Such opposite reviews of Quantum

[Jimmers]

People with bad experiences tend to write more reviews than those who had nice or avarage experiences.

That's why I believe there are so many bad reviews for QOS.

 

 

Sent via iPad using Tapatalk

 

I don't think so in this case. I think there are so many negative reviews because the product delivered by RCI was such a huge departure from what cruisers have come to expect from them.

 

And I'm not sure I agree with the OP that the reviews are so far apart. You have a few "everything went right" and a few "everything went wrong" but most of the reviews fall into the "mixed bag" category with most complaints being about DD.

[ReneFlores]

Now that's funny, complain about labeling then label us, " Considering the audience in cruise critic seems to be older than 40+ "

 

Complain about maturity then curse, " No wonder the world is so f’ed up, that attitude is what you’re passing into your children, grandchildren."

 

Us old geezers used to have a pot calling kettle saying, but that dates me :)

 

Everything is in the eye of the beholder.

 

George in NY

 

No offence but i think you need to get your dictionary, I wasn’t labeling you by saying cruise critic audience is older, i was stating a fact.

 

If you need to know what labeling means then:

 

Label:

1. a short word or phrase descriptive of a person, group, intellectual movement, etc.
   
2. a word or phrase indicating that what follows belongs in a particular category or classification: The following definition has the label “Archit.”.
   

 

Calling someone a Cheerleader, a sellout, a hater, that would be laveling.

 

¿how is stating the age demographics of this website doing that?

 

I only mentioned age because age is supposed to bring maturity, experience and knowledge. I expect more of an adult conversation than disrespectfully discarding others opinions just because they were different than yours.

 

We get it, you got a bad experience on the quantum and I think that’s terrible. There is no excuse for Royal Caribbean to treat us as guinea pigs, especially when the main reason for it is to increase profits.

 

I would be mad too about spending my hard earn money in something that didn’t meet even the most basic expectations. But you need to realize that just because you had a bad experience doesn’t mean everyone else will.

 

Stop calling other people names, I thought that was only done in Elementary School.

 

We’re not the ones you should be mad at, we don’t work at royal caribbean, we are people just like you who enjoy cruising and are thankful for everyone sharing their opinions with us on this boards.

[Tyler80]

Do you have any thoughts on why Quantum's reviews are so widely opposite?

 

Psychologically, I'm curious if anyone sees some resemblances or demographics in the love / hate of this ship.

 

Psychologically speaking, people don't like change. And there is lies the extreme likes or dislikes about the ship.

[Sea Dame 1]

I couldn't agree more... People don't like change! That is is crux of this whole negativity thing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[JL&Fam]

For those not liking change, would you have been happy with the "same old, same old" ?

 

And if so why even consider going on a new Ship full of new technology & new concepts?

 

That baffles me.

 

Cheers,

Jeff

[rbschultz]

For those not liking change, would you have been happy with the "same old, same old" ?

 

And if so why even consider going on a new Ship full of new technology & new concepts?

 

That baffles me.

 

Cheers,

Jeff

 

I agree. Especially when the motto is "This Changes Everything"

[patramark]

I have followed Countdown to Quantum since the day it was announced that it would be sailing from Cape Liberty, knowing that at some point I would be sailing on her. I was sooo happy that my family and I were privileged to book one year ago and plan for our New Years 2015 cruise in a D3 balcony on Deck 13!

Reservations had to be made for the shows, which, courtesy of Cruise Critic, was no big deal since I had done it for our Oasis cruise and it worked out perfectly. Then came the Dynamic Dining announcement. Trying to coordinate shows and restaurants was a major pain, but research and perseverance got us seven nights of dining and whatever shows were able to be booked in May 2014. Sorry, but I am adamant that I shouldn't have to pay to eat in specialty restaurants in spite of the fact that I've tried a few on previous cruises and they were good.

Then in November, Royal Caribbean pulls a switch with the Menus! Complete disgust with the choices, I mean, really hot dogs in pretzels for an appetizer and a hamburger and fries as an entree in a dining room. All right, maybe it is iconic, but when Royal Caribbean does it, it's just cheap food served cold. Silk was another disaster with no appetizers available for our peanut allergy cruiser and no care or concern displayed by our server, a departure from our previous experience in the Main Dining Room.

