Quantum of the Seas - Maiden Transatlantic Voyage - Nov 2-10, 2014 - Live Report

[denamo]

Peewee14 - Rather shocked at no kids menus in the restaurants. Would think that would be a standard procedure. Would probably run to Windjammer before dinner and get them to give a to-go plate or order room service and take to dinner. :) Hoping your family experiencing the ravages of the seas are better soon. Including your perspective on traveling with a family is great. Our children are grown, but maybe one day we'll have grandkids to take along.

 

Pam3G, SkyKingBNA, Emma D, & Joanna (especially1) - Thank you, thank you, thank you for the pictures posted on the Quantum Launchers shutterfly site. Absolutely awesome. You guys rock.

Edited November 3, 2014 by denamo

[silentbob007]

Were there kids menus in specialty restaurants? It seems that is the way RCI has approached even the complimentary dining areas with the idea that the WJ is a standard option and not a back up. Has anyone tried the WJ for dinner yet to see what the experience was like? I've been on a few ships with something pretty close to table-service at dinner which is why I ask.

[LMaxwell]

Doesn't it seem odd how they planned the lifeboat storage? It must really change the view for those who aren't on the bump outs. I understand it from a financial perspective - they got more rooms out of it this way. But I'd hate to get a balcony only to look down and see a lifeboat.

It is part of international requirements for egress of pax into the boats, not just financial reasons. Though they do gain room with them being outboard though which does translate into additional revenue generation space

[AlexanderBeetle]

It is part of international requirements for egress of pax into the boats, not just financial reasons. Though they do gain room with them being outboard though which does translate into additional revenue generation space

 

That's interesting. So we will be seeing more like this? Oasis class has them bump out a bit but not as extensive as Quantum.

[SkyKingBNA]

I am currently sitting at Michael's Genuine after a FABULOUS meet and mingle (more on that below) and getting ready to add more photos to the Shutterfly site.

 

We had a HUGE meet and mingle with much of the senior staff and RCCL executives in attendance. They were passing out champagne and mimosas and had an impressive spread of sweet and savory "nibblies" for us. They were very gracious in acknowledging the "hiccups" and have offered everyone 25% of the price we paid for this cruise off a future cruise and a certain amount of onboard credit (based on cabin type) to spend on this cruise. Once again, Royal goes above and beyond.

 

Tracy

 

 

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[Cruise a holic]

Are you referring to Jericho, NY? If so, that is also my hometown :)

 

Ours also!

[Clarea]

... They were very gracious in acknowledging the "hiccups" and have offered everyone 25% of the price we paid for this cruise off a future cruise and a certain amount of onboard credit (based on cabin type) to spend on this cruise....

Not to be a downer, but I would keep anything you get in writing that describes the future cruise credit. I've read about people on the ship offering future cruise credit and the people in Miami ultimately not honoring what was said on the ship.

[PSU]

How wonderful! I wish I were there. Alas, I have to wait until Nov. 21.

 

I am currently sitting at Michael's Genuine after a FABULOUS meet and mingle (more on that below) and getting ready to add more photos to the Shutterfly site.

 

We had a HUGE meet and mingle with much of the senior staff and RCCL executives in attendance. They were passing out champagne and mimosas and had an impressive spread of sweet and savory "nibblies" for us. They were very gracious in acknowledging the "hiccups" and have offered everyone 25% of the price we paid for this cruise off a future cruise and a certain amount of onboard credit (based on cabin type) to spend on this cruise. Once again, Royal goes above and beyond.

 

Tracy

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

It seems that is the way RCI has approached even the complimentary dining areas with the idea that the WJ is a standard option and not a back up. Has anyone tried the WJ for dinner yet to see what the experience was like? I've been on a few ships with something pretty close to table-service at dinner which is why I ask.

 

Hmmm interesting... hadn't thought about this before until just now. Took my business partner and wife on the Freedom in 2011, younger early 30's. I had one of the worst MDR service 1st 2 nights. Not knowing any better for comparison, my younger business partner hated MDR, just not their thing. So we decided to go to the more relaxed "whenever we want" WJ 3rd night and onward.

