Quantum 12/1 - 12/12 Review

[LXA350]

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I always enjoyed the MDR lunch on sea days with the salad bar and the Brasserie style menu, hence I assume the salad bar disappeared as well. What about breakfast, does it feature the same menu as in the regular MDR?

 

The dynamic dining concept in general seems exciting and as mentioned the dishes are mostly tasty, however the limited choice is somewhat disappointing and I hope RCL will react to all the criticism and think of a creative solution bringing back some MDR classics. The best idea would be in my view to offer a MDR inspired "classic favorites" Menu selection of 2-3 first courses and 2-3 main courses and 1 or two desserts that will alter every day and be available in all dynamic dining venues. This in my view would on one hand bring back the missing variety and would also contribute to satisfy larger groups dining together. Let's say if some members don't like Asian food, they would still enjoy their time at Silk as they can choose dishes from the "classic favorites" Menu that would be available in all dining venues that night. Taking myself for instance, I very much like Asian food, however Asian desserts are a big no go for me, hence if I would be able to choose from a "classic favorite" MDR dessert my Dynamic dining experience will be perfect, then one meal without having a few bites of "Chocolate Sensation" is just not a good meal on board for me ;)

Edited December 14, 2014 by LXA350

[DaniDanielle]

We are happy that the Dec 1 cruise was better but our Nov 23rd was not and by yours being good doesn't change the fact that our inaugural was not special or worth what a lot of people paid extra for.

[LXA350]

When cruising on a brand new ship you have to expect that things go wrong. Only when the ship is in operation a lot of things can actually be tested and especially on Quantum, which is the first ship of a completely new class with so many revolutionary changes you have to give it a few months before everything will be up to expectations both from technology and staff level

 

Hence if you want to be one of the first to experience the new ship and are ready not to have a perfect experience then it makes sense. If you expect to be Wowed not only by the appearance of the ship but from your whole experience you have to wait at least half a year from the point of the inaugural before you should cruise on such ship

[DaniDanielle]

Perhaps Royal shouldn't charge people extra for an experience that is not going to wow anyone. We got a good deal but a lot of people paid quite a bit of money for this inaugural that wasn't.

[ocav]

Perhaps Royal shouldn't charge people extra for an experience that is not going to wow anyone. We got a good deal but a lot of people paid quite a bit of money for this inaugural that wasn't.

 

 

But people are willing to pay for it, so they will.

 

At the end of the day, Royals only job as a publically listed company is to make profits for the shareholders.

If people are willing to pay $3000-5000 per person for a cruise then they will charge that. Charging less would be less profit especially over 4000 passengers.

[DaniDanielle]

They were willing to pay for it because they expected something special, not just a cruise that was frustrating and not up to Royal standards.

[cruisenfever]

Ordering food shouldn't be big science on RCL for the normal items like lettuce?

 

X # of passengers in X # of days use up X # of heads of lettuce. Simple.

With so many RCL ships out there now, it should be a standard amount they order?

 

The type of ship shouldn't determine the amount of lettuce used? or such other easy foods......makes no sense to me. A different menu with new cuts of meat etc. maybe.

We have been on many ships that run out food too, and sure makes you wonder?

After 19 days on board, I can honestly agree with the Chef's comment. Lady Q is like no other ship when it comes to the variety of food items offered in each venue, that I am glad I don't have to do the shopping for them.:D

Edited December 14, 2014 by cruisenfever

[DandY2C]

Here is my opinion on the negative reviews and reports that people here are referencing.

 

There were definitely "growing" or "adjusting" pains in the initial cruises: Transatlantic, pre-inaugurals, taster cruises, maiden/inaugural cruise.

 

But I can confidently say that you will all be better served by ONLY reading/crediting reviews beginning with the December 1 cruise.

 

Things have improved THAT much.

 

:)

 

We were on the same cruise as well and were pleasantly surprised by what we experienced after having read so many of the negative comments. Thanks for posting your review, and I we feel it reflects very close to how we felt about The Quantum... Although we didn't experience the Bumper cars,IFly ,flo rider activities (North Star cancelled due to wind), the fit and finish appeared spot on as well as the overall decor ,design and detail. The dynamic dining works fine ..for us we never felt crowded or delayed. One concern was that the music selection in some of the dining venues could have been more orientated to the theme...and a bit less on the volume, esp when seated below the speakers..(It was often difficult to hear each other )

 

 

Solarium was sometime a bit warm..but not after soaking in the spa...

