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

[Hoopster95]

As is his m.o., Capt Srecko made sure make an appearance to say hello to all of us. We made a good joke at Sean regarding being careful around the Capt... pretty funny. It was all good.

 

 

 

For those of you with a virtual interior balcony (like I had, the TV screen in my room), the cameras providing the view are right here on the bridge at each wing starboard and port.

 

 

 

Sean continues the tour back and into the rear control room, but I really wanted to get at least a shot of the Star Trek-like console and Captains Chair, the real hub of the bridge, so I quickly snapped this shot as we walked by

 

 

 

Sean explained everything on the control room, extremely interesting. There was an alarm monitoring area, security camera screens, alarm modules, blueprints/ship plans, floorplans, etc... stuff that may be sensitive or better left secure. To be perfectly blunt, I don't feel comfortable posting many of the photos of this back area even though we were allowed to take as many as we want.

 

 

 

Back out of the control room I had a better opportunity to take a better shot of the center console. That's Lauren in the chair.

 

 

 

And we were done with this very excellent tour! As we headed back out to the hallways of deck 12, the front cabins close to the bridge are the officers quarters, and they labelled the hallway "Bourbon" Street. You'll see on day 9 when I post pictures of the all access tour that each deck of the crew quarters is named after a different city (ie. "Abbey Road", "4th St & Broadway", etc)

 

[Hoopster95]

And now I was hungry as I've not had breakfast yet. Since I was at the front of the ship and close to top deck, I decided I would check out Divinely Decadence this morning up on deck 14 in the Solarium. Wow! What a really nice set-up here, and they live up to their theme of healthy low calorie but delicious foods at breakfast as well. I ate here for breakfast only one other time on day 10 and I noted that absolutely everything on the menu was exactly the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tall-Cruiser]

Great review and amazing pictures.

[Hoopster95]

The weather wasn't all that great the first 4-5 days of the cruise, today day 3 was no exception. I hadn't really sat and relaxed yet these first 3 days so I made a point of it today that I would chill out in Solarium a bit if I could. I now had the opportunity to take of few more shots in daylight that may show the space better than my nighttime shots I took at sailaway.

 

 

 

 

This piece of art at the top of the cascading pools was really interesting... as you viewed it at different angles when you moved around it, it seemed to change a bit, an obvious illusion

 

 

 

 

For a good portion of the cruise the bottom pool of the three was roped off. The movement of the ship was creating huge waves in there! The top pool had the least movement, the middle pool had some waves going on that were both fun and felt good. Ended up spending a bit of time in that second pool enjoying the view and speaking with several cruisers coming in and out, including a newly made friend Deandra. Deandra was the guest Zumba instructor, ended up hanging out with her and hubby Marshall a couple of evenings at Boleros, very cool couple. I even went to her last two Zumba classes... overflow about 50 people in the Music Hall! Cheers to you two, hope we cross paths again someday

 

 

 

And lastly these hot-tubs are THE BEST with a beautiful unobstructed view facing forward.

 

 

 

After a couple of hours of hot-tubbing and hanging out in the pool, is was time to get ready for the first Michael Jackson "Thriller" practice in the Music Hall. Overall over the week we had 4 practices of an hour long each and performed the final day in the Music Hall. We had a ton of fun doing this.

 

It's up on YouTube so I may as well post the link now for you to enjoy if you wish and I'll repeat the link on day 11 as well.

 

 

LOL!!!!! Guess which zombie is me hehe

[Hoopster95]

Having a late breakfast earlier, I was now ready for a late lunch, but something light as I was booked for Silk tonight at 6:30. I decided to check out Cafe Two70 (aka Park cafe equivalent), and sure enough they had almost the exact same menu items as on the Park cafe's on other ships, including the build-your-own salad bar. That's what I opted for (p.s. pesto pasta salad... yum yum)

 

 

 

I also arrived there just in time for one of their daily robotic performances. A couple of times during the cruise I saw watched the robot "handlers" programming on their laptops up at the cafe looking down onto Two70 from above. I assume they are trying new graphics, new positions of the screens, and just plain testing them out in different ways. So these guys would build 10-15 minute graphic shows and play them to the public in Two70. I brought my salad down to a close-up seat by the side and bottom of Two70 to watch and snapped these shots along during the short show

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

I had noted on the Compass that the Bumper Cars were to be running today, so right after the Thriller Class I made my way up to the Seaplex to enjoy the fun. I arrived to see this... note the line-up folks and do the math (approx 16 cars, maybe 5-6 minutes each time to load/ride/unload, easily over 100 in line waiting around the perimeter...

