Is Quantum the worst ship ever?

[ozbrian]

The worst part was that she had to deal with the other 73 disappointed people in her {church} group some of whom blamed her for not informing them of the changes being made on board!:(

 

Not very Christian of them . . .

[Schumi5]

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.

 

 

We were also on this leg of the cruise... I would have to say i somewhat agree with most points, but in fairness I don't think it was the ship that was the issue, it was the staff on the ship that was a bigger issue in my opinion.

 

From embarkation to getting off in Shanghai most we encountered had no idea where things were, were unable to answer simple questions put to them or avoided you when they knew you were about to ask something. And don't even get me started on the fiasco once off the ship at Shanghai. They seemed much more intent on boarding people for the nights function than helping anyone get through the chaos of even attempting to get a taxi from the port. As above we had to do the same and board a bus that went to the Hyatt then got a taxi from there to the hotel we were staying at, otherwise we would have been at port for another 2hrs before getting in a taxi.

 

A lot of their processes need rectifying, passports in particular... When boarding they were collecting each passport from passengers. Yet come time to leave 6 passports were missing which led to a 2hr delay in leaving.

 

Instead of acknowledging their own error in not collecting from each passenger prior to boarding, they implied that it was the passengers fault that they did not have all passports??? um hello what happened to security and staff checking passports prior to letting people board. It was a complete shambles.

 

Not blaming Quantum, but there is no way we will be cruising an Asian leg no matter what cruise line. We have done allure East Caribbean and Disney West Caribbean and i can tell you now the service is chalk and cheese.

 

Other points.

 

- Food in W/Jammer was pretty avg almost the same food every day, i was sick of seeing mash potato. Can't fault the other restaurants Wonderland was great and same with Jamies Italian.

 

- Room was excellent, big enough and your typical RCCL room

 

- Excursions were run well then ones we did, especially in Xiamen, the lunch they provided at the Hotel stop off was excellent.

 

 

In saying all of that we look forward to our next RCCL cruise wherever that may be! possibly Europe/Mediterranean

[MisterBill99]

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.

Then this thread shouldn't have been named "Is Quantum the worst ship ever?", should it?

[ozbrian]

Then this thread shouldn't have been named "Is Quantum the worst ship ever?", should it?

 

As previously stated, a ship is the sum of it's parts. A ship without staff is just a lump of metal - maybe a pretty, shiny lump of metal.

 

My comments are not aimed at front end staff, the disorganisation must go much higher. I don't know who has overall responsiblity for passports, luggage, disembarkation, etc. Is it this the Captain - the Hotel Director? Whoever it was, they really need to be replaced.

 

The staff on this trip made it the worst ship we have ever sailed on.

 

Your mileage will vary.

[dhill]

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.

 

Sounds rough May be a little picky I guess the cruise line can control the fog and weather, If you don't like it don't do it:)

[steveru621]

Why is it a year later we are still talking about logistical problems on Quantum? Dining, lines, and such.

 

I don't think it's the ship but they do need a new hotel director.

[ozbrian]

Sounds rough May be a little picky I guess the cruise line can control the fog and weather, If you don't like it don't do it:)

 

If you bothered to read the thread you will see that I have stated more than once that nobody can control the weather. What happened afterwards was a disgrace.

[ozbrian]

Why is it a year later we are still talking about logistical problems on Quantum? Dining, lines, and such.

 

I don't think it's the ship but they do need a new hotel director.

 

Has it been the same Hotel Director for the whole 12 months? How much blame goes back to the Captain?

 

I like your signature and yes; anyone expecting perfection when travelling will be disappointed. Yet, I'm afraid anyone expecting mediocrity on Quantum may also be disappointed.

[ozbrian]

Had a call from customer service who apologised for the debacle and promised to take all points into consideration and hopefully improve operations.

I felt much better after talking to them, although I doubt if I will ever take such a large ship to Asia again anytime soon.

[Biker19]

Why is it a year later we are still talking about logistical problems on Quantum? Dining, lines, and such.

 

I don't think it's the ship but they do need a new hotel director.

 

The maiden sailing was in Nov and this is the first sailing in Asia. Logistical issues are to be expected. The issue is how the staff deals with them.

 

Some of it, like the debarkation luggage issue is only partially under RCI's control.

[gkbiiii]

Quantum was the Worst Royal Ship I have been on: RCCL ships which I have sailed include:

 

1. Majesty

2. Monarch

3. Adventure

4. Grandeur

5. Vision

6. Enchantment

7. Allure