Btimmer's Experiment with Another Cruise Line

[Btimmer]

We're long time HAL cruisers, and we've sailed on a few other lines over the years.  Recently a last minute 7 Day Alaska cruise out of Seattle ending on 5/23/22 at a good rate came up on my radar.  So I booked us into a balcony cabin on the Quantum of the Seas (Quantum hereafter).   We've previously sailed to / from Alaska 4-5 times so the HAL experience is well known to us, although all of those cruises were using inside cabins.  I'll try to point out some of the differences between the Quantum experience and our typical HAL experience and provide recommendations at the end.

 

THE SHIP

Quantum is a ship with capacity of over 4,000 people and it was full.  HAL's ships are typically less than half of that.  For the most part, it didn't feel crowded except for a few situations: 1. At embarkation where it took 1.5 hours to board even when we arrived at our assigned 2pm check-in time.  2.  On board when main theater ended, the elevators struggled to keep up with the demand.  3.  The front desk was ALWAYS busy!

 

The principal walking deck on Quantum is on Deck 15 and it's really long and nice but a long way above the water.  Deck 5 had a walking surface but the views were hindered by tender and their apparatus and a loop was not possible. There are no deck chairs on Deck 5 like found on HAL's promenade decks (except the Pinnacle Class).

 

Quantum's main theater is similar to HAL's (except the Pinnacle Class) but it is larger.  Several things are different, though.  Air conditioning is vented out the backs of the theater seats.  The stage has sections that rise out of lower areas. And certain seats in the center rear of the auditorium are reserved for STAR members.  They have a live 5 piece support band like HAL of old.  We really liked that aspect.

 

Quantum has no area like HAL's Crow's Nest, and we missed that.  There is the Solarium up front which is reserved for adults only, but we found it hard to view forward unless one was fortunate to get a deck chair in the front row.  The reflections are too severe.

 

Quantum's casino is located on Deck 3 and we only walked through it once in 7 days.  It was large and the one time we walked through, it was quite active.  Smoking is permitted in the Casino.

 

For most of the cruise we felt virtually no motion or vibrations.  While it helped that the seas were very calm throughout our voyage, the sheer size of the ship undoubtedly had to help.

 

There were virtually no announcements throughout the day on sea days about upcoming events, sales, etc.  And there were virtually no announcements about port departures.  If a passenger wasn't on a shore excursion, the cruise director recommended waiting about a half hour before leaving the ship.  We typically did that and it worked well as we had no booked shore excursions.  The Captain did make periodic noon announcements about our position and the weather, but little else. We never saw any officers anywhere in the ship except for the CD as the emcee in the theater and the Captain and Hotel Director at the Captain's Corner [Ask the Captain for HAL].

SMOKING AREA

The smoking area was located on deck 14 on the starboard side.  As a non-smoker, I really did not enjoy having to walk this gauntlet when I didn't remember to use the Port side.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We were really impressed by the entertainment in the main theater.  We had a comedian (2x), a Elton John Tribute person, a female vocalist (Philipine Idol winner), & a Production Cast Show (Sequins & Feathers) (2x).  In addition in the stern of the ship is the Two70 venue which is a very high tech multimedia theater where we watched a world class juggler and dress rehearsals for a singers and dancers production debuting on the next cruise.  It was super high tech and like a Step One Dance Company production, but on steroids.  This entertainment was every bit as good as HAL's and in some cases, far superior.  We really liked that they didn't depend upon the dance troupe to carry the entertainment load like HAL does.

 

Throughout the ship there was a classical guitar/piano duo from Ukraine (very good) and several other artists that we just never got to. 

 

MAIN DINING ROOM

We only ate in the Main Dining Room once and that was on embarkation day.  We were originally assigned to a table for 8 which I refused because it's too hard to hear conversations.  We were moved to a table for 6 and we really enjoyed that experience.  The prime rib was the best I've had on a cruise ship and the escargot and wild mushroom soup were excellent.  Quantum's main dining area is broken up into smaller groups with no views outside.  That we missed along with the open large Main Dining rooms of the HAL ships.  For some reason, every day we were still prompted to eat at the table for 8, but I ignored the prompts.

