19 Nights, 10,000+ photos, and way too many videos. A Quantum Review

[DEIx15x8]

On our way out we of course showed our appreciation for everyone that turned out and gave not only the most, but also the longest horn blasts I have experienced and you could hear the cheers from the crowd ashore. All along the coast were flashes of white light from people taking pictures in the darkness.

 

It didn’t just stop once we left the pier though, all the way out to sea the shoreline was lined with people watching and taking photos.

 

Even at the fort, it was pitch black but we could see the white flashes appearing all over the black grassy hill. I have no idea how many people were there but considering how many flashes we saw and how spread out they were it was obvious that a lot of people showed up there.

 

I don't think it would have been possible for the people of Puerto Rico to have given us a warmer reception than they did. The amazing thing though was that it extended online as well. I tweeted about our arrival and received not only retweets and favorites but several replies from people in Puerto Rico wanting to say how happy they are to have both us and the Quantum of the Seas there.

 

Be sure to watch my video of our arrival and departure. You do not want to miss the media frenzy that surrounded it!

[YOUTUBE]0G4VdyJW97g[/YOUTUBE]

Edited January 14, 2015 by DEIx15x8

[DEIx15x8]

That night, because the busy day of activities, and the incredible reception in Puerto Rico wasn’t enough excitement we also then had the Love & Marriage Game Show. The first time it was played on the Quantum of the Seas.

 

This day, the 12th onboard the ship, was in every way what you expect from a cruise and beyond. This single day included everything that should have happened on the inaugural. It had the excitement and energy. It made everyone feel special and lucky to be onboard. It was loaded with activities (possibly even too many for a single port day), more in a single day than the entire inaugural. IMO it sums up why Royal Caribbean still needs to explain the complete failure to deliver on the inaugural.

[DEIx15x8]

Day 5b: December 5, 2014

 

Day 13 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember52014PhillipsburgStMaarten

 

Compared to yesterday’s Quantum focused day in San Juan. The day in St. Maarten was once again more outwardly focused with us being in port with the Celebrity Constellation, P&O Azura, and Adventure of the Seas. We were once again the last to arrive and on the way in, like in San Juan a camera crew boarded the pilot boat to film our arrival. Unfortunately there weren’t any helicopters though. We did have nice weather for the arrival though with overcast skies but a calm breeze and nice temperatures.

 

It was a rather smooth docking at first. We turned around and backed in much ahead of schedule like we had in every port up to this point.

[DEIx15x8]

The crew onboard the Celebrity Summit and P&O Azura were watching us from their bridge wings and taking pictures. It was a silent arrival though with no horns involved.

 

As we were nearing the end of the water by the pier though the docking seemed to take a bad turn. We had a surprisingly high speed going and the captain seemed to have kicked the engines on a bit late. We were already fairly close to the land when they started trying to come to a stop.

 

As we sailed past the P&O Azura’s bridge it was clear that we were traveling a bit farther than we should have been. We eventually came to a stop incredibly close to the rocks based on appearances above the water, I can’t imaging with the way they slope out and how much deeper the Quantum is than all the other ships that we were too far from making contact.

 

We eventually got going foreword again and ended up coming to a stop roughly 20 feet or more from where we had originally been. This was the only port that we ended up not being docked early for.

 

So everything ended up alright, but it was certainly the most concerning docking I've experienced on a ship. The first time the thought that we were going to crash has gone through my head. With us backing in I was honestly concerned that even though we may not crash, we may still damage a propeller.

Edited January 16, 2015 by DEIx15x8

[DEIx15x8]

This morning after we were docked the film crew showed up at the aft end of deck 14 to film the FlowRider.

 

Our ship was already towering over the rest of the ships in port especially the Constellation.

That didn’t stop me from riding the North Star though to get an even higher view over everyone else.

