Live from Quantum of the Seas - 3 Jan

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Sorry, meant say Café Promenade, not Park Café!

 

I have to giggle, because we are just off Quantums New years cruise & I also continually called Cafe Two70, Park Cafe. And kept correcting myself. :D

Enjoy your cruise on Lady Q, we did.

[cfrance44]

Started the day by heading up to the Northstar at 0745 for an 0800 start. They were already operating and there were maybe 30 passengers in line in front of us. They queued us up on Deck 15 along the track heading aft on the port side. They load from the port and discharge to starboard. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE WITH SMALL CHILDREN!! The minimum height to ride is 42" (approximately 1.2m) in height. There is a sign just by the steps leading up to the Northstar that states the height requirement but it is not posted anywhere else to include the cruise compass. If you have a small child, you can split your group and hand off the child to the other party when you get back! The Northstar was air conditioned and well worth the trip. They take only 14 passengers at a time and you get an outstanding view of the ship and the surrounding sea. They were not handing out tickets like I heard on previous cruises. At least it did not appear they were. As an aside, I noticed nearly every chair around the pool (on this our first great weather day) had a towel thrown on it at 0745. However, while we waited for and rode the Northstar, there was almost no one around the pool. There are plenty of deck chairs all over the place. I just cant stand selfish people who think they can throw a towel on a chair to claim it for hours later. Now, back to our review...

 

We did breakfast in the windjammer since we were up on the top deck and found a number of stations with serving trays empty or well picked over. Also difficult to find orange juice as the dispensers were not working. We ate light anyway since we planned to have a bigger lunch today. Sit down breakfast and lunch is served in American Icon on Deck 4. We went there for lunch and were NOT disappointed. Great appetizers and great entrees. It turns out our server for lunch in AI was the same one we had for dinner last night in Chic. He remembered us immediately and gave us the same great service. Nod to Kristian! We ate there for dinner too. We relaxed in the solarium after lunch and then went I went back to the fitness center for some rowing whilst DW headed out to the track around 4 PM after many sunbathers had left. I noticed the fitness center is at least 10 degrees hotter than the hallway leading in. It's really noticeable when you walk out sweating profusely! There were towels on the floor on the starboard side along with 2 buckets as one of the AC units must have been leaking. I did notice there are several machines (treadmills/ellipticals) with "out of order" signs on them and several others that don't seem to work that don't have signs. Dinner at American Icon was great although our server was much less personable than any others we've had. Still about 90 minutes since we arrived early for our 6:30 seating. As we left, the reservation lines were pretty long at both AI and Silk which is right across the deck from AI on Deck 4. No scheduled main entertainment tonight as we have only a single guest entertainer on this cruise. So, we're off to the Love & Marriage game show and to have a drink.

One interesting thing happened as we walked by the bionic bar. Two children appeared to enter the same drink (a soda presumably) at the same time and the two robots started moving in exact synchronization to each other. The problem occurred when they both went for ice at exactly the same time - CRASH! Their arms got stuck together. I notified the attendant who was cleaning tables that I thought that looked like a problem...

 

Sorry nothing too exciting today as we chilled out. Tomorrow we have our Ripcord event just before lunch and we arrive in Puerto Rico at 4. In fact, we slowed down to 15 knots speed this afternoon as we would have arrived early in PR (I guess!). Wanted to give a shout out to the Wifi! Great speed and great connections almost everywhere. Glad I'm not paying for it though! This is especially notable considering a large number of passengers have mobile devices or tablets using wifi. Only time I've seen any slowness was in the Royal Theatre last night just before Mama Mia with a lot of passengers concentrated in one area. If you do want to purchase the package, I think you can bet on having reliable, quick internet access. I'll post our impressions of ripcord tomorrow afternoon prior to PR arrival!

