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Quasi-Live on Quantum - Shanghai to Japan


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Ni Hao Cruise Critic!

 

We are onboard the Quantum of the Seas sailing from Shanghai, China to Kumamoto, Miyazaki, and Kochi Japan.

 

Today is a sea day and is the first full day on board. I have a personal travel blog I will go into more detail (and post pictures on when I have the bandwidth) but for now I want to do a quasi-live review while we are on board.

 

Getting Here

 

We flew to Shanghai via Seoul from San Francisco on Asiana Airlines. The flight was really nice, total of about 14 hours flight time. We were served two meals and two snacks between the two flights; I had a salisbury steak meal, chicken lasagna meal, and ham sandwich as a snack on the flight from SFO to Seoul, and a pig in a blanket and yogurt snack on the Seoul to Shanghai flight. We stayed at the airport hotel, and took a taxi to the port the next morning.

 

The taxi driver did not speak English, and the hotel desk agent didn't speak enough to help us figure out how to word it to the driver. Thankfully once we got to the actual name of the port (Wusong Kou) he seemed to understand. It was a little worrisome of an hour drive hoping we got through the language barrier, but thankfully we arrived where we needed to be.

 

Boarding the ship was chaos. Ordered chaos, but still chaos. We had 5 steps to go through; first was luggage dropoff and then the general check-in process where we filled out the standard medical question form and got our Sea Pass cards. Then we had to go through a security checkpoint, Chinese customs, and Chinese immigration. Finally we had to turn in our passports and were ready to board. The entire process took about an hour and a half, and we were in the priority lane for suite guests and C&A platinum and above.

 

There was some confusion in the priority lanes; even though they were listed as available to all suite guests as well as C&A members Platinum or higher, many of the employees were only looking for gold cards (GS suites and above) We are in a JS (silver card) and are C&A Platinum, so we had to point that out to several employees who tried to tell us we couldn't use the priority lanes.

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Differences on Board

 

I'm sure we'll find a few more differences as we explore more, but so far we have found a few main things that are different:

 

Johnny Rockets was replaced with Kung Fu Panda Noodle Shop. They serve Dim Sum for $4 and entrees for $5

 

There are quite a few areas of the ship restricted to suite guests. The Solarium and Solarium Bistro is suite guests only (Silver and Gold), Coastal Kitchen is Gold suite guests only. There is also a Gold Room by the theater on Deck 4 for VIPs and high rollers.

 

The casino has a lot more baccarat and sic bo tables than we have seen on previous cruises.

 

There is a lot more pushing and shoving. I think it's partially part of Chinese culture; we experienced the same thing in Shanghai when trying to check in at our hotel and while trying to get on and off the train. RCCL combats it where possible by forcing lines using the ropes. For example most stations at Windjammer are setup with the ropes so you have to go from one end or the other; no pushing your way into line from the middle.

 

We've also noticed that all the Freestyle machines are out of order. I'm not sure if it's on purpose or not, but all are out of order with signs that say visit a bar for sodas.

 

We've also noticed that there is a lot more upselling for things like the drink packages, shore excursions, and specialty restaurants. At our first night at dinner we had three different people try to sell us drinks, and two people offer the premium filet or lobster tail for purchase. During the check in process we were offered the drink packages, specialty dining packages, and shore excursions about 6 or 7 times each from check in until we were finally on board.

 

There is also several "Japanese Health" stores on board, including a Japanese clinic and a Japanese pharmacy. I'm not sure what to expect from either, but there are advertisements in the cruise compass for things like DNA screening to see what potential your child has and blood screening for cancer. The actual store areas have no English signage; I think this is more of a Chinese/Asian thing and they aren't expecting the Americans/Australians/British etc. to buy into.

 

Dinner setup is like the original Dynamic Dining, completely My Time. We choose which of the four restaurants to eat at each night and each restaurant has a different menu. Last night we did Silk, which the waiter said is the first to fill up, and tonight we are doing American Icon.

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Today was our first port day, Kumamoto Japan. Technically we docked in the nearby town of Yatsushiro. We were able to disembark around 7:30 AM and all aboard is 6:30 PM, so a decently long day in port.

