Quantum & Ovation Plus - 30 Day Live (hopefully)

[bobmacliberty]

57 minutes ago, cruising twosome said:

Hope everyone has a wonderful time, tested positive and unable to join☹️

Oh no. That’s so disappointing. Sorry to hear that. ☹️

[Mrs.Dukes]

Hope you have a wonderful cruise to beautiful Hawaii!

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

She’s waiting for us. 
 

Only 178 days until I see her again. 😉

[bobmacliberty]

We are onboard and relaxing in the Two70 Lounge.  That has to be the most confusing boarding process that I can ever remember.
 

From the ground floor of the hotel, we walked down 2 flights of steps to the lower level where vehicles drop off people and luggage. We walked past the luggage drop area and took an escalator up to an open area where check in happened for us and the Seabourn Odyssey that is here with us. After check in, we were give a green slip of paper which showed that we had checked in. We needed this because we then walked outside for a bit and back down the same set of escalators that we had come up, ending up at the luggage drop area with people who had not checked in. 
 

We were guided from there thru security which went quickly. We were then guided to US Customs and Border Patrol. We said that we were American citizens and were pointed to a long line that wasn’t moving at all…literally. We stood there about 10 minutes until an agent made an announcement about problems with the manifest. The line eventually started moving. Fortunately, I asked if they used Global Entry, and they directed us to a desk with no line. That probably saved us a 10-15 minutes. We proceeded from there to the boarding area which  was also confusing. There were some people boarding, some lined up and not boarding, and some sitting. I asked if suites were boarding and was told that they had already boarded and I should get in line. That line wasn’t moving so I asked someone else. That person told me to go around the crowd and sit In the front. That took us near where people were boarding, so we just got in that short line. A few more checks of

our boarding pass and we were shortly onboard. Phew. 
 

Although we went through a confusing maze and had a brief wait for Customs, it didn’t really take that long. We walked out of our room at 10:30, stopped in the lobby to check out, and were onboard by 11:15. 
 

I asked several times if there were separate lines for suite guests. They only place that happened was in the check in area, but there were several open spots there and no waiting for anyone. Our plan was to hang out in the Suite Lounge on deck 12. Since the rooms aren’t open yet, we can’t get to the SL since you need to walk down a deck 12 hallway to get to it. 

[bobmacliberty]

Our cruise has officially begun!  I’ve had my traditional first day lunch roast beef sandwich, and we’ve been approached about buying specialty dining. 🙄

[George C]

Bob what suite did you book? ( by the was cool that Miami lost last night)

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Bob what suite did you book? ( by the was cool that Miami lost last night)

Very cool that Miami lost, although very scary what happened to Tua.  He never should have returned to the Bills game. I hope he doesn’t have permanent damage. 
 

We’re in a Grand Suite. Hard to complain about a suite but my initial impression is that I prefer an Oasis Class GS and much prefer the Serenade GS, especially the bathroom (no big side counter

to place all of your stuff in this one). Seems like they keep making them smaller and smaller, with less and less counter space (no bar area). Very large balcony though on the hump. Two of our last 3 cruises have been in a CLS. Once you’ve done that, especially with the SL/CK area on deck 17, it’s hard to go back. 

[bobmacliberty]

We just met Carlington, the Suite Concierge. He seems like a very nice and helpful guy. We learned that the SL on Quantum class does not have beer and wine available from 11-11 like Oasis class. Bummer. That also means we can’t quickly run into the SL for bottles of water. More bummer.
 

He then said that Oasis class is no longer serving beer/wine from 11-11 either. That surprised me as I haven’t seen complaints about that yet. Has anyone experienced this yet on Oasis class?

[George C]

28 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

We just met Carlington, the Suite Concierge. He seems like a very nice and helpful guy. We learned that the SL on Quantum class does not have beer and wine available from 11-11 like Oasis class. Bummer. That also means we can’t quickly run into the SL for bottles of water. More bummer.
 

He then said that Oasis class is no longer serving beer/wine from 11-11 either. That surprised me as I haven’t seen complaints about that yet. Has anyone experienced this yet on Oasis class?

