Do not take the Quantum of the Seas to Alaska

[bonsai3s]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:42 AM, Another_Critic said:

We hit a large chunk of ice while cruising Prins Christians Sund on Voyager in Greenland.  It shook the entire ship.  😲

Here's sone photos sailing into Prins Christians Sund, Greenland (Voyager, 2022)...from our balcony.

 

 

[sandebeach]

We did Glacier Bay on Holland America, it was just amazing. 

[Galveston Cruiser]

We sailed the Radiance of the Seas in May, which is a smaller ship.  Loved it and the glaciers.  Lots of ice, but still close enough to enjoy.  Smaller ships are able to get closer depending on ice conditions.

[sushitex]

53 minutes ago, Galveston Cruiser said:

We sailed the Radiance of the Seas in May, which is a smaller ship.  Loved it and the glaciers.  Lots of ice, but still close enough to enjoy.  Smaller ships are able to get closer depending on ice conditions.

We sailed on the Brilliance of the Seas, also in May - that's a sister ship to the Radiance. We were the closest to the glacier than the ship had been in two years,  according to the captain's announcement. This was in Tracy Arm. I chose the Brilliance specifically because of the Radiance-class ships' enormous picture windows, which served us well during this cruise. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by sushitex

[Ferry_Watcher]

7 hours ago, abbydancer said:

Turns out it was a good thing, because a month later she started her downward pneumonia spiral that ultimately resulted in her death.  It was our last family (mom, daughters, son-in-law and grandkids) trip.

What a beautiful gift your Mom gave to all of you, the memories from that cruise will stay with you forever.  So sorry for your loss, your Mom sounds like a very lovely and generous person.  Thank you for sharing your story.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

I do think the OP is somewhat correct. For example, the Quantam class doesn't go as close as the Millennium Class of Celebrity. We got as closes as 1/4 mile per the Captain's announcments. Bigger ship = bigger/deeper hulls. And RCL uses the Quantam Class because of demand. It's a matter of safety and economics all combined. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Goodtime Cruizin

[The Fun Researcher]

In my opinion, the itinerary choice matters far more than the ship itself.
 

I would be interested to see pictures from other classes of ships that got right up close to Dawes glacier. How often does that happen regardless of ship size?
 

Otherwise, the OP chose an itinerary that doesn’t visit any glaciers like you will see at Hubbard or Glacier Bay. We made the same choice, but knew that ahead of time. We did make a separate trek out to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, which was amazing.  

[BecciBoo]

On 7/21/2023 at 11:30 AM, deliver42 said:

I don't care what ship, if there's ice, they can't get close. Our first Alaska cruise was on the NCL Jewel, and we couldn't get close to any glacier. It's a smaller ship and in May when the ice is still floating. We were on the Ovation ( the same as the Quantum ) and we got very close to the Dawes GGlacier, which was in September with minimum ice.

Exactly, that's why we always book September for Alaska cruises, never disappointed...and delightful weather.  I have dozens of ice calving vids and pics.  Not a good idea to dun the ship just because conditions weren't exactly conducive to seeing them up close, you might have been on any cruise ship in any location.  It's really a crap shoot.  This is Hubbard and Dawes blow that:

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

On 7/21/2023 at 2:16 PM, MLBFan24 said:

Princess has the advantage.

Hubbard is our all time favorite glacier and IMHO is better than any in the Bay.  THey are all smaller.  It depends on which itin one chooses to a great extent.

[neverbeenhere]

The reason to not take the Quantum is the stupid fuchsia “panda”on the ship. Other than that the Quantum is fine.

[MLBFan24]

3 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Hubbard is our all time favorite glacier and IMHO is better than any in the Bay.  THey are all smaller.  It depends on which itin one chooses to a great extent.

 

I went on the Majestic Princess B2B in May, which went to Glacier Bay twice, College Fjord, and Hubbard Glacier. And Juneau for Mendenhall (twice).

 

Princess offered a great itinerary. 

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

I do think the OP is somewhat correct. For example, the Quantam class doesn't go as close as the Millennium Class of Celebrity. We got as closes as 1/4 mile per the Captain's announcments. Bigger ship = bigger/deeper hulls. And RCL uses the Quantam Class because of demand. It's a matter of safety and economics all combined. 

The fjord in front of the Dawes glacier is hundreds of feet deep. And we have been up close to the glacier on similar ships before. But not in heavy ice. 

[abbydancer2003]

5 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Hubbard is our all time favorite glacier and IMHO is better than any in the Bay.  THey are all smaller.  It depends on which itin one chooses to a great extent.

True - Hubbard is the biggest single glacier, but if you do Glacier Bay you see more.  A matter of personal preference.  I'm lucky - last summer I ended up with 3 Alaska cruises (none of which were originally booked for 2022) and went to both.

Edited July 23, 2023 by abbydancer

[Qextor]

On 7/21/2023 at 11:43 AM, Etta1213 said:

I obviously have homework to do if I decide to cruise Alaska. I also read of messy embarkation issues for folks cruising from Vancouver instead of Seattle. 

I've done the Quantum embarking from Seattle, and 2 Princess ships from Vancouver.  I'd choose Vancouver anytime - much less stressful, lines moved quickly, especially if you board in the morning. 

