sasha96

We were on Quantum in early April (out of NY). My husband brought a wet suit shirt (not full suit) and a rash guard. It ran the whole time.

On the other hand. Ovation (Quantum class) will be heading to Australia. Since you can experience a Q class ship closer to home, it may make more sense to book Allure or Oasis out of the states.

That's a very good point!

I must say, as a parent with young children, Quantum class offered them plenty to do (even when I had a daughter under 5 years old). That class of ship is very family friendly, IMO!

I havent sailed on Allure or Oasis, but I did two nights on Anthem as a preview for my blog (link below with photos etc) and thought she was amazing! Don't understand the negative reviews at all, the ship was beautifully classy, with lots of fantastic things to do - flow rider, i-fly, north star, bumper cars, shows that blew my mind! And the food - I didn't even get started, I need to go back to try Chops, Wonderland etc...!! I would say take the longer cruise, pay the better price, and go with an open mind for a new experience!

I agree! Sailed Quantum and I don't understand the negative reviews! I think you will have a blast on either of the classes of ships. We've sailed DCL too, when the children were very young. RCI's newer ships offer so much more to do! You can stay as busy as you'd like!

Could a random cruise be booked onboard' date=' then (when the cruise is over) cancel and have the funds transferred to another existing reservation? Not sure about the "ins and outs" of the 'new' Next Cruise policy...[/quote']

 

Probably when you sail in April the itineraries and prices will be out for the next year. You may get a good deal on the next cruise after that.

While I thought the Breakaway was a beautiful ship, I wouldn't sail again unless it was an awesome deal. First, the food was dismal. And the service, except for a few exceptions, wasn't much better. We ate in the MDR's as well as 2 specialty restaurants, Cagney's and La Cucina. La Cucina is the worst specialty dining experience I've had on a ship and would never pay extra to eat here. I really wouldn't eat there for free.

 

We had a mini suite with an extra large balcony and it was great, but most balconies on the BWY are very small. Entertainment on BWY was decent. I enjoyed Rock of Ages and the jazz club in the evenings but the Second City Improv was boring. Not my cup of tea. I prefer stand up comedy and there is none at all on BWY. I didn't like the fact that they held many passenger favorite events, Like the Love and Marriage game, in the centrum area. There was limited seating and it was held during dinner time, as were many other events. Also, had kids' movies and other events taking place here all during the day which made the area very noisy if you just wanted a snack at O'Sheehans or paid a visit to guest services. Casino was nice but very smoky. Even in the "non smoking" side. No kids for me so I can't comment on the kids program but they did have a nice sports area up on deck that would probably be enjoyable for kids.

 

Overall, The Anthem is just more beautiful and the entertainment will be fantastic and the MDR as well as specialty dining is far superior than on BWY.

I've done both ships as well and agree with nearly everything! I did love the shows on Breakaway. I wish I had Rock of Ages to see again, rather than Cats on my future Oasis sailing. Quantum class is better designed for cold weather. It has a great indoor pool and Breakaway does not! Service was not good at all, IMO! Food was Ok but Royal is better. The Ropes course on Breakaway was fun but iFly, North Star, and Seaplex beat it out any day! Breakaway's water slides aren't a big deal to us. Our young kids never found a kids club they didn't like, but I felt Breakaway had better security to the program (though I never felt either was unsafe, and nobody beats DCL for facilities, activities, cleanliness, and security with kids clubs). The rooms are far superior on Quantum class. Breakaway was small and I'm glad we had an aft facing bump out balcony. Otherwise it would have been ridiculously small. Quantum's balcony was great and the room had tons of storage. I just wish it had an upper berth rather than just a pull out couch for my kids to share.

Thanks Sasha!

My email address is NYYScott@gmail.com

I sent over all that I have (missing Day 4). If it doesn't go through, let me know. Maybe the files were too large.

Hoping to get a taste of what daily activities will be available for my 3 1/2 yr old.

Does anyone have a copy of cruise compasses and/or Adventure Ocean activities for both young ones (3+) and slightly older ones (9)?

I may from Q. Send me you email address and I'll send over what I find.

Not sure what you mean -- it should be a choice when you book the cruise. The only option after that is early or late seating.

Unless that is all taken and no longer an option. Then you can do regular DD or standby.

For me, it is a matter of perspective going into it with the bookings. On Q we didn't know they were putting DD on the ship, so I think some cruisers felt a bit blindsided by what they perceived as a dramatic change. Having cruised DCL and NCL, I didn't find the change very dramatic.

The IT was terrible and it took a while for reservations to go through the whole system or to "stick". Once on board, they were all in place and worked nicely. I wish they would have changed over (or started) the whole concept to DD Classic. We've cruised DCL and they basically do it (call it Rotational Dining) and it's wonderful!

I don't think pre-planning and booking show and dining reservations is a big deal. On older ships there is a set dining time (mostly) and set show times given/told to you. Only difference on Quantum class is you some choice in those matters. You are still showing up for dinner and shows at a set time on all ships...either they pick it or you do!

We're booked for Anthem b/c we loved Quantum. We didn't get into DD Classic so we are going with regular old DD. I'm not concerned. Having cruised this class of ship before the planning shouldn't be any harder than the IT dept. will make it!

Here is their schedule. They are on again Oct. 10th to 16th.

