gep2

I think I remember seeing a video of a large virtual balcony - I wasn't sure though. It does have a love seat in the corner, correct?

I was in two virtual balcony cabins about a year ago on Quantum (total of 27 days)... it's NOT just a gimmick, they are wonderful and we made it a point to get a virtual balcony cabin on Harmony's transatlantic next Oct 23rd too (on Harmony, bizarrely, the 'virtual balcony' is NOT in every inside... that seems really stupid on RCL's part).

I didn't have a "loveseat" (i.e. space for two?) in either of those on Quantum. Did have a nice comfy seat though, besides the desk chair.

I took thousands of pictures during those 27 Quantum days, and have them (in full high-res!) on Snapfish. E-mail me... gep2 at terabites dot com ... and I'll be glad to share those albums with you (can include my Oasis pre-maiden and maiden albums, and Carnival Destiny final voyage too...!) These albums include pictures of the "Cabin Crawls" too, so you'll see a lot more than just my cabins. ;-)

Are the plants in the Anthem's Solarium real or artificial?

At least on Quantum's maiden and inaugural voyages, at least some of the palm-type "trees" were definitely artificial. I would guess that some of the other plants, at least, were real. Either type might have had individual examples replaced with the other type since then, of course.

I'm on Anthem in January and when I go to the Cruise Planner. it allows me to put the "RIPCORD BY IFLY 1 MINUTE COMPLIMENTARY FLIGHT" in my cart, but when I search for available times, none are available. I know it's not a matter of having sold out, because it only became available a couple of weeks ago and there haven't been any times available since the start. Someone on my roll call called RCI and was told it was not available for pre-booking and we'd need to do it on the ship. I don't understand why they'd have it show up online if they didn't want you to be able to pick a time and make the reservation.

 

I was able to make show reservations (which opened up at the same time), and the other non-free activities (the FlowRider lesson and the All Access Tour) have available dates/times. Has anyone else had this problem on their cruise and should I keep looking and hope that RCI will actually fix this before my cruise?

You have to book the iFly flights onboard, at the iFly welcome desk. it's really not like attending a show or other tour. They really ought to not have listed it on the website (other than perhaps to remind people that it IS an available activity). You can't reserve (for example) bumper cars online, either.

Dynamic Dining was doomed, I think, by the stupid idea to urge people to reserve all their meals ahead of time online. It would have been different to allow them to book ahead online SPECIAL events (birthday, anniversary, etc) but they created a monster (that didn't have to exist) by the "reserve everything ahead" idiocy.

Just go to the iFly welcome desk and reserve your slot when you're aboard.

Disembarked this morning after an incredible 14 nights cruising. What more can I say? My Wife and I were first time cruisers so maybe that helped, having had no previous experiences to go by.

 

We were blown away by the ship, the staff, the food and drink, the shows and the whole general atmosphere. The best holiday we have ever had.

 

Only problem is where do we go from here?

I agree with CaptData... next you really ought to try Oasis, Allure, or Harmony. ;-) Very different ships than Quantum-class, but every bit as unique and outstanding...!

900 people STANDING around, straining their necks, trying to see 20 people play Quest, is not my idea of playing Quest. Might be yours, but doesn't come close to playing it with Richard Spacey or Leigh Xierurp!

 

Not ONE movie was show on a 12 night Quantum cruise.

 

Starwater has to be the IMHO the WORST waste of time at sea there can possibly be, next to Sonic Odyssey.

 

Northstar is great and so is iFly! Labadee beats CoCo Cay every time!

 

- Miriam (Diamond Plus)

No offense intended, but IMHO to say that Starwater or Sonic Odyssey (which are both HUGELY unique shows, that can ONLY be seen onboard Quantum class) are "a waste of time at sea"... and then to complain about there not being a movie theatre (showing films you _could_ see just as well in a movie theatre ashore)... well, that's just an incredibly bizarre comment, I think.

Well, to begin with, they are both VERY different ships.

I don't understand the nonsense about Anthem not having a movie theatre. We saw the (fine) Dreamworks 3-D penguin movie on Quantum last November and December. They have a big nice movie screen in the main theatre.

The shows in 270 are memorable. I think they're worth seeing, and they're certainly something you won't see anywhere else.

I think that NorthStar is very cool, as are the bumper cars, the circus school, and numerous other things that are unique to Quantum class.

On our cruise in November on Quantum, we didn't manage to make it ashore at Coco Cay (and we actually heard that it's quite common to not get ashore there during wintertime sailings). I was looking forward to seeing it too (since I hadn't been there) but no such luck.

I don't know if Allure post-refit has added the virtual balconies to inside cabins. I loved those on Quantum.

