by COVID. At first, no information was given as to why we returned to Fort Lauderdale for an emergency medical evacuation or why the next day, a show was cancelled, even though, it was obvious it was COVID related. As the number of infected grew, no active measures were taken to ensure that transmission would be limited. No enforcement of mask wearing indoors (guests often would wear masks under their noses or on chins or hold a drink to appear to be drinking so they didn't have to), people would sit at tables that were marked unavailable for distancing and no effort was made to ask them to find another suitable site, elevators had greater than 6 people packed inside and often individuals would not be wearing a mask inside, I applaud the attempts to maintain cleanliness and the sanitizers available but human behavior made all of that moot. It wasn't until the end of the cruise that some control was implemented at the buffet to maintain distancing but by then almost 90 (exact figure was never provided just a percentage infected - 1.9%) passenger and crew had become infected that we knew of. In addition, we were told that the cruise companies always knew infections were inevitable; however, given that, they had no contingencies in place for being denied entry to ports of calls.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Efficient and quick

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Except for one bad meal, the food was excellent and was presented beautifully

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Given that most shows were cancelled, activities for those who weren't 30 or younger was very limited

Entertainment

2 out of 5
Unfortunately, the entertainment staff was infected with COVID so a majority of the shows were cancelled

Children's Programs

Didn't have any children with us

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Louis did an amazing job keeping our cabin neat and clean. The size and accommodations were perfect and loved having an extra water closet.

Ship tip

Wear your masks at all times and make sure they cover both your nose and mouth

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 31

7 Comments

cruisegal52    2 years ago

I’m a little confused with some of these reviews. I was on the Dec 4 sailing. No shows were canceled, we were never denied entry to Aruba or Curaçao. The only negative thing that happened, was that an elderly couple had to disembark in Curaçao due to a medical emergency. If we had returned to Fort Lauderdale, it would have delayed arrival at other ports. Are you sure you were on the Dec 4 sailing? I know that all the Covid issues began with the Dec 12 & Dec 19 sailing.

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback.

izrgreen    2 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to write a review.

javawoody    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing

cruising2004    2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Cruiselovers70    2 years ago

Thank you for your review. I’m in agreement with that RCCL should be more stringent in enforcing health protocols.

justlovincruisin    2 years ago

Thanks for the review. As you have pointed out, while humans have no control over Mother Nature, Human Nature always manages to put forth our own selfishness and will not deter COVID occurances regardless of any environment. Glad you survived, seemed to have enjoyed yourself and hopefully will be sailing again soon.

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