roe2ship

Thank you for such a well balanced detailed review. So refreshing to read lots of positives. Your choices at Chic is exactly what I planned when menus were first introduced.:)

Free Wifi for all passengers and it works fine

 

Quit the moaning people

 

More positivity to follow

That is great news....but do you really think they offered this out of the goodness of their hearts? I bet something is brewing behind the scenes.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

This had to be very annoying.....especially on your last day when you are rushed to leave and guest services are super busy the last morning.

 

I, too, fnd it hard to believe that some family was told to eat at the buffet their entire week. I would imagine when the four restaurants open at 5:30 or 6:00 that something would have been available for them in at least one of them. The time may be a bit too early but IMO, it certainly beats the buffet for dinners.

 

As for the couple who said they will "kiss the ground" when they leave really makes me laugh. Seriously, these type of statements come from those who are chronic complainers.

Well I certainly hope you never have to row 2 ship :) I think you point out another flaw in the thinking about reservation systems on cruise ships when you note that many show up early or late. I say of course they do! How could it almost be any other way.

 

When I first heard that we had to reserve online prior to cruise my first thought, how the heck do I know what we will be doing at any given time? Why do we even want to know what we will be doing at any given time? I don't know what time my wife is going to be able to get her favorite Iothermy thing or when they will have a discounted time frame on a massage. I don't know if one of us will be caught up in some activity and be delayed getting back to shower for dinner. We got into Nassau early afternoon, figure off the ship by around 2 will I be back by 7? Of course what most do make late 8:30 dinner just in case. Then get back at 7 and decide dinner would be better early let's try. Then overbooked for 8:30 they let you in hoping to ease the 8:30 rush, so on and so forth.

 

Can happen with traditional dining but doesn't matter my chair is there at my time. I know where I have to be and when as far as dining is.

 

This was just designed to force extra pay dining upon the masses.

 

I was never a fan of AnyTime dining but with exception of NCL the lines for most part all implemented it while maintaining Traditional Dining as well. There was a definite lowering of staff levels in dining to do that but at least was a acceptable alternative for most. You could choose your poison. Add in extra pay restaurant and three options fine. But then they decided we don't customer choice we want OUR TIME and monetized dining, and here you have it.

 

George in NY

The passengers who do this should be prepared to be told to come back at their reservation time or go elsewhere. Unfortunately, most times staff end up accomadating these inconsiderate people that are causing part of the chaos. If someone with traditional dining has late seating and they feel like going early, well their options will be going elsewhere....buffet or specialty restaurants. If you have reservations with DD it should be no different.

 

I have to say I was fairly confident that any DD issues would have been resolved by now. I do feel the majority of the issues are happening at later times... after 7:00pm. I have reservations at 6:45 and 7:00 for my week, so hopefully my experience will be a great one.:)

Thanks to all who commented on here about their experiences on Quantum. It's discouraging to read that some of the problems still exist. I have read that there are additional staff members now but not sure how accurate that can be. Where will these new crew members sleep?:confused:

 

It also appears that many passengers show up way early or late from their dinner reservation time and are being seated. I find this totally unfair and most likely the cause of some of the issues with this whole new concept.

 

I really hope things improve... my final payment for Quantum is less than a month away.

According to stories posted elsewhere on the internet, that crew member is no longer employed by Royal Caribbean.....

Well I would sure hope so.

 

Ah, you have spotted another Quantum leap into the future of cruising. It's the latest in environmental techno-solutions brought to you by Quantum, changing everrything and saving the waves for the future. Allow me to explain...

 

You see, to help save electricity, you put your seapass card -- or any card-like object -- in the slot to activate the rooms lighting, television, and outlets. Impressive, right?

 

OK, OK... You might have noticed that I included outlets (as did Royal). Yes, to charge the gadgetry that us Quantum-ites are expected to bring, you have to leave a card and the slot all the time. I know what you're thinking, but bear with the innovation -- with any new technology there are growing pains. [emoji41]

Just an FYI, the NCL Breakaway has this "leap" as well which was built by the same shipyard.

You have some outstanding pictures and videos. Thank you for taking the time sharing them with us.:)

 

In regards to the appeal of the Breakaway, the top deck may look ugly just as the North Star did on Quantum when we first saw it but the water slides and rope course attract many passengers and are lots of fun. IMO, the rope course is challenging and takes some time to complete unlike the bumper cars, IFly and North Star that are practically over within a couple of minutes or so. I'm actually quite surprised that with Royal being such a family friendly cruise line that their ships don't have any slides.

Thanks for taking the time for posting such a great detailed report. Wonderful pictures too!

