QUANTUM changes for the Chinese market

[ocav]

I'm watching the pricing on some of the repositioning to see if there are any "deals" once inside the 90 day pre-cruise window so am also curious as to how much is going to change "on the way" to Asia.

 

 

 

Here's a thought ... is anybody out there booked on any of the cruises scheduled from Shanghai? If so, what options come up for them for pre-booking in regards to dining and entertainment??

 

 

Check Roll Calls and see if anyone's talking about it!

[ocav]

Alissa, you must be doing it wrong..

 

I had 2 nights free that we hadn't yet booked,, so to see what you meant, I just went in and BOOKED for Silk for 7 pm..

 

not a problem.

 

 

 

now we have just one night on the ship to " wing it " ...:rolleyes:

 

 

^^ this is taken from a Roll Call thread for a 14 day Asia cruise. Silk is still available and book able onboard

[woodyren]

I'm watching the pricing on some of the repositioning to see if there are any "deals" once inside the 90 day pre-cruise window so am also curious as to how much is going to change "on the way" to Asia.

 

Here's a thought ... is anybody out there booked on any of the cruises scheduled from Shanghai? If so, what options come up for them for pre-booking in regards to dining and entertainment??

 

I am booked on 3 legs between Barcelona and Shanghai. I have been monitoring cabin availability and pricing and out of interest I have also been checking pricing (in Yuan) on Chinese websites. The closer the Quantum gets to Shanghai the earlier the ship has been virtually booked out which probably means that locals have booked these heavily BUT there are still a lot of packages (air, cruise, hotel, visas) being advertised in China. I think a lot of cabins are being held by these Chinese agents. Will be interesting to see what happens just before final as there possibly may be a lot of inventory returned by agents as well as cancellations from those who don't want to risk the effect of the rumoured changes.

 

At present prices for Dubai-Singapore, Singapore-Singapore and Singapore- Shanghai have risen substantially since we booked. Barcelona-Dubai dropped a few hundred but is now on a rise again.

[woodyren]

^^ this is taken from a Roll Call thread for a 14 day Asia cruise. Silk is still available and book able onboard

 

I am on the same cruise and have had no problem booking ALL the complimentary restaurants.

 

I also sent of an email to RCCL asking for info about the changes. I am not deterred by them as much as I was interested more in Royal's response from a customer service point of view and believe that info to passengers so they can make informed decisions is fundamental to this. To balance things out I have had a very recent experience of outstanding customer service while on our Rhapsody cruise.

 

My email originally was

 

 

Ship: Quantum Of The Seas

Sail Date: 13/May/2015

 

 

"Issue: I am booked on this sailing and 2 other legs through to Shanghai. We have heard that there will be numerous changes made to the ship throughout this voyage. The main things that attracted us to book this cruise apart from the itinerary and ship in general were Seaplex, Music Hall with it's live rock music, the 4 advertised complimentary DD including their advertised menus and the flow rider.

It appears that some or most of these may be missing. We are committed to this cruise but we also feel we are not receiving what was the advertised product if these changes go ahead. Not only that but all the venues that are getting refits will be off limits so we will not enjoy full facilities that previous cruisers have received. What will RCL be doing to offset this inconvenience and failure to deliver as advertised? When will we find out about the changes. Extra shops and larger casinos do not enhance our experience."

 

RCCL initial response.

 

"Royal Caribbean International has not announced any changes to the Quantum of the Seas, such as removal of venues or activities. We attached the following article announcing the repositioning of the Quantum of the Seas to China and the features available onboard, http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1094/china-is-new-home-for-royal-caribbean-internationals-quantum-of-the-seas/.

 

Please know guests who may not have had a particularly pleasant experience on their sailing, for whatever reason, are more apt to write a poor review and find fault with all aspects of their vacation. The vast majority of our guests have nothing but complimentary and exemplary reviews of Royal Caribbean International's staff, food, ships and service. We take our guests’ evaluations and suggestions very seriously and distribute Guest Satisfaction Surveys to each of our guests before they depart on the last day of the cruise vacation. In this way, if there is a generalized complaint about any of our services, it can be addressed immediately without the necessity of waiting for a review to be released.

