twangster

This is Wonder and a little blurry but you see that her air draft is offered to be 72m to the top of the stacks, 65m with stacks retracted which is as close as anyone can state to be an accurate guess for this class.

236m above the water line? Oasis is 72m above the water line when the stacks are extended with a stated draft of 9m but draft is an elusive number as it varies with a number of factor. The seafloor depth below the Great Belt bridge is ~10m so 9m of draft sounds about right. That puts the total height at ~81m or ~265 feet. Her air draft estimate was taken from this video:

Used to be called "The Two70 Experience". Maybe they aren't doing it anymore, seems like there is now often a Two70 production show on night one.

On the first night (typically) is a demonstration of the Two70° venue usually in the evening. It's held only once per cruise and it showcases everything the venue can do. Pretty cool tech.

Other than the real estate woes the overall economy isn't terrible. Japan went through something similar. The US has and will go through it again. My investment firm has a more positive stance on China compared to some opinions expressed on these boards.

Yes but a lot has happened since 2019. The booking trends and economy of China are wildly different post-pandemic compared to five years ago. Cruising came back very quickly in the US and Europe markets, less so in APAC markets.

I see the double Q class in China as a test to judge the ability to support a larger ship there.

It always appeared to me that the system was coded for the original DP340 dates that were July and August plus Holidays. Any cruise that had the word "Holiday" in the title was often automatically declined for DP340 except new releases where they had added the restriction yet. When they more recently announced the change to June 15 to August 15 my gut tells me that IT was unable to reprogram the reservation system, probably due to using antiqued platforms and databases, so it was still trying to use July and August. Since they couldn't reprogram the system for whatever reason they have just taken the DP340 out for many cruises and now it requires manual application by resolutions. This is the problem when a company doesn't invest in modern IT.

Celebrity has some last minute deals out of South America right now too. Solo included, but not AI for solo, X doesn't want solo drinking apparently.

April 16 Ovation has a repo to Hong Kong, does one cruise from there then has a repo to Beijing where she homeports starting May 2025. Yep, confused her with another ship.

I thought Ovation might start something new in Tokyo but it appears she is heading to China in 2025 after her dry dock in Singapore.

It seems like now on X when you see a reduced solo rate it means they are desperate to fill the ship. That and it's unbundled fares only, no AI fares for solo at reduced rates.

Iconic smells to enhance your vacation experience cost more compared to the year two+ smells from other ships. All part of the new ship premium.

Typically at the Starbucks on board is where I've always seen them. The "Been There" product line has been a Starbucks thing for a while now. I have a few from land destinations I've travelled to.

Navigator is part of the series and I recall seeing them when I sailed her in June 2023.

Deadhead repo with no guests. Rather than trying to repo to Vancouver first so they can carry passengers to San Pedro it appears they will sail empty from Seattle to San Pedro so they are legal with the PVSA.

They want to make sure you are not double dipping, submitting the claim to your primary health care insurance and subsequently filing a claim for the same expenses against your travel policy. Some health care plans do provide coverage outside of the US, it depends.

Some ships in this class have been using the Crown Lounge (former Diamond Lounge) for D+ and P when there are high numbers on board, banning D from the lounge during happy hour. When there are not high numbers of D+ and P the suite lounge is available to P. Both lounges have coffee machines that do more than basic coffee. The only problem I've had when trying to use the lounge coffee machine early morning is when it hasn't been made ready by the crew yet when I get up very early. I'm drinking a lot less alcohol these days so I sometimes use a CAS drink voucher for a barista made coffee at Cafe Promenade.

https://issuu.com/hochmania/docs/quantum_aug22-aug29_cruise_compasses Cruise compass from last year when Quantum was in Alaska. WJ dinner was a standard 6-9pm every night, including Victoria. Personally I found a pub and ate dinner in Victoria. With later departures it's nice to eat locally if your excursion plans allow it.

Royal agents are notorious for getting things wrong. I recently had Royal cancel 3 cruises when they redeployed Ovation. I waited 5 days before calling because I know it takes time for agents to get the notices of changes like this. Despite that the agent I reached insisted full penalty for me canceling the cruises. I could not convince them I had an email offering me full refund for Royal cancelling the cruises. Asked them to do nothing and called back. Next agent was right on top of it. No problem, refunds coming. Call back and try again.

Did you receive an email from A2S when you booked air? You can always call A2S and ask for it.

I find a low carb diet easier to follow by eating dinner's in the Windjammer. Lot's of salads with a protein of the day as a side. Light dressing application and you can have a very diet friendly dinner compared to the MDR where they may preload a sugar rich dressing or sauce on an entree. The MDR menu generally has some low carb options but it helps to understand how to navigate this concept in general with life. In a few months that will be easier to understand and with that knowledge navigating the MDR menu will become easier. Flying long haul on an airplane is a lot harder to manage the intake of carbs with often little or few choices compared to the MDR on a ship. Skip the breads and make sure he understands he doesn't have to eat everything on the plate that is presented to him. It's okay to leave something on the plate untouched if it isn't friendly to his dietary needs. Skipping dessert can avoid a lot of sugar but again, once more comfortable with this new lifestyle a small bite of a dessert while leaving the bulk of it untouched is perfectly fine on a ship, he won't hurt the cook's feelings, if that satisfies his needs while not spiking his body with sugar. Vodka with soda water is a popular drink for those with a focus on minimizing sugar intake until he can more fully understand the impact of various beverages on his sugar levels but double check medication guidelines for alcohol use. Still, it can be a safe drink for some that provides an opportunity to participate in moderation so not completely out of the game if that would impact his overall enjoyment of the cruise experience.

Seems about right. As you already noted Oasis class is a logical next step. Voyager was first in its class but now over 25 years old it's an old ship. Way back in the day it was mind blowing. Now? Not so much but from a core cruise ship experience the basic bones and layout make it an easy ship to sail. Royal has never been into the comfort food that Carnival includes on a complimentary basis but food is personal and my doctor doesn't like me eating all that comfort food anymore so while I recognize that Carnival excels in this area, it's not something I can indulge in anymore. Oasis class is in a league of its own. Something everyone should try at least once. Thanks for your review and comparison.

I doubt it. The bilingual nature of Quantum is an asset allowing them freedom to redeploy her in the future.

Yes. Already sailed twice with SilverSea for a much better suite experience and have another booked with them for the fall. I won't book suites on Royal anymore. For the money I now know Royal delivers a lesser suite experience. Having said that I have one Star class booking left on Utopia for my last Royal Suite experience. However since it's a shortie I don't have a lot of deposit money at risk if I change my mind. I've booked one luxury train experience that will provide more days in true luxury than Royal can provide in a Star class suite for the same money. I have several more train trips in the planning stages were I am putting more effort right now. These are high end trips with high end prices so my planning is going out beyond 2025, one per year. Not sure I'll go back to Carnival but I have shopped them and looked at mock bookings for short Florida weekend cruises. The dozen or so Royal bookings I have are older, booked before the price insanity. I'm losing some of those as Royal cancels them with redeployments so my dwindling future cruise count with Royal is due to Royal canceling cruises, not me.