There’s a lot to consider if you’re cruising. Room type should be on your list. We cruised on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas and stayed in a standard stateroom.
We’re honestly no frills kind of people. That’s not to say we don’t like the finer things in life, it’s just that we don’t need first class tickets, front row seats, and in this case anything much beyond a standard inboard stateroom on a cruise. Are those outboard facing balcony rooms nice on cruise ships? Absolutely. But if if comes down to a standard room and having some extra scratch to spend while traveling or getting a more deluxe accommodation, we’re going standard.
Being big on family entertainment, we do travel a lot to more family-friendly destinations. The Orlando resort area is one we’d frequent a lot with trips to Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort. Do we appreciate cool themed rooms like Cabana Bay Beach Resort? Sure do. But standard, low-key timeshare villas, like those at Saratoga Springs are just as acceptable.
In short, if it’s a good deal, we’re there! But no frills is fine with us!
About the Odyssey of the Seas
The Odyssey of the Seas had its first piece of steel cut on Feb. 1, 2019. The Odyssey is the second built of two “Quantum Ultra Class” vessels in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Royal Caribbean said that the Odyssey was built in “the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany” and that it was “the 27th ship in the global cruise line …” The Odyssey of the Seas had her maiden voyage on July 31, 2021 — she’s not old, but she ain’t young either.
The vessel is 1,138 feet long, 162 feet wide at its breadth, and pulls a draft of 28 feet. This 16-deck cruise ship is outfitted with 2,105 staterooms and can house 4,198 souls. To tend to the thousands of passengers, 1,612 crew are aboard the vessel.
There are seven complementary dining locations, including the main dining room. For those who want something a little extra, there are eight “specialty” restaurants. These locations require passengers to pay additional fees to eat at them, but in our experience — at least as was the case with Chops Grille — they’re worth checking out.
Want to get your drink on? There are six different bars, one of which is run by robots, the “Bionic Bar.”
Our snowed in trip on Odyssey of the Seas
We went on the great white cruise of the Odyssey 2026. As we were embarking the vessel in Cape Liberty, N.J., it was snowing like a banshee. It snowed so much, the port authorities shut down the port and we were delayed nearly 24 hours before departing.
Did we make the best of it? Yes. But, what got cut off our trip was our day in Nassau, Bahamas. So much for swimming with the pigs!
Tisk tisk
As noted, we’re value-driven customers, but not Karens by any stretch of the imagination. However there was a minor bone to pick with Royal Caribbean on this canceled port of call. There were zero moves, offers, or anything to compensate us for having that port day canceled. Yeah, we got reimbursed for our piggy swimming excursion, but they did not really do anything else to try and make it up to us.
They actually seemed quite apathetic to the abrupt change in our travel plans.
That’s not very magical. Yeah, I get it, $hit happens, and this sounds like I’m being a bit*ch, but even if they tossed us a few Royal bucks or some comped drink packages for use on a future cruise, they would have gotten more money out of us. Just sayin’. We are going on a cruise in the near future, in the same calendar year, and we’re looking to do more, possibly in 2027 — maybe we’ll check out Carnival? There’s also a new Jimmy Buffet line of cruise ships that seem cool.
The stateroom
As noted, we booked an interior standard stateroom. There were three of us staying in the room, so we did not need a giant space. When booking, if they told us we’d get a discount if we stayed in a room below a 24-hour clogging club or music hall, we’d probably take them up on that offer. I jest, kind of.
What was good about the room? Well, it was honestly roomy. This is not like the cruise ships of the 1900s that I was accustomed to sailing on when I was a junior adventurer. The ships and rooms, overall, are just next level to me. When we sailed on the Liberty of the Seas in 2025, I was impressed, and she’s ancient in comparison to the Odyssey.
Royal Caribbean advertises that the standard interior staterooms are up to 340 square feet.
The doors to your room are metal, therefore if you have fun magnets you’d like to decorate your door with, you can. We’re not into the lifestyle, like these folks were, but hey, we’re also not judging.
There are plenty of cruise-related magnets you can get to decorate your door with.
The beds
Our room was outfitted with a bed that’s two twins pushed together. This two twin configuration they call a “Royal King.” The Royal King is slightly narrower than a standard king-size bed but also a little longer.
The junior adventurer in our party slept on the convertible couch. The couch would fold out into a double bed. It was perfect for him.