And of course, Allure has Central Park, Boardwalk, AquaTheatre, the ice rink, a dedicated comedy club, the carousel, the zipline, and the Rising Tide bar.

I was hoping to see Chicago on Allure, which I heard wonderful reviews on. I don't know if they moved the cast too when they moved Mamma Mia! to Allure, but the production of that (and the casting!) on Quantum was FABULOUS.

I don't really think you can go far wrong with either choice, but (as someone else on this thread said), the best solution is probably "both". ;-)

People who go on a brand new ship, or a brand new itinerary, and expect everything to be perfect are THEMSELVES the problem.

For heaven's sakes, if you want a ship that's polished and runs like a well-oiled machine, go on an older ship on a familiar and well-established (and very routine) run. One where the staff knows the run well and there are less likely to be surprises.

Personally I spent 27 days onboard Quantum, and I loved the ship (despite there admittedly being a few things that could have been done better).

But "worst ship ever"???! Give me (and the rest of us!!) a break.

Here are some pix of the Quantum´s spa. And you´ll find more here.

 

steamboats

I was onboard Quantum for 27 days last fall... and took a LOT of pictures (including in the spa area) which are shared on my Snapfish album. E-mail me at gep2 at terabites dot com for the invitation to my album (I also have albums from other sailings too, including the final voyage of Carnival Destiny and the pre-inaugural and maiden voyage of Oasis of the Seas, if you'd enjoy those as well).

My suggestion is to join the spa tours on embarkation day, so you can see what's on offer before you decide to spend the money. But there is SO much stuff to do onboard Quantum-class, it's not as if you're going to be wandering aimlessly about the ship bored out of your skull or anything. ;-))))

On other ships, I've historically enjoyed using some of that traditional "down time" between about 5-7pm (when usually there aren't many activities planned, and first sitting is getting ready for dinner or in the dining room) to head for the sauna or steam room (and Carnival's "Destiny" class had particularly wonderful steam room and sauna, which were free) to relax and unwind before heading down to the cabin to dress for dinner. But honestly, I object to paying such dissuasive prices for sauna and steamroom as has become commonplace nowadays (sigh) so have passed on that pleasure on these newer ships.

You can get the bands in a yellow colour so if you want one to match your card you can change them at GS. Very easy - we changed my black one to a white one.

Further to that if you don't like the ones with the plastic bits you can get watch strap ones too :D

I hated the ones with the knobs... Guest Services changed it for me with one with the watch-strap-type buckle instead, which I found MUCH better.

The WOW bands don't have to store anything other than a unique big identifier key of some sort. When it is presented (whether at your cabin door or anywhere else) that key is used by the systems onboard to look up the associated database record, and that tells the system whether you are authorized for whatever you're trying to use the WOW band for.

The freestyle soda cups have a similar identifier ("RFID", for "Radio Frequency ID") which is read by the freestyle machines to verify that the cup is covered by the beverage package for the current sailing.

Some credit cards have a similar RFID chip embedded in them, too.

And there is another one in the Puzzle Room!

What are you calling the "Puzzle Room"? Are you talking about the crafts room on the upper level, starboard side of Two70? It's actually surprising that they don't have a freestyle machine in the Two70 Cafe somewhere, that seems to me like a logical place to put one... (or maybe just outside, so it would be available even the cafe itself is closed.)

But yes, you do end up carrying your "special" cup (it's an insulated one) around with you all day. Most of the time, it's got soda in it. ;-)

So the two new machines in Windjammer... are they next to the others there (like in Sorrento's?), or are they (say) further aft?

Hi

Who told you the slow internet was due to the position of the satelittes? I am familiar with the new o3b system and in Barcelona and South of Barcelona you are in the optimal coverage pattern of the satelittes.I think it's more likely that Royal Caribbean have not paid for the new 03b satellite coverage on the repositioning portion as this would take admin and I.T. effort and RCI are poor in these departments.

Don't let them fool you,if the speed is slow then ask for your money back,nothing to do the satellites position as they are low earth orbiting so change position constantly and are unlike "normal" geostationary satellites.:confused:

This information was what I was personally told by both the President of O3B (who I met onboard Quantum before sailing on the maiden voyage transatlantic), and various techs from O3B who I met onboard later. The issue isn't just where the satellites are in their orbits, but that they have to actively steer their signals to the specific ships, and they just aren't set up to do that in these other areas of the world (yet, at least).

I was not impressed with the drinks machines as during the Anthem cruise I was on it ran out of all diet drinks on day 2, you could not even get sparkling water.

 

The machines themselves were also pretty grotty so the hygiene issue was with them rather than personal cups.

