Quantum of the Seas review

[QuantumCruiserAu]

Well I am finally back from the cruise and wish to provide a review.

 

 

Review Disclaimer

-------------

What is written in this review is my personal opinion only – based on my own experience, and does not represent anyone else.

 

 

This review is provided “as is” and does not constitute advice, readers are encouraged make their own decisions through their own independent research.

 

 

Not everyone experiences the same events in life, please understand when writing this review, you should understand the concept of “context” - context means “to within a certain scope” (unless specified) – for example: to give the whole ship a rating, would be unfair, as there are so many aspects, so each area has been provided a specific rating and that rating only applies to that item reviewed.

 

 

Review

---------

The facts:

 

 

Cruise date: 1st December 2014

Cruise length: 11 nights

Cruise ship name: Quantum of the Seas.

 

 

Introduction

---------------

This ship has been nick named by my family as “baby quantum” and has been given the gender of male, because of its blue hull.

 

 

The ship itself is beautiful from the outside (this statement does not include the internal features)

 

 

Boarding process:

--------------------

Pro:

The boarding process of the ship was really good, especially with 4000 people getting on board – the boarding process from the word go was easy and quick inside the terminal up until we got onto the ship, with the taking of photos, signing of waivers and customs.

 

 

Con:

There is a disclaimer at the door that you really cannot decline since you have already paid your full fair with no refund, as well as flight tickets

 

 

The process of getting from deck 5 to our cabin on the first day was hard, because the lifts took forever and were over crowded.

 

 

 

 

The entertainment

---------------------

Mumma Mia was brilliant and really well done

StarWater was great – when the screens didnt break or someone didnt fall and nearly die during the performance show

Other then that the ship was totally boring - the ship was boring – so little too do – I went on the wave rider

 

 

I saw the dodgems once and went on them once.

I was able to go roller skating once (that was fun)

I was able to go on the wave rider multiple times

 

 

 

 

Thank god 96% of the passengers on the ship were very old, because the ques for waver rider and everything was horrible with the few people – in 1 hour you got 3 goes on the wave rider.

 

 

The pools give me the creeps and I didnt use them half the time, these small pool areas, - without being rude, and no disrespect intended, but how do some of the RCI customers wash themselves in the small bathrooms? I dont think they do, or physically cant, so they go in to the pools – and I never saw the pools being drained once – only chained off for the night.

 

 

 

 

you never ever know what is going on in the ship even with the cruise compass,

 

 

 

went to the quizzes - everyone is asleep and the whole atmosphere was dull....

 

 

 

The internet

---------------

I didnt purchase the internet they wanted massive prices and when I asked around with it, apparently it was really bad that I was told by a person using it on their tablet.

 

 

They wanted something like $500 dollars! For top tier internet! Thats a joke! Most hotels on land have internet for free!!

 

 

Food

-------

 

 

Windjammer

----------------

The same food for 12days :(

The the food was cheap (potatoes, eggs, tin fruit )

The food was horrible

 

 

At first when I got on board, I t hought the people on the cruise were very wasteful and it made me very angry after a while I realised it wasnt the people being wasteful, by the end of the cruise not a lot of people were eating in the windjammer – because the food was horrible! It was the same thing every single say and it was the cheapest form of food you could find!

 

 

The cutlery always had food stains from previous users when I went to eat(dried egg, dried sauce etc).

 

 

You do not need a drink package the drinks in the windjammer are really good

 

 

The four restaurants

The four restaurants were good – no complaints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What broke

---------------

broken lifts

broken virtual balcony

broken bathroom

broken water

broken dish washer

broken guest services who didnt take complaints seriuosly and I have names of senior RCI staff who were terrible

 

 

broken wave rider

broken two screens

broken xboxs (when not broken - over run by teenages)

 

 

 

The music in the music hall was all the 70's while everyone was in their 90s – no 80s music..

 

 

The music was really bad

 

 

There was absolutely no night lift for people in their 30's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stateroom

---------

 

 

The stateroom was good – a decent size – very happy

The bathroom was tiny – im surprised how some people could fit into them

The water pressure sucked – it “did its job”

 

 

The staff

-----------

 

 

cruise director

What cruise director? Jimmy? The guy that can always be found partying, never takes complaints about the entertainment, and has ordered guest services not to pass on messages for him to contact you.

 

 

But he could always be found dancing and partying on – I managed to come across him while leaving the ship, and told him of a complaint and he never followed up.

 

 

The activity staff

They stare you down and if you dare complain, the never speak to you the same way again (starting with the manager)

 

 

The guest services are HORRIBLE – they completely ignore your complaints and say “its logged”

 

 

the guy in charge of the restaurants – was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT I mean he saved the cruise!

And although the food was horrible – the staff in all the restaurants work like machines! you people have my respect and admiration – they are literally slaves and do it with a smile.

 

 

Summary

------------------

This is my first cruise – the only thing saving me RCI reputation is THE CUSTOMERS of RCI who on the ship “dont judge RCI based on this cruise, their other ships are better” and that is coming from a pinnacle member couple and others that I spoke too

 

 

 

 

In summary, I really disliked this cruise – it was boring (and I was bored out of my mind), expensive, the food in the windjammer was repetitive and a lot of the staff are terrible – I can name the senior RCI staff if anyone wants it.