 

BUFFET

Here's where there are some major differences from HAL.  Quantum's buffet is called Windjammer Marketplace and features island serving stations with themes such as International, Vegetarian, Salads, Burgers, Desserts, etc.  Everyone serves themself, picks up cutlery, and then packs it all back to a table.  One then goes back for coffee, tea, orange juice or fruit punch.  Occasionally a staff person would offer to bring the drinks but for the most part, the staff was clearing tables.  Periodically there would be an announcement to please leave your table so others could share the same wonderful dining experience. I found that slightly offensive as I'm a lingering eater. Unlike HAL, we didn't feel we got to know the crew using the Quantum's methodology.  We strongly prefer HAL's method of serving everyone and reducing the chance of transferring germs by the multiple hand contacts of the service devices.   Having silverware at the table and friendly wait staff like HAL does is certainly our preference also.  Getting a table tended to be a challenge, but we always eventually found one.  Our cruise fare package included the soda cup for unlimited refills.  We liked that feature.  We found the food to be good and pretty comparable to HAL's offerings with the exception of the delivery method. There is no late night buffet.

 

One standout feature was the crew person who greeted everyone with an animated "Washy, Washy" and directed us to hand washing stations.  She was absolutely cast in the right role!  Someone even had a t-shirt printed for her with "Washy, Washy" on it.  

 

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS

Quantum has 5 specialty restaurants (Chops [like Pinnacle Grill], Chef's Table, Jamie's Italian [a nicer version of Canelleto, but more expensive], Izumi Sushii [sort of like Nami on Pinnacle Class], and Wonderland [unusual food presentations].  We tried Jamie's and Izumi and liked both of them.  Jamie's is a fixed price of $49.99 and Izumi has both ala carte and fixed price options.  There is also the Solarium but it tends to be restricted to higher loyalty status than we are.  There were a few other restaurants or venues, but those also were restricted to loyalty status guests.

 

There's also a hot dog bar as well as the Splash Water cafe [we liked it], Two70 Cafe, Sorrento's Pizza [best pizza we've ever had on a ship, but a limited menu], a bakery, a pub or two, a robot bar. Soft serve cones are available up on Deck 14 in the center of the ship. 

 

STATEROOM

We absolutely loved our balcony stateroom.  There was far more storage than any HAL stateroom we've previously had.  The room had a queen sized bed and a very nice convertible couch plus a desk, bar fridge with no pre-loaded drinks, and a dresser.  There were two 110v outlets, 1 220v outlet and two USB ports at the desk.  There was only one 110v outlet at the bed, and no USB outlets there. While the bathroom was tiny, it was certainly adequate.  There was only a body/hair wash dispenser.  There was no conditioner or any hand lotion.  Our stateroom attendant was every bit as good and friendly as those we've had on HAL.  He had 15 cabins to care for.

 

SCENIC CRUISING

There was absolutely no commentary during the scenic cruising of the Endicott Arm Fjord or any other parts of the Inside Passage.  It seemed a bit surreal to not have that commentary. 

 

TRIVIA

If you are a trivia fan, there were at least 3-4 different trivia games each day with different and interesting themes.  We didn't participate in any of them.

 

SHOPPING

There's definitely lots of shopping on board including some very high end brands like Cartier, BVLGARY, and more.  There were constant sales in the center Royal Esplanade.

 

DANCING

Ballroom as well as other dancing was available.  Again, we didn't partake.

 

ACTIVITIES

There's a whole compliment of activities one can participate in like Rock Climbing, Wave Riding, Bumper Cars, & more.  We just didn't have time or the inclination to do them.

 

SPA & GYM

There's a full spa and my wife really liked her deep massage.  We didn't frequent the gym.

 

COVID-19

While on board, no masks were required, although all staff wore them.  Masks were required to leave the ship.  For the most part we were part of the minority who wore masks onboard.

 

INTERNET

Quantum's Voom Internet was okay but was a bit spotty the farther north we traveled.  It was much better as the ship traveled southbound.  It wasn't especially fast for the most part but we could at least keep up with our online life.  We could use iMessage to message each other on the ship.  Royal has an APP, and I mainly used it for the daily schedule and monitoring our onboard account.  All the specialty restaurants showed no reservations were available, but around 5pm, one could walk in to most restaurants. 

