Live Blogging from Quantum of the Seas - Preamble

Hi everyone, I'm really excited to announce our next live-blog experience as we get ready for a cruise aboard Quantum of the Seas for a 2-night preview cruise.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

It is my hope to provide to you a daily look at what this cruise is like and share my experiences with each of you.  This means I will try to post photos every day along with a written report of how things are going (internet permitting).

If you're new to our live blogs, check out the live blogs we did for Navigator of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas last year for an idea of what's in store for you. I'm hoping to give our readers a daily look into what we did that day, what was good/not good and what we have planned for the next day.  

For this cruise, it's a 2-night preview of Quantum of the Seas.  Royal Caribbean has invited me to sample what this new ship has to offer right before she embarks on her inaugural voyages.  It's an exciting opportunity to see this new ship in action as well as get access to a number of people in Royal Caribbean who are responsible for making Quantum of the Seas a reality.

This cruise will depart from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey on Wednesday, November 12th.  Living in Connecticut, I will be driving to the port bright and early that morning.  I'm sure my excitement will not permit me much sleep the night before but I'll need to get every minute of sleep I can that night because the following 48 hours will be a whirlwind.

If you've read this blog at any length, you've probably seen a plethora of blog posts and coverage all about Quantum of the Seas.  Going on this cruise will be great for the blog because it will provide ample subject matter to provide reviews on later.  Restaurants, onboard activities and shows are just the beginning of what Quantum of the Seas offers.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

The cruise has no stops, so it will be a 2-night cruise to no where but there will be so much going on onboard the ship that I'm not sure I will even notice.  I've been quietly jotting down ideas for all the aspects of this brand new ship I want to explore and experience myself.  Deep down I know I cannot come close to experiencing it all in 2 nights but that doesn't mean I wont be trying!

I really want to explore the restaurants and common areas onboard the ship.  I think people are always interested in knowing what each of these is like, so my goal is to do as much walking as I can to experience everything and see it all.  One decision I already made is what I'm not seeing: Mama Mia.  Given I only have two nights and I'll be back on Quantum in March, I feel justified in skipping the show this time because it will get me more time to see more of the ship.

I'll also be going on this cruise solo.  We are expecting our second child later this winter and so, my wife is too far long to go on the cruise.  As you might imagine she is quite jealous that I get to go.  Interestingly, this will be my first cruise solo and it will be interesting to see how the experience compares to going with my family.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

Of course, I hope you will be joining for me on this cruise virtually. If you have any questions for me while I’m onboard, comment in the post below, email or twitter me, and I’ll do my best to answer. 

I've already used the online check-in and reserved a time at 10:45am - 11:15am to arrive.  I'm still planning on arriving closer to 10am because I'm quite excited but it will be fun to see how this all works out.

My itinerary

Next update should be when I arrive in Bayonne on Wednesday, November 12 in the morning.  Stay tuned for all of the live blog updates right here and on Twitter by following @theRCLblog.