Royal Caribbean fans excitement for Quantum of the Seas has been pretty high since the first details of the ship were announced earlier this year and today we know one more detail about the ship.  Specifically, we know one feature that will not be on the brand new ship that is under construction.

In his monthy questions and answers, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein confirmed there are no plans by Royal Caribbean to add a water slide to Quantum of the Seas.

When asked if Royal Caribbean has any plans to add water slides to any of its ships, Golsteing replied, "At this time we don’t have plans to build water slides; however, we will send this suggestion along to our New Build team."

Quantum of the Seas will begin sailing from the New York area in November 2014. Her sister ship, Anthem of the Seas, and a third Oasis Class ship will begin sailing in 2015 and we have a third Quantum Class ship on order.

We geeks are a passionate bunch, and one geek in particular decided to combine his passion for Royal Caribbean with his passion for the video game Minecraft.

Essentially, Minecraft is a building game similar to Legos, where people construct anything they can dream of with bricks.  Just like Legos, you have to do it one piece at a time.  A user named "Dasbouwer" built a 1:1 scale replica of Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas in the game.

A thumbs up for the geeky cool factor!

The Bayonne City Council unanimously approved a loan to Royal Caribbean  to provide "non-recourse financing" for Royal Caribbean's plan to expand at Bayonne's Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. 

Joe Ryan, Bayonne spokesman, indicated the city would act as "conduit" for the project funds, allowing Royal Caribbean to take advantage of the city's favorable financing rates for the $50 million project that includes a new terminal and parking facility.  The city council approved the request Wednesday night.

"(This deal) means we're not responsible for the debt," Ryan said. "So in this case the city is assisting with the application on behalf of Royal Caribbean, but we would not be responsible for handling the debt. Royal Caribbean is." 

In addition, Royal Caribbean will pay Bayonne a $250,000 application fee and $50,000 annually to monitor the financing. 

City officials estimate the new port facility will be finished just in time for the launch of Quantum of the Seas in November 2014.

Royal Caribbean will resume cruises to Barbados after removing all of its ships from the Southern Caribbean route last year.  

Barbados Tourism Minister Richard Sealy made the announcement after negotiations with Royal Caribbean that he characterized as "intensive".

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas has been offering cruises back in May, will offer year-round service to the Southern Caribbean island.  In addition, Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas cruise ship that is under construction, will have incremental service starting in November 2014.

Sealy was excited about the news of Royal Caribbean's return, "I would like to think that the leadership of Barbados had something to do with that.  Certainly, the relationship with the port project would be part of it. But we have done our part."

Royal Caribbean had announced in March 2011 that it was leaving the island but then joined into a joint venture with Barbados to build a brand new state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Barbados that will cost over $300 million.

The world's best naval and structural architects are turning a complicated concept into reality. Two70 on Royal Caribbean International's Quantum-class will give guests spectacular views and thrilling shows in the cruise industry's most transformational space.

We stumbled across a list of frequently asked questions that Royal Caribbean created related to Quantum of the Seas and there's some new details here that was news to us.  

The document, aimed at travel agents, answers a number of concerns people have raised about the new ship and while it does not divulge everything we wanted to know, it does give us a better glimpse at what we can expect.

After going through the document, here's what we found interesting.

General

• There will be no Studio B/ice skating ring.  Space for this is being taken up by SeaPlex (bumper cars, circus school, roller skating area)
• Dining venue information will "be revealed later in the year"
• There will be a Royal Promenade
• There will be a Broadway show, which will be announced "soon".
• There will be one rock climbing wall and it will be 30 feet high.
• Barbie Experience will be available on Quantum of the Seas
• Dreamworks Experience will be available on Quantum of the Seas but "at a later date"

NorthStar

• NorthStar will accomodate 13 guests, plus a wheelchair guest (14 total)
• North Star will be complimentary and available for guests at sea, as well as in port. Three premium packages also will be available for advance purchase and booking, including 
  packages for Sunrise and Sunset flights, or a Private Flight, which is ideal for marriage  proposals and wedding ceremonies. All packages include a pre-flight reception, in-flight 
  Champagne toast, a commemorative flight certificate, and a post-flight brunch or dinner
• NorthStar will be 3.6 meters x 4.5 meters in dimension
• NorthStar arm extends up to an 80-degree angle, and descends to a horizontal position to fully rest on the top deck. The length is 41 meters, or 135 feet long. 
• NorthStar will require guests to be seated and will feature air conditioning and heat

RipCord

• Ripcord restrictions are: 
  • Those less than 6 feet tall must weigh less than 230 lbs, and those over 6 feet must weigh less than 250 lbs.
  • Children under 18 years of age need to have a parent or guardian to sign their waiver. 

