Quantum itineraries - you guys really like them?

[marci22]

I booked an 8 night January sailing that only goes to San Juan (arrive 4pm depart next day at 3pm) and Labadee. 4 sea days. I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time. (maybe they had Samana in there and then deleted it later, I only recently looked at the itinerary again to refresh my memory)

 

I am still undecided about this one. I am sure the ship will be very nice but we like to get off the ship and I am worried that I won't want to be cooped up with all those people in January out of NJ.

Edited March 27, 2014 by marci22

[Cruising89143]

The itinerary ended up being the deal breaker for us. We have been to the ports over and over so to spend that kind of money to cruise out of cold weather was not ideal. We canceled.

 

I know that the QN class was built for the cooler areas so I'm sure those in the Northeast are excited about having a ground breaking ship in their backyard. It will do well.

[ryano]

I just want to be on a ship. I wouldnt care if it sailed out of sight of land and just did big circles for 7 days. Itinerary has not mattered to me yet. If the destination was that important I would just fly somewhere and stay at an AI for a week instead of only getting 6-7 hours somewhere.

 

With that said, I have no desire to sail in the middle of winter.

 

I REALLY hope one of these ships homeports out of FL eventually.

[marci22]

I just want to be on a ship. I wouldnt care if it sailed out of sight of land and just did big circles for 7 days. Itinerary has not mattered to me yet. If the destination was that important I would just fly somewhere and stay at an AI for a week instead of only getting 6-7 hours somewhere.

 

With that said, I have no desire to sail in the middle of winter.

 

I REALLY hope one of these ships homeports out of FL eventually.

 

I've been on Ex when the weather was so bad you weren't allowed to go outside at all, and that was in the summer. After this winter we had I am reconsidering our January departure.

[printingchick]

...but then, I haven't like the itineraries offered by any of the larger ships. I prefer port-intensive itineraries and for those, you're typically looking at smaller ships.

 

And that's FINE for me. I PREFER the smaller ship and don't really care about things like zip-lines or bumper cars.

 

HOWEVER...I realize that there are MANY people who cruise for the SHIP. And not the way I do...just to SEE the SEA every day. They don't CARE about the ports. As someone else said, they consider the SHIP to be the destination.

 

There's nothing wrong with either opinion. It means that the cruisers who are dying to cruise Oasis or Quantum class ships would HATE the cruise itineraries I typically choose and that I would be unlikely to book the cruise they covet.

 

To each his own! As long as Royal doesn't take too large a step toward homogenizing their fleet, so that the ships are all very much the same, we'll all be happy.

[yj2cute]

Dan,

We are on the same sailing on Feb 20th/9-day on Quantum. I really didn't think that the itinerary would make that much difference to me and was pretty open minded about it when they dropped Samana, DR from the itinerary. However, with so much time thinking about it, I am with you... 5 full days at sea with much of it in colder weather, is just too many sea days. Although I love cruising and would rather be on a ship than home, 5 sea days is more of a sea voyage to me. We are waiting for summer 2015 itineraries to come out and will most likely be cancelling the February cruise in place of a nice warm weather summer cruise from Bayonne on Quantum instead. The Dynamic Dining is sinking in and I am getting re-energized about sailing Quantum from our home-port in NJ, but would MUCH rather spend the money to have the kids with us in summer than take a 9-day with only 3 ports in the middle of winter. Decision is pretty much made now, but I just can bring myself to cancel yet... LOL!

 

I know what you mean. I just love being on the ship, itinerary is secondary. I was booked on the March 1, 2015 12 night sailing, then decided to fly to Jamaica to renew our vows instead. I knew I would have to cancel the QOS, but like you, just didn't want to. I finally went ahead and bit the bullet and cancelled, but still can't remove from my signature. :o I'm planning to book for Oct., 2015 if they EVER release the schedules.

[nelblu]

I just want to be on a ship. I wouldnt care if it sailed out of sight of land and just did big circles for 7 days. Itinerary has not mattered to me yet. If the destination was that important I would just fly somewhere and stay at an AI for a week instead of only getting 6-7 hours somewhere.

 

With that said, I have no desire to sail in the middle of winter.

 

I REALLY hope one of these ships homeports out of FL eventually.

 

The Anthem will spending the winter months in FL.

[DEIx15x8]

I know this is a little off topic but it is related. The altered itinerary includes 2 days in Labadee. Disney added sailings with 2 days at Castaway Cay and they were a hit. If the itinerary had always been this way would your opinions be different. I'm just thinking that (and I'm with you on it being too long of a sailing for so few ports) if Royal did it as maybe a 5 night sailing from FL with day 2 and 5 at sea while 3-4 is spent over night in Labadee it could be pretty cool. Advertised as an extended beach break sailing with a beach party at night in the middle it could be popular. Not sure if Labadee can handle that kind of demand though.