[sweetcookie]

can you tell me if quantum has a hair salon and if they have a sports bar

with large screen tv to watch bowl games?

[ocav]

can you tell me if quantum has a hair salon and if they have a sports bar

 

with large screen tv to watch bowl games?

 

 

No sports bar,

NFL on Pool Screen and Two70 Robots

[cruisenfever]

can you tell me if quantum has a hair salon and if they have a sports bar

with large screen tv to watch bowl games?

If and when they got live feed for any football game while we were on board, it was shown in the Schooner Bar, on the big screen by the pool and in cabins.

 

We got to see the Florida State Game, but only got highlights of the Ohio State Game because the OSU game was being broadcast on FOX.

Edited December 15, 2014 by cruisenfever

[andrea lynn]

I am glad to hear you liked the cruise. NYC is driving distance for us. But, the reviews have been so awful we decided to let the crew settle into their jobs before we considered booking.

 

Did you see "Jess from the US" from the activities staff?

 

We were on the Brilliance TA in early September. I went to the craft classes on each sea day [we had a lot of them] and got to know "Jess from the US." [yes--that is how they referred to her every time they introduced her. :rolleyes:] She also handled all of the karioka [sp] and music trivia on the ship. Did you see her?

 

She was leaving the Brilliance when we did and had a vacation and then going to Quantum to get it ready to sail. She was very excited. I hope she is having a good experience.

Yes we met Jess from the U.S. she was in the crafts room. The activities staff were wonderful. They rotated between activities.

[andrea lynn]

Great review of your cruise experience.

 

Is it possible to book the complimentary iFly sesions all online? As I understood from other threads, each passenger is allowed one complimentary iFly session per day?

 

Regarding North Star, I see that cannot be booked online?

 

There has been lots of criticism around regarding Dynamic Dining. When I look at the sample menus I like the selection, the only thing that disturbs me is the fact if there are no additional choices available the selection will become a bit boring on longer cruises. What I liked about the Main Dining Room was the changing menu every night. Hence how does it look in reality, is the Menu in each venue larger than the sample found online / or do they even have 2 or 3 rotating menus throughout the cruise?

 

I am sure RCL will do everything to improve the quality of the service in the different dining venues. Getting this ship going is probably even a bigger challenge than at the time the Oasis Ships as there are so many completely new concepts that were launched. As we know dinning is one of the main attractions on a cruise and introducing such a revolutionary concept that has never been there before will require quite a lot of practical experience before everything will run smoothly.

 

Everyone experience things differently, however taking your review and comparing it to others that were quite negative in terms of things that didn't work, it looks like that Quantum is on the right way and in a few months most if not all problems will be solved :)

We were not able to book I Fly prior to boarding however I am reading that future sailing have been able to book. We had no issue making our reservations. And as I maentioned in my review most sessions had open slots as there were some no shows. The staff tried to fill those spots before starting the class. We did have to take the full class before our second flight no biggie.

 

As for the North Star we were unable to book before boarding. They hand out tickets by ride number each day beginning at 9am. We went up twice with only a five minute wait.

 

We had no issue with the variety available via Dynamic Dining. The food was so delicious I was more than excited to order the crab three different times at Chic. We are not picky eaters so the menu worked for us. I got to try the sea bass and barramundi for the first and it won't be my last. I loved them both.

 

Some of the negative reviews that I read honestly made me feel as I was in the same sailing as our experiences were so different. This was cruise #21 for me, while this experience was different from the others I really had an awesome time.

[andrea lynn]

I have to say that reading the reviews of the previous cruises I was a bit nervous thankfully everything exceeded my expectations. I agree that there will be some growing pains, but I was a bit surprised to hear how unhappy the dining staff was. Hopefully folks are voicing their thoughts to the right folks and just not on these forums. We did see one waiter in American Icon (he was really working hard to ensure that his guests were happy) receive a cash tip. We would have done the same had we received that level of service.

[andrea lynn]

Glad to hear you had a better time than other posters were making it out to be (I guess its not the Nightmare of the Seas after all)

I experienced no nightmares what so ever. As I mentioned in a prior post after reading some other reviews I feel as though I wasn't on the same sailing - scary! The ship has something for everyone I am really not sure what expectations some of the other guests had. My husband really lived outside the box for the entire 11 days and that not the norm for him. We both throughly enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to book another cruise.

