Live “Wingin’ It” Quantum of the Seas Transpacific Honolulu to Vancouver April 28-May 8, 2023

[chilis]

On 5/5/2023 at 2:53 PM, rsharp83 said:

A little more Astrophysics. Because I KNOW that these are the pictures you all are dying to see. 

 

 

 

I've been happily reading along because we're going to be on Quantum next week in Alaska.  Then I saw this and just had to share with my engineer husband who originally majored in Astrophysics. This was a grievous mistake, as he is now providing me with his own, personal Astrophysics lesson in our living room.

Somehow I doubt they'll repeat the lecture on a more port intensive cruise, but if they do I know they'll have at least one interested attendee (spoiler alert: not me).

[snaefell]

Thoroughly enjoyed this thread thanks guys,a trip down memory lane both for the times we spent in the Hawaiian Islands years ago & the memories of our time on Quantum Of The Seas,last time we saw her she was heading for a major refurb,glad to see they kept the artwork in the lifts,I read about them before our cruise & tried to see as many as possible,sad eh!😮

Safe travelling guys!

[Familygoboston]

Thanks everyone for following along on our “live” thread! 

 I’m sure there will be a thought or two to add, but it’s been a really fun cruise- the crew was great and the ship is really in great shape with loads of fun places to hang out. The itinerary with Hawaii and plenty of sea days was interesting and very relaxing at the end. 
Hope you all have safe travels, where ever your next one is! 

Bye for now from your “hosts” 

FGB and R#

[rsharp83]

I just hugged FGB and said farewell to Mr. FGB. Then I watched them try to jam a month’s worth of luggage in to a Tesla Uber. It took some doing but they finally got away.
 

We all had a wonderful day exploring Stanley Park and other areas of Vancouver. 
 

Thanks for reading all our ramblings and thoughts. 
 

R#

 

 

 

[perfect match]

Thank you for a great review! I loved following along with you and would love to sail this itinerary myself some day.

[The Fun Researcher]

Really enjoyed following along.  Thanks for all the effort to post!

[rsharp83]

Should I say anything about food…

 

I’ve been reading the constant horror stories about food, the new menus, etc. I was curious about what I would experience as far as food went. 

 

We ate a majority of our evening meals in the MDR. Yes, there are fewer choices than pre-pandemic. Yes, there were a few things we missed. I especially liked all the different cold soups they used to have. Those are gone. I believe we had French onion, butternut squash, potato, and leek and potato. But not a huge deal. 

 

The overall MDR food was fine. But some inconsistencies like the first night pan roasted fish dish was very good and the later in the week the pan-seared filet of sole was tasteless. There were 2 dishes that everyone who ordered them sent them back. The lobster Mac and cheese being the worst. I’m not sure what that was but it looked and smelled awful. There was also a portobello mushroom that no one would eat. But those were really the only ones that I would say were bad. The shrimp cocktail was never cold.

 

On the plus side the lasagna was really good. Lamb gets a big thumbs up. Honey glazed chicken and the maple bourbon salmon got high marks. The desserts were generally better than before. Cake was actually CAKE and not spongelike gelatinous stuff. Although Jammer still has those. 

 

We did the Solarium Bistro for dinner (you need a reservation but there is no extra charge). With a group of 12, they put us in a side area that was separate from the rest of the dining room and it was like having our own private meal! Maybe they just wanted to keep us all away from the other guests. LOL. The food there is all Mediterranean and everything was very good. Not as many different selections as they used to have but that is really the case for all dining venues. And the desserts were all 3 very very good.

 

We ate lunch in the MDR several times and found it to be much better than the Jammer. Also, breakfast in the MDR is a much better experience. We did Solarium Bistro for breakfast sometimes. The first morning the sausage in Bistro was horrendous. I mean inedible. The rest of the cruise it was fine. Not sure what happened with that.

 

Warning about an item in Jammer. They had “Crispy Pork Belly” so we stood in line and got some. It may be one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten, or should I say tried to eat. Maybe it is a cultural dish for someone but I really don’t know how you would eat it. Maybe we just got the end pieces? But crispy and hard a diamonds are not the same. Then I bit though the outer crustation and hit the inner part. I expected a bit of juicy pork belly, what I got was like biting into a water balloon. Juices and grease squirted in every direction like an explosion. Just trust me, stay away. I am currently washing the shirt I was wearing that day, I hope it isn’t ruined.

