Poor Member Ratings for Anthem/Quantum

[FSUNole]

Why are the member ratings so low? Only 46% "loved it" which is by far the lowest of any of RC's ships. Also, there is a large disconnect between the "Editor Rating" and the "Member Rating". What is it that cruise-goers don't like about these ships and why do the editors not agree?

 

Just curious as I've not sailed on either of these ships.

[Merion_Mom]

Why are the member ratings so low? Only 46% "loved it" which is by far the lowest of any of RC's ships. Also, there is a large disconnect between the "Editor Rating" and the "Member Rating". What is it that cruise-goers don't like about these ships and why do the editors not agree?

 

Just curious as I've not sailed on either of these ships.

 

The local "regulars" loved *their* Explorer and are angry that RC took her away and replaced her with a ship that does everything differently.

 

Resistance to change is the answer to your question.

[mcatmcat]

I think the quantum class was made for people that don't go to a cruise or consider it as a vacation. So I guess those ship are completely different to what Royal passengers likes. I believe the oasis class will be their most popular class

[direptor]

I think the quantum class was made for people that don't go to a cruise or consider it as a vacation. So I guess those ship are completely different to what Royal passengers likes. I believe the oasis class will be their most popular class

 

I would not agree with that statement. Quantum class is definitely new and different from the other ships but going on to say that its for people who don't cruise or consider it as a vacation is going overboard.

 

There are many frequent cruisers who enjoyed the Quantum class as well and the main complains are from people going on the Quantum class expecting it to be like the Oasis class, Freedom class etc. For such people, they are better off looking for the class of ships that they are after instead of spending their time saying the Quantum class is bad just because its different.

 

I've been on Quantum for 9 nights and have a cruise booked for Ovation and the experience has been great. I've enjoyed my Quantum cruise as much if not even more than some of my experiences on Legend, Mariner and Voyager due to the larger choices of food venues and activities which kept me more occupied than the other ships.

[The_Big_M]

Yeah, it's not that Quantum is bad - but it is different. And when things are different that automatically knocks points off.

 

Also for the sailings out of China, that also adds to the differences and some conveniences (e.g. multi-language, other guests) aren't as ideal as elsewhere. So again, points off.

 

The only difference that I felt was weaker was Dynamic dining, but that's a big part of your cruise, so will have an effect on ratings.

 

That said, nothing's "bad" on the ships, and a number of aspects are the best I've seen, hence the high editor rating. Quantum's actually my favourite ship at the moment - likely in part since it's still true to design, so the ratings relate to the differences imo.

[woodyren]

Spent 39 days on Quantum. Loved every minute. It was the best ship I have been on.

 

I am no spring chicken but I am also not a traditionalist as I only started cruising in late 2013. I believe you need to be a little more on the spontaneous side to prefer the Quantum experience.

 

What many like about cruising in my opinion is the orderly nature of traditional cruises. That is not a knock by the way because it is a great stress reliever to just have everything laid out ready and waiting without having to contemplate much more than what to eat at dinner. I enjoy that too but with Quantum I had the choice of something close to traditional but was also able to mix things up on a whim.

[read52]

We were on the Quantum last spring right before it went to China. We loved the ship, the activities, and the dining. But they were adding staff for China and most staff were not like on other ships. They were not as social but it could have been a language barrier. They made mistakes but they were new to the job. We plan on going on the Anthem some time even though it had a few problems.

[north29]

Many who post on here are traditionalist, not that it is a bad thing, but they have a hard time dealing with NEW, dress codes, Dining options, etc. I have never been on the new ships, but I'm a old guy, and I love change, never liked to do the same thing over and over.

I guess my signature says something about me.

[TravelerThom]

Why are the member ratings so low? Only 46% "loved it" which is by far the lowest of any of RC's ships. Also, there is a large disconnect between the "Editor Rating" and the "Member Rating". What is it that cruise-goers don't like about these ships and why do the editors not agree?