 

Disembarking Process

 

The theme of this cruise seems to be organized chaos, and that fits with the process to disembark today. Japanese immigration officials were available in the Bionic Bar from 7:30AM to 9:30AM. We lined up at Wonderland at around 7:00 AM and there were probably about 30-40 people ahead of us. There was a second line at Schooner Bar. The process started by lining up to get a sticker put on a copy of our passport, this was a provisional landing permit required for immigration. We then went to the Bionic Bar and presented our passport copies with the PLP sticker to immigration officials, had our fingerprints scanned, and then the passport copy was stamped. We then proceeded to a customs area where we showed our passport copy and a customs declaration form that was in our rooms last night. Finally we proceeded down to deck 2 to scan our SeaPass cards and disembark. All told it took us about 15 minutes from when they started moving the line until we were off the ship.

 

Getting to Kumamoto

 

Once off the ship there were busses for all the RCCL excursions, as well as a taxi stand. We were exploring on our own so we went to the taxi stand. There they had locals who spoke English and Japanese to help translate our destination to the taxi driver. They also gave us a card that I affectionately call our "Lost Gaijin" card. It's a notecard about the size of a business card that basically says we are passengers on the cruise ship at Yatsushiro Port and to please return us to our ship. When we were done for the day we just had to hail a cab and give him that slip of paper and he'd know where to take us, even if he didn't speak English.

 

We took a cab to Shin-Yatsushiro train station, which had 4 train lines that ran into Kumamoto proper. We wanted to take a bullet train, so we opted for that; it took 11 minutes with no stops and cost us 3,000 Yen, or about $30 for both myself and my husband. For the return trip we just took the local train to save money, which was 1400 Yen, and took 36 minutes.

 

Our Day in Kumamoto

 

The main site we wanted to see was Kumamoto Castle, which was unfortunately badly damaged in an earthquake last year. Because of the damage they were not charging an entrance fee, and there was a trail along the outside perimeter of the castle with signs in English and Japanese explaining the sites and showing what it looked like before and after the earthquake. There is a tram line that runs all throughout the city, and we were able to take it directly from the train station to the castle. We spent close to 2 hours on the castle renovation trail, and then headed to Keika Ramen for an authentic bowl of Japanese Ramen. It was excellent.

 

We had a few hours to kill before all aboard, and didn't have anything else planned, so we decided to take the tram further down the line and stopped at the Zoo and Gardens. The zoo was also badly damaged in the earthquake, so the normal entry fee of 400 Yen was cut in half, but it was still kind of depressing. You could tell they are working on rebuilding, but there were only a small handful of animals still there, and almost no people. It was like a ghost town. We spent just over an hour at the zoo before heading back to the tram for a ride back to the train station.

 

We did a bit more exploring around the train station and found some cute gift shops and a great little bakery before catching the local train back to Yatsushio, and giving a cab driver in the taxi stand our little lost foreigner card so he knew where to take us. We ended up back on the ship about 2 hours before all aboard.

 

Lessons Learned

 

When we got the Yen for our trip it was pretty evenly spread out. We got 20,000 Yen to start with and were given a 10,000, 5,000, 2 2,000, and a 1,000 Yen bill. The tram couldn't take anything bigger than a 1,000 bill, and many vending machines and smaller shops were set up similarly. We ultimately went to a convenience store and got a bottle of water and a candy bar to break the big 10,000 Yen bill so we'd have smaller bills and coins for general usage.

 

I'm sure this is a gross oversimplification, but just based on one day in Shanghai and one day in Japan, the Japanese people were much friendlier than we experienced in China. Not many people spoke English, but they would go out of their way to try and understand us or use words that were easier to translate. A few even used google translate on their phones to try and answer our questions. Our first time on the tram I thought the machine that gave change was the machine that took payment, and everybody waiting to get on the tram and the people behind us waiting to get off were very patient and understanding as I counted out the fare to actually pay our ticket.

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We had 5 steps to go through; first was luggage dropoff and then the general check-in process where we filled out the standard medical question form and got our Sea Pass cards.

Were your Seapass cards not at your cabin - the normal way they do it on Quantum class ships? Maybe due to your JS the process was different?

