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On the Quantum. The front pools in the Solarium are only about thigh deep & more for chilling in than swimming. The indoor pool & outside pool seemed to be about the same depth which I think was around 1.6mtr. The circular kids pool was about waist deep.

Just got off the Quantum & formal breakfast dining was only available in the American Icon, but only from about 7.30 to 9.30. I think these times differed on some mornings but always only for about two hours. We never made it as we seemed to be up too early or more likely too late! Breakfast was also available in the 270 café. Good selection available including made to order fresh bagels with assorted toppings & best of all this area was never crowded like windjammer.

We just got off the Quantum & in my opinion there are more than enough pools & deck chairs available across the entire deck 14 as well as hundreds more deck chairs on deck 15. I have never seen so many sun loungers in my life. There were always plenty available. In the main outdoor pool area, there is a fairly large pool which never seemed overcrowded on my cruise. Right next to this there is a large wave pool for kids as well as another circular pool which kind of acts as a whirlpool which kids also seem to have enjoyed. So technically there are still at least two pools in this area, just a different design. The middle enclosed pool was actually quite large. It was closed the entire cruise I was on but looked to me like certain glass panels could be opened. The front solarium area was by far my favourite pool/spa area and was never overcrowded either.

My wife & I were also on the recent Singapore to Shanghai sailing. I respect that everyone on here including OZBRIAN has their own personal opinions in regard to this ship & cruise. In my opinion our cruise was mostly positive & would not hesitate to cruise on the Quantum again at the right price. We were very lucky to snag a fantastic last minute price for this cruise that was too good to refuse & as such, in retrospect the minor problems were just that, minor.

As for the original claims made at the start of this post, here was our experience:

Embarkation: We were Gold status & this did take a while. There were more people in our line than the newbies. I use a walking stick to get around & I appreciate when there are special lines for us that are somewhat disabled, but only noticed one of these special lines at the security point.

Macau: pretty much had the same silly dramas with our passports. We registered on the first day, enquired about it on the 3rd day & the day before Macau we were told we were not even on the list. After a long conversation at Guest services we were finally on the list & received written confirmation in our stateroom. The next morning at Wonderland we were told to get our passports inside the Port building. Well we walked all the way outside to the taxi bay & did not see anyone handing out passports despite asking 3 officials along the way. Upon re-entering the building we came across many other disgruntled passengers in the same boat (pardon the pun). After about an hour someone finally showed up with our passports & then had a go at us saying that ours had been downstairs the whole time even though all of us swear black & blue that we didn't come across any sort of passport counter. After all of this we got to the ferry terminal at Kowloon & when going through Immigration the same thing as what happened to the original poster happened to us. Apparently we didn't have the right stubb inserted in our passport from when the ship entered Hong Kong. Luckily a manager came over & had it all sorted within about 10mins. Overall we wasted about 2 hrs through this whole process the morning we wanted to hurry up & get to Macau.

Food & service: We sail Royal for their amazing ships not for their food. I personally have had better food & service on other Cruise lines, both cheaper & more expensive. We did however like the dynamic dining concept. We tried American Icon the first & last nights of the cruise. The first night food was not bad but the service was the worst I have ever come across of my 12 cruises. Seriously it was terrible. The last night service was better but the food was horrible. Chic in contrast was much, much better & ate there twice also. Silk was nice overall but thought the ambient lighting was just too dark. Never tried Grande. Of the fee paying eateries we tried Jamies twice & loved it, it was clearly our favourite on board. We also tried Chops Grill & were very disappointed. We always do a steakhouse on each cruise & they have always been great but this was terrible. Once again the lighting was very low, the service was only average & the meals bland & not worthy of the extra price. Presentation on the plate was clearly lacking & the food just didn't excite the tastebuds. Windjammer was ok food wise but it seemed everyone else on the ship was there the same time as us. Some days we did a full lap around & could still not find a spare seat/table, Once again this is extra annoying as remember I use a walking stick, so trying to find a spot while balancing a plate of food ain't easy! Food from the cafe's were very quick, nice & easy but the pizzas were quite bland.

In regards to C&A & M&M we did receive all info in our Staterooms as normal.

As for Shanghai Disembarkation, well no-one can be blamed for the fog. However the whole process was handled very poorly. The ship apparently anchored out of the harbour at about 3am, It would take another 5 hours of sailing from this point to Dock. So all passengers were up early to meet in their respective areas to get ready to get off but No, it wasn't until about 9am that they told us we would still be hours away from docking and we could return to our rooms. They could have told us this two hours earlier & we could have slept in some more or not have rushed to Breakfast, etc. Later in the day when we finally could get off we were lucky that we did self assist with our luggage & didn't have to put up with all the craziness in the terminal. However we were in line waiting to get off the ship for a long time because many people in front of us had gotten into line well before their number had been called. This just meant that not only did they hold us up but they then standed around in the cramped area in the terminal waiting for their luggage & adding to the confusion. This was very poorly handled by RCI. We then got a taxi into the city where we already had a hotel booked.

In regards to everything else, we loved our stateroom, a balcony up on deck 13. Was very nicely & cleverly appointed & very comfortable & loved using my wow band to open the door. We loved the seaplex & bumper cars as well as the North star. We did this over Hong Kong which made for amazing views. 270 lounge was amazing as was the Music hall. The Theatre entertainment was a bit hit & miss. I thought the shows in the second half of the cruise were better. The overall layout of the ship was great & everything felt new, clean & somewhat luxurious. My fav area was the solarium up front and spent a lot of time lounging around there.

Overall we had a great time & would cruise the Quantum again for the right price/Itinerary.

All ideas above are great & doable. Another option although a little more costly would be to grab a taxi from the port straight up to Mt.Cootha (about 20-30 mins) for some great views & a coffee overlooking the city. Then head back down to Southbank for a nice stroll through the gardens & lunch ( heaps to choose from). Then walk over the bridge into the city & check out some of the nice older buildings like the casino & Town hall. Walk down the mall, & finally pick up a Rivercat & head down the river for a nice cruise back to Hamilton near the port, providing you are docked at Hamilton. If you are docked in Brisbane till late, you could do this in the reverse order & enjoy the Sunset up Mt.Cootha.

I have recent mobility issues & often use a scooter when I leave the house so I get what you're on about. As for the Med I would try & pick a cruise on any of the lines that is not too Port Intensive & sticks to the more larger common ports, eg, Barcelona & Naples. From these types of ports you can pre-book shore excursions on board & the busses will usually pull up as close to the ship as possible, limiting the amount of walking needed. Once on the bus tour you can decide which stops you want to get off at & for how long depending on how your feeling.

I was on this same cruise & also at the M&M. Thanks Radio for all your pics & info & helping us to relive this great cruise. It's great to see it through someone elses eyes!