 

 

I dont know where all these other positive cruise reviews are coming from, I promise you that by the end of the cruise, ALOT of people were unhappy, and I COULD NOT WAIT to get off it.

 

 

I flew round the world for this cruise and I wish I had spent the money elsewhere...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special shout out to

* The dutch family

* The yatzee players

* The korean and vietnam vets I got to speak with

* The Austrian couple.

 

 

On a closing note I wanted to write a much more indepth review but I just dont have the time to go into the details, with xmas and new year....

 

 

if you have any questions – please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them honestly

[QuantumCruiserAu]

and if someone wanted me to rate my experience

 

I would say 2 stars rating out of 10

 

and that "Que-antum of the seas" is something I WOULD recommend for short trips of 2-3 days MAX

 

Anything beyond that - its painful.

[beachnative]

We were on the same cruise as you and take issue with most of what you said in your review.

 

We had a wonderful time and rate the cruise with top scores.

 

"Boring" is a state of mind of the beholder and I was never bored.

[Fastdak25]

I just posted my thoughts of my quantum cruise (the 12 December sailing after yours) and overall I wasn't impressed either, but it seems like your experience was much worse. The bathrooms were typical for a cruise ship, generally very small. Unless you are in one of the larger suites that's what you are going to get. While they didn't drain the pools, they did drain the hot tubs late at night to hose and clean them out. I too did find the ship boring during the sea days due to lack of on board activities. Many of the fun games from previous cruises were gone. The trivia games were fun though, it sounds like you just got a bad crowd. What you said in your summary though is important and correct, about not judging RCI based on this cruise.

 

I sailed on Freedom in September and it was a wildly different and much much better experience. I would suggest going on that ship next time. Much better staff all around and a lot more games and activities (including some for adults only).

[cruisenfever]

We were also on your cruise as well as the cruise prior and we are not even close to 80!:eek:

 

When you refer to quizzes, I am going to assume you are referring to Trivia. We attended every trivia on board and never once found anyone asleep at the wheel. Some of the sessions were rather entertaining and got very loud at times.

 

I will admit that both cruises weren't perfect, but then, when we boarded, we anticipated a few hiccups.

[Jimmers]

I always tell first cruisers that you never forget your first cruise. In your case, I'll pray that you do:).

 

While we may have experienced this cruise a bit differently than you, we too were very dissatisfied with many aspects of it. This cruise was so unlike any of our previous RCI cruises that I barely recognized it as an RCI product.

 

And as you said, they're were many unhappy cruisers on this ship. We could barely walk through the ship without running into someone complaining about this or that. We've never seen anything like it before. We are devoted cruisers and know how to roll with the punches but this was by far, our least favorite cruise.

 

I'm not sure who was responsible for this debacle of a cruise but they should be looking for another line of work. I have no doubt that RCI will turn this mess around and the RCI faithful (like us) will continue to sail with them but I wonder how many people (like you) they may have turned off to ever cruising again.

 

Again, sorry you had such a bad first experience with RCI. I hope you give them another chance (it can only get better, right?:)) but I wouldn't blame you it you didn't.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Jimmers

[yjf51719]

Thank you, someone who agrees with me concerning the Windjammer. In my eyes really horrible. Yes the same recycled food everyday, that wasn't even good. My husband is picky and must see what he's choosing. Explorer puts rings around the Quantum Windjammer. I was expecting the same on the Quantum.

At the pool not a table to sit or an upright chair, very hard to have a seat at the pool if you're handicap.. I hope RC reads these forums...

[Coochuck]

Leaving this coming Saturday. After reading your comments, I will go in with eyes wide open. We have done many cruises, just completed a 16 night transatlantic in November, and will be leaving on the Oasis the end of January. New Ships are prone to have problems. I booked this cruise with this in mind. We did take the first cruise out of Port Everglades on the Allue when it was brand new. It had some ups and downs, but again, the ship is new, personel are newly assigned and you can't go into it looking for a perfect experience. Overall, for your money, I still feel a cruise is a great vacation value. As far as the Windjammer, I do try to say away from it, because the food is boring. The bathrooms really look nice, and really can't understand what you have to compain about. I have been in much smaller bathrooms on smaller ships, ... trust me, this ships bathroom is an upgrade. As far as being bored...well, you do tend to make your own excitment...I guess you were looking to really be Wowed, and I"m sorry you were not. I guess you have to try to make limoncello out of lemons when things go wrong.

[andrea lynn]

Well I am finally back from the cruise and wish to provide a review.

 

 

Review Disclaimer

-------------

What is written in this review is my personal opinion only – based on my own experience, and does not represent anyone else.

 

 

This review is provided “as is” and does not constitute advice, readers are encouraged make their own decisions through their own independent research.

 

 

Not everyone experiences the same events in life, please understand when writing this review, you should understand the concept of “context” - context means “to within a certain scope” (unless specified) – for example: to give the whole ship a rating, would be unfair, as there are so many aspects, so each area has been provided a specific rating and that rating only applies to that item reviewed.