 

North Star in St. Maarten video:

[YOUTUBE]_5IwngKwm9k[/YOUTUBE]

[DEIx15x8]

We saw the supposedly genetically linked NCL Breakaway and Quantum of the Seas on opposite sides of the pier in Nassau, but IMO the Celebrity Constellation and Quantum of the Seas share much more of the gene pool. Just look at how the superstructure is set back so far (Breakaway is barely back) on both Quantum and Constellation. The parts that come out are done with multiple levels of angled sections. The top deck has a very large overhang with support beams. The lifeboats dominate the appearance of the lifeboat deck and stick out about an equal distance (I was actually surprised that even with Constellation having hers above the deck they still looked very similar, I think it was partly that ours were higher on our deck than you would expect). The Breakaway had her lifeboats hanging off the side. It is very clear the the genes from Constellation were in the Solstice class and that carried over to Quantum.

 

Unfortunately the weather turned south. As we were waiting for our excursion it started to rain. The excursion ended up being canceled because of the poor weather and apparently a lot of sea weed that was washing onto the beaches and floating in the water.

 

Instead of took the time to photograph all the ships in port from all sorts of locations.

[DEIx15x8]

 

By the time everyone was getting ready for sail away though the weather had improved and we got a beautiful sunset.

[DEIx15x8]

The first ship to leave was the Celebrity Constellation at 5PM. On her way out just as her bridge was reaching our bridge she had a horn battle with the Quantum of the Seas.

[DEIx15x8]

We were the second ship to leave at 6PM. We left a few minutes early having a horn battle with the Adventure of the Seas just before taking off.

 

As we were just clearing the pier we had a second horn battle with the Adventure of the Seas as she then began to leave as well and follow us out. I had hoped she would pull along side for a neat Royal Caribbean photo opportunity but unfortunately she sailed made a right and sailed behind us as we sailed strait out to sea.

[DEIx15x8]

 

Don’t forget, if you want to watch the entire arrival (including the close call) and departure along with all the horn battles be sure to watch the St. Maarten video:

[YOUTUBE]MWeVuw4gKyQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

This night’s headliner was a very interesting Elton John impersonator named Joel Mason. He was good, but I couldn’t figure out why he was a headliner in the Royal Theater and not a tribute band in Music Hall.

[Yorkvillain]

Fantastic job with this review Derek.

 

Did you post a picture (or video) of the deck 5 outside promenade? I thought you did but I can't seem to find it.

 

We have balcony room #6532 next month and the room is right above the walkway, right where it begins on the starboard side (8th balcony from front). I was just trying to get a sense of how bad it was with people walking right below our balcony.

[DEIx15x8]

Fantastic job with this review Derek.

 

Did you post a picture (or video) of the deck 5 outside promenade? I thought you did but I can't seem to find it.

 

We have balcony room #6532 next month and the room is right above the walkway, right where it begins on the starboard side (8th balcony from front). I was just trying to get a sense of how bad it was with people walking right below our balcony.

 

I think your safe in your location. The promenade deck is actually the life boat deck. That's a distinction Carnival made a while back but Royal Caribbean has never had to make until this class. It really is designed for the purpose of loading passengers into the life boats and little else. As a result there are very few passengers out there. Everytime I went out it seemed to be empty. The place you do see some people walking are in the aft area where they are headed to the smoking area. In the front their is no protection and the doors are not in an area that receive much traffic (at the entrance to the theater) so it should be empty. Your in an even better location though, rather than being over the main deck area by the door, your up farther along the dead end walk way. Beyond curiosity, in 19 days I never saw anyone walk up there. It's an obvious dead end and no seating or other items to make you stay. The only time I really saw people down their was leaving ports a couple times people gathered at the door area to watch, but even then they didn't venture far down towards your cabin.

 

There are some good pictures from her arrival on 11/10: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasNovember102014MaidenArrivalToTheUS

I also have a video from that day which will give you close ups as well (most of my pictures are taken while recording video):

 

On day 19 I filmed the life boat deck for my ship tour. It's not much, but it includes a pan of that area at roughly 54 minutes:

There are life boat deck pictures in this album: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember112014DayAtSea

Here is the most relevant for you:

 

Here are three other pictures of that area that I found.