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Is the voom on quantum as fast as anthem or a bit slower . Speed on anthem are close to a home connection

They both use the same O3b internet service. Variations would be due to ship latitude and internet load.

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I'm a little concerned about what you said here: "There are quite a few areas of the ship restricted to suite guests. The Solarium and Solarium Bistro is suite guests only (Silver and Gold)"

 

Does this mean that general cabin passengers can no longer go to the Solarium or the Solarium Bistro? We were certainly counting on this. Does anyone else know anything about this? We will be on Ovation of the Seas but I thought the solarium was for everyone over 16 years of age.

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Were your Seapass cards not at your cabin - the normal way they do it on Quantum class ships? Maybe due to your JS the process was different?
No. All sea pass cards were given out at check-in at the Port. We got an email the day before check-in saying that even if you printed out your set sail pass, you had to go through the full check-in process and get your sea pass card before going through immigration and customs.

 

As for dinner, I think it might have been referred to as cosmopolitan. I can't remember though, I saw we were assigned a specific time and thought it was traditional dining.

 

To be honest dining is the biggest disappointment. The lines at 530 are crazy, so we tried arriving early, no luck. Lines were still crazy and not moving since they don't open the doors until 530. We tried just going later and were told the doors close at 6, so last night we just did Windjammer. Long lines and a lot of the Chinese passengers push their way up the line, it's an incredibly obnoxious process trying to get a table. The first night the dining manager offered to get us reservations the next night so we wouldn't have to go through the ordeal, but the people at the door assigning tables were confused, they said there is no reservation process, but let us stand off to the side and got us a table after about 10 minutes without standing in the line.

 

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I'm a little concerned about what you said here: "There are quite a few areas of the ship restricted to suite guests. The Solarium and Solarium Bistro is suite guests only (Silver and Gold)"

 

Does this mean that general cabin passengers can no longer go to the Solarium or the Solarium Bistro? We were certainly counting on this. Does anyone else know anything about this? We will be on Ovation of the Seas but I thought the solarium was for everyone over 16 years of age.

Not sure about ovation, but solarium and solarium bistro are suite only on this sailing of Quantum. Solarium Bistro dinner is paid, $29 per person for Hot Pot but is still suite only. Kids who are in suites with their parents are allowed in the solarium as well, only restriction is having a gold or silver sea pass card. It's not something I had heard about before this cruise so it really surprised us.
Awestover, guess you are getting to the port from Hongqiao Int'l Airport. Can you tell me how much is the taxi fare? Can 4 pax with 2 luggage fit in one taxi?

Thanks for your info and reviews.

We went from Pudong international airport. Fare was 215 Yuan including a 10 Yuan toll. The taxi we were in was able to fit three pieces of luggage and two of us comfortably, and I also saw some larger van taxis, so you should be good. Hongqiao I think might be closer, but I'm not sure.
Is the voom on quantum as fast as anthem or a bit slower . Speed on anthem are close to a home connection
The internet is fairly fast. Like clarea said it depends on ship location, surrounding mountains, etc. We've had a couple disconnects but nothing serious or long lasting.

 

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I

Does this mean that general cabin passengers can no longer go to the Solarium or the Solarium Bistro? We were certainly counting on this. Does anyone else know anything about this? We will be on Ovation of the Seas but I thought the solarium was for everyone over 16 years of age.

There are many things done differently on Quantum (and Chinese sailings) that do not apply to other ships - how the Solarium is used is just one of them.

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Today is a late start, we're supposed to dock around 10AM local time with clearance to disembark at 1030. We are going to be at Miyazaki today, although we are technically docking in Aburatsu, about 90 minutes south of Miyazaki. Royal offered two English excursions, a Miyazaki on your own which is just a round trip bus ride, or a four hour tour going to the Obi castle ruins and the Udo Shrine. We opted for the latter, and will be meeting at the music room at 10 to start the disembarking process. It should be smoother today since we already went through immigration and customs.

 

We are doing Solarium Bistro for breakfast. It's the normal buffet style with made to order omelettes, but is a bit less chaotic than the other dining options since it's suites only. There are a mixture of Western and Eastern breakfast options, so there seems to be something for everybody on board.

