Live from Quantum of the Seas! May 20th to May 27th 2024. Alaska!

[binro01]

4 hours ago, LEMJMcC said:

We're sailing Quantum on July 1 out of Seattle.  I am most interested in what they say about Skagway.  We have an excursion booked there through RCI that we really hope not to miss.  If they provide any update on the accessibility for future cruises, I'd be much obliged if you'd share them. 

Enjoy your cruise and your anniversary!

The only thing they said was that there is still issues at the port from the rock slides. They had a temp pier that got damaged on its way up. Still waiting for them to fix it. Not sure why our ship was the odd ship out. The port of Skagway made the announcement before we got notification from Royal. My guess it’s the port that decides which ship miss is out. 
 

I would follow the port of Skagway to get info sooner vs from Royal. 
 

no compensation for missing that port and the switch out for Icy Straights. 

[binro01]

Embarkation day was a breeze. Got to the port at 10am on an Uber. Cost was 22 bucks. Cheaper than the hotel transfer of 15 per person. 
 

we stayed at the Maxwell Hotel close to the pier and the space needle. Great hotel and reasonably priced. 
 

I would highly recommend the Maxwell. 
 

we handed off our two large suite cases to the porter. Went through security and checkin within 10 minutes and the. In 5 minutes they started boarding. 15 minutes total for us. 
 

Did our muster and headed over to the Windjammer. Relaxed with a light brunch. And then headed over to the Northstar bar to relax on the loungers looking over the pool deck where I am now situated. 
 

Rooms became available at around 1:00 pm. 
 

About to start on drink number four 1 Mojito and 2 Gombay Smashes so far. . Ship looks to be in great shape in the public areas. The outer hull need a lot of deck maintenance and painting. Lots of exposed rust. The Navy spouse was not impressed in the lack of hull maintenance. 
 

Here is a short video about the windjammer on the cruise! The heart of the ship on embarkation day!

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/X_Cyer8NsQk?si=qT5olP2d6i3OVx6r

[Cherful59]

@binro01  Quantum seems to have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to Skagway.  I heard it had something to do with the number of ships in port on the day Quantum is scheduled to be in port, but I do not know if that is correct or not.  I did enjoy my whale watching in Icy Strait however.  The Dungeness crab was just meh in my opinion.  People seemed to enjoy the snow crab however.

 

Enjoy!

[binro01]

So the day ended quite well. Had a nice but underwhelming welcome aboard meal. I can still tell that the food quality is lower and has not increased yet back to the state of pre pandemic. 
 

i know that the folks at Royal are doing well but the loans I’m sure are still there and need to be cleared. Will it ever go back. Not sure. 
 

The crab cake had imitation crab in it. So sad. The prime rib was of a lesser quality. I know. I use to butcher at a prime meats shop. this would be lucky to have been a select grade if that. 
 

The shrimp contrail was using very small shrimp. Oh well. The service was great as well as the company. We had late traditional dining. 
 

After dinner I went over to the schooner bar. The piano man was excellent and very entertaining. Then shot over to the music hall. What a great venue. 
 

overall a nice first day aboard. I do have the deluxe beverage package and took full advantage of it the first day. From noon till midnight I had 8 cocktails one beer and one wine. Plus a couple of lattes. This was all stretched out over twelve hours so I don’t think I really felt any affects of the alcohol or they were lighter pours. You decide. I’m a big guy so it takes a decent amount for me. 
 

I ordered continental breakfast for the following morning between 830 and 9. Didn’t show up till 9:50. Almost an hour late. So keep that in mind. It’s was for my wife. She does not get up early like me. I went to the main dining room for breakfast for my fresh squeezed OJ a latte and my bagel and lox with eggs sunny side up. 
 

We are going to head to the solarium. Will report how crowded that is on an overcast cold day.
 

Oh. And since the real sun is hiding today the NCL sun decided to made an appearance. It’s a race!

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZhPvUrEkaYk?si=HpVmj1susf_540iV

Edited May 21 by binro01

[wolfie11]

19 hours ago, Cherful59 said:

@binro01  Quantum seems to have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to Skagway.  I heard it had something to do with the number of ships in port on the day Quantum is scheduled to be in port, but I do not know if that is correct or not.  I did enjoy my whale watching in Icy Strait however.  The Dungeness crab was just meh in my opinion.  People seemed to enjoy the snow crab however.

 

Enjoy!

Carnival Cruises owns the railroad dock in Skagway.  Their ships have priority.

[Jeena]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Happy Anniversary! I’m leaving from Ft.Lauderdale >Seattle for our Alaska cruise on the same ship on June 10. If anyone else is traveling on the same cruise, would love to hear! I have my 11 yr old with me and this is his first cruise. He’s beyond excited to see an iceberg cominng from Florida lol 

we’ve pack lots of sweatshirts and sweatpants so hopefully we are set. Enjoy your trip!

[Biker19]

34 minutes ago, Jeena said:

If anyone else is traveling on the same cruise, would love to hear!

Welcome to CC.

You may find others in the Roll Call thread for your sailing