QUANTUM Dec 1-11, 2014 REVIEW w/lots of photos

And my previous post is a perfect segue into my first photo of the day lol! There's MJonTravel in the cap kicking a$$... well done sir haha. I really enjoyed hanging out with you you guys the short times we did, hopefully we'll cross paths again someday. And as I told Deandra on board I will say here on this review publicly that Deandra is one of the best leaders/instructors of a fitness class I have witnessed. How do I know? Back in my younger glory years I was heavily involved with personal training and fitness instructing myself, as well as some dance, having had the opportunity to be recruited and hang around a couple of circles very high up in the food chain (ie. video personalities). So if you ever see Zumba offered in the compass on any one of your cruises, see if MjonTravel is going on it from his signature and go get a great workout to start your day.

Today I was hoping for a day of "blah", no commitments, no nothing... final day on board just chilling out. As it turns out I had a busy day right off the bat as after my normal morning gym/jog routine I headed to the CL for my last double Macchiato of the cruise. I met up with Capt Srecko walking down the deck 12 hall to the CL. I had asked the day before Reyno & Mario in the CL about the "secret penny". You guys know what that is? There was a thread in recent months here on CC about it, and I wanted to maybe be the first person to post a picture and any information about here on CC hehe. Well, when I asked Capt Srecko he lit up and said something like "Oh yes, I forgot about that. It hasn't been placed yet" and he opened up his cell to begin talking about it to someone. Told me after the call they were discussing where to place it and they will soon. If anyone reading this review can ask the Capt and tale a photo, please post it... even a link from this review so I can find it. I'd love to know where they placed it.

After Zumba, I had time roaming the ship. I had realized heading into Sorrento's for a couple of triple chocolate cookies (so much for Zumba) that I had only stepped into La Patisserie maybe 20 seconds for a couple of day 1 photos, so I decided to stop by and take a few more in detail.

So if your not D or higher, you can purchase specialty coffee's here, and they serve Starbucks regular coffee also. The venue is very nice actually, but little used in our cruise. I can actually see this place packed in China where perhaps there aren't as many C&A members sailing.

About 2.6 milliseconds of seeing this venue day 1 I knew I wouldn't have a use for it... boxed chocolates on a ship with all this food elsewhere? Kinda like the same idea as cupcake cupboard which I never set fit into either. However, La Patisserie has hot chocolates and other different offerings that make it truly it's own sit down venue, and the seating area is nice as well, with a couple of interesting pieces of art.

Likewise - I do have a question. I apologize in advance if you stated this, but I searched and did not see anything. What kind of camera do you use? I'm in the market.....and I love your pictures.

Hey Marshall:D I use a cheapo beat-up handheld Sony Cybershot DSC-HX7V, the best handheld camera I've ever owned. I doubt you can buy this now as it's about 3 years old... it'll be a newer model. When I bought it, I specifically asked the camera guy for the best lens manufacturer with regard to low light photography and stills, and he said to buy this. It also has some easy to use manual options which I've become used to using, night shots with no tripod, panoromic 180degree, etc. The movie mode is crystal clear as well... ie. my movies of sailing into Venice on Serenade are unreal full screen on my computer :)

This is a great space, and fully automated. Once I figured it out how everything worked, it was an "aha" moment. They had plenty of reps walking around to help and one came up to me right away. You tap your wrist band or card, and up pops your account on the screen. I did not have many pro photos in the books (mostly IFly) but the rep told me some people had 240!!! Wow.

The system is really easy. You look at your photos, and you can choose favorites. Once done that, you purchase "photo credits" that allows you to unlock the number of photos you want. So in my example, I only wanted 8 photos (they had packages of 3, 8, 15 and more... the more you buy, the better the discount per photo). So going through the system, I was charged for my 8 photos and I selected my 8 favorites for the CD. I was also able to select my D+ freebie as well. Hey Carol & Laura... remember this one? :p

And I thought signing for your purchase directly on the screen with your finger was also cool.