 

You confirmed what I needed to know about deck 5 having dead ends in the front and back. I was hoping I can build my own Oasis track down there.;)

 

In one of your pictures of 270, it's such a shame to see a woman sitting there with her darn feet up on the furniture! I wonder if she does this at home.:rolleyes:

The evening we had Grande reservations we got a message on the TV message center from Grande. It was a reminder of the reservation and that a jacket was required for entry. This was on day 6 or 7 of the cruise.

 

The comedy show was not adults only. Not that it would have made too much difference either way. There were very few people under 30 on the ship. :)

That is very good news. I'm happy that Royal is trying to keep the Grande formal as it was intended to be.

 

Thanks for the info on the comedian....my son will be happy that he can attend this show with us.:)

Thanks for adding the daily compass from your cruise. I find it interesting that the first day there was "Evening Attire" printed but nothing followed it and the rest of the days that part was totally gone. I would have thought they would at least add as a reminder what is required for the Grande.

 

I see they had comedy shows in the theater...it didn't indicate it was adults only, is that true?? Thanks.

Thanks for posting!:)

Will Anthem will have same looking Solarium?

Most likely....yes. Thanks for the pictures.....solarium really looks gorgeous, even better than the Oasis/Allure.

did you get an OBC on the 11/23 sailing? We didn't get anything.

I believe that poster meant the onboard credits that were given on the maiden voyage (11/2).

Sorry to hear about so many disappointments. It appears there are many unnecessary issues that probably should not have happened.

 

In regards to paying a premium price, I guess that depends on when you booked. I had this cruise booked on opening day and while it was slightly expensive, it didn't seem way out of line for a new ship sailing from NJ.

 

After learning about how many things can go wrong during the first month (or 2) on a new ship, I decided to cancel and reschedule at a later date. It's just not worth all the hassle and I'm happy I made that choice.

With MTD on Royal, they had lines for those with reservations and those without. I'm confused as to why they wouldn't follow this practice on Quantum.

 

As for comparing all this to NCL, our experience on the Breakaway....we never had reservations and were seated within five minutes. The bar area outside the restaurants most times only had a handful of people. NCL may have their freestyle concept close to perfection as far as running smoothly but they should need impovement on the food and service.

 

 

Dynamic Dining has it's ups and downs. We found the food to be very good. We tried American Icon/Silk/Chic/Grande and Coastal Kitchen. Coastal kitchen was by far the best. At Grande they do enforce the dress code...men must wear jackets. There was a half hour delay between our appetizer and our main course. We had 7pm reservations and were often told to come back in a half hour...only problem is we had show reservations! At Chic we had a table for 6 one night and there was a large pole right next to the table. No one wanted to sit in the seats that were against the pole so it became a large table for 4 that night. If they had moved the table 1 foot it would have been much better.

 

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What was their reason to ask you to come back in a half hour? What did you end up doing?

Thanks for posting about your Quantum experience. We were booked on this cruise and the more I read, I'm glad I decided to do another Oasis cruise and wait till April to try Quantum. I made all my dining reservations several months ago and if I had to wait on LONG lines or had no choice but to go to the Windjammer, I would be pretty upset.

 

I expect half of these problems to continue this entire month.

Thanks for a fair balanced review.

Enjoy your cruise! The food looks darn good to me.;)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I remember so many members asking questions about inaugural cruises when opening day came and most replied "you receive a special gift everyday" I wonder why this didn't happen.

 

I knew as with any new ship there would be mixed reviews in the beginning but I'm getting a feeling some of the complaints are from those who can't accept any changes....i.e dynamic dining for starters.

does anyone have pics of the other simple tastes menus?

Simple_Tastes_Menus- QN.pdf

Last I heard, it was supposed to be available by end of November...early December.

 

There really is no official date besides "soon"

I have seen Internet package prices for the TA but what about for this 8 day cruise? If you got a package did it include texting between two devices on-board through Royal IQ or was that a separate cost and if so how much?

I think the internet package does not include what you are looking for. If one wants to texts through the Royal IQ, I thought I read it is $14.95 per device.

 

 

Most of the crew are on board temporarily and some not by choice. A huge portion will leave the ship

between March-April.

 

 

 

 

 

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I wonder if this could be a cause of concern for those of us who are cruising during that time frame. Having so many new crew members may result in the same issues with service for the remaining time before she leaves to China.:rolleyes:

Is there a menu nightly that includes simple entrees like a grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes? Or the simple steak that is currently served nightly?

I thought I read there are additional menus available everyday. If I recall correctly, they are called simple taste and/or fast track menus.

4 years old too young for IFly, I think. He would like bumper cars but you have to ride with him. By the way, kids allowed use of pools in Solarium in inclement weather. We saw young kids in hot tubs as well.

Really? But isn't there another pool next to the solarium that is enclosed?