 

The narrower menu helps boost the quality of what’s served and reduces food waste exponentially. Only had one instance of cold food and that was cheese sticks at MDR lunch. They quickly brought us hot ones. But overall, we were fine with the food we had. There was always some choice to satisfy everyone.

 

We did 2 specialty dinners: Wonderland and Jamie’s. 

 

We had 3 people who had never been to Wonderland. It was my second time. It’s fun, it’s an experience. The appetizers are where much of the “wired” food happens. If I go again, I’d ask for several of the shrimp and the veggies in “dirt”. The shrimp is by far the best appetizer. Maybe I’d get the cones. But I’d skip the rest. The smoked egg is ok but just not my deal. The main course has 2 big winners IMHO. The Pork-belly and the rib. The 2 fish dishes are good, but the chicken was blah and we actually sent it back in favor of the pork-belly. The chocolate globe is always a hit.  

 

But Jamie’s…I’ve eaten there before, and it was fine. This time it was excellent. Everything we had was really good. The Prawns appetizer is good but messy because you gotta rip off the head. The pastas were very good. Lamb good. The 2 big winners here were lasagna that just melted in your mouth and the short rib that might be the best short rib we’ve ever eaten. Given the choice, I’ll take the Jamie’s rib over Wonderland’s any time. The lemon meringue cheesecake is the best dessert we had. 

 

So a non-foodie, incomplete review of the food. Your mileage may vary.

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, rsharp83 said:

Should I say anything about food…

 

I’ve been reading the constant horror stories about food, the new menus, etc. I was curious about what I would experience as far as food went. 

 

We ate a majority of our evening meals in the MDR. Yes, there are fewer choices than pre-pandemic. Yes, there were a few things we missed. I especially liked all the different cold soups they used to have. Those are gone. I believe we had French onion, butternut squash, potato, and leek and potato. But not a huge deal. 

 

The overall MDR food was fine. But some inconsistencies like the first night pan roasted fish dish was very good and the later in the week the pan-seared filet of sole was tasteless. There were 2 dishes that everyone who ordered them sent them back. The lobster Mac and cheese being the worst. I’m not sure what that was but it looked and smelled awful. There was also a portobello mushroom that no one would eat. But those were really the only ones that I would say were bad. The shrimp cocktail was never cold.

 

On the plus side the lasagna was really good. Lamb gets a big thumbs up. Honey glazed chicken and the maple bourbon salmon got high marks. The desserts were generally better than before. Cake was actually CAKE and not spongelike gelatinous stuff. Although Jammer still has those. 

 

We did the Solarium Bistro for dinner (you need a reservation but there is no extra charge). With a group of 12, they put us in a side area that was separate from the rest of the dining room and it was like having our own private meal! Maybe they just wanted to keep us all away from the other guests. LOL. The food there is all Mediterranean and everything was very good. Not as many different selections as they used to have but that is really the case for all dining venues. And the desserts were all 3 very very good.

 

We ate lunch in the MDR several times and found it to be much better than the Jammer. Also, breakfast in the MDR is a much better experience. We did Solarium Bistro for breakfast sometimes. The first morning the sausage in Bistro was horrendous. I mean inedible. The rest of the cruise it was fine. Not sure what happened with that.

 

Warning about an item in Jammer. They had “Crispy Pork Belly” so we stood in line and got some. It may be one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten, or should I say tried to eat. Maybe it is a cultural dish for someone but I really don’t know how you would eat it. Maybe we just got the end pieces? But crispy and hard a diamonds are not the same. Then I bit though the outer crustation and hit the inner part. I expected a bit of juicy pork belly, what I got was like biting into a water balloon. Juices and grease squirted in every direction like an explosion. Just trust me, stay away. I am currently washing the shirt I was wearing that day, I hope it isn’t ruined.

 

The narrower menu helps boost the quality of what’s served and reduces food waste exponentially. Only had one instance of cold food and that was cheese sticks at MDR lunch. They quickly brought us hot ones. But overall, we were fine with the food we had. There was always some choice to satisfy everyone.

