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QUANTUM is EPIC FAILURE—2½ STARS!!!

gkbiiii

By gkbiiii,
in Royal Caribbean International

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podgeandrodge

podgeandrodge

Posted
Posted
I certainly hope they won't attract so many "blind followers" as you call them. They're the ones who can't see the forest for the trees. No sense of adventure! Royal delivers a ship that is a marvel of modern engineering and all some people can see is that their set dining habits have been tampered with? C'mon now. Put some big boy panties on and embrace the future. :rolleyes:

[emoji1] agreed.

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mw_1970

mw_1970

Posted
Posted
QUANTUM is EPIC FAILURE—2½ STARS!!!

This is my 5th transatlantic cruise, out of 15 cruises and my second maiden transatlantic, from this route. This ship has many similarities with my maiden voyage with the NCL Epic (2-Star vessel/voyage). In short this ship is much more an NCL vessel than a ship within the RCCL fleet. This ship is a complete disgrace and not representative in any way, shape, or form; with any Royal vessel in existence.

Below is a list of key areas to consider, followed by a summary of my experience.

The ship seems cheaply built inside, while costing a staggering 6.5 billion Dollars. There is no similarity in the few public rooms, with any other spaces, throughout the fleet.

There is no Ben & Jerry’s (or any other) ice cream offered on the ship.

There is no central meeting place, as is there is no Centrum or true Royal Promenade, as seen on other RCCL vessels.

The technology aboard the ship is a complete failure, as are the many “enhancements”.

The Bionic Bar, is a complete failure, which many NEVER work, due to its design.

The drunken exploits, of the woman RCCL Vice-President, at the Bionic Bar; is a complete disgrace to RCCL, its passengers, & its employees!!!!

The bumper cars, have very limited hours, which are during dinner hours, odd???

All dining is not equal to the quality offered fleet-wide!!!!

There are significant room service surcharges, on items which are free on other RCCL ships.

The 3½-4 hour dinner at Wonderland, is excessive due to the poor service!

The service at The Grand, was the worst of the 4 free venues.

The Silk & Chic had the most mediocre meals onboard.

There are no items in the “Royal Cookbook” offered on this vessel.

The dining at “the Pub” is nothing impressive and should be free, for what is offered.

The drink prices aboard are outrageous!!!

The two hour boarding process is the second worst (1st being NCL Epic, Maiden Voyage) I have done and their new boarding process is pathetic!

The employees & managers are poorly trained and not well motivated.

My cabin attendant was the worst I have had, on any cruise: refusing to change sheets, then making my bed without sheets???

Very poor service throughout, dining had constantly the worst service I have experienced, on ANY RCCL ship and generally equal to that of, the NCL Epic.

The internet offered did not work and my never, due to its complexities.

Very boring crossing, with no lectures, cooking demonstrations, tier level tours: just noting but complete rest and boredom.

A 15% gratuity on a prepackaged 8 piece French Macaroons; let me to refuse the sail and never to return to the retail store again. The stupid manager, tried to argue that, “retail purchases, count as bar purchases, thus are subject to mandatory 15% gratuity”. What a load of crap!!!!

There is now WOW factor, other than corporate propaganda and lies told to the public. This ship is a complete betrayal of the proud history of the line and its loyal passengers!

Parts of the ship, such as the steel elevator deck are ugly as are the bizarre pictures in the elevators themselves.

The Purple Polar Bear does not belong on a RCCL vessel.

The Guest Services, Port Excursions, and Future Cruises rooms were the worst laid out spaces, I have seen, in all my time cruising!!!

The position of the outdoor TV screen is complexly misplaced and thus unusable.

There were NO onboard Ship-Wide Maiden Voyage Parties and the High Level Executives, were hidden from the passengers. NO grad buffets, dances, or anything based on this special occasion.

On a bright side, the cabins are the most, well designed on any Royal ship. The bathrooms are outstanding, as are the large flat screen TVs in the cabins.

I will never set forth on the Quantum/Epic again and am seriously reconsidering my loyalty to Royal. It was my first Diamond cruise and now I will start to explore other lines such as, Cunard & Holland America Line. These lines both respect tradition, but also serve to protect it, as well. They respect their loyal passengers and are not in the process of changing their line; to suit a younger land based, travel demographic. As such I am deeply concerned with the direction of the company and if I was a stockholder, I would sell my shares.

I feel cheated, as this is not the product that I purchased, 1½ years ago; when I put my deposit on what I thought, would be a true RCCL ship. We were lied to, as the 1150 Diamond/above who were on this ship: as this was not the experience we were promised (based on the lines past reputation/ships/onboard experience.) If I wanted to fly Southwest/Spirit I would fly them: if I wanted NCL and it’s “freestyle Cruising” and type of ships, I would book them. I sadly chose Royal and got someone else’s poor product in return.