 

 

Review

---------

The facts:

 

 

Cruise date: 1st December 2014

Cruise length: 11 nights

Cruise ship name: Quantum of the Seas.

 

 

Introduction

---------------

This ship has been nick named by my family as “baby quantum” and has been given the gender of male, because of its blue hull.

 

 

The ship itself is beautiful from the outside (this statement does not include the internal features)

 

 

Boarding process:

--------------------

Pro:

The boarding process of the ship was really good, especially with 4000 people getting on board – the boarding process from the word go was easy and quick inside the terminal up until we got onto the ship, with the taking of photos, signing of waivers and customs.

 

 

Con:

There is a disclaimer at the door that you really cannot decline since you have already paid your full fair with no refund, as well as flight tickets

 

 

The process of getting from deck 5 to our cabin on the first day was hard, because the lifts took forever and were over crowded.

 

 

 

 

The entertainment

---------------------

Mumma Mia was brilliant and really well done

StarWater was great – when the screens didnt break or someone didnt fall and nearly die during the performance show

Other then that the ship was totally boring - the ship was boring – so little too do – I went on the wave rider

 

 

I saw the dodgems once and went on them once.

I was able to go roller skating once (that was fun)

I was able to go on the wave rider multiple times

 

 

 

 

Thank god 96% of the passengers on the ship were very old, because the ques for waver rider and everything was horrible with the few people – in 1 hour you got 3 goes on the wave rider.

 

 

The pools give me the creeps and I didnt use them half the time, these small pool areas, - without being rude, and no disrespect intended, but how do some of the RCI customers wash themselves in the small bathrooms? I dont think they do, or physically cant, so they go in to the pools – and I never saw the pools being drained once – only chained off for the night.

 

 

 

 

you never ever know what is going on in the ship even with the cruise compass,

 

 

 

went to the quizzes - everyone is asleep and the whole atmosphere was dull....

 

 

 

The internet

---------------

I didnt purchase the internet they wanted massive prices and when I asked around with it, apparently it was really bad that I was told by a person using it on their tablet.

 

 

They wanted something like $500 dollars! For top tier internet! Thats a joke! Most hotels on land have internet for free!!

 

 

Food

-------

 

 

Windjammer

----------------

The same food for 12days :(

The the food was cheap (potatoes, eggs, tin fruit )

The food was horrible

 

 

At first when I got on board, I t hought the people on the cruise were very wasteful and it made me very angry after a while I realised it wasnt the people being wasteful, by the end of the cruise not a lot of people were eating in the windjammer – because the food was horrible! It was the same thing every single say and it was the cheapest form of food you could find!

 

 

The cutlery always had food stains from previous users when I went to eat(dried egg, dried sauce etc).

 

 

You do not need a drink package the drinks in the windjammer are really good

 

 

The four restaurants

The four restaurants were good – no complaints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What broke

---------------

broken lifts

broken virtual balcony

broken bathroom

broken water

broken dish washer

broken guest services who didnt take complaints seriuosly and I have names of senior RCI staff who were terrible

 

 

broken wave rider

broken two screens

broken xboxs (when not broken - over run by teenages)

 

 

 

The music in the music hall was all the 70's while everyone was in their 90s – no 80s music..

 

 

The music was really bad

 

 

There was absolutely no night lift for people in their 30's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stateroom

---------

 

 

The stateroom was good – a decent size – very happy

The bathroom was tiny – im surprised how some people could fit into them

The water pressure sucked – it “did its job”

 

 

The staff

-----------

 

 

cruise director

What cruise director? Jimmy? The guy that can always be found partying, never takes complaints about the entertainment, and has ordered guest services not to pass on messages for him to contact you.

 

 

But he could always be found dancing and partying on – I managed to come across him while leaving the ship, and told him of a complaint and he never followed up.

 

 

The activity staff

They stare you down and if you dare complain, the never speak to you the same way again (starting with the manager)

 

 

The guest services are HORRIBLE – they completely ignore your complaints and say “its logged”

 

 

the guy in charge of the restaurants – was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT I mean he saved the cruise!

And although the food was horrible – the staff in all the restaurants work like machines! you people have my respect and admiration – they are literally slaves and do it with a smile.

 

 

Summary

------------------

This is my first cruise – the only thing saving me RCI reputation is THE CUSTOMERS of RCI who on the ship “dont judge RCI based on this cruise, their other ships are better” and that is coming from a pinnacle member couple and others that I spoke too

 

 

 

 

In summary, I really disliked this cruise – it was boring (and I was bored out of my mind), expensive, the food in the windjammer was repetitive and a lot of the staff are terrible – I can name the senior RCI staff if anyone wants it.

 

 

I dont know where all these other positive cruise reviews are coming from, I promise you that by the end of the cruise, ALOT of people were unhappy, and I COULD NOT WAIT to get off it.

 

 

I flew round the world for this cruise and I wish I had spent the money elsewhere...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special shout out to

* The dutch family

* The yatzee players

* The korean and vietnam vets I got to speak with

* The Austrian couple.

