2026-bahamas-cruise

Highlights

Royal Beach Club (Nassau) – This was the biggest highlight of our trip. The kids loved the large waves, soft sand, and smaller crowds.
Duck Hunting – Every time we left our room, Elise was determined to find more hidden ducks. By the end of the cruise, she had found 26 ducks in various places around the ship.
Two70 – This was a fantastic space with large windows overlooking the ocean, plenty of comfortable seating, and a café right next door. We spent a lot of time relaxing here.
Main Dining Room – We chose traditional dining, so we had the same waiters each night. The food was quite good. It became almost comical when our waiter would bring extra appetizers and entrées without us even asking.
Wonderland – We had fun trying the unusual-looking appetizers, drinks, and desserts (though not the main courses). This was a specialty restaurant and required an extra charge.
Soft-Serve Ice Cream – Elise especially loved the soft-serve ice cream.
Room Attendant – At the end of the trip, our room attendant gave us a private towel-folding demonstration.
Tipping the Staff – It was fun to personally thank and tip several staff members at the end of the cruise.
“Washy Washy” – One of the buffet staff members dressed up as a food item and cheerfully said “Washy Washy” to guests entering the buffet. I’m guessing these staff members drew the short straw.
Liberty State Park (NJ) – Due to winter storm Hernando, we unexpectedly spent time exploring Liberty State Park. The park was nearly empty, and we had to make our own paths through the snow to get better views of the Statue of Liberty.

Lowlights

Windjammer Buffet – It was often too crowded (especially on the colder sea days) and messy (lots of kids).
Adventure Ocean (kids club) – Frequently overcrowded. At times we were turned away due to capacity limits. The staff appeared overwhelmed, and many kids were not following instructions.
Crowd Size – There were 5,400 guests on Odyssey of the Seas, including 1,800 children (a record for the ship). The PA announcer humorously—but clearly—expressed frustration about the number of kids on board (for example, asking parents to remove children before they vomited in the pool and caused it to be shut down).
SeaPlex (indoor sports court) – Extremely loud, with many unruly teenagers.
Early Restaurant Closures – Several restaurants closed earlier than expected.
Comedians – Most were average.
No Magicians – We were disappointed there were no magic acts.
Production Shows – The performances were well done technically (e.g., drones flew over the audience) but lacked strong storylines.
No Guest Lecturers – There were no historians or guest lecturers, aside from a presentation by the ship’s captain.
Winter Storm Hernando – The storm forced us to stay in a hotel for three extra nights. We went from eating lobster tail on the ship to eating Cup Noodles from a hotel vending machine.

Before the Cruise

The day before the cruise, we stayed at a hotel. At check-in, the guest in front of us was given a room key to a room that was already occupied. The front desk worker seemed very stressed after that.

Boarding Day

On the morning of the cruise, we took an Uber to the port. Our driver was from Venezuela. He was excited because he had an upcoming trip there. He said the country was opening up again, but I did not fully understand how.

Boarding the ship went smoothly. Once on board, we ate at El Loco Fresh because the Windjammer buffet was very crowded.

We met our cabin attendant, Ikadek from Indonesia. He has worked on cruise ships for almost 10 years. After 10 years, staff get priority when choosing a ship. He prefers not to work on the very large Icon-class ships because the crew rooms are smaller.

We also visited Two70 Café. It felt chaotic. Many people were ordering, but there were not enough staff. A digital ordering system would have made things more organized.

We registered the kids at Adventure Ocean. Elise chose the 3–5-year-old group.

Dinner the first night was prime rib. It was probably our least favorite meal of the cruise. Ehm really liked the crab cake and cheesecake.

Sea Day

The next day was a sea day. We dropped the kids off at Adventure Ocean. It felt extremely crowded, like a group of penguins packed together. Later that day, it reached maximum capacity, and no more kids were allowed in. This happened often on sea days and cold days.

That night we saw a comedian at the welcome show. Ian thought the comedian made too many jokes about kids.

At dinner, we had chewy calamari and French onion soup as an extra appetizer. Ehm had salmon.

We watched The Effectors show. It was just okay, but the drones flying over the audience were impressive.

We also watched the 60-Second Challenge at Two70. People competed in short challenges like stacking cups, moving coffee beans with chopsticks, flipping bottles, blowing up balloons, and drinking soda quickly. We ended up really liking the Two70 area because it had plenty of seating and good views.