[cfrance44]

I felt compelled to write a few follow up notes based on what we just witnessed in the Windjammer. After attending the Love & Marriage game show (the newlywed couple won! How often does that happen!), DW and I headed up to the Windjammer 24 hour grill to see what was on offer. It appears they have remedied the issue with the juice dispensers. Or, it could have been operator error. One must pull the lever fully to dispenses juice (mango, Kiwi tea, or lemonade). If it is only partially pulled, only water comes out. On our way out of the Windjammer, I noticed a young woman (maybe late 20's) with her empty disposable plastic water bottle shoved up against the nozzle for the lemonade dispenser. I stopped in shock as DW and I commented out loud, "You aren't supposed to do that!" I then said directly to the passenger, "That is like putting your whole mouth up against that." The attendant had his back turned and was maybe 10 feet away so I am not sure he would have done anything anyway. Folks, this is how 300 people get sick on a cruise ship. One ignorant person does something like this. This is why we will NOT be eating in the Windjammer for the duration of the cruise except on an emergency basis. Now some other notes...

 

Don't know if I mentioned it earlier but QoS does not require a seapass card to get a beach towel. They are just laying out at two different stations on deck 14. You can take as many as you want as often as you want. Also, there is no drink of the day advertised in the cruise compass. When asking at the Schooner Bar they confirmed there is no DOTD. Just passing on info as I get it! Goodnight!

[Crusin Cindy]

I am enjoying your review. Thank you for taking the time to post.

[funNJfamily]

Enjoying your detailed report. Free Wifi makes for tons of passengers using social media. I do not know if I would use it or not. (I lied, I would) :)

[cfrance44]

Okay, after breakfast at American Icon (AI) we hung around a little bit near vintages and 270 waiting for our turn at Ripcord by iFly. We walked up to the area so DW could see what she's in for ahead of time. Highly recommended! Our appointment was at 11:35 - appointments are every 20 minutes during operational times. They do have a standby line and if you want to go single or maybe two, there seemed to be no problem accommodating you. You must be under 250 pounds and they DO WEIGH you prior to going up. You watch a short video on what to expect and learn the hand signals you will need to know when in the wind tunnel. Then you get dressed and head up. The ship's photographer writes your room number on the side of your helmet and you wait you turn. Folks, I can NOT stress enough how fun this is! Pay attention to the instructor, relax and have a great time. Reservations do fill up fast so I recommend heading up to seaplex (deck 15 aft) as soon as you board and enter seaplex on the port side from the elevator area, The first desk to your right is where you make your reservation (I did not notice any signage that said this). After, we had lunch in AI - service is ALWAYS great there. AI is fast becoming our favorite restaurant.

We've had a surprise add of an entertainer tonight that we plan to see at 9:30 (two shows, no reservations needed). We are arriving in Puerto Rico about 2 hours earlier than planned so we are heading ashore soon.

[Cobaltstargazer]

HI, really enjoying your posts. How is the cabin with virtual balcony?

[bren61]

Glad to hear some positives about American Icon, we have a 12 nighter coming up in March and prebooked AI for 3 nights. What do you recommend there?

[CrusinAgain]

Thanks so much for all the good info.....we get on board when you get back. I do hope we get free wi-fi as well. :)

[Hobie1976]

Thanks so much for all the information. Can someone please post the room service menu and charges??? We have a handicapped couple that would get their breakfast every morning and also tea at night. We are trying to get a handle on what to expect on board.

 

Thanks again. Enjoy your cruise - we are enjoying the benefits of your free wifi

[venicia]

thank you so much for taking your time to post this. we were originally scheduled to be on your cruise, but after giving it more thought, we changed to April 5 due to possible weather problems on flying up from Florida.

 

love your manner of presenting the FACTS, but it does sound as if you are having a wonderful time

[mi3stooges]

Enjoying your review! Can't wait t go!!

[ILuvCruisin']

Thanks for the live review. Lovn it!!! :cool: :D

[cfrance44]

HI, really enjoying your posts. How is the cabin with virtual balcony?

