LIVE - Couple's Blog from Quantum - Feb. 20, 2015

[Sea Dame 1]

We were on QOS in January and you can get Eggs Benedict in American Icon Grill every morning for breakfast. They also have a mini buffet as well as food served to your table.

[Dave85]

We were on QOS in January and you can get Eggs Benedict in American Icon Grill every morning for breakfast. They also have a mini buffet as well as food served to your table.

 

 

Is it on the menu now or did you have to specially request it off-menu? I recall it was not on the menu initially.

[flowergirl22]

Loving the review! I'll be boarding next Sunday, and this tread is getting me very excited. I'm picking out DVDs to bring on board, and it would be helpful to know what movies are currently showing (free) on board. If any of you guys on board now, don't mind jumping in here, I would appreciate it.

Edited February 23, 2015 by flowergirl22

[roenoe]

I paid 120 for 1 device.

[lkuitwaard]

I paid 120 for 1 device.

 

Is that price with or without a Crown and Anchor discount?

[FunCruiser59]

Thank you Sea Dame;) I can now sleep LOL

[vrock]

One question what was the weight limit for ripcord?

[Merion_Mom]

One question what was the weight limit for ripcord?

 

230# if you are under 6 feet tall, 250# if you are taller.

[Merion_Mom]

A word about the public bathrooms - many of the doors don't lock. Those that do show red on the outside, a la portapotty technology. Still, people don't seem to be figuring this out. The automated flushing works intermittently. I think you have to say a Voodoo chant and stand on one foot.

 

And I've invented a new game called "Drunk or land legs?" wherein you have to guess the cause of a fellow passenger's weaving. Seriously not sure sometimes.

 

I never encountered a door that didn't lock. Your remark confuses me. :confused:

 

And every one flushed for me. Maybe not the instant that I stood up, but by the time I was out at the sink.

 

:)

[Merion_Mom]

The restaurant in the MDR on Royal has an excellent salad bar. Its only open on sea days. Don't pass it up. We loved it. You point out what you want, and they put it together before you. So it's not a typical salad bar experience.

 

Again loving the dual review. Very fun to read.

 

Sent using trained typing rabbits.

 

I believe the salad bar is set up in American Icon for lunch. American Icon is open on sea days serving lunch.

 

Yes, American Icon Grille has the Tutti Salad Bar.

 

:)

[vrock]

Thank you.

[curryshake]

I never encountered a door that didn't lock. Your remark confuses me. :confused:

 

And every one flushed for me. Maybe not the instant that I stood up, but by the time I was out at the sink.

 

:)

 

There are a lot of bathroom doors that have locks that don't line up with the slot for the latch. Perhaps the ship has shifted/adjusted since you were aboard. For instance, when I went to the bathroom near the Solarium, three of the six stalls wouldn't lock, so there was a line. All the women there were complaining about it.

 

And electronic devices in bathrooms always seem to start failing over time. I'm a fan of fully manual bathrooms myself. Still, I've only had two toilets on the entire ship that I never heard flush even after I left the stall. I couldn't find any button to flush them manually either.

[Merion_Mom]

There are a lot of bathroom doors that have locks that don't line up with the slot for the latch. Perhaps the ship has shifted/adjusted since you were aboard. For instance, when I went to the bathroom near the Solarium, three of the six stalls wouldn't lock, so there was a line. All the women there were complaining about it.

 

And electronic devices in bathrooms always seem to start failing over time. I'm a fan of fully manual bathrooms myself. Still, I've only had two toilets on the entire ship that I never heard flush even after I left the stall. I couldn't find any button to flush them manually either.

 

You are correct that there is no "manual override" switch.

 

But I doubt that much has changed on board in 9 days. :D

[Sea Dame 1]

@dave85

As I recall it was on the menu everyday at the Icon.

[curryshake]

Day 4 - At sea

 

We are now at about the same latitude as Havana and the ocean is about 19,000 feet deep here. It is 75 degrees out.

 

The seas were rougher last night than at any other point of the cruise. That, combined with probably going to bed too soon after a large dinner, led to a long night for me. I was afraid I was getting seasick at first, but luckily that passed relatively early in the evening and I was able to surf the internet without disturbing DH as he slept.