Q-class has a lot of new technology. New technology is great when it works, but can be a disaster when it doesn't. There were a number of tech problems (common in any new implementation) such as dropped reservations, waiters having problems entering orders, etc. The people who encountered these problems are a lot more vocal than those who don't (pretty much human nature). Apparently 1) the Editors did not encounter tech problems, and 2) the Editors have never encountered a comped cruise they didn't like.:rolleyes:

[FSUNole]

Interesting responses... One day we'll go on a Quantum class cruise. The Oasis was just too big for my partner. I was okay with it. I loved Voyager. Have an Independence cruise next month... is it March already?!?!?

[*CENSORED*]

... is it March already?!?!?

 

 

Yes it is!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[bobbie0253]

 

I believe you need to be a little more on the spontaneous side to prefer the Quantum experience.

 

This is refreshing to read. We are heading to the Anthem Friday. We are very spontaneous in general. I was going with low expectations but wanted to jump on the opportunity for a 3 day cruise to nowhere to check out this class of ship and just relax. The only ship I ever was really disappointed in was the Grandeur but it might have been because it was out of New Orleans and I absolutely fell in love with the city and didn't even want to get on the ship because we were having way too much fun on land. First time I ever experienced that! Usually I am way more excited for a cruise :)

[marci22]

The local "regulars" loved *their* Explorer and are angry that RC took her away and replaced her with a ship that does everything differently.

 

Resistance to change is the answer to your question.

 

I don't think you can blame all those bad reviews on 'resistance to change'. I think the new dining had a really rocky start. Hopefully it has improved and reviews will start getting more positive.

[Cruzaholic41]

Why are the member ratings so low? Only 46% "loved it" which is by far the lowest of any of RC's ships. Also, there is a large disconnect between the "Editor Rating" and the "Member Rating". What is it that cruise-goers don't like about these ships and why do the editors not agree?

 

Just curious as I've not sailed on either of these ships.

 

In many cases, the embarkation port and subsequent majority passengers needs to be taken into consideration when reading reviews. In Anthem's case, it certainly is a factor.

[icsys]

I don't think you can blame all those bad reviews on 'resistance to change'. I think the new dining had a really rocky start. Hopefully it has improved and reviews will start getting more positive.

 

We have a trip on Ovation booked for May and looking forward to experiencing the new class of ship.

 

We're hoping the 'dynamic style' dining has improved a lot since Quantum first launched. Having just recently sailed on Vision and Voyager class, I have to say the traditional dining is starting to become a tad boring due to the repetitive menu options.

Having said that, the food was great quality as always, just the same old - same old.

 

If it is indeed a break from tradition, this will be a chance to experience something different from the 'traditional' whilst still enjoying the well known RCI brand and all it has to offer.

[davy jones]

Why are the member ratings so low? Only 46% "loved it" which is by far the lowest of any of RC's ships. Also, there is a large disconnect between the "Editor Rating" and the "Member Rating". What is it that cruise-goers don't like about these ships and why do the editors not agree?

 

Just curious as I've not sailed on either of these ships.

 

My educated guess is that the technology emphasis resulted in poor execution on the human side.

 

I'll find out for myself when I sail her.

[Merion_Mom]

I don't think you can blame all those bad reviews on 'resistance to change'. I think the new dining had a really rocky start. Hopefully it has improved and reviews will start getting more positive.

 

On that topic, I think that it does. They want everything to be just like what they are used to: Standard traditional dining.

 

They were/are not willing to be flexible, to roll with the punches. Any little hiccup makes them say, "See? This stinks. I want my old ship back!"

 

:)

 

I just did back to back on Anthem. First cruise, traditional rotational dining. (Dynamic Dining Classic 1). Second cruise, My Time Dining. (Dynamic Dining Choice). {note: I don't know why they don't use MY descriptions; much better, IMO ;))

 

(I have also been on Quantum for 22 nights, when there was only Dynamic Dining)

 

I can appreciate both styles of dining. Each has things that appeal. But I enjoyed both!

 

It's like the old candy commercial. "Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don't."

