It's been less than a week since Royal Caribbean pulled back the curtain to reveal what its newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, will look like and it has generated a lot of buzz among cruise veterans and people new to cruising alike.  And with the first itineraries to go on sale next month, travel agents are on the front lines of hearing from customers who want to be among the first to get onboard.

Beci Mahnken, owner of MEI-Travel, thinks Quantum of the Seas will have tremendous appeal for first time cruisers, "First time cruisers may be reluctant to leave the options of a land vacation behind, but Quantum of the Seas brings exciting activities and amenities previously only available on land, to sea."

"The excitement and buzz we've heard from clients lets us know this ship will be a great success and a wonderful addition to the Royal Caribbean fleet. Potential cruisers who have been waiting to take a cruise for fear of not enough to do or feeling boxed in, only need to see what Quantum of the Seas has to offer and "prepare to be wowed." First time cruisers will want to cruise on Quantum of the Seas because of the ship itself and the endless options available on board. "

Another travel agent with MEI-Travel, Michelle Cunningham, was also impressed by what Royal Caribbean brings to the table, "I think it’s great that cruise lines reach above and beyond their potential to give clients fun things to do at sea, and I do think Royal Caribbean does it the best. They have the biggest ships in the world and continue to create and push beyond the limits." 

Stephanie Miller is also a fan of what Quantum of the Seas offers and she thinks the ship will be a bigger appeal than the islands that are visited, " In the past cruising was a great way for guests to see multiple destinations on one vacation. With Quantum of the Seas I anticipate that guests will find the ship is the destination."

Kaleigh Lay, who hosts the popular podcast all about cruising Cruize Cast, thinks Royal Caribbean has solidified its position as innovator in the cruise industry, "Royal Caribbean has been the industry leader in introducing the next best thing to the cruise market, and that appeals to first time cruisers. People see the commercials with the zip line, surf simulator and now bumper cars and skydiving on the Quantum of the Seas, and they want to sail on that ship. But, these kinds of innovations get people excited about cruising in general because it plants the idea in their minds."

The decision to homeport Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship in Bayonne, New Jersey is a question at the top of many people's minds and CEO Adam Goldstein commented on the deployment decision.

Goldstein feels that the New York cruise market is very important to the brand, “It’s an appropriate place to homeport as she begins service."

Some of the new innovations the cruise ship features, such as bumper cars and skydiving, should attract first time cruisers according to Goldstein.

“It should help the perceptions some people may have about the cruise experience,” he said.

Goldstein was very proud of the Music Hall, saying that Royal Caribbean was one of the last to still place an importance on live music – with up to 30 performers sailing with the ship.

When Goldstein was asked if the decision to homeport Quantum of the Seas in the New York area opens up possibilities for new ships going to places other than Florida, he answered that there are more ports the Quantum-class vessels can go in comparison to the Oasis, but not that many.

The success metrics of the new Quantum ships will be measured via revenue generation and yields tied together.

“What people pay to be onboard (is the metric),” Goldstein continued, adding that fuel savings will come from hydrodynamics and the overall shape of the hull, along with changes and innovations to the propellers, the engines, air conditioning, lighting and more.

When Royal Caribbean announced the new innovation of virtual balconies coming to Quantum of the Seas, the next cruise ship that is being developed, company officials mentioned the virtual balconies will first be seen on Navigator of the Seas.

Navigator of the Seas was already scheduled for a refurbishment early next year as part of Royal Caribbean's fleet wide revitalization program.  The virtual balconies will now be added to the list of new features Navigator of the Seas will receive.  It appears Navigator of the Seas will be the "testing ground" for this brand new innovation.

The virtual balconies will be 80-inch LED projection screen that will show images of the ocean that is taken from elsewhere on the ship. 

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein thinks the virtual balconies will be a great addition, "It's going to bring a completely different feel to the experience."

Navigator of the Seas will go into drydock next January to get the Royal Advantage upgrade package. It is scheduled to sail from Galveston when the upgrades are complete.

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.

"The whole experience will be more valuable to our guests and we expect that to be reflected in the ticket price," he said. 

Quantum of the Seas is expected to enter service in Fall 2014. 