 

Yep, WHAT A FAILURE! It will never be popular. Who would ever go to a Seaplex on a ship? Who would EVER want to ride bumper cars on a cruise ship?!? I will never sail RCL again! LOL!!!

 

 

 

 

Tell you what... Not one person did I see get out of a car with a frown or complaining that it was a waste of time. Better yet, you usually get a couple of guys who hit each once and then they have a rivalry the entire time out there so they target each other, lol! Hilarious. Then they banter back and forth for everyone to hear. Funny stuff

 

 

 

 

This is not a close up of a watch, it's the clock that's hanging at the end of one of the Seaplex walls. I just thought it was interesting and I hadn't seen a photo of it before.... now you've seen it too

 

[Hoopster95]

Fan speed... When the guests were in there with the instructor, the fan speed was lower so the guests could not get blown up too high that they might lose control and get hurt. When the group had gone through, the fan speed gets turned way up and that is when the instructor did his stunts flying easily to the top along with the acrobatics.

 

100% correct :D ... and if they allowed that full fan speed to one of us newbies we'd likely come out in about 1000 pieces at the other end! :eek:

 

I can comment now that you are not allowed to carry or wear anything, and I do mean anything, that is extra on your body. They also recommend taking off rings. Mandatory taking off are ear rings, neck chains, bracelets, watches, and absolutely anything and everything from your pockets. One of the instructors I had told us a previous cruiser kept his wallet thinking the body suit and clothing would keep it in... wrong answer. The wallet came out and was ripped to shreds above in the blades, along with the supposed $2000 he was carrying :eek::mad:

 

 

Great review and amazing pictures.

 

Thank you Tall-Cruiser for your kind words. Glad you're enjoying :)

[g3off]

As a fellow Vancouverite, I find your review interesting as I relate to your point of view about whiners and eating at IZUMI. My family and I are heading on Quantum in Feb. Our daughter will be 22 months old when we sail and fortunately enough we'll have a couple of sets of Grandparents with us! I was wondering if you may be able to touch on anything you may have noticed that would very family friendly and any "secrets". I understand that as a single sailor you may not have had anything like this on your mind :)

 

I'll be sure to say hello to Sean when I do the tour as well!

 

Looking forward to your future postings.

Cheers.

[Hoopster95]

I had some time to kill before getting ready for dinner so I headed aft from the Seaplex to check out any action.... a few Florider boarders were out there disregarding the chill of the weather.

 

 

 

I turned and faced aft, away from the Florider and took this shot from the Florider seating area, plenty of seating and loungers for those of you who enjoy the quieter aft views on sunnier days

 

 

 

I headed down there for a little but of chill time just to watch the wake

 

 

 

It was time to head up to my cabin to get ready for dinner. It will be Silk tonight which I heard good things about pre-cruise on various reviews. I was booked solo at 6:30pm, and like the last 2 days nothing changed... got down there, told them I wanted to sit in a group table and voila... done! I recommend that you do not sit in a table for two in this venue. As a table for 8 the waitress recommended that she just bring out every appetizer on the menu "dim-sum" style so that everyone can share and have tastes of everything. Excellent! I could've ended dinner right there, so good and lots of food. Although I had targeted the tuna or prawns, the waitress had recommended the Hibachi Steak. Unfortunately it was a disappointment to me. I wish to mention here that the service here in Silk, as well as Grande and Chic the nights before, were all excellent. We did not go over 2 hours, meals were served warm to hot, we did not have just one waitress (always had a secondary server assisting). The poor service issues mentioned by others in previous cruises had not happened to me yet, maybe the issue was so loud and clear by the previous cruisers that RCL just had to do something and they did. If this case I need to thank those cruisers that did make a point to RCL of this as a solution to alleviate service issues in the dining venues.

 

I already made a shout-out to Beth & Judy in an earlier post whom I met at this table this evening, good friends during the cruise as we chatted and met up often. Cool hanging with you guys! Hopefully we'll cross paths again sometime.

 

It was finally off to the show, stand up comic of Comedy-Central fame amongst other accolades, Jim David. Google him, you'll likely recognize him. He was way better than most comedians I've seen on RCL, I actually laughed aloud a few times.

