Is Quantum the worst ship ever?

[ozbrian]

Quantum of the seas - Singapore to Shanghai - June 2015

 

What they did poorly.

 

Embarking - C&A priority lines we full of people with no C&A status. The only priority lines being policed properly were the “high rollers” and suites.

 

Once on board we were told to let guest services know if we were visiting Maccau or Shenzhen on the Hong Kong stop. We let them know the first day. We then followed up a day later asking what the procedures were for getting the passports and were told that we were on the list and we would be notified the night before.

On the night before, the cruise compass said that guests going to Maccau or Shenzhen had notes in their room. We did not have a note so rang guest services to be told that we just needed to pick them up from Wonderland in the morning. We arrived at the designated time but they weren’t there and one of the staff rather rudely implied that it was our fault because the cut off for notifying them was 6pm the night before -sigh.

We waited while they checked and were told that they were downstairs in the customs hall and we had to go there to collect them. Well they weren’t there either and the people there sent upstairs in the hall to collect them, and no big surprise, they weren’t there either. There were a whole group of people they stuffed around who had to wait for someone to go find their passports. Finally, two and a half hours after the original start time they found our passports and they sent us out of the terminal.

But it wasn’t over. When we got to Shenzhen, we were told that we were not processed properly at the port and we could not leave Hong Kong for Shenzhen because we didn’t have a “landing” card. This meant another hour delay at the border while they fixed that up. In total THREE AND A HALF HOURS wasted, after doing every single thing that Quantum requested of us.

 

My wife is Gluten Intolerent and most times they would only offer jelly or prepackaged cookies as desert. The gluten free bread was also abysmal. The menus had lots of items that said GF versions were available but this was hit and miss. For example, my wife asked for the GF version of the Clam Chowder. The waiter brought her vegetable broth and when it was pointed out that it was the wrong dish, he said he thought she would have preferred it! She asked for the clam chowder and this time he brought her a leek and potato - maybe hoping we didn’t notice.

 

One night service was painfully slow and our waiter told us he was waiting for his section to fill up so he could take all the orders at once!

 

Quality of food was very ordinary and we did not like the dining options on the quantum.

 

Why do they continue with the charade of a dress code in the Grande? Some people got dressed up and looked great but they would let anyone in, in anything. The days of the formal nights are well and truly dead on the Quantum.

 

We received no notifications in our cabin regarding C&A benefits or the Meet & Mingle details. The Diamond lounge, although still appearing on the RCCL web site deck plans had been converted into a high rollers room. We like to spend our quiet time in the DL. Instead we had to get coffee on the promenade, and the top floor of the music hall was used as the temp DL during happy hour.

 

Due to fog/smog Shanghai port was closed and we were 12 hours late docking (4pm instead of 4am). We missed our lunchtime flight so booked another for 9pm. Luckilly we had a mobile phone and laptop so could do all the arrangements ourselves. But there were massive queues at the few public terminals. The ship tried to help as best they could. It did not help that we kept losing mobile phone coverage on this morning.

 

The ship said they would send letters to the rooms that could be used for insurance claims. They never did.

 

Because of our flights and the fact that we paid the cruise line for the airport transfer, we were supposed to be one of the first groups off. But organisation was non existent, we lined up when asked at 5pm and it took us 2 hours to get to the luggage section. It was complete chaos. We asked where luggage tag 56 was and was told the numbers were on the wall. I pointed out that there was no 56 on the wall and the luggage under the number 58, included tags in the 60’s and mostly consisted on tags in the 80’s. He shook his head and said we would need to go through and see if we could find them ourselves. So once we had our luggage we asked where the prepaid airport shuttles were and the lass told us they we waiting to fill a bus of 40 and it would probably be another 30 minutes. Well at a quoted time of 1 and 1/2 hours to the airport and a 9pm flight, the safest option seemed to be a taxi.

Whoever was in charge of getting the luggage off should be sacked.

 

What did they get right?

 

We loved the iFly and Wonderland. The internet was expensive but faster than I get back home in Sydney. The virtual balcony in the inside cabin was really quite good - much better than we were expecting. There was a good variety of food in the Windjammer so it was actually a better option than the main restaurants most nights.