 

Hope that helps. As I said earlier, don't worry about it. If you were over the main life boat deck area I would say you could have something to worry about, and if you were aft by the smoking shed you would for sure. But where you are nobody will really be out there beyond maybe a few people during departures and even then I doubt anyone would go as far forward as your cabin.

[Yorkvillain]

Wow, that is exactly what I was looking for (and more!)

 

Thanks!

[DEIx15x8]

Day 6b: December 6, 2014

 

Day 14 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember62014FortDeFranceMartinique

 

This was another beautiful southern caribbean day for the most part. It started out as by far the hottest arrival of the cruise. Hot enough to actually make my GoPro over heat and shut off. The seas were like a lake with barely any movement at all.

 

The pier in Martinique looked rather modern and new. The area at the end of the pier had a small shopping area, but not much else. There was a lot of construction for a new building right there.

 

We could also see the Norwegian Pearl docked on the other side of the fort from our location.

[Jimmers]

Fantastic job with this review Derek.

 

Did you post a picture (or video) of the deck 5 outside promenade? I thought you did but I can't seem to find it.

 

We have balcony room #6532 next month and the room is right above the walkway, right where it begins on the starboard side (8th balcony from front). I was just trying to get a sense of how bad it was with people walking right below our balcony.

 

Looks like you have one of the better deck 6 rooms. (we had one of the worse 6284 port side:(). I think the door shown in the pic at the end of deck 5 forward is for crew only so foot traffic shouldn't be a problem. The only issue you might have is a bright light outside your room at night.

[DEIx15x8]

We did an excursion to a beach on the other side of the island. It was way too long a drive and nothing like the description claimed. We at least had nice weather while there.

 

The entire way back to the ship it was then pouring out. It seemed to know where we were because it continued until we were onboard again, then it seemed to stop right away.

 

The sun then came back out and it was once again a beautiful warm caribbean day!

 

A group of musicians and dancers came out on the pier and performed for about 15 or so minutes along side the ship.

 

The Norwegian Pearl was the first to leave at 5PM. She pulled out from behind the fort and circled past us right as the sun was setting.

[DEIx15x8]

 

As the time approached for us to depart once again crowds started to form on the coast. This was the fourth memorable departure out of four for this sailing, and the third that was the local residents made special by turning out to commemorate the event.

[DEIx15x8]

When it was finally time for us to leave, all the church bells in the area rang for five strait minutes to send us off. The Quantum of course gave them a warm response with her horn.

 

It was a beautiful calm night with a full moon shinning over the smooth seas.

 

As always, you can watch the entire arrival and departure video right here:

[YOUTUBE]w2liJXtpFRs[/YOUTUBE]

 

Like so many other nights, I ended another great day with a showing of StarWater.

[DEIx15x8]

Sorry for the delays, been deep into editing theCruiseView. Have four episodes almost done. Each has a single segment that needs to be done before publishing. I was hoping to have the first up today but got hit by the Final Cut clip bug and had to redo most of it yesterday and continuing today. Hope to have it up on Monday now.

 

Day 7b: December 7, 2014

 

Day 15 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember72014BridgetownBarbados

 

Barbados, our farthest south port of call during the sailing. As we experienced with the other southern caribbean ports it was once again hot and beautiful out!

 

And just like with all the other ports we arrived extra early, actually starting our entry into the port nearly an hour before our scheduled docking time. Already in port at the time was the Thomson Celebration. Not sure when they arrived or departed (no times on their site), but it was their turn around day in Barbados. The port itself is different than the other Caribbean ports, more reminiscent of those found in Europe. It’s designed more as a cargo port utilized at times for cruise passengers as well. It features a large pier and break water that curves out to create the harbor.

[DEIx15x8]

It was an impressive maneuver that the Captain started hyping the day before. The Quantum of the Seas is the largest ship to ever dock in Barbados and she had just enough space to make the very slow and calculated rotation. It took the entire hour to make the maneuver safely and get rotated so that we could back into our berth.