(I forgot to mention that when I got my CD home, the install program did not work and I had to call the photo company directly...they're not RCL. However, they emailed me a patch I downloaded really quickly and it worked right away. Not only do you get the photos you choose, you get them all! They are "locked". If you purchase 8 credits you can "unlock" 8 photos now at home to be downloaded onto your computer... once downloaded you can't change your mind. The beauty thing here is now you can purchase more photo credits so that you can download more photos if you decided after the cruise you wanted more.)

Today I had D+ tour invites to both the galley and theatre, so I made my way back to my room to throw on long pants. I did check my TV every once in a while for messages, my calendar, etc and came across this new message

Good luck to all of us who sailed in December!

Like the All Access Tour Day 9, we were to meet at the Grande. This time, everyone was in long pants. I got their early so had a little time to realize that this space at the entry to the restaurant is actually kind of barren and empty. I snapped a photo of the iconic art piece we've seen in the early reviews of Q which hangs between deck 3 and 4

And also in this area under and to the side of both stairs is this artwork just sitting there on it's own... I never really saw anyone go take a look at it. "What Makes Life Worth Living", note the reference to the ancient Chinese. That's why this art is there. I'm sure there's other pieces that I hadn't paid attention to on the ship that have some Asian significance.

I found this galley tour a little more comprehensive and less rushed than on the All Access Tour. It was also later in the morning which was able to show off more of the Chefs/cooks doing their daily routines and prepping the foods. The same Chef as I had the other day also led us through this morning, and we entered the Grande and into the back galley the same as before

There were a lot of great questions by the fellow cruisers with me, and we discussed in a little more detail some of the technology regarding the orders coming into the galley, how they know how much if each dish to cook, the various equipment (ovens, etc)... very good and informative tour today

Here's the Lobster Bisque and Lamb Shanks, my two favorite menu items at The Grande, ready to to be delivered to the Grande Galley and be prepared for the evening.

We continued through the galley, and we had plenty of time to get a good look at the controls of the equipment and ask questions. I thought this was an interesting display of power usage, as they can monitor what is going on in the various galleys throughout the ship

Digital ovens

Order display

Pocket thermometer!

I wish I had remember his name this time as it was my second chance to do so. He deserves applause for a great tour.

This review is fabulous. Really enjoyed Quantum of the Seas, and it's almost like I'm back on the ship.

I had about an hour to get a bite to eat and then head off to the Back Stage Tour, another D benefit. I've been on a couple of others on different ships and was hoping to see if the technology was superior in any way, or if the backstage had anything more special to it, but it was pretty much exactly the same as the other ships I've had the tour in. We talked about the maintenance of the theatre, the amount of lights and energy used, how the back stage staff works (sound and lights), etc

We were invited up to the stage in order to start our tour around the back

The Mama Mia prop (front door of Sophie's hotel)

More props

And the changing room with a shot of the "drum jacket"

Because Sonic Odyssey was in full rehearsal mode during the All Access Tour, I was really appreciative of this opportunity to check out the theatre from this perspective. This poster was hanging on Dressing Room #1 that I thought was interesting

Back out on stage we were able to mingle with the stage guys and the Production Manager. I got to take a ton of close up shots of various equipment and so forth as they let you roam around at your convenience.

The gentleman on the left is the head Sound Manager for RCL, and I hope I say this right, he's opened every theatre in the RCL fleet since Vision (yes, 22 ships I think he said). He was asked about the sound in the theatre as there have been complaints from many cruisers about poor sound in the theatre, the music too loud, the voices to muted and can't hear... let's use some common sense here... if you wish to sit at the very back of the theatre with a ceiling above you bouncing sound waves in all directions, and also at the very farthest point from the stage where the sound waves start from, I think it's really common sense that you will not hear the same as those people sitting in the middle of the theatre close to the front row, yes? So basically, he said don't sit in the back! It's a compromise all over the ship (balcony, back rows, front rows, etc). He said that the very best place to sit for sound is always close to the Sound Manager's booth... again, common sense as he's tuning the balances from that exact point from where he's sitting. I have to agree 100% with him... having sat in balcony seats, side, up high, down low... by far and away the best sound is always dead center about 1/2 up the theatre in the lower level (say rows 5-15 in front of the sound booth).

