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Quantum of the Seas makes inaugural call to Nassau, Bahamas

In:
30 Nov 2014

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas made her first visit ever to Nassau, Bahamas on Thanksgiving Day last week.

Photo by The Bahamas Weekly

To commemorate the occasion, a special ceremony was held on the ship.  

Director General of Tourism Joy Jibrilu commented on the long history between The Bahamas and Royal Caribbea, "Royal Caribbean has been docking out shores for 44 years, beginning in 1970 with the Song of Norway just six years following the establishment of Tourism as the primary industry for economic development within The Bahamas."

“As time progressed, The Bahamas became the model and leader in the Western Hemisphere, and Royal Caribbean has stayed with us throughout these years. Our Tourism sector has grown by leaps and bounds and similarly, so have you – your first ship, the Song of Norway at 18,000 tons in 1970 and now the Quantum of the Seas weighing in at 169,000 tons, a mere increase of 151,000 tons."

"The expanse and the vested interest Royal Caribbean has maintained in The Bahamas assures that Royal Caribbean has its place in The Bahamas Tourism archives and we are happy that you are our friend and partner."

The ship’s master Captain Srecko Ban said officials of the ship are very proud to bring the unique to Nassau.

“We thank you for your great hospitality,” he said. “We will be coming to your fine port throughout the winter until May. We look forward to a successful partnership in the future,” he said.

Carnival launches new TV commercial that take a jab at Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas

In:
25 Nov 2014

One of Royal Caribbean's biggest competitors is Carnival Cruise Line and they recently kicked off a multi-brand promotion that is taking aim at Royal Caribbean.

Carnival is asking its web site visitors to view some new TV commercials, one of which is entitled, "No Robots", where the video talks about how robots aren't something you want on your cruise vacation.  

The robots on a cruise they the ad alludes to is a pretty clear reference to Quantum of the Seas, which recently launched with a number of new innovations, including robot bartenders and robot screens.

Top 10 Quantum of the Seas hidden secrets

In:
24 Nov 2014

If you're going on Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas, there's a lot to see and do but we found our list of the best hidden secrets that can be easily overlooked on Quantum of the Seas.  

10. Roast beef sandwich from Cafe @ Two70

I love eating on a Royal Caribbean cruise and I'd be remiss if I did not mention a Royal Caribbean classic food, the roast beef sandwich.

The roast beef sandwich originated in Park Cafe on Oasis of the Seas and has spread to other ships too.  On Quantum of the Seas, you can get a Roast Beef sandwich from Cafe @ Two70 and it's well worth your time.  And it's free!

9. Swing in Two70

Anyone can sit in a chair or bench in the amazing new Two70 but swings are where it's at!

Off on the side of Two70, you can find these special little swings that you can sit, rock and enjoy the view or a show.  After you find the swing, no other form of sitting will suffice!

8. Wing viewing area

Quantum of the Seas features a lot of access to seeing the ocean from all over the ship, but by far the best place to see the ocean and the outside of Quantum of the Seas is found just outside the Solarium.

If you walk into the Solarium and then proceed all the way forward, you will find doors on opposite sides of the ship that offer small wings for guests to go outside and get unobstructed views of the ocean and even the ship herself.  Great photo opportunities here!

7. "Glass" floor

Sometimes it's easy to forget Quantum of the Seas is a pretty tall ship in addition to being large in other respects.  If you want a good reminder, check out the "glass floor" view.

Okay, it's not really made of glass (it's plastic) but this small panel allows you look down about 10 decks to the Royal Esplanade.  Bring your camera with you!

6. Elevator and stairway artwork

I'm no art critic but it's my understanding art is meant to evoke a reaction to the person looking at it and on Quantum of the Seas, there's a lot of art onboard.  I really found the art in the stairways and elevators to really be interesting to see.

It's not to say the art is amazing or the best I've seen, but everytime I found a new one, I would look at it to get the idea.  Some are pretty, some have a message and some are just funny (don't miss the money with lipstick).

5. Fresh baked cookies from Windjammer

It's probably not surprising to find another food related entry in this list, but if you tried one of the the freshly baked cookies from the Windjammer, you'd know why it makes this list.

I'm probably not breaking any new ground by telling you freshly baked cookies taste really, really good.  But I can't ever recall finding freshly baked cookies available on a Royal Caribbean ship.  Until now!