 

The Bionic Bar looked good but a taste test revealed that it was really just a more expensive way to get a weaker drink in a plastic cup. After watching it once it was about as thrilling as watching paint dry.

 

The shows in Two70 were visually impressive - not so much fussed on the songs though.

 

The nightlight in the bathroom and the footrest inside the shower were simple but great innovations.

 

The bad far outweighed the good and the bottom line is that we will never sail on Quantum again.

[mcatmcat]

I always believe that when the cruise ship is not sailing from USA you will get bad service and probably get a less than expected vacations. But this is just me and I might be wrong but the concept is always in my mind

[strachan01]

I always believe that when the cruise ship is not sailing from USA you will get bad service and probably get a less than expected vacations. But this is just me and I might be wrong but the concept is always in my mind

 

Why one earth would you think this? I have been on many Med and Caribbean cruises and in no way could I say one is better service than the others, each cruise is always different.

Edited June 26, 2015 by strachan01

[Biker19]

The logistical issues are not unexpected given this was the first voyage in the area. As with other new ships and new ports, it will take them a few sailings to get it right.

[GUT2407]

I always believe that when the cruise ship is not sailing from USA you will get bad service and probably get a less than expected vacations. But this is just me and I might be wrong but the concept is always in my mind

 

 

And if that is your expectation I bet it is what you get.

[Bobal]

I always believe that when the cruise ship is not sailing from USA you will get bad service and probably get a less than expected vacations. But this is just me and I might be wrong but the concept is always in my mind

 

Why one earth would you think this? I have been on many Med and Caribbean cruises and in no way could I say one is better service than the others, each cruise is always different.

 

I thought the same - what a ridiculous comment. Why on earth would service be better in the US? :rolleyes: We've just returned from Allure - in the Med - and service was excellent, as it usually is on cruises we've taken in different parts of the world. I would be interested to know how many cruises mcatmcat has taken outside the US to come up with this theory :confused:

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I'm sorry you had so many issues on your cruise! I fully get that things can happen, and I'd never say that someone's experience is wrong.

 

But I will say that a port being closed due to fog is nothing the ship can control. I believe that happened just a couple of months ago...Tampa and the Liberty I think?? Fog happens.

[lucymorgan]

I always believe that when the cruise ship is not sailing from USA you will get bad service and probably get a less than expected vacations. But this is just me and I might be wrong but the concept is always in my mind

 

This is not my experience. Our last cruise (from Sydney to NZ) the service was the best ever!

[A&L_Ont]

OP, I am sorry to hear about your experience. I wish it had a better ending.

 

As for Quantum and its Class being the worst ship ever, I don't know as I haven't sailed on her. I do wonder if the CC Moderators might feel that way. I only wonder that as the sub forum for Quantum Class is still in existence a year and a half after she was launched, let alone her sister ship has made it to sea as well. It is rather curious. Are Quantum discussions hidden away so people forget that it exists or is it just good discussion board management. Please moderators don't cut my post as I am going somewhere with this.:)

 

This thread too will be moved quickly to the sub forum. Its posting activity will lessen if not completely end as few CCers visit that area. The only thread that lasted on the main board for more than a day and a half was Bugsy's epic live review. I don't know if his live review was ever moved to the sub forum but practucally every other thread has, even the one comparing Oasis Class to the Quantum class.

 

Kudos to the mods though for organizing the boards, as they are directing threads to where they should be. I am not criticizing the moderators. I am just comparing the idea I have. Which is, is RC is doing the same thing by sending its second newest ship to the Pacific Rim.

 

I wonder if Quantum Class ships will always be segregated on the RC board or eventually be welcomed to the main board? Just as RC sent the ship to the other side of the world far from NA. Espically when it was to be New York's ship. It is a good thing Alex and his Madagascar friends didn't get on her as they wouldn't have ended up in New York City. It more reminds me of "Sloth" from The Goonies, hidden and locked away where not many people know he exsists. Is the Quantum Class RC's "Sloth"?

 

EDIT: I was very excited to sail on Quantum until she was repositioned. I will try Anthem if she is based in NY in the summer, but not in the winter. Until I try them I can't form a formal opinion. My ramblings above are more of a philosophical discussion.

Edited June 26, 2015 by A&L_Ont

[The_Big_M]

The logistical issues are not unexpected given this was the first voyage in the area. As with other new ships and new ports, it will take them a few sailings to get it right.