And here is what the cast sees looking out at us!

Sound Booth

Stairs leading from lower level to balcony level, with a dead center view from the balcony

Done with the tours, my final ride on the Bumper Cars, our last 1 hour Thriller rehearsal and fitting in a bite to eat, I decided instead to get packing so that I had time to spend my busy upcoming evening with friends, plus I had a show and Starwater booked again. So off I went to pack, and then soon enough it was time to get ready for Thriller!

In the meantime I took this shot from deck 5... this is not like the rest I had taken from the stairs. This angle is from Izumi's balcony tables right above Michael's Pub beside the Xmas tree.

So now we're ready for Thriller! On Serenade we had pro make-up, red blood, bloodies rags, etc. But here we had nothing, you were supposed to figure out as much as you can. I just showed up with nothing and was booed lol! So a few fellow dancers grabbed the toilet paper and started wrapping me up a bit. The black smudge on our faces is from a wine cork... take a lighter and burn the bottom of the cork, then rub it on your face. I never knew this before.

I think it went off without a hitch and everyone seemed to have a really good time. We were all congratulating each other after, lot's of fun. And here's our performance someone posted on YouTube

[YOUTUBE]hbjI07QFyEQ[/YOUTUBE]

And my only photo with Love&Marriage winner & prankster extraordinaire Glenn! lol

Cheers to you my friend :D

Thriller was over around 5:30. Between packing and the performance I had gone back down to Sorrento's to have another one of the delish pizzas quite late in the afternoon. I had no dinner reservations this evening so I planned to wing it by hitting the CL on the final night and possibly not having any sit down dinner anywhere. I also had the Headliner booked for 8:30 so I basically decided I'd pick at the hors d'ouvres tonight and get something later at the Windjammer if needed.

But before that, the final roller skating time was on up at Seaplex and I heard the night before they pull down the floating DJ booth as it hovers over the Seaplex. I had quite a bit of fun the other day skating so I wanted to give it a last shot with the night lights.

Unfortunately it was a ghost town, hardly anyone there with maybe only about 5-6 skaters tops on the floor. Also the floating DJ booth was no being used as it was perched nicely away on it's storage space up in the ceiling. I only skated maybe 15-20min before calling it a night here with some good memories of skating the day before

So off to get changed and head back up to the CL. I had a great time this evening as everyone was saying goodbye to each other. I also got a picture with mommabean... great to meet you and DH after talking to you here on CC many times!

Before heading to the show, I wanted to get some last shots around the ship. They had another music performance on in Two70 on the screen

And this art is located on deck 5 as you pass the Schooner Bar on your way to the theatre. If you watch the screen a bit, this guy drives everywhere.... different cities and in places a car shouldn't be. lol

Tonight's headliner was Earl Turner, and excellent performer. It's interesting the average performer can come on and move around, singing, but really end up being blah and boring... and this guy can come up on stage with the same songs and blow the theatre up! great night in the theatre tonight

Hey Beachcruizer, here's some close-ups for you! Earl got right into the faces of the crowd, climbing up on the chairs and performing right in front of you. He's pretty much standing right overtop Beachcruizer here I believe, balancing on the arm rests.

It was about a 50min show tonight, and Earl received a well deserved standing ovation. This was a great finish to an excellent week of entertainment

Right from the show, we headed for Starwater. I'm guessing people have been sitting there for a very very long time as we were over 1/2 hour early and seats were at a bigtime premium. We still got seats down low this time as we grabbed a stool and also sat on the ledge of one of the planters so to not block anyone... it was one of the last spots you could get down low without standing it looked like.