I could go on but, let me say that the staff in Guest Services was overwhelmed, Shore Excursions still require you to speak to a staff member and the Cruise Director and his staff were lousy and certainly didn't work very hard at bringing the WOW to this cruise! Activities were nonexistent on sea days and those that were available were mostly pay to participate.

I get it, they are trying to be different and there were many areas where Quantum scored very well. Specifically, the cabins were spacious and well organized and we received the same wonderful service from our cabin attendant that we have come to expect on a Royal Caribbean cruise. And yes, there were towel animals! The ship itself is absolutely gorgeous and the entertainment is exciting and different!

If, as has been reported, RCCL is trying to appeal to a younger audience, they missed the mark with this cruise. My daughter (24) and her cousins (21 & 25) were bored during the day and certainly didn't find any fun, club experiences like they found on Oasis.

What I was left with after this cruise was, how much fun was missing and how much Royal Caribbean has cheapened the experience since I began sailing with them in 2008.

[Jimmers]

Gotta love the people who haven't set foot on the ship yet, but have so much to say about why so many people were not happy with it:rolleyes:.

[kiyoko]

I couldn't agree more... People don't like change! That is is crux of this whole negativity thing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Were you on the Quantum? To say that the "Crux of this whole negativity thing" is change is not true for us. I guess you didn't read my posts.

[kiyoko]

Gotta love the people who haven't set foot on the ship yet, but have so much to say about why so many people were not happy with it:rolleyes:.

 

Totally agree.

[Bmulder1]

I couldn't agree more... People don't like change! That is is crux of this whole negativity thing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

LOL...So now we go from "Negative Nellies" and "Moaners and Groaners" to "we don't like change" That is NOT the crux of the whole thing. The crux of the whole thing is that honestly I don't care if I am in My Time Dining, the 6PM slot, the 8PM slot or DD slot...I TRULY COULDN'T CARE LESS. What I do care about is long waits, poor service, 3 and a 1/2 hour dinners, getting only one round of drinks, missing reservations, missing shows because of slow service etc. THAT was my experience and THAT is what my negative review was about. Why can't the people who had positive experiences just accept that perhaps they were on a cruise with less passengers or more staff and that people with a bad experience just MAY have been on a cruise with a maximum # of passengers and minimum # of staff and gotten a bad deal?

[kiyoko]

LOL...So now we go from "Negative Nellies" and "Moaners and Groaners" to "we don't like change" That is NOT the crux of the whole thing. The crux of the whole thing is that honestly I don't care if I am in My Time Dining, the 6PM slot, the 8PM slot or DD slot...I TRULY COULDN'T CARE LESS. What I do care about is long waits, poor service, 3 and a 1/2 hour dinners, getting only one round of drinks, missing reservations, missing shows because of slow service etc. THAT was my experience and THAT is what my negative review was about. Why can't the people who had positive experiences just accept that perhaps they were on a cruise with less passengers or more staff and that people with a bad experience just MAY have been on a cruise with a maximum # of passengers and minimum # of staff and gotten a bad deal?

 

LOL, indeed! It's to the point where it's laughable. They just don't get it or refuse to, no matter how many times we try to explain.

[kiyoko]

I am on the Feb 2 sailing and have been following most of the posts.

It seems a large number of the very positive reviews come from Diamond or above posters.

 

I wonder if their higher status helps them work through the lines and other services issues more efficiently and with help from concierges etc. and softens the impact of the current problems?

 

I ask because I am not Diamond or higher and am concerned.

 

My interpretation of the unhappy people is that their issues are not change so much as lack of service; long lines, dropped reservations, difficulty in making reservations, over worked staff,etc.

 

I am surprised that these types of problems seem to be taking so long to resolve. My expectations of RCL are higher than current performance would justify.

Your question reminded me of an incident that happened when we had been waiting in line for 45 minutes with reservations at Chic. As we approached the podium, a passenger who had not been waiting in line flashes an RCI business card with something scribbled on it. I wasn't able to see what it said. Anyway, as soon as the hostess sees the card she instructs the guy to stand on the side and told him that he will be seated shortly. As I walked past him I said to him(nicely) I wished I had that card too. I'm guessing it was some high level executive's business card. So, even though a Diamond, which got me nothing in relation to the long lines, one could make friends with the CEO and make sure to bring the card to flash around. Or be like that sneaky couple at Grande who snuck in without waiting by pretending to have been waiting in line.