 

Lord. They just silenced the TVs and announced an Alpha alarm for 270. My hasty research shows that that's a medical emergency, but after reading about the small incinerator fire on this cruise a couple trips back, you can bet my heart stopped for a second there. I hope whoever is ill is going to be okay. :(

 

I'm sitting on the balcony writing this and I just saw some flying fish. Awesome.

 

We had dinner at Wonderland last night. DH may be writing his own review because I believe our opinions of the place were different. I appreciate molecular gastronomy (the type of cuisine Wonderland specializes in) in its place, but felt like the restaurant really sacrificed flavor and quality for the sake of being unique. We let the wait staff serve us their recommended dishes so we could sample more of everything "family style." There were only two dishes that I liked, and those were the only two dishes that were somewhat traditional - beets in a yogurt sauce and the prime rib. Both were cooked using molecular gastronomy techniques (sous vide for the ribs), and were excellent. I'm not normally a prime rib person, but the meat was wonderfully flavorful and unbelievably tender. I cut it with my fork. Other dishes were unmemorable in taste, with a few being downright bad, in my opinion.

 

As for the service and atmosphere...it seemed like the wait staff was under a lot of pressure to get us in and out. Our dishes were brought to us by a number of servers, but our main waiter was very grumpy in the beginning and then warmed up toward the end when the restaurant emptied a bit and things calmed down. He told us at the beginning that dishes would be served rapidly at times and then there would be "ten minute breaks...while we wait on the kitchen." I thought that was an odd thing to admit to a customer. But he was right. Dishes came flying to our table for the first half hour. I couldn't keep up and suggested to DH that if we slowed down, the wait staff would notice and do the same. But that didn't work and the food piled up around us. Then there was a long stretch of waiting before the main course and again before dessert. The music consisted of a lot of movie soundtrack pieces (Lord of the Rings, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and a couple others I've forgotten) and then switched to unique performances of classical pieces. I thought it was nice. The place settings were fun and the decor is what you've seen in photos. The place was a LOT smaller than I thought it would be.

 

All in all, I'm glad we went to see what it was like, but I have no desire to eat there again. I'm glad we have reservations to eat at Jamie's again. It's a total contrast to Wonderland in the rustic simplicity of its food. And the quality of its dishes.

 

Time for breakfast. We have a couple's massage at the spa at 11:30. More on that later.

Edited February 23, 2015 by curryshake

[ftn807]

 

But I doubt that much has changed on board in 9 days. :D

 

Actually, you're right. I just went around to all the women's public restrooms on the ship, and all the locks work, toilets flush just fine.

[curryshake]

The top deck and pools are full this morning. It feels so nice to sit in the full sun with a nice wind keeping it from being too hot.

[JezzaC]

In fact, no, the drink packages can not be used for the automated wine dispensers, according to the Vintages staff. But the staff can serve you any wines in them with the package. I've actually been meaning to point that out. Speaking of Vintages, we've really enjoyed the wines and the atmosphere there. It's the perfect place for a pre-dinner wine. If you don't feel like sitting at the bar, table or couch in there, you can take it across the hall to one of the many comfy chairs and couches. Or take it for a walk to your next destination.

 

Really - so staff can get you wine from enomatic machine and include it in the package? Could it be so that it is only applied to wines which are normally also available in the glass (and for 12$)? Or can you get also wines which aren't normally available by the glass?

[Host Faith]

Note to self: (and anybody else who cares)

Spellbound (Napa Valley) petite syrah is one of the most pleasant red wines for an aperitif I've had in a long time. Have to find a bottle of this after the cruise.

 

Perfect, thanks for posting. I was hoping there would be a good petite syrah onboard. Note taken!

 

I'm really enjoying your blog! Thank you for bringing us along during your vacation. :)

[ftn807]

Very enjoyable day here so far. After a serviceable breakfast at Windjammer (I had a made-to-order omelet from the station all the way aft; we sat outside and ate) we walked around topside on deck 15, enjoying the sun and breeze. Then we chilled in the Solarium before hitting up the spa for a wonderful couples massage. Then it was back to the Solarium for some hot tub/in-pool chair/lounge chair relaxation.

