QUANTUM Dec 1-11, 2014 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

I've lost track on what I did here around lunchtime, but I do remember right after skating heading to the elevators and looking up at this opening there on deck 15

 

 

 

I figured it was the entrance into the suite/gold card only access sundeck. There are also two access doors from Deck 16 Seaplex on either side. Of course not having pictures of this area, curiosity killed the cat as I walked past this sign (tsk tsk... bad D+! :rolleyes:)

 

 

 

And at the top of the stairs you find a sealed door with the swipe card or wristband access... however, I tried the door manually and it let me through (I also tried in the Seaplex and both those did not open for me)

 

 

 

And here's the Viking Crown'ish view looking forward towards the pool deck and Northstar

 

[Beachcruzer]

I've lost track on what I did here around lunchtime, but I do remember right after skating heading to the elevators and looking up at this opening there on deck 15

 

 

 

I figured it was the entrance into the suite/gold card only access sundeck. There are also two access doors from Deck 16 Seaplex on either side. Of course not having pictures of this area, curiosity killed the cat as I walked past this sign (tsk tsk... bad D+! :rolleyes:)

 

 

 

And at the top of the stairs you find a sealed door with the swipe card or wristband access... however, I tried the door manually and it let me through (I also tried in the Seaplex and both those did not open for me)

 

 

 

And here's the Viking Crown'ish view looking forward towards the pool deck and Northstar

 

 

I was dying to go up there and check it out, but never did. I would eyeball that area every morning as I made my laps. Looked like an awesome place to hang out. I don't think I ever saw anyone up there. :p

[Hoopster95]

I had never once purposely looked in the compass for the times of these parades, but I do know that various parades (mini-shows) were run daily and photo-ops with the various characters were offered daily as well. These mini-shows were pretty good for their short length of time and the few kids that I did see were thrilled when the characters turned to the crowd to give them a little attention. So as I came down the elevator, the show was already on.

 

 

 

 

It was here that I decided to leave the show before it ended just in case there was a mini rush of sorts (about 15min) and being hungry for some lunch I thought I'd venture into Sorrento's for only the second time on this trip... more on this in the next post... I was right, there was a rush. Leaving Sorrento's this same show was again offered only maybe 45min-1 hour later. I got some really good video and I took pics from a different angle on deck 5 looking down. These little shows were pretty good and are worth the time to watch.

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

So between these shows I was hungry as it was a late lunch with a small breakfast. I fully expected to find the "normal" Sorrento's fare... sandwiches, wraps, etc. I did very very quickly look through Sorrento's day 1 while touring the ship and also a couple of other times (to grab the totally awesome and always fresh/soft chocolate chunk cookies!!!) but this time I wanted to grab a few pictures. I walked past the coffee station/cookie bar and through to the larger seating area and I was floored!....

 

I had not noticed at all, but there was a full on pizza bar over there, and not with just the cardboard thin pizza, but with fresh pick-you-own-ingredients area.

 

 

 

I watched the Chef take a pizza out of the oven to give to another cruiser and that was it.... I had to have one! lol. So the chef came over and asked me what I wanted: The works baby!! ooooH ya! SO he started filling it up: pepperoni, artichoke, sh!take mushrooms, etc

 

 

 

 

And into the professional pizza ovens it went

 

 

 

I had no problem waiting the 15min or so just chilling out, no rush getting anywhere today. Sorrento's was pretty much packed, very few seats available. Soon enough, the pizza was ready.

 

 

 

This is not your typical RCL Sorrento's pizza... so damn good! By far the best RCL pizza I've ever had. They finally have a good pizza station on an RCL ship. Big time thumbs up. Does this look delish or what?? Well it sure was

 

 

 

I didn't finish it as it was super filling, so I had them box up the rest and brought it up to my room after that Dreamworks 2nd show as I wanted to get ready for the Walk for Wishes

[Beachcruzer]

So between these shows I was hungry as it was a late lunch with a small breakfast. I fully expected to find the "normal" Sorrento's fare... sandwiches, wraps, etc. I did very very quickly look through Sorrento's day 1 while touring the ship and also a couple of other times (to grab the totally awesome and always fresh/soft chocolate chunk cookies!!!) but this time I wanted to grab a few pictures. I walked past the coffee station/cookie bar and through to the larger seating area and I was floored!....

 

I had not noticed at all, but there was a full on pizza bar over there, and not with just the cardboard thin pizza, but with fresh pick-you-own-ingredients area.

 

 

 

And into the professional pizza ovens it went

 

 

 

I had no problem waiting the 15min or so just chilling out, no rush getting anywhere today. Sorrento's was pretty much packed, very few seats available. Soon enough, the pizza was ready.

