19 Nights, 10,000+ photos, and way too many videos. A Quantum Review

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Before dinner we went to Boleros where they were having the Majority Rules Game Show! A major change form the last sailing. Last sailing had absolutely nothing to do until day 6. This time they were getting going the very first night.

 

That night we once again ate at American Icon Grill and just like the first sailing their was a line, but it went even smoother than the previous week. It continuously moved and while it looked long at first it really was only about 2 minutes. No matter what they do i expect a day 1 line as people are simply confused and have questions that first time they arrive. I don’t think that will ever change, and as long as this concept is different that’s got to be expected. In traditional dining you always had a slightly slower service on the first day as well. Once we were in the service though was on par with any other night.

 

For this second sailing we had a new tribute band, this time it was The Beatle Maniacs. Not being a Beatle fan (don’t say it, I like Paul McCartney and the songs but just don’t like the Beatle sound) I lasted about 5 minutes and then left. A big change from the previous week when I went to Bon Jovi nearly every night. The Tribute Bands are really hit or miss depending on the person and if their a miss it really does leave the night feeling a bit empty compared to if you like it. I think this is a reason they really do need two bands on every sailing, one more heavy rock and one more classic. Pairing Beatles and Bon Jovi would cover nearly everyone on the ship.

 

Walking up on the pool deck that night (yes, it doesn’t matter that it was cold, windy and wet since we were still near NYC, I always go outside, lol) I ran into a sign about Mighty Ships filming onboard! That was exciting to see. It was the first sign I had that their was anyone onboard filming.

 

At this point this sailing felt in every way 1,000 times better than the first. All the technology issues seemed to be resolved (Royal iQ messaging and calling were identically buggy and non functional to the previous sailing, but those are not normal or required functionalities for the ship to function). The activities lineup seemed to be operating properly. In every way it felt like all the complaints from the first sailing were taken care of by simply stepping off the ship and back on. The biggest thing though, their was no inaugural disappointment hovering over this sailing. As if at this point the sailing could not seem any different than the first I was walking into Two70 and out comes none other than my favorite Cruise Director of all time, Joff Eaton. This really had me wondering if they had somehow pulled a Titanic/Olympia swap (if you’ve never seen that myth look it up, it’s rather intriguing) and we were really on the Anthem because things were that different. Joff was onboard for the entire sailing to see the Quantum product and do some planning for the Anthem of the Seas, and I’ve got to say that after 11 nights of seeing him at work what he is going to pull off with Anthem will be incredible. He is really looking to push the limits, think out of the box, and take advantage of everything the Quantum class offers. After a few photos Joff went on his way and I continued to try to enter Two70 only to run into Jimmy Rhodes. At this point I knew I was still on Quantum, lol. He stopped and we had a chat about Joff being onboard and the fact that we were less than 12 hours into this new sailing but it already felt different. We both discussed the fact that as you walked through the ship you could just feel that the entire mood and atmosphere onboard was much more positive and energetic than it ever was the previous sailing. For the first time it felt like we were actually on a cruise.

[MingusBigBand]

Great review. My favorite part of cruising is looking at the ocean. One thing that has me a little concerned about my upcoming Quantum cruise is that it appears that the lounge chairs on the top deck face the running track and not the ocean. So when you are sitting in a lounge chair on the top deck you are looking right in the face of those guests on the interior of the running track instead of the ocean. I know on other ships both the interior and exterior chairs on the running deck face the ocean. Can you confirm and comment on your experiences with this?

[DEIx15x8]

Great review. My favorite part of cruising is looking at the ocean. One thing that has me a little concerned about my upcoming Quantum cruise is that it appears that the lounge chairs on the top deck face the running track and not the ocean. So when you are sitting in a lounge chair on the top deck you are looking right in the face of those guests on the interior of the running track instead of the ocean. I know on other ships both the interior and exterior chairs on the running deck face the ocean. Can you confirm and comment on your experiences with this?

 

I never sit out on the pool deck, but I can confirm from walking around that they do have all of the ones on deck 15 facing the jogging track. The deck is also divided by glass barriers to help limit wind. The ones near each end of the pool deck have a line of chairs that face forward or backwards (a line on each side of the barrier).