We in essence paid to be on a training cruise, while others (travel agents on free cruises) continue to pretend that the ship, its staff, & operation, are acceptable??? The paid shills on this board, including those who submit fake reviews, should be shown for what they are.

This sad experience was nothing more than a 2½ Star experience at best: it is a sad departure, for a once truly innovative & promising Cruise Line!!!

 

 

 

Other than that you had a great time right !

 

Wow you seem really grumpy. I would pick faults with many of your points but I really can't be bothered. You just got out of the wrong side of bed this year I reckon.

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iheartbda

iheartbda

Posted
Posted
I met a Canadian Chinese couple, who really believed the ship would have more difficulty in the Shanghai market, than Royal thinks. This really is a gamble, as China is about to go through a real estate meltdown: this real estate crisis, may very well be much bigger than our own.

200 Chinese TAs think otherwise.

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/quantum-has-blown-away-chinese-agents-media-on-inaugural-cruises.html

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Biker19

Biker19

Posted
Posted

Most folks mentioned the rough weather and having motion sickness but passed it off as just part of cruising. At the Captain's Corner the Captain blew off a long time cruiser who complained it was the only time he got sick in over 100 cruises with the answer that the stabilizers never let the ship list more than 3 degrees. But based on anecdotal evidence I'm thinking the design of the ship has something to do with it. This was the third TA this year for us and we hit much worse weather and much more movement on smaller ships. Yet, with all that extra movement we didn't get sick. The kind of motion this ship has just does not agree with a lot of peoples' internal gyro (and I don't think it can be fixed - unlike virtually all of the items listed by the OP).:confused:

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Elizanessie

Elizanessie

Posted
Posted
Most folks mentioned the rough weather and having motion sickness but passed it off as just part of cruising. At the Captain's Corner the Captain blew off a long time cruiser who complained it was the only time he got sick in over 100 cruises with the answer that the stabilizers never let the ship list more than 3 degrees. But based on anecdotal evidence I'm thinking the design of the ship has something to do with it. This was the third TA this year for us and we hit much worse weather and much more movement on smaller ships. Yet, with all that extra movement we didn't get sick. The kind of motion this ship has just does not agree with a lot of peoples' internal gyro (and I don't think it can be fixed - unlike virtually all of the items listed by the OP).:confused:

 

I have sailed when there were hurricanes around and never got sick, I just couldn't understand at all why it affected me this time.

 

Also I have sailed the Bay of Biscay before too when the weather was far worse than we had on Quantum and I never felt anything like I did this time.:o

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Elizanessie

Elizanessie

Posted
Posted

I would like to clarify a few points here.

 

The free internet - for most of the cruise folks were having problems getting online. They would get error messages saying they had used up all their package, or their info was not recognised etc. This meant trips back to Guest Services and often an IT tech would assist with getting them back online.

 

Often the guest would have to sign up for another package and then Guest Services would refund the first package or second package or in some cases the third package.

 

On the last day, roughly 12 hours before we were due to arrive in Bayonne we were told all internet packages bought would be refunded. At this time the new O3B would actually start working....around 100 miles from Bayonne and we would get free internet for the last 12 hours on the ship. This was to test out O3B.

 

Free drinks - the free drinks were given until 9pm on the first night. At first it was until 5pm...which is when we were due to sail away from Southampton but sail away was delayed as there was a whole load of luggage still laying on the dock, hence why free drinks were then given until 9pm.

Plus at this time their computer system was down so they could not charge for drinks or specialty restaurants.

 

Personally (though not sure why I am even explaining this but) I only had 3 or 4 glasses of champagne during the free drink hours.

 

I never saw one single drunk that night.

 

It was a few hours after we left southampton that the bad weather kicked in...and oh boy did it kick :eek:

The sea sickness many suffered had nothing whatsoever to do with the free drinks.

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CTBabyB00mer

CTBabyB00mer

Posted
Posted
Other than that you had a great time right !

 

Wow you seem really grumpy. I would pick faults with many of your points but I really can't be bothered. You just got out of the wrong side of bed this year I reckon.

 

Maybe walk in his shoes and you'll whistle another tune. :D

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Maraprince

Maraprince

Posted
Posted
I have sailed when there were hurricanes around and never got sick, I just couldn't understand at all why it affected me this time.

 

Also I have sailed the Bay of Biscay before too when the weather was far worse than we had on Quantum and I never felt anything like I did this time.:o

 

 

I do not think you are too far off the mark about the amount of moving having to do with the design of the ship.

 

On both the Crown Princess and Caribbean Princess the ship tend to get narrower and taper as the ship gets higher...meaning it is more prone to rocking since it is not as balance as some of the squarer ships that are more like a solid block.