 

Hi, glad you are enjoying it. The virtual balcony is interesting to say the least. DW says, "I love it, at least I can see what's going on outside!" The screen is on the cabin wall facing the front of the ship (in our cabin at least) with the camera sharing that view (out the front of the ship). We could watch our docking activity in Puerto Rico from the comfort of our cabin. Of note is that the TV still glows even when turned off. There is a curtain that can be pulled in front of it if the glow bothers you. For us, it's kind of a night light. There is more space than I am used to. The closet has two separate doors with shelves and safe on the left and hangers on the right. There is a chair and a desk with 2 USB ports in addition to two electrical outlets (US 120V AC). The mirror over the desk is lighted. There is also an electrical outlet right next to the bed on one side. The TV is probably 36 inch class and can pull out from the wall about 30 degrees of so to angle towards the bed. Underneath the TV is the refrigerator and dresser with 5 drawers (two on the top are very shallow and one holds the hair dryer). There is also storage above the bed - 2 big units that we are using for dirty clothes! We like the bigger shower in the bathroom. Of note is that the light over the sink is about 1 foot out from the mirror. So, if one is to lean in to do some fine grooming or such, the light is now above or behind your head and not illuminating your face! Just my observation. All in all, we like the room and the virtual balcony opens it up and provides (synthetic) natural light.

[cfrance44]

Glad to hear some positives about American Icon, we have a 12 nighter coming up in March and prebooked AI for 3 nights. What do you recommend there?

 

We love the buffalo chicken mac & cheese starter and the bread they serve there. They have southern buttermilk fried chicken, and even "Thanksgiving Dinner" with turkey and stuffing! They have Louisiana style pasta that we haven't tried yet. We are heading back there tonight and I think DW has eyes on something else. We'll let you know! For dessert, definitely try the pan cookie (a chocolate chip cookie in a small pan with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce) and "coffee and doughnuts" which is amazing! It is a light doughnut product with an espresso dipping sauce (although we substituted chocolate at lunch yesterday which made it even better!). A man next to us commented that he has eaten at Café Du Monde in Paris and "This is better than that!"

[vulcan1971]

Hello...

 

I was wondering if you could be so kind as to take a couple pictures of your room. I would be interested to see how the size of your room compares to what I have come accustomed to on Celebrity. Pictures of the storage areas, the bathroom, your seating arrangement, projection of the outside on your wall. I'd love to see it all. I have friends taking a cruise on this ship in a couple of weeks, but they are booked into a balcony room.

 

Enjoying your posts so far!

 

 

Walter

[cfrance44]

Thanks so much for all the information. Can someone please post the room service menu and charges??? We have a handicapped couple that would get their breakfast every morning and also tea at night. We are trying to get a handle on what to expect on board.

 

Thanks again. Enjoy your cruise - we are enjoying the benefits of your free wifi

 

Hi, the complimentary breakfast is "Continental (juice coffee or tea, basket of Danish, croissant, muffin and jams, honey and butter), Cereals (All Bran, cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Special K or Raisin Bran) and Fresh Fruit (grapefruit, fruit cup, banana, apple or orange). The fee ($3.95 per item) items are: Two farm fresh eggs your way, Chorizo & scrambled egg breakfast tortilla, buttermilk pancakes.

 

All Day (11AM - 6AM (yes, 6 AM)) complimentary is soups & salad (corn chowder, chicken noodle, and chicken Caesar), wraps (Italian and Vegetable). For $4.95 each you can get slow roasted pork sliders, chile chicken wings, mustard & molasses glazed ribs, thin crust pizza margherita, angus beef burger, and grilled Atlantic salmon. And for dessert cookies, key lime tarte, red velvet cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Tiramusu.

 

There is a children's menu and sodas are $2.25, beer is $5.75 and wines are $9.

[cfrance44]

Thanks cfrance44 for your posts! We are going on Quantum's sister ship, Anthem OTS, the summer of 2015. We are looking forward to being on the new ship despite the negative reviews for Quantum. We would be very interested in your opinions concerning Dynamic Dining whiles you're on board. We have already made reservations for both complimentary and "for fee" restaurants for all 14 nights. We're very excited for the whole experience. Have a great and safe cruise!

 

Hi, I've said a few things earlier but I'll dedicate this to Dynamic Dining. First off, I am NOT a foodie by any means. I can say that dodging rugrats and food zombies in the Windjammer is not my cup of tea (especially after what I witnessed the other night (read my day 3 final post!)). I have had no problem making reservations ahead of time or modifying them (e.g. changing restaurants) once on board. That being said, DW and I tend to eat early, usually seating before 6:15 (All MDRs open at 5:30). I also don't care if the waiter knows my name or anything about me on day 1 or day 14 of my cruise. That is not important to me and doesn't make the food taste any better. Also, I believe food taste is a personal preference. I could be eating something and think it is the best thing in the world and you could taste it off my plate and think it's just okay or worse. So, with that...