 

 

On a closing note I wanted to write a much more indepth review but I just dont have the time to go into the details, with xmas and new year....

 

 

if you have any questions – please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them honestly

I was on the same sailing and I am so sorry to hear that we had completely opposite experiences. I posted my review on CC as well. While I respect your opinions I have to disagree About the Cruise Director comments. I have sailed with Jimmy several times and one of his most noticeable strengths is appreciating customer feedback be it positive or negative. RCCL has converted his role to an administrator rather than a CD (bad move on their part) this has left him completely over worked. I hope that you give crusing another shot. My husband(53 yrs) and I(41 yrs) have been hooked since our first sailing. Just keep in mind that longer sailings tend to attract an older crowd as most Americans cannot get away from work for 12 days.

Edited January 3, 2015 by andrea lynn

[DKNYC]

Hello again QuantumCruiserAu,

 

Wow so sorry you didn't enjoy your first cruise. I certainly hope you try again sometime.:)

 

I haven't been on Quantum yet but I leave in a week. This is not my first rodeo so I am going with an open mind.

 

Anyway I really want to know how you enjoyed NYC before your cruise. Hope you found a nice place to have "Thanksgiving Dinner".

 

Denise

[QuantumCruiserAu]

Thank you all for your replies – and additional updates to my review as needed (located at end of replies) and my original disclaimers in the original post still apply to this post..

 

also sorry for the delays response, Christmas, New year and all that....

 

@BeachNative

 

Im sorry you take issue with what I said – I am happy you had a different experience to me.

 

Without being rude, and trying to introduce a bit of humour to the thread

“i will log that with maintenance, im sure they will be happy”

 

Although I agree with you that “boring” is a state of mind – with that though, when your stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean, where 90%+ of the other cruisers are 75 years or older, and your in your early 30's – there is little common ground to discuss things, and when a lot of things are broken on the ship, and there is nothing to do(events), and the cruise director wont talk to anyone, for me, its boring – so we might wish to “agree to disagree”

 

 

@Fastdak25

 

Thank you for your honesty about your impression.

 

I am able to cope with the small bathroom – after all – you spend like 40 minutes in it a day? (20 minutes morning and night) – guess I was more concerned about the “larger” people who might have difficulty fitting in and possibly not being able to properly wash themselves...and the water pressure

 

Thank god they cleaned the hot tubs, because the thoughts of it were not pleasant.

 

With the onboard activites, when we pulled into one of the ports – where there were 5 ships docked - I looked out at the other RCI, and they had mini golf, and people doing some sort of dance classes on the pool deck, and there were friendly staff waving at us from the other ship.

 

And your comment: “I sailed on Freedom in September and it was a wildly different” - The same sort of comments I received from A LOT of people (explorer, allure, oasis etc)

 

There was also no announcements over any speaker systems about events that “in 5 minutes trivia will begin in the music hall(or piano lounge)” - that would have been nice but nothing was ever said.

 

In fact people were complaining that the captain only ever spoke twice to everyone over the speaker system and that was when we departed and returned.

 

@Cruisenfever

Since you went to all the trivias – do you remember the 20 question trivia? Where someone got 20 out of 20 questions right? That was the one that I attended – and the prizes were sad – silly little plastic sleeve items for your card holder ( that go around your neck )– what made it worse is that a previous trivia had metal water bottles with RCI labels! Big difference in prizes.

 

As far as people being asleep – tell that to the guy in the back of the piano bar while that trivia was on – he was sleeping and snoring – maybe you missed him.

 

 

 

I understand that there would be hiccups – but there is a big difference between “broken” and “hiccup”.

 

 

 

@AndreaLynn

Thats ok - I respect your right to disagree with me about the cruise director – we will just agree to disagree, its my first sailing and im just basing the review on what I experienced.

 

I am still at yet to figure out if it was Jimmy per se or the 2 “senior” people that were at the customer service which refused to pass my message onto him for him to contact me about complaints....I have their names if anyone wants them.

 

Yes most of the people were older and from the New York Tri state area – they were from “joi-sey” and were great people hehehe (if you can guess the accent)

 

 

@DKNYC

 

Heya~! *BigHugs!*

 

Im glad to hear you are going on the Quantum – there are a couple of things you should watch out for”

 

Deck 14 “Washy Washy” at the windjammer – you will understand it when you get on board, and if no-one says it, I dare you to say it to the people at the door greeting you – I heard it for 12 days straight for breakfast and lunch and some dinners.

 

If you want a place to hide, do on deck 14, in the solarium – get a chair right at the front were the glass is and watch the ocean roll by – it really is/was the nicest part of the ship, and push the round button to go out onto the wings of the ship - its a nice view (both are right near the hot tubs)

 

A lot of people bailed on the windjammer and ate at the cafe outside 270, because the food in the windjammer was – in my opinon – poor.

 

I took a private car from manhattan to bayonne and it was the best decision of the holiday – it cost me $300 bucks but arriving and departing was a million times easier.

 

Also if you plan on going to SeaPlex for a hot dog– stop off at the windjammer BEFORE and pick up at least 2 drinks, and take them with you as there is only a drink machine for people with drink packages – there is nowhere to drink once you are there.