There are also a lot of chairs at the aft of deck 15 by FlowRider that all face outward. Deck 16 (the suite deck is all outward facing but they are against the inside wall so like the jogging track ones, you will have people walking in front of your view. On deck 14 in the Adult Solarium the chairs along the outside face the windows. In both the indoor pool and outdoor pool the chairs along the windows are in lines of 3 or four chairs that face each other so everyone has to look 90º to the side to look out.

[iceburg1]

I never sit out on the pool deck, but I can confirm from walking around that they do have all of the ones on deck 15 facing the jogging track.

 

Can't you just turn the lounger around to face the ocean?

[DEIx15x8]

Can't you just turn the lounger around to face the ocean?

I'm not certain if it was only during rough weather or if they left it there all the time, but they had a rope run through the legs of all the chairs to prevent one from blowing away.

[DEIx15x8]

Today I've got the first arrival and departure series, it's the 11/23 8 Night Inaugural Bahamas Sailing!

 

You can watch the whole playlist here:

 

Or the individual videos:

Full Sailing Timelapse

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I placed a GoPro on our balcony to film every arrival and departure of the sailing similar to what I've done on past cruises. Unfortunately the way that the balcony is designed the glass is so far set in from the edge of the railing that it was impossible to use the suction cup mount and shoot over the railing so I had to shoot through the glass. It did help for Cape Liberty though where it was pouring when we arrived.

 

Bayonne Departure: 11/23

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We left at about 4PM just after the Norwegian Breakaway sailed by us. It was a bit chilly but not too bad. We had a beautiful sunset off the starboard side just before passing under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

 

Inaugural Visit to Port Canaveral: 11/26

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This was the Quantum of the Seas first ever port of call, and it was supposed to be the first time that Terminal 1 was used. Unfortunately as you'll see in the video the terminal looks complete but the dredging was a month behind schedule so we docked at Terminal 6. It was a rainy arrival but a beautiful sunset and a pleasant departure. A few people showed up to watch us leave, but not much fanfare.

 

I'll have the final three videos of this series a little later.

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Here are the rest of the port videos from the inaugural sailing.

 

Inaugural Visit to Nassau, Bahamas: 11/27

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This was a busy day with an afternoon arrival on Thanksgiving. In the morning we saw the Carnival Ecstasy, Disney Wonder in Castaway Cay, and the Enchantment of the Seas. Once in Nassau it was a showing of the latest and greatest ships in the world as the newest designs from the three main cruise lines were in port together, the Quantum of the Seas, Norwegian Breakaway, and the Carnival Magic.

 

Attempted Stop at CocoCay, Bahamas: 11/28

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This should have been the largest ship to ever tender, but rough seas meant we had to skip it. That wasn't until after both the Quantum and MSC Divina pulled along side their private islands and did every maneuver possible to try and shield the waves but nothing worked so both had to sail on.

 

Bayonne Arrival: 12/1

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This is the big arrival back to NYC that I got up at 5:30AM for and ran outside in my pajamas and t-shirt. So be sure to watch it, it certainly wasn't easy to film, lol.

[DEIx15x8]

Forgot to mention something very interesting about this sailing series, it is incredibly quiet. The Quantum seemed as disappointed as all her guests as she rarely showed any excitement. She used her horn when we departed Cape Liberty and rarely (if ever) touched it again the whole sailing. When we arrived in Nassau the Carnival Magic actually gave us a very nice salute but for some reason we never returned anything. I know their only ships, but you usually only see that between fleet mates so I was rather surprised by the nice gesture from Carnival and thought it seemed a bit rude that we didn't do anything in response.

 

By comparison the second sailing you'll hear the horn non stop. I heard more ship horns on that single sailing than every other sailing combined. In St. Maarten alone she had a nice horn battle with the Celebrity Summit and two with the Adventure of the Seas. San Juan heard her horn more than probably any single port I have ever been to and it was all for the crowds ashore, not a battle. Even when we returned to Bayonne at 6am with the top decks empty she sounded her horn as she neared the Verrazano Bridge. Every chance they had they used that horn during the second sailing. The contrast in horn usage between the sailings was as drastic as the entire onboard experience and certainly made that second sailing feel more exciting.

Edited January 9, 2015 by DEIx15x8

[DEIx15x8]

Day 2b: December 2, 2014

 

Day 10 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember22014DayAtSea

 

This day was the perfect example of why you should ignore all the people complaining that sailing out of the northeast is a waste in the winter. It was only day 2 but it was beautiful out! The North Star was even operating all day. I never saw it but heard it did have occasional issues, but nothing extensive.

