Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas (Tim & Anne’s Report)

Quantum of the Seas
Two Night Preview Cruise
November, 2014
by Tim Larison, CLIA Certified Master Cruise Counselor (MCC)
with contributions from Travel Agent Anne Larison

Anne and I were invited by Royal Caribbean to be one of the first to experience their newest ship – the Quantum of the Seas – on a special two night travel agent “preview cruise”.  We said yes!  In this report we share our first impressions of the Quantum.

The Ship

At 168,000 tons the Quantum of the Seas isn’t the biggest Royal Caribbean ship (that honor goes to the Oasis class ships at 220,000 tons).  But she is plenty big enough, with a size similar to Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas.

In recent years the new Royal Caribbean ships have been a variation of their very popular Voyager class ships.  The Voyager of the Seas at 144,000 tons came out in 1999 and had some new innovations at the time – like an ice skating rink and indoor shopping area. The Freedom of the Seas debuted in 2006 with a similar design to the Voyager class ships only bigger (160,000 tons) with added features like the flow rider.  Then in 2009 the mega Oasis of the Seas came out – still with the same basic design as the Voyager class ships but with even more new features.

With the Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean chose a different strategy.  Rather than going bigger, they chose to build a smaller ship with the latest in technological advancements.

Royal Caribbean encourages passengers to do online checkin for the Quantum.  Do “smart checkin” and they say you’ll breeze through the boarding process and be on the ship in 10 minutes.  For our preview cruise the checkin process wasn’t quite that smooth, as RCCL was working out the kinks in their computer system.  It took us about 45 minutes to get checked in.

One feature I liked was that each passenger was given a wrist band at checkin.  This wrist band gave you access to your stateroom, onboard purchases, checking in for shows, and more.  If you are like me and you sometimes forget your stateroom key, this wristband is a welcome addition.  It reminded me of the Magic Bands system that Disney introduced for its theme parks in 2013.

For iPhone and iPad users Royal Caribbean offers a free “Royal IQ” app to reserve onboard activities.  Don’t have an Apple device?  No worries as 45 IQ stations are also available around the ship.

We liked the size of our balcony stateroom, with efficient storage space.  Similar to other new ships we have sailed on in recent years, the power to the stateroom is activated by putting your stateroom card in a slot next to the door.  The stateroom tv had a wide selection of movies and cable channels, as well as screens where you could track your show and shore excursion reservations.

Anne says:
Another feature of the Royal iQ app is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) luggage tracking.  Since we were on such a short cruise we carried our own bags on this trip, but we were impressed with this new way to keep track of your bags.  You can use the app to know when your luggage has arrived in your room while you are dining, having a drink or just relaxing by the pool.

Dining

Royal Caribbean introduces “dynamic dining” on the Quantum.  There are no set dining times, no assigned seats, no required formal nights.  You have 18 restaurants to choose from – four of which are at no extra cost.  The above picture is from our dinner at Silk the first night – one of the complementary restaurants.  We were seated in a group of 8 around a circular table.  There were a wide variety of appetizers to choose from so our group ordered them all!  We shared the appetizers among us and we thought that was the best part of the meal.

Dining on the Quantum takes more planning than on your normal cruise.  We recommend setting your dining times before your trip in your pre-cruise planner to get the best selection.

If you miss out on the dining times you want the Windjammer buffet is always available.  Similar to other Royal Caribbean ships we’ve been on, I think the Windjammer is one of the better cruise ship buffets with a wide variety of choices.  We ate at the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch each day, while choosing a table service restaurant for dinner.

Anne says:
In addition to the excellent meals, the Quantum continues to have many between-meal snacks.  From pizza at Sorrento’s to pastries and sandwiches at Café Promenade to the SeaPlex Dog House (for gourmet hotdogs) you can’t go hungry.  

Entertainment

The Royal Theatre, pictured above, hosts the signature show on the Quantum – Mamma Mia.  Unlike other condensed cruise ship productions, the Quantum’s Mamma Mia was the full 2 1/2 hour show.  I had seen a Mamma Mia production back home and I thought this one was even better – the quality of the performers was excellent!
Not into Broadway musicals?  Not a problem as the Quantum offers many other entertainment options.  I really liked the Music Hall where tribute bands performed on our cruise.  We attended “Don’t Stop Believing” tribute to the band Journey on our cruise that we enjoyed very much.  A Led Zepplin Tribute band and a country band also performed at other times.  The Music Hall had an excellent sound system in an intimate two story venue where you could sit close to the stage.

Gone is the ice skating arena from the Quantum.  Instead Royal Caribbean has added the super advanced Two70 theatre. Two70 doubles as a lounge during the day (see first picture above) and as the host for a cirque-du-soleil type of show in the evening (“Starwater”).  The technology in Two70 was impressive, with a number of computerized screens dancing around the stage, performers dropping from the ceiling, and spectacular images on the large screen behind the stage.

Anne says:
We noticed that the best seats in the housed at Two70 are reserved for guests with reservations, but it is a large venue and there seemed to be many seats (especially on the second level) for guests who arrive without a reservation.

Onboard Activities

Bumper cars at sea?  That’s just one of the many recreational activites the Quantum offers.  We were one of the first to try the bumper cars on our cruise and it was fun, though the cars moved a little slower than the ones at our amusement park back home.  The large SeaPlex space is used for roller skating and other activities during the cruise, too.

Royal Caribbean added its popular Flow Rider to the Quantum as you can see from the picture above.  But what’s that behind it?  Sky diving at sea!  Yes you can skydive at Ripcord by iFly on the Quantum.

Perhaps the most unique feature on the Quantum is the North Star arm, where guests can get an aerial view of the ship and the surrounding ocean from the comfort of an enclosed capsule.

Anne says:
In addition to the new activities there are many standard cruise ship options including; the spa, the casino, fitness classes, youth programs, rock climbing and swimming pools and more.  There are plenty of bars for the adults including the Bionic Bar powered by Makr Shakr.  It was fascinating to watch robot arms create drinks from start to finish with no bartender in site!

Sailing out of Cape Liberty, New Jersey

The Quantum is sailing Bahamas and Caribbean cruises out of Cape Liberty, New Jersey through April of 2015.  It’s always a thrill for us to sail by the Statue of Liberty as we did on our Quantum cruise.  In May 2015 the Quantum heads to China where she will offer cruises through February 2016.  The Quantum’s sister ship, the Anthem of the Seas, will debut in April 2015 in Europe, before coming to her home port of Cape Liberty in November 2015 for Bermuda and Caribbean sailings.

Summary

Royal Caribbean has done it again!  I enjoyed our short cruise on the Quantum very much, and I hope to sail on her (or the Anthem) on a longer cruise next time.  Two days was not enough to experience all the many features of this wonderful new ship.

Anne says:
The ship is a destination itself and I know families will love the many activities, beautiful staterooms and amazing restaurants.  

We can arrange your vacation on the Quantum or Anthem of the Seas. Contact us for more information or for a no obligation price quote!