 

At the end of the show, they also recognized a few people including SuperMario. They also recognized a couple of other Pinnacles reaching 1050 days (I think? pls correct me if that's wrong) who were sitting up front, one of them being Mommabean who posts on CC quite often and I feel is one of the excellent ambassadors on these boards like Bob (Clarea). I got to meet and talk to Mommabean and her husband a few times during the cruise. Congrats to you and your DH Gina! (p.s. I just bet you were waiting for me to bail while rollerskating... right? right? lol)

 

 

Camera in pocket, I didn't take any further pics tonight, I just enjoyed the evening. I headed to Boleros as I knew the Latin Band was back this evening and hung out there with a few people with my favorite beer Dos Equis ("Stay thirsty my friends"). Another great day on board and finally tomorrow we'll be hitting land at San Juan. Off to bed... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Hoopster95]

As a fellow Vancouverite, I find your review interesting as I relate to your point of view about whiners and eating at IZUMI. My family and I are heading on Quantum in Feb. Our daughter will be 22 months old when we sail and fortunately enough we'll have a couple of sets of Grandparents with us! I was wondering if you may be able to touch on anything you may have noticed that would very family friendly and any "secrets". I understand that as a single sailor you may not have had anything like this on your mind :)

 

I'll be sure to say hello to Sean when I do the tour as well!

 

Looking forward to your future postings.

Cheers.

 

Hey hey neighbor! :D

 

I think this ship is super family friendly! I took a bunch of photos of Adventure Ocean during my All Access Tour Day 9... your 22 month old will likely have a great time in the tots program I'm sure as they have a ton of space and a huge program it seems.

 

I think you're going to have to wing-it like on any ship. Like Oasis/Freedom/Voyager I can give you some answers and maybe another cruiser would give you a whole other set of answers. One thing that is certain is that if you have good weather the outdoor kids pool is a hit as the whole family can stay up there easily, with a great view of the Northstar and easy access to SeaPlex & Windjammer. If your 22 month old is tired and sleepy, maybe even some nice chill time in the Solarium will work for you too.

 

But ultimately you're right, I never once had any of these thoughts in my mind :)

[ncbn0902]

100% correct :D ... and if they allowed that full fan speed to one of us newbies we'd likely come out in about 1000 pieces at the other end! :eek:

 

I can comment now that you are not allowed to carry or wear anything, and I do mean anything, that is extra on your body. They also recommend taking off rings. Mandatory taking off are ear rings, neck chains, bracelets, watches, and absolutely anything and everything from your pockets. One of the instructors I had told us a previous cruiser kept his wallet thinking the body suit and clothing would keep it in... wrong answer. The wallet came out and was ripped to shreds above in the blades, along with the supposed $2000 he was carrying :eek::mad:

 

 

 

 

Thank you Tall-Cruiser for your kind words. Glad you're enjoying :)

 

I have heard that there is a weight limit, do you happen to know what that is?

Thanks a lot and nice review

Nicole and Barry

[Hoopster95]

I have heard that there is a weight limit, do you happen to know what that is?

Thanks a lot and nice review

Nicole and Barry

 

Yep, there is a weight limit which is enforced. The very first thing they do when you go to the desk at your appt. time is weigh you.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=319&faqSubjectName=Ships+&faqId=5847

 

"Those less than 6 feet tall must weigh less than 230 lbs, and those over 6 feet must weigh less than 250 lbs."

[ncbn0902]

Yep, there is a weight limit which is enforced. The very first thing they do when you go to the desk at your appt. time is weigh you.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=319&faqSubjectName=Ships+&faqId=5847

 

"Those less than 6 feet tall must weigh less than 230 lbs, and those over 6 feet must weigh less than 250 lbs."

 

Thanks

[sparkx]

Hey CC family!

 

As promised, I'll be posting a gazillion photos and review of my Q sailing. I see LoutheGlue already has a bunch of photos and specifically all the compasses in a really nice order for everyone, so I am going to save my Photobucket bandwidth for many more incredible photos to share with you.

 

Here's a few teasers of my "home-made" pics and what you can look forward to if you book Q... or Anthem next year. The first photo is quite rare as the bow of the ship is not accessible to the public... I am there via the "All Access Tour", the only tour that will allow access through the crew quarters and onto the front of the ship.

 

 

Hey Hoopster!

 

Good shot if I don't say so myself! (as I took it!) - was a great behind the scenes tour that day. And great review so far, I'm following it closely! I've not even had a chance to go through the 1000 plus photos I took on the trip yet!

[DaisyL]

Thanks so much for the great review and photos. We are so excited to cruise on Quantum next April.

[Hoopster95]

Hey Hoopster!

 

Good shot if I don't say so myself! (as I took it!) - was a great behind the scenes tour that day. And great review so far, I'm following it closely! I've not even had a chance to go through the 1000 plus photos I took on the trip yet!