 

The morning started out once again with the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle. Like last sailing their was a great turnout and unlike the previous sailing they had a guest. Jimmy Rhodes stopped by part way through and spoke a bit about some of the items coming up including the Mamma Mia After Party. Following that I met with the group coordinator onboard the Quantum of the Seas to discuss what I needed for theCruiseView and started the work setting up those interviews. That was the start of a huge process to get everything accomplished that the series needed, but certainly worth it. You’ll see it all once theCruiseView episodes start being posted.

 

After that I happened to walk out on the life boat deck and to my surprise the Norwegian Gem was right next to us. We were both from NYC and headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico. She had been scheduled to leave Manhattan an hour before we were to leave Cape Liberty. The delay in our departure meant that even after the extra time to travel down the Hudson she was still over an hour ahead of us. She was also supposed to arrive an hour ahead of us so we never should have met her. I’m not sure if she slowed down or we sped up but somebody changed speed in order to allow the two ships to have a glimpse of each other. We slowly got along side of her and got all the way until the bow of the Gem was lined up with the stern of the Quantum and then the Gem started passing us back and took off ahead of us again.

[DEIx15x8]

In the afternoon I attended the showing of Mamma Mia. I was surprised since as I said during the last sailing, I hate the story of Mamma Mia, but I loved the music and the production onboard was incredible. Once again I was not disappointed and enjoyed it even a second time. I attended this one knowing that I also had it booked for that evening so not only was it the second time I opted to see it, it was just the first for that single day.

 

I then went to the sports deck and it was empty! It was warm and nice out but nobody was there. Last sailing I did the FlowRider while farther south and was freezing. It was scheduled for Boogie Boarding but since their was nobody there they had both boards out and it seemed like they likely would have allowed you to choose either. It was essentially a private FlowRider session for anyone that showed up. I really wanted to do it right then because there was nobody there, but unfortunately I had an early dinner because of Mamma Mia so I didn’t have the time to get changed and go on. When the sports staff saw the camera they hopped on a board and gave me a show because they were just sitting around waiting.

 

That night after Mamma Mia they were supposed to have the Mamma Mia After Party in Music Hall. Jimmy Rhodes pushed it during the Meet & Mingle. He said that it would feature the music of Abba and the cast would come down the stairs and gather in the back of the room for photos and autographs. After the show he made the announcement to go to Music Hall and many people opted to do so, it was packed. Unfortunately in Music Hall they announced the after party but nothing ever happened. Eventually the room slowly started emptying and they just transitioned into the usual nightly DJ club. They never played any Abba music or did anything that could be even distantly perceived as Mamma Mia related. No idea what happened, but I heard someone on a more recent sailing say that they experienced the exact same thing and were also confused.

Edited January 10, 2015 by DEIx15x8

[DEIx15x8]

Day 3b: December 3, 2014

 

Day 11 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember32014DayAtSea

 

The poor weather returned. We had 10 foot seas, cloudy skies, and windy conditions. The wind meant that North Star had to close for the first time this sailing (and I think it may have been the only day out of the 11).

It was warm though since we were now near Florida (and it was fairly warm the previous day) so even with the pool closed people were still out sunbathing.

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Since this sailing, unlike the inaugural, was actually a cruise they put on all four DreamWorks Performances. The first took place on this day and featured Po and Tigres from Kung Fu Panda along with members from both the Two70º and Royal Theater casts. It was obviously cheesy, but it was meant for the kids and I personally enjoyed it. I can’t understand how anyone could complain about these and then say they liked the parades. The parades were just music, dancing, and crew walking around. This had a full sound track, integrated lighting, and a script. It was a 10 mini production show. The main issue that it seems to have is with the Esplanade’s design. We had very few kids on this sailing (75) yet it seemed like you still had to be there 15 minutes early in order to get a spot. When it starts they don’t put up any ropes, but they tell everyone to remain behind the poles. That is the problem, regardless of which deck you are on there are very few spots where you can actually see everything because the poles block a lot of the view. I can’t imagine how it will handle the crowds when their are large numbers of kids onboard who all want to see it, rather than just interested adults.