 

http://www.adbacadabra.com/tour.html

 

On this topic I wonder if anyone from Royal has realized that they have booked Abbacadabra for several dates on the Allure that now has Mamma Mia as the broadway show? Perhaps the bookings were done far in advance before the decision to put Mamma Mia on the Allure was made.

Maybe they will be used as an "after party" for the show.

Boarded Quantum Easter this year. The windjammer had a huge cake, colored eggs, and tons of candy. at night we found the Easter Bunny stowing away on the elevators!

In April on Q there were kids menus with the usual kids food offerings.

Thank you! We actually switched our balcony room to two connecting inside cabins. Like you mentioned, it will be nice to have two bathrooms and the extra space. Plus with the recent RCL sale, it was a little cheaper for two rooms :)

Glad to hear! My kids 4 and 6 years old at the time found it hard to share the pull out sofa on Q. They had to sleep "short ways" and it worked b/c they are short. The rooms have great storage though!

Yes, and we have on DCL since they have it opened.

Yeah, iFly is just an upper limit on weight. 58" for Flowrider. And then I've read mixed things- I thought I read rock wall, bumper cars and circus stuff was ages 6 and up

Bumper cars are definitely 5 years old. But, my daughter was so close in age...we took her as soon as we got on board. Sea Passes were in the room and we couldn't access them. Staff in the SeaPlex for bumper cars would have no way to check them. We fibbed and said she was 5 so she could ride them once! SSSSsssshhh! Ha!

The new Poldark for Masterpiece. Aides Turner and the story won me over. I'm now reading the book series (which is a LOT of reading) since I'm so hooked!

you can try to put in a request for a bed rail. at 3 1/2 my kids were in beds and did fine on the cruise. I think at 5 my older one even slept in the upper berth.

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We had QoS 7608 and 7610. Lifeboats when looking down, not so much while looking out. I like to see the wake against the ship. The view was Ok but I wish they tucked the lifeboats under.

On Quantum, once you did your free lesson on iFly you could wait in the standby line and go over and over again. You still had to do the training each time.

You'll pay extra for some uncharge restaurants (La Passatiere, Izumi, Jamie's (so worth it) etc.), Flowrider lessons, arcade, shopping, drinks, photos, etc.

I know that The Grande is formal every night.

However, the first night on a cruise is traditionally extra casual because some people get their luggage late.

So I am wondering if The Grande might be casual on the first night.

 

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we had Grande first night at 5:45pm. Our luggage didn't arrive until 6:30. All we had was what we were wearing and we wore that to dinner. They had no problem with it. We even showed them the app to show our luggage didn't arrive, not that they asked to see it. Some people were totally dressed up. We felt a bit out of place until we were seated but it was Easter Sunday and our only scheduled night to eat at Grande. We weren't about to skip it though I wished my new Easter dress was there so I could wear it.

My daughter was 4 years and 10 months old, weighing 31 lbs. and did iFly. She was a pro at it too! Everyone was so impressed by how well she did. Blew people away when I shared my video with friends on social media. My 6 year old (38lbs. did it too a few times).

weight isn't an issue for iFly b/c the adjust the blower fan. I was told they could lift a small car in the wind tunnel if they wanted to. On land many of the locations allow larger/heavier people on it than on the ship. I was told it was RCI's liability so they were excluding people above a certain weight. yes they weigh you every single time. yes, they can see your DOB/age when they check your account when you check in.

My under 5 couldn't do rock wall, bumper cars, or circus school. Next year on Anthem she will be able to do it all!

We went on Quantum with our kids who were 6 (2 months away from 7) and 4 (1 month away from 5). They had a blast! I wish the younger one could do the activities they are allowed to do at 5 (bumper cars, rock wall) but she loved it anyway. Kids club was great, as usual. They enjoyed watching Daddy on the flowrider, enjoyed all of the shows esp. Mamma Mia, and had a great time getting "coffee" at La Passatiere! The rooms were so well organized that it was easy to store everything. The lack of the upper berth was disappointing. Both girls shared the pull out bed. It was a bit narrow when they slept side by side the regular way on the bed. The little one "helicoptered" around and kept waking the older one. So, after the first night we had them sleep "short ways" on the bed. We used the throw pillows to separate them. It worked for us b/c they are short and didn't hang over the edge of the bed.

ETA: the little one ROCKED iFly big time! She was a pro at it. The guide even took her up high in the wind tunnel and did some spins she was so good at it. The older one was nervous and struggled to maintain her form. Still the older one and I did it a couple of times!

If the cruise is embarking from a USA port than Cruise Lines are mandated to comply with a US Federal Law that went into effect on 1/1/2012 regarding the a person's eligibility to book an accessible room. Booking an accessible cabin because it's larger than ta standard cabin in the same category because a person wants a larger room without having to pay for a larger cabin is the very reason this US Federal Law was enacted for cruise ships embarking from a USA Port.

Yes, but this person has a family member with a disability. We don't know if there are aspects of the child's disability that include them in being a candidate for this type of room. It's not like they are just looking for extra space for themselves because they want more.

Great. Anyone have specific insights on the teen or kid aspect?

My kids did Breakaway and Quantum when they were both still 4 and 6. They enjoyed both kids clubs but I felt QoS had more for them to do, actually, given the weather in NY (non-summer). The indoor pool is fabulous and a major mistake on NCL's part, given they knew this ship needed to in cold climates sometimes. We all enjoyed the food very much on Q, more so than on BA. Plus, I always have thought RCI had better service than NCL. We have Anthem booked but don't plan to book BA again.