 

1. I like the idea of having 4 MDRs. They all have different themes and different food items that go along with the theme. You don't go to Outback Steakhouse for Pan Asian inspired dishes... So, you can choose the theme you want when you want it. When I am on a land vacation, I don't eat in the same restaurant every night. Again, I don't really care if the waiter know my name. I will note that there is a "simple taste" menu that is common to all 4 restaurants for those with the less discerning pallet! This will have things like chicken soup, grilled chicken, etc.

 

2. Trying to get a seating at 6:30 to 7:30 or so without reservations is problematic sometimes. As I stated before, any MDR dinner on any ship will usually take about 90 minutes. So, at 6:30 to 6:45, EVERY SINGLE PERSON who was seated before you is most likely STILL IN THE RESTAURANT. And, others have reservations for those times. So, OF COURSE it's going to be a long wait for standby at those times and the reservations may have to wait a little too - especially larger parties who most likely tend to take a little longer anyway. Eating early should almost never be a problem for standby or reservations (that means before 6 to 6:15 timeframe).

 

3. The four themes are sufficiently diverse to appeal to a wide range of tastes. For example, we chose not to visit silk although it looks beautiful. After looking over the menu, we didn't see anything that made us really want to go in there. Your tastes are probably different and you may want to eat there almost every night! Each MDR has it's own starters, entrees and desserts! They are great!

 

4. This is a large ship with a LOT of people on it. Get used to waiting in line for things - just like other ships! Even with a traditional MDR, you only have your table guaranteed at your seating - not how fast you get your food or how well it tastes or how good the service is. At least with DD, you get to pick what meals you are going to sample. You just may have to wait to get them!

 

5. Finally, I'll reiterate that others have personal preferences. The biggest complaint I've heard from other passengers is they like to have the same waiter every night. I don't understand how that adds to the meal but to each his own. If you get stuck with a bad waiter or one who is difficult to understand in your native language, you are stuck with them for the whole cruise. Here, you have options. I did hear one passenger say that all of their reservations were lost. She did confide that she was having "technical difficulties" with the site so it may have been her own error.

 

Please let me know if you have some other questions of specific concerns I may address!

[cfrance44]

Last night we went ashore to look around a little (second time in Old San Juan) as it was s a holiday (3 king's day). Back onboard, we ate at Chic again using standby as we originally had reservations at Silk. No problem being seated at 5:30 and we were on our way to the theatre at 6:40 having enjoyed a great meal. Love that Crispy Chicken! The entertainer (Rondell Sherman) was great. This morning we headed out relatively early (PR is one hour ahead of ship's time) to do a walk around the old city wall. Back on board we had lunch in the windjammer as AI is not serving lunch on port days. Everyone has their own opinions of ports so I'll just mention that we found Old SJ to be very safe (lot's of police presence) with opportunities beyond the typical Caribbean cruise port. There were 4 big ships in port including NCL Breakaway (also built by Myer-Werft) pulling in as we were preparing to leave. This delayed our departure as they don't allow passenger traffic along the pier whilst a ship is tying off. Good thing too as there is always that one family who doesn't seem to understand when they are due back on board. Nearly 1 hour after we were supposed to be all aboard, the last 3 passengers came walking up the pier (to rounds of applause from many standing on deck!!). We head to Labadee for tomorrow. Tonight, we're doing standby at American Icon and heading to a headliner (Earl Turner) in the theatre at 8:30.

 

Of note last night was we tried to find our Ripcord pictures. As of 9:30 PM (nearly 10 hours after our flight), they still were not registered to our room number/account. We were able to view "unassigned" pictures on a special screen on the forward bulkhead area of the picture place on Deck 5 (right near the Schooner bar). There we did find a picture of DW and I as we were heading into the Ripcord that we added to our account. More on this later as we see if we can find our pictures.