Electrical service
There were plenty of places to plug in gadgets in the stateroom. There’s both American — two outlets at the desk and one on a nightstand — and an European outlet at the desk too. If you have standard 120 V electronics and devices, the American outlets have you covered. If you use a European 230 V Schuko-style plug, use the one at the desk..
Royal Caribbean has a strict policy on passengers not being allowed to bring surge protectors or outlet strips onboard. This is something that you’re going to want to keep in mind depending on what kind of electronics you have that need to be topped off.
Do read up on what’s prohibited versus what’s not.
Our chargers
When we travel we’ve been using small USB multi-port stations. They tend to work well. The ones we have are 120 V American. But like many charging electronics, the unit will accept voltages between 100 and 240, with 50 to 60 hz. That means if you are in Europe, all you’d need would be a Shucko adapter to use this charger — or any of your standard multi-voltage units.
The two Royal Caribbean cruises we recently went on, we had no issues using the USB Charging Station Hubs. There was no scolding or being told they were contraband.
For our upcoming European cruise — that we did not get any perks, discounts, or freebies for being snowed in earlier this year — we did buy a few European phone chargers. One set of dual USB A ports (has 4.6 stars but Amazon says is frequently returned) and a mulit-port dual A and C unit (with 4.7 stars). We got these to have for use in airports and hotels prior to embarkation. We have not tried these out yet, they do have decent ratings.
Storage
Considering the spatial layout, there actually was plenty of storage space in the room. Between the one closet with two drawers, one large armour, and desk and dresser, we were not want for space at all. There were also two storage cabinets above the bed that we didn’t even utilize. And don’t forget you can always slip some items under your bed if you need to.
Hacks
Now there are a few storage and travel hacks that you’re going to want to think about if you’re going on a cruise.
One thing that we’ve been using for years is packing cubes. Packing cubes are a great way to stay organized before and during your trip. They can be great for space saving in addition to making it easy to find clothing when you’re on the go. The one closet in the room was perfectly situated to take the packing cubes in little stacks on the shelves.
Something else we take with us when we travel that are handy for when we get settled in the room are zip-top tote bags. There are a pile of different types out there. One that we use is a beach-style that’s made of mesh to allow sand to escape — do double check to make sure your bag has a zippered top. We also have some solid nylon ones.
Many of these totes are fold flat and lightweight. They’re perfect for putting your stuff in for a trip to the pool or a shore excursion, but for also storing items once you’re in your stateroom. Grab all your pool or beach items and stuff ’em into the bag and slip it under the bed.
The bathroom, aka “head”
Plenty of people get apprehensive about the potties and showers on cruise ships. The head in our stateroom on the Odyssey I felt was pretty large. The shower area was fairly roomy with a glass bulbous rounded out door.
The potty
Don’t be intimidated by the vacuum flushing system on these ships. I’d say treat them like they’re any other toilet, but don’t. You don’t need to completely baby them, but maybe do some courtesy flushes if things get involved if you know what I mean.
Don’t flush anything other than something that comes out of your body and toilet paper down the toilets. A clog on a vacuum-system can knock out quite a few toilets in a line. (Our neighbors accidentally flushed a wash cloth down their toilet and it turned into a thing.)
The hopper is situated between the shower and the sink. Yeah, you could sit there and brush your teeth while taking care of your morning business, but it wasn’t cramped.
Bathroom storage
Storage in the bathroom was pretty good. One item we bought that was well worth the money was a magnetic toothbrush holder. It stuck to the bulkhead in the bathroom and held our dental hygiene items for the duration of the cruise. They were out of the way and there was no threat of them being knocked over and onto the floor.
The shower itself had shelf space that was plentiful for our soaps and hair products. Royal Caribbean also supplies passengers with body wash that’s not bad at all. The two wire shelves were enough for three people to put their pile of products in there.
Overall experience
The standard inboard stateroom on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas was cozy and just right for our party of three. Would a balcony room be nice? Sure. But since we’re generally looking to travel on a budget, this room was perfect for what we needed it for — to sleep in.
Most of our time aboard we were out and about doing activities. Even if we were just hanging out drinking coffee and reading magazines, we found different spots on the ship to enjoy those activities. Pretty much we used our room to sleep in, get washed up in, and maybe once there was one midday nap because I was under the weather. Otherwise, all the action is outside the room.
If you’re considering a cruise and haven’t been on one, don’t be reluctant to get an interior standard room. Some people might feel closed in and claustrophobic. But eh, keep a flashlight nearby and maybe get the alcohol drink package to cut the edge! We had no issues in our rooms and even our future cruise is an interior standard-size cabin.