 

L O L !!!! :eek: No freakin' way!! :p

 

Haha, I just knew that the guy with the massive camera hanging around his neck probably knew a little bit about shutter speeds, let alone framing and keeping the camera straight ;)

 

Seriously though, thank you sparkx. I already placed this photo in my top 100 folder from all over the world and RCL ships, and have shown it to several people. Got you to thank for it :D:D:D I can just imagine how pro your photos are... you should come back here and do a photo tour

[Hoopster95]

Today we see port for the first time, but not until 4pm. So this morning I woke to my usual routine of gym/jog/abs, Macchiato in CL, say hello and chat with Mario & Reyno real quick. This morning I had my 2nd IFly booked so I had a quick breakfast of muesli and fruit in the CL mesmerized by the aft view and wake, then made my way up to deck 15 to get to IFly.

 

In passing Felica the Bear, I decided to get another pic of her as well as the description mounted next to it so that I can actually remember the name of this art and the artist. Note Felicia's left foot is overhanging on the jogging track a slight bit... it's already scratched and has a nice gouge in it also. I think the foot will get further damaged over the next months and will likely have to get repaired often

 

 

 

 

Prior to IFly, I booked another trip up on the Northstar as I walked top deck as they were already booking for later in the morning and afternoon... fine by me as I had IFly first anyways. It was now time for IFly. I was early so I had to wait a bit. I was able to snap a few photos pre-flight the best I could with no one in my way (rare in this tight space) but here's what the holding/dressing area looks like

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

Like my first time on IFly, I had no one to take pics or video other than the professional photographers. The quality is excellent. Here are some more random shots (note the date, most of my better photos were of my middle and last attempt, I already posted a few on day 2 out of order as well)

 

I was waaaaaay more comfortable this second time around and was up and flying right away without that initial shock and flailing a little the first time. I could feel that the instructor was not holding me as much this time also. Big big big advice I can give you is to reeeeelax. Breath, calm down. The more you relax, the better you will do. If you are to remember anything technical, I would say the word "symmetry". The more you can relax but have your hands and arms exactly symmetrical and the same you will fly and stay relatively still

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another great rush! I did not book a thrid this time around as my appointment for the NorthStar was coming up in 10 minutes, and they ask you to be there 10 minutes early!!! So I boogied forward from IFly toward pool deck and the Northstar, making it no problem. Most of the people in my group were already there as we waited for Northstar to come down and unload

 

[Hoopster95]

This turned out to be my favorite ride on Northstar! Because we were at sea, we were able to swing out to the side. And finally the weather was somewhat decent with the sun breaking through the clouds, so I was hopeful for some excellent pics and video.

 

And off we went to load up Northstar

 

 

 

 

And up we go!!!

 

 

 

I found that when we were in Bayonne the Northstar I guess did not go up as high as it could, but I think it maxed out here in order to swing to the side. Holy smokes we were way high!

 

 

 

And now for the money shots... just gorgeous!

 

 

[Hoopster95]

A couple of pics in the previous post were taken during video, as I can also take still shots on my camera while in video mode. I strongly suggest when you do Northstar you video at least once... much much better than just still shots.

 

If you remember Beth & Judy who I had met the night before at Silk, well by chance they were up there in Northstar at the same time as well. I think it was Beth who snapped this shot for me, and then it was time to straighten out the Northstar to end our trip

 

 

 

 

Now if Beth's reading this, she's going to bust a gut laughing, because I had heard about the hatches on the floor of Northstar, and there is in fact an emergency bathroom up there!!!! Yes, likely a hole in the floor, but nonetheless, there is something. Now I would really hate to see it used... what do all the other passengers do, turn around and face outward?!?!?! Anyhow, Beth took a hilarious picture of me squatting down and making a face that I decided I won't include in this review... you can all use your imagination :p, but we were all howling up there. It was a fun trip as several of us were all having fun speaking with each other, and helping each other getting out of the way for pictures, etc rather than hogging window space.

 

And finally we're on our way down

 

 

 

Don't touch!!!!!

 

 

Edited December 19, 2014 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

Great timing... done at about noon, I was to meet two new friends at Jamie's today for lunch: Noelle & Stan. Noelle contacted me via email when I posted on the roll call that I'd like to get together with dinner with people on the roll call if they wish as I was solo, and another commonality was that they would be on Legend with me in March as well. So we met just outside Jamie's under the hanging glass art in The Via, and was seated by the window.