 

Agreed, big ship, new port and itinerary, this isn't unexpected.

 

I'd expect similar teething issues the first few rounds in Shanghai at least.

 

With 4-5000 passengers, any minor delay/uncertainty/mess-up can easily blow out to a few hours. It's only when things are bedded in that everything can run smoothly.

[The_Big_M]

I wonder if Quantum Class ships will always be segregated on the RC board or eventually be welcomed to the main board?

 

I'm sure it will be combined.

 

When Oasis was launched, it was also segregated into a sub-forum. Once things settled down, all was combined and now you don't see any difference.

[cruisegirl1]

Can you explain your references to "high Rollers"

 

Thanks

M

[papaflamingo]

Is Quantum "worst ship ever?" That's really subjective. We sailed on Quantum in Feb. out of New Jersey. It was a great cruise overall. But many of your comments were noted by us in some variety. Here are some of my observations:

Grande: I quite agree. If it's Formal, then it's "formal." They gave jackets to men who showed up without them. One guy in front of us argued to extreme and finally put the jacket on. What a jerk. I think that the dress code should be enforced in Grande.

Diamond Lounge: It was a mess for us. It was on deck 4 next to the Music Hall back then. Looks like the Music Hall is now Casino VIP. Anyway, a real mess. We are D+ so we ended up using the Concierge Lounge which we loved.

Had Dynamic Dining.... hated Dynamic Dining

Jamie's Italian.... not impressed like Giovanni's Table much better.

Anyway, you get the idea. But the "worst ship ever?" Hard to say. I would say no. For me, it's the least desirable Royal Caribbean ship that I've sailed on. OH, don't get me wrong, it's beautiful. But we did our first Celebrity cruise just prior to Quantum. And it seemed more like a Celebrity ship. Similar design and feel. Just a few more nightlife options on Quantum. So will I ever sail on her again? Doubtful. Would have to be a great price and/or a great itinerary. But IMHO there are "worse ships" on other cruise lines. But really, it's a pretty subjective question.

Edited June 26, 2015 by papaflamingo

[RenaeG]

I always believe that when the cruise ship is not sailing from USA you will get bad service and probably get a less than expected vacations. But this is just me and I might be wrong but the concept is always in my mind

 

 

I really find this such a bizarre comment! Heads up... There is a world that exists outside of the USA and those countries still provide customer service!

[Cindy]

OP, I'm sorry you had such a bad vacation experience. I have often read of difficulties after a ship repositions until staff becomes familiar with the new port and operations in the area. That was probably exacerbated by all the changes to the ship, different passport/visa requirements, and the weather problem. That doesn't negate the fact that your hard-earned vacation was less than it should have been.:(

 

I only wonder that as the sub forum for Quantum Class is still in existence a year and a half after she was launched, let alone her sister ship has made it to sea as well. It is rather curious. Are Quantum discussions hidden away so people forget that it exists or is it just good discussion board management.

 

Interesting that you brought that up...I sometimes forget about Quantum and Anthem since there are never any posts that remain on the main RC board.:confused:

[direptor]

Quantum of the seas - Singapore to Shanghai - June 2015

 

What they did poorly.

 

Embarking - C&A priority lines we full of people with no C&A status. The only priority lines being policed properly were the “high rollers” and suites.

 

Once on board we were told to let guest services know if we were visiting Maccau or Shenzhen on the Hong Kong stop. We let them know the first day. We then followed up a day later asking what the procedures were for getting the passports and were told that we were on the list and we would be notified the night before.

On the night before, the cruise compass said that guests going to Maccau or Shenzhen had notes in their room. We did not have a note so rang guest services to be told that we just needed to pick them up from Wonderland in the morning. We arrived at the designated time but they weren’t there and one of the staff rather rudely implied that it was our fault because the cut off for notifying them was 6pm the night before -sigh.

We waited while they checked and were told that they were downstairs in the customs hall and we had to go there to collect them. Well they weren’t there either and the people there sent upstairs in the hall to collect them, and no big surprise, they weren’t there either. There were a whole group of people they stuffed around who had to wait for someone to go find their passports. Finally, two and a half hours after the original start time they found our passports and they sent us out of the terminal.