[DEIx15x8]

Since we once again had a later excursion it meant another nice morning onboard in port, and that means no wait for the North Star! I actually not only didn’t have to wait but it was only about half full for the ride. Since it wasn’t a full port there was less to see but it was still interesting. Barbados looked much flatter than I was expecting and you could see for a good distance.

[YOUTUBE]7luNOHgqgXw[/YOUTUBE]

 

When I got off the North Star is when I heard once again heard the loud grinding noise on the pool deck and finally realized that it was the funnel retracting.

[YOUTUBE]S9AFTw7XAdQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

This morning was also the morning that the crew participated in a mandatory crew drill. Surprisingly even with that going on, while the crew were clearly preoccupied and could be seen all around the ship at there stations, they still had the required crew around to keep things operating. The dining venues that would typically be open were once again open, and it was even going on while I was on the North Star because they made sure enough crew were exempt to keep the sports activities running. I was honestly really surprised. I knew they had their drill because an interview I had scheduled needed to be changed because of it, so I was expecting the ship to be shut down while they were all preoccupied but it really wasn’t. It gave a great opportunity to see how the new three stage lifeboat system works. The first stage is vertical and locked on the deck, that is how you normally see them positioned. The second stage involves the arm angling out and the lifeboat coming to a rest alined with the loading platform (built into the deck and always in place). The third stage then involves the arm extending from the deck to a position that then allows the lifeboat to be lowered and raised. You can see the entire process in the video.

[YOUTUBE]e1rRiWvBp14[/YOUTUBE]

 

So it was a surprisingly fun and busy morning for being on a ship in port.

 

As I mentioned the pier was very industrial in nature and we were docked at the end so it was a long hike to land. Luckily it was not one that anyone had to make as they had buses running back and forth continuously to get people to the ship.

[DEIx15x8]

Since it was a Sunday the stores are normally all closed in the area. During the morning though the Jimmy came on the intercom to make a special announcement that a variety of stores in the port area had decided to open up for us and the exact list was available at guest services. The actual port itself while being an industrial setting had a nice little terminal. It was clearly an old warehouse that they built little stores inside of, but it was nice and they had a nice covered waiting area for the excursions.

 

While the ship area may not have been anything to look at.

The rest of the island was beautiful. We did an excursion to see green monkeys, and unfortunately it started pouring just as we got there, and of course ended just when we left (yes our luck is that bad), it was still a great day and we saw a lot of the island.

Everytime I look at the above picture I can’t believe it’s real. It looks like a video game for some reason. I think it’s the haze.

[DEIx15x8]

When we got back to the ship we were late not only getting back from our excursion, but late for the all aboard call. As soon as we pulled up to the terminal a representative from the excursions staff was waiting for us and escorted us to a bus and back to the ship. Once I got on the ship and scanned my card everyone started yelling that I was finally there. So I’m guessing anyone that was onboard may have heard my name announced, lol. As soon as we stepped on they were pulling the gangway up and firing the engines, they were definitely waiting on us, luckily our excursion was an official Royal Caribbean one so they had to.

 

The departure was much quicker than the arrival since we were already turned around. Instead of spinning, we simply had to swing the stern out so that we could turn 90º and head out the opening.

 

Just after departure we had another beautiful sunset. Our most southernly as we were now starting out journey back towards the north.

 

That night we passed another NCL ship. It may have been the Norwegian Pearl but from what I’ve been able to find I don’t think she would have been in the area at that time.

If anyone know who it was please let me know.

[DEIx15x8]

On this night more than any other, it seemed like IT was out and about. Two70º was always being maned by a team responsible for the Vistaramas, but on this night they had some of the bios and boot screens up, and yes it is running on Windows XP.

They were also out working in most of the networking closets around the ship.

[Suzieanna]

Thanks for that wonderful review! I bet it took you ages!

 

I heard that some seats in 270 are not great to say the least for watching shows. I am wondering if you would be kind enough to tell us if you experienced issues and if so, which ones are particularly bad. I always seem to find the worst seat in the house! Thanks in advance. Suz