RIDING THE WAVES OF THE QUANTUM OF THE SEAS

After spending a week on Royal Caribbean's newest ship "Quantum of the Seas" I have mixed feelings on whether I like this ship or not,  Here are a few observations and tips that may be helpful if you are thinking of traveling on this vessel.

We left on a Friday and returned on a Saturday.  8 days to the Bahamas. 

Check-in -  Process was not smooth as they were short staffed.

Ports of Call -  It took us 3 days at sea before we finally arrived in Cape Canaveral, Florida.  As my husband puts it a slow boat to China on a cruise to no where!  Yep, that is what it felt like.  We stayed at this port from 7:30 am to 9:30pm.  

We rented a car for the day (approx, $42) and went to visit family in Orlando.  Otherwise it was the usual Gator farms and nothing else to do.  Coco beach was close by, but too cold at this time of year.  Some people went to the Space Center and I understand they really enjoyed that.

Then off to Nassau, Bahamas from 1:00 pm to 11:30 at night!  Who decides how much time we are spending in each port and the times?   Everything closes up at 5:00 pm. in town and unless your are brave enough to wander around town after dark its a waste of an evening.

Coco Cay one of their private islands was gorgeous   Let me add that it was December and the Beach was quite cool.   Time spent was from 9:30-4:30.

Accommodations:  Rooms are spacious and showers are amazing!   The inside cabins have a virtual window that shows you the outside via a HD TV.... real cool!

Dining - Royal Caribbean has started something new called "Dynamic Dining."  Here's how it works.

You can go on line before you board and book or once you get on board you can book via an app that you can download to your phone or iPad, etc.  This does not work yet.  Royal Caribbean needs to get all of the bugs out of this one as it was a pain in the neck trying to make/cancel or even juggle dining around the shows and events on the ship.

Dynamic dining means you can eat in any of the 11 restaurants on board....with a reservation!!  Some are free and some have a cost associated with them.  You can always eat at the buffet at any time for free.  The four main restaurants are Chic, Silk, American Icon and the Grande (formal dining room).   Each has a set menu daily and does not change.  

Shows - You will have to schedule your  dining around the shows and the shows around your dining times.  This became a chore, since having a reservation did not always give you priority over those who did not bother to book in advance.    Shows were hit and miss.  Some good and some not so good.  The only absolutely worst show was the comedy show.  Loved the Groovy Town 70's night---so much fun,

I fly, flight simulator, bumper cars, surfing, roller skating, and North star all came with a hour waiting time to get reservations.  We had to go three times to get a ticket for north star.

As a travel agent, I would definitely let my clients know what is the best way to avoid spending their vacation on long lines on the Quantum of the Seas.

I got plenty of sleep and ate way too much.  I guess that made it a great vacation after all!

 SCOTT & SCOTT TRAVEL LLC

Joann & Dewitt Scott