 

There's also the option for breakfast at either American Icon or Chic. I think Chic is only for non-Chinese, it's listed as closed in the cruise compass, but we had a card in our room telling us we could go, and the waiter at dinner said Chic was available "for us" the same hours as American Icon. Maybe we'll try that either the last sea day or tomorrow

 

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There are many things done differently on Quantum (and Chinese sailings) that do not apply to other ships - how the Solarium is used is just one of them.

 

Thank you for that - we are on the Australian sailing so hopefully Solarium will be for the general public (adults)

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To be honest dining is the biggest disappointment. The lines at 530 are crazy, so we tried arriving early, no luck. Lines were still crazy and not moving since they don't open the doors until 530. We tried just going later and were told the doors close at 6, so last night we just did Windjammer. Long lines and a lot of the Chinese passengers push their way up the line, it's an incredibly obnoxious process trying to get a table. The first night the dining manager offered to get us reservations the next night so we wouldn't have to go through the ordeal, but the people at the door assigning tables were confused, they said there is no reservation process, but let us stand off to the side and got us a table after about 10 minutes without standing in the line.

 

If you have a fixed time, you should be fine. Don't they still have the separate channel on the side for international guests with a fixed time? I suspect that's what the manager meant by reservation as you said you already had a time assigned.

 

When they ran that last year it worked fine. From what you described where you stood to the side for a few minutes, it's still in place...? That was the way it worked.

 

The buffet is to be avoided - the experience is as you describe!

 

Oh, and you should find that your experiences between your Chinese and Japanese ports are consistent in local manner...

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So today we did a tour in Miyazaki through Royal Caribbean, the Udo Shrine and Obi Castle Tour. Overall I'd describe it as disappointing, especially for the cost.

 

Main problem was that it was too short. It was a 4 hour tour that consisted of a 30 minute drive to the shrine, 75 minutes at the shrine, a 30 minute drive to the castle, 75 minutes at the castle, and 30 minute drive back to the port. No stop or time for lunch, and we only got to see about 60% of the castle. It was originally supposed to be a hour at the shrine and an hour and a half at the castle, but one family was 15 minutes late returning to the bus at the shrine. Ultimately I think it would have been much better as a 6 hour tour, 90 minutes for the total drive time, an hour at the shrine, an hour for lunch, and 2 and a half hours at the castle. The tour guide was really good though, so silver linings.

 

Part of the other problem with the tour length was we were in port from 10AM to 8PM, so with the tour returning at about 2:30 it just felt like a lot of the port day was wasted. The port itself was Aburatsu, which is a 90 minute drive away from Miyazaki, and 30 minutes away from the closest attractions, so just going back out on our own wasn't really an option.

 

The one really nice thing was that there was a little shopping center setup in port when we got back. There were a number of food trucks and local shopping stalls/tents that was really nice to see. We got some fresh Yakitori, and there were other stalls selling candy, ice cream, rice bowls, and ramen. There were also some shops selling gifts, but their selection was kind of odd. There were some people selling sake, but most of the items were things like kitchen knives, gardening shears, and even a hoe/sickle used for rice farming. I get they are items of local importance, but it was things that would be really awkward to bring on the ship or on a plane after the cruise.

 

Dinner was a bit less of a fiasco tonight, but not by much. We got in line at 5:15, 15 minutes before our scheduled time, and it took about 15 minutes for us to get to the front of the line and seated. We asked about reservations or other options to skip the line and were just told that the tour groups had taken all available reservation slots, so the only choice was to wait in the line and get a table as one came available. Definitely not something we are happy with this trip.

 

The seas have been fairly rough all cruise, but tonight is probably the worst. While not as bad as some video we've seen, such as when Anthem went through the hurricane, this is easily the roughest seas I've ever personally experienced on a ship.

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Dinner was a bit less of a fiasco tonight, but not by much. We got in line at 5:15, 15 minutes before our scheduled time, and it took about 15 minutes for us to get to the front of the line and seated. We asked about reservations or other options to skip the line and were just told that the tour groups had taken all available reservation slots, so the only choice was to wait in the line and get a table as one came available. Definitely not something we are happy with this trip.

Might be time to escalate the issue - ask to be seated in CK or comped a specialty venue if they can't accommodate you in the MDR.

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