SeaPlex

• ​Bumper car rides will last approximately 3 – 5 minutes and there will be up to 30 cars to choose from.
• At this time, it is still not determined whether the Circus School will be complimentary or not
• Bumper cars will be offered throughout the day in SeaPlex. They are open to guests on a first come, first served basis
• Roller Blades are NOT permitted in SeaPlex

Two70°

• Approximately 475 guests will fit comfortably in Two70°.

If there's one feature of Royal Caribbean's next-generation cruise ship that is just starting construction, Quantum of the Seas, that is capturing people's imagination the most, it's likely the virtual balconies.  These 80-inch LED screens attached to a wall are promising to deliver an innovative take on the inside cabin.  

Understandably, there's a lot of intrigue regarding this new kind of cabin and people want to know what it is exactly and what to expect.  We don't know everything quite yet, but here's a listing of all the information on virtual balconies that we do know in one place.

What is a virtual balcony?

The virtual balconies will be 80-inch LED projection screen that stretches from floor to ceiling.  They will offer digital real-time views of the ocean and destinations visible from the ship’s exterior.  

It will be displayed in high-resolution color on a giant 80-inch LED screen on the wall of an otherwise windowless stateroom.  It will work at sea and in port.

Will virtual balconies cost extra?

When they were announced, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein said there will not be a specific surcharge for interior cabins with virtual balconies, but added that he hopes they will bring higher yields.

How many inside cabins on Quantum of the Seas will have virtual balconies?

There will be 373 inside cabins on Quantum of the Seas that will offer the virtual balcony feature.

Will any ships other than Quantum of the Seas have virtual balconies?

It's a safe bet sister ship Anthem of the Seas will have virtual balconies along with the unnamed third Quantum-class cruise ship Royal Caribbean has on order.  

In addition to those ships, Navigator of the Seas will receive virtual balconies as part of a previously planned refurbishment.  Navigator of the Seas will go for its refurbishment in December 2013. It is scheduled to sail from Galveston when the upgrades are complete.  Royal Caribbean will use Navigator of the Seas as the "testing ground" for this brand new innovation.

In addition to Navigator of the Seas, virtual balconies will be included as part of scheduled refurbishments for Voyager, Adventure and Explorer of the Seas.  Those ships are set to undergo the revitalization process in 2014-15.

Will the virtual balcony projection be on all the time?

No, you may turn the virtual balcony feature on or off at your convenience.

Where did Royal Caribbean come up with the idea for the virtual balconies?

According to Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain, they got the idea from Disney Cruise Line's virtual portholes that debuted on their ships a few years ago.

"We actually had looked at the idea, and we didn't think that the technology and the receptivity from the public was there," he says. Disney "proved that the public does value something like this."

Today at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, Royal Caribbean held its keel-laying for Quantum of the Seas and put down a 430-ts block in place in the yard's covered building dock.

Royal Caribbean Executive Vice President Maritime, Harri Kulovaara, put down the lucky penny before the ship's block was lowered by the 800-ts crane.

The first of a total of 74 blocks of Quantum of the Seas weighs 430 tons. This keel-laying marks the official start of construction of the Quantum of the Seas. For the time being the 167,800-gt Quantum of the Seas is the biggest ship the shipyard has built so far.

Quantum of the Seas will be able to accommodate 4,180 passengers with 2,090 staterooms.  She will enter service in November 2014.

UPDATE: 11:11AM: Newly minted coins were placed under the keel which then stays in place until the end of construction. Once the ship is nearing completion the coins are retrieved and presented to the ship’s Captain and crew to be placed onboard the ship. According to maritime tradition, the coins are said to bring luck to the ship during its construction and then to its Captain and crew when she is at sea.

We've gotten word that later today construction will begin on Royal Caribbean's two newest cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas.

These two Quantum-class cruise ships will take steps forward in becoming a reality when at 1:00pm, Anthem of the Seas will have her steel cutting ceremony.  This will be followed by the official keel-laying for Quantum of the Seas at 2:00pm.  (We aren't sure if these times are local or eastern)

Both events will take place at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Quantum of the Seas' keel-laying has been expected for some time now, as photos of what appears to be her keel popped up online.  Meanwhile, Anthem of the Seas' steel cutting will be the first substantial news we've heard regarding her since her name was announced.

Quantum of the Seas is scheduled for her first cruise in November 2014, with Anthem of the Seas offering her inaugural cruise sometime in Spring 2015.