 

One of our table "servers" who came by to greet us and chat (she was now an officer 1 stripe I think) was the Filipino lady you see on the all the RCL greet videos in your cabin when you board serving people, pouring wine in the MDR :). Anyhow, we sat, ordered wine, etc. Asked why we came up to WJ instead of MDR and we told her MDR wasn't great and even if it was didn't suit my bus-partner and his style. WJ Dinner was really good, and service us up there equal to MDR. Maitre'D in MDR never contacted me/us to find out why we hadn't returned, but we ended up in WJ every night. They had "our table" at the back by the window reserved and same waiters noticed us and served us each night. Other than getting our own food at the buffet, service was as good as any MDR I've done.

 

With the number of dining venues on Q, I guess WJ is in fact a back-up but I can't see it being top of list that RCL wants passengers to go to. Have you seen pics of the 270 cafe on the Q forum? Even this cafe looks beautiiful! I'll likely be eating dinner there one night to enjoy that space before one of the shows :)

[crvng4mr]

I am currently sitting at Michael's Genuine after a FABULOUS meet and mingle (more on that below) and getting ready to add more photos to the Shutterfly site.

 

We had a HUGE meet and mingle with much of the senior staff and RCCL executives in attendance. They were passing out champagne and mimosas and had an impressive spread of sweet and savory "nibblies" for us. They were very gracious in acknowledging the "hiccups" and have offered everyone 25% of the price we paid for this cruise off a future cruise and a certain amount of onboard credit (based on cabin type) to spend on this cruise. Once again, Royal goes above and beyond.

 

Tracy

 

 

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That's awesome! !!

[KBD1516]

Thanks for all the updates. My CC is acting up and so I had to rejoin this group.

 

 

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[NyreeClaire]

We are in a D1 7690 starboard on the second hump. We love this room. First cruise for us. Fabulous stateroom attendant Rowena. Balcony slightly larger I believe. Great view forward but not back. Two chairs with foot stools and small table. Sofa bed. Ample storage, I mean über storage. Bathroom perfect and the water is hot.

 

Bed is by balcony but fine for us and room all the way round.

 

 

We had no problems booking dynamic dining before boarding and ate at American icon grille last night. Amazing food, amazing service and we were asked to share but as it was the first night of our honeymoon we had a very quiet table without question and a smile.

 

The bay of Biscay giving us a roll today so mamma Mia cancelled tonight but that's ok we will roll with that one.

 

Overall for running 3,400 passengers, only 6 days after official handover my new husband and I are extremely impressed with everything and are forgiving of glitches so far. Any help we can give them to iron out and thanks in return gratefully received. Ship itself, no disappointments are watching it being built for a year.

 

Staff everywhere we have been have been fantastic, shame about some of the guests....

 

 

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[SkyKingBNA]

One other thing, it was confirmed at the M&M that we are currently NOT on the O3B satellite. We won't have that until we are 100 miles out from Bayonne.

 

I will report the current internet speed is better than I have experienced on previous RCCL ships, but it's definitely not land-based speeds at the moment.

 

Tracy

 

 

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[Clarea]

One other thing, it was confirmed at the M&M that we are currently NOT on the O3B satellite. We won't have that until we are 100 miles out from Bayonne....

Thanks for the report, I'll be curious to see if people notice a significant difference once they are on the O3b system.

[salchi-chimi]

Is there an inaugural book? If there is will I be able to get one in December?

[mamma here]

What a shame about Mamma Mia. My son, 'Pepper' in the show, will be gutted! We caught a full dress rehearsal last week in Southampton and, with a mild bias, it was great - had everyone on their feet for the finale. Hope you get to see it.

 

 

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[BugsyCruiser]

One other thing, it was confirmed at the M&M that we are currently NOT on the O3B satellite. We won't have that until we are 100 miles out from Bayonne.

 

I will report the current internet speed is better than I have experienced on previous RCCL ships, but it's definitely not land-based speeds at the moment.

 

Tracy

 

 

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Interesting. Just curious did they say that eventually it will be available wherever the ship is at? I got the impression that would be the case but definitely not a technology expert

[jv_nyc]

Hi everyone - I'll report more later, and as Tracy mentioned, we had a fabulous Meet and Mingle!! After that we did the cabin crawl, which was so much fun!!! Thank you to Kirsten for organizing it so well. Pics will be posted later.

 

After the cabin crawl, DH and I did iFly. So much fun! It requires a reservation, which I had done in the morning. The first booking is complimentary for a 1 minute ride, and then subsequent two minute sessions can be booked at $49.95.