Laura pointed out to me that she heard the performers during the "pre-show" as they walk around look for people taking pictures. So as they are standing there looking out at the crowd, if someone's trying to take a picture of them they'll start walking right towards them and pose for the camera lol!. Of course as soon as she told me this, I was all over it and just had to try it. Sure enough, they spotted me almost right away and whatever cast member was walking by at that time saw me pointing my camera at them, they'd stop and pose, then continue on.

I've got a poor photo of one of the cast members actually made a bee-line for me after she spotted me and sat down with me to pose for a couple of selfies, but I did not have my camera ready on night/dark setting and it didn't come out well. I thought this was a really cool thing for them to do, and I noticed a couple of other people trying this out after the figured out what I was doing.

The view of the show from this perspective was very good... not too close and not too far, just right.

And a great shot of the final number

You'll see all over the ship large displays of art (the Butterflies walking through the Via) and smaller ones. Here's a screen that I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to. It constantly changes with word sayings and pictures

And between the Schooner Bar and Izumi's are these 3 screens... take the time to watch for a couple of minutes as it's interesting

I just found this YouTube video which shows it so much better, I hope the author doesn't mind

[YOUTUBE]B5NigWandZQ[/YOUTUBE]

And with that, I walked around a bit to see what else was goi g on around the ship... ghost town. Music Hall had the DJ pumping music with maybe 10 people hanging around the bar, Boleros empty, no one around so it was off to bed for me as I wanted an early wake-up call to witness our sail into New York harbour in the morning

I woke at 6 hoping to get a view going under the Verazzano again.. I see we're sailing by land already on my virtual screen, and what looked like the areas of the bridge, so I quickly got changed into warm clothing and headed up top deck

I missed the Verazzano but was able to snap some excellent shots of the Manhattan skyline as Q positioned herself to back into Bayonne.

Debarkation was relatively painless for me. I had plenty of time for breakfast at WJ and go back to my room for final shower and room clean-up.

My tag number had me wait in the Music Hall, and we went well past our time. I was getting nervous as I had Carmel Limo booked again for 9am to take me back to Manhattan and I felt there was a good chance I wouldn't be out curbside in time. So keeping in contact with the Limo company and being called to disembark, I headed down to the luggage area... thinking I was going to get out in time, I checked the 100 or so bags in section #10 and my bag wasn't there. One of the porters with a massive cart of bags was there and he said more #10's were coming. After another 100 or so bags for #10 came, I saw mine in the pile and made a bee-line outta that turmoil! I got out to curbside very quickly.

Btw, #10 and the Music Hall was the meeting point for D and up members... so guess how many people were stacked in the Music Hall and how many bags had tag #10 for this cruise?Remember about 1400 D and up... This was dumb, and I should've clued in the day before when I saw my tags that I should've got a different number as the other bag areas were empty in comparison to #10's area. There were many others waiting for their bags after me as I rushed out

Thankfully, my driver was supposedly right around the corner and had just passed right by me. I flagged him down and jumped in asap. That's where mommabean yelled over at me waving saying she was trying hijack my car lol!! Gina, I hope you got out of there in good shape before the traffic got too crazy

As with my other reviews, I wouldn't mind sharing a few post cruise ideas for people to look at, and I'll do that here as well. I know many CC'ers really enjoyed the UK cruiser (with wife and child) on the TA and wanted to follow their vacation when they got to New York. I only spent the afternoon here so this won't take too long.....

Traffic was bad. It took almost 1 1/2 hours from 9am to get to 45th & Madison, the Roosevelt Hotel, in midtown Manhattan. I stayed there precruise and they were kind enough to let me hold my bags for the day without having a room booked (I checked into it first). I had a specific plan today, so here we go!

First a short walk to the Starbucks for a much needed Java and then down the street a couple of blocks to get a glimpse of the Chrysler Building

Back through Grand Central and the underground walkway on Park Ave, I took a picture back at the Metlife Building

#1 plan today was to head over to St. Pat's Cathedral, but most importantly Rockefeller Center. I made it to the front of the Rockefeller promenade walkway/gardens leading to the building

But with Saint Patrick's just a block over and behind me, I thought I'd go visit there first.