We almost always book grand suites, ( I don’t care for stairs ) our only non grand suite was a owner last cruise on rccl was allure in November and they had water, beer and wine on allure. So a total of 8 suites, after we booked one we didn’t want to go back. Really prefer suite experience on celebrity, dining room is way better and they always have free drinks all day and night , but hard to beat rccl entertainment.

Edited September 30, 2022 by George C

[dani negreanu]

22 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Happy Birthday to Micheline.  I imagine shopping for a birthday gift will make her feel that much better!  

 

22 hours ago, George C said:

Happy birthday Micheline love spending birthdays on a cruise or vacation.

 

@bobmacliberty

 

+ 💐

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

Two of our last 3 cruises have been in a CLS. Once you’ve done that, especially with the SL/CK area on deck 17, it’s hard to go back. 

Since the start up we did a couple GS and went back to OVB on Ovation.   It was hard going back.  

 

North Star was down in May.  I haven't heard if they ever got it going again. 

[LATTELOVE]

Wishing you all a wonderful cruise.

Thank you for taking us along.

 

[bobmacliberty]

2 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Since the start up we did a couple GS and went back to OVB on Ovation.   It was hard going back.  

 

North Star was down in May.  I haven't heard if they ever got it going again. 

Haven’t seen it up yet but the cruise is young. I’ll see if it’s running yet. 

[lovelife]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

We just met Carlington, the Suite Concierge. He seems like a very nice and helpful guy. We learned that the SL on Quantum class does not have beer and wine available from 11-11 like Oasis class. Bummer. That also means we can’t quickly run into the SL for bottles of water. More bummer.
 

He then said that Oasis class is no longer serving beer/wine from 11-11 either. That surprised me as I haven’t seen complaints about that yet. Has anyone experienced this yet on Oasis class?

It was available on Symphony last month.

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

How exciting! I think you are doing it the right way by having a a little break in between. Do me a favor? I’m trying to remember the drink mix the Royal bartenders use for frozen drinks. It used to be “Island Oasis” brand but it is something new. Could you check and tell me what brand it is? Of course you may need to order a Kraken Colada to find out. 😋

 

Cheers have a great second trip!

I ordered a Kraken Miami Vice and paid careful attention to the mix that they used. Knowing how consistently inconsistent Royal can be, I decided that one data point was not sufficient to give you a reliable answer, so I ordered a Kraken Colada just to be sure. Here you go:

 

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

I ordered a Kraken Miami Vice and paid careful attention to the mix that they used. Knowing how consistently inconsistent Royal can be, I decided that one data point was not sufficient to give you a reliable answer, so I ordered a Kraken Colada just to be sure. Here you go:

 

 

Thank you so much Bob that's it! I just could not think of the name and I did not take any pics of it. I wanted to make note of it for use in any cocktail recipes I might do or post. I hope the Kraken was good as ever. Again thanks for getting down in the trenches for this research!

[bobmacliberty]

Bad news…I am not able to switch the input on our TV to an external HDMI cable. Switching inputs is disabled from both the remote and the toggle selector switch thing in the back of the set. I asked our room steward and he said that it’s not supported for their system. I saw is that has nothing to do with their system and they’ve chosen to disable this capability. I asked if he could find someone who could enable it for me. He came back later and said he checked but was again told it’s not supported. 
 

I’m still deciding if I want to press this further. I’m almost certain that they’ve disabled this ability because too many passengers have messed something up, requiring a tech person to go to the cabin and fix it. Those of us with some tech skills therefore suffer. But no one has told me that yet. I just keep getting the “not supported” corporate BS answer. It bugs me

when I’m treated that way. We want to get our Better Call Saul fix and watch the initial episodes of Survivor and Amazing Race. 
 

Maybe though, we’re better off unplugging from TV and enjoying the entertainment that the ship has to offer. Lots of good entertainment available and Saul Goodman isn’t going anywhere. 