In the breads section of the Windjammer, you will find crew members putting out their latest creations but you really need to ask them for some fresh cookies because they are absolutely amazing.  Like beat your own grandmother to get one amazing. 

4. Art drawing art

At one point in my cruise, my friends asked, "Hey, did you see the muppets drawing stuff?" and I had no idea what they were talking about.  

Located on Deck 5 near the Schooner Bar, are three screens that have characters that do bear a resemblence to Muppets and will draw things on the screen you're looking at, erase it, and then draw something else.  It's pretty neat to watch even if I have no idea what the message is behind them.

3. Kids' Wave pool

Royal Caribbean says this is the first wave pool at sea and for kids (heck, I'm going in once the weather warms up) there's a fun time waiting for them up on the pool deck.

The wave pool features Dreamworks characters from the Madagascar films and it's just another really cool aspect of this new ship that you have to see.  I know my daughter will never want to leave!

2. The guy driving the car

The first two times I walked by this display I didn't really pay much attention but when I saw people watching it and laughing, I stopped to check it out and I'm glad I did.

You'll find a large plastic yellow car on the wall with the driver's window a LCD screen that shows a guy just driving around.  What makes it amusing is what you will see as this guy drives. Elephants, dinosaurs, fish, chickens, sideways driving and more.  There's always something happening in the background and it's worth a minute or two to catch it all.

1. Solarium chairs in the pool

If you're looking for the best place to relax on Quantum of the Seas, how about these chairs in the Solarium that are in the pool?

You know how it's great at the ocean to drag your chair to the edge of the ocean surf so you can stay cooled down but remain sitting?  Royal Caribbean has done that with the pool and I can only imagine how tough it will be to grab one of these chairs on a regular cruise when the weather is warmer but I cannot think of a better place to sit back, have a drink and enjoy the experience.

Quantum of the Seas inaugural merchandise roundup

In:
22 Nov 2014

Buying something to commemorate your Royal Caribbean cruise is always a popular idea and with Quantum of the Seas, it's brand new to the fleet and Royal Caribbean is commemorating it's inaugural year with a line of merchandise available to purchase.

The merchandise listed here was available on our recent Quantum of the Seas cruise and we've heard the inaugural merchandise will be available for the first year the ship is in service (translation: you still have time to buy it).

Inaugural Season Quantum of the Seas shirt

Quantum of the Seas inaugural season tumbler

Quantum of the Seas long sleeve shirts.  These aren't inaugural but they are a Royal Caribbean tradition.

Quantum of the Seas Inaugural Season t-shirt

Kids "I love Quantum of the Seas" shirt

Men's Quantum of the Seas "Cruising King" t-shirt

Women's Quantum of the Seas "Cruising Queen" t-shirt

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - Quantum of the Seas roundtable review

In:
19 Nov 2014

Listen to the Show

I’m back from Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, and there’s so much to talk about this week that I’ve invited a few friends who joined me on the cruise to come on the podcast this week to discuss our thoughts on everything we experienced on this amazing new ship. It’s our first-hand review of Quantum of the Seas and what parts of the ship are not to be missed.

Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...

On this episode:
Running time:

Best places to party on Quantum of the Seas

In:
18 Nov 2014

If I may quote an under-appreciated Dutch eurodance group from the late 1990s, "We like, we like to party".  If those lyrics strike a chord with you, then this blog post is for you.

Finding a good party on Royal Caribbean is something a lot of people look to do and hey, who doesn't want to have a good time while at sea? 

Perhaps you want to meet someone special or just get your groove on (do people actually say that still?) and get down and the good news is, there are places on Quantum of the Seas to dance, sing and just plain party on this brand new cruise ship.

Best place for club dancing and music: Music Hall

If you want to jump into a crowd of people and raise your hands into the air like you just don't care, then Music Hall is for you.

This hip spot features live music in the evenings to get things started and that gets a crowd in of itself.  But after the band is done, the DJ comes out and then Music Hall really comes alive.

We've seen crowds on Royal Caribbean cruise ships before at various dance locations but Music Hall really gets the people going.  So if you want to dance to your favorite dance hits, Music Hall is the place to go.

Honorable mention: Bionic Bar & SeaPlex

Best place to sing along to music: Schooner Bar

If you love great bar music and you even like joining in singing from time to time, then check out the Schooner Bar on Quantum of the Seas.