3 years ago, the outer shell of St. Patrick's was behind scaffolding and the church itself was closed the day I was there, so I totally missed out. There's still some scaffolding at the rear, but most of it is gone and it's beautiful.

There was a huge mass going on. I didn't know but it's a major religious holiday for the Mexican community: Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. And it looked like the archbishop was there was off in the distance of the altar which I just couldn't get close enough to. There was a ton of construction inside as you can. I did not spend a whole lot of time here as I wanted to get back to Rockefeller

I now got to experience one of my bucket list items on my lifelong to-do list!!!

So making my way across the street back to the promenade leading over to Rockefeller I made my way down, you may be asking what is my bucket list item?

Ice Skating at The Rock with the the view of the big Xmas Tree!

How cool is that! So I as I researched what I needed to do, I discovered that a skating session was over in about 45min, and I should come back in about an hour to get in the beginning of the next session so that I can skate for 2 hours... and it's really expensive ($39 per adult with skate rental), so I did just that. I continued site seeing around the venue

Yep, I was actually there, no file photos! lol

So I had about an hour to hang around, I decided to take a walk up 5th Ave to check the Xmas lights and stores

I went up as far as Central Park, really enjoy the walk in the crisp morning sun. The Park was beautiful, wish I had more time to venture in.

I made my way back down 7th Ave to get back to Rockefeller, passing by the famous Radio City Music Hall along the way

And now it was time to get on the ice!

Waiting in line to get in, I watched the mini zamboni clean the ice. This guy was definitely not Canadian... he had to go over the same spots several times! A Canuck would never have to do that lol

Finally on the ice!

I met a nice Newfoundland couple who were kind enough to take a pic of me. We skated around a bit and chatted, very nice time out on the ice. I spent most of the 2 hours skating, but I did leave with about 15min left as I didn't want to get stuck in the massive rush to untie skates in the rental area

I feel fortunate... I was lucky to discover the Empire State Building open late night pre-cruise, and now I had planned The Rock. I had pre-purchased tickets right when I did my walk around Manhattan before skating in order to time the skate, and the timing was perfect (Note had I waited, the Rock was sold out until late night once I got back from skating). I was able to go to the food court real quick for a snack, then it was my allotted time to be allowed in. Up we go!

You can read the history of Rockefeller Center on line, very cool. Here's the famous shot of the steel workers. This mural is located down in the gift shop

I personally love the views from The Rock more than from Empire. I will let my photos do the talking......

What a beautiful place for wedding pictures, but it must've been close to 32 degrees... it was really cold and windy up there! At one point, I would say about 10 teens rushed to this couple to get a group picture... I hope that they quickly asked if they could first

And lastly here you can really see how high you are by looking down onto St. Patrick's church where I was just a few hours ago.

Claudio.....thanks, again, for your wonderful review and amazing pictures. I'm sorry we didn't get to meet onboard. Hope our paths cross again on another cruise. :)

I stayed as long as possible up there... so beautiful, but it was time to go. I had planned to take the NYCAirporter, the same bus service I used when I arrived. I also thought to myself this is Friday afternoon and who knows what rush hour would be like, so I headed back to the hotel to grab my bags and then head for the bus point.

It has moved... 3 yrs ago it was on Park Ave and 42nd St, right across from the entrance of Grand Central. Now it's a little farther away at the corner of Lexington and 41st. Not a big deal to me as I was ok rolling my luggage down the sidewalk, a common site on the streets.

So for $14, I was on a bus in about 15min.

Traffic was not good, so it took about 1 hour 20min to get to JFK, but I arrived with still plenty of time for my flight (3 hours). So I easily checked in and I was ready to head on home, and with that said.....

THE END! :D

I want to say again how much I enjoyed the friendships made on this cruise with so many awesome people, and it was extremely nice to meet some people from this forum. Now I can put faces to the names :) I'll be posting again here some ratings of various venues on the ship as I've done on previous reviews. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to help. I really hope you enjoyed this review. It'll be really interesting for me to go from Lady Q to Legend in March.