And of course if you missed the previous post, here is the video of it:

[YOUTUBE]02ZhCF_VLww[/YOUTUBE]

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This day was an extra special dinner, the only specialty restaurant we have ever done, Wonderland! We are against the whole specialty restaurant thing. Food is included in the fare and the cost of nearly every restaurant is more than I would typically pay to go out to eat at home so it doesn’t seem worth it by any means. Wonderland is different though. Ever since I first saw Future Foods on Planet Green years ago I have wanted to go to Chicago to eat at their restaurant and experience molecular gastronomy. So when a similar restaurant was announced for Quantum it seemed like an obvious pick since your really paying the price for the experience rather than just a dinner. IMO it lived up to that expectation, it was certainly worth the $45 and coming from someone who won’t pay for any food onboard that’s saying something. It was not up to the level of what there doing in Chicago, but it was still close. I’m a picky eater; not a big meat person, don’t eat any seafood, and don’t care for vegetables much; but I’m willing to try new things.

 

We had a 6:00pm reservation and when we were seated their was barely anyone in the place, it was 90% empty. I think this greatly improved our experience. The entire thing is hosted by your waiter, and I really think that is the best way to describe it. As soon as you are seated your given a picture frame and a paint brush to draw a picture, after that you paint the whole thing in order to reveal the menu. He then asks a few questions about likes and dislikes, as well as any items that jump out at you from the menu. From there he develops a menu of items to bring to the table. They just start coming out some quicker than others but the table is just filled with items to try and everything is done in more of a family style so I think 3-4 people is the optimal way to go to Wonderland. That’s the best way to try everything. Obviously some items tasted better than others but they were all incredible to look at. The entire time our waiter was right there watching over us and bringing more items out. Each item had a grand explanation and presentation as it came to the table. This is where I think being so early benefited us. Towards desert the service noticeably slowed down as the waiter now had multiple tables to look after and the kitchen had more meals to prepare. It didn’t ruin the experience by any means, but it made it a bit more traditional, where as at the start it felt very personalized and over the top since we were the waiters only table to worry about for about an hour.

 

One thing to be aware of with Wonderland, they dim the lights. The Quantum of the Seas is entirely LED based lighting and the way that those dim is not by lowering the light, but actually flashing it at varying rates. Venues that dim the lights result in light and dark bars on pictures and videos since the devices are at a different rate than the light. (think of video taping an old CRT computer monitor). Wonderland is probably the most obvious place since everyone wants to take pictures and the lights are dimmed so much.

 

Favorite Dish: Buffalo Chicken Eggs (Smoke, blue cheese, hot sauce)

 

Most Surprising Dish: Vanishing Noodles (Chicken, duck, truffle)

 

Worst Dish You Must Try: Liquid Lobster (Bone Marrow & caviar)

 

Main Course: Cuban Pork Shank (Cole slaw, mojo sauce)

 

Desert Menu (Presented in a Book)

 

Favorite Desert: Baked Alaska (Vanilla-cinnamon-chili foam)

 

We are limited to just 6 photos per post, so I’ve only posted 6 here, but you can of course see all my Wonderland photos (ever dish we got) in the photo album and if you have any questions about what something is please let me know and I’ll gladly tell you.

[DEIx15x8]

Today is another big video day! All the ports of the 11 Night Southern Caribbean sailing from 12/1 will be available. The full playlist can be found here:

 

Here are the first two videos as well if you watch to watch them individually:

Full Sailing Timelapse

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You probably won't be able to tell since it cut out right when we reached the pier, but when docking in Martinique it was actually hot enough that the GoPro shut itself off. I was really surprised to see that when I got back to my room. It turned right back on and in the video you can see it lasted right until the sun lined up with it.

 

Bayonne Departure: 12/1

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We were delayed by a full hour for departure. At our originally scheduled time the pier was still covered with crates waiting to be loaded onboard. As a result we had a nice evening departure and passed under the bridge in darkness. The Norwegian Gem departed from Manhattan just before us as well so we got a nice view of her sailing by.

[DEIx15x8]

Time for two more, and they are biggies!

