Quantum Issues

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

Im sure they weren't aware there was going to be an issue with North Star. You have to remember it is a brand new ship with tons of technology that has never been used before.

And Allure going to NJ would make no sense. She is a warm weather ship, while Quantum is designed for the cold. I'm sure the North Star problem will be figured out soon.

Also, I really doubt the Quantum will be a failure in NJ. A new ship in NJ is nice once in awhile.

Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

Which from my understanding, is pretty typical with ALL new builds :)

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

I'm sure they will work all of the kinks out over the first few regular length sailings. It's hard to judge what works and doesn't after just 2 nights. They may have had modified hours for that specific sampler sailing.

As for the Allure (Oasis) to NYC, probably not. I'm not sure if it can make it under the bridge there, but even if it can, those ships are definitely warmer climate ships. They have much more open deck than Quantum, which was made for colder climates. Areas like Central Park, the boardwalk, 2 flowriders, more pool areas, just would not work in NYC during winter.

Oasis class is a warm weather ship with the live forest.

They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida.

The problem is that the Verrazano Narrows bridge has a clearance of 228 ft and Allure is 236 ft tall. While Allure was able to get under the 213ft Great Belt Bridge, that required careful timing of the passage to coincide with low tide, which would wreak havoc with regular cruise scheduling, and traveling at full speed to get the ship lower in the water, which would be problematic in a busy waterway like New York harbor (they also had to retract the funnels and take on extra ballast). I could see the ship making an occasional visit, but I don't think an Oasis class ship out of Bayonne would be a regular thing.

That's why they call these shake-down cruises. All ships, from small yachts to large cargo ships and cruise ships need shake down time to identify and address some issues. Its easy to avoid shakedown issues...just don't book a shakedown cruise.

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

Either this is a joke or you're an extremely negative person; you seem to enjoy reporting the problems. It's a brand new class of ship with a completely different dining concept and you're reacting to a 2-day cruise intended to identify and resolve issues.

As for food inventory, it was a 2 day one time itinerary. Hard to forecast what the needs are as typical patterns don't apply (and they don't like taking on lots of extra). Even established routes see shortages from time to time on the last day(s) of the sailing.

As to Northstar and cold weather, that can be addressed. Ever seen Deadliest Catch? Hydraulics can work in some of the worst conditions imaginable.

As others have said Oasis class ships are for warm weather. No sealed Solarium, wide open pool deck, live plants in Central Park. There are many routes the class isn't designed for.

I just got off the 2-night Nov 21 Quantum, and there were issues.

However, you have to keep in mind that everyone was trying to pack as much into those 2 days, so you had long lines for the bumper cars and Northstar and RipCord.

On the Bumper Cars you got 2 minutes only. On the RipCord you only got 1 minute-==it may be better on a normal cruise where passengers have 7-8 days to experience those amenities.

I actually enjoyed the Bionic Bar--it was operating smoothly when I was there(plus they had good music playing)

The MAJOR problem was the Dynamic Dining--if you did not make reservations in advance and tried to wing it, you were screwed to either wait in long frustrating lines or else dine at 5 or 9--

What you've got on Quantum is a litany of issues:

a totally new class of ship to learn

all new systems, all service staff with Tablets, trying to figure them out, and I'm sure there were plenty of glitches in the system

AND Dynamic Dining--

There were also major issues in the Windjammer--with all the different kiosks you were bouncing from one to the other like in a pinball machine, and seating was inadequate--once you found your table, your food was cold. The only way around it was for one person to stake out a table, and the other to get their food, and then trade places. But if you wanted to enjoy a meal together up there, one person's food got cold while the other got theirs.

Because people were frustrated with Windjammer for breakfast, they all went to the ONLY sit-down venue for lunch, American Icon, which got overwhelmed. I got in and saw that others were turned away, even though there were available tables. The reason?--not enough staffing. I don't think they've figured out their passenger flow well enough to realize where the bottlenecks were and how to smooth them out. Again, it was a cold weather cruise and most people were indoors rather than being out by the pools which may have added to the chaos.