 

We did 2 specialty dinners: Wonderland and Jamie’s. 

 

We had 3 people who had never been to Wonderland. It was my second time. It’s fun, it’s an experience. The appetizers are where much of the “wired” food happens. If I go again, I’d ask for several of the shrimp and the veggies in “dirt”. The shrimp is by far the best appetizer. Maybe I’d get the cones. But I’d skip the rest. The smoked egg is ok but just not my deal. The main course has 2 big winners IMHO. The Pork-belly and the rib. The 2 fish dishes are good, but the chicken was blah and we actually sent it back in favor of the pork-belly. The chocolate globe is always a hit.  

 

But Jamie’s…I’ve eaten there before, and it was fine. This time it was excellent. Everything we had was really good. The Prawns appetizer is good but messy because you gotta rip off the head. The pastas were very good. Lamb good. The 2 big winners here were lasagna that just melted in your mouth and the short rib that might be the best short rib we’ve ever eaten. Given the choice, I’ll take the Jamie’s rib over Wonderland’s any time. The lemon meringue cheesecake is the best dessert we had. 

 

So a non-foodie, incomplete review of the food. Your mileage may vary.

One of the best cruise food reviews I’ve read in a long time.  Thank you!!!

[snaefell]

The only speciality restaurant we tried back in 2019 was Chops on our first night,good food & service but the sides portions were so meagre we were glad we overordered!

The second night we headed for the MDR,food & service were both abysmal & left us hungry,after that apart from breakfast in the Solarium Bistro one morning we ate in the Windjammer,almost always outside at the stern which was magical especially at night out in the South China Sea with lightning flashing away in the distance...might not be quite so magical in cooler places!

We avoided Wonderland,the extra cost was way too high for the menu IMO,as for Jamies we really didn't fancy the menu,sounds like it has changed.

Thanks for the review!

[Familygoboston]

R#s review is spot on and I agree with almost all of it! I’d  add a few comments…

As a pescatarian, I found the new menus work to offer options for those with dietary issues without needing staff to create a special dish for people with dietary restrictions. For instance the vegan option would work for anyone kosher, vegans, or vegetarians. And the nightly GF free options avoids the chefs having to make a separate dishes for people with those issues but also helps people with “keto” preferences to stay on their plans. This seems to avoid a lot of work for the kitchen or wait staff, but it also leaves just 3-4 options for people who don’t care  about those things. Although all the options could be appealing to anyone, my non vegetarian husband often chose the vegan option because sometimes it looked interesting. 
 

That brings us to flavor and availability of ingredients. Because this was a transpacific cruise (along with the one before it,) food had to “last” for over 6-10 sea days.  Food was also sourced in places where it’s hard and expensive to get food and drink (Papeete and Honolulu) A head waiter explained to me that they did not get all they wanted in those ports and some of it was spoiled by the end of the cruise. We also speculate that for cruise ships as “one off” customers, most vendors aren’t going to compromise the amount or quality of what they give to their regular customers to satisfy RCs needs for ships that arrive just two or 3 times a year! 

When we arrived on the ship, not all the pallets had been unpacked on the first day and the ship was missing (and these are just the things that we noticed or needed)  - fosters beer, mixers for many drinks, including pina colada’s and strawberry daiquiris and ketchup on the first day. After day 1 those things were restocked. But the cruise prior to us said they were out of drink mix by day 4, our cruise was not as hard drinking as the Brisbane to Honolulu leg, so most of the alcohol and mixers lasted the duration of the Honolulu to Vancouver leg.  
But by the end of our cruise the crew could no longer provide berry parfaits, pineapple was rare, couldn’t get honey and they ran out of lettuce in the windjammer in the last sea day. 

I also noticed that while the Thai chicken salad in 270 had a nice chili sauce bite to it on the first and second days, by day 4 it was bland and tasteless. 

 

This is something to consider on repositioning cruises- if food and specific alcoholic drinks matter to you- it’s important to remember that cruises that are not receiving regular shipments from their regular vendors (such as the port of Miami) are at the mercy of what’s available and what vendors are willing to part with at the ports where the ship is traveling.  And trying to feed 16 thousand meals a day will quickly deplete what’s available and make it so that what’s on a “menu” may not be what they can serve. 
 