[tls1012]

I just love being on the ship (any ship) and the Quantum itinerary is an after thought for me. I love days at sea, so these itineraries work just fine for me. Would I like better itineraries? Of course! But, I am a quick 2-hour drive from my door to the ship. Then I am on vacation! I don't care if it is cold when I leave. There is so much to do inside the ship, I appreciate being a captive audience for a day or two! I am not a pool person anyway, so not being able to sit by the pool, has no bearing on my plans. The ship could sit docked in New Jersey for 7 days, but as long as I am ON it, then I am having a good time! :D

 

Oh, and I got a great price on my balcony cabin on Quantum for Easter Week 2015! Much cheaper than what we would have paid to fly to Florida to board some other ship!

 

I totally agree 100% with you. I felt the same way when we had trouble in port in Galveston and we couldn't leave until the next day. As long as I can throw my towel on the floor and have it made up into a cute animal and not have to cook, clean or go to work, I'm good!!!

[SailinC2C]

I can understand why Royal is putting a signature ship up in the NY area. They have access to 23 million people all within a short drive of the port. For years now there has been talk of putting ships in different ports because of rising airfares, to allow more people to drive to them. Not to mention that air travel is now more of a hassle and storms make it very unreliable.

Because you can save money on air, the cruise becomes more affordable to many.

What I'm not sure about is the cold weather you are going to encounter on the sail down and back. We go away in the winter to escape the cold.

I sure hope they have fixed the traffic flow into the port if they are going to put a big ship in Bayonne. Last time we sailed from there the lineup to turn left into the port was miles!!! One left hand turn lane and lots of oncoming traffic. Then stop and go all the way to the ship. It made for a very expensive cab ride!

Anyway, the new dining video sure has me considering doing this cruise on Jan 23. We went on Oasis and Allure and considered the ship the destination and that worked for us. Maybe this will too.

[roe2ship]

No they aren't that great but I think to millions of people the itinerary (especially on newer ships) is secondary. I think there is evidence of that in the premium pricing that you see for Quantum and ships like Oasis and Allure.

[Elvis1209]

...but then, I haven't like the itineraries offered by any of the larger ships. I prefer port-intensive itineraries and for those, you're typically looking at smaller ships.

 

And that's FINE for me. I PREFER the smaller ship and don't really care about things like zip-lines or bumper cars.

 

HOWEVER...I realize that there are MANY people who cruise for the SHIP. And not the way I do...just to SEE the SEA every day. They don't CARE about the ports. As someone else said, they consider the SHIP to be the destination.

 

There's nothing wrong with either opinion. It means that the cruisers who are dying to cruise Oasis or Quantum class ships would HATE the cruise itineraries I typically choose and that I would be unlikely to book the cruise they covet.

 

To each his own! As long as Royal doesn't take too large a step toward homogenizing their fleet, so that the ships are all very much the same, we'll all be happy.

 

I'm in total agreement with you. We cruised on Jewel in February and it was great! The ports were all new to us. However, in September we sailed on Allure and that ship, to say the least, is mind-blowing! You could literally be on board for a week and never see the ocean! The ship is a destination in itself!

 

Elvis

[Maraprince]

The itinerary ended up being the deal breaker for us. We have been to the ports over and over so to spend that kind of money to cruise out of cold weather was not ideal. We canceled.

 

I know that the QN class was built for the cooler areas so I'm sure those in the Northeast are excited about having a ground breaking ship in their backyard. It will do well.

 

 

Ports are not the greatest for the cost of being on a sailing with so many sea days.

 

Last December we went to the Caribbean and during one of the port stops in Freeport our guide told us that a lot of passengers think they will have warm weather and warm seas to enjoy only to find that is not the case. Anything after the 2nd week in December, temps will only be in the low 70's. Great for less humidity, but not so great for the beach.

 

Also, the sea days on Explorer left a lot to be desired. Going down, lots to do but on the return trip, it was bingo, bingo, bingo and not much else. The inside temps of the ship were very cool and it was way too cold to be outside.

 

Waiting to hear the feedback from the first group of sailings for Q.

 

MARAPRINCE

[marci22]

Leaving out of NJ is hard to beat. I've never left in the winter though. Still thinking about this.