 

We can assure you that our main focus has been and will always be our guests. There has been no material change to the type or quality of food or any services that Royal Caribbean International offers, except perhaps to perfect our techniques. There has, however, been a tremendous increase in the number of cruisers and media and internet coverage of cruise vacations, which is likely the reason you will find more reviews of these sailings available.

 

If you should require additional information regarding Royal Caribbean International or the Quantum of the Seas specifically, please visit our website, http://www.RoyalCaribbean.com, for announcements regarding any ships in our fleet.

 

Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime aboard the Quantum of the Seas. You will not believe your eyes, whether you are taking in an immersive performance rich with light and sound in Two 70°, experiencing a thrilling free-fall at sea with RipCord by iFly, or lifting to new heights as you ride 300 feet above sea level in the North Star. All of these activities and more are included, along with the must-haves from our Oasis class ships such as the FlowRider ®, the Rock Climbing Wall, and a full-fledged Broadway production of Mamma Mia! Your adventure begins the moment you step aboard the Quantum of the Seas."

 

Note that in this lengthy reply they just skirted the whole issue and even mentioned Mamma Mia which is almost certainly not going to be available on this cruise. Weasel words is how I would describe this reply. Politician like sadly.

 

I then replied to their response.

 

"Thanks.

Saying that you have not announced any changes does nothing for my concerns. Also saying the menus won't change means little. If you said that no changes are planned that is a totally different answer and seeing as that was not forthcoming then one can only draw conclusions that they are planned but not yet announced. So while you have given me a reply that talks up your company, you have not addressed my concerns at all. In fact reading between the corporate lines you have offered only validates them. I love the RCl experience and if you look at my past and current bookings on RCl and Celebrity you will see that I have booked heavily over two years. Just booked another yesterday. I am still concerned that the advertised product will not be delivered. I also trust that RCL will address the loss of some of the advertised product as they have on other cruises in recent times. Also notice that you mention mamma mia when it is to be transferred to another ship(already announced)and will not be available on our repo on Quantum. Look forward to my concerns being addressed and all of your customers being kept informed once the changes are decided.

Thanks again"

 

Their reply to this email was;

 

 

" We are very sorry to hear that you feel the information that we have provided to you is inadequate in addressing your concerns about the Quantum of the Seas. We make every reasonable effort to candidly address all of the concerns of our valued guests and we certainly accommodate whenever possible. All customer feedback is forwarded to our Leadership Team and kept on file for review when evaluating future policy changes. Please rest assured that Royal Caribbean International strives for one hundred percent customer satisfaction at all levels, from our global fleet to our local customer service agents. At the end of the day, however, we are aware that we may not be able to satisfy every request or allay every concern that may arise. In the event of these rare exceptions, we simply offer you our sincere apology and wish you well in your future pursuits of the dream vacation which you so richly deserve."

 

-----------------------------

 

 

So in 2 emails they have spent a lot of time to say nothing much at all.

 

So like the rest of you I am still in the dark.

[Gazza64]

woodyren

 

You did well getting a reply, they have ignored my similar questions.

As you said - a lot of words without any answers.

 

A few people on this thread have said that they wouldn't mind the changes as long as they know what they are going to be.

My concerns are less about dining (the proposed changes don't seem to have a significant impact on dining) but more about the entertainment, particularly on the Dubai - Singapore which has a lot of 'at sea' days.

 

Mamma Mia - I'm sure this will be replaced with a decent alternative

 

If they replace music hall with additional casino space and vantages with shopping this removes 2 significant night time venues. If you don't like gambling it will limit choice and put significant pressure on the few remaining options. What is left - 270, a couple of bars and a pub!

 

If the Chinese like gambling, fine - I just don't want to spend my money to find that I am aboard a smoke filled floating casino!