 

 

 

This venue is waaaaaaay different than Giovanni's, It's like comparing Oasis to Quantum. Jamie's is much much more casual, in effect your supposed to feel like going into "Mama's italian" house in Tuscany. Lot's of stainless steel and wood, much more casual feeling then Giovanni's, and the menu/presentation also much more casual.

 

Food was great!

 

 

Above you see one of their "planks" with a slew of antipasti, as well as a mushroom bake and arrancini. Below is my mushroom risotto and sides of various types of fries (I wish I can remember them). One of them was truffle oil, the other was garlic Parmesan, and there was a third.

 

 

 

The deserts were excellent.... yum yum

 

 

 

 

So it's at this time I wish to toast meeting Stan and Noelle. Noelle is known as "JudyGarland" on these boards because she can sing like Judy Garland... no joking! She can actually sing professionally if she wanted too, just beautiful, and she sounds like Judy Garland. Stan is a party animal and a dancing machine!! Lol! Love this guy. We're going to have a lot of fun on Legend. We hung out on several occasions at the Music Hall, Boleros and especially the CL.

 

So Stan & Noelle, see you guys in 3 months, can't wait.... and I'd thought I'd include this photo of us we took with Reyno in the CL as this is Noelle's favorite CL in the fleet

 

[Hoopster95]

Finishing lunch, I was late for the Thriller practice session, but did make it down there for the last half hour and I knew most of the routine anyways. We finished up there after a good sweat and I made my way up to my room to get changed to watch sail-in.....

 

To my horror I saw on my virtual balcony that we were passing the San Juan gates already, so I missed viewing the fort as we approached. By the time I got up top deck we were already going around the corner and the port at Old Town was already in site. The NCL Gem had followed us down all the way from NYC and had docked an hour before us

 

 

 

I was booked on an excursion: The Old Town and Beaches Evening Bicycle Tour. So I went down to the Theatre to get my sticker and wait to be called to debark. I can tell you there was a very long line of people at the stairs waiting to get off, and they did in fact let off those with tours first, so we bypassed the very long lines. I don't think it took too long as the theatre emptied out pretty quick after they announced we were ready to debark.

 

 

 

 

We were to meet at the foot of the pier... chaos! Thousands of people everywhere, and obviously hundreds (if not thousands) of locals all walking/milling around taking pictures as this was the largest cruise ship ever to call in San Juan. I found my tour guide sign and registered. We had to wait for others to show up for the tour, so in the meantime I walked along the pier a little bit to snap some of the first pictures of Quantum in it's first ever port of call in the Caribbean!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

(I apologize everyone, I can't finish day 4 this evening. Stay tuned. Thx!)

[Newsbuff16]

Great review...thanks for giving such a detailed report!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Thank you for the amazing review. It's great to read it from the perspective of someone traveling solo (which I do often)! It's also great to see such an upbeat positive tone and that you found so much good to say about this ship. With as much new technology as they are pushing forward on this ship it didn't surprise me that there would be many tech issues and teething problems, but it sounds like day by day they are resolving them and refining the overall guest experience.

 

While I won't get a chance to sail Quantum before she heads to China I do have Anthem on my radar for late 2016-early 2017 :D

[UNV-IT!!!]

Finishing lunch, I was late for the Thriller practice session, but did make it down there for the last half hour and I knew most of the routine anyways. We finished up there after a good sweat and I made my way up to my room to get changed to watch sail-in.....

 

To my horror I saw on my virtual balcony that we were passing the San Juan gates already, so I missed viewing the fort as we approached. By the time I got up top deck we were already going around the corner and the port at Old Town was already in site. The NCL Gem had followed us down all the way from NYC and had docked an hour before us

 

 

 

I was booked on an excursion: The Old Town and Beaches Evening Bicycle Tour. So I went down to the Theatre to get my sticker and wait to be called to debark. I can tell you there was a very long line of people at the stairs waiting to get off, and they did in fact let off those with tours first, so we bypassed the very long lines. I don't think it took too long as the theatre emptied out pretty quick after they announced we were ready to debark.

 

 

 

 

We were to meet at the foot of the pier... chaos! Thousands of people everywhere, and obviously hundreds (if not thousands) of locals all walking/milling around taking pictures as this was the largest cruise ship ever to call in San Juan. I found my tour guide sign and registered. We had to wait for others to show up for the tour, so in the meantime I walked along the pier a little bit to snap some of the first pictures of Quantum in it's first ever port of call in the Caribbean!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

(I apologize everyone, I can't finish day 4 this evening. Stay tuned. Thx!)

 

Really is such a beautiful ship.