 

Let me know if you have any questions or anything in particular you want me to find out.

[Cobaltstargazer]

Hi, glad you are enjoying it. The virtual balcony is interesting to say the least. DW says, "I love it, at least I can see what's going on outside!" The screen is on the cabin wall facing the front of the ship (in our cabin at least) with the camera sharing that view (out the front of the ship). We could watch our docking activity in Puerto Rico from the comfort of our cabin. Of note is that the TV still glows even when turned off. There is a curtain that can be pulled in front of it if the glow bothers you. For us, it's kind of a night light. There is more space than I am used to. The closet has two separate doors with shelves and safe on the left and hangers on the right. There is a chair and a desk with 2 USB ports in addition to two electrical outlets (US 120V AC). The mirror over the desk is lighted. There is also an electrical outlet right next to the bed on one side. The TV is probably 36 inch class and can pull out from the wall about 30 degrees of so to angle towards the bed. Underneath the TV is the refrigerator and dresser with 5 drawers (two on the top are very shallow and one holds the hair dryer). There is also storage above the bed - 2 big units that we are using for dirty clothes! We like the bigger shower in the bathroom. Of note is that the light over the sink is about 1 foot out from the mirror. So, if one is to lean in to do some fine grooming or such, the light is now above or behind your head and not illuminating your face! Just my observation. All in all, we like the room and the virtual balcony opens it up and provides (synthetic) natural light.

Thanks a lot for the reply, we are booked on the anthem in september in an inside cabin, it sounds good. First cruise for us.

[oceanqueen571]

Your review has been "dead on" with our experience on Quantum when we sailed the Christmas cruise! We loved the ship, stayed away from Windjammer and enjoyed all of the included restaurants with Silk being our least favorite. We had no problems with our pre booked reservations and our dining times were in the 6pm/7:30 range during a very busy week. What I also loved about Dynamic Dining is that it really is a lovely atmosphere where there was no noisy "din" from clatter and such around the room from the traditional "stations" of a main dining venue. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[iceburg1]

Would you know whether the listed arrival time in San Juan is actually the local time since Puerto Rico is 1 hour ahead of NJ time? In other words, does the ship change the time to move an hour ahead before arriving in San Juan?

 

Thanks.

[lara68]

Hi, the complimentary breakfast is "Continental (juice coffee or tea, basket of Danish, croissant, muffin and jams, honey and butter), Cereals (All Bran, cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Special K or Raisin Bran) and Fresh Fruit (grapefruit, fruit cup, banana, apple or orange). The fee ($3.95 per item) items are: Two farm fresh eggs your way, Chorizo & scrambled egg breakfast tortilla, buttermilk pancakes.

 

All Day (11AM - 6AM (yes, 6 AM)) complimentary is soups & salad (corn chowder, chicken noodle, and chicken Caesar), wraps (Italian and Vegetable). For $4.95 each you can get slow roasted pork sliders, chile chicken wings, mustard & molasses glazed ribs, thin crust pizza margherita, angus beef burger, and grilled Atlantic salmon. And for dessert cookies, key lime tarte, red velvet cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Tiramusu.

 

 

There is a children's menu and sodas are $2.25, beer is $5.75 and wines are $9.

 

 

Thank you for this info. My husband is wondering if Oatmeal is also

included in the complimentary cereals??

[Ocean Boy]

Would you know whether the listed arrival time in San Juan is actually the local time since Puerto Rico is 1 hour ahead of NJ time? In other words, does the ship change the time to move an hour ahead before arriving in San Juan?

 

Thanks.

 

When are you sailing? When daylight savings time is in effect Puerto Rico and NJ have the same time as DST is not observed in Puerto Rico.

[cruisenfever]

Would you know whether the listed arrival time in San Juan is actually the local time since Puerto Rico is 1 hour ahead of NJ time? In other words, does the ship change the time to move an hour ahead before arriving in San Juan?

 

Thanks.

When we did our cruise on Q and visited San Juan, we had to turn our clocks ahead 1 hour and it remained that way throughout our port stops in the Caribbean. If you are cruising prior to March 8th 2015 you will experience the same.