[andrea lynn]

Regarding running out of food - I did note the switch in salads, and no ahi tacos in Divinely Decadence, but that was all I caught on to. I learned a very interesting little factoid in my interview with the chef - with a brand new ship, they have to hone their food ordering habits for the first several cruises. In other words, this is a brand new ship, with brand new demographics. While they've got some experience to go on, they really have to get some cruises under their belt to get the food ordering as spot on as it usually is. Just repeating what I was told.

The ordering situation seemed reasonable it wasn't really an issue for me. It's going to take some time for the staff to gauge things. I certainly never went hungry... Lol

[andrea lynn]

If and when they got live feed for any football game while we were on board, it was shown in the Schooner Bar, on the big screen by the pool and in cabins.

 

We got to see the Florida State Game, but only got highlights of the Ohio State Game because the OSU game was being broadcast on FOX.

Many were disappointed about not having a venue for viewing the football games. On the Explorer the sports bar had several live feeds. As the NY teams have been having such an awful the season it wasn't the end of the world for my hubby.

[andrea lynn]

We were on the same cruise as well and were pleasantly surprised by what we experienced after having read so many of the negative comments. Thanks for posting your review, and I we feel it reflects very close to how we felt about The Quantum... Although we didn't experience the Bumper cars,IFly ,flo rider activities (North Star cancelled due to wind), the fit and finish appeared spot on as well as the overall decor ,design and detail. The dynamic dining works fine ..for us we never felt crowded or delayed. One concern was that the music selection in some of the dining venues could have been more orientated to the theme...and a bit less on the volume, esp when seated below the speakers..(It was often difficult to hear each other )

 

 

Solarium was sometime a bit warm..but not after soaking in the spa...

Agreed the music was a bit loud for us. It should have been more like back ground noise.

[Guest maddycat]

Thanks. Excellent review.........so positive. I'm really looking forward to our Quantum cruise now. All the negative reviews that were posted before yours had me a bit nervous.

[andrea lynn]

I always enjoyed the MDR lunch on sea days with the salad bar and the Brasserie style menu, hence I assume the salad bar disappeared as well. What about breakfast, does it feature the same menu as in the regular MDR?

 

The dynamic dining concept in general seems exciting and as mentioned the dishes are mostly tasty, however the limited choice is somewhat disappointing and I hope RCL will react to all the criticism and think of a creative solution bringing back some MDR classics. The best idea would be in my view to offer a MDR inspired "classic favorites" Menu selection of 2-3 first courses and 2-3 main courses and 1 or two desserts that will alter every day and be available in all dynamic dining venues. This in my view would on one hand bring back the missing variety and would also contribute to satisfy larger groups dining together. Let's say if some members don't like Asian food, they would still enjoy their time at Silk as they can choose dishes from the "classic favorites" Menu that would be available in all dining venues that night. Taking myself for instance, I very much like Asian food, however Asian desserts are a big no go for me, hence if I would be able to choose from a "classic favorite" MDR dessert my Dynamic dining experience will be perfect, then one meal without having a few bites of "Chocolate Sensation" is just not a good meal on board for me ;)

We were fans of the chopped salad bar as well, however the salad bar options in the Windjammer have been expanded and were just as good. Cafe@270 also had a very nice create your own salad bar. The food was beyond amazing better than any other cruise I have been on.

[andrea lynn]

Thanks. Excellent review.........so positive. I'm really looking forward to our Quantum cruise now. All the negative reviews that were posted before yours had me a bit nervous.

Vacation is what you make of it, the Quantum has so much to offer. The were so many new and innovative things to do. We were never bored. Just exploring the ship was an exciting adventure. There were folks of all ages enjoying the bumper cars, I Fly, dance parties, parades, etc... I really got a kick out out some of the ladies in wheelchairs yelling at the bumper car drivers to bump each other. For me the most emotional experience was watching the flow rider staff assisting a handicapped teenage riding the boogie board. Her smile was priceless and the staff went above and beyond to make sure she received the same experience as the other guests. We gave her the loudest round of applause ever she did great.

[Marge106]

Sorry to hog your posts but I just had to reply with a different view of our experience on the Q on the same cruise. We are experienced cruisers, both in our very early 60's with more than 78 cruisers across several different lines.

