Quantum of the seas

This was the largest Royal ship I have been on. We sailed in Alaska in 2022. It was early August and it was a full ship after most restrictions were lifted. It was the most crowed ship I’ve sailed. So much so that it kind of burned me for big cruises. I guess I thought that if the ship was all that much larger, it would feel roomier or something. We had a free sailing in December of 2021 and our ship was Adventure of the seas and sailing around 30% that was such an amazing cruise! The fewer the passengers the better for sure.

Overall, it’s an impressive ship. A little bit of everything to do onboard and with all the options, there is not enough time in 7 days to do it all.

Rooms- We had 2 large balconies, the rooms were great as they were on the same floor and the larger balconies faced each other. Those extended balconies were room 10260 and 10290. We also had two obstructed balconies as those were gty rooms and we did not get lucky with scoring a regular or upgraded room. Being my own travel agent for our group, I was able to move the obstructed views from 75% obstructed to 50%, so that was a win. A great perk when using a travel agent is that we tend to get better results when we call in to make changes after final payment. I’ve read lots of success stories for free upgrades when booking GTY rooms. I’ve just never been that lucky, nor had anyone I known personally. Perhaps now that most major cruise lines offer the bid for an upgrade system, it takes the luck out of GTY bookings.

Food- Overall, it was all pretty good. We tried some pub food at the English Pub, that was awesome, but also ridiculous and cost extra. The burger was two stories tall, not the kind of thing you can easily fit in your mouth, unless you dislocate it first. Sushi at Izumi - So freaking good. Presentation and flavor was popping. We have a sushi night on all our cruises, when available, and Royal is our favorite. They really do a great job. Service-overall felt genuine, like the crew was excited to back to full service and full ships. Our main dining room server had us 6 of the 7 nights and nailed everything each time. They entasipated what we would order after diner, like my cappuccino with Baileys and knew we had a birthday to celebrate. We didn’t frequent the buffet as much as we had before the pandemic but this cruise was back to self services at the buffet. Everything seemed on point to us. The hot dog stand was never open on our sailing and not her venue was closed, so I guess they were still having staffing issues.

Spa - Thermal suite's we had the week pass but it only enjoyed it a couple of times as it got really crowed. Some people chose to go topless too, not an American thing but doesn’t bother us, just be prepared for that. The rain shower was lovely, I enjoyed the cold rain the best, it’s chilly. The heated ceramic loungers feel so good and will melt your back. The saunas were small and there is no pool or hot tub. If you walked by the spa, you were getting hounded to sign up for services.

Sports plex - bumper cars was a lot of fun. Even my 80 year father in law enjoyed it lol. We missed out on all the other options, like trampolines and laser tag. This Sports Plex area gets converted into various activities daily, so download the app to view the daily planner. The line was long but it moved fairly fast, I think the rounds were only 3-5 minutes, so everyone in our group got to go.

Robotic bartender- one and done, drinks were too sweet and kind of gross for my tastes but it was fun to watch. Since we had the drink package, I didn’t mind not finishing my drink.

Entertainment - We aren’t so good at going to he shows and this trip was no different. I don’t have anything to say here except our adult kids enjoyed the shows in the two story Two70 venue when they had acrobatics involved.

Elevators - really bad art, vinyl prints. Not sure what they are going for but it was gross, bad plexilated art, fun idea, black and white animals in sunglasses, just stupid and bad quality. They ran a bit slow, it was a huge ship at full capacity, so expect a wait most of the day and into the night. We choose to mostly take the stairs but it is nice to get an elevator from time to time.

Excursions - We always have seamless experience when we book directly with Royal. We also have not had any issues when booking 3rd party in advance or not booking anything and finding something in port to sign up for or just enjoying port. My advice is to not worry or over stress. If you see something you want to sign up for beforehand and it’s in your budget, book it. If you want to wait, wait. There will be plenty to do and see once you arrive. One of our tours that we pre-booked did get cancelled. Our group of 8 found some other things to do in port and we ran into a couple that did the zodiac tour as their group didn’t get cancelled. We found out it was way too rough for them, who seemed like a fit middle aged couple, I was glad ours was cancelled as my father in law was 80 and I am sure, it would have destroyed him they way they described it. Trust that your vacation will be great, no matter what gets thrown at you.

Pools -very crowed, Alaskan cruise, the solarium was open and port days, it wasn’t so bad, we had some early excursions and were able to hit the solarium pool before the rush. On sea days, forget about it. Since its enclosed the area is obnoxiously loud and my anxiety could not handle it.

North Star - when we went, you could not pre-book before boarding the ship. The 1st thing I did once we boarded, was book. Originally we booked for the second evening after dinner, 8pm-ish but it was really foggy and we were not sailing near land. We were able to rescheduled for the next evening. That was a great move as it was a clear night, we had been in port that day and were still sailing near land. Our views were very impressive. We were all a little scared to board the Northstar, as it looks kind of intimidating. However, it is built well, very steady, and incredibly smooth. I think you get about 15 minutes all in. Our group of 7 went with another 4 people, I’d guess the max is around 12 people. Try do do this while you have scenery to look at. I think it will be a little boring if you were at sea with the big blue in all directions.

My final thoughts about Quantum of the seas

Although she was the largest vessel we have sailed on, she wasn’t my favorite. The ship sailed full as it was an August Alaskan sailing and you very much felt the crowds. The covered pool and thermal spa on seas days was horrifying to someone like me with crowd anxiety. The main dining early seating could also feel a bit rushed and drink service could be slower than normal.

I would love to sail this class again but probably on an itinerary that was relocating or a longer duration during school seasons to cut down on some of the crowds. Like there April/May Hawaii 12 day itinerary I spotted for both 2024 and 2025.

Sports flex, convertible room for various actives. Phot by Chelsea Hoberer