 

We don't eat (at Chic) until 9 tonight, so we checked out Michael's Genuine Pub for a late lunch. It was terrible, and Eduardo was the worst waiter ever.

 

[Or maybe that last bit was wrong. Better consult my wife's blog post, the one she is writing at the same time as me.]

 

Now we're chilling in Two70. Still absolutely love hanging in here. Nothing much to do until Starwater tonight at 7:30. That is definitely not a complaint.

[curryshake]

The 75 minute couple's Swedish massage at the spa was great. I had Sujie and she asked how much pressure I liked and then applied just the right amount the entire time. It was one of the best massages I've had in a long time. I almost fell asleep once or twice because I was so relaxed.

 

After that we sat in some lounge-like chairs that are placed in a shallow pool in the solarium. Between the sun and the lapping water of the pool (the ship is still rocking, but not too bad), I almost fell asleep. I'm beginning to sense a pattern here.

 

We had a late lunch at Michael's Genuine Pub because we're having a very late dinner tonight at Chic. We ordered the pub board, and it's difficult to say which I enjoyed better - that board or the board from Jamie's. This one had three kinds of meat, including speck (one of my favorites!) americano; three cheeses, including a really good and creamy goat's milk cheese; fire grilled sour dough bread slices; dijon mustard and apricot jam; and a variety of Michael's bread and butter house pickles and olives. DH had the Michael's brown rice and sugar cane ale, which was not sweet, had a wonderful flavor, and paired perfectly with the board. I like beer, but I'm really into mixology (I have a large herb garden every year that I use, in part, for this hobby), so I had a Plantation, made from gin, agave, basil, lime, and grapefruit. It was excellent. We also got an order of deviled eggs. I thought they were too salty, but DH loved them.

 

Our waiter was Eduardo, and he was very attentive and informative. He brought us extra dijon and bread, at no extra charge, and had a great sense of humor.

 

I'll post some photos in a bit. We're getting quite near to St. Thomas. I hope that means we'll have calmer waters tonight than we did last night. Still, I'm not complaining.

Edited February 23, 2015 by curryshake

[curryshake]

Menu from Wonderland.

 

 

Relaxation lounge at the spa.

 

 

Chainmail curtains in the spa. DH said he knows where he's running if the ship is attacked by pirates.

 

 

Menus from Michael's.

 

 

[curryshake]

Menu from Michael's.

 

[Folk Singer]

thanks for posting.:):)

[Donsyb]

The 75 minute couple's Swedish massage at the spa was great. I had Sujie and she asked how much pressure I liked and then applied just the right amount the entire time. It was one of the best massages I've had in a long time. I almost fell asleep once or twice because I was so relaxed.

 

After that we sat in some lounge-like chairs that are placed in a shallow pool in the solarium. Between the sun and the lapping water of the pool (the ship is still rocking, but not too bad), I almost fell asleep. I'm beginning to sense a pattern here.

 

We had a late lunch at Michael's Genuine Pub because we're having a very late dinner tonight at Chic. We ordered the pub board, and it's difficult to say which I enjoyed better - that board or the board from Jamie's. This one had three kinds of meat, including speck (one of my favorites!) americano; three cheeses, including a really good and creamy goat's milk cheese; fire grilled sour dough bread slices; dijon mustard and apricot jam; and a variety of Michael's bread and butter house pickles and olives. DH had the Michael's brown rice and sugar cane ale, which was not sweet, had a wonderful flavor, and paired perfectly with the board. I like beer, but I'm really into mixology (I have a large herb garden every year that I use, in part, for this hobby), so I had a Plantation, made from gin, agave, basil, lime, and grapefruit. It was excellent. We also got an order of deviled eggs. I thought they were too salty, but DH loved them.

 

Our waiter was Eduardo, and he was very attentive and informative. He brought us extra dijon and bread, at no extra charge, and had a great sense of humor.

 

I'll post some photos in a bit. We're getting quite near to St. Thomas. I hope that means we'll have calmer waters tonight than we did last night. Still, I'm not complaining.

 

Was the beer included in the drinks package?