I think things will smooth out once everyone gets the hang of the tech systems, but the Dynamic Dining will remain an issue

The bumper cars sound like they will be an incredible success if, as you say, 4000 people were waiting to get on 8 cars. I also heard back from friends on the 2 night cruise and they said they had a fantastic time, there were some normal shakedown cruise bugs, but that was to be expected. The robotic bartenders had some issues, but that is one bar out of about 20. It is a cute novelty, but has no impact on getting a drink elsewhere on the ship. If this ship concerns you, I would definitely choose another one. I just wish it was sailing out of Florida for a while, I would book in a heartbeat.

I genuinely believe there is a problem with NorthStar beyond hydraulic fluids. Hydraulics don't readily freeze up unless the fluid has broken down and is taking in moisture. Plenty of large machinery pieces all over the world that rely on hydraulic fluid in cold weather. See also the braking system on your car. If the particular fluid they use is susceptible to poor performance characteristics in cold weather a pre-warmer is a small add on that should have been accounted for. Perhaps on Anthem? If this is really the problem to start with...

I wouldn't read too much into issues on a shakedown 2-night CTN on a brand new class of ship that's very, very different than anything that came before it. As others have mentioned passenger flow / activity level is highly unusual becuase everyone is trying to cram everything into 2 days... not to mention 2 cold days where outdoor activities were limited.

I'm really enjoying reading everyone's reviews from the CTNs (keep them coming! :)) but I'm far more interested in reading the reviews of the 8-night inaugural that left yesterday that will actually hit warm weather, stop in ports, and achieve something of a normal cruise flow with port calls, etc.

I was on this cruise and had a wonderful time. It was only a 10-minute wait for the bumper cars.

We had no problems with any of the dining venues. They had everything that we wanted. We ate in Coastal Kitchen and Jaime's.

As for the bionic bar, they were offering free drinks.

I did meet people who did not make reservations for dinner since they booked the trip last week. They could not get into any venue and ended up eating in the Windjammer.

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

The problem is that the Verrazano Narrows bridge has a clearance of 228 ft and Allure is 236 ft tall. While Allure was able to get under the 213ft Great Belt Bridge, that required careful timing of the passage to coincide with low tide, which would wreak havoc with regular cruise scheduling, and traveling at full speed to get the ship lower in the water, which would be problematic in a busy waterway like New York harbor (they also had to retract the funnels and take on extra ballast). I could see the ship making an occasional visit, but I don't think an Oasis class ship out of Bayonne would be a regular thing.

The main thing with Allure and Oasis for going under the Great Belt Bridge was the smokestack was lowered, which is the sole reason it was built with the stack that could be lowered. They also had to speed up to "hunker down" into the water, but without the smokestack being lowered, they still couldn't have cleared it. The plan was to never lower it again.

I was on the 11/21 sailing and still on board for the 8 day "inaugural" cruise. As someone stated earlier, the 2 day had thousands of people trying to cram everything in to a very short time span.

During this sailing, there are still some issues but nothing major IMO.

I feel sooooo bad for some of the staff. Some of the guests have been rude and nasty towards them when an issue or problem arises.

For the most part, people are enjoying the ship immensely and then there are those that "hate" the ship because it's not an exact replica of other existing RC ships :cool:

The weather today is rainy but warm with choppy seas. :)

I would wait a few months for some more reviews. But it looks like you have to book early to get the dining and entertainment that you want.