At Royal Caribbean's big press event yesterday, chairman Richard Fain and CEO Adam Goldstein showed the media a video of everything that is new and exciting about Quantum of the Seas starring Quantum of the Seas' godmother, Kristin Chenoweth. 

The video shows computer generated simulations of some of the ship's amazing new features including the observation pod called North Star, the skydiving simulator called Ripcord, the largest sports complex at sea called SeaPlex and the entertainment hub called Two70°.

The eight-minute long video is a great preview of everything guests can expect to find onboard once Quantum of the Seas launches in fall 2014.

After announcing some of the great new features and amenities aboard Quantum of the Seas today, Royal Caribbean gave the public a glimpse at the itineraries this brand new ship will offer when she enters service.

Based out of Bayonne, New Jersey, Quantum of the Seas will offer 7, 8, 11 and 12 night cruises.

The twelve night cruise will offer a Southern Caribbean itinerary with stops in Royal Caribbean's private island of Labadee, followed by San Juan, Philipsburg, Basseterre, Fort de France and Bridgetown.

The 7 or 8 night cruises will stop in Port Canaveral, Royal Caribbean's private island of CocoCay and Nassau.

The 11-night eastern Caribbean cruise will include stops at Labadee, San Juan, Charlotte Amalie, Philipsburg and Basseterre.

Lastly, the 8-night eastern Caribbean itinerary will stop at Labadee, San Juan and Samana.

Guests can begin booking Quantum of the Seas cruises, starting with Crown & Anchor Society members on May 27, 2013 followed by the general public on June 4.

Royal Caribbean announced today when guests can start booking their cruise on Quantum of the Seas.

Bookings will be available to Crown & Anchor Society loyalty program members starting May 27, 2013 before opening to the general public on June 4.

Quantum of the Seas will sail out of the New York Harbor from her homeport of Cape Liberty on 7- to 12-night itineraries during the winter 2014/15 season.

Royal Caribbean made its big reveal for Quantum of the Seas today and the big news was what special features will be aboard the new ship.

• North Star observation pod that gives views 300 feet above the sea
• Skydiving experience called RipCord by iFly
• Circus school with flying trapeze
• Bumper cars 
• Roller skating
• 80" virtual balconies that display live views of the outdoors in interior rooms.
• New entertainment venue called Two70°
• Largest indoor sports complex at sea called SeaPlex
  • Will offer bumper cars
  • Basketball court
  • Dancing
• A multi-purpose performance venue called Music Hall
• Larger cabins (average 9% larger)
• Cabins for single travelers and single cabins with balconies

North Star observation pod

New indoor cabins with virtual balconies that have real time views of the sea

SeaPlex indoor enetertainment zone

“This area is clearly one of the most critical population centers of our world — of the world,” said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Adam Goldstein in an interview Monday. “And clearly we’ve put significant new capacity down into the Florida-Caribbean basin in the last few years with Oasis class. We felt like there was an opportunity in the market to bring state-of-the-art capacity to the New York area going forward.”

Information about Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas is starting to leak a little early after Royal Caribbean posted a video introducing the ship (and subsequently removed it).  One big bit of information we do know is where Quantum of the Seas will sail out of.

Quantum of the Seas will sail out of Bayonne, New Jersey, which is located close to New York City.  Royal Caribbean will send Quantum of the Seas on a few itineraries including 5-night Bermuda cruises as well as 9-night Bermuda and Caribbean itineraries.

Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship will formally be revealed today at 10am at a media event in New York, but photo stills of the new cruise ship's computer generated renderings are now online.

More details will be announced at the media event that is scheduled for 10am this morning, and will be streamed LIVE right here.

We're about 24 hours away from Royal Caribbean's big event in New York City to reveal more details about its newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas.  The special event will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 10am eastern time, when Royal Caribbean will pull back the curtain a little more to share more about its latest cruise ship.

Quantum of the Seas is under construction in Germany at the Meyer Werft shipyard and there's lots of speculation as to what this ship will include.  Some experts are expecting two to three cruise ship enhancements that are not just new to Royal Caribbean, but to the cruise industry as well.  Some ideas of what these innovations could be include various multi-functional day-to-night public spaces, as well as state-of-the art environmental technologies.

We will provide live coverage of the event as well as any live video feeds that may be available.