 

 

 

This is not your typical RCL Sorrento's pizza... so damn good! By far the best RCL pizza I've ever had. They finally have a good pizza station on an RCL ship. Big time thumbs up. Does this look delish or what?? Well it sure was

 

 

 

I didn't finish it as it was super filling, so I had them box up the rest and brought it up to my room after that Dreamworks 2nd show as I wanted to get ready for the Walk for Wishes

 

That looks awesome! I'm so jealous that I never ordered one! :o Next time!!!

[Hoopster95]

For me, I was ashamed to be a C&A member at the Capt Corner

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2137565&page=4

DEIx15x8 has an excellent review with many videos, including the full Capt Corner video of this sailing on post #68. Read his comments as well.

 

Backing up a bit, I had gone up to the Seaplex to purchase my Walk for Wishes shirt, but with over a 1/2 hour before it started, I knew that Capt's Corner was on at Two70 so I quickly made my way down there to standing room only crowd, and propped myself on the railing up on deck 6 at one of the last decent spots.

 

 

 

I was taken aback by my fellow cruisers with their self-serving & entitling complaints that did not belong in this forum at all. I was more than proud to hear many mumbling around me up there on deck 6 when a new comment was made that this was not a good thing, not the forum to be airing out personal complaints. Not that their complaints weren't valid, but to waste my time and the top 4 officers of the ship's time with lengthy diatribe questions like "I don't like Dynamic Dining. I have a cruise booked on Oasis next year. Will Dynamic dining be cancelled on Oasis? If not, I'm cancelling". How in the hell is Capt Srecko supposed to know that answer? We're on the Quantum lady! Ask a Quantum question. Just an awful display imho.... "My room is too small","my travel agent booked a room that was wrong on the website", etc... these are things dealt with and expressed to the right people, in the right setting, in a respectful manner. Very sad indeed. So we heard very little about the technology of the ship, specific statistics, life on board, Capt type questions, etc which is what this meeting shoud've been about (like on other ships)

 

Having said that, the few good questions asked were met with smiles and a great attitude by the officers. I would have to estimate they really had to grin and bear it sitting there, and they did an incredibly awesome job doing just that and getting through it. I give them a 10/10 on their efforts here.

 

 

 

The officers were open to the crowd to come down from the seats and meet/speak with them. The whiners were given the respect they didn't deserve from the Hotel director as well in order to further investigate the complaints, I have to give them kudos, better men than me. I hadn't spoken to Capt for several days so I decided to go down there after the crowd was almost gone... he met me with a man shake (thumbs up, to the shoulder) rather than the standard how-do-you-do business handshake, super cool guy, never forgets me which is super nice. We had a good albeit too short chat, but did offer that he was much too busy with high level cruisers that he couldn't please everyone and that he had thought about inviting me to something that was going on (I assume a Capt dinner or whathaveyou) but just did not have the time nor room. I never expected that, plus he had his wife on board, so I'm sure his time was very precious... plus he still made time for everyone in the DL and CL both morning and night. I thanked him and he made sure to mention that if I'm ever on one of his ships again to let him know. Class act all the way.... if he gets Q running like Vision was, Q's gonna be great after clearing up all these issues over the coming year

[Hoopster95]

I missed the Walk for Wishes and pretty much puttered for a while through the ship until it was time for our Thriller dance class. Done that, I quickly got changed to get ready for formal at the Grande (again!) and head up to the CL. Didn't get much time up there as we had an early dinner reservation tonight so after saying hi to a few people it was quickly time to head out to dinner.

 

Merion_Mom was in fine form tonight ;)

 

 

I forgot to tell a story from the night before in Grande so bear with me here....once we sat, within maybe 4-5 minutes a waiter came over (not ours) with a colourful fruity-looking drink and put it down in front of me. The waiter said "A gentleman across the room bought it for me". Obviously confused I asked who... the waiter said "I'm not allowed to say" and walked away. The look and my likely ghost/ashen face when I turned to Carol & Laura must've been priceless because they both burst out laughing their a$$es off that I was being propositioned by a guy. Carol said the drink was a Cosmo (I didn't know). So we kinda James Bond-like tried to peak around the room a bit to see if we could quickly figure it out. I didn't know what to do so I asked the girls... do I drink it? Should I give it to them? Should I spill it? Or give it to our waiter to take away??? HHEEEELLLLPPPP!!!! lol. I ended up sipping it and just enjoying the company as we were having a really good time joking around and talking at dinner.

