Quantum 12/1 - 12/12 Review

[andrea lynn]

Having sailed on the 2 night preinaugural cruise in November, I have been most interested in the comments of those who have sailed since on the Quantum, and who have paid real dollars for what seems to be, in general, miserable vacations.

At the naming ceremony, it was interesting to heard Richard Fain talk about the ship in terms of attracting people who have not yet cruised. That seems to imply a new generation of millenials to whom RCI wants to introduce the whole concept of cruising. That was obviously the intent of EVERY technologic gimmic on the ship, right down to the dynamic dining tablets. The MBA's in marketing in Miami were certainly well-intentioned in their quest to change every paradigm of cruising, but throwing the baby out with the bathwater obviously has failed, as evidenced by the "delay" (read "elimination") of the planned DD rollout on the Oasis. Any adult at HQ in Miami should have the common sense at this point to realize that the superb wait staff throughout the fleet is simply not tech-savvy enough to handle tablets, and people can only be enthralled so long with a robot mixing a drink. Throw out your Quantum business plan, or better yet, have some of the execs see for themselves what a mess has been created on the Silicon of the Seas. At what point will Messieurs Fain and Goldstein realize that they have a New Coke problem on their hands, and go back to square one with this ship? If a millenial has not yet cruised, trust me, they are not going to, Quantum or no Quantum. Stop screwing things up for tens of thousans of the rest of us.

While I read the that the Quantum class was designed to appeal to new cruisers, as a Diamond Member I really enjoyed sailing on Lady Q. It's nice to switch things up a bit every once in a while. I was most impressed with the quality of the food. I don't do premium venues and thought that complimentary venues were excellent minus the service. From what I am reading it looks like RCCL has taken the service compliant seriously and has been implementing many changes since the 12/01 sailing. I certainly feel like I got my money's worth from this vacation.

[Keasel]

None of my reservations showed the night before sailing and as I mentioned in my review the Royal IQ App did not show any either. I waited on the dining line for over an hour and a half before confirming that everything was OK. To add injury to insult when I returned to my room there was a print out listing all of my reservations as booked prior to boarding. I hope you will have the same positive experience with dining. I suggest you check your TV before waiting on that long long to see if your reservations exist. Good luck!

 

The listing of reservations we had in our room had our stateroom number but was a completely different set of reservations. So that actually caused our concern.

 

We went to Wonderland to check if our reservation was still good for that evening. The guy at Wonderland was nice enough to check the rest of our reservations. The reservations in the computer were as they were booked prior to the cruise.

 

I'm not sure how accurate the TV listing is. We had an extra reservation show up for one night. The real reservation was still there, but there was an extra one also.

[ga1928]

I'm astounded at how many people are giving the Quantum 5 stars, but commenting on this minor little matter that the service is horrendous and the food stinks. I'm glad someone mentioned the stock price, because that is what is solely behind EVERY change that has been instituted on the Quantum. I don't go on a cruise to play with bumper cars, so the line could stretch from NJ to Cancun for all I care. I cruise for the service, the food, and the friendliness, and unless fellow Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members vote with their feet and avoid any ship with Dynamic Dining, RCI will never get the message that they made a mistake in attempting to institute it fleet-wide.

[roe2ship]

Thank you for such a well balanced detailed review. So refreshing to read lots of positives. Your choices at Chic is exactly what I planned when menus were first introduced.:)

[bevypatt]

Really enjoyed your message about your impressions. I have a question. My friend and I are on the March 21 cruise and still cannot make entertainment reservations. If we book all meals at 6:00 pm, do you think we will be able to go to any entertainment that is scheduled that evening?

[ncbn0902]

Really enjoyed your message about your impressions. I have a question. My friend and I are on the March 21 cruise and still cannot make entertainment reservations. If we book all meals at 6:00 pm, do you think we will be able to go to any entertainment that is scheduled that evening?

 

We are on the same cruise as you and we have made all of our reservations for 5:30 to be on the safe side.

See you soon

[bearandbee]

Really enjoyed your message about your impressions. I have a question. My friend and I are on the March 21 cruise and still cannot make entertainment reservations. If we book all meals at 6:00 pm, do you think we will be able to go to any entertainment that is scheduled that evening?

 

We were on the Dec 1st sailing (11 nights) and ate most evening at 6:00pm and were able to make it to all the different shows.:)

[andrea lynn]

Really enjoyed your message about your impressions. I have a question. My friend and I are on the March 21 cruise and still cannot make entertainment reservations. If we book all meals at 6:00 pm, do you think we will be able to go to any entertainment that is scheduled that evening?

You should have no problem with the shows as they had 2 shows each night one around 7 and the other around 9:30/10ish.

[nicmur143]

most people who are on these just want to say that they are the first to cruise on a new ship and don't necessarily expect to be wowed.. it is just a status thing.. I agree with anyone who thinks that there wont be kinks to work out stop complaining and wait to sail later when things are worked out!!

[DaniDanielle]

REALLY:) We did not realize we booked the Inaugural for status. We were looking for something special.....

[richiab]

most people who are on these just want to say that they are the first to cruise on a new ship and don't necessarily expect to be wowed.. it is just a status thing.. I agree with anyone who thinks that there wont be kinks to work out stop complaining and wait to sail later when things are worked out!!

 

Not trying to be arguementative, but I was wondering how you know this?

[thezeit]

That was a fabulous review. Thank you. I am sailing Monday. I was real nervous based on early reviews, but most of the recent reviews are all positive. My wife had her nails done Thursday, and the cashier just came off the Quantum. She said she didn't want the cruise to end and that everything was great. Now I am happy and really am looking forward to boarding. All I have to worry about is the snow forecast for Sunday and Monday. I have Oasis reserved in November.

[Clancy14]

That was a fabulous review. Thank you. I am sailing Monday. I was real nervous based on early reviews, but most of the recent reviews are all positive. My wife had her nails done Thursday, and the cashier just came off the Quantum. She said she didn't want the cruise to end and that everything was great. Now I am happy and really am looking forward to boarding. All I have to worry about is the snow forecast for Sunday and Monday. I have Oasis reserved in November.

 

I, too, just came off the 12 night Quantum. I am a Diamond C&A, and sailed in a suite. "Everything was NOT great" but that is a subjective opinion and not a blanket statement! I'm glad she had a good time (the cashier) but you have to wonder/ask....her age, her past sailing experience etc. I found the crew, the cabins, the meals, the dining rooms, to be excellent. However, the entertainment (day, evening and pool), the activities staff, Martinique, many venues on the ship - Shore Excursion Office, Guest Relations Desks, Future Cruise Desk, the Library, the Music Hall (especially), Computer Center (only 4 PC's), a VERY smoky and tight Casino, to be lacking in planning, layout, and guest convenience.

 

All in all it wouldn't ruin a cruise, but it was definitely enough to make you wonder why RCCL would spend all that money and get so much wrong ?

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise and great weather! - Miriam