The Schooner Bar has been a staple of Royal Caribbean cruise ships for a while and on Quantum of the Seas, there's a prominent piano where live music is played and it always draws a good crowd.

Unlike the Music Hall, people are usually sitting at the tables, booths and the bar and it's calmer but there's still a great time to be had here.  We loved hearing "Piano Man", "Sweet Caroline" and other classics and after a few drinks, who doesn't feel like singing along too?

Best place for live lounge music: Boleros

Like the Schnooner Bar, Boleros has become a fan favorite on Royal Caribbean ships. This latin-themed lounge is the perfect place for a live band to play some toe-tapping tunes.

There's something about latin music that just appeals to everyone.  Maybe it's the smooth melodies or the intoxicating will to dance but Boleros is always full and always a good spot for an evening drink while you enjoy the band play.

Yo amo Boleros!

Photo tour of D8 Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony on Quantum of the Seas

In:
17 Nov 2014

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas has a lot to offer, including a number of staterooms.  Today, we will look at the category D8 balcony stateroom and take you through the cabin to give you an idea of what to expect if you book this category.

On Quantum of the Seas, we reviewed stateroom 6244, which is located on Deck 6 just outside the aft elevator bank.  Entry to the room is by RFID scanner, which is above the door handle.

Walking into the room, you will immediately see the light from the balcony shining ahead of you.  The stateroom is rather long and narrow.

The bed is joined together but can be split apart if need be.  There's a large, flat screen television across from it and two night stands on opposite sides of the bed.  Access to the balcony is also on the other side of the bed.

The bathroom features a stand up shower, toilet and sink.  One thing we noticed immediately with this bathroom is there is far less of the white plastic you typically find on other Royal Caribbean ship restrooms.  Instead, there's far more glass and tile, which we found a welcome change.

Another change to the restroom is the shampoo and soap options.  On older Royal Caribbean ships, passengers would find a shampoo dispenser on the wall.  On Quantum of the Seas, the dispenser has been removed and instead small bottles of shampoo, soap and conditioner are available.  

Back out to the stateroom, you will find two armoires that allow you to hang clothing as well as store other clothing.  These seem larger to us than closets on other ships.

Of course, the reason to book this stateroom is the balcony.  At 55 square feet, the balcony is on the small side but it has enough room for two chairs and a table.  It's enough space for two people to comfortably enjoy the view and ocean air.

This stateroom does also include a sofa that opens into a bed.  Frankly, any more than two passengers in this stateroom would feel confined quickly. For a couple looking for the a balcony stateroom, the D8 category is perfect for them.

Nine things I loved, hated and was surprised by on Quantum of the Seas

In:
15 Nov 2014

I'm just back from a quick 2-night pre-inaugural cruise on Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Quantum of the Seas and I wanted to share what really stood out to me on this cruise.

Like all cruise experiences, we go in with certain expectations and we find some things were better than we thought, some not as good and others completely surprise us.  Here's a quick few that stood out just a few hours after leaving this amazing new ship

What I liked

Royal Esplanade

The center of activity and where I was consistently drawn to was the Royal Esplanade.  It just seemed to be the place to be at any given time of day.

Perhaps the colder weather forced more people inside that would have otherwise been on the pool deck, but the combination of food, drinks, shopping and entertainment really made the Royal Esplanade into a hub of activity.

The Royal Esplanade benefits from is its design and feels more like a neighborhood than its Royal Promenade cousin.  Rather than ceilings three decks tall, this whole area felt a lot warmer.

The Via area on the Royal Esplanade is also a big hit and I really liked the serenity of the area. Calming music, a dozen giant high definition TVs (the same exact TVs as in the virtual balconies) and beautiful art really made this area flow.  I don't think it was a coincidence why Vintages was always full here.

SeaPlex

I almost put this in the surprise category but I think SeaPlex was always a big push by Royal Caribbean so I'll include it here.  I'll be honest, the sports deck was never an area I spent a lot of time at before.  But SeaPlex changes all of that.

What I love about SeaPlex is it combines a lot of options in one space without feeling like it's being squeezed in.  Remember the ice skating rinks on other ships? They were great but tiny and the basketball courts on other ships were always in the hardest to find areas.  