 

It was a fun experience! Very different and the staff is top notch. It was easy - I definitely want to do it again.

 

Because of the weather, the Flowrider, Rock Wall Climbing and North Star are closed. Weather is supposed to be better tomorrow.

 

More pictures will be posted later, but here's more food porn from Michael's.

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

Interesting. Just curious did they say that eventually it will be available wherever the ship is at? I got the impression that would be the case but definitely not a technology expert

 

I am not on board, but can confirm that is definitely not the case. Because of the way their constellation is configured, O3b's primary service is only available at + or - 45 degrees of latitude (i.e in a belt around the middle of the globe :)) Further north or south they can offer limited service up to about + or - 62 degrees, I think. So most of Northern Europe (which after all is not their core market) is outside their primary coverage area.

[BugsyCruiser]

Love the picture of food at Michael's Joanna. A group of us plan on going there one night on our April sailing :)

 

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[CrusinNana]

Hi Everyone! Reporting in on the second morning. Yesterday's excitement is still felt this morning, and it's wonderful to wake up in this gorgeous room.

 

Here's a recap of yesterday:

1. Muster was quick and painless. We were assigned to American Icon Grill, and it was over in about 10 minutes.

2. After muster, DH and I went back to our cabin to wait for our bags. It did take a little longer than normal (no complaints, everyone's working hard and the crew's figuring out how to best navigate the ship).

3. Drinks continued to be free at all bars (which quickly caused folks to forget about any complaints). :)

4. After bags arrived, we unpacked (plenty of space), and headed to Vintages for a glass of wine before dinner. We decided to buy a bottle because the bartender said that we could store it there for the rest of the cruise. Haven't had that option before.

5. Dinner was at American Icon Grill, and for my first experience with Dynamic Dining, I love it! We arrived at the restaurant at our reservation time, 8:45pm, and there was a short line. When we reached the door, the host asked if we'd like to sit alone or with others, we said with others, and sat at a 10 top with 8 other lovely folks. The timing worked out so that we all were sat around the same time and ordered at the same time.

6. Wine continued to be free at dinner, and the pours were very generous. Thank you Royal!!!

7. I had the Clam Chowder and Southwestern Fettuccine, both were delicious. DH also had the Pretzel wrapped hotdogs, which were good. Bread was out on the table vs. someone carrying a basket around. One can order as much as one wants.

8. Service was great, but different because the server didn't give the standard "spiel" of introductions, Wow cards, etc. I missed it, but because the last cruises, the staff fought so hard to get the Wow card, it was getting a little tiring. I don't know if Wow cards are being given out for this sailing; we didn't receive them.

9. We were stuffed and didn't have desert.

10. We headed to the Casino, which is large and lots of slots and table games. We played a few rounds of Blackjack; lady luck was not on our side.

11. After the Casino, we headed to the Music Hall, which is my favorite venue so far on the ship - it's huge. There was a Beatles tribute band playing, and there was room for people to dance in front of the stage. There is a bar on the lower level, and one on the upper level. We opted to go play pool on the upper level. It's British style pool, and we had fun until the ship started to rock a little more and the ball kept sliding to the right (the tables are supposed to be self-leveling, but it was getting really rocky).

12. After a few games, we headed to bed and placed the breakfast order on the door. Our room was turned down and tomorrow's Cruise Compass was waiting for us on our beds. The information channel on the TV said that there was 80 mph winds outside; we didn't stay on our balcony for long. Thank goodness for that partition that we could close by the wrap around, otherwise it would be a massive wind tunnel!

13. Woke up to the ship gently rocking, which I enjoy because it reminds me that I'm on a ship. I had originally planned to run on the track, but the outside was closed, so I hit the gym. Treadmill equipment is nice, and I was able to get a couple of miles in even though the treadmill was moving under my feet. Then I took a stretching class; Tracy happened to be there too!

14. After class, I headed to the Concierge Lounge to grab coffee; the machine works well and there are to-go cups.

15. Now breakfast - still some kinks to work out. The card that we placed on our door wasn't picked up, so I called to order breakfast. We don't have the full menus in our suite, so I ordered off the general one. It was a little challenging explaining the order to the person on the phone because the items were new. No worries, it'll get better with time. It was delivered about 30 minutes later, and unfortunately, only about 80% correct. I'm easy, but the coffee was forgotten. :) Hopefully it'll be here soon.