But it wasn’t over. When we got to Shenzhen, we were told that we were not processed properly at the port and we could not leave Hong Kong for Shenzhen because we didn’t have a “landing” card. This meant another hour delay at the border while they fixed that up. In total THREE AND A HALF HOURS wasted, after doing every single thing that Quantum requested of us.

 

My wife is Gluten Intolerent and most times they would only offer jelly or prepackaged cookies as desert. The gluten free bread was also abysmal. The menus had lots of items that said GF versions were available but this was hit and miss. For example, my wife asked for the GF version of the Clam Chowder. The waiter brought her vegetable broth and when it was pointed out that it was the wrong dish, he said he thought she would have preferred it! She asked for the clam chowder and this time he brought her a leek and potato - maybe hoping we didn’t notice.

 

One night service was painfully slow and our waiter told us he was waiting for his section to fill up so he could take all the orders at once!

 

Quality of food was very ordinary and we did not like the dining options on the quantum.

 

Why do they continue with the charade of a dress code in the Grande? Some people got dressed up and looked great but they would let anyone in, in anything. The days of the formal nights are well and truly dead on the Quantum.

 

We received no notifications in our cabin regarding C&A benefits or the Meet & Mingle details. The Diamond lounge, although still appearing on the RCCL web site deck plans had been converted into a high rollers room. We like to spend our quiet time in the DL. Instead we had to get coffee on the promenade, and the top floor of the music hall was used as the temp DL during happy hour.

 

Due to fog/smog Shanghai port was closed and we were 12 hours late docking (4pm instead of 4am). We missed our lunchtime flight so booked another for 9pm. Luckilly we had a mobile phone and laptop so could do all the arrangements ourselves. But there were massive queues at the few public terminals. The ship tried to help as best they could. It did not help that we kept losing mobile phone coverage on this morning.

 

The ship said they would send letters to the rooms that could be used for insurance claims. They never did.

 

Because of our flights and the fact that we paid the cruise line for the airport transfer, we were supposed to be one of the first groups off. But organisation was non existent, we lined up when asked at 5pm and it took us 2 hours to get to the luggage section. It was complete chaos. We asked where luggage tag 56 was and was told the numbers were on the wall. I pointed out that there was no 56 on the wall and the luggage under the number 58, included tags in the 60’s and mostly consisted on tags in the 80’s. He shook his head and said we would need to go through and see if we could find them ourselves. So once we had our luggage we asked where the prepaid airport shuttles were and the lass told us they we waiting to fill a bus of 40 and it would probably be another 30 minutes. Well at a quoted time of 1 and 1/2 hours to the airport and a 9pm flight, the safest option seemed to be a taxi.

Whoever was in charge of getting the luggage off should be sacked.

 

What did they get right?

 

We loved the iFly and Wonderland. The internet was expensive but faster than I get back home in Sydney. The virtual balcony in the inside cabin was really quite good - much better than we were expecting. There was a good variety of food in the Windjammer so it was actually a better option than the main restaurants most nights.

 

The Bionic Bar looked good but a taste test revealed that it was really just a more expensive way to get a weaker drink in a plastic cup. After watching it once it was about as thrilling as watching paint dry.

 

The shows in Two70 were visually impressive - not so much fussed on the songs though.

 

The nightlight in the bathroom and the footrest inside the shower were simple but great innovations.

 

The bad far outweighed the good and the bottom line is that we will never sail on Quantum again.

 

Personally i enjoyed the food options on QotS and preferred it to the MDR option on the previous ships since i got a choice of what i would like to eat and i found the variety good enough especially since there was essentially 3 different menu options for this cruise after they came out with a more 'chinese' menu after Hong Kong to cater to the asian crowd.

 

I do find food in the windjammer boring though since it seems almost exactly the same daily so i rarely had my meals there.

 

Shows etc were interesting and decent. Would have preferred Mamma Mia but too bad it went over to Allure.

 

The port operations in Shanghai was indeed horrible, we got off the ship early with a luggage tag of 63 but we see them unloading luggages from 91 instead which pissed many people off but I do not know how much that issue was caused by RCI and how much of it was by the port operations.

 

Overall i still find it an enjoyable experience and something refreshing compared to the previous ships like legend, voyager and mariner that i sailed before and would not mind going on another Quantum class ship in future.

