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Quantum of the Seas - Maiden Transatlantic Voyage - Nov 2-10, 2014 - Live Report

jv_nyc

By jv_nyc,
in Royal Caribbean International

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MADflyer

MADflyer

Posted
Posted

Deck 5 self-disembarkation was a little of a mess just now. I was amazed to find self disembark passengers lined all the way from 270 in the aft to the forward elevator station.

 

It was very crowded near the Schooner Bar where the upper Esplanade narrows. Fortunately one could walk down a stairway just past Schooner to deck 4 to pass through the ship, but trying to get to 270 was a mess as the line went all the way to the Café 270 and then looped back around forward again. Those from the aft elevators joined the line, further delaying the forward passengers.

 

The Gangway elevator button was not set to operate so many were a little unsure where to disembark.

 

I would say disembarkation is about one hour behind schedule. Only numbers 1 to 10 have been called and they had estimated 08:00 at the latest.

 

On a positive note, the WJ was calm as most had dined early and were already on deck 5 attempting to get off the ship. The WJ was open until 08:30 but they closed most by 08:15.

 

It will be interesting to see when I am able to move through the terminal as I had planned to leave the ship at around 09:30, even though it appears they have some numbers all the way until 11:00, surprisingly.

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KingHal

KingHal

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They have just announced that US Customs have closed the gangway (i.e. suspended disembarcation) for the moment in order to manage the crowds better. Currently (09:51) it is numbers 1-21 which were disembarking. We are number 40, which was targeted to disembark from 9:45 to 10:15. We are lounging in Two 70 for the foreseeable future. It looks like opting for the taxi rank rather than prebook-ing a car transfer was the right option.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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internetwhiz

internetwhiz

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Glad you are somewhere comfortable. If you are on until noon, stay comfortable, go to the windjammer. Eat At least They have told you they stopped embarkation and hopefully let everyone get comfortable unlike our disembark on Oasis TA

 

 

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baileymouse

baileymouse

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks, everyone, for the great reports, and welcome to Bayonne! BTW, crowds were bad. I went down to the 9/11 monument to see the ship, and a Port Authority officer hit a telephone pole in the small parking lot by the bow of the ship. I believe she was avoiding one of the pedestrians who had their head in the air, gaping at the ship.

 

Stay comfy, have a cup of coffee, and enjoy.

Edited by baileymouse
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tmart011

tmart011

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Posted
Absolutely riveting stuff as I'm booked on the Anthem in April.

 

Please give as much detail as possible about food and menus - I'm a real foodie and as a few have said we love to drool over the potential meals!!

 

In my case I have the added extra of thinking if it will be safe for me to eat as I have celiac disease (No gluten) and really can't risk some things. RCI have been brilliant on other ships, but the new Dynamic Dining makes me a bit more nervous. Worst case scenario is that I may eat at far fewer places I think, but I'm still glued to any reviews and pics of the food :)

 

So thanks for details posted so far, everyone!!

 

Hugs - Daisy xx

 

my significant other has celiac and we are scheduled for Quantum in april....let me know if you hear anything on the gluten free options and ill do the same :)

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kmurph22

kmurph22

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi everybody, we're home so I can answer a few questions.

 

I was in DO 6196 (a 50%). I didn't get great photos of the whole balcony but this one kind of shows the lifeboat in the foreground so you can get an idea. (I hope this works)

 

IMO we thought being on deck 6 was great - easy walk to almost all restaurants, shows, shops, and 270. Would book it again.

 

Casino - plenty of penny machines. I would say 3 or 4 dozen at least? I think i ended the week up on machines, down on tables, pretty close to break-even. Hubby played more tables and lost.... could be a theme.

 

swimming - well for much of the trip the pools were closed due to the significant rocking. But yes the solarium and indoor pool were both warm enough (air temperature wise) to swim in both the pools and hot tubs.

 

 

Overall we enjoyed the trip. The 'motion of the ocean' unfortunately limited our ability to fully access all of the events, as shows and activities were often closed or cancelled. There were so many crew/staff working on things - like a promenade parade/show they practiced for a few times, and the rock wall (? - you would think they would know how to get a rock wall ready, but it was closed on day 8 as they were putting in new flooring).

 

We thought the food was great and loved Dynamic dining - we ate in a different restaurant each night. Favorites were Devinly Decadence, American Icon, Jamie's,and the Grande. We were seated with others at the Grande and Chic (by choice) and really enjoyed the company - these two restaurants were pretty crowded and had waits. At the others (American Icon, Silk, Devinly Decadence, and Jamie's) we were seated by ourselves - they generally weren't too crowded. Only bad meal was husband's ribeye at Chops - he should have asked for something else but ate half my filet, which was excellent, and no one went away hungry. Wished we had discovered Cafe 270 before day 7! That's what happens when there are so many choices.

 

If no one has mentioned chef Devin Alexander was on the ship making sure her new restaurant got off to a great start. It's up in the solarium so not everyone seems to know it's there... definitely check it out, even if just for the AM buffet (no added charge).

 

We did the North Star on day 5 (I think), 2 hour wait but worth it imo. Wouldn't probably wait in line a second time though. We also did the Ifly... I would definitely do that again, a great free amenity.

 

Spa isn't big enough imo. Gym was beautiful but got very hot and stuffy on day 6 - I heard there were some AC issues but I'm not sure.

 

I didn't get my luggage until about 11 am on day 2 - there was a brief scare when hubby asked Guest Services to at least confirm that my bag was on the ship and they said they weren't sure. Yikes! I don't want to wear Quantum T shirts for 8 straight days !!!! But it was found thanks to the help of a random sports deck staffer hubby complained to, who called the Executive Housekeeper, and bang I had a bag 30 minutes later.

 

I didn't read the whole thread so if there's anything out there that hasn't been covered, I would be happy to give my thoughts on it.

 

 

ETA a final thought: In addition to the $300 OBC and future credit, there was a lot of randomly free stuff, like drinks on day 1 and the internet. Overall I think Royal did right by its customers. We definitely had to put up with some glitches, and honestly more glitches than I expected, but I feel that the overall value of the trip based on what we paid was very fair for the experience. The ship is beautiful and I think it will be a hit.

IMG_3713.jpg.b4939a56a606a6068ff8fe34248e831f.jpg

Edited by kmurph22
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kmurph22

kmurph22

Posted
Posted

also not sure if this one was answered - although we don't really have the answer yet...

 

The Royal IQ app itself is free. You can use it to view your schedule, make reservations, and view statement. However, the chat function didn't work so we never got to find out how much the charge was to use the chat function.

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podgeandrodge

podgeandrodge

Posted
Posted
my significant other has celiac and we are scheduled for Quantum in april....let me know if you hear anything on the gluten free options and ill do the same :)

Tmart, all I can tell you is that they had a dedicated toaster in windjammer for gluten free. That would suggest they are aware of the concept at least!

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mspman

mspman

Posted
Posted (edited)

You guys are awesome. One of my friends is a crew member aboard the Quantum and I was watching her pics of New York this am. They were great and I had live trip reports from passengers to go along with it! :)

Edited by mspman
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