[Another_Critic]

7 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

The reason to not take the Quantum is the stupid fuchsia “panda”on the ship. Other than that the Quantum is fine.

If you're going to diss her, at least address her by her name ... Felicia.   🙃

[Etta1213]

31 minutes ago, Qextor said:

I've done the Quantum embarking from Seattle, and 2 Princess ships from Vancouver.  I'd choose Vancouver anytime - much less stressful, lines moved quickly, especially if you board in the morning. 

Thank you.

[BecciBoo]

12 hours ago, MLBFan24 said:

 

I went on the Majestic Princess B2B in May, which went to Glacier Bay twice, College Fjord, and Hubbard Glacier. And Juneau for Mendenhall (twice).

 

Princess offered a great itinerary. 

That sounds like you had it all!  We had to cancel our Princess to Alaska during Pandemic...boohoo  the deal was fantastic and I liked how they assigned us to our own travel agent and she kept in touch the whole time...hated to cx.  I refuse to sail out of Seattle on principle alone.  Vancouver is much cleaner, friendlier and you can't beat Canada Place just walk down an escalator and on the ship...Love it.

Edited July 23, 2023 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The fjord in front of the Dawes glacier is hundreds of feet deep. And we have been up close to the glacier on similar ships before. But not in heavy ice. 

And there is a lot of debris right in front of the glaciers that have been pushed ahead of the flow.  I doubt you can get too close in any ship.  We did the boat that comes to the ship picks you up and it got very close but still they have to leave room for the waves generated by the calving, this is on that excursion boat at Dawes:  It was extremely close!  And worth the $$ in my opinion.  We were on Celebrity Solstice which is one of their larger ships, but it was about  500 yards behind where our boat was

Edited July 23, 2023 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

I found this pic of us as we returned to the ship, you can see she is quite close and I am certain she is larger than Quantum.  OP's cruise was hampered by flow ice, that's all.  He needs to book another😉

Edited July 23, 2023 by BecciBoo

[reallyitsmema]

20 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

I found this pic of us as we returned to the ship, you can see she is quite close and I am certain she is larger than Quantum.  OP's cruise was hampered by flow ice, that's all.  He needs to book another😉

 

Quantum is larger than Solstice.

[BallFour4]

After forty-one cruises dating back to the original Carnival Mardi Gras we finally went to Alaska on the Quantum last month.
 We also took binoculars, the 300mm lens and knowledge from reading the reviews about proximity to the glaciers and what to expect. Amazing ship, amazing vacation. Just go.

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by BallFour4

[BecciBoo]

You're right but I found tons of photos of Quantum class ships right up to Dawes, so the point is they can get close enough...Bad luck OP

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

That sounds like you had it all!  We had to cancel our Princess to Alaska during Pandemic...boohoo  the deal was fantastic and I liked how they assigned us to our own travel agent and she kept in touch the whole time...hated to cx.  I refuse to sail out of Seattle on principle alone.  Vancouver is much cleaner, friendlier and you can't beat Canada Place just walk down an escalator and on the ship...Love it.

We considered cruising out of Seattle because round trip air fare was a lot cheaper but wanted to spend a few days in Vancouver because we had never been and heard good things. We enjoyed Vancouver a lot but certainly would sail out of Seattle. I have been there a few times and i like Seattle. I expect our next Alaska cruise will be out of Vancouver only because we are planning a one way combined with a cruise tour. On either Holland or Princess because of their Alaska experience. No way I would do something line that on Royal or Celebrity. Princess also has itineraries that do both Glacier Bay and Hubbard. 

Edited July 23, 2023 by Charles4515

[The Fun Researcher]

48 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

I found this pic of us as we returned to the ship, you can see she is quite close and I am certain she is larger than Quantum.  OP's cruise was hampered by flow ice, that's all.  He needs to book another😉

 

28 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Quantum is larger than Solstice.

Quantum = 169,000 gross tonnage, 29 ft draft

Solstice = 122,000 gross tonnage, 27 ft draft

 

We really enjoy the solstice class. By the way, we will be on the sister ship the Equinox in December right before Christmas.

[MLBFan24]

13 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

That sounds like you had it all!  We had to cancel our Princess to Alaska during Pandemic...boohoo  the deal was fantastic and I liked how they assigned us to our own travel agent and she kept in touch the whole time...hated to cx.  I refuse to sail out of Seattle on principle alone.  Vancouver is much cleaner, friendlier and you can't beat Canada Place just walk down an escalator and on the ship...Love it.

 

My first B2B and first time back on a cruise ship since the pandemic. My fourth Alaskan cruise though, so I knew how to plan it better. It was a fantastic trip.

 

I agree about Vancouver being a better port than Seattle. The Seattle port was a zoo. Arriving on embarkation day, it was really crowded (of course) and a lot of the luggage porters were busy. I asked an agent if more porters were arriving and she said just place your luggage "over there". I looked where she pointed and it was just an area of suitcases on the sidewalk in a roped off area. 🤣 I thought to myself, no way. Waited a few minutes and another luggage porter was available.

 

And then on disembarkation day (also extremely crowded and unorganized), I think someone stole my pre-arranged shuttle van to the airport. The driver confirmed he was coming and then was just MIA. Never responded again. Eventually we just took a taxi.

 

Vancouver's disembarkation taxi waiting line is very organized. I was very impressed.