[saurian]

I may be in the minority, but I love sea days. They are the best days for me. I try to book trips for the most sea days possible (doing a TA is a bucket-list trip). Where I am from, we have to fly no matter where we leave from (pretty sure they cant back the ship up the mississippi...), so we have to factor in the cost of airfare/days on the trip ratio. sure the short cruises are stupidly cheap, but throw in 800 for airfare to get there and its dumb to only go out for a week vs 12 days, as the airfare is pretty much a fixed cost. It is much more expensive to fly to florida than NY/NJ (why on earth is that, anyway?), and we have done a December trip on Explorer. It was 40 on the day we departed, which was a full 50 degrees warmer than it was when we left home (-11), so it was a win for us. I will proudly stand in the minority and say i like the itinerary and i am very interested in dynamic dining. Probably so much so that I would be willing to brave the ridiculous chaos of the city to go on a cruise from there again (something I swore I would never do after Explorer)

[Ken at the beach]

The other downside to the Port Canaveral, Nassau and Coco cay itinerary is that over Christmas/New Years this is a 7 day itinerary.

 

The weather in Port Canaveral can be pretty darn cold at this time of year. Last Christmas on our way to Ft. Lauderdale it was in the low 50's at Canaveral. With temps that low I would certainly not be heading out to do a shore excursion.

 

Also tendering at Coco Cay can be hit or miss at the best of time.

 

This 7 night cruise could end up having 6 days on the ship and one day in Nassau.

[SpekiTrout]

I cancelled my Quantum 3/21/2015 8-day booking because they hadn't yet expanded the itinerary beyond San Juan and 2 days at Labadee. Don't get me wrong the boat looks great, but I look forward much more to my 7 day out of San Juan on the Adventure.

 

Unless you are new to cruising the cruises out NJ don't (to me) have that interesting of a port selection, unless you sail for more than 8 days.

 

Now if they would just release the summer 2015 Anthem schedule.... sigh.

 

Perhaps I read the Mar21st 8 day wrong but I believe it's 2 days in San Juan and the usual 9 - 5 in Labadee. Where did you read or see it was 2 days in Labadee ??

Edited April 5, 2014 by SpekiTrout

[Tall-Cruiser]

Perhaps I read the Mar21st 8 day wrong but I believe it's 2 days in San Juan and the usual 9 - 5 in Labadee. Where did you read or see it was 2 days in Labadee ??

 

It is correct that it currently shows an overnight in Labadee. The original schedule was Samana as the second stop after San Juan. Those of us who booked this cruise of March 21, 2015 are still hoping they add another port. By the way the other 8 Night Eastern Cruise on Jan 3, 2015 does have an overnight in San Juan.

 

 

Below is the current 3/21/15 sailing. It's the same under "MyCruises"

 

 

 

Day Port **** Arrive Depart Activity

 

21-Mar Cape Liberty, New Jersey * *4:00 PM

 

22-Mar Cruising * * *

 

23-Mar Cruising * * *

 

24-Mar San Juan, Puerto Rico *4:00 PM *11:00 PM Docked

 

25-Mar Labadee, Haiti *4:30 PM * Docked

 

26-Mar Labadee, Haiti * *5:00 PM Docked

 

27-Mar Cruising * * *

 

28-Mar Cruising * * *

 

29-Mar Cape Liberty, New Jersey *7:00 AM *

 

Edit: sometimes depending on how the search function is used it may show San Juan as overnight because the default date goes to Jan 3, 2015. Then you have to change it to March 21, 2015 and there it is overnight in Labadee.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Tall-Cruiser

[negc]

I wouldn't sail these itineraries in winter if you paid me. Having just gotten off a ship (Oasis) where the ship is the destination, I'm not too keen on doing that again, and this is exactly what these itineraries represent for me. I'm waiting to see what itineraries it does for the summer, or in lieu of that, Anthem's schedule out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Not to mention the cost...yikes...combined with most likely not so good weather.

 

Just my two cents' worth.

 

You seem to overlook the fact that Explorer, which was not really designed to sail from cool or cold weather ports, seems to have been more than a little successful over the years that she has sailed from Port Liberty. NCL also has a ship sailing year-round out of NY, and faces similar problems with the limitations on possible itineraries. Both lines seem to have determined that the great number of potential cruisers how live in the Northeast is more than sufficient to permit them to operate these ships 12 months out of the year, so with a ship that is far better designed to handle the sometimes less than hospitable weather conditions, RCI should be able to operate even more profitably.

When and if that situation ever changes, the cruiselines can always redeploy their ships to other regions, but until then, there are probably a lot more people who, unlike you, are willing to pay to sail from NY/NJ in winter, spring, summer and fall and for those who won't sail from the Northeast in the winter, it is fortunate that Florida and other warmer ports have ships that can satisfy them.

[LetsGetWet!]