 

Also take your shackle with you – I mean the wrist band – the staff wont let you do any activity without it unless you fill in paperwork.

 

How long are you going for on the quantum and any ports? Tell me more.

 

 

NYC precruise for dknyc

 

NYC was brilliant! It snowed! Saw my first snow in my life! - it was when that blizzard hit just before the cruise – and holy mackerals! Was it cold!!! Compared to Maui where I had just come from.

 

my face was burning from the cold....but I did love it, but VERY VERY draining.

 

I got to go to waffles and dingus! And on the way I accidentally found “Katz deli” by complete surprise! So I was happy about that – as it wasnt planned.

 

 

I tried to see certain places/events like macys parade and rockafeller centre and it was just a wall of people – I didnt enjoy that too much(i really felt squashed) – the management of such events could be a little better – like running the macy parade down a few more streets so more people could see it ….but I guess that is life in the big apple...

 

got to see “st patricks” cathedral and pay my respects (not that im catholic, I just like to go into churches and pay respects to lost family members with candles.)

 

I got to feed some squirrels some nuts at town hall station! And the subway is as chaotic and awesome as usual – but I loved that

 

Well, for thanks giving – it was SO COLD that I settled for dollar pizza around the corning from my hotel, it was quick, cheap and I didn’t get mugged in the night time...

 

for some reason – New York seemed extra crowded this time compared to three years ago(in may) – and I mean LOT OF EXTRA people – maybe it was the holidays...

 

I went to see the aircraft carrier and the space shuttle! And had hot soup there with the aircraft carrier!

 

It took me 3 hours to get from JFK to my hotel via speedishuttle :D

 

The Christmas Santa's ringing their bells outside of shopping malls is really cool and weird

 

I didnt get to do everything I had planned for NYC(like queens or the grave yard in nyc) – but there is always next time – I grabbed a weekly unlimited train pass – my god some of those stations are dirty and run down in NYC

 

I went out to Brooklyn for dinosaur bbq! Always wanted to do that – I felt like a real new yorker.

 

I got zero nightlife – because by the time I ran around all day, I was too tired to party...

 

What I was most surprised at was how well behaved the people of NYC are! The are polite, courteous and extremely courteous – out of the millions of people I passed by – I came across one jurk on the subway – now that is great odds.

 

Walked across the Brooklyn bridge!

 

Went to the American history museum and had “shack shack” the chips with cheese were nice but the burgers just reminded me of Hungary jacks burgers – nothing special.

 

All in all I would rate NYC 8/10 stars - I love NYC and New Yorkers...but im a tourist and its probably different to what other people would experience if I lived there.

 

 

 

The cruise review additional details

 

I was very tired when I wrote my review and didnt think anyone would really care about it – if I had known I would receive 1,200+ views, I would have done a better job! And included pictures..

 

I wanted to add that I really loved the 4 restaurants on the ship - they were brilliant

 

I also wanted to add why people (in my opinion) didnt like dynamic dining – firstly – the old people really dont get the technology stuff (because it doesnt work sometimes and because THEY are old) – RCI should really know their target audience. Seriously – how many 70,80,90 year olds use tablets? Or smart devices? But the online booking system does work – sort of for young people like me

 

THANK GOD I booked 6 months in advance for restaurants and events.

 

But even with bookings you were left in ques waiting for tables – or tables were double booked on the international date line change over....

 

Alot of people were left waiting 2 hours for tables or dinners etc.

 

the dinners in the restaurants – what I had were top quality, no complaints

 

my complaints for those restaurants were that if you were a couple of 2 they always sat you near where the staff were banging and cleaning up plates

 

 

The nicest people on the ship were the cruisers -

- the privileged cruisers (pinnacle, diamond etc cruisers) were always the nicest and were there to impressive – I know because I passed by them every single day while they were on their way to their private lounge on deck 12.

 

The second nicest people on the cruise were SOME of the staff.

 

In my opinion - the guests services area was a den of horrible monsters filled with people who didnt want to know you or your problems or deal with these people.

 

 

-

There were a lot of lovely Jewish people on board from Manhattan, “Joi-sey” etc

 

 

But there were a few really difficult personalities – both staff and cruisers

 

– for example (in my opinion) – in the windjammer – the poor staff are often treated as second rate slaves – and often ignored as just cleaners – We (my family) tried our best to treat them like humans, most of the other cruisers ignored them and dismissed them like slaves and to me this is unacceptable – after all how hard is it to say “hi, how are you today? I hope things are going ok for you” with a smile?

but no – a lot of cruises just ignored them completely, and couldnt wait for them to serve them and then rush them away so they could get to the food.

 

 

 

There is few things more I detest then human beings treating other human beings like dirt – its uncalled for.

 

If anyone reads this review – please – dont treat the staff like slaves, they have some awesome personalities and some truly heart breaking stories, if you get to know them.

 

With that said though – some staff should not be on this ship as it seems to conflict with their personality – for example – the manager that runs the activities, when you have complaints, he talks down to you, you dont feel like your being heard or he plays problems down making them into nothing, when there was legitimate complaints.

