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"LIVE" from Quantum of the Seas - Jan. 23, 2015

Radio

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SailinC2C

SailinC2C

Posted
Posted
Greetings all,

 

At the risk of being a "Debbie Downer" (and there's much about this cruise that I am enjoying), I wanted to post a few "bones to pick" to see if others on this same cruise are having the same problems.

 

(1) Wifi. I realize that they made wifi free for everyone to use, but the net effect of this decision is that everyone is using it, all the time. RCCL seems to be giving QoS priority to UDP packets (Skype/Facetime/Youtube/Netflix etc.) so that I'm walking past people video-chatting home and I can't even get into email or get a web page to load. Also, the quality of wifi you get seems to be a function of your proximity to the access points - if you have a room close to one, you lucked out. I'm here typing this on an iMac in the library because my connection speeds on wifi wouldn't allow decent navigation through Cruise Critic.

(2) Cabin views from Deck 7. We booked our cabin back in 2013 (we were on Allure at the time) and were told our view was not obstructed. Welp, those lifeboat davits block every shot off the balcony (unless I raise the tripod to max height, and even then it's not a sure thing) and when I was on the dock at Sint Maarten yesterday, trying to take a photo of my wife, I had to shoot between them as well. Quick advice: if you're going to book a cabin on 7, make sure it's not on the "indented" part of the ship, because your view will be these two big yellow posts. All I can think of is, "WOW, what an incredible design flaw!"

(3) The motion of the ocean. The only other RCCL ship I've been on was Allure, and she was rock solid compared to Quantum. I get it, there was a storm when we left, but then it seems that the Captain threw both Azipods to redline (and pulled in the stabilizers) to get us down to St. Thomas, so we bounced around like crazy for the rest of the way. Even now, returning home at (what I assume is) a normal clip in (relatively) steady seas, Quantum is bucking like a spooked colt.

 

My full review will contain both these negatives and a lot of positives (the food at certain restaurants, Flowrider, iFly, North Star, the ports) but I just wanted to vent and see if other people's experiences were similar. Thanks!

 

 

We are on the ship and have had no problem with the wifi, both access and speed. The fact that it is free should give you No reason to complain. Do you really need that much access on vacation?

 

Also, never been on a spooked colt but I think the ship is pretty stable. Pretty calm for the 9 ft seas the Captain reported at noon.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

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mwkief

mwkief

Posted
Posted (edited)

We went to Gallon Bay Beach is a kids friendly beach and it is near Orient Beach. It very calm beach great for kids. we took our grandkids there and if was great

Edited by mwkief
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Radio "Live from...." Rare

Radio

Posted
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Which beach will be better for a 3 and 5 year old? Little Beach at the town pier, Maho or Sun Beach Club?

Is Sun Beach Club on Orient Beach?

Thanks,

Cheryl

 

I would chose Little Divi Resort. . .The water is very calm.

The town pier is nice, but very crowded. Many passengers go there because you can walk there. You Must Cab Divi or Orient.

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

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imjoyful2

imjoyful2

Posted
Posted
Which beach will be better for a 3 and 5 year old? Little Beach at the town pier, Maho or Sun Beach Club?

Is Sun Beach Club on Orient Beach?

Thanks,

Cheryl

 

We've been to St Maarten 4 times and 3 of those time we went to Le Galion Beach. Very calm & perfect for kids as there is a coral reef off shore that breaks the waves so you barely have rippling water on the beach. It's right past the butterfly farm. Very laid back & not crowded like the popular beaches are. There is 1 restaurant there with bathrooms.

 

(pics of it in my blog below).

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evelyn51

evelyn51

Posted
Posted
I would chose Little Divi Resort. . .The water is very calm.

The town pier is nice, but very crowded. Many passengers go there because you can walk there. You Must Cab Divi or Orient.

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken the pier beach has quite a drop from shallow walk in. Beware!

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Radio "Live from...." Rare

Radio

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Hello everyone. . . I was invited to go on a Bridge Tour today, up on Deck 12 (FWD). My tour was just after breakfast, and I thought that the bridge looked much like the bridge on Oasis class ships. The bridges on these new classes of ships have the Navigational portion separated from the Emergency, and control areas.

This allows the navigation crew to have less distractions, and more focus on their primary job. . .to Navigate the ship safely. The emergency, communication, and control areas are in the rear area of the bridge partitioned off for security. I like the new design. .. It seems to be more streamlined, and organized than other classes of ships. . .

 

The pool decks were packed today. There were many activities and it

seemed like Ken Rush managed to get every passenger on the ship out onto the pool deck to watch these events. North Star was operational today, the wave pool was functioning, every pool and spa was open, bumper cars were bumping and roller skates were rolling throughout the afternoon.

 

I think I need to be onboard for another 10 nights so I can see and do more things. . . but I still have 3 nights left to go. . . I have a lot to do.

 

 

Here are some pics from today. Thanks for tuning in.

 

 

Radio

 

 

A view of the port side of Quantum from the Bridge wing

 

 

H7.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour was very interesting

 

 

H8.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seemed that Ken Rush had every passenger out watching the 1st Belly flop competition onboard Quantum

 

H3.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dreamworks Spectacular was held in the Royal Esplanade (Deck 4)

 

 

H5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Madagascar Circus was a fun show. . .

 

 

H6.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gus Andersson greets us during the Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle event

 

H4.jpg

 

 

 

.