 

BILLING PROCESS

Quantum's billing process was really annoying to me.  Daily there would be a charge to my credit card and I would have to figure out what it pertained to on my onboard account.  I really like HAL's procedure of doing a pre-authorized charge at the beginning of the cruise and then they "true it up" at the end of the cruise.  It's much easier to deal with for me.

 

DISEMBARKATION in SEATTLE

We were totally surprised by the lack of public announcements or printed materials about the disembarkation process until the day before the end of the cruise.  On that day, there was a video viewable on the stateroom TV and embarkation instructions were passed out mid day.  HAL seems to start the process mid cruise on 7 day cruises or 3-4 days before the end on longer cruises.  They work with a number system and it worked quite smoothly.  The disembarkation process took no longer than 20 minutes from the time we were called until we were out the terminal door in Seattle.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

We had a good experience on the Quantum of the Seas.  With the limited port stops that all cruise ships visit, in my view, one should select the ship or cruise line that fits them and their cruising style.  We do recommend having a balcony for this type of cruise as there's so much scenery and the days are so long. It was nice to view the scenery from the privacy of our own stateroom.  We also appreciated the variety & quality of the entertainment.  The size of the ship didn't bother us at all.  We just did us.  Under the right circumstances we might do it again.  But rest assured, our next four cruises this year are booked on HAL starting with a southbound Alaska cruise on the Noordam in a little over a month.  We even reserved a balcony cabin.  We also used this cruise to scout out and book private shore excursions for our next trip.

 

If you have any questions about the cruise, feel free to post your question in this thread.

[oakridger]

Thank you!  I very much doubt that I will cruise on any ship over about 2500 passengers (the exception being Rotterdam because I found an interesting Caribbean itinerary that was only available on her).

 

I'm glad you had a nice cruise and reported back to us.

 

~Nancy

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting, very interesting. 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Good information.  Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Mary229]

Thank you for posting.  I sailed with Royal out of Galveston and concur about the food - I found it quite tasty.   
 

sorry to disappoint you but HAL has started using incremental charges too

[Caribbean Chris]

Good report and very interesting  - thanks!

[SeaHunt]

Thanks for the report! The comparisons always make for good reading, and help with planning future cruises. 😁

 

A funny thing was soon after I saw your report, I saw another 5/23 Quantum cruisers report over on the RCI board - but his was a bit different lol. Were you aware this was happening on your sailing? Here's a link if you haven't seen it:

 

 

[Btimmer]

2 minutes ago, SeaHunt said:

Thanks for the report! The comparisons always make for good reading, and help with planning future cruises. 😁

 

A funny thing was soon after I saw your report, I saw another 5/23 Quantum cruisers report over on the RCI board - but his was a bit different lol. Were you aware this was happening on your sailing? Here's a link if you haven't seen it:

 

 

Thanks for the link.  We were totally unaware of the norovirus or Covid outbreaks.  We did both catch colds (no Covid per self testing).  We, too, were ones who wore masks.  We're going to self test again today.

[Tbay]

Thank you for your comparison. Always good to hear about other lines.

I have a question on a different topic for you.  I read somewhere that you did not have a yellow fever vaccine for a South American cruise.  Just checking to see if you had  any trouble with HAL when you didn't have the shot. Did you have a letter from your doctor?

We are booked on the Grand South America cruise in January, and being in our 60's and 70's, we would rather not have the vaccine.

Thanks.

[Btimmer]

1 minute ago, Tbay said:

Thank you for your comparison. Always good to hear about other lines.

I have a question on a different topic for you.  I read somewhere that you did not have a yellow fever vaccine for a South American cruise.  Just checking to see if you had  any trouble with HAL when you didn't have the shot. Did you have a letter from your doctor?

We are booked on the Grand South America cruise in January, and being in our 60's and 70's, we would rather not have the vaccine.

Thanks.

For our Amazon River cruise in 2019 on the Volendam, we did not get the Yellow Fever shot on the advice of both of our doctors.  We were in our early 70's and did have the letters from them, but never had to produce them. 

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

Thanks for the link.  We were totally unaware of the norovirus or Covid outbreaks.  We did both catch colds (no Covid per self testing).  We, too, were ones who wore masks.  We're going to self test again today.

Unfortunately, today, Wednesday, we tested positive for COVID-19.  So we are now in isolation at home.  Our only symptoms were a mild flu like cold. 