 

:D :D

[dogo88]

I guess we will have our opportunity in October. We loved Allure. Different than HAL. Not good or bad but different. Both lines along with NCL have differences and it's difficult to exactly compare.

 

Over the years we've been through two hurricanes and a ship in the Caribbean with no air conditioning. So it would have to do a lot to be a bad cruise. ;)

 

Dan

[marci22]

On that topic, I think that it does. They want everything to be just like what they are used to: Standard traditional dining.

 

They were/are not willing to be flexible, to roll with the punches. Any little hiccup makes them say, "See? This stinks. I want my old ship back!"

 

:)

 

I just did back to back on Anthem. First cruise, traditional rotational dining. (Dynamic Dining Classic 1). Second cruise, My Time Dining. (Dynamic Dining Choice). {note: I don't know why they don't use MY descriptions; much better, IMO ;))

 

It's hard to roll with the punches when you're paying $200+ pp per day. (for my D1 and D5 in May I am paying $245pp/per day port fees and taxes included, and that is the cheapest I've seen it)

 

It's too bad that the initial sailings used the passengers as beta testers. There was pushback, and I don't blame them. RC isn't going to improve their services if everyone is sitting back saying, 'oh it's a glitch, it's ok, I don't mind...'. I'm sure Anthem execs are *not happy* with the large amount of very poor reviews that people have posted re: Anthem.

 

Even the good reviews admit that the food/dining service was not very good: I read a lot of them.

 

I believe that people don't complain for fun: they had a bad experience and want to vent. I appreciate the effort made for any review.

 

Bad reviews don't bother me, but they do give me a heads up about expectations. I am hoping that by the time I get on in May, things will be running smoothly in all dining areas.

 

ps your descriptions are better.

Edited March 1, 2016 by marci22

[The_Big_M]

We're hoping the 'dynamic style' dining has improved a lot since Quantum first launched. Having just recently sailed on Vision and Voyager class, I have to say the traditional dining is starting to become a tad boring due to the repetitive menu options.

 

Keep in mind on traditional dining over a week you have 7 menus in included restaurants.

 

On Quantum over a week you only have 4 menus in included restaurants...

[Clarea]

Keep in mind on traditional dining over a week you have 7 menus in included restaurants.

 

On Quantum over a week you only have 4 menus in included restaurants...

I thought I read that Quantum was changing menus once per cruise, or is that only Anthem?

[icsys]

Keep in mind on traditional dining over a week you have 7 menus in included restaurants.

I was referring to the fact that those seven MDR menus are practically the same... on every ship... every week.

On Quantum over a week you only have 4 menus in included restaurants...

As there are four complimentary restaurants listed for Ovation, am I right to assume that the menu, although different for each restaurant, is the same, every night :confused:

 

That's food for thought.

Edited March 2, 2016 by icsys

[The_Big_M]

I thought I read that Quantum was changing menus once per cruise, or is that only Anthem?

 

Most Quantum cruises are under 7 days. They don't change on most cruises in Asia.

 

I was told they change them for longer cruises (over 7 days?), and understood that also applied to Anthem, but not sure on her. i.e. it's a class change on longer cruises, but as Quantum's are mostly shorter it doesn't occur much there.

[The_Big_M]

I was referring to the fact that those seven MDR menus are practically the same... on every ship... every week.

 

Understood - was just pointing out that there is inherent variety for most passengers, unless you're really a frequent cruiser.

As there are four complimentary restaurants listed for Ovation, am I right to assume that the menu, although different for each restaurant, is the same, every night :confused:

 

Spot on. As above, there is a threshold where they do change the menu after x days (I think it's around 7-8 days), but that menu stays the same each night while in place. That means 1 or 2 menus per restaurant per cruise.

[Clarea]

Most Quantum cruises are under 7 days. They don't change on most cruises in Asia.

 

I was told they change them for longer cruises (over 7 days?), and understood that also applied to Anthem, but not sure on her. i.e. it's a class change on longer cruises, but as Quantum's are mostly shorter it doesn't occur much there.

Maybe Carol can tell us what they do on Anthem. I believe she spent a good amount of time on the ship recently.