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counsdr

counsdr

Posted
Posted
I would chose Little Divi Resort. . .The water is very calm.

The town pier is nice, but very crowded. Many passengers go there because you can walk there. You Must Cab Divi or Orient.

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

 

Mark, thanks for taking the time to respond to me. I've been to St. Maarten many times, but this time i'm taking my DD, DSIL and my two adorable grandchildren, so I want them to be able to enjoy the beach! My DD loves Orient, but I may try to push for Little Divi or Le Galion.

Have a great evening and enjoy your sea day again tomorrow!

Cheryl

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counsdr

counsdr

Posted
Posted
We went to Gallon Bay Beach is a kids friendly beach and it is near Orient Beach. It very calm beach great for kids. we took our grandkids there and if was great

 

We've been to St Maarten 4 times and 3 of those time we went to Le Galion Beach. Very calm & perfect for kids as there is a coral reef off shore that breaks the waves so you barely have rippling water on the beach. It's right past the butterfly farm. Very laid back & not crowded like the popular beaches are. There is 1 restaurant there with bathrooms.

 

(pics of it in my blog below).

 

Thank you both for your recommendations of beaches. I will definitely look into them. Do you have any idea what a taxi costs to them? Having little ones with you, were you worried that they weren't in car seats?

Thanks,

Cheryl

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mwkief

mwkief

Posted
Posted
Thank you both for your recommendations of beaches. I will definitely look into them. Do you have any idea what a taxi costs to them? Having little ones with you, were you worried that they weren't in car seats?

Thanks,

Cheryl

 

 

We used Jo Junie tours to get us there. It was part of the package and it was a great place for kids. I have no idea what a cab would cost.Our kids were old enough that they didn't need car seats. Mike

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crayon78

crayon78

Posted
Posted

Great photos from Maho! It looks so much less crowded than when we were there on the 12/1 sailing and much better weather. I can't wait to go back again someday.

 

(3) The motion of the ocean. The only other RCCL ship I've been on was Allure, and she was rock solid compared to Quantum. I get it, there was a storm when we left, but then it seems that the Captain threw both Azipods to redline (and pulled in the stabilizers) to get us down to St. Thomas, so we bounced around like crazy for the rest of the way. Even now, returning home at (what I assume is) a normal clip in (relatively) steady seas, Quantum is bucking like a spooked colt.

 

Not on your sailing but we definitely had issues with this. Our cabin was all the way in the front of the ship and the movement just seemed so much worse than any other cruise we had ever been on.

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h20cruzer

h20cruzer

Posted
Posted

I can't thank you enough for this LIVE review, it came at a time when I really need it. I had a hip replacement on Tuesday, came home from the hospital on Friday and am recovering nicely. I am going o the Silhouette TA Aplril 19. Thanks so much for giving me so,something to look forward to every day.

Norma

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Radio "Live from...." Rare

Radio

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I can't thank you enough for this LIVE review, it came at a time when I really need it. I had a hip replacement on Tuesday, came home from the hospital on Friday and am recovering nicely. I am going o the Silhouette TA Aplril 19. Thanks so much for giving me so,something to look forward to every day.

Norma

 

Wow, Thank you so much h20cruiser. . . Thanks so much for the nice comments. I hope things work out for you. Keep tuning in daily, I have many more pics to post. When I get home on Monday, I will have eben more pics and videos.

Thanks again for tuning in. . .

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

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Radio "Live from...." Rare

Radio

Posted
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Posted (edited)

Hello everyone, and good morning. Welcome to DAY 9 of “LIVE” from Quantum of the Seas.

I hit the rack yesterday very early. . .just after my last post, but woke up again extremely early (3AM) As I wandered around the ship I was surprised to see that the Music Hall was busy with a DJ playing some very good music. Casino Royal had just closed but the Music Hall was still in full swing . . . At least for a bit as they closed at 3:30AM. I walked up to to Windjammer and there were still sandwiches, pizza, and snacks being served. I hammered down a couple of coffees and headed back to my cabin for a little very early AM news. . .

 

Today I have a lot planned, and I hope I can do everything on my list. I have NorthStar planned, Roller skating, Bumper Cars. .. I Cruise Critic member will be trying RipCord, so I will go and maybe get my nerve up to try it. . .I also have been invited to lunch in Coastal Kitchen and I really want to try that.

 

I spoke with Captain Gus yesterday evening and it was suggested that next cruise will be his last Cruise for Quantum of the Seas. He will be going on holiday and then travel to Germany for Anthem of the Seas. . . So he will be back in Bayonne later in the year.

 

 

Here are a few pics from this morning. . . Thanks for tuning in.

 

Radio

 

 

Early morning temperatures are the warmest in the Solarium

 

 

I1.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

The sun is coming up quickly

 

 

I2.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, the attendants do place towels on all of the lounges in the Solarium

 

 

I3.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

I am told that they do no heat the indoor pool, but it feels much warmer than

the main pool

 

I4.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

NorthStar starts for passengers at 8AM

 

 

I5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Here is our current location. . .

 

 

MAP7.jpg

 

 

 

.

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Fireguy60

Fireguy60

Posted
Posted
No, it is listed in your Cruise Compass with time and location.

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

.

 

Thank You for taking the time to answer. I am taking my wife on our first cruise March 1. We are going for her 60th birthday. Just trying to figure it all out. Thanks Again have a wonderful time.

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