In SeaPlex, you have a sprawling part of the ship on Deck 12 that seems to have everything. Bumper cars, roller skating, Xbox, air hockey, table tennis, iFly and more.  I always found lots of people here and it really made a big impact.  On a week-long cruise, I could see many visits here to check it all out.  Heck, I never even saw the circus school, basketball court (deployed, that is) or challenged any kids half my age to air hockey.  

And the other big win of SeaPlex? Xbox. Seriously.  This isn't a console they tossed in a corner like it was with the Nintendo Wiis. A dedicated gaming area with uplink to Xbox Live on beautiful TVs.  The only thing missing was Mountain Dew Code Red and Funyuns.  

North Star

I never really thought North Star would be as fun and impressive as it was when I tried it.  The views are amazing and it's the way to see where you are.  I think I would force myself to get back to the ship earlier than normal in a port so I could see the island from that perspective.

The view never ceases to be "old hat" when you're in that observation pod.  Everyone in there always was quoting Royal Caribbean's marketing slogan of "Wow" and after experiencing it myself, I have to think why didn't they do this sooner?

In a bit of trivia, Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain said prior to the North Star idea, the company considered a blimp that was tethered to the ship.  I like the observation pod idea a whole lot more.

WOWbands

I had such high hopes for the WOWbands and it hit that mark easily.  From announcing they would be complimentary to every way I used them, they made the cruise easier.

At its core, what made the WOWbands so great were they just worked.  And they worked easily.  No fuss and everything from the shops to the restaurants to guest relations were able to use them.  After perhaps 3 hours I put my SeaPass card back in the stateroom for good.

Two70 visuals

I don't care how into performance art you are or are not, but there's no denying the visual element presented in Two70 is stunning.  When you see what they can do with the back screens and the roboscreens, it's something to marvel at.

Having seen Starwater performed here as well as photos of what they did for the christening event, the technology behind Two70 is really quite impressive.  

The video projections and roboscreens offer visuals that are many times more advanced than the high-definition television you have at home and it shows.  There's so much potential with what they can do with these screens that I kept waiting to see what would they try next anytime a show was on.

What I didn't like

Wi-Fi not working all the time

Royal Caribbean promised super fast internet onboard thanks to new satellite technology and that worked exactly as promised. I used Facetime with my family multiple times and saw others streaming HBO go and Netflix.  However, the problem was getting to the connection.

The issue was the Wi-Fi networking that delivers the satellite connection to your devices.  In some areas, it worked really well (Royal Esplanade, Two70) but other places you would see a good connection but never be able to connect to anything.  

I believe this is just a "working out the bugs" kind of thing and by the time Quantum is in service regularly in a month or two, it will all be fine.  But not being able to use the Wi-Fi at all in my stateroom was annoying.

SeaPass cards to keep the lights on

I know we should all do our part to be more environmentally friendly but this little change was more annoying than anything.  When you're in your stateroom, you cannot turn the lights or air conditioning on unless you place your SeaPass card in a little slot near the door.

After a day, everyone figured out you could put any card in there and all it did was annoy people.  

Like I said, I know why they did it and it makes sense on paper but it didn't fly with me from a real-world perspective.

What surprised me

Music Hall

When you read about Music Hall on Royal Caribbean's promotional material, it sounds like a nice little area where bands will play.  Sounds cute, right?  The reality is this area was always the place to be every night.

First and foremost, the tribute bands found in Music Hall were phenomenal.  We had a Journey and Led Zeppelin tribute band onboard and they absolutely sounded like the real thing.  

After the bands were done playing, the DJ came on and it became a dance party.  I never saw so many people dancing and into the whole experience like I did in Music Hall.  I was really impressed by what I saw.

How small the ship felt

Quantum of the Seas is the second largest class of cruise ship Royal Caribbean has made and yet walking around the ship, it never really felt like "a big ship".

I noticed pretty quickly as I was making my around the ship that it did not feel like I was trekking through the Ardennes to get somewhere.  Rather, wherever I was, it was relatively simple and quick to get to where I wanted.

In fact, navigating the ship was also very simple.  Royal Caribbean added digital signage all around the ship to help guests find their way around the ship but the truth is after an hour or two, I had a pretty good sense of where everything was. 

When you can produce a cruise ship that is 11 times longer than a blue whale, it says something when people can easily get around.

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