It was very cold on the outdoor deck. Some people were smoking. The ice cream station was closed. The Windjammer closed early at 9:00 PM (and also closed from 5:00–6:00 PM), so many people went to Sorrento’s Pizza instead.

Port Canaveral (Stayed on Ship)

When we stopped at Port Canaveral, we stayed on the ship. We tried the family scavenger hunt, but it only lasted 20 minutes, which was too rushed for young kids.

We found a quieter seating area at the back of the Windjammer.

Ehm had a frustrating experience at the spa because of a scheduling mix-up. The receptionist was rude and not helpful. A manager eventually fixed the problem.

Elise did not enjoy Adventure Ocean, but Ian did.

We watched the cast of The Book practicing and stretching. We spoke with a few Filipino staff members there.

That night we ate at Wonderland. The service was average. The appetizers were creative and tasty, but neither of us liked our main courses. Erik did not like the “Reconstructed Caprese.” His drink had a strong campfire smoke flavor, which was unique. We ate too much and felt uncomfortable afterward.

CocoCay

Next we visited Perfect Day at CocoCay.

It was very crowded because Utopia of the Seas was also there.

We spent most of the time at the beach. The sand was nice, and the kids enjoyed the water. Ian wished he could have tried the zip line or water slides.

Erik ate four ice cream cones. The Burger Shack food was very good. Ehm went back for seconds of chicken strips.

The towel check-in and check-out process was confusing. You had to give your room number when checking out towels but not when returning them.

Ehm met her cousin John (JP) there.

Some people near us were loud and played their own music. Overall, it felt very crowded.

That night was Caribbean Night in the main dining room. Ehm loved the plantains because they reminded her of the Philippines. We were given extra shrimp appetizers and had steak. There was a solo singer. At Two70, we watched the Battle of the Sexes show. The men lost again.

Nassau – Royal Beach Club

Our favorite day was the Royal Beach Club in Nassau.

We ordered room service that morning and watched ships enter the port. Ours was the only Royal Caribbean ship there that day.

We took a tender boat to the beach. Elise felt sick on the ride. The beach had big waves, which the kids loved. It was not crowded, and the lifeguards were attentive. We had a private server. Ian got a lot of sand stuck in his hair.

The drink package was only $10 more for alcohol, but the drinks tasted watered down. The only downside was waiting 20–30 minutes for mac and cheese.

That night was Italian Night. Ehm had risotto. I had spaghetti. The waiters kept bringing extra appetizers and entrees even when we did not ask. It was hard not to overeat because we did not want to waste food.

We enjoyed the sunset from our balcony.

We saw The Book show in the $36 million Two70 venue. It had impressive special effects but was just okay overall. I ordered a chocolate martini but was not very impressed.

Later, we watched a kid-friendly comedian/juggler at 10:00 PM.

Final Sea Days

On another sea day, we ordered American breakfast with omelets. The kids went to Adventure Ocean again. We watched a towel-folding demonstration and visited the Bionic Bar.

At dinner, we had lobster tails along with our main courses. Ehm received pork adobo from a friend of John. We were also given large plates of fruit and cheese to take back to our room.

We did karaoke at Two70.

Throughout the cruise, Elise loved “duck hunting.” Families hide small rubber ducks around the ship, and kids try to find them. She collected 26 ducks.

On our last sea day, we ate at El Loco Fresh and Sprinkles. At the Captain’s Corner presentation, we learned that a storm was heading toward New Jersey.

At dinner, Ehm had a seafood cake and salmon. I had steak and a White Russian. Ian and Elise danced with the waiters. We ended the night with another comedian show.

Other Observations

Ehm’s favorite drink was a margarita.
The cruise director made jokes over the PA system that seemed negative toward kids. For example, he joked that parents should keep kids out of the pool before they vomit because the pool would have to close all day for cleaning. He also joked that the ship should not have to wait for parents who leave their kids on board.
Many guests were from the New York area — upstate New York, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Connecticut. It was funny how quickly people went to the sun deck as soon as the weather warmed up. The New York accents were easy to recognize.
Adventure Ocean staff sometimes seemed overwhelmed by disobedient children.
Ian and Elise both wished our stateroom had bunk beds.
Elise loved Sorrento’s pizza. She tried a hamburger for the first time and both liked and disliked it. Ian’s favorite food was hamburgers. Elise loved the mac-and-cheese “sticks” at Wonderland. Ian liked the hamburger kabob.
Compared to our last cruise with Princess Cruises, this ship had far more children and a much more crowded buffet.