We were thinking of doing the Quantum but I just got an email from a friend who went on the two day trip and apparently there were some big problems. Bumper cars only open two hours a day and only 8 cars and 4,000 guests. Crazy. Also I understand they actually ran out of several food items. RCCL is not new to the cruise business so how could this happen? The bionic bar where you are served by robots is apparently an epic failure. Many technical problems. And apparently the Northstar cannot be used in very cold weather due to hydraulics. So this winter is will remain non-fucntional until the ship gets into the warmer climates. I wonder why they picked New York as a base giving this issue? I think that will turn out to be a huge mistake for RCCL. They should have sent the Allure to NYC and had the Quantum in Florida. Also apparently at dinner they ran out of certain foods and then just brought people some random substitutes and said "I hope that is ok" Sounds like they have a lot of bugs to work out!

You will be your own best judge, IMHO. Book the cruise and enjoy it!

We were on the 3 Day cruise and REALLY enjoyed it lot! We had no problems with shows or dynamic dining even though we booked the cruise two days before boarding.

Im sure they weren't aware there was going to be an issue with North Star. You have to remember it is a brand new ship with tons of technology that has never been used before.

 

And Allure going to NJ would make no sense. She is a warm weather ship, while Quantum is designed for the cold. I'm sure the North Star problem will be figured out soon.

 

Also, I really doubt the Quantum will be a failure in NJ. A new ship in NJ is nice once in awhile.

What do you mean by Quantum is a cold weather ship?

Either this is a joke or you're an extremely negative person; you seem to enjoy reporting the problems. It's a brand new class of ship with a completely different dining concept and you're reacting to a 2-day cruise intended to identify and resolve issues.

It is neither. Simply passing along what a friend that went on the ship reported to me. You do not need to read it or comment if you feel it is too negative for you.

What do you mean by Quantum is a cold weather ship?

Quantum was designed to sail out of a cold weather port. She has an indoor pool, indoor solarium, and an indoor sports complex.

While Allure/Oasis were designed to sail out of warm weather ports. Hence the expansive outdoor pool areas, central park, boardwalk, aqua theater and large outdoor sports complex.

You will be your own best judge, IMHO. Book the cruise and enjoy it!

 

We were on the 3 Day cruise and REALLY enjoyed it lot! We had no problems with shows or dynamic dining even though we booked the cruise two days before boarding.

I was also on the 3 day and the food in Coastal Kitchen, American Icon, and The Grande was excellent, and we were seated right away. Never had a problem finding a table in the much improved WJ. There were so many choices and everything I tried was good.

No problems with the shows either, except that there was so much going on at night, it was hard to decide where we wanted to go. During our cruise they had Mo5aic, a vocal group, a 15 piece band in 270, Led Zeppelin and U2 tribute bands in Music Hall, Starwater, Mama Mia, a comedian, Groovy Town party in Music Hall, Bernie piano/singer in Schooner Bar, band in Boleros, and another house band in Music Hall. There will also be a lot more regular entertainment on board starting in December.

I was also on the 3 day and the food in Coastal Kitchen, American Icon, and The Grande was excellent, and we were seated right away. Never had a problem finding a table in the much improved WJ. There were so many choices and everything I tried was good.

 

No problems with the shows either, except that there was so much going on at night, it was hard to decide where we wanted to go. During our cruise they had Mo5aic, a vocal group, a 15 piece band in 270, Led Zeppelin and U2 tribute bands in Music Hall, Starwater, Mama Mia, a comedian, Groovy Town party in Music Hall, Bernie piano/singer in Schooner Bar, band in Boleros, and another house band in Music Hall. There will also be a lot more regular entertainment on board starting in December.

That's why we booked the Anthem's 12 nighter in January 2016........I am looking forward to doing everything then! Now WHEN will January 2016 arrive!:rolleyes:

That's why we booked the Anthem's 12 nighter in January 2016........I am looking forward to doing everything then! Now WHEN will January 2016 arrive!:rolleyes:

I'm booked for April 2015 on Quantum, and have friend sailing on the January 23rd cruise. I'm waiting to see if the price goes down any more for that one. I don't want to wait until April. I also booked the Anthem 12 night the day it was released for March 7th. Hopefully I'll get to try the North Star and bumping cars on one of those. I'm still not sure about IFly.:o