[Bmulder1]

For those not liking change, would you have been happy with the "same old, same old" ?

 

And if so why even consider going on a new Ship full of new technology & new concepts?

 

That baffles me.

 

Cheers,

Jeff

 

Once again - I have no problem with change. I do have a problem with how it's executed.

[Phoenix1949]

It would seem from posts from those on board now that the issues with DD, long lines, technology and under staffing are being resolved.

[ReneFlores]

[quote name='Bmulder1']LOL...So now we go from "Negative Nellies" and "Moaners and Groaners" to "we don't like change" That is NOT the crux of the whole thing. The crux of the whole thing is that honestly I don't care if I am in My Time Dining, the 6PM slot, the 8PM slot or DD slot...I TRULY COULDN'T CARE LESS. What I do care about is long waits, poor service, 3 and a 1/2 hour dinners, getting only one round of drinks, missing reservations, missing shows because of slow service etc. THAT was my experience and THAT is what my negative review was about. Why can't the people who had positive experiences just accept that perhaps they were on a cruise with less passengers or more staff and that people with a bad experience just MAY have been on a cruise with a maximum # of passengers and minimum # of staff and gotten a bad deal?[/QUOTE]

I don’t think you are neither a "Negative Nellie", nor a "Moaner", nor someone that doesn’t like change. What many people is failing to realize is that the ship was announced and available to put up a reservation before many details of the ship itself were made known, no one actually knew many details of the Quantum until it was almost ready to set sail.

Royal utterly screwed up Quantum’s launch, no one is questioning that and it’s bad that you had to pay to be “Beta testers”, I don’t think there should be an excuse for the bad service on dynamic dining, nor horrible noise in many cabins, etc. but as unfortunate as it was, [B]it’s not like Royal was just going to let the Quantum and the Anthem die… obviously they were going to try to fix the issues, and if the latest reviews are a good reference, I would say they are doing a decent job.[/B]

Yeah the Quantum is not perfect and probably never will be the “WoW” that royal, or we wanted it to be, all we can do is keep telling royal that it is not OK to lower even the most basic customer service, and hope they listen (for the ones that are already booked and cant cancel).

[nenasmum]

I will be fascinated to see what happens with the long lines issue once the Quantum hits China. Having travelled to China a few times, in my experience queuing at all is not a concept many Chinese readily embrace. Jennie


Sent from my iPad using Forums

[kiyoko]

[quote name='nenasmum']Having travelled to China a few times, in my experience queuing at all is not a concept many Chinese readily embrace. Jennie


Sent from my iPad using Forums[/QUOTE]

Agree. Also really like the polite way you put it.

[kiyoko]

I'm beginning to wonder if some of the problems we encountered was partly because our sailing might have had a higher passenger count than others. Perhaps RCI should consider lowering the maximum capacity of the ship until those issues are resolved. But doubt that would happen with its bean counters.

[Biker19]

[quote name='kiyoko']I'm beginning to wonder if some of the problems we encountered was partly because our sailing might have had a higher passenger count than others. Perhaps RCI should consider lowering the maximum capacity of the ship until those issues are resolved. But doubt that would happen with its bean counters.[/QUOTE]

That is happening (lower guest count) indirectly by the high prices. The RCI CEO declared that they wanted to limit discounting and I think Quantum is being beta tested for this as well. There certainly seemed to be more issues on the xmas cruise (with 4800 pass) vs. the 12/1 cruise (which I think had only about 3500). Edited January 8, 2015 by Biker19

[wendychloecruiser]

Having had been on the Maiden on Nov 2-10, I assure you all that until you have sailed on Quantum, one has no business commenting on the shortcomings of this beautiful ship and its painful introduction to the fleet. So many things went wrong that at the time, I was truly stunned and embarrassed that I am still trying to convince my DH to go on another RC ship. I have been on many RC ships and as a D+ have been loyal to the line since about 1988. We really felt sorry for the staff that had to deal with all the issues. I have no doubt that for some people, frustration got the best of them which was vented on the staff. Except for the incredibly rude Chop's manager, all staff were doing their best in a very unfortunate situation that in which they found themselves. All our reservations were scrambled or cancelled. As for the shows, Momma Mia was exceptional. The show in 270 was half done...I saw what it was supposed to look like on YouTube (for free). We could tell at the time that some things were missing...like one aerialist when three "swings" were dropped from the ceiling. An obviously missing light show on the singers' dress...as why else would very visible people be shaking the panels of her dress? I could go on and on about issues that were a huge disappointment. Some concepts were excellent, such as IFly...it is very well run and the staff are exceptional.
As for the restaurants, I was actually looking forward to dynamic dining but they messed it up so badly that at present, it's a concept that needs a whole lot more time to role out. Or at least a functioning computer system to handle it. RCI has a mess on their hands and I wouldn't even like to be a fly on the wall at meetings that must (should?) be taking place.

