Odyssey of the Seas is the second Quantum Ultra-class cruise ship and the last of the class operated by Royal Caribbean International.

On 3 November 2015, Royal Caribbean entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft for a fifth Quantum-class ship,[4] Originally scheduled to be delivered in Fall 2020, the delivery later was postponed until 2021.

On 15 June 2021, it was announced that eight crew members got affected by coronavirus, leading the inaugural sailing being pushed back to 31 July 2021.

[16] Odyssey of the Seas was officially delivered to Royal Caribbean on 31 March 2021 in a virtual ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Odyssey of the Seas, enroute to Santorini, stopped to assist the vessel, later bringing on board 77 migrants who were in danger.