 

Internet has been spotty; I find it goes in and out in our cabin, but seems a little more reliable in the common areas. I don't know if we're connected to the O3B satellite, but I hope not, because this is definitely not "faster than the bandwidth of all the cruise ships combined." Again, I'm easy - these are things that will get better; Royal probably just needs to add a few more repeaters (or whatever they're called).

 

Today we have our Cabin Crawl, so we'll try to answer as many questions we can about the cabins. I'm also uploading photos to the Shutterfly site now, so please check there too. The main page of that site has a feed of the photos that have been uploaded so you can see what's changed.

 

Below are the links:

 

Q&A Spreadsheet

Shutterfly Share Site

 

Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm and appreciation of this thread! So glad we're able to share this with you!

 

Here are a couple of Food Porn photos from American Icon Grill.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience.

DH and I are on the Dec. 1st sailing. :)

[RoamingRetirees]

I am not on board, but can confirm that is definitely not the case. Because of the way their constellation is configured, O3b's primary service is only available at + or - 45 degrees of latitude (i.e in a belt around the middle of the globe :)) Further north or south they can offer limited service up to about + or - 62 degrees, I think. So most of Northern Europe (which after all is not their core market) is outside their primary coverage area.

 

I thought the UK newspaper article said it would be available in Southhampton by the time Anthem gets there next year.

[jrljel]

Hello everyone! We are the Quantum Live Reporters who will be on the Maiden Transatlantic Voyage from Southampton, England to Cape Liberty, NJ on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas (November 2 through November 10). Hard to believe that we’ll be on this beautiful new ship in just TWO WEEKS! We will use this thread as our Live Reporting thread, so please subscribe to it.

 

We know that new ships cause a flurry of excitement, and we’re so happy to be some of the first passengers to share all that Quantum of the Seas has to offer. We assembled from our Roll Call because we knew that it would take a small army to cover all that is Quantum of the Seas. We will take a lot of photos, and if you’re on our sailing, and would like to join us, just post to our Roll Call, and we’ll be in touch.

 

Leading up to our November 2 voyage, we will be counting down toward our cruise date by posting recaps on the many exciting WOWs that Quantum of the Seas as to offer, and also we’ll share more about us as we all bring a little different perspective to how we each approach cruising.

 

Our Roll Call also has 12 events planned over the eight day sailing, including a Flash Mob proposal, a Bumper Car launch and a Masquerade Dinner at The Grande. We’re going to have a lot of fun!

 

We look forward to your comments, questions and feedback to make this the BEST Live Report on Cruise Critic yet!

 

Quantum Live Reporters

jv_nyc (Joanna)

Clansman37 (Dan)

Dancinman66 (Greg)

David4 (David)

Emmad1973 (Emma)

HandE (Elayne)

Jasoncruising1976 (Jason)

queenL (Lateefah)

Rollover (Karen)

SkyKingBNA (Tracy)

TravelinGert (Gertie)

 

PS: Quantum Fun Fact: The class of ships was code-named “Sunshine.”

 

How does one get to be an onboard Quantum Reporter?? Sounds pretty exciting to me!

[kruthcruiser]

Please provide any updates or additional information from Guest Services or other restaurants regarding kid's menus. This could be a deal breaker and cause me to cancel my cruise in Feb if they will not have kids menus in all of the restaurants. We should not have to rely on Windjammer. I recall in the Dynamic Dining webcast with Adam that he indicated there would be kids menus and there would also be the alternate menus with standard basic dish options similar to like they have in current MDR on other ships.

[CVU]

[quote name='SkyKingBNA;44627571

We had a HUGE meet and mingle with much of the senior staff and RCCL executives in attendance. They were passing out champagne and mimosas and had an impressive spread of sweet and savory "nibblies" for us. They were very gracious in acknowledging the "hiccups" and have offered everyone 25% of the price we paid for this cruise off a future cruise and a certain amount of onboard credit (based on cabin type) to spend on this cruise. Once again' date=' Royal goes above and beyond.[/b']

Tracy

 

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Sure a slap to us on the Oct. Oasis TA that got nothing!!!

We had more than hiccups....:eek:

Edited November 3, 2014 by CVU