(ok, I bet you anything Laura and Merion_Mom are laughing as they're reading this lol :D)

 

So after about 15min, that other waiter began walking over with a smile on his face and began pointing over at a table behind us by about 50ft with maybe 3 tables between us.... and there sat Glenn and his wife, the winners of Love & Marriage, obviously the biggest freakin' jokster on the ship! I had fun hanging out with them in Music Hall so I guess he thought it would be a gas watching me squirm at my table... he sent me the drink!!! And they were laughing for the 15min they watched us look around and try to figure this whole situation out. LOL!! Wow, I got punked big time. Lots of fun :D

 

Now to tonight's dinner... best dinner of the week, and also the best lamb shank ever on any ship! Merion_Mom, I forgot the name of your D+ friends who sat with us but they too thought it was one of the best if not the best. Lobster bisque = yum, Escargot = yum, lamb shank = yum yum yum, lava cake = yum yum yum... great dinner and great company yet again tonight.

 

 

 

And there's no better way to end this post with this selfie Laura took of us in the theatre after dinner ... lol good times

 

[Hoopster95]

 

 

I was very much anticipating this show. It was very interesting looking up to see how the strings were connected and attached in the theatre, as well as how they are tuned. I forget what these are called, but by sliding these forward or back on the strings it produces a different note.

 

 

 

The first act was Earth Harp inventor himself William Close playing the instrument, followed by accompaniment by the orchestra and the singers also.

 

 

 

Another one of his inventions is this wall of drums, which was played both by William and also the cast members

 

 

[Hoopster95]

About half way through the show, William came out to speak personally to the crowd with no background music or anything, very interesting. He talked about his rise to making inventions and then introduced his protege (I forget his name) who will likely take over this production very soon going forward when fully trained, allowing William to leave the ship to pursue his other shows and ventures. Here, the protege is wearing another invention, a body suit that plays the drums (the black pads are the symbols, snares, etc as you tap them with your hand)

 

 

 

The show continued with more dancing & singing from the cast, as well as more of William's inventions

 

 

 

The final portion of the show was more of a variety song and dance by the entire cast, and was quite good actually. This was a very well done and interesting show... another thumbs up big time for quality entertainment, not the same old same old for sure. 10/10 from me on this one, and I guess the standing ovation from everyone supported that thought

 

 

[bob brown]

Loved that comment, and the one about just 'having' to explore the 'forbidden zone', gold card sundeck.;)

 

That is my ambition as well....to observe every single public passenger space on the vessel. This includes every stairway and elevator landing, every restaurant, bar, lounge, conference room....whatever...even places that I don't belong in (Concierge Club, Coastal Kitchen, etc...just to take a quick peek or photo. I even took a quick peek at the Royal Loft Suite, on disembarkation day, after its occupant has departed...(I ask the steward if I can for a quick picture, and they usually permit it)...

 

I even tried the accessible lifts...at the forward part of the Royal Theater, the Northstar, the Seaplex, and the Library.

When we took our All Access Tour, we even go to ride on a crew elevator.:)

[Hoopster95]

 

 

Tonight Rock'a'Rokie was back on again, so leaving the two gals from dinner I ventured off to get changed and head down there for the evening. Many of my fellow cruisers who I've befriended this past week at dinners or excursions were down there this evening, so it was going to be a really good time. After Rock-a-Rokie, there was a little dead period while the DJ set up, and there was supposed to be a night-club dance party up in the Solarium (like Oasis and Allure)... big fail here, not the demographic to make this one work. I think there were maybe 15-20 people up there to see if things would start up, but all of us hanging out together (over 10) packed back into the elevators and headed back down to the Music Hall where the DJ and action really was.

 

And soon enough my friend Rick (who is "The Man" lol!!) started talking with William Close who had come down to enjoy the evening himself. He ended up hanging out with us a bit and chatting, very nice guy.

 

 

 

I wish to give a shout out here to fellow Canadians (Ontario) Deb, Joe, Brooke (absent DH Barry) who I shared a couple of excursions with and spent the last couple of evenings having fun with in Boleros and Music Hall! Hey hey guys :D

 

 

 

William Close was being really nice about posing for pictures with everyone as he had many people ask obviously. He was having a good time as well and very generous with his time, I think he was having fun just enjoying the atmosphere. Rick, you are still The Man! You and Mia were a ton of fun to hang out with.

 

 

 

This was a very fun night, and I feel fortunate so many friends who's pictures are posted in the course of this review were down there enjoying the evening. This was a late night with our final sea day tomorrow, so in the early hours of the morning, I crawled up to bed for some much needed sleep ... plus we were turning our clocks back an hour so gaining an hour of sleep is always a good thing too :)

[Hoopster95]

When we took our All Access Tour, we even go to ride on a crew elevator.:)

 

Haha! Cool, you got in there :)

[tapchus]

Great reading your reviews and love looking at your pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed the entertainment on the cruise. My daughter is the tiny Asian girl performing in Mamma Mia!, Sonic Odyssey and the Dreamworks parade productions. I'll pass on your kind words to her and her cast mates. My wife and I did go on the Dec. 12-20 cruise and found it surreal to see our daughter performing there. Happy New Year!

