masteradept

8 minutes ago, biff-tannen said:

I'm just thinking, again - assuming tomorrow's tests confirm the negative result - what it means for RCI in the aftermath of this whole shebang  - they did follow protocol by terminating the cruise early and cancelling the subsequent 10 Dec sailing, but by doing so, they have now lost 30% of their revenue from the current sailing, and had to do a full refund for all pax booked on the 10th Dec one, ON TOP OF the 25% FCC given out.

 

That's a real bummer.

 

I feel like although it's a real bummer from the revenu side, hopefully the response by the line helps to inspire confidence in the procedures and safety measures - from the news reports it seems that most of the passengers were satisfied with the way things were handled. It probably doesn't outweigh the negative publicity from the scare, but it might inspire confidence at least that the Diamond Princess won't be repeated.

Also, as for revenue, I suspect RCI (and Dream) are working with the government really closely, so while I don't think the government will be reimbursing them, I do think they might be getting some aid (e.g., the govt is paying for the PCR testing for the guests at least). It's a PR exercise for the government as much as it is for the cruise lines here, to show that isolated cases can be dealt with while the activity resumes, especially with the push to resume MICE activities.

7 minutes ago, Ethanol95 said:

Did you get this from MOH's website?

Yep this is from MOH!

https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/no-new-cases-of-locally-transmitted-covid-19-infection-9decfullpr

Just now, biff-tannen said:

oops! looks like masteradept was quicker to the draw than anyone else, yet again. Yes, i got some screenshot that looks like it's could be a false positive

 

Heh was following pretty closely because I've got another sailing coming up in a few weeks, and hoping all goes smoothly from here.

Here's some good news. Apparently it was a false positive test on board the ship. Looks like they'll be confirming it with more testing tomorrow.

5.   An 83 year-old male Singaporean on board Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas tested positive for COVID-19 infection this morning, and was immediately isolated. He had reported to the medical centre with diarrhoea, and as part of the protocols was tested for COVID-19 using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test equipment on board the ship. His original sample has since been re-tested at the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), and has come back negative for COVID-19 infection. A second fresh sample tested by NPHL has also come back negative. NPHL will conduct another test tomorrow to confirm his COVID-19 status.

Some updates from the local news, it looks like both Quantum of the Seas and World Dream will continue their schedule as planned after today. They also mentioned that RCI will be doing an additional day-of-departure test at the cruise terminal on top of the current PCR test two days before.

11 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

 

People been wondering what the policy is ....and for the folks onboard whose cruise was cut short, what do they get?  Curious about that as well. Just to know what the policy is.

From what I heard, pro-rated cash refund for the remaining days (in this case 1 day, so presumably 1/3 of the cruise fare) plus the same amount in FCC (so I assume if you paid $300 you get $100 refund plus $100 FCC). 

On the other hand the patient himself and his group do get a full refund in cash. 

11 minutes ago, Ethanol95 said:

It's such a shame this happened. lets hope this elderly is not a super spreader of sorts. This would be the first active community case in a while, I think since the seoul garden report.

 

Do you think Royal will cancel the rest of the season in Singapore? Even though it's just one case, it can spread like wildfire. 

CNA reports that tomorrow's sailing should be resuming, though RC has given guests the option of cancelling for FCC:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/royal-caribbean-cruise-quantum-of-the-seas-cruise-dec-10-13732732

I think unless the disembarkation tests turn up any more cases, the government and Royal won't be too quick to cancel the remaining cruises. Personally I think the government will be viewing this as a "test case" for Tracetogether, and whether they can resume cruises and other activites (like conferences, concerts) using  the system to quarantine contacts while keeping the rest of the activities going. I sure hope it works the way it's supposed to...

Another update from the thread I linked earlier, it seems like passengers aren't disembarking just yet. Word is they'll wait until World Dream finishes her boarding, then disembark, to prevent both sets of passengers from mixing.