 

We have decided to cancel this cruise and will probably re-book on Anthem as we really want to sail on this class of ship

[ocav]

Have is it been confirmed that Mamma Mia will actually be removed from Quantum? Because it is possible that 2 ships will have the same show at the same time just with 2 different casts?

 

Regards the changes, I really don't think they will go through, as much as the ship will need some adjustments to suit the Asian cruiser, the changes that are being proposed are way too costly to be doing to a new ship

[davelliott]

The captain told us on the 12/12 sailing, that Mamma Mia would be moved from Quantum to Allure. The same performers would be moving ships.

[Keasel]

I heard the Diamond Lounge is going to be turned into a noodle bar.

[ITMan]

The captain told us on the 12/12 sailing, that Mamma Mia would be moved from Quantum to Allure. The same performers would be moving ships.

 

RCL continue to deny this, stating that it is all rumour and will not confirm, any detail!

[suzyluvs2cruise]

RCL continue to deny this, stating that it is all rumour and will not confirm, any detail!

 

On our December sailings we were told by the Captain, Hotel Director and Stage Manager that Mama Mia will be on Quantum for the TA, then taken off in Barcelona and transferred to Allure during her drydock in Cadiz.

[Elizanessie]

RCL continue to deny this, stating that it is all rumour and will not confirm, any detail!

 

RCCL put this out a few days ago, you can see on there Mamma Mia will be on the Allure.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/oasisoftheseas/entertainment/

[Ken at the beach]

RCCL put this out a few days ago, you can see on there Mamma Mia will be on the Allure.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/oasisoftheseas/entertainment/

 

Thanks for posting that new link.

 

I was a bit concerned when they announced it and then removed it from the website. Thought they may have reconsidered based on feedback from Cats and decided against going epithet the longer shows.

[Quince]

We're doing the Dubai to Shanghai portion because it hits many of our bucket list places. We chose the Quantum because many of the other ships doing this itinerary are "tired". We wanted nice rooms and pretty furnishings. Food is not a deal breaker, because I know we'll eat more than we need to anyway. Evening entertainment is important, but I know that several choices will be available each night.

 

So the planned construction - big deal or not? Since I'm looking forward to everything else on this cruise, I've decided to not let it be a big deal. I'm also thinking (RUMOR) that we will get some OBC from Royal for the inconvenience. They seem to be pretty good about handing out OBC when there are "problems" with the cruise. Thoughts?

[Gazza64]

We're doing the Dubai to Shanghai portion because it hits many of our bucket list places. We chose the Quantum because many of the other ships doing this itinerary are "tired". We wanted nice rooms and pretty furnishings. Food is not a deal breaker, because I know we'll eat more than we need to anyway. Evening entertainment is important, but I know that several choices will be available each night.

 

So the planned construction - big deal or not? Since I'm looking forward to everything else on this cruise, I've decided to not let it be a big deal. I'm also thinking (RUMOR) that we will get some OBC from Royal for the inconvenience. They seem to be pretty good about handing out OBC when there are "problems" with the cruise. Thoughts?

 

This was a cruise that also hit a lot of the right notes for us, particularly ports of call, music hall, mamma mia and to a degree DD (we don't like the traditional dining).

We are quite laid back when it comes to travel, however, the rumors about music hall going changed things as that is where we planned to spend our evenings.

We don't particularly like normal cruise activities such as quizzes and game shows so the idea of spending time listening to great music was very appealing.

If you like these type of activities then the OBC will help make things better.

 

We decided to cancel the cruise, mainly due to RCI doing nothing to confirm or deny any of the rumored changes. We weren't so desperate to sail on this cruise that we were prepared to gamble - there are lots of other things that we still want to do.

 

I'm sure that it will still be a great trip, for us though too many days at sea with the possibility of changes to the advertised program.

[ChipLondon]

And Mamma Mia is being replaced by Sequins and Feathers, it will be interesting to see if this show is more based on Visuals than vocals to accommodate the difference languages in the Far East :eek:

 

 

RCCL put this out a few days ago, you can see on there Mamma Mia will be on the Allure.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/oasisoftheseas/entertainment/

[Elizanessie]

And Mamma Mia is being replaced by Sequins and Feathers, it will be interesting to see if this show is more based on Visuals than vocals to accommodate the difference languages in the Far East :eek:

 

Wow thanks for this news Dave, hadn't seen this anywhere.

[ChipLondon]

Several of the Royal Caribbean performers have recently shared the details of this on their FB pages, and the auditions are listed on the RC Productions website, it is not a secret :D

 

 

Wow thanks for this news Dave, hadn't seen this anywhere.

[ocav]

And Mamma Mia is being replaced by Sequins and Feathers, it will be interesting to see if this show is more based on Visuals than vocals to accommodate the difference languages in the Far East :eek:

 

 

Based on cast M&G today, Sequins and Feathers is to replace Sonic Odyssey, Mamma Mia will remain onboard with a new cast who have begun rehearsals today. Starwater will also be replaced with a new cast in April, with Mamma Mias new cast arriving in Barcelona.

[ChipLondon]

At last some good news :eek:

 

 

 

Based on cast M&G today, Sequins and Feathers is to replace Sonic Odyssey, Mamma Mia will remain onboard with a new cast who have begun rehearsals today. Starwater will also be replaced with a new cast in April, with Mamma Mias new cast arriving in Barcelona.

[Elizanessie]

Based on cast M&G today, Sequins and Feathers is to replace Sonic Odyssey, Mamma Mia will remain onboard with a new cast who have begun rehearsals today. Starwater will also be replaced with a new cast in April, with Mamma Mias new cast arriving in Barcelona.

 

So now Mamma Mia is staying on Quantum ? :confused:

 

Geez talk about confusing folks...RCCL said Mamma Mia is going to the Allure.

[ocav]

So now Mamma Mia is staying on Quantum ? :confused:

 

 

 

Geez talk about confusing folks...RCCL said Mamma Mia is going to the Allure.

 

 

No. From what the cast had heard, there will be 2 consecutive productions. One on Quantum, One on Allure with 2 separate casts.

[Elizanessie]

No. From what the cast had heard, there will be 2 consecutive productions. One on Quantum, One on Allure with 2 separate casts.

 

Thanks for answering so quickly.

 

Hmm seems a bit odd that the same Broadway show would be on two ships at the same time. :confused:

[suzyluvs2cruise]

No. From what the cast had heard, there will be 2 consecutive productions. One on Quantum, One on Allure with 2 separate casts.

 

Thanks for answering so quickly.

 

Hmm seems a bit odd that the same Broadway show would be on two ships at the same time. :confused:

 

Consecutive productions would be one after the other. First on Quantum, next on Allure.

Edited February 13, 2015 by suzyluvs2cruise

[Elizanessie]

Consecutive productions would be one after the other. First on Quantum, next on Allure.

 

Ok so now I am confuzzled.

 

Ocav said -

Based on cast M&G today, Sequins and Feathers is to replace Sonic Odyssey, Mamma Mia will remain onboard with a new cast who have begun rehearsals today. Starwater will also be replaced with a new cast in April, with Mamma Mias new cast arriving in Barcelona.

 

Then -

No. From what the cast had heard, there will be 2 consecutive productions. One on Quantum, One on Allure with 2 separate casts.

 

Why would a new cast for Mamma Mia be arriving in Barcelona in May for Quantum...when Mamma Mia is going to Allure in May ?:confused:

Edited February 13, 2015 by Elizanessie

[ocav]

Ok so now I am confuzzled.

 

Ocav said -

 

Then -

 

Why would a new cast for Mamma Mia be arriving in Barcelona in May for Quantum...when Mamma Mia is going to Allure in May ?:confused:

 

 

This is one of the things I'm wondering, possibly the current Quantum cast don't want to go to Asia, or the new Quantum cast is learning a different show in order to cater for the different market. Either way, Mamma Mia casts Quantum contracts are up in May and they are departing the ship in Barcelona, and that's come from their own mouths.