[Jimmers]

[quote name='wendychloecruiser']Having had been on the Maiden on Nov 2-10, I assure you all that until you have sailed on Quantum, one has no business commenting on the shortcomings of this beautiful ship and its painful introduction to the fleet. So many things went wrong that at the time, I was truly stunned and embarrassed that I am still trying to convince my DH to go on another RC ship. I have been on many RC ships and as a D+ have been loyal to the line since about 1988. We really felt sorry for the staff that had to deal with all the issues. I have no doubt that for some people, frustration got the best of them which was vented on the staff. Except for the incredibly rude Chop's manager, all staff were doing their best in a very unfortunate situation that in which they found themselves. All our reservations were scrambled or cancelled. As for the shows, Momma Mia was exceptional. The show in 270 was half done...I saw what it was supposed to look like on YouTube (for free). We could tell at the time that some things were missing...like one aerialist when three "swings" were dropped from the ceiling. An obviously missing light show on the singers' dress...as why else would very visible people be shaking the panels of her dress? I could go on and on about issues that were a huge disappointment. Some concepts were excellent, such as IFly...it is very well run and the staff are exceptional.
As for the restaurants, I was actually looking forward to dynamic dining but they messed it up so badly that at present, it's a concept that needs a whole lot more time to role out. Or at least a functioning computer system to handle it. RCI has a mess on their hands and I wouldn't even like to be a fly on the wall at meetings that must (should?) be taking place.[/quote]

Tell your hubby to shake it off and get back on another cruise as soon as possible. I felt the same way after our experience, really knocked the wind out of my cruising sails.

But we're jumping back on our tried and true Oasis in April and I've never looked more forward to a cruise.

[wendychloecruiser]

One of the criterion for me to marry him was that he'd "put up with" my cruising obsession! Just kidding... That being said...we have two scheduled...on The Eclipse, April and August! We do like X. RCI might be a tough sell.

[Hoopster95]

[quote name='Biker19']That is happening (lower guest count) indirectly by the high prices. The RCI CEO declared that they wanted to limit discounting and I think Quantum is being beta tested for this as well. There certainly seemed to be more issues on the xmas cruise (with 4800 pass) vs. the 12/1 cruise (which I think had only about 3500).[/QUOTE]

Type this into Google Search: "Quantum of the seas full capacity"
[B]Capacity
4,180 passengers (double occupancy); 4,905 passengers (maximum occupancy)[/B]

This is a great point and I thought quite a bit about it when the following full Bahamas and Xmas cruise started reporting bad reviews and long lines. I'm guessing due to cost of the cruise not many kids aboard either of those "full" sailings I truly doubt they had over say 4300-4400 with the pullmans and extra beds not being used to full capacity... does anyone here have the exact number? If I remember right, the 12/1 sailing was at about 3800.

So having said that, I thought how would an extra 500 cruisers affect lines imo in the various mass venues? This is only 13% more people... are there only 13% more lines... or unbelievable massive line-ups seemingly 500% worse than what I encountered on the 12/1 sailing? Edited January 8, 2015 by Hoopster95

[DM_KidAtHeart]

My opinion and it is only an opinion:

1. Quantum had some real and serious issues with the new technology. And there are issues for them to work out about the new dining system, especially no assistant waiters.

2. Many of the early cruisers booked the ship having no way to know what they were booking. Details were slow to come out.

3. Admit or not, change is hard and I don't just mean for the cruisers. I mean for the staff too. There have been a lot of major changes with Quantum. Just the sheer number was bound to cause problems for the early sailings, and people had paid a premium for these.

All this combined has made for a lot of bad reviews. But it seems to me the positive ones have slowly been increasing as RCI works out its issues with all this change.


Sent from iPhone using Cruise Critic App