I saw a post by someone on Instagram (hashtag Quantum of the Seas, sort by recent) that showed the letter the ministry of health sent out to all guests. Basically contacts of the positive case will be identified (time for the TraceTogether system and the Tracelets to do their work!) and isolated. All other guests will NOT be required to quarantine, but will be tested once on disembarkation and one more time in 2 weeks (cost borne by the ministry and organized by RC). I hope this system proves effective so that we don't have an outbreak here, and it validates both the ministry's and RC's procedures.

Apparently the case has been confirmed (I assume the onboard PCR test results just came in). Pax are currently in their rooms with breakfast being served, next update at 11am local time.

I suspect that at a minimum they will hold the pax onboard until World Dream disembarks her guests (her regular cruise is scheduled to arrive at 9am local). Can't imagine the port authorities will want both cruise ships' guests to mix during disembarkation. Also wonder what it means for World Dream's departure later today (fairly sure tomorrow's Quantum will be cancelled).

Still really hoping everything goes well. Apparently all close contacts have been tested and no other positives were found. Following along on this thread if anyone else is interested.

https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/k9ad1p/developing_story_cruise_to_nowhere_quarantined/?sort=new

Just saw two posts on two separate forums from guests on board that at around 2am local time it was announced that Quantum would be returning to Singapore and guests were asked to remain in their cabins... looks like a positive case on board. Ship tracking also shows the ship returning to port a day early. Hope all goes well... 

On 12/6/2020 at 8:15 AM, gatour said:

A couple of things that the OP didn't talk about was the Flowrider and the rock climbing wall, through no fault of his own.  I think it wasn't high on his priority list.  But what RCCL learns from these Singapore trial cruises would be useful for US operations

Ah sorry I also missed this one out, but yeah, I didn't manage to swing by the Flowrider this time. I did pass the rock climbing wall, it was still going on but I think they had a maximum of 2 people on it on separate lanes. I remember passers-by would randomly cheer one or the other on as though it was a race, but not sure if it actually was one. Also not sure how it will be on the ships with smaller climbing walls, maybe max 1 person?

2 hours ago, Sail n Snow said:

The suite lounge has a server too. It wasn’t clear in that post but further down it was mentioned in a follow up. 

Yes, you're right, thanks for helping to answer! It's not a specific server but just the usual concierge staff who are normally around who will help get the food, and it's still not permitted for you to self-serve yourself, even in the Suite lounge.

Great to see another Quantum report! Looking forward to seeing more.

27 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The Windjammer was closed for dinner?

Yes it was closed for dinner, but it was open for breakfast and lunch, so not to worry there.

5 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Most buffets are closed now......because of a bigger risk.  But plenty of food on the ship, you won't go hungry

 

Currently on the ship (and on land) buffets are still open, but are no longer self service. Crew members are stationed at the various food areas to serve you, so you just tell them what you'd like and they'll give it to you. This also applied to the Suite Lounge, incidentally.

10 hours ago, biff-tannen said:

Hi, hopefully you're all back home and fully rested! Oh yes, please, if you have the inclination, do make a comparison between the two. We had both options but my wife says "Let's do RC, sounds better" and I kind of agree. QOS looks classier, and food choices look better. Awaiting your studied response! 

Cheers!

Let me try to do a rundown of how I felt about both ships (but bear in mind I was in a regular room on World Dream and a suite on Quantum, but will try to compare like for like). Hopefully for all of us here in Singapore this helps you to pick one that's best for you!

Check-in/Pre-cruise

Booking on Dream Cruises is similar to Royal, however, at least for this time (I'm not sure if it applies all the time, as that was my first time on Dream), only guarantees were available and we couldn't pick our cabin. We did get a credit card promotional upgrade to balcony deluxe, but couldn't pick the room.

The Dream cruises pre-cruise planner is kind of terrible, I have to say. You have to sign up to their loyalty program to even access it, and despite there being links to pre-purchase drinks packages and dining, none of them actually worked.