 

The guy that runs the restaurants is truly and utterly amazing! Along with his Turkish manager in chic – and the Philippino guy in silk now those people know what customer service is – I cannot stop praising those staff – on every level! BOY OH boy – if the rest of the cruise went as awesome as those guys performed – wow would not have been the words I would have used to describe their service – it would be “WOW WOW – im booking in again in 3 months time for my next holiday.”

 

 

Baby Que--antum is beautiful and he has lots of potential but right now – that potential is not being realised.

 

What is sad, is that I left complaints with RCI in guest services and NO-ONE has contacted me about them :( - so its evident to me that they just don't care, either onship or on land.

 

You do not realise that there is 4000 people on board – and the arrangement of the food in the windjammer is really good(the bays) – little ques for that..

 

The 3 shows were brilliant, Mumma Mia was really great, StarWater was good, and the earth harp show was awesome.

 

If anyones has any questions – I am more then happy to answer them as best I can...

 

And I still stand by my original post statement

 

“I dont know where all these other positive cruise reviews are coming from, I promise you that by the end of the cruise, ALOT of people were unhappy, and I COULD NOT WAIT to get off it.”

 

Did anyone want any photos? If you do I will try and dig some up from my gopro....along with some footage...

 

Have a safe trip DKNYC and report back with lots of info!

[cruisenfever]

@Cruisenfever

Since you went to all the trivias – do you remember the 20 question trivia? Where someone got 20 out of 20 questions right? That was the one that I attended – and the prizes were sad – silly little plastic sleeve items for your card holder ( that go around your neck )– what made it worse is that a previous trivia had metal water bottles with RCI labels! Big difference in prizes.

Yes I do remember that trivia very well because it was our team that got the 20 out of 20 correct and we were thrilled with the lanyards that were given as prizes.:D

[norcalemt02]

Can you please explain what disclaimer at the door is about. What you cannot decline?

 

 

Well I am finally back from the cruise and wish to provide a review.

 

 

Review Disclaimer

-------------

What is written in this review is my personal opinion only – based on my own experience, and does not represent anyone else.

 

 

This review is provided “as is” and does not constitute advice, readers are encouraged make their own decisions through their own independent research.

 

 

Not everyone experiences the same events in life, please understand when writing this review, you should understand the concept of “context” - context means “to within a certain scope” (unless specified) – for example: to give the whole ship a rating, would be unfair, as there are so many aspects, so each area has been provided a specific rating and that rating only applies to that item reviewed.

 

 

Review

---------

The facts:

 

 

Cruise date: 1st December 2014

Cruise length: 11 nights

Cruise ship name: Quantum of the Seas.

 

 

Introduction

---------------

This ship has been nick named by my family as “baby quantum” and has been given the gender of male, because of its blue hull.

 

 

The ship itself is beautiful from the outside (this statement does not include the internal features)

 

 

Boarding process:

--------------------

Pro:

The boarding process of the ship was really good, especially with 4000 people getting on board – the boarding process from the word go was easy and quick inside the terminal up until we got onto the ship, with the taking of photos, signing of waivers and customs.

 

 

Con:

There is a disclaimer at the door that you really cannot decline since you have already paid your full fair with no refund, as well as flight tickets

 

 

The process of getting from deck 5 to our cabin on the first day was hard, because the lifts took forever and were over crowded.

 

 

 

 

The entertainment

---------------------

Mumma Mia was brilliant and really well done

StarWater was great – when the screens didnt break or someone didnt fall and nearly die during the performance show

Other then that the ship was totally boring - the ship was boring – so little too do – I went on the wave rider

 

 

I saw the dodgems once and went on them once.

I was able to go roller skating once (that was fun)

I was able to go on the wave rider multiple times

 

 

 

 

Thank god 96% of the passengers on the ship were very old, because the ques for waver rider and everything was horrible with the few people – in 1 hour you got 3 goes on the wave rider.

 

 

The pools give me the creeps and I didnt use them half the time, these small pool areas, - without being rude, and no disrespect intended, but how do some of the RCI customers wash themselves in the small bathrooms? I dont think they do, or physically cant, so they go in to the pools – and I never saw the pools being drained once – only chained off for the night.

 

 

 

 

you never ever know what is going on in the ship even with the cruise compass,

 

 

 

went to the quizzes - everyone is asleep and the whole atmosphere was dull....

 

 

 

The internet

---------------

I didnt purchase the internet they wanted massive prices and when I asked around with it, apparently it was really bad that I was told by a person using it on their tablet.

 

 

They wanted something like $500 dollars! For top tier internet! Thats a joke! Most hotels on land have internet for free!!

 

 

Food

-------

 

 

Windjammer

----------------

The same food for 12days :(

The the food was cheap (potatoes, eggs, tin fruit )

The food was horrible

 

 

At first when I got on board, I t hought the people on the cruise were very wasteful and it made me very angry after a while I realised it wasnt the people being wasteful, by the end of the cruise not a lot of people were eating in the windjammer – because the food was horrible! It was the same thing every single say and it was the cheapest form of food you could find!