[YOWmom]

Thanks for the terrific review and photos!! Now I'm even more excited about sailing away this Saturday. My 5 year old was especially excited to see the adventure ocean pics. She's been asking for a week whether they have a play structure like they do on Oasis - couldn't find photos anywhere but now thanks to your review, I have the proof she was looking for! :-)

[beachnative]

I was dying to go up there and check it out, but never did. I would eyeball that area every morning as I made my laps. Looked like an awesome place to hang out. I don't think I ever saw anyone up there. :p

 

This was one of our favorite spots on the ship: a nice area becausse it had great views, was uncrowded, and generally quiet. There was a very nice attendant that worked the area.

 

It is indeed a "gated" area but for our B2B the sliding "pocket" door at the base of the steps was not working (typical IT haha). Once it is working the area will be accessable by those having a "gold colored card" (Grand Suite and above as well as Pinnacles.)

[Hoopster95]

Great reading your reviews and love looking at your pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed the entertainment on the cruise. My daughter is the tiny Asian girl performing in Mamma Mia!, Sonic Odyssey and the Dreamworks parade productions. I'll pass on your kind words to her and her cast mates. My wife and I did go on the Dec. 12-20 cruise and found it surreal to see our daughter performing there. Happy New Year!

 

 

Wow! That is so awesome. You must've been very proud :D Is she the one in the picture I posted above? Yes, the dancers were excellent, and as you've read in other reviews some of the best entertainment offered by RCL.

[Hoopster95]

Thanks for the terrific review and photos!! Now I'm even more excited about sailing away this Saturday. My 5 year old was especially excited to see the adventure ocean pics. She's been asking for a week whether they have a play structure like they do on Oasis - couldn't find photos anywhere but now thanks to your review, I have the proof she was looking for! :-)

 

 

You're very welcome :D

 

I tell you what... and this is only in my personal opinion... this ship is perfectly built for families with kids and teens. A ship full of families would have the best time ever on Quantum, fully interactive with family type activities you can all share together (IFly, Florider, all the things in Seaplex, etc) and of course the quiet time for adults when the kids are in their areas of Adventure Ocean.

[tapchus]

Wow! That is so awesome. You must've been very proud :D Is she the one in the picture I posted above? Yes, the dancers were excellent, and as you've read in other reviews some of the best entertainment offered by RCL.

 

Actually, that is the young lady that looks like her. Here is a picture of her being lifted up. Thanks again and Happy New Year!

[karen1821]

Thanks so much for the informative review. Very impressed and excited for this cruise in March. Now to decide where to eat. Thanks again.

[MJonTravel]

Awesome review, other Zumba dude! :)

[bearandbee]

Great reading your reviews and love looking at your pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed the entertainment on the cruise. My daughter is the tiny Asian girl performing in Mamma Mia!, Sonic Odyssey and the Dreamworks parade productions. I'll pass on your kind words to her and her cast mates. My wife and I did go on the Dec. 12-20 cruise and found it surreal to see our daughter performing there. Happy New Year!

 

Your daughter must be Adrian! She was great in Mamma Mia and awesome in Sonic Odyssey!!! I especially loved the duet she did in Sonic Odyssey. My husband and I were on the December 1st to 12th cruise. We didn't get a chance to meet your daughter, but our niece (who lives in NYC) has danced with Adrian, so we were excited to see your daughter perform. We felt like we knew her and thought it was neat when they showed her photo and bio on the big screens in the theatre before Mamma Mia. Please tell her that our niece, Garnet, says hello!:)

[tapchus]

Your daughter must be Adrian! She was great in Mamma Mia and awesome in Sonic Odyssey!!! I especially loved the duet she did in Sonic Odyssey. My husband and I were on the December 1st to 12th cruise. We didn't get a chance to meet your daughter, but our niece (who lives in NYC) has danced with Adrian, so we were excited to see your daughter perform. We felt like we knew her and thought it was neat when they showed her photo and bio on the big screens in the theatre before Mamma Mia. Please tell her that our niece, Garnet, says hello!:)

 

Thanks so much for your beautiful comments. Yes. I will definitely pass this on to Adrianne the next time we see her. Happy New Year!!!

[bearandbee]

Thanks so much for your beautiful comments. Yes. I will definitely pass this on to Adrianne the next time we see her. Happy New Year!!!

 

Happy New Year to you too!

[Hoopster95]

other Zumba dude! :)

 

Lol!!! :D Great to hear from you my friend. Happy New Year to you and Deandra

 

(Haha I like your "Next cruise" signature)

Edited January 1, 2015 by Hoopster95

[MJonTravel]

Lol!!! :D Great to hear from you my friend.

 

Likewise - I do have a question. I apologize in advance if you stated this, but I searched and did not see anything. What kind of camera do you use? I'm in the market.....and I love your pictures.