A big difference between Dream and Royal for this period is the method of pre-cruise coronavirus testing. Dream does antigen rapid tests at the port itself, while Royal does PCR testing some days before. This has upsides and downsides - with Royal, you need to make a trip down for the test, but with Dream, because the test slot is assigned, you can't freely pick a check-in timing and the boarding process also takes longer, leaving less time to enjoy the ship. Both will do the same antigen test after disembarkation, so no difference here.

Stateroom

We had a balcony deluxe cabin on Dream. I can't compare it to a Quantum-class balcony, but it was slightly more spacious than a typical balcony on Voyager-class ships, though the balcony itself was smaller than on Navigator/Mariner. Otherwise it was a great cabin, modern and comfortable. I will definitely say that Dream has the better bathrooms than Royal so far, especially the shower. World Dream had a powerful shower, as well as additional water jets along the sides of the shower cubicle you could turn on for even more spray. On the other hand, even on the GS, Quantum's shower was slightly disappointing, not much water pressure to speak of. I think both cruise lines have great cabins in this regard.

Dining

This is probably the area where the lines differ the most. Dream's main dining rooms offer only a single set (appetizer + main + dessert) rather than the order-anything-you-like of Royal, so keep that in mind. Similarly, the specialty restaurants on World Dream were a-la-carte pricing instead of a single cover charge. This could work out if you just wanted a few items, but I think I prefer Royal's system.

The buffet on Dream is alright quality-wise but Windjammer on Quantum definitely beats it out for variety, as there wasn't much choice on Dream. Also, it was a bit annoying that the buffet closed so early on embarkation day, especially given the later boarding time. Windjammer is closed for dinner on Royal, but the MDRs and other venus were still open till late, at least.

Before cruising, I had the suspicion that the Asian food would be better on Dream than Royal, while the Western food would be better than Royal. I think this was accurate, the sushi/sashimi on World Dream was much better than Izumi on Quantum, and Silk Road (the Chinese specialty restaurant) was great too. On the other hand, for western food, you can't really beat Coastal Kitchen or Chops Grille on Quantum.

Overall, this one comes down to personal preference I think, though as a whole, Royal definitely wins. On the other hand, beverages are cheaper on Dream (S$3 for a soft drink, $8 for a mocktail), but the Royal drink packages are cheaper if you think you'll be having a lot.

Activities/Entertainment

Both lines had more than enough to do on board. While Quantum's claims to fame are well known (Northstar, iFly, Flowrider etc), my favourite part of World Dream was the VR experience lab, where they had multiple experiences to try out (at an additional cost). I tried the VR maze (a maze you walk through while wearing a HTC Vive VR set with a choice of different programs like Rabbids or Assassin's Creed ) and found this to be well worth it.

World Dream's highlight show, however, was pretty much adults-only. As far as I could tell, it was called "Dream Boys" and featured a troupe of dancers in what I can only describe as a strip show. Apparently this was really popular though, so it must have been good, I just wouldn't bring kids in.

Most importantly for us locals, World Dream features mahjong (the proper kind, not the stack-tiles-and-match one that some people think of). It's a $18 fee for a few hours, and they have those fancy automatic shuffling tables. I'm not sure if Quantum had mahjong, I vaguely remember Voyager having it back then, but I know this can absolutely be a deal-breaker for some groups of Singaporeans.

Overall, both lines are good! You probably wouldn't go wrong picking either one, though Royal wins out overall, I think. Final word though - Dream is really expensive for weekend cruises compared to Royal, and their trips tend to be 2-night, so I would definitely pick Royal if all else is equal.

Hope this helps anyone looking to make a choice! I do have pictures from World Dream, but I don't think they fit here, so feel free to PM me and I could send you some. Also, as I mentioned above, my travelling partner at https://www.instagram.com/saxoftheseas/  put up the World Dream pictures as well so feel free to take a look there.

Good morning everyone! Day-after-the-cruise-blues, but looking at all the well-wishes and thoughts here really brightens up my day! Let me try to get to a few more of your questions.