I wouldn't sail these itineraries in winter if you paid me. Having just gotten off a ship (Oasis) where the ship is the destination, I'm not too keen on doing that again, and this is exactly what these itineraries represent for me. I'm waiting to see what itineraries it does for the summer, or in lieu of that, Anthem's schedule out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Not to mention the cost...yikes...combined with most likely not so good weather.

 

Just my two cents' worth.

You seem to overlook the fact that Explorer, which was not really designed to sail from cool or cold weather ports, seems to have been more than a little successful over the years that she has sailed from Port Liberty. NCL also has a ship sailing year-round out of NY, and faces similar problems with the limitations on possible itineraries. Both lines seem to have determined that the great number of potential cruisers how live in the Northeast is more than sufficient to permit them to operate these ships 12 months out of the year, so with a ship that is far better designed to handle the sometimes less than hospitable weather conditions, RCI should be able to operate even more profitably.

When and if that situation ever changes, the cruiselines can always redeploy their ships to other regions, but until then, there are probably a lot more people who, unlike you, are willing to pay to sail from NY/NJ in winter, spring, summer and fall and for those who won't sail from the Northeast in the winter, it is fortunate that Florida and other warmer ports have ships that can satisfy them.

I don't think he/she overlooked anything at all. No argument was made that it wouldn't be successful, merely that they were not at all interested. I share that lack of interest! Any ship sailing from NJ/NY in the winter BETTER be able to draw enough passengers from nearby driving distance - unlike warmer weather ports in Florida, Texas or New Orleans.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 via Tapatalk

[Tyler80]

I like the longer itineraries and wish Royal Caribbean would offer longer cruises on larger ships like Quantum. I don't mind sea days and think those are the ultimate relaxation days on a cruise.

[Host Faith]

I like the longer itineraries and wish Royal Caribbean would offer longer cruises on larger ships like Quantum. I don't mind sea days and think those are the ultimate relaxation days on a cruise.

 

I like the longer itineraries on the Quantum, too. We like sea days and are looking forward to having a few back to back. We also like the Southern Caribbean. Not a fan of the Bahamas. That's why we chose the 12-night cruise in April. We cruise for both the ship and the ports.

[Annefran]

We love the longer itineraries also. We did 2 different longer cruises on Explorer; March 2008 was 12 nights and March 2010 was 14 nights. They were by far our favorite cruises on RCI.

 

We are currently booked for an 8 night QOS in December 2014 that goes to Cape Canaveral and Bahamas. Really don't like the itinerary and going to reschedule. Hoping to switch to either January 2015, 12 night or June 2015 when those itineraries come out. Hopefully that will be before the end of April from what I've been reading and hearing from CC'ers. Keeping my fingers crossed. :rolleyes: Happy Cruising all!!!

[boscobeans]

... the cruiselines can always redeploy their ships to other regions, but until then, there are probably a lot more people who, unlike you, are willing to pay to sail from NY/NJ in winter, spring, summer and fall and for those who won't sail from the Northeast in the winter, it is fortunate that Florida and other warmer ports have ships that can satisfy them.

 

I agree totally.

 

We always cruise in the cold first three months of the year. This is to recharge our batteries from the drain the Great Northeast puts on them.

 

A few cruises were out of Florida or San Juan and were fine and always wonderful.

 

We enjoy being on a ship even if a few days are cold, or rainy or not the best for sunning on an open deck or veranda. Always enough to do and explore, especially on a new ship.

 

We have been to just about every port in the Caribbean, several times over so itineraries play only a small role in our selection, after all what is really so different about each port other than different magnets, tee shirts and maybe a few different snorkeling sites.( I know there is always a certain bit of excitement and curiosity when doing a new Island).

 

To us the 2 days spent in airports, the baggage restrictions, hotel stays and all the associated expenses of travelling to Florida or San Juan are better spent on a ship enjoying ourselves, even if a few days are spent indoors.

 

OMO

 

bosco

[Dave85]

I like the longer itineraries on the Quantum, too. We like sea days and are looking forward to having a few back to back. We also like the Southern Caribbean. Not a fan of the Bahamas. That's why we chose the 12-night cruise in April. We cruise for both the ship and the ports.

 

I agree. I've always felt you need at least 9 nights to really have an excellent Caribbean cruise out of New York. You can get down there in 8 days too with 2 days down and 2 days back, but it cuts out a port day and I think the lines are reluctant to go too far down on an 8 night because of the fuel costs (with the ship spending half its time speeding up and down the coast). I am doing the 7 night crap itinerary on the Breakaway later this year, but that's really to just experience the ship and try NCL.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Dave85