[bobmacliberty]

6 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Thank you so much Bob that's it! I just could not think of the name and I did not take any pics of it. I wanted to make note of it for use in any cocktail recipes I might do or post. I hope the Kraken was good as ever. Again thanks for getting down in the trenches for this research!

I’m always willing to conduct research when it involves alcohol. What different drink did you enjoy so much on your cruise that you think I should try?

[crzndeb]

13 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

I’m always willing to conduct research when it involves alcohol. What different drink did you enjoy so much on your cruise that you think I should try?

I’m a Martini and Manhattan drinker, so I don’t normally go for any of the sweet concoctions , but I did find the Strawberry Blonde,
Tito's Handmade vodka, St-Germain liqueur, strawberry, lemon juice and mint 

not to sweet, and refreshing.

Edited October 1, 2022 by crzndeb

[bobmacliberty]

6 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I’m a Martini and Manhattan drinker, so I don’t normally go for any of the sweet concoctions , but I did find the Strawberry Blonde,
Tito's Handmade vodka, St-Germain liqueur, strawberry, lemon juice and mint 

not to sweet, and refreshing.

That sounds like something Micheline would really like. She’s a big St Germain girl. 

[bobmacliberty]

Video of our sail away under the Lions Gate Bridge. The Captain said that we cleared by “a couple of meters” and they we’d have been in trouble if we’d left 5 minutes later. It’s hard to tell, but it looked like less than 10 feet. 

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

30 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Video of our sail away under the Lions Gate Bridge. The Captain said that we cleared by “a couple of meters” and they we’d have been in trouble if we’d left 5 minutes later. It’s hard to tell, but it looked like less than 10 feet. 

That looked close!  It was cool seeing people on the bridge watching the ship go by. 

I hope you don't mind.   Thought I would convert the video for those who can't view .mov.

 

[bobmacliberty]

47 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

That looked close!  It was cool seeing people on the bridge watching the ship go by. 

I hope you don't mind.   Thought I would convert the video for those who can't view .mov.

 

Thanks John. I appreciate any conversions that you want to do. Did I post the .mov version? I thought I converted and posted a .mp4 version. I’m a few adult beverages in though. 

[bobmacliberty]

Good morning from Seattle. We are docked at Pier 91 a little north of the downtown area. Rather than finding transportation, and since we were just in Seattle recently, we’ve decided to spend the day on the ship. Our first of many days doing so. Hopefully, we’ll enjoy relatively uncrowded spaces today. 
 

More to come…

[bobmacliberty]

While I have a few minutes, let’s get caught up from yesterday. Sail away from Vancouver was great. I previously posted the video going under the bridge but the views in all directions were spectacular. Beautiful city skyline looking one way, gorgeous mountains looking another way.
 

Royal had a nice Diamond and up sail away celebration in the Solarium. They had a nice selection of hors d’oeuvres and waiters roaming around with trays of drinks. We met several officers who were there and also roaming around, introducing themselves. With the nice views out of the Solarium windows, it was a very enjoyable event. 
 

The ship initially started sailing NW toward the Strait of Georgia. For a minute, I thought we might sail around Vancouver Island. That didn’t make much sense and before long, we turned back south again. Since we could have floated to Seattle and still be on time, I think the Captain was just giving everyone a great view of the mountains. 
 

Dinner was in Coastal Kitchen. Service wasn’t very good. We waited 5 minutes and no one approached our table. I almost literally grabbed a waiter who was walking by and asked if we could get water and a waiter. He said yes and then disappeared. Five more minutes passed and still no one. I was ready to walk up to the manager when a waiter finally appeared. Drinks took another 10 minutes from there. Food was good…I had the crab and shrimp crusted pollock…but we were pretty full from the sail away celebration. I’ll write the service issues off as typical first night problems. I’m sure things will be better going forward. 
 

Back in our cabin, I noticed a nice sunset outside with a crescent moon off to the side. 


 

 

I went about my business getting ready for the evening and about 15 minutes later noticed that the sunset was now a bright orange, maybe the most orange sunset that I’ve seen. Beautiful.