Quantum of the Seas arrived in New York earlier today and blog reader Tom Krychkowski was able to snap a few photos of this beautiful new ship docked in Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

Big thanks to Tom for providing these great photos!

Don't forget we will have LIVE coverage of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship this week, beginning on November 12.

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.

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship is home.  Quantum of the Seas pulled into New York harbor this morning, marking her arrival to her homeport of Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

Photo by Royal Caribbean

Quantum of the Seas will call Bayonne home for the next six months, offering cruises to the Bahamas and Caribbean during her time there.

Quantum of the Seas passed under the Verazzano bridge and past the Statue of Liberty in the early morning hours of Monday before heading into the newly refurbished Cape Liberty port.

Royal Caribbean will christen the new ship on Friday, where the ship's godmother, Kristin Chenoweth, will be present.  Regular cruises will commence starting November 18.

Unlike anything on land or at sea, Quantum of the Seas' North Star offers guests the ability to view the world from over 300 feet above sea level providing unparalleled 360-degree views.

Check out this new video by Royal Caribbean that takes a look at all the fun activities found in the SeaPlex on Quantum of the Seas.

From bumper cars to circus school, SeaPlex brings out the playful side of guests. 

Royal Caribbean has released a new video with Quantum of the Seas' captain, discussing how the bridge crew navigates a ship across the Atlantic Ocean for her maiden voyage.

When Royal Caribbean announced the concept of a virtual balcony on Quantum of the Seas, it was a big deal because it offered passengers in an inside cabin a view without the cost of a balcony or even oceanview stateroom.

Today we have a new video by Royal Caribbean that has a behind the scenes view on this unique feature found on the world's smartest ship.

Speaking of virtual balconies, don't miss our exclusive interview with the team that built the virtual balcony!

It's only a pre-inaugural cruise and the ship still has that "new ship smell", but a few technology hiccups troubled the first day Royal Caribbean opened up the ship to the public according to a report by The Telegraph.

The main issues were the super fast internet provided by O3b wasn't working yet because the satellite network does not cover the UK but should be online once the ship reaches the New York area.

Without the fast internet, the Royal iQ smartphone app did not work either.

In addition, the luggage RFID tracking system that is supposed to let you track where you luggage is was also "patchy".  The Telegraph claims the few bags that were selected to be part of the RFID trial seemed to take longer to get to their proper staterooms.

Probably the biggest snafu occured at the Bionic Bar with the robotic bartenders.  Here's the exact report by the Telegraph:

"The robotic arms failed to stand glasses upright on a number of occasions. Cocktails are meant to be mixed in one minute but as waiting times rose to 20 minutes the IT team pulled the plug – literally – and went back to the drawing board."

For those looking forward to Anthem of the Seas, Royal Caribbean vice president Dominic Paul promises that by the time she arrives, Britain will have an O3b satellite so the IQ app should work and smartphone check-in and bag-tagging issues will be resolved.

Onboard Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, engineers and shipbuilders came together to create the first skydiving at sea experience.

This video offers an inside look at the one-of-a-kind installation of Ripcord by iFly onboard Quantum of the Seas.

Before Quantum of the Seas left Southampton, England yesterday, John Wakefield was able to snap these great shots of Royal Caribbean's newest ship docked nearby.

Here are a few of John's photos that he shared with us, that I think are just great looking.