 

 

The cutlery always had food stains from previous users when I went to eat(dried egg, dried sauce etc).

 

 

You do not need a drink package the drinks in the windjammer are really good

 

 

The four restaurants

The four restaurants were good – no complaints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What broke

---------------

broken lifts

broken virtual balcony

broken bathroom

broken water

broken dish washer

broken guest services who didnt take complaints seriuosly and I have names of senior RCI staff who were terrible

 

 

broken wave rider

broken two screens

broken xboxs (when not broken - over run by teenages)

 

 

 

The music in the music hall was all the 70's while everyone was in their 90s – no 80s music..

 

 

The music was really bad

 

 

There was absolutely no night lift for people in their 30's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stateroom

---------

 

 

The stateroom was good – a decent size – very happy

The bathroom was tiny – im surprised how some people could fit into them

The water pressure sucked – it “did its job”

 

 

The staff

-----------

 

 

cruise director

What cruise director? Jimmy? The guy that can always be found partying, never takes complaints about the entertainment, and has ordered guest services not to pass on messages for him to contact you.

 

 

But he could always be found dancing and partying on – I managed to come across him while leaving the ship, and told him of a complaint and he never followed up.

 

 

The activity staff

They stare you down and if you dare complain, the never speak to you the same way again (starting with the manager)

 

 

The guest services are HORRIBLE – they completely ignore your complaints and say “its logged”

 

 

the guy in charge of the restaurants – was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT I mean he saved the cruise!

And although the food was horrible – the staff in all the restaurants work like machines! you people have my respect and admiration – they are literally slaves and do it with a smile.

 

 

Summary

------------------

This is my first cruise – the only thing saving me RCI reputation is THE CUSTOMERS of RCI who on the ship “dont judge RCI based on this cruise, their other ships are better” and that is coming from a pinnacle member couple and others that I spoke too

 

 

 

 

In summary, I really disliked this cruise – it was boring (and I was bored out of my mind), expensive, the food in the windjammer was repetitive and a lot of the staff are terrible – I can name the senior RCI staff if anyone wants it.

 

 

I dont know where all these other positive cruise reviews are coming from, I promise you that by the end of the cruise, ALOT of people were unhappy, and I COULD NOT WAIT to get off it.

 

 

I flew round the world for this cruise and I wish I had spent the money elsewhere...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special shout out to

* The dutch family

* The yatzee players

* The korean and vietnam vets I got to speak with

* The Austrian couple.

 

 

On a closing note I wanted to write a much more indepth review but I just dont have the time to go into the details, with xmas and new year....

 

 

if you have any questions – please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them honestly

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Irene7]

We were on the same cruise as you and take issue with most of what you said in your review.

 

We had a wonderful time and rate the cruise with top scores.

 

"Boring" is a state of mind of the beholder and I was never bored.

 

 

The OP did state that this was his personal opinion, as is yours. I'm glad your experience was a good one, unfortunately his was not.

[Guest maddycat]

There was also no announcements over any speaker systems about events that “in 5 minutes trivia will begin in the music hall(or piano lounge)” - that would have been nice but nothing was ever said.

 

In fact people were complaining that the captain only ever spoke twice to everyone over the speaker system and that was when we departed and returned.

 

I'm thrilled that RCI has listened to past passengers' complaints about constant, intrusive announcements. All activities are listed in the cruise compass.

[cruisenfever]

There was also no announcements over any speaker systems about events that “in 5 minutes trivia will begin in the music hall(or piano lounge)” - that would have been nice but nothing was ever said.

 

In fact people were complaining that the captain only ever spoke twice to everyone over the speaker system and that was when we departed and returned.

All activities were listed in the Cruise Compass. Since the Compass for the following day is delivered the night before, my husband uses a highlighter to highlight which activities we are interested in doing.

 

Every day on the TV, on Channel 14, I believe, the Captain had a time slot where he explained where we were and what was going on. After it's original broadcast, it was played repeatedly throughout the day.

[QuantumCruiserAu]

@norcalemt02

"Can you please explain what disclaimer at the door is about. What you cannot decline?"

 

When you arrive at bayonne, on departur date - after you go through the security checks - you get to the checkin people where you have to show your printed seapass

these people have laptops where they take your photo and do all the processing for on board.

 

In that process they tell you, you must sign a disclaimer/waiver(digitial signature on the laptop) - if you dont sign, you can see a supervisor - and pretty much you will be told that if you

do not agree - that you will not be allowed on the ship.

 

As I understand it, its the exact same agreement you agree too when you pay in full - its just that you get to actually sign it, rather then assumed agreement(via payment).

 

I hope this answers your question sir or ma'am

 

You will also be expected to sign the disclaimer for the ifly.

 

 

@madeline

Im glad your thrilled.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of the elevators, and grand promenade, windjammer bars etc that a subtle, polite, and low tone(and volumn) friendly message in the more busy areas of the ship

stating "ladies and gentleman, in 15 minutes XXX activity will be begin" would assist passengers in knowing what is up and coming - thus allowing areas like the solarium, hallways etc to be undisturbed. - thats all..