There are (at least on Quantum) at least five freestyle machines. The flavors are stocked separately for each machine. Sparkling water is just water and CO2... if they can't do sparkling water, they can't make ANY carbonated soda.

Honestly, I don't believe that all five freestyle machines were down. That just sounds INCREDIBLY implausible to me.

Wonderland is WONDERFUL. Well worth the price.

That said, do NOT plan it when you have to be somewhere afterwards... you do NOT want to feel rushed there. This is a meal you ought to linger over and savor.

For much the same reason, I do NOT recommend it for kids. They're likely to be fidgety and unpleasant, both for you and for the tables around yours. They also are unlikely to appreciate how unusual the dishes are.

RCL also compete well with the Celebrity Reflection, but I do not see how a Miami winter Quantum class deployment differs greatly from the just announced Sydney Ovation deployment.

Sydney doesn't have the huge glut of giant cruise ships already there that the Miami/Fort Lauderdale market does.

Quantum's strengths are simply NOT well-suited to the south-Florida homeport market!!!

I just disagree. In writing a post in a thread where the premise was to place a Quantum class ship at Port Everglades, I made the point that I was of the personal opinion that Miami would seasonally fit as an alternative to Port Everglades and not in relation to every port in the world.

 

Not all posts can be in semi-book format, where every detail of why one feels something might be correct, but as RCI have chosen to only currently have 2 classes of updated ships, some might find competitive advantage in 'wherever' they placed these ships.

 

Two of the boldest moves by RCI in the 2016-17 deployment were placing Navigator seasonally out of Miami, returning to the cruise lines roots, and placing Explorer at Seattle for the Alaska season to 'compliment' Australia deployment.

 

Even though many regarded RCI as 'stupid' for deploying a 'Warm weather' ship like Explorer at Seattle, they gained 'competitive advantage' in doing so and have held fast in their decision and are in the process of deploying Explorer to Seattle for 2 summer Alaska seasons in 2016 and 2017.

 

Quantum dining features and the unique Two70 entertainment options along with upscale and modern ship design do add some advantage in a crowded market as well.

 

With RCI doing port development at Barbados, Curacao, St. Maarten among others they need to feed these ports during the peak periods with the 'right' passengers that not only spend onboard but in these RCI joint venture ports.

 

Miami is an international draw and is not only important to the 'domestic' cruise market as it draws on the 'upscale' market from South America, Central America, Europe and Asia. If you look at 'Seasonal' flight patterns to Miami they are substantial.

 

So, if RCI were to have a Quantum based in Europe seasonally and then Miami seasonally, I do not think this would be stupid. They do have many other choices for their ships as well, of course.

Obviously, you're entitled to your beliefs, but so am I. I've spent 27 days on Quantum, so I feel I know the ship pretty well.

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, together, have the greatest concentration of cruise ship tonnage of probably anywhere in the world. They truly don't NEED another big ship (and especially not one whose strengths are INDOORS and inclement-weather activities). Oasis class is a FAR better fit for the Florida-homeport market. It's far less likely that Quantum-class would dependably earn her premium pricing in the (very!) crowded southern-Florida cruise market.

I fully agree with a future San Francisco home port for Quantum Class.

 

This would not only suit the local market, but air connections domestically, from Asia/Pacific and Europe make it ideal as well.

 

If a Quantum class was based seasonally in south Florida, I would actually place her at Miami instead of FLL.

 

I love Port Everglades, but just think that Miami would fit the Shanghai, New York, Sydney, San Francisco positioning for Quantum class and provide competitive advantage.

It does not "provide competitive advantage" to place a shp in a market that is inappropriate, and likely to be FAR less profitable, for her. That would just be stupid.

Question should be.......... Will a Oasis class ship ever be home ported out of the North East?

No, of course not. The winter weather would kill the plantings in Central Park!!! Not to mention it being a hopelesly inappropriate place (in the cold weather) for a ship that is as "outdoors" oriented as Oasis class is (Boardwalk, Central Park, AquaTheatre, etc).

I dont know if this has been asked before or not. I cant find it if it has.

 

Im wondering if they will ever send a Quantum class ship to Port Everglades or even Port Canaveral as a home port?

 

I understand these ships are "cold weather" ships but I would love to see on in FL one day that is home ported there.

 

Any chance of that happening?

I guess I just will never get over how jaw-droppingly greedy the Florida folks are. Jeez, it's not as if they don't already have BOTH the Oasis-class ships, and the biggest assortment of big cruise ships anywhere on earth.

As you yourself point out, Quantum class IS better suited to home ports (and cruising itineraries) that are colder!!!