San Juan, Puerto Rico: 12/4

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I hope everyone watches this one! It was possibly the coolest day I have ever experienced on any cruise. It without a doubt defines what you expect from an inaugural experience, and it wasn't on the inaugural, just the inaugural call to San Juan. As we pulled into port helicopters swirled around overhead. In port thousands showed up to take photos and watch us leave. The captain of course went horn crazy for them all. It was a full on media frenzy around the Quantum of the Seas and you could just feel the excitement throughout the ship!

 

Philipsburg, St. Martin: 12/5

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This was a Royal day. Not sure how, but three of the four ships in port were Royal Caribbean owned! The Adventure of the Seas was in port along with the Celebrity Constellation and the P&O Azura. It's incredible how much the Celebrity Constellation and Quantum of the Seas have a very clear genetic relationship. More so than Quantum does to NCL Breakaway. Of course as everyone left we had not two, but three horn battles. Adventure couldn't let it go with just one fight, lol.

[DEIx15x8]

Fort De France, Martinique: 12/6

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We didn't have the over the top media frenzy like San Juan but we did have a very touching send off. When it was time for us to leave the shores along the pier were once again lined with people waiting to watch us sail away. The crowds weren't San Juan, but still rather larger. What I didn't expect though, and I think most on the ship missed. Was that at out scheduled time the church bells through out the city rang for the time and then they continued to ring for 5 minutes in honor of the Quantum of the Seas. Once they ended we then set sail and once again the captain had a blast with his horn. Be sure to watch the video to hear the 5 minutes of bells ringing, it was so cool to experience in person.

 

Bridgetown, Barbados: 12/7

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The Quantum is the largest ship to ever dock in Barbados and it was an incredibly tight squeeze to get her in and then back into our spot. Their were a few people that turned out to see us, but nothing like the previous days. It was impressive just how well this ship can maneuver in tight spaces, i'm sure if it was windy we wouldn't have been able to attempt it. The maneuver took a while at a very slow pace just to be safe.

[DEIx15x8]

The last two videos of the 12/1 sailing series. I have one bonus video left to post, and then it's theCruiseView!

 

Basseterre, St. Kitts: 12/8

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A full port with the Jewel of the Seas, Celebrity Summit, and Insignia. After seeing the Constellation I expected the Jewel to resemble the Quantum but she really doesn't, not like the Celebrity ships do anyway. I watched the Jewel depart but for some reason there was no horn battle. We did blast our horn several times when we departed several hours later though.

 

Bayonne Arrival: 12/12

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I swear this was more of an inaugural than the inaugural and the Quantum knew it. She couldn't even contain her excitement sailing into the harbor and sounded her horn as we neared the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, something she didn't do the previous sailing. It really surprised me when it happened, I assumed they were not using the horn when it was dark out so they don't disturb people. They didn't use the horn the entire inaugural except when we first left Bayonne and most ports were early arrivals and late departures, but during the 12/1 sailing it was used constantly regardless of time.

[DEIx15x8]

This is the final video of the official Quantum series. It's a special bonus video that some may be interested in. I spent days wondering what the loud banging and alarms were while up on the pool deck in port, I finally figured it out in Barbados, the funnel. Every time we were in port for some reason they would lower the funnel all the way down. Ironically while in Bayonne they just barely lower it at all, not even a noticeable amount even though that's the only port to require it. The funnel is actually a two stage process. The main pipes lower until the large metal bars visible in the front of them meet, then a second phase lowers the entire structure into the funnel. I'm not certain, but fairly confident that the noise and vibrations from this can actually be felt and heard from the dinning rooms. On two different occasions just after leaving port while eating dinner the whole venue vibrated and a loud noise could be heard in a very similar pulsating manner. It felt like they were using the thrusters while the sound was like the closing of the fire doors. The timing and length of occurrence obviously doesn't match either of those items but the location on the ship certainly matches where those pipes are run. The video shows the entire thing in 30 seconds (fast forward) and then in real time where it's not even noticeable that its moving.

 

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Don't forget, while this may be the last video of the official series, I still have more days to go in my review. I'll also be posting another thread for theCruiseView featuring 19 episodes of what happened each day, venue tours, dining info, and 10 interviews with various officers and crew!