Our check in time was 10:45 to 11:15, we arrived around 10:15. The people with the ipads were great and I was quite excited how easy it was. Then it all went downhill. It took us over an hour to get on board and we finally boarded at 11:40. So much for the appointment.

We were on deck 13, hump cabin, the cabin was beautiful BUT extremely narrow. We had the couch at the balcony door and I was very disappointed. I like to lay in bed, watch the sunrise and stare out at the water. Because of the closet jutting out from the side of the bed my view of the water was totally blocked unless I slept at the foot of the bed. My outside balcony glass panel was so filthy we could not look out it and there was a hugh slash of paint across the left panel.

The meet and mingle get together, was in MY opinion a disaster. The music hall was too small to handle the large amount of people. We waited on line more than 20 minutes to even get in and then were forced to go upstairs. If you did not have a front seat you could not see anything on the lower level. Not a single officer showed at the meet and mingle, guess they showed all of us.

Dynamic dining was horrible. We ate around 6:30 every evening and I had prebooked all of my reservations. We did not do the Grande and did not do any pay restaurants. We had to wait every night on the same line that people who had no reservations went on. One night we went to Coastal Kitchen and were told they did not have a reservation for us, even though I had printed out my confirmation and it showed on the TV. We were told they could not seat us and that we should check back after 9 pm or go to Windjammer (which is another story for another post). I did not pay all this money to eat at a high school cafeteria.

The esplanade was a joke, perhaps about 50 seats for people to sit. I missed the promenade. When the ship people were busy hacking all of there watches and other assorted merchandise there was no room to move. No parades in the esplanade and defintitely too small for a ship that size.

You state you danced in the music hall every night. You were subjected to the music of the ships choice. There was no option for you to choose a venue with different music. So if you did not like what was going on in the music hall you had no other choices.

I spent a lot of time outdoors. It seemed they were always working on the North Star. Both the indoor and outdoor pool are unusable to people with mobility issues, bad knees bad arms. The ladders into both pools are so steep they are virtually unclimbable. RCCL how about some steps leading into the pools.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE. My husband, who is a cardiac patient, woke at 4 am with shortness of breath. I immediately called the emergency number and was told I had to wait for a nurse to call me back. After a 10 minute wait, the nurse called back and asked me if he was able to speak ????. She suggested I bring him down to the clinic where she would examine him, do an EKG and review it with the doctor who came in at 8 am. I should bring my husband, who was experiencing heavy shortness of breath down from 13 to 2 so she could examine him. Are you kidding me. No follow up call from anyone on the ship to check up on him. Nice to know that RCCL really 'cares' about the passengers.

I did not even touch on the food, or my opinion of dynamic dining. It is obvious that the crew is not happy. I can't say I blame them because I was not happy.

Believe it or not, this is just a brief summary, I have so much more to say. Glad some people were able to enjoy.

Bring on the flaming

[new seekers]

I asked the Captain on the Bridge tour how many was on board,he referred to a chart on the wall and said there were 3100 on board around a thousand short of capacity.

[beachnative]

We were also on the December 1 cruise and are currently on the December 12 cruise (B2B).

 

We were so impressed with the Quantum and would have given it a 12 on the 1-10 scale.

 

Dynamic Diniing is a huge success.

 

On the current cruise there was a glitch with Dynamic Dining on night 2 for Grande and Silk resulting in long lines. We ate in Chic and had no lines. They are still adjusting.

 

The sign-up process for North Star has been altered for this cruise and tickets are being diistributed on a first come basis in the Via on the night before riding the North Star.

 

We embarked the ship in 10 minutes however our friends who boarded for the current cruise encountered long lines.

 

The BEST thing about this cruise is that the whining, complainers in the Concierge Lounge have departed and it is now a wonderful, positive experience to be in there. There is a major attitude change throughout the ship because there are 2/3 fewer D, D+, and Pinnacle guests on the current cruise. Last week we observed some guests berating crew and some even reduced the crew to tears.

 

This ship is amazing and the crew is wonderful.

[Jakeplays]

thank you so much........we leave Saturday with our four kids and I was getting so worried with the negativity.......I know we will have a great time. Question: is the ship decorated Christmas? It is a first time away over the holiday. thanks again and glad you had a great cruise............Jenny