13 hours ago, RFerrington said:

@masteradept, was the room steward service the same as pre-COVID or was it reduced ?

Other than the cruise compasses available only by request, I think it was more or less the same (twice-daily service).

11 hours ago, Lloyd555 said:

 

Thank you for sharing your experience on this Quantum of the Seas cruise with us.

 

Why did you say 'Looks like we do have to watch the video on our apps...' ? Was there an issue with the version of the drill on the TV?

 

Ah not at all, actually we didn't try on the TV. I just meant that before I was wondering if opening the briefing on the app was enough without having to actually click "play", but I guess the system is smarter than that. If you do it on the app, each person has to do it individually though, so with a big group in one stateroom it might be quicker to do it on the TV.

9 hours ago, boscobeans said:

You do have access to the other portion of the LARGER veranda on that Grand Suite.. CORRECT ???

Yep that's right, we could access both portions of the veranda, and also close it off when we didn't want to use the larger portion. Pro-tip, if you're sailing Quantum class, please wear clothes on the veranda, as while we were enjoying the sunrise on the full sea day from that portion, someone decided to show up on their balcony... without that. It's unfortunately quite visible from the larger veranda (and vice-versa, it's not so private on that section of the balcony) so it was good that it could be closed off.

7 hours ago, 39august said:

How were the elevators handled, please?

There wasn't any special handling of the elevators this time, but because the guest count was so low it was quite rare that we even had to share the elevators with another group (even during boarding and disembarkation). If they increase capacity from 30% to 50% I can see them managing the elevators more strictly though. Same with the pool, I suppose.

2 hours ago, shorning said:

Now I am really excited about my first cruise since Covid.  It will be on the Harmony.  I am taking my two granddaughters to celebrate my 80th birthday but not until August.  I had a March cruise booked on Princess but it was cancelled by the cruise line.  My husband and I were true cruisers but he died in April so I may need to book a cruise before August. 

Really sorry to hear about your loss. I hope you manage to have a wonderful birthday celebration on Harmony!

23 hours ago, yuhaocooper said:

Great to hear that the boarding is super smooth and quick! Definitely makes the cruising experience way better.

 

Btw, are the bars and restaurants strict with the last service of alcohol at 10pm? and were the speciality restaurants open in the afternoon too?

Ah sorry, I missed out your other question, but as for specialty restaurants only Chops was open for lunch. The others were open around 5pm for dinner.

14 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Hi, thanks for the updates. I wonder if complimentary room service is still included in Sky class suites as it’s not indicated in the suite benefits lists

Hi! I didn't try to order room service this time, but I didn't see any indication that we got complimentary room service, and it wasn't listed in the welcome letter, so I assume it's not included.

14 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I take it you can smoke in some part of the casino. That's the only picture I saw elsewhere that got everyone upset. Cant smoke on your balcony, only in casino set some people off.

I didn't notice if you could smoke on the balcony, but there was a smoking area on the promenade deck.

22 hours ago, yuhaocooper said:

Great to hear that the boarding is super smooth and quick! Definitely makes the cruising experience way better.

 

Btw, are the bars and restaurants strict with the last service of alcohol at 10pm? and were the speciality restaurants open in the afternoon too?

It definitely does! No lines is always a plus, even without any kind of priority for suites. Disembarkation was smooth too.

Yes, they're quite strict with this, no sales after 10pm and if I'm not wrong, no public consumption after 10:30pm. This is in line with the current restrictions in Singapore, so I wouldn't expect it to be the same if cruising resumes elsewhere.

19 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Did you happen to see the Flowrider open and size of line?

Sorry, didn't manage to pass by the Flowrider this time. I'll drop by on a subsequent cruise and take a look.

5 hours ago, Catkarma said:

It concerns me that the people in line to check in baggage are in no way following social distantcing guidelines.  Where are the people who should be enforcing this?!?  I guess these people are the crash test dummies for the cruise line.  Good luck!