R# did mention the windjammer, but I would point out that the options on the WJ buffet are also fewer. But we didn’t find the quality to be improved by that. We noticed a salad bar, hot food station with 5-6 dishes on a side, dessert bar, hot dog and hamburger and fries station, and a fruit and cheese station. These were repeated so there were at least 2 of each station. We missed an action station at night where the chefs would create pasta or stir fry’s based on the international theme of the night. 
 

In the past we ate at the buffet almost every night, but this cruise we ate in the MDR almost every night and found the quality of the food to be better with the new menus, expect for a few misses and the wait staff would happily bring another selection! 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Familygoboston

[snaefell]

Fair point about repo cruises & supply issues,our cruise on Quantum came after she had spent 6 months in China doing cruises aimed at convincing Chinese people to love cruising,some non Chinese nationals did occasionally take these cruises,and result was usually a complaint about how different everything was especially the fact that the food was Chinese(!😂).

Her departure from China apparently involved a huge change in crew,hence many complaints about the food & the service because of the number of new people not being used to working on her.

There were a few other hangovers from her Chinese holiday,the Casino had been extended,Johnny Rockets was the Noodle Shop & part of The Music Hall was being used as a premium lounge,on the first night there was still a sign outside the pub advertising local delicacies like chickens feet,KFC eat your heart out!😎

[Familygoboston]

2 hours ago, snaefell said:

Fair point about repo cruises & supply issues,our cruise on Quantum came after she had spent 6 months in China doing cruises aimed at convincing Chinese people to love cruising,some non Chinese nationals did occasionally take these cruises,and result was usually a complaint about how different everything was especially the fact that the food was Chinese(!😂).

Her departure from China apparently involved a huge change in crew,hence many complaints about the food & the service because of the number of new people not being used to working on her.

There were a few other hangovers from her Chinese holiday,the Casino had been extended,Johnny Rockets was the Noodle Shop & part of The Music Hall was being used as a premium lounge,on the first night there was still a sign outside the pub advertising local delicacies like chickens feet,KFC eat your heart out!😎

I truly wish the noodles were offered at no extra cost. That venue was a weird mush mash of free hot dogs and charge for noodles and soups. Everyone would have preferred an Asian noodle place! 

[snaefell]

I was surprised it survived the refurb in Singapore,there were a few Chinese passengers on our cruise,they were the only ones who seemed to use the place!

[Lane Hog]

Is the noodle shop staying for the season?  We're on Q in five weeks.

[rsharp83]

2 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

Is the noodle shop staying for the season?  We're on Q in five weeks.

I don't think that is a question any of us can answer definitively.  It didn't appear to be going anywhere.  

[Familygoboston]

For those who asked about the Uncruise Safari Explorer cruise around Hawaii that I did before boarding Quantum...I've begun reviewing that cruise under "Other" in cruise forums.  You can find it here!

 

[JSnow789]

Thank you folks for this thread. I am booked on this repo next year. I had really wanted to stay onboard for that first Alaska cruise, but PSVA says no can do. So we are gonna spend a week in Hawaii pre-cruise. I’m a little bummed our itinerary doesn’t overnight in Maui like yours did. We have a day sailing around NaPali coast instead.  Thanks again!  Cheers!

[Familygoboston]

1 hour ago, JSnow789 said:

Thank you folks for this thread. I am booked on this repo next year. I had really wanted to stay onboard for that first Alaska cruise, but PSVA says no can do. So we are gonna spend a week in Hawaii pre-cruise. I’m a little bummed our itinerary doesn’t overnight in Maui like yours did. We have a day sailing around NaPali coast instead.  Thanks again!  Cheers!

Yeah, anyone on our cruise people had to get off and try another ship into AK. Seems like you cannot book it B2B. 😩

[Lane Hog]

On 5/11/2023 at 3:22 PM, rsharp83 said:

I don't think that is a question any of us can answer definitively.  It didn't appear to be going anywhere.  

And it didn't.

 

Noodle Shop was very much serving satays, noodles and other Asian fast entrees ranging from $2-$6.  Also had free cookies and mini-hotdogs.