March 13, 2015 Quantum of the Seas Review

[Jimbo]

Embarkation : Super easy and fast. Arrived later then usual but still no trouble boarding. Around 1pm they opened up the cabins.

 

Cabin 12238: Spa Junior Suite deck 12 right next to the aft elevator. Great location, not much foot traffic by our cabin because positioned right across from the elevators and there are 2 openings doorways, one to the aft and one forward.

 

We loved the cabin, lots of space for my wife and I, 2 bathrooms was really nice when getting ready to go out. Very quiet cabin also. Seas were pretty good the entire cruise so not much rocking.

 

Windjammer packed, thought maybe that would just be day one. But it was everyday, passengers just sit and talk after eating and never let other people enjoy the experience.

 

Noticed that Windjammer service and quality of food has declined some. Same old , same old food. Nothing really heat hot or exciting, missed the honey stung chicken the first day too, Did away with that I guess.

 

Windjammer service by the employees cleaning the tables was strange too. It was like they weren't sure what they were suppose to do. They would follow around each other in packs of 2 or 3 and clean off the same tables. Just strange!

 

One good point in the windjammer, the Bakery. Great warm cookies and all kinds of breads to try. Don't miss that!

 

Boleros.........went there last night and asked for 2 drinks. Coconut Mojito's, suppose to be one of their special drinks this ship is known for. Well we give the order to the guy and he just disappears into this back door of the bard and comes back like 10 minutes later. I don't know about you but when someone is mixing a drink for me I like to see him make it in front of us. Needless to say when he returned we told him to keep it and credit my sea pass card. Just strange!

 

Dynamic Dining: We had all our Dining picked out ahead of time.

 

Night 1: Chops.....not impressed the cut of meat wasn't as good as it used to be and the whole place didn't have the right vibe. Plus really what was a downer was the location. We had a nice window seat too, BUT it looked right out into a lifeboat.

 

Night 2: American Icon...... waiter may have had a off night. Not much of a hello or even his name, just came over with his Ipod and took our order. More like eating in a local diner at home. Not impressed.

 

Night 3: Silk, enjoyed this restaurant but at first they tried to seat us at one of those 2 tops that is just like seating at a table for 6. You know the kind that has you seating right on top of the couples next to you and this was after we walked right by two tables for 2 that were a lot more private. Needless to say we asked to be switched and after a little haggling with the maitre d he let us sit there.

 

There also was a large group in there that almost reserved the entire place. Little loud but they were having fun.

 

Night 4 : Jamie's.........this was a favorite so far. Great waiter, great table on the outside part next to the promenade. Really enjoyed the appetizers, starters and pasta dishes and dessert.

 

Night 6: Coastal Kitchen: This was by far the best............. great service, great view from deck 14. We each had 2 entrees, Ribeye and lobster tails. Even considering going there the last night again but kept our reservation with Chic.

 

Night 7: Chic.........this was very good too. This restaurant is on deck 3, really close to the water. We had a table for 2 with me facing the water. Almost looked like we were riding the waves. My wife got the Stuffed Scod with Crabmeat and I got the Onion flavored Chicken dish which was okay, but I also got a backup Prime Rib entree which was outstanding. Really large piece too.

 

We also did Johnny Rockets one night which was good but just keep in mind now you pay for everything ala carte on this ship.

 

Entertainment:

Mama Mia, Starwater was excellent, the hypnotist show was pretty good too Did not go to Sonic Odyssey or the second entertainer show(think that was a singer) Love and Marriage Show was good too.

Went to the Snowball Bingo, where a lucky passenger went home with $8600.00. Needless to say she was very , very happy.

 

Activities:

I Fly.........Bumper Cars........Northstar.........did not do the Flowrider, I wanted to be able to walk off the ship without a broken leg.

 

Ports: Did not really go on the ship for the ports, we had been to them all before, just got off in Nassau to pick up a few things.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We did walk off and left our cabin at around 6am, we got down to deck 5 where a line had formed already from the aft elevators back to Two70......we were about half way back. They finally started to let people off at about 6:35am.

We got through customs pretty quick where we met the shuttle to take us where our car was parked. After cleaning off the snow we left and were home by 8:45 am after a 75 mile ride. So we really made good time.

 

Fellow Passengers: Most but not all, I would never like to cruise again with. They would butt lines, push to get on elevators in front of you. No manners at all. Camp out in Windjammer at the tables and just never leave to give other passengers a place to eat.

 

Overall:

Not really sure change was for the better with having to reserve everything ahead of time. Think we might be better off sticking to the Voyager Class or Freedom Class or Radiance Class.

 

 

If anyone has any questions, do ask I will try to answer what I can.

 

Jimbo :)

[kimmaxr]

Good summary Jimbo. We just got off the ship this morning as well.

 

Did find out about the table cleaning process in the Windjammer. Therevis a 2 step process - the first person cleans off the table, the second sanitizes it. (Glad they do this, but I still managed to pick up a nasty little cold/virus that started on Thursday). We usually found plenty of seating in the back of the Windjammer or outside when it was nice enough to eat out there.

 

I agree with the rudeness of some of the passengers. Ran into the same issues quite often.

 

We saw Sonic Odyssey last night and it was fabulous. We also saw the singer/entertainer, Clint - can't remember the last name, but left mid-show. Didn't really enjoy that type of entertainment. Saw the hypnotist both shows and enjoyed it. Mamma Mia was exceptional.

 

The Grande was great and they changed up the menu midweek. American Icon was good as was Chic. We were able to get into Jamie's last night but for the $30 upcharge per person, I wasn't impressed. It was good but not for $120 for the four of us.