There were actually people enforcing distancing, though I guess it doesn't look like it from the picture. The guideline here is 1m though, which is less than 6 feet (or 2m as used on the ship itself), though I do agree it would have been nice to space this line out more.

3 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Thanks Masteradept for bringing us along for the journey. It’s been beyond insightful. 
 

I have a few questions that I would greatly appreciate if you could give some insight on. 
 

1) approx what time was your luggage delivered to your stateroom since sail off was around 9pm. 
 

2) considering you’re in a sky class suite, do you know if room service was still complimentary for this sailing 

 

Thank you

1) If I remember correctly it was about half an hour after we got on ourselves (it arrived pretty much as I was taking the stateroom photos to share with you all), so pretty quick.

2) As above, didn't look like it was included this time.

2 hours ago, Chingyeo said:

Can you also please advise the disembarkation process. How long does it take... And do you have to sit and wait for the results and if so where and how long 

It's a very fast process. Step by step:

1. Head to the gangway when your tag number is called (or even after)

2. Drop the tracelet off in the provided bin

3. Scan the seapass card at the gangway and disembark the ship

4. TraceTogether check in at the cruise center (just scan a QR code or the TraceTogether token)

5. Passport control

6. Antigen rapid swab test - no need to wait for the results, and you'll only be notified of positive results, otherwise no news is good news if you don't hear from them in an hour.

7. Customs check on baggage

8. Exit the terminal to catch a taxi/Grab/MRT/etc.

At no time was there a wait at all, it's pretty much just how fast you can walk.

2 hours ago, biff-tannen said:

Nope, the other one allowed to sail is the World Dream of Dream cruises by Genting .

 

they started a month earlier in Nov

 

https://www.insider.com/cruise-to-nowhere-singapore-photos-2020-11

 

I did have the opportunity to sail World Dream last week (it was a last-min replacement from a Hong Kong trip, and it was fortunate I didn't go to Hong Kong as Royal announced passengers travelling overseas within 14 days wouldn't be allowed on). I see a lot of fellow Singapore-based cruisers here so if anyone's interested in that cruise, or on a comparison between Dream and Royal on these nowhere-cruises, I can do that as well!

Well, this should wrap up the report! Not many photos of the disembarkation I’m afraid, had my hands full and also photography is restricted in some parts of the terminal. 
 

Looking down at the aft elevator area 

Hash browns at Coastal Kitchen

A last look at our room

As far as arrivals go, the process was smooth. Departures were called out by tag number, though it didn’t seem to be strictly enforced (on World Dream last week staff would knock on the door at the appointed time and escort us off deck by deck). 
 

At the exit of the ship on deck 5, there’s a bin to drop off the Tracelet wristband. 

After disembarking, we went through passport control, followed by the post-cruise swab test. Unlike the one before the cruise (but similar to the one before World Dream), this was not a PCR test but an antigen rapid test. We didn’t have to wait for the results though, but would be contacted for further testing by phone if the results were positive. The last step was customs checks before heading out of the terminal. 
 

Well that’s about it for this report! Thanks so much for following along, and I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did bringing it to you. I also hope that you got a glimpse as to some of the new procedures, and some things that have stayed the same. I’ll be sailing on Quantum a couple more times the next few months, including one in Star class. Although I don’t think I’ll be blogging on those (at least not in so much detail), if anyone is interested l, I’ll be more than happy to post some reports, especially on the Star class experience. 
 

Lastly, we arrived back home to the news that aside from Quantum and Spectrum, cruises up till March were cancelled. I can only imagine how disappointing this must be to all of you out there who can’t wait to board a ship again (certainly my plans to sail an Oasis class are looking further and further into the future as we go on). I’ve also seen many posts by people worrying that the experience will never be the same again, or that the restrictions will take away what they love about cruising. To all of you out there, I just want to say - don’t give up hope that things will get better. I hope that, as they’ve done here, Royal will be able to work with governments and stakeholders in the rest of the world to come up with a system that works, and by using their experience with these cruises they can resume cruising in a safe and enjoyable manner elsewhere. I also think that despite the new regulations and procedures, I didn’t feel that anything was lacking or vastly reduced compared to before, so don’t worry that it’s impossible to have a fun cruise with them in place. Most importantly, the crew are still as friendly, enthusiastic and passionate as ever and I really appreciate the hard work everyone out in to take care of us guests. I hope that for them and all the staff out there still waiting to resume work, this can be the start of the recovery for them. 
 