[jules815]

Can you explain your references to "high Rollers"

 

Thanks

M

 

Gambling is big in the Asian market. RC ships that have moved to this area, Mariner is also one of them, have been transformed and outfitted with expanded casinos, higher end shopping, etc. They're obviously catering to this market, which would explain special queues for high rollers. And not that this is a bad thing; obviously a money maker for the cruise industry.

[dsvd79]

Just my opinion but, Quantum is my favorite ship. I loved almost everything about it.

[Paul65]

Grande: I quite agree. If it's Formal, then it's "formal." They gave jackets to men who showed up without them. One guy in front of us argued to extreme and finally put the jacket on. What a jerk. I think that the dress code should be enforced in Grande.

 

Haven't sailed on Quantum, but I think your example above is why Royal Caribbean doesn't really have much interest in being "enforcers" on things like dress code, because you have people who will make a scene, if they're denied the ability to do whatever they want.

[Paul65]

Just my opinion but, Quantum is my favorite ship. I loved almost everything about it.

 

Sounds like the OP was complaining more about some issues with the service and new itinerary growing pains. I wouldn't necessarily excuse the issues with the new ports, because it sounds like they should have been able to plan better, but it's not a reflection on the ship.

[roquejo]

Oh Quantum? I've just sailed it on the 3 nighter round trip Singapore.

 

My issue? Big one.

 

Security forgot the deactivate the room access of the previous sailing guests who temporarily vacated my room to move into another room this 3 night sailing.

 

So on the last day 1 hour before my disembarkation time, I was in a very private moment as I was able to take my last shower, I suddenly heard a click then the 2 guests suddenly barge in my room without warning and before I was able to react.

 

Quantum's security seems to be lax, I was shocked on the first day when instead of giving my key card more securely in the check in counter that I was used to on all my other sailings, I was asked to go to my stateroom and my room key is just posted insecurely in an envelop by the door!!

Edited June 26, 2015 by roquejo

[A&L_Ont]

I'm sure it will be combined.

 

When Oasis was launched, it was also segregated into a sub-forum. Once things settled down, all was combined and now you don't see any difference.

 

Interesting that you brought that up...I sometimes forget about Quantum and Anthem since there are never any posts that remain on the main RC board.:confused:

 

I forgot to mention that the sub-forum would have started shortly after the Quantum Class was announced. I just quickly looked at the oldest dated thread on the Quantum sub-forum and I found a thread that started February 11, 2013. There might be older but I didn't spend a lot of time looking. On a side note this thread was moved from the main baords to the sub-section in less than 3 hours.

 

I think if the Quantum class returned to the main boards that class might get more attention, positive and negative. However like any thread if you don't want to read about it don't click on it. With Quantum now overseas we will even read less about it. Anthem will create more posts once it arrives in NA, but by any means it won't overrun the boards. Maybe the Quantum class needs more main forum attention on the RC boards. I myself rarely click on the sub-forum as the threads tend to have little discussion and following.

 

I wonder if Bermuda had dredged their harbour in advance of Quantum's launch, how much different the story of Quantum would be?

[Donsyb]

Sounds like some different issues with different reasons, and I think a number are down to the repositioning to a new region and new ports e.g.

 

Service - fairly new crew employed specifically to move to the asian market so lacking in experience.

 

Food - I get the impression the Asian market don't cater so much for food intolerances etc (I've certainly never seen any evidence of it in China or Singapore?) and that is who the ship is now aimed at

 

However, I have sailed Anthem and loved it, so I certainly don't think it's the worst ship/ class. I'd sail Anthem again any day.

[Peeker28]

I appreciate the OP's report. I am going on Anthem next June and I believe a cruise is what you make of it. I'm going into my Anthem cruise with an open mind and I expect to have a great time!!

[ozbrian]

I'm sorry you had so many issues on your cruise! I fully get that things can happen, and I'd never say that someone's experience is wrong.

 

But I will say that a port being closed due to fog is nothing the ship can control. I believe that happened just a couple of months ago...Tampa and the Liberty I think?? Fog happens.

 

I didn't complain about the fog or the 12 hour delay it caused, that wasn't anybodies fault. We got in at the announced revised time (4pm instead of 4am) What happened after that was a disgrace.