 

I wasnt suggesting a fog horn, blast announcement on every deck that left teeth fillings rattling....

 

 

 

@cruisenfever

 

Heya cruisin - yes i did read the cruise compass at night and then left it in my cabin as I didnt want to carry around a schedule - as i do that every day when im not on holidays

 

and i only rarely watched tv - and it was mostly a repeat of a show with jimmy doing a performance with 3 couples discussing their sex life.....that repeated over and over and over again

do i didnt bother turning it on after that - i came across it 3 different times....

[DKNYC]

Hi Quantum CruiserAu

I for one really appreciate your honest assessment of the Quantum experience through the eyes of a non American FIRST time cruiser who happens to also be a thirty-something agewise. I think your age group may have be Royal Caribbean's target audience for this ship.

We experienced older cruisers may have forgotten how we felt the first time and some of us wwere older when we started . I was almost 40 and I was a youngster on QE2. We have been trying to get rid of those announcements that you crave and we like the often silly gameshows like the "Love and marriage" game that was on your TV. So maybe RCI has missed the boat for you. (Pardon the pun)

 

However, I am so glad you liked NYC and did so many things. Katz' is wonderful isn't it? Glad you found us New Yawkers to be mostly well behaved and civil. Tell your friends. Sorry about the dirty subway, we just can't seem to get ahead of that problem.

 

Yes I stay out of the ship pools too. The solarium is nice except for the chair hogs or CHOGS.

 

Denise

 

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[cruisenfever]

[quote name=@norcalemt02

"Can you please explain what disclaimer at the door is about. What you cannot decline?"[/quote]

 

When you arrive at bayonne, on departur date - after you go through the security checks - you get to the checkin people where you have to show your printed seapass

these people have laptops where they take your photo and do all the processing for on board.

 

In that process they tell you, you must sign a disclaimer/waiver(digitial signature on the laptop) - if you dont sign, you can see a supervisor - and pretty much you will be told that if you

do not agree - that you will not be allowed on the ship.

 

As I understand it, its the exact same agreement you agree too when you pay in full - its just that you get to actually sign it, rather then assumed agreement(via payment).

What you are referring to is called the Cruise Contract and everyone must agree to the terms and conditions before they are allowed to board. This is much different than the Disclaimer that you are required to sign prior to doing the iFly.

[funNJfamily]

We are just getting excited about this new ship and trying to figure out if we are going to book before it goes to china. Thank you for your candid and honest review and all your view points we will take into consideration.

[QuantumCruiserAu]

@DKNYC

 

Thank you for your kind words

 

lol the family member that i went with was 60 something and SHE would have been considered young on the cruise we were on :D

 

I could understand why your trying to get rid of them - if they were every 5 minutes, with an annoying voice...or loud and intrusive...

 

i loved the show of love and marriage, its just that after you have seen in repeated about 10 times, its hard to pretend like you dont know whats going to come out of the participants mouths....i dont think i saw any other game show on the ship TV - but then i wasnt watching it 24x7 - if i was going to waste time, i was going to do in in the solarium

 

 

lol @ the pun

 

 

Katz is awesome - we managed to shake hands with the owner and had an opportunity to speak with him - which i think was SUPER COOL

 

the food is great, the service is awesome...

 

"New Yawkers", "Joi-seys" etc...very nice people

 

appreciate the subway comment - i mean not much anyone can do about it, its really a natural attribute of any big city.

 

So much more though could be done with NYC though, i mean, it really has so much potential that just isnt being utilized to attract tourists....which is a shame..

 

 

one thing about city of Sydney, they really do exploit every possible avenue for tourists to come and stay...

 

 

oh - dont remind me of the chair hogs, especially those ones that leave the towels there for HOURS and hours, its such a shame, if they freed up the chair...

 

when do you leave for the ship?

 

 

@Cruisenfever

that pretty much sums it up..

 

 

 

@funNJfamily

 

Thats awesome guys!

 

DO GO on the ship, but please do not expect it to match the hype that is being put out by the advertising...

 

Any experience is something worth while in life, and the ship is beautiful - its just full of problems and broken things (in my experience) to which I am sure they will fix in time

 

and dont go for anything longer then a few days, i found, personally a few days would be good before the repeated food starts to hurt..

[QuantumCruiserAu]

also @funNJfamily you will have to let us know what you decide upon

 

 

@dknyc

 

dont hold back on the details either...im waiting eagerly...

[DKNYC]

Leaving on the very next cruise, January 11. I don't actually watch much TV, just use it as white noise. It's a 12 nighter so I am going with an open mind. Gonna love exploring the ship and relaxing.

Denise

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[QuantumCruiserAu]

@DKNYC

 

i hope you have a good time and they have fixed up alot of things....

 

 

Do yourself a favor.

 

ride the glass lifts - so that if you get stuck you can wave to people for help......

[QuantumCruiserAu]

@DKNYC

 

 

Today is the 12th and apparently you are going on the 12th for a cruise on QoTs (which will technically be tomorrow USA time!)

 

I just wanted to wish you a Bon Voyage! I hope your trip is enjoyable and safe.