Royal Caribbean and Meyer Werft have joined forces again to build Quantum of the Seas & Anthem of the Seas. This collaborative partnership has led to new levels in shipbuilding.
Royal Caribbean Executive Vice President of Operations Lisa Lutoff-Perlo hinted in a blog post a couple of dining options making their debut first on Navigator of the Seas that we can expect to see on Royal Caribbean's brand new ship, Quantum of the Seas.
Lutoff-Perlo writes, "Meanwhile, Navigator of the Seas’ guests will be the first to get a sneak peek of some of the dining options making their debut on Quantum of the Seas this fall. Guests on board Navigator will be among the first to enjoy the fully revamped Chops Grille: The New American Steakhouse, featuring traditional steakhouse offerings with a contemporary flair. Chops Grille on Navigator of the Seas will showcase brand new selections, such as the Veal Chop Parmesan and a Slow-braised Short Rib of Beef with Bordelaise sauce."
Royal Caribbean has been quiet regarding the dining choices coming to Quantum of the Seas and this is the first indication that we will likely see Chops Grille onboard and its new menu.
Chops Grille has been a staple of Royal Caribbean cruise ships fleetwide, so it's inclusion on Quantum of the Seas is hardly a surprise but one more piece in the puzzle for guests trying to get a sense of everything that will be on the new ship.
Quantum of the Seas adviser Dhani Jones has a new video out today that shows him exploring activities to bring aboard Royal Caribbean's next cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas.
When Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas emerges from dry dock next week, among the new changes onboard the ship will be virtual balcony staterooms that feature an 80 inch high definition LCD screen in select inside staterooms.
Fox News interviewed Ronnie Farzad, Royal Caribbean’s head of entertainment technology, and he says the new screens stretch from nearly floor to ceiling and wall to wall, complete with the sound of the seas in real-time from the camera location. Royal Caribbean is also included a banister for a feeling of safety.
Why a banister? Well, Royal Caribbean told Fox News that they tested a simulated virtual balcony with 30 to 40 people at Royal Caribbean headquarters, and many of the testers complained that an open ocean view is a little scary because there was nothing to keep passengers from “falling in,” especially if the ship is moving in high seas, Farzad said.
While Navigator of the Seas only has about 80 staterooms with virtual balconies, there will be a virtual balcony in every interior cabin on Quantum of the Seas. There will even be smaller virtual balconies in the studio staterooms that accomodate solo cruisers on Quamtum of the Seas.
Charlie Miller of Control Systems, the concept design company behind the virtual balconies, spoke to Fox News about several of the challenges in creating an authentic feel to Royal Caribbean’s virtual balconies.
Another challenge was making it all look the way designers envisioned, as Fox News reports, "Designers wanted to create virtual banisters and even balusters, the vertical poles that hold the banisters in place. But the banister had to appear to be outside the window, like on a real balcony. And that created a whole new set of visual challenges, because the look of a real banister changes all the time as the sun and the ship change directions. The answer was to incorporate sun movement charts and powerful GPS data to add “real” shadows and highlights to the virtual banisters. At the same time, they decided not to put virtual glass between the balusters."
Last week plans for construction to begin on the renovations of Cape Liberty's cruise terminal were halted after the construction plans impacted a September 11th memorial. The renovation plans are back on track now after the Port Authority has come up with a plan for ensuring the 9/11 memorial is not destroyed.
NJ.com is reporting the small group of memorial pavers that encircle the 9/11 Teardrop Memorial at the south end of the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor will be temporarily removed when repair work at the site begins.
The renovation work on the terminal is necessary to allow the port to accomodate Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship Quantum of the Seas for her November 2014 arrival.
“The start of the construction is contingent on the city of Bayonne’s approval,” said Port Authority spokesman, Steve Coleman.
Coleman estimates the pavers will be out of the 9/11 memorial ground for roughly three to five months.
“These pavers will be restored to their original locations when the work is finished,” said Coleman.
Preliminary construction of the new cruise port facility in Bayonne, New Jersey was halted on Friday after it was discovered plans for the port makeover included the removal of hundreds of memorial pavers that surround the September 11 "teardrop" memorial.
Residents were "outraged" according to NJ.com, after learning the $50 million project would include the "temporary" removal of about 300 pavers.
Frank Perrucci, chairman of the Sept. 11 Bayonne Remembers Committee, said he was told by workers at the site that the construction project would cut through a portion of Harborview Park -- where the "To the Struggle Against World Terrorism" memorial is located -- and would mean the "temporary" removal of about 300 pavers.
The memorial will not be affected and workers indicated that the pavers would be put back into place when the construction is complete in May.
The cruise port makeover includes a new Cape Liberty Cruise Port terminal building, a parking garage, an overflow paved parking area and berth improvements on land owned by Port Authority.
During the roll out of Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, it will be involved in a music concert in Papenburg, Germany as a backdrop.
The event, "NDR 2 Papenburg Festival: The yard is calling!", will be held on September 6 at the Meyer Werft shipyard with "the imposing backdrop of the luxury liner Quantum Of The Seas."
There's no indication how much the new ship will be involved in the event. It may just be a coincidence that Quantum of the Seas will be outside when the concert is scheduled or perhaps Royal Caribbean is deliberately using the event to market the new ship.
Quantum Experience Advisor, Genevieve Gorder, is back today with a new webisode detailing her trip to Papenburg, Germany, with Royal Caribbean's newbuild and design team to see Quantum of the Seas first hand and finalize the last few details for the Lofts and Suites.
There's a new video that shows a few of the Quantum of the Seas bow sections being towed into the German shipyard where Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship is being built.
Cruise Ind reports that two of Quantum of the Seas' bow sections were outsourced to be constructed at Marine Projects Ltd. in Poland.
Quantum of the Seas will officially launch in Fall 2014 and be based in New Jersey.
Royal Caribbean has tapped Cathelco to help protect Quantum of the Seas' hull and seawater pipework systems.
The Cathelco pipework anti-fouling systems will protect a total of 20 seachests on each vessel serving extensive shipboard equipment including freshwater evaporators, reverse osmosis systems, air conditioning chillers and sea water cooling pumps. The AF system will also protect a number of fire fighting pumps and their associated pipework.
In addition, all Quantum class ships will be supplied with Cathelco impressed current cathodic protection systems (ICCP) which safeguards the hull surfaces against corrosion.
The 250 amp forward system will have an arrangement of two 125 C-Max disc anodes and reference electrodes wired to a thyristor control panel and mounted port and starboard. The more powerful 350 amp aft system will have two 175 amp C-Max disc anodes and reference electrodes. C-Max anodes are compact, lightweight and have the advantage of being diver changeable for easy replacement without drydocking.
Quantum of the Seas is currently under construction in Meyer Werft ship yard in Papenburg, Germany. Quantum is due for delivery in autumn 2014 with sister ship Anthem of the Seas to follow in the spring of 2015.