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 an 8-night Caribbean adventure.

It is my hope to provide to our readers a daily look at what this cruise will be like and share our experiences with 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, Freedom of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas 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, I'll be driving to Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Friday, March 20 to start our adventure.  I live close enough to the port to be able to drive there on the day of the cruise, but I'm too excited to stay away and I like the idea of kick starting my vacation a day early.  

As many of you know, this cruise was planned as a group cruise among readers of Royal Caribbean Blog and I cannot wait to meet up with everyone onboard the ship and share in exploring Quantum of the Seas together.  Ever since I planned the group cruise, I've thought the idea of cruising with other Royal Caribbean fans would be a lot of fun.

I'll be leaving for my hotel near the port, Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott, right after work on Friday and I should get to the hotel in the evening (no thanks to the New York City rush hour traffic I will be running into). I picked this hotel because Newark airport hotels are as close to the port as you can get and because of the high level of business travelers, these airport hotels are also typically quite nice.  The next day, I will board Quantum of the Seas as early as humanly possible and start the real fun on March 21st!

This is actually my second time on Quantum of the Seas, having taken a two-night sampler cruise(read the live blog from that cruise here) back in November.  From the day Royal Caribbean announced Quantum of the Seas, I've been infatuated with getting onboard and my two night experience was merely a tease for the real thing.  The Quantum-class in general is a new direction for Royal Caribbean and there's just so much onboard to see, do and eat.  In addition, this will be my first solo cruise, so going on a cruise alone will be an adventure in of itself, but then again I'll be with other Royal Caribbean Blog friends who I'm hoping to see a lot of onboard.

In addition to the ship, the itinerary we are on will bring us to two ports of call.  Our itinerary has been changed a number of times but we will be sailing to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Royal Caribbean's private island of Labadee. I've been to both ports but am looking forward to each for different reasons.  San Juan is a beautiful city, with tons to do and this time we will be there in the evening, so I am looking forward to exploring the San Juan night life.  With Labadee, you never have to twist my arm to go back there.  I love what Royal Caribbean has done with this piece of paradise and it's among my favorite spots for pure relaxation (and Labadoozies).

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. 

Who is going

Matt (me).  That's it. Just me. No one else. Seriously.

Our itinerary

Next update should be on my pre-cruise arrival day, Friday, November 20.  Stay tuned for all of our live blog updates right here.