Probably only RCCL knows how much the demand is for Anthem year-round out of the NY market (and at the premiums that Quantum-class normally gets). I don't know if there's enough demand to homeport Q4 there too (perhaps only in the winter season when perhaps there's not enough demand to keep it in Europe? I could maybe see Q4 doing Southampton (northern Europe and Med) in the summer season, and then coming over to Port Liberty (?) and doing cruises from there to the Caribbean, like Anthem will do starting this fall.)

I'm not sure that there's enough demand to winter-homeport Q4 someplace "different", and somewhat warmer, like Dubai meybe.

Personally, I was pretty astonished by how snarky a lot of the comments were about Quantum-class that showed up in the British press... I understand RCCL wanting to test the waters with a Q-class ship in Europe, but I really don't know if there's enough market to keep her anywhere there in the wintertime.

But one big problem in the Florida market is that there are SO many ships there that it's probably much harder to get Quantum-type premiums there.

One creative solution might be to indeed homeport her in San Francisco (where the techhies would have the money to pay Quantum-class premiums) from where she could do Alaska in the summertime, and Hawaii or Mexican Riviera in the wintertime. And (compared to Los Angeles) where the colder climate would make Quantum class particularly well-suited.

I'm gonna go on a limb and predict a fifth ship ordered sometime next year for a 2020 delivery date.

I think that's actually a pretty safe bet. ;-)

Coco Cay - 14

Cozumel- 14

Nassau - 17

St Maarten - 14

St Thomas - 13

 

I'm sorry you thought I was bashing China, I'd love to visit. I was just saying Oasis can go if we get a shiny new replacement in PC

 

Love to see new places, but if the ship debarks 10 minutes from my home, I'll go to Cozumel again

Oasis-class isn't suitable for China because the weather isn't consistently warm enough year-round for the plantings in Central Park. That's why you won't get an Oasis-class ship homeported year-round in Port Liberty, either.

Personally, I'd love to see a Quantum-class ship homeported in Galveston, but that's not likely for the same reason... Quantum is better suited to places with colder winters. An Oasis-class ship would be more appropriate to Galveston.

Do you have to pay for the food in the two70 on these vessels?

No. The food in the Two70 Cafe is complimentary.

Why? they have a lot of ships to replace in the coming years. Splendour & Majesty leaving next year, and it will be a matter of time before the rest of the Vision Class follows!

The other thing is that RCL knows full well that if they let their pipeline get too empty, they will have trouble getting enough new tonnage fast enough to maintain their market share... the other companies will gladly take all the new ships the yards are capable of building, and RCL will come up empty-handed for a "long" time.

Nice! I loved quantum, and am looking forward to anthem.

 

I wonder if number 4 will finally be homeported in Florida. Or maybe west coast so she can do alaska?

It would be fairly stupid to homeport a Quantum-class ship in Florida... for the same reason that they're not likely to homeport an Oasis-class ship in NYC. Climate-wise, Alaska might be an interesting place for Quantum-class, but the problem in Alaska is that the ports can't readily accommodate a flood of passengers from a ship of Quantum's size... most of the ports in Alaska already get overrun with the much smaller Alaska-size shps. The other problem would be GETTING a Quantum-class ship to the West Coast... it can't go through the Panama Canal, so it would have to go eastbound (like Quantum is doing) or around South America.

It remains to be seen whether Anthem will be able to get and maintain the big premiums Quantum was getting in the USA. Quantum and Ovation are going to China (Shanghai and Beijing, respectively). I don't know how much the demand was (is?) for Anthem this summer, but if it was well received (well, maybe not in England?) Q4 maybe will find a home in the Mediterranean (at least much of the year).

Meanwhile, Florida has always gotten the best/newest/biggest ships, and it's crazy-selfish for them to want everything, including ships like Quantum-class that really are probably more valuable in less-consistently-comfortable climates.

I don't know if I am overlooking something but if it's cabin 7541 it shows the TV along side the bed ....it's not opposite the foot of the bed.

 

It doesn't look like u can lay in bed and watch TV

 

I am not looking for a solo cabin but an inside double occupancy cabin across the hall from us

We had cabin 7541 on the 11-day Dec 1 (inaugural Caribbean) cruise. I have several pictures of the cabin but can't upload them (grrr!) for this message. It's basically the mirror image of the picture like someone else posted. The TV is on the right side wall of the cabin (viewed from the bed) and the virtual balcony is on the left side wall of the cabin (again, as viewed from the bed). The TV does swing out on an arm, so you can see it from the bed. If you'd like to see my Snapfish album for all three Quantum sailings I was on (several thousand pictures!!) feel free to e-mail me. The best pictures of cabin 7541 are probably SDC11228, SDC11237, and SDC11238, although there are more than two dozen pictures taken in cabin 7541 around those too. gep2@terabites.com