 

I am gluten free and all the menus now indicate the gluten free items and i was able to get gluten free desserts, soup, and cookies (Cafe Promenade)!

 

We enjoyed the thermal suite in the spa on a daily basis but the gym was overcrowded and people didn't seem to care that others were waiting and spent alot of time on the treadmills and other equipment.

 

We did the Ripcord ifly which was really fun but much harder on the body than it looks. After 60 seconds, I was done, but would definitely do it again.

 

Not sure I would leave out of NJ this time of year again because we essentially lost 3 days to cool weather and I would prefer to have the warmer temps from the start.

 

Maybe someone can help me with a problem - I purchased a photo disc and forgot to pick it up this morning before we left. Any thoughts on how I can get it?

 

Overall, I enjoyed the ship and feel that they are taking suggestions and acting on them. Some previous reviews I read had me worried but I didn't find too many issues at all.

 

We did learn that when the ship goes to Singapore, they are turning 270 into a casino and a couple of the restaurants into shops for the big spenders over there. The shows are moving to the Anthem too. So some big changes are on the way after this tour in the US.

Edited March 22, 2015 by kimmaxr

[Jimbo]

Still would like to know more about that cleaning of the tables in the Windjammer. Even after cleaning the tables with whatever they were using they still felt all sticky. My wife and I are also coming down with something. Coughing and nose running.

 

Hope you can get your photo disc. Might be best to call RCCL as soon as possible. Maybe they still keep the disc somewhere.

 

Jimbo:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your nice review.

[Merion_Mom]

Good summary Jimbo. We just got off the ship this morning as well.

 

Did find out about the table cleaning process in the Windjammer. Therevis a 2 step process - the first person cleans off the table, the second sanitizes it. (Glad they do this, but I still managed to pick up a nasty little cold/virus that started on Thursday). We usually found plenty of seating in the back of the Windjammer or outside when it was nice enough to eat out there.

 

I agree with the rudeness of some of the passengers. Ran into the same issues quite often.

 

We saw Sonic Odyssey last night and it was fabulous. We also saw the singer/entertainer, Clint - can't remember the last name, but left mid-show. Didn't really enjoy that type of entertainment. Saw the hypnotist both shows and enjoyed it. Mamma Mia was exceptional.

 

The Grande was great and they changed up the menu midweek. American Icon was good as was Chic. We were able to get into Jamie's last night but for the $30 upcharge per person, I wasn't impressed. It was good but not for $120 for the four of us.

 

I am gluten free and all the menus now indicate the gluten free items and i was able to get gluten free desserts, soup, and cookies (Cafe Promenade)!

 

We enjoyed the thermal suite in the spa on a daily basis but the gym was overcrowded and people didn't seem to care that others were waiting and spent alot of time on the treadmills and other equipment.

 

We did the Ripcord ifly which was really fun but much harder on the body than it looks. After 60 seconds, I was done, but would definitely do it again.

 

Not sure I would leave out of NJ this time of year again because we essentially lost 3 days to cool weather and I would prefer to have the warmer temps from the start.

 

Maybe someone can help me with a problem - I purchased a photo disc and forgot to pick it up this morning before we left. Any thoughts on how I can get it?

 

Overall, I enjoyed the ship and feel that they are taking suggestions and acting on them. Some previous reviews I read had me worried but I didn't find too many issues at all.

 

We did learn that when the ship goes to Singapore, they are turning 270 into a casino and a couple of the restaurants into shops for the big spenders over there. The shows are moving to the Anthem too. So some big changes are on the way after this tour in the US.

 

Not Two70. The Music Hall.

 

:)

[Sea Lavender]

What time do the shows start please?

 

I'm on Anthem in the summer, and when I ring Royal they can't advise me when they start. Odd because I have been advised to book all restaurants now or run the risk of not getting the dinner time you want.

 

So, we have followed their advise, book dinner blind... Hoping that they tally up with the shows! Crazy!

 

Thanks all

[marci22]

Thanks for posting your review. I would have done the same thing at Boleros and at Silk ;)

[Jimbo]

What time do the shows start please?

 

I'm on Anthem in the summer, and when I ring Royal they can't advise me when they start. Odd because I have been advised to book all restaurants now or run the risk of not getting the dinner time you want.

 

So, we have followed their advise, book dinner blind... Hoping that they tally up with the shows! Crazy!

 

Thanks all

 

Mostly all the shows are between 7:30pm and 10:00Pm.

 

All are Dinner times were either 6:30 or 7:00pm and had no trouble fitting in all the shows. We did have one reservation at 8:30pm, that night we decided not to do any shows.

 

Mama Mia even had an afternoon showing at 2:30pm on Day 2

 

My suggestion is to do like RCCL said , book the dining and adjust later the shows to fit your schedule. Even though they said the dinners would last 2 hours, we were mostly done in about 80 minutes. Granted their was just 2 of us but if you tell the waiter you have a show to go to after dinner they can speed things up a little.

 

It will work out, don't stress it.

 

Jimbo:)

Edited March 22, 2015 by Jimbo

[Cruise a holic]

Still would like to know more about that cleaning of the tables in the Windjammer. Even after cleaning the tables with whatever they were using they still felt all sticky. My wife and I are also coming down with something. Coughing and nose running.

 

Hope you can get your photo disc. Might be best to call RCCL as soon as possible. Maybe they still keep the disc somewhere.

 

Jimbo:)

Hi Jimbo,

On the same cruise- a big disappointment. You were one of the lucky one's who actually found a table in the windjammer. The crowding and service was perhaps the worst of any cruise we sailed on.

 

So many problems with service crowding and disorganization. Too bad, the best feature of the ship is the technology and the cabins.