Once again, thank you for joining me and see you all next time! 
 

While I get ready to post about arrival and final thoughts, I think some have been interested to see the Cruise Compasses for this trip so here they are! As noted, they aren’t placed in your cabin by default anymore, but you can ask your stateroom attendant to do that or grab one from guest services when you pass by. 
 

Time to pack up, grab some breakfast and disembark. Disembarkation this time is spread out by time slot, and I’m not too sure if they’re going to be strict about it (but 8am is way too early to be leaving)

The disembarkation tags. This time they don’t seem to be helping us bring the bags off (or did I miss that out?). We were also given a sticker sheet with our personal details on it - this will be for the arrival antigen test. 

Well, last update before turning in for the night!

Last two stops of the day were the Suite lounge and Jamie’s for dinner. The suite lounge was really empty, and I also confirmed that only suites and pinnacles were allowed in (so no D+). Jamie’s was as normal for RC, pretty good. 
 

Concierge Club/Suite Lounge entrance (RC can’t seem to decide what to call it on this ship, I’ve seen signs for both)

Suite Lounge interior 

Jamie’s Italian

i can’t say I liked Izumi on previous trips on other ships, so we gave it a miss. It’s... really not the best sushi. 
On this trip the robots weren’t serving drinks, but did put on a show once in a while. I think the maintenance staff were working on the drinks ordering system this time round

A point to note for late-night drinkers - per Singapore regulations, alcohol can’t be sold after 10pm (in line with the current Phase 2 restrictions on land) so do keep in mind this is probably only applicable for the Singapore trips for now. 
 

Time for bed I suppose, it’s an early disembarkation tomorrow. Arrival at 6am, disembarkation times between 7-9am depending on stateroom. I’ll post some pics of the arrival paperwork and process tomorrow. Also I see some have asked for the cruise compasses, and we did go to get the paper copies, so I’ll get that done as well. See you all tomorrow!

I’ll be updating on the rest of the evening (Suite Lounge and Jamie’s) soon but just a quick update, we’re sailing past the outer port anchorage now and I do believe (despite the horrible shot) that that is sister ship Spectrum out on our port side. 
 

According to the tracking apps, to our port we have:

Spectrum

Voyager

Radiance

Celebrity Solstice

And off to starboard:

Costa Venezia

Carnival Splendor

Carnival Spirit

Diamond Princess

Kind of a sad sight but hopefully also the fact that Quantum is sailing with passengers is a sign of better things to come, especially to all the crew on those ships. 

14 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I knew that I was going to tag you but forgot.  Our first cruise when they start sailing will be in a suite and I thought that was part of what I am paying a premium for.

I wouldn’t worry too much, aside from maybe 5-10 mins for bag drop there’s literally no queue anywhere at all. I suppose that’s why they didn’t set up a priority line. 

9 hours ago, biff-tannen said:

 

Btw, thanks for the casino shots. Did you have trouble booking the shows, or are you just going to wing it and queue?

In the end we decided to skip the show, but it didn’t look like people would have any trouble booking it.  
 

8 hours ago, Shipshow said:

Excellent details.  Another degenerate question on the casino, what games are available?  Do they have craps?  Is alcohol free at the casino or do you need the alcohol package? 

Sorry but I didn’t have the chance to check, not too familiar with casino games to be honest. 
 

7 hours ago, biff-tannen said:

Quick question : Did you bring US dollars on board or just charge everything to ship account? 

I’m charging everything to the ship account for now, so didn’t bring any USD (I get more points for USD spend on my card anyway).