[whogo]

2 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

Unfortunately, today, Wednesday, we tested positive for COVID-19.  So we are now in isolation at home.  Our only symptoms were a mild flu like cold. 

Get well soon.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I read the other report. Wow, one person had Noro and Covid at the same time. That would be lousy.

[SeaHunt]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

Unfortunately, today, Wednesday, we tested positive for COVID-19.  So we are now in isolation at home.  Our only symptoms were a mild flu like cold. 

 

Oh no! I just wondered if you had any knowledge of others reports on that sailing and had no idea that you would have any trouble too when I posted the link above. I sincerely hope you both feel better quickly!

[Tbay]

Thanks so much for your reply.  Our doctor said he would give us letters.  He said he wouldn't personally get the vaccine.

I'm sorry to hear you tested positive.  Hope your symptoms are mild. Feel better soon.

[Btimmer]

2 minutes ago, Tbay said:

Thanks so much for your reply.  Our doctor said he would give us letters.  He said he wouldn't personally get the vaccine.

I'm sorry to hear you tested positive.  Hope your symptoms are mild. Feel better soon.

The symptoms are very mild for us.  I'm waiting for my doctor's advice on what's next.

[albingirl]

Wishing you well and thank you for your kind report.  Get well soon.

[cowmilker]

We did the Grand South America two years ago (it got truncated slightly due to Covid), and we both got the yellow fever vaccine.  At that point, we were 71 and 81 years old.

Our reasoning was that we aren't getting younger, it's required only once for life, and if we want to go back, we have the same issue again if we didn't get it. It's also deadly if you catch it.  The doc at the travel clinic went through all the pros and cons with us, and ultimately left us alone for a few minutes to talk it over and decide.

Barely felt the shot.  No reaction of any sort from either of us.  The Covid shots are much, much more difficult to deal with.  Heck, the flu shot is harder.  🙂

The only real pain was what it did to our bank account.  That is one pricy shot.

[willoL]

On 5/25/2022 at 4:43 PM, Btimmer said:

The symptoms are very mild for us.  I'm waiting for my doctor's advice on what's next.

@Btimmer I'm so sorry to hear you caught COVID, but glad the symptoms are mild. Take good care of yourselves. Are you considering taking the antiviral medication as a prophylaxis? (A friend of ours was very glad she did when she caught COVID for the second time.) Also, I'd want to get a letter of recovery from a doctor since I think that sometimes eases paperwork burdens on upcoming trips.

 

I appreciated your review of the Quantum of the Seas, though I had no guess which cruise line runs that vessel until you mentioned "Royal has an app" in the internet section. 🙂

 

Since I'm pretty open to trying any ship sailing at the time/place I want to go, but I'm also very curious about the "feel" of the different lines according to those who've tried them all, I love comparisons like this.

[IPB4IGO]

On 5/25/2022 at 3:20 AM, Mary229 said:

sorry to disappoint you but HAL has started using incremental charges too

The cruise we were on last week did not do incremental charges, other than individual charges for two Future Cruise Deposits that we bought aboard. We received a single charge to our credit charge, dated the last day of the cruise.

[Btimmer]

9 hours ago, willoL said:

@Btimmer I'm so sorry to hear you caught COVID, but glad the symptoms are mild. Take good care of yourselves. Are you considering taking the antiviral medication as a prophylaxis? (A friend of ours was very glad she did when she caught COVID for the second time.) Also, I'd want to get a letter of recovery from a doctor since I think that sometimes eases paperwork burdens on upcoming trips.

 

I appreciated your review of the Quantum of the Seas, though I had no guess which cruise line runs that vessel until you mentioned "Royal has an app" in the internet section. 🙂

 

Since I'm pretty open to trying any ship sailing at the time/place I want to go, but I'm also very curious about the "feel" of the different lines according to those who've tried them all, I love comparisons like this.

We had very mild symptoms and our doctors did not recommend any medication.  Re: the letter, I've asked about it, but have received no response.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, IPB4IGO said:

The cruise we were on last week did not do incremental charges, other than individual charges for two Future Cruise Deposits that we bought aboard. We received a single charge to our credit charge, dated the last day of the cruise.

We had a single final charge which was less than the initial hold put on the card yet we were notified by our credit card company daily of small incremental charges.  It made no sense.  We were on a three week cruise ending May 8

Edited May 28, 2022 by Mary229