 

But then again, Q is a cruise ship and not an ocean liner like the Cunard ships that do TA crossings all the time. Cunard's ships are built primarlily for TA crossings.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

MARAPRINCE

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smoosh21

smoosh21

Posted
Posted
Now that someone started it...

 

Here is my list of complaints :

 

Dynamic Dinning: No Sirloin Steak in any of the venues offered which is not acceptable since this is a staple of the former main dining rooms. Booking is a hassle and still leads to line ups and looses the personal touch with a head/assistant waiters.

Reservations are a pain... Royal IQ needs work, especially since it required internet connectivity and did not always sync up with the system. (Restaurants said they 'lost' our reservation despite it showing up in Royal IQ having been booked over a month before).

North Star - Line up was crazy, only 14 people at a time at 15 minutes each is too long - this need some improvement as many cruisers were not able to get onto the north star

Entertainment program : Nightly entertainment (in Royal Theatre) was missing the introduction/exit nights from the Cruise Director. Yes there were programs but there was really very little 'stage time' for the cruise director. Maybe it was a case of being the first cruise and being disorganized but I thought it was surprising.

Day to Day activities - I didn't see any of the 'typical' cruise programs and I thought the cruise was running on quite a skeleton day to day program. I was not able to find much to do unfortunately when the weather was heavy and prevented some of the outdoor activities (ie rock climbing/flow rider/iFly)

Flow Rider Schedule - Would have liked more 'Boogie Board' time given its simplicity for new/beginner flow riders. Most of the time were assigned for wakeboarding (5 hrs/day as opposed to boggie board which was 3 hrs/day)

Bumper Cars - Would be nice if there was more time slots allotted for this as the lines were always full everyday. This activity had only 2 hours dedicated daily and should probably be given 4 to 5 hours a day, given the long lines and the large hours of overhead in set-up required by the sports staff.

 

The activities were very disappointing for a crossing, they were honestly more akin to a port day, there was so little going on during this sailing.

 

While disaster is a strong word, the maiden crossing was definitely my least favorite Royal cruise.

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ILuvCruisin'

ILuvCruisin'

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

2. When I booked the ship, over 1 1/2 years ago, none of this was known: dynamic dining, look/feel of the ship (not fully enclosed, even prior to boarding), the lack of a centrum, increased fees, etc.

 

 

You didn't like the VIA area over near Vintages/Jamies and the hallway with all the wonderful seating going towards Two70. While it is not located in the areas where you find the Royal Promenade/Centrum it did provide lovely places for us to meet and socialize...matter of fact we found the Music Hall and Two70 also great places to meet....we also liked meeting at the Cafe Promenade/Sorentos area...

 

What is it you like about the Centrum on other ships?

 

Also, do you feel like any of the OBC's or FREE items (and I apologize if you already answered this, after a few pages I only skimmed the thread) that you received made up in any way for what you experienced...

Edited by ILuvCruisin'
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ILuvCruisin'

ILuvCruisin'

Posted
Posted

 

I believe the Quantum was just not to your liking, but it doesn't mean it wasn't appealing, even outstanding, to other cruisers. You're just not a Quantam kind of sailor: no harm/no foul. Other ships in the fleet might please you more, or other cruise lines.

 

We've heard from several other posters on this thread that actually loved their experience on the same cruise as you. That doesn't negate your opinion; it's just a different point of view from yours.

 

Happy sailing to you in the future, though! :D

 

Very well stated Peggy!

 

I too am sorry that the OP had this experince and hope that out there some where is a ship that will make up for it...

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Doc Rick

Doc Rick

Posted
Posted
I have sailed when there were hurricanes around and never got sick, I just couldn't understand at all why it affected me this time.

 

Also I have sailed the Bay of Biscay before too when the weather was far worse than we had on Quantum and I never felt anything like I did this time.:o

 

Perhaps it is the design of the ship... that big crane sitting up on the top deck may have something to do with it !

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floridaglen

floridaglen

Posted
Posted
I really don't understand the issue about not having enough notice about the Dynamic Dining. Royal announced the concept and posted the descriptions and menus (examples) for all the restaurants in early spring. Since Royal requires your non-refundable payment 70 days before sailing, the 11/2 sailing commitment date would have been around September 23rd. Therefore anyone on the TA sailing would have had 6 months to read about and decide if this is what they wanted before the commitment date. It really is irrelevant how long ago you booked because you can cancel and get all payments refunded up to 70 days before sailing.

 

That is true for Americans but we live in the UK and our deposits are NON-refundable unfortunately. :confused::confused::confused:

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gkbiiii

gkbiiii

Posted
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Posted

Well I am booking my first Holland America Line cruise for this Christmas, so I will see how HAL compares. The fares were outstanding (for Florida residents) and a great Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

 

I hope the food, service, and overall shipboard experience live up to what, HAL is know for!

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