[DEIx15x8]

Day 4b: December 4, 2014

 

Day 12 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/115365916503583655211/QuantumOfTheSeasDecember42014SanJuanPuertoRico

 

This was an exciting day, as I mentioned when I posted the video, probably the coolest day I have ever experienced on a cruise (previous was Navigator sailing right along side Oasis). Like our first port of call on the previous sailing we had an afternoon arrival so we were onboard the ship all morning. Unlike last time they actually did things, lots of things. It was a warm morning with some clouds and haze. The seas were calm and the winds were non existent.

 

The film crew were out filming on the pool deck this morning as well. Likely taking advantage of the fact that it was a bit emptier than usual.

 

In the Esplanade they held the first ever game of Popup Name That Tune. It actually took place a couple of times this day and throughout the rest of the sailing. They essentially show up unannounced with a desk and plug into the sound system. The activities manager then hosts the show while a member of the CD staff runs the audio and game off an iPad. Two contestants are chosen from the crowd and compete through a series of rounds of musical trivia. This is of course the smaller version of the mega game show that they are planning to undertake for in the Royal Theater.

 

They also held the Cafe Decorating Demonstration in the Royal Theater. For those unfamiliar with it, this is of course when the cruise director competes with a guest to create a black forest cake under the guidance of the executive chef. Jimmy was as entertaining as he was all sailing long. I was off doing interviews for theCruiseView at that time (I believe it was actually the captain on the bridge at that time) but did manage to catch a few minutes at the end. A lot of people seem to hate this even, but I always enjoy it and find that it shows more of a cruise director’s true personality than many of the events.

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They also held the second DreamWorks Performance in the Esplanade. Today was Madagascar and featured a circus storyline that once again utilized the Royal Theater and Two70º casts and took place twice. This was my favorite out of the four as it seemed to have the most well developed story and utilized the aerial rigs well. It also had a nice blend of humor to it. You can of course watch the entire thing in my video:

[YOUTUBE]gRdPMEyitSE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[DEIx15x8]

They also had the Dare To Challenge Game Show at noon. Didn’t get to attend since so much else was going on and have never heard of it so I still have no idea what it was. The amazing thing is that all of this took place before we got to our port of call for the day. That was more activities than the entire inaugural sailing had in 8 days! As we approached San Juan the conditions were looking worse than they did earlier in the day. The sky was solid clouds with some dark spots. We made our approach towards the iconic fort and you could see planes and helicopters fly by. As we were about to enter the channel we blew our horn several times.

 

As we traveled up the bay a little more we could spot the Norwegian Gem already here having arrived an hour earlier.

 

That was about when things started to feel different than any other port of call, things started to feel like the word Royal Caribbean seems to hate, special. We started to take notice of the extra people that were lining the fort as well as other areas of the coastline.

 

We also began to realize that the plane and helicopter weren’t simply flying by for travel or to report the news, they were there for us and they made sure we knew it. We had helicopters diving at us in every direction, a few getting IMO way to close to our funnel for comfort. I’ve never seen such a media frenzy for a ship before, and I was there when she arrived in the USA!

[DEIx15x8]

 

We of course gave them a show with North Star as they continued to circle us.

 

Even with poor weather rolling in the skies were chaotic and the top deck was packed. You could feel the level of excitement onboard. It was the coolest arrival I have ever experienced to a port and the kind of excitement I was expecting to have felt for the entire previous sailing.

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I’m not sure if it’s normal for San Juan to do, I’ve tried goggling and haven’t seen anything about it, but they rolled out a red carpet on the pier. Unfortunately just as we were docking the skies opened up on us.

 

That didn’t stop all the people that came out to see us arrive or the helicopters though!

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They prepared a special buffet and seating area in the adult solarium to hold the inaugural arrival ceremony and on the pier a group of people were waiting to board.

 

I stayed onboard the ship and did all my filming of the lower decks for the tour videos. So if your looking for some photos of any of those venues this would be a good day to look at.

 

Later that night once it was dark amazingly the helicopters were still buzzing around us!

 

I then headed out to take some pictures of the ship all lit up.

[DEIx15x8]

 

I was a bit surprised to realize that I was the only american there. It was packed, there were police everywhere, but everyone was from Puerto Rico and there to see the ship. Even the police were taking pictures of the ship.

 

I’m disappointed I didn’t get a picture but there were even vans driving by with the doors open and people inside gathering around taking pictures as they went by. The traffic was backed up from all the people staring.

 

When it was time